WWE Survivor Series 2016: SmackDown Defeats Raw in Men's Traditional Match

The SmackDown men's team defeated the Raw men's team Sunday night at Survivor Series in a traditional five-on-five elimination match with Bray Wyatt pinning Roman Reigns. 

WWE Universe shared a photo of Wyatt, Randy Orton and Luke Harper after the win:

It was a match that featured over an hour of action and had plenty of memorable moments. 

James Ellsworth eliminated Braun Strowman by grabbing his leg from under the ring as Strowman attempted to re-enter. Since Ellsworth delayed him, Strowman was eliminated because of a count-out. WWE Universe shared Ellsworth's move: 

Strowman would get his revenge by launching Ellsworth through a table on his way out.

Kevin Owens was disqualified after he struck AJ Styles with The List of Jericho, per WWE Universe:

Shane McMahon attempted a coast-to-coast on Reigns, only to be hit with a Spear and get knocked out of the match, via WWE:

Despite previously getting eliminated, Dean Ambrose would return to attack Styles, and the rest of his former Shield partners helped him, per WWE:

But in the end, Orton saved Wyatt by pushing him out of the way so he would take a Spear from Reigns, setting up Wyatt for the pin.

Wrestling Inc. and Brock Lesnar Guy provided their initial takes on the match:  

Bleacher Report's Steven Rondina was shocked Wyatt finally got a big moment on a PPV:

In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, both Raw and SmackDown announced teams consisting of their five best male Superstars to engage in what was billed as fantasy warfare come to life.

Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley chose WWE Universal champion Owens, Chris Jericho, United States champion Reigns, Strowman and Seth Rollins for the red brand. McMahon and Daniel Bryan countered with WWE world champion Styles, Ambrose, Wyatt, Orton and Baron Corbin for the blue team.

After Corbin injured his leg, however, Bryan made the surprising to decision to replace him with Shane for the fifth and final spot on the team.

While both teams were stacked with star power, they each had chemistry issues as well because so many of those involved have had conflicts with each other recently.

There is no love lost between Reigns, Rollins, KO and Y2J, while Styles and Ambrose have been feuding over the world title for months on SmackDown.

Despite that, both sides were bound and determined to come out on top. That included the Big Dog in the face of dysfunction for the red team:

Problems between the Raw Superstars were so significant, though, that they faced each other in a Fatal 5-Way match just two weeks before the pay-per-view.

The Phenomenal One has never been particularly good at making friends, but he vowed to get the job done for SmackDown:

Both teams showed unity six days before Survivor Series, when SmackDown invaded Raw and engaged in a huge brawl that saw the red brand protect its house.

Although each team had an incentive to win for the pride of proving that its brand is better, Raw may have had a little extra motivation.

Upon officially announcing the Raw team, Stephanie made it clear that the wrestlers' performances could impact their employment moving forward, according to WWE Universe on Twitter:

Shane and Bryan refused to threaten their Superstars' jobs, but the blue team was given a kick in the pants on the 900th episode of SmackDown when The Undertaker returned and warned the wrestlers that they would have to answer to him if they lost.

While the brand split has been strictly adhered to for the most part, Survivor Series allowed the two rosters to intermingle, which made for some intriguing moments, particularly in the men's match.

Along with interaction between former Wyatt Family members in Strowman and The Eater of Worlds, The Shield also collided in the form of Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose.

The match was jam-packed with storylines, and the manner in which it played out laid the groundwork for a number of rivalries and angles moving forward.

Traditional Survivor Series matches have become something of a rarity in recent years, but they can be effective catalysts in terms of creating tension and leading to even bigger conflicts between the involved talent.

Based on Sunday's match, it is clear that the likes of Rollins and Reigns still have Owens in their crosshairs, while there could be trouble on the horizon for the Universal champ and his best friend in Jericho as well.

Also, the rivalry between Styles and Ambrose appears far from over, especially with the Superstars set to face each other in the main event of TLC next month.

The Survivor Series clash was more so about furthering angles than the result itself, but with SmackDown managing to come out on top, all five blue-brand Superstars received a boost. And the Tuesday night program arguably established itself as the premier show.

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