WWE Survivor Series is in the books.
The show featured some strong in-ring action, a lot of love for The Rock and the mysterious case of Mr. McMahon’s missing Cleopatra egg. Check out our complete Survivor Series results to catch up on everything you may have missed.
Here are some backstage news items coming out of Survivor Series:
Match Order
Some major changes were made to the match card late Sunday evening. The original plans called for Roman Reigns vs. Big E to open the pay-per-view and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair match to serve as the main event. Those matches were switched, with the women’s match opening and Reigns vs. Big E closing out the night.
This swap also resulted in other matches being shuffled, specifically the men’s and women’s 5-on-5 matches.
Timing
A lot of work goes into the pacing of WWE productions. Pay-per-views might seem like marathon viewing sessions at times, but the company typically has a hard stop-time planned out in advance.
As the night progressed, WWE officials felt things were running long and there was some concern that the main event might have to be cut short. The men’s 5-on-5 elimination match probably got more time than it needed. In the end, Survivor Series went off the air when it was intended to, so it’s possible some time was taken from the Reigns vs. Big E match.
Who produced each match?
The following people were in charge of producing the matches at Survivor Series (via PWInsider):
- Joseph Park (Abyss) produced the Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest match.
- Tyson Kidd produced the Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair match
- Shawn Daivari, Adam Pearce and Shane Helms produced the Men’s Survivor Series match
- Shane Helms produced the The Usos vs. RK-Bro match
- Tyson Kidd and Pat Buck produced the Women’s Survivor Series match
- Michael Hayes produced the Roman Reigns vs. Big E. main event
TV Executives Backstage
In addition to members of WWE’s executive team (including Vince, Stephanie and Nick Khan), there were also several entertainment industry bigwigs on hand for Survivor Series.
Executives from NBCUniversal and FOX were at the show. Additionally, there were some important people from Netflix there as well. The Rock’s Netflix movie ‘Red Notice’ was a top sponsor of the show.
Crowd Fatigue
We spoke with a few people who were in the building for Survivor Series. The general feeling is that the crowd started off hot, but the commercial spots, video packages and long ring introductions negatively affected the overall pacing of the show.
How many fans were in attendance?
During the Survivor Series broadcast, Michael Cole announced there were 15,120 fans in attendance at the Barclays Center.
It’s no secret that WWE exaggerates these figures. According to Wrestletix, the venue was configured to accommodate almost 12,0000 fans. Approximately 11,200 tickets for the event, which is still a great turnout.
