Why WWE must bring back traditional Survivor Series tag-team elimination matches?

WWE Survivor Series 2024 is just weeks away

The Survivor Series Premium Live Event is scheduled to take place on November 30 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and there is a lot of hype around it for good reason. Having said that, the fate of the traditional Survivor Series tag team elimination match has been announced.

Until recently, Survivor Series was most renowned for its elimination tag team battles. While these contests continued to take place between 2016 and 2021, the event’s focus moved to a battle for brand dominance between RAW and SmackDown. However, in 2022, WWE renamed the event Survivor Series: WarGames, replacing conventional elimination tag bouts with WarGames matches.

In a recent Q&A, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson voiced hope that classic elimination tag bouts may return under Triple H’s leadership. However, Johnson feels that with the WarGames matches as the major emphasis of this year’s tournament, the previous format may be phased away permanently.

Johnson expressed nostalgia for the old 5 vs 5 elimination matchups but admitted that their attraction has waned over the years. He believes that if anybody could resuscitate the format, it would be Triple H and his staff, but the WarGames matches will keep viewers interested in the event going forward.

”I do.  I have a great nostalgia for the old 5 vs. 5 Elimination matches (the 1987 Survivor Series was the first PPV I ever ordered, we got cable the day before), but I realize that the spectacle of the match has greatly waned over the decades.  If anyone could bring it back to some sort of former glory, it’s probably Paul Levesque’s current team, but Wargames is what is going to drive the interest in the show this November, so I think the old format will likely go the way of the Dodo Bird, sooner than later.”

Also Read: WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2024: Match card predictions

What went wrong with traditional WWE Survivor Series tag team elimination matches?

The 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team battle is a must-see for anybody interested in the “vintage WWE,” as Michael Cole frequently says during commentary. This match was established during the 1987 first Survivor Series event when Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan competed in the bout, which became the main event.

For the following years, it became a WWE tradition to stage this event with a team captain or an authoritative person forming a group, particularly on weekly TV episodes of Raw or SmackDown. This changed in 2016 when WWE brought back the brand extension.

This would make the concept of completely separating the rosters of the red and blue brands more intriguing. I think this was wonderful for introducing new ideas and narratives by competing with everyone, but it became a cliché to see members of each company’s teams have internal feuds and team up for brand dominance.

As for Survivor Series this year, WWE has changed the timing for the show as it will begin at 6:00 PM ET instead of the usual 7:00 PM ET. Nonetheless, fans will certainly be disappointed that the traditional elimination tag team matches might never return but that is what it is. Someday maybe to surprise the fans WWE might do it, but for now, it ain’t happening.

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