WWE Survivor Series 2016 Winners: Biggest Stars of the Night

Survivor Series is the odd child out of the Big Four pay-per-views.

Along with Bragging Rights, it's the only PPV where individual glory matters less than team glory. It's probably the most difficult PPV for new wrestlers to break out and make names for themselves. There's just so much going on, and it's tough to stand out.

But it can happen, and it's happened before. 

The Undertaker made his debut at Survivor Series in 1990. And Roman Reigns got a lot of mileage out of his Survivor Series performance in 2013, where he dismantled his opponents nearly singlehandedly.

Were there any similarly legendary, career making moments at tonight's Survivor Series?

Here are the biggest Superstars of the night.

Nia Jax

Credit: WWE.com

The women's match between Team Raw and Team Smackdown was a solid showing and an excellent way to kick off the show.

Bayley and Becky Lynch put together a strong finish. It was interesting that after an entire match of impressive spots, the two of them decided to end the bout with some old-fashioned mat wrestling, but it worked.

Lowlights included Sasha Banks's early elimination, which seemed more like a fluke than a hard-earned pin.

But the definite star of the match was Nia Jax. She singlehandedly restored order when everyone jumped into the ring midway through and had the best spot of the bout—a double suplex on Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss.

Jax has great potential; all she needs is for WWE to put her in title contention to reach it.

Maryse

Credit: WWE.com

Next up was The Miz vs. Sami Zayn, and both of them performed extremely well.

The two of them really excel at the little things that make wrestling fun and believable, like the extended spot where Miz locked Zayn into the figure-four leglock. Zayn reversed the hold, and then Miz reversed it again. The entire time, they had the best facial expressions, selling it as though both of their legs would snap any second.

But special attention needs to be given to Maryse, who keeps finding new, clever ways to cheat for her man.

For a while, she sprayed her perfume in people's faces. Then, on last week's Smackdown, she readjusted a small package to give Miz his sixth title reign. And tonight, she rang the bell prematurely to distract Zayn, giving Miz the cheap pin.

Most managers and ringside interferers will simply jump on the apron, but Maryse mixes it up, which makes her an excellent co-conspirator in Miz's latest push.

Cesaro

Wardrobe malfunction aside (did you see him struggle to get his tuxedo jacket off?), Cesaro killed it this entire match.

He brings it every single time, and tonight was no exception. From his flurry of European uppercuts to his swings, Cesaro had intensity to spare. And he turned it up an even higher notch near the end, when he took on the Usos single-handedly.

Particularly impressive was his double stomp to break up the pin on Sheamus. Later on, he hit a 619 (!!!) and followed it with a flying crossbody. And lastly, he reversed Jey Uso's Tequila Sunrise into a Sharpshooter for the win.

Kalisto

Credit: WWE.com

This match was disappointing. Once again, WWE misused the the cruiserweight division and wasted a championship match to further an angle involving Baron Corbin (who really belonged in the Smackdown-vs.-Raw match).

Kalisto put on a fine performance, with some eye-popping moves that define the cruiserweight division such as a beautiful Salida del Sol and a painful-looking Spanish Fly off the apron.

It's just too bad that these death-defying moves had to exist in a match that was treated as an afterthought.

If I were Kalisto, I'd be ticked. He's putting his body on the line, and for what, exactly? To get Baron Corbin over?

Braun Strowman

Credit: WWE.com

Braun Strowman looked great tonight. Until he was counted out, the big man made it clear that he was the most physically dominant wrestler on either roster.

He manhandled everyone he came across, including both AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. He spent the majority of his time, however, working with Shane, to the extent that it wouldn't be surprising if the two of them have a match in the future. 

The match was close to an hour long and evolved into something truly special by its end. But Strowman was the undisputed star of its first half and has embraced his role as an unstoppable monster.

Hopefully, he can grow from here; his appearances are mostly limited to hot tags, but if he gains enough experience to carry a match by himself, he could emerge as a real contender.

Shane McMahon

Credit: WWE.com

From his elbow off the top rope to the announcers' table to his failed Coast to Coast into a Spear, Shane McMahon moves like someone half his age.

There was a point when I watching, and I thought to myself, "There's no reason why Shane should be beating up both Rollins and Reigns by himself." But then I let myself get swept up into the match's storytelling, and I didn't care so much.

Plus, I loved that wide-eyed, concussed look he gave after taking the Spear. It was a perfect sell from a guy who's always willing to sacrifice his body for the business.

Vince McMahon's son or not, Shane has earned the respect of the fans in the hardest way possible.

Goldberg

Credit: WWE.com

Well, that was an ending that almost no one expected.

All this time, everyone's been speculating about whether Goldberg can wrestle a full match or take 10 German suplexes to the back of his head. And instead, he squashes Lesnar in two minutes flat.

Was this planned from the start? Or was this the result of Goldberg not being able to to do much more? Maybe it'll leak in the next few days.

But I will give WWE this: they knew exactly what the fans were paying to see. Because no one really wanted to see Goldberg wrestle for 20 minutes. Fans wanted to see the entrance, the Spear, and the Jackhammer, and feel like little kids again in the process. On that level, the match absolutely delivered, and Goldberg was its undisputed star.