Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE Continues to Squander Survivor Series Concept

1. Survivor Series Slumping

WWE has let one of its most entertaining concepts wither.

The Survivor Series elimination tag team match is packed with inherent drama. It's a unique match type that creates memorable alliances, furthers feuds and can generate momentum for stars on the rise. But WWE hasn't made enough use of it in recent years.

At this year's Survivor Series, the company didn't even try. The pay-per-view featured two traditional elimination matches that were just thrown into the mix at the last minute.

The participants weren't announced beforehand. WWE didn't bolster them with stories leading up to the event. There were no interviews as a team, no team names, no stakes, no reasons to get invested.

That's a major waste.

There's a reason that when WWE celebrated the biggest and best Survivor Series matches ever, there was nothing included from 2005 to 2014. That's the period in which WWE has most neglected the concept. 

Not counting 2014, where Team Cena battled Team Authority, the last time an elimination match main-evented a Survivor Series was 2005. There have been too few stories told surrounding those matches. There have mostly been filler bouts in the Survivor Series style.

In 2010, The Nexus was the hottest thing WWE had going. At Survivor Series time, rather than pitting five members of the group against five enemies with something major on the line, WWE had Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater take on Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.

Team Foley vs. Team Ziggler in 2012 was initially built around an impromptu challenge between Mick Foley and CM Punk. Punk moved on to defend his title. Ziggler stepped in for him.

Even had Punk stuck around for that fight, it would have had little spark. That felt like the wrestling equivalent of a pickup game—not a war between alliances.

Jim Ross called the concept "outdated," asking a fan whether he enjoyed the elimination matches from the PPV:

The fan likely didn't. They sucked. But that wasn't an issue of roster depth or the concept being dated. It was a result of zero effort from WWE Creative.

You cannot have a match where all 10 men are announced the day of and expect to have any spark going into it. You can't have a complete lack of pre-bout narrative.

The concept wasn't outdated in 2014 when Ziggler thrilled as he persevered despite a three-on-one disadvantage. And it wouldn't have been outdated had WWE pitted The Wyatt Family against Kane, Undertaker and two partners. That match was ready-made for Survivor Series. WWE instead went with a standard tag.

Not surprisingly, the results were unappetizing.

Survivor Series, like the Royal Rumble, is an event where the audience experiences a special treat. It is like nothing else WWE puts out all year. Continuing to devalue what makes the event special is a mistake.

At some point, Survivor Series will just blend into the rest of the calendar, with nothing separating it from Fastlane and Battleground other than name.

2. Minimal Opportunity, Minimal Impact

Solomon Crowe appears to be done with WWE. PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson reported that "Crowe requested and received his WWE release."

The NXT prospect just didn't get to do much during his time with the developmental brand.

Crowe wrestled in only eight televised matches. A good number of those required him to be someone else's launchpad. His 3-5 record is worse than it sounds, as his last win came way back in June 18 against Marcus Louis.

NXT used him to elevate Apollo Crews, Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin. Crowe didn't experience any elevation himself. An intriguing character and multitalented performer instead resided in limbo for much of his NXT run.

He will now have a chance to tear it up on the independent circuit, proving what he can do when not asked to stand on the sidelines so often.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Goldust 

Much of the talk leading up to Survivor Series was about Undertaker's longevity and how he's been able to adapt his gimmick to stay relevant for 25 years now.

Goldust deserves some recognition, too. He debuted this flamboyant, gold-faced character in 1995. And in 2015, he is still around, still successful.

Looking back at his pre-debut vignettes, it's hard not to be impressed that he's been able to make that character last this long via Undertaker-like adaption.

4. Tag Team Lessons from NXT

NXT needs to be required viewing for WWE's writers, especially when it comes to the tag team division. The Florida-based brand is simply better at booking its teams.

A key component is how often something is at stake.

There are more tag team championship matches on TV, for one. NXT recently hosted the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, a tournament designed to showcase tag teams and have them fight for the right to claim a trophy.

And Jason Jordan and Chad Gable recently called out The Ascension, demanding that it return to NXT to face them. The emerging team wanted to prove it belonged by beating the most dominant NXT team of all time.

The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz could have been presented that way but was instead sold as the heel champs trying to escape the wrath of the veterans.

Where is the main roster's tag tourney? With as many special events as WWE has each year, there has to be a space to prop up its teams.

5. Where Is Axel?

Good question.

Curtis Axel hasn't wrestled on Raw or SmackDown since May. He hasn't been on a pay-per-view since the Royal Rumble. He's been a perennial benchwarmer even with so many Superstars going down with injury.

The third-generation star may be up to something, though. He has recently posted some cryptic videos on Twitter that feel like vignettes teasing a future angle:

Even if this was Axel's own idea, WWE needs to run with this. The company has to make better use of its lower-rung stars, and this is an easy entry point into something intriguing for a guy who is more talented than his position suggests.

6. TNA Finds a New Home

As Dixie Carter announced in video form, TNA is moving to Pop TV next year:

While the pessimists out there will look at this as another sign of TNA's struggles, that it's shuffling off its product from channel to channel, only delaying the end.

The move, though, should be inspiration to rethink what Impact Wrestling looks like each week. This is a chance to start fresh, to rebrand and try to recapture the magic TNA had during its peak.

Much like when a struggling player gets traded to a new team, this could be an injection of inspiration.

7. Roman Reigns Joins Select Group

Reigns made history at the end of Survivor Series. Not only did he become one of the few men to not hold on to the WWE title into the next day after winning it (Andre the Giant, Rey Mysterio), but he is now one of only three men to be on the wrong end of a Money in the Bank cash-in more than once.

Credit: WWE.com

John Cena was the victim in the first two cash-ins ever. Edge pounced on him the first time. Rob Van Dam followed Edge's lead later that same year.

Cena tried to cash in on CM Punk at Raw 1000 but ended up being unable to translate that into a championship win. Punk also experienced a cash-in as the champion when Alberto Del Rio stole his title from him at SummerSlam 2011.

Cena, though, has Reigns and Punk beat. He's been cashed in on three times. Damien Sandow unsuccessfully tried to dethrone him on Raw in 2013.

Reigns has a unique record of his own. When Seth Rollins pinned him at WrestleMania 31 to go from Mr. Money in the Bank to WWE champ, he made Reigns the first-ever cash-in victim to not even be champion at the time.

8. Sheamus' Best

The often-maligned brawler doesn't get enough credit for what he does in the ring.

A good number of fans have long decided that Sheamus isn't interesting, dismissing how much he thrives in smashmouth wrestling bouts. To see what The Celtic Warrior looks like at his best, revisit these hard-hitting clashes:

• Sheamus vs. John Morrison: TLC 2010 (Ladder)
• Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan: Extreme Rules 2012 (2-out-of-3 Falls)
• Sheamus vs. Big Show: Hell in a Cell 2012
• Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: Main Event, Jan. 9, 2013
• Sheamus vs. Cesaro: Night of Champions 2014

While both Sheamus and Reigns aren't the high-flying types who will spring from ladders in their upcoming TLC match, the Irish powerhouse showed us five years ago how well he does in that kind of bout.

Count on him and Reigns to exceed expectations at the TLC pay-per-view. Expect a battle that ends in severe bruising and mangled steel.

9. Neville Needs An Archenemy

WWE rushed the moment, but it had the right idea when Mark Henry fell to Neville on Monday's Raw, shook his hand and said, "You're going to be good, kid."

There was a minor passing-of-the-torch feel to it. On a much smaller scale, it was like Undertaker shaking John Cena's after his debut.

Neville has been stellar as a high-flying one-man circus. He's looked good in several matches and seems to step up most when the lights are brightest.

But he'll need more than excellent performances to create lasting memories. He'll need more to be more than a flash in a pan. Namely, the top item on WWE's list for him should be an archrival who can catapult him forward.

Beating Henry has no real significance anymore. Everyone does it.

Getting a few wins here and there against King Barrett has little meaning.

To truly showcase Neville and see if he can catch on in a big way with the audience is to throw him into an extended, bitter feud with a prominent heel.

When Alberto Del Rio is done redoing his rivalry with Jack Swagger, he's a fine candidate for the position. Should Randy Orton return as a heel when his shoulder heals, he would be a smart choice, too.

Figuring out who will stand in Neville's way and try to ground him is key to allowing him to be more than a midcard novelty act.

10. On the Divas Division

Screenwriter Max Landis spoke on The World According to Wrestling about wrestling's storytelling issues.

His thoughts on how WWE presents its female wrestlers were spot-on. When asked about Greg Valentine's recent misogynistic comments on that subject, Landis rattled off what's troubling the women's division:

"

What's damaging to women's wrestling is six-woman matches with no storylines. What's damaging to women's wrestling is the characters not being allowed to stand on their own. What's damaging to women's wrestling is Stephanie McMahon being presented as the reason there are good female wrestlers on the show, rather than them entering on their own.

"

In many ways, 2015 has been huge for women in WWE. Paige and Charlotte's contract signing main-evented the Raw before Survivor Series. Bayley and Sasha Banks main-evented an NXT TakeOver event in the first-ever Iron Man match featuring women.

Still, these issues that Landis laid out remain a hindrance to further progress.

There's much work to be done. And like Robert Frost once wrote, there are "miles to go."

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.