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Why Should I Care About Brand Supremacy?

So, it’s November and we’re closing in on the annual WWE tradition that is Survivor Series.

One of the “Big Four” PPV events that also comprise Summerslam, Royal Rumble, and Wrestlemania, Survivor Series was the show where you had two teams of four or five teammates competing in elimination-style matches. The earliest editions of the event were nothing but these elimination matches and were such a staple of the event, even when they started varying up the card with other matches.

Once upon a time, these sorts of matches were used to pit two rival groups against each other or other special circumstances. In recent years, however, Survivor Series has had only one central theme; brand supremacy. This was the “ONE NIGHT” where superstars from RAW and Smackdown would wear either red RAW shirts or blue Smackdown shirts. And they would compete against one another to see which brand was superior. Never mind the fact that there have been numerous occasions outside of Survivor Series, where RAW and Smackdown talent would interact and compete in matches with each other; particularly during the weeks surrounding the Draft or Superstar Shakeup or whatever venacular they decide to go with that time.

For reasons that escape me, there is an allure in wondering which WWE show is superior and there absolutely needs to be a show based on this concept. Of course, there were other attempts at this. There was the short-lived Bragging Rights show, which built on this premise alone before it was decided to move it to Survivor Series, where it had remained to this day. And this is the thing that is supposed to sell PPVs or Network subscriptions or whatever the case may be.

So I have a honest question; does anybody really care about brand supremacy?

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AEW Dynamite (November 17th, 2021): “Of Course, Virginia Boos Hard Work!”

Well, AEW has a new World Champion and his name is Hangman Adam Page. And he’s going to celebrate in his home state of Virginia with a Cowboy Shit celebration. Sadly, top-ranked contender to the World title Bryan Danielson takes exception to this because when he won the World Championship at Wrestlemania, HE WRESTLED THE VERY NEXT NIGHT! Kind of unfair to levy that towards Page, since AEW has no Monday show… unless you wanna count that Elevation Youtube show that’s taped in advanced.

This, invariably, leads to Bryan Danielson having a match with Evil Uno and subsequently kicking his fucking head in for the win. Danielson then threatens to kick all the Dark Order’s heads in until he gets his title match with the Hangman. The idea of Danielson killing all the (all due respect) Dark Order geeks to get to Hangman looks like it’s gonna be a fun ride if nothing else. And the most amazing thing about this so-called heel turn is that it wasn’t a turn. Danielson think he’s the best wrestler in the world, he backs up his claims since day one-ish, and now he’s up against the fan-favorite champion. There’s no sudden shift in character; it’s always been like that and it’s brilliant. That’s the sort of “shades of gray” storytelling I like.

The Gunn Club decide to start some shit with Darby, who goes along with it, which will give us the Rampage match between Darby Allin and SIXTY-PLUS YEAR OLD BILLY GUNN. YES, BILLY GUNN IS IN HIS SIXTIES AND STILL LOOKS GOOD FOR A MAN HIS AGE. WHY AM I YELLING?

The main event match saw TNT Champion Sammy Guevara retaining the title over former ROH Champion and newest AEW signee JAY LETHAL in a pretty awesome match. There was actually quite a bit of good stuff on this show; a fun Lio Rush/Dante Martin vs. Acclaimed tag match, an MJF promo interrupted by CM Punk, who walked in, said nothing, and walked out as poor Maxwell offered a handshake, a fun little Nyla Rose/Hikaru Shida match, and a couple other bits.

Not much to say in the long run, but I quite enjoyed this Dynamite show.