WWE Survivor Series 2015: Best Moments from Buildup to PPV Event

This Sunday, November 22, WWE will present its 29th annual Survivor Series pay-per-view, live from the Philips Arena in Atlanta. It will mark the 25th anniversary of The Undertaker, who made his WWE debut at the 1990 installment and will be in action alongside Kane against The Wyatt Family on the show.

Although Seth Rollins' unfortunate injury caused WWE's original plans for the event to change, the impromptu card has filled out quite nicely. In addition to three tournament matches, The Brothers of Destruction will battle The Wyatt Family, the Divas Championship will be defended and Dolph Ziggler will face off with Tyler Breeze.

Although the quality of WWE programming has deteriorated significantly since SummerSlam, it has bounced back in a major way in recent weeks with the dawning of the tournament, forcing officials to put together unprecedented matches with fresh faces.

With the current card, Survivor Series 2015 has the potential to exceed expectations and be a stellar show. Recent installments of the event proved to be phenomenal, and this year looks to be no exception.

Before the Thanksgiving weekend tradition kicks off Sunday night, we will take a look back at the most memorable moments that have occurred on the rocky road to Survivor Series.

Look, Everyone! It's Tyler!: SmackDown, Oct. 22, 2015

From their lackluster matches to their unspectacular segments, it's safe to say Dolph Ziggler and Rusev had the single worst WWE feud in all of 2015. Thus, its abrupt ending due to the legitimate engagement of Rusev and Lana was a blessing in disguise.

The angle was set to culminate on the Oct. 22 edition of SmackDown on "Miz TV," with Ziggler and Summer Rae clearing the air on their relationship status. But before Ziggler could bury the hatchet with the blonde bombshell once and for all, she introduced her new squeeze, Tyler Breeze, to the WWE Universe.

Breeze has been a standout in NXT for several years but had yet to be called up to WWE with the rest of his class. It was more a matter of when, not if, he'd get promoted, and the pairing with Summer Rae provided him with the perfect opportunity to finally graduate from developmental.

Now an official member of the main roster, Breeze didn't hesitate in making a strong first impression by targeting the former World Heavyweight champion. He promptly laid Ziggler out with a Beauty Shot at the behest of Summer, solidifying their newfound partnership.

Although the feud between Ziggler and Breeze was put on the back burner during the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, they've rekindled their rivalry in time to go one-on-one at Survivor Series.

Paige Punches Her Ticket to Survivor Series: Raw, Nov. 2, 2015

Although Paige initially turned her back on her Team PCB stablemates after Night of Champions, she continued to align herself with Charlotte and Becky Lynch in the weeks that followed. While her motives were unknown at that point, it was only inevitable before her true colors shined through.

Coming off Charlotte's successful title defense at Hell in a Cell, Paige solidified her split from the former NXT standouts, announcing her intentions to reclaim what was once hers: the Divas Championship.

On the Nov. 2 edition of Raw, Paige took part in a Fatal 4-Way match, also involving Brie Bella, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks, to crown a new contender in her native England. The former NXT Women's champion reigning supreme was never in doubt, but that didn't stop the four ladies from delivering an excellent matchup.

In what was one of the best Diva matches in quite some time on the main roster, everyone involved in the contest shined at one point or another and put forth a strong effort. Banks nearly emerged victorious, but it was Paige who tossed her from the ring and capitalized on the downed Lynch to secure the win.

Paige's rivalry with Charlotte would devolve from there, but for one night, the "Divas Revolution" was in full force.

The Brothers of Destruction Reemerge from the Shadows: Raw, Nov. 9, 2015

The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt first clashed in a memorable match at WrestleMania 31, where after a near-yearlong absence from WWE programming, The Deadman returned better than before and soundly defeated his adversary on the grand stage.

Wyatt quickly shifted his focus to other opponents following the loss, but that didn't mean for a second he wasn't planning on exacting his revenge at some point. It wasn't until the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view that he ambushed Undertaker at his weakest and carried him out of the arena.

The next night on Raw, The Wyatt Family laid waste to Kane, as well, and subsequently claimed to be the most powerful force in WWE. But in summoning the forces of darkness, they just so happened to bring back the reunited pair of The Undertaker and Kane.

The Brothers of Destruction standing across the ring from The Wyatt Family on the Nov. 9 edition of Raw was surely a sight to behold. It was something fans thought they would never see, and now the two feared factions were within feet of each other.

All hell broke loose shortly thereafter, setting up a highly anticipated tag team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on the 25th anniversary of Undertaker's WWE debut.

Roman Reigns and Cesaro Contest a Classic: Raw, Nov. 16, 2015

Seth Rollins' abrupt injury that forced him to relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship put WWE in a tough spot. It threw out most of its plans for the pay-per-view and constructed an entirely new card, centering around a 16-man tournament to crown a new champion.

Save for a few stinkers (Roman Reigns vs. Big Show and Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto), the tournament has produced a multitude of great wrestling matches. But no bout was better than the instant classic Reigns and Cesaro contested on the Nov. 16 edition of Raw.

Given that Reigns and Cesaro are two very different types of competitors, they were sure to produce an interesting matchup. Moreover, it was a match we had never seen before, which alone made it must-see.

Unsurprisingly, they made magic in the middle of the ring and pulled everything out of their respective arsenals to put the other away. Reigns was the clear-cut favorite to walk away with the win, but Cesaro put up a tougher fight than anyone expected.

It was only after a Superman punch and a scintillating spear that Reigns was able to put Cesaro away, cementing his spot in the semifinals of the tourney at Survivor Series.

Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns Realize What Is at Stake: SmackDown, Nov. 19, 2015

Credit: WWE.com

By and large, the Nov. 19 edition of SmackDown didn't do much to add any extra excitement to the Survivor Series card, but if there was one thing it succeeded in doing, it was planting the seeds for a future faceoff between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

The main event of the evening saw Reigns and Ambrose pair up to take on Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio in tag team action. Both duos surprisingly coexisted, but although no tension was teased, the high stakes at Survivor Series were made clear following a chaotic brawl between the four competitors.

Ambrose and Reigns journeyed over to ringside to find the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship sitting on an elevated platform. They exchanged glances at the title and then at each other, establishing that they would do anything to come out on top at the November classic—even if it means going up against one another.

That moment on SmackDown was the first time throughout the entire build to the event that a Reigns vs. Ambrose match was foreshadowed. It's been the money match since the start of the tournament, so it was appropriate casual fans got the message that this could be what they will be seeing come Sunday.

That was perhaps the perfect way to head into Survivor Series, and with everything else we've witnessed up to this point, one can only hope that the show will live up to its given hype.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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