Backstage: James Ellsworth is walking down the hallway taking in the aura of the night when he walks into Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. Anderson claims Ellsworth is the luckiest man on the planet, makes a bunch of “chin” reference jokes, Gallows doing the same. RAW General Manager Mick Foley interrupts and tells them to beat it, Ellsworth marking out and talking to Mick about some moments from his career. The Hardcore Legend wonders if James knows any of his work that didn’t end up with him being hurt, then offers James a place on RAW to make his dreams come true. Ellsworth says he is loyal to SmackDown, but appreciates the offer. Mick takes off, Ellsworth turns around and there stands Braun Strowman, wondering if he knows him. Ellsworth doesn’t respond and leaves in a hurry.

Match #2 for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz w/Maryse vs. Sami Zayn
Collar & elbow tie-up to begin, Miz goes to a hammerlock, the challenger counters out with a wristlock, but The A-Lister reverses into one of his own. Sami slips free and sweeps the legs for a quick 2 count, another tie-up, Miz with a single-leg takedown, hits the ropes, Zayn leapfrogs over and scores with an arm drag. He rolls Miz up for another 2 count, quickly goes back to the arm with an armbar, the champion shoves him away to the ropes, misses with a clothesline, turns around and meets a heel kick. He rolls outside to regroup, Zayn tries for an outside dive, the champion sees it coming and takes a walk.

The Underdog from the Underground gets a little too close to the ropes, Miz drags him to the outside, bounces him face-first off the apron, tries to send him into the barricade, Sami hops on top of it and comes off with a moonsault. Maryse gets in the challenger’s face, The A-Lister takes the opening to chop block him at the knee, tosses Zayn into the ring and comes off the top with a double axe. He starts to target the left leg and works over the knee, wraps it up in the ropes, The Underdog from the Underground ducks a left hand and starts firing back with chops. He corners the champion and climbs to the 2nd rope for right hands, The Miz ducks out under the legs, takes him out at the knee, stands on the back of Sami’s legs and stomps them into the mat.

Sami starts to battle back, The A-Lister charges him near the ropes, gets dumped to the outside, Zayn sets to hit the ropes for an outside dive, Miz sweeps the leg and drags him under the bottom rope in the corner. He rams the knee into the ring post, sends the challenger back inside, hits the ropes for a running boot to the back of the head, hooks the leg and gets a count of 2. Miz wants to hook on a Figure Four, Zayn kicks him away, they exchange fists, the champion goes right back to the knee and hits the ropes. The Underdog from the Underground explodes up with a clothesline, delivers another to send the champion to the outside, hits the ropes and flies over the top with a somersault plancha.

He throws The A-Lister into the squared circle, Miz surprises him with a single-leg takedown coming in, looks for the figure four again, Sami kicks him away, then plants him with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. He sets the champion for the Blue Thunder Bomb, The Miz blocks it, takes him down for the figure four, Zayn counters into a small package, but only gets 2. Miz quickly goes back to the knee, spikes the challenger with a short DDT that almost finishes it and both guys stagger to their feet. The champion mocks a “Yes!” chant, scores with running dropkicks in the corner, charges in with the Awesome Clothesline and then scales the turnbuckles to the top. He comes off for a double axe handle, Zayn side-steps it, delivers a Blue Thunder Bomb, hooks the leg, but still can’t put it away.

The Underdog from the Underground lines the champion up for a Helluva Kick, The A-Lister rolls out to the apron to avoid it, drops Sami across the top rope with a hot shot, slides back in and tries for the Skull Crushing Finale. Zayn counters into a victory roll for a near fall, stumbles to the corner, catches Miz charging in and throws him into the turnbuckles with an exploder suplex. He sets for the Helluva Kick, The A-Lister side-steps it, picks the leg and applies the figure four in the center of the ring. The Underdog from the Underground pulls himself towards the ropes, Miz drags him back to the middle of the ring, Zayn flips over and rolls his way to the bottom rope to force a break.

The champion takes some words from Maryse, smashes the challenger in the chest with his version of the Yes Kicks, looks for one final shot to the head, Zayn ducks it and brings him down, locking on a figure four of his own. The A-Lister crawls towards the ropes, Sami drags him back to the center, the bell sounds and we see Maryse has gotten ahold of it. The Underdog from the Underground releases the hold, gets distracted, Miz with a roll-up from behind and he retains.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (Schoolboy)

• EA’s Take: Meh, this didn’t do a lot for me. It felt like just an elongated match on RAW or SmackDown, like we saw this same thing earlier this year except with a different finish. I never expected Miz to lose the title so quickly after regaining it and honestly, did anyone really think RAW would get the US & IC Titles? Makes no sense to me so while I’m sure the Canadian fans loved having Sami on the card, that’s all this really was.

Backstage: Dean Ambrose & WWE World Champion AJ Styles are watching from the back, AJ asks if Dean likes seeing SmackDown get a win, which is what will happen tonight, but at TLC it’s a different story. The Lunatic Fringe talks about how he’s fantasized of cracking Styles with weapons, they start to get in each other’s faces, but SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon intervenes. He implores that they both get on the same page, claiming they can tear each other apart in two weeks.

Match #3 – 10-On-10 Tag Team Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team RAW (Enzo Amore & Big Cass, The Shining Stars (Primo & Epico), Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Sheamus & Cesaro, RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston)) w/Xavier Woods vs. Team SmackDown Live (SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Rhyno, Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze), The Usos (Jimmy & Jey), The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley), American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable))
Fandango & Big E to start the action, The Lord of the Dance starts handing out tickets to everybody including his teammates, E powers him onto his shoulder, Kingston comes off the 2nd rope with the Midnight Hour and Fandango is pinned. Breezango has been eliminated. Jimmy steps into the ring, surprises Kofi with a superkick, hooks the leg and gets the 3 count. The New Day has been eliminated.

Gallows takes the ring and Jimmy hammers him with uppercuts, Gallows returns fire, Cass reaches over and tags himself in. He buries knees into Jimmy’s midsection, Epico tags himself in and goes to a wristlock, Jimmy smacks him with a forearm and tags out. Ryder tries for a wristlock of his own, Epico clocks him with forearm shot, shoots him to the corner and follows in, Long Island Iced Z hops up-and-over, then plants him with a flapjack. Tag to Mojo, he smacks Epico with a bell clap, gets into the three point stance to corner him, then takes him out at the knee for a 1 count. Epico sneaks in a dropkick to the knee and tags out, Primo gets a tag, The Shining Stars with a double knee DDT, Primo puts the boots to him in the corner and Gallows re-enters.

He buries lefts and rights to the ribs in the corner, Anderson enters the match, hits the ropes for a clothesline, Rawley ducks under it and scores with a crossbody. Tag to Zack, he levels Anderson with a clothesline, whip to the corner is reversed, Anderson rushes in and meets double knees to the chin. Ryder comes off the 2nd rope with a dropkick, knocks Gallows off the apron, measures Anderson for the Broski Boot, but Gallows drags him out of the ring. Long Island Iced Z hits them both with a wrecking ball dropkick, throws Anderson back in the ring and climbs to the apron, kicks Gallows away, but gets drilled by a knee to the head.

Gallows climbs back up and tags in, Magic Killer to Ryder, lateral press from Gallows and he gets the pinfall. The Hype Bros have been eliminated. American Alpha climbs in behind Gallows and lays him out with a double dropkick, Anderson comes in and eats on for his troubles, Jordan sends Gable at Gallows in the corner, Gallows side-steps out of the way and drop him with a haymaker. Tag to Sheamus, The Great White stomps away at Chad in the corner, Epico tags himself in, drapes Gable throat-first across the 2nd rope, Primo tags in and delivers a seated senton to the back, tagging out on the way through. Epico slingshots in from the apron with an elbow drop for a count of 2, grounds Chad with a rear chinlock, Gable works to a standing position and rolls Epico away.

He misses with a clothesline, Epico delivers the Tripleta, covers, but still only gets 2. Primo tags and springboards in with a double axe, The Shining Stars shoots Gable to the corner, Epico whipping Primo in right behind him. Gable avoids danger and Primo gets tied up in the ropes, Chad elevated Epico over the top to the floor, tags out and Jordan picks Primo up on his shoulders. Gable comes off the top with a bulldog, Jordan covers and gets the elimination. The Shining Stars have been eliminated. Everybody steps into the squared circle now and a melee breaks out, Enzo & Cass clear the ring with Slater & Rhyno and they pair-off, trading off right hands.

Cass launches Amore over the top onto everybody, The Man Beast charges the seven-footer and gets sent to the apron, delivers a big boot and they both fall to the floor. The One Man Band climbs to the top rope, takes flight with a stage dive, Jordan positions himself to launch Gable over the top, but Sheamus slides in and cuts him off with a double sledge. Jordan hooks The Celtic Warrior for an overhead belly-to-belly, Cesaro rolls in behind and puts Jordan in the Swing, Gable coming in after and plants The Swiss Superman with a rolling german suplex. Gable gets set and Jordan launches him to the outside with a somersault plancha, Jordan readies for an outside dive of his own, Gallows slides in and cuts him off with a shot to the eye, then tags out.

Gallows & Anderson plant Jordan with the Magic Killer, Anderson with the lateral press and gets the 1-2-3. American Alpha has been eliminated. Heath rolls in and takes on Gallows & Anderson by himself, drops Anderson with a running knee, then lays out Gallows with a heel kick. Anderson surprises him with a spinebuster, The Great White re-enters the match and pummels Slater with punches, feigns a tag to Cesaro, The One Man Band battles back, but gets thrown into the corner. He fights his way out, avoids Sheamus charging in, crawls toward his corner, but Gallows tags in and stops him with a body slam. He drops multiple elbow drops and hits the ropes, knocks Enzo off in the process, Gallows is distracted, Slater tags out and Rhyno steps in, splitting Gallows with a Gore for the pinfall. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson have been eliminated.

Big Cass steps in over the top and clocks Rhyno with a big boot, knocks Heath off the apron with another, tag to Enzo for Bada Boomshakalaka and a 3 count. Heath Slater & Rhyno have been eliminated. The Usos slide in and leave Cass laying with a double superkick, Enzo disposes of Jey, scores with lefts and rights to Jimmy, then clocks him with a Fastball Punch. He hits the ropes, Jimmy pops up with a superkick, Jey tags, comes off the top with the Uso Splash and cleans it up. Enzo Amore & Big Cass have been eliminated. Sheamus wastes no time and comes right in to spear Jey in the corner, hits the ropes for a knee left, then tosses him out to the apron for the Beats Of The Bodhren.

He powers Jey back in on his shoulders, delivers a rolling fireman’s carry slam, goes for a Brogue Kick, but Jey ducks it and connects with an enzuigiri. Tag to Jimmy, The Usos go for a double superkick, Cesaro slides in and sacrifices himself, The Great White follows with a Brogue Kick to Jimmy, throws Jey outside and covers, but Jey just saves it at a count of 2. The Celtic Warrior clotheslines Jey back to the outside, props Jimmy on the top turnbuckle, climbs up for a super White Noise, Jey makes a blind tag as Sheamus connects, hooks the leg, but Cesaro is there just in time. Sheamus rolls to make a tag, The Swiss Superman steps in and boards Jey on the Uppercut Train, Jey avoids one and delivers an uppercut of his own, misses with a clothesline and The King Of Swing springs off the 2nd rope with a corkscrew uppercut.

Jimmy hits the ring and Cesaro props him on the top turnbuckle, knocks him down to the floor with a standing dropkick, hits Jey with a 619, then rolls outside and takes out Jimmy with a running uppercut. Cesaro quickly goes to the high rent district, scores with a crossbody to Jey for a near fall, calls for the Swing and rotates Jey around and around. He hooks on the Sharpshooter, the official gets distracted by Sheamus, Jimmy takes Cesaro out at the knee from behind, then flies to the outside with a suicide dive. Jey slaps the Tequila Sunrise on The Swiss Superman, Cesaro rolls out of it, switches into a Sharpshooter, Jimmy slides in to stop it with a superkick, but Sheamus meets him with a Brogue Kick as Jey submits.
Winners & Sole Survivors: Sheamus & Cesaro

• EA’s Take: This will probably be a running theme for me all night because I’m just not into these Elimination Matches, but again I wasn’t overly excited for this. I was shocked that The New Day was eliminated so quickly, but in reality if you want to build the rest of RAW’s Tag Team Division, giving the others the spotlight was a smart move. I thought that RAW may get the win in this one just as a bit of reverse psychology, meaning SmackDown’s division is better so giving RAW the win helps make them look equal. Cesaro & Sheamus being the last men remaining I think speaks volumes and I still wouldn’t be surprised if they were the ones who end up beating New Day for the titles.

Backstage: RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon & Mick Foley celebrate in their office, Steph stating that RAW looks really dominant tonight. She tells Mick that she didn’t think Sheamus & Cesaro would work, but perhaps Foley deserves a reward for being right about them. The Hardcore Legend wonders if he can get a paid vacation, The Billion Dollar Princess saying she meant Sheamus & Cesaro, giving them a title shot against The New Day on RAW tomorrow. She says they still need to focus on tonight though, claiming she has full confidence in Brian Kendrick and Team RAW.

Match #4 for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Kalisto vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick
The champion charges right at the bell and gets caught with a hurricanrana, Kalisto sends him to the outside, hits the ropes and flies over the top with a somersault senton. He tosses Kendrick back in the ring, climbs up to the apron, springboards in with a crossbody, hooks the leg and gets a count of 2. Irish whip into the ropes is reversed, The King Of Flight springs off the 2nd rope with a spiral crossbody, covers and gains another 2 count. The challenger strikes with kicks and forearms, hits the ropes, Kendrick pops up with a back elbow, snaps him into the canvas with a back suplex, lateral press and a count of 1.

He hooks Kalisto for Sliced Bread #2, the challenger blocks it, goes for Salida Del Sol, Kendrick slips out of it, the challenger with a wheelbarrow roll-up for a 2 count, the champion rolling him up off the kick-out for a 2 of his own. They trade-off schoolboys for counts of 2, The Wizard Of Odd surprises the challenger with a back elbow, whips him to the ropes for a back body drop, Kalisto avoids it with a kick, scores with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, then connects with a dropkick in the corner. Kendrick seeks refuge in the ropes, the official backs Kalisto off, the champion takes advantage and schoolboys the back of the challenger’s head into the 2nd turnbuckle.

The champion drapes Kalisto to the outside, squashes his skull into the ring post with a boot, rolls inside, The King Of Flight just making it back in at a 9 count. The Wizard Of Odd meets him coming in with stomps, ties Kalisto up in the ropes and wrenches back on the neck, delivers a snap suplex and gains a count of 2. He slaps on a cravate to ground the challenger, The King Of Flight works to a vertical base, tries to roll the champion away, but Kendrick maintains the hold. Kalisto finds his way back up, rolls himself free this time, charges in, Kendrick tries to grab him for the Captain’s Hook, but the challenger slips away and scores with kicks to the legs.

The Wizard Of Odd picks the arm and flies outside, uses the top rope to clothesline the challenger, climbs back up to the apron and gets surprised by a dropkick to the knee. Kalisto rolls out to the apron and they exchange kicks, the champion sets for Sliced Bread #2 from the apron, the challenger pushes him away into the ring post, then plants him down to the floor with a spanish fly off the apron. He throws Kendrick into the ring and rolls inside, hooks the leg for a near fall, the champion slides right back outside and Kalisto decides to fly through the ropes with a suicide dive. He hammers The Wizard Of Odd with right hands and picks him up, Kendrick drives him spine-first into the apron, charges back in for a clothesline, Kalisto ducks it, drills him with a kick and sends him in the ring.

The King Of Flight heads up to the top turbuckle, the champion sweeps the legs to crotch him, climbs up for a super back suplex, Kalisto fights if off and goes for a super Salida Del Sol. Kendrick blocks it, plants the challenger off the top into the canvas, locks on the Captain’s Hook, the challenger just reaching the ropes to force a break. The Wizard Of Odd drags himself back up and measures for a double axe to the back, delivers brutal forearm shots to the kidneys in the corner, the referee stepping in to force a break. The champion charges right back in and runs into a boot to the jaw, Kalisto strarts to build momentum with a flurry of kicks, irish whip to the corner is reversed, but the challenger hops up-and-over as Kendrick charges in.

The King Of Flight rushes in with a knee to the breadbasket, hits a cartwheel fireman’s carry slam, plants him with a spikerana, scores with Salida Del Sol and hooks the leg, but the champion gets a foot on the ropes at 2. The challenger drags him back to the middle of the ring and goes upstairs, Baron Corbin slides in the ring and wipes out Kendrick from behind, catches Kalisto in mid-air and plants him with End Of Days.
Winner and STILL WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Brian Kendrick (Disqualification)

• EA’s Take: Pretty solid match, but it seemed like a lot of the live crowd used it as a bathroom break. Some people probably won’t be happy with Corbin interfering for the finish, but I can live with it. Looks to me like the Kalisto/Corbin feud that was shelved back in August is back on again three months later. Much like the IC Title match, I never believed the Cruiserweight Division would be moving to SmackDown. Although, with 205 Live now filming after SmackDown on Tuesdays, logistically it would have made sense, but that’s the only way it did.

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