WWE Survivor Series 2020 Retro Review: Every Match Rated and The Undertaker's Farewell
WWE Survivor Series 2020 took place on Sunday, November 22, 2020, inside the WWE ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic there was no live crowd. Fans watched on screens around the ring instead. The show had been planned for Dallas before public events there were restricted.
It is remembered for one thing above all: The Undertaker's Final Farewell, 30 years after his debut at Survivor Series 1990. But the in-ring show had more going for it than people remember, including a main event that pointed toward the next year of WWE.
The build
- Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre: the Universal Champion against the WWE Champion. Reigns was a few months into his new role as the Head of the Table with Paul Heyman. McIntyre had lost the WWE Championship to Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell in October, then won it back on the November 16 Raw, six days before the show.
- Sasha Banks vs. Asuka: the SmackDown Women's Champion against the Raw Women's Champion.
- The Street Profits vs. The New Day: the SmackDown Tag Team Champions against the Raw Tag Team Champions.
- Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn: the United States Champion, with The Hurt Business behind him, against the Intercontinental Champion.
- The two elimination matches: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and Riddle) against Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins and Otis), and Team Raw (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce) against Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley and Natalya).
Match by match
Kickoff: 18-man dual-brand battle royal
Nine wrestlers from each brand. The Miz won by last eliminating Dominik Mysterio. There was no story and nothing at stake beyond the first point of the night.
Our rating: ★
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (men)
The opener was built around one strange moment. Seth Rollins, in his "messiah" phase, tagged in, got on his knees and let Sheamus hit him with a Brogue Kick, eliminating himself "for the greater good." From there, Team Raw took out Team SmackDown one by one. Jey Uso was left alone and fought back with superkicks, but Keith Lee finished him with the Spirit Bomb at 19:25. Team Raw won without losing anyone.
What worked: Lee's catch on Jey was a strong finish, and the Rollins spot was memorable, even if it was strange.
What didn't: a clean sweep meant there was never any doubt. Bleacher Report called it one of the least compelling Raw vs. SmackDown elimination matches, and it is hard to argue.
Our rating: ★★½
The Street Profits vs. The New Day
Two of the best tag teams of the era, and it was the best match of the first half: fast and even, with plenty of near falls. The Street Profits won at 13:40.
What worked: two of the best tag teams of that era doing what they do. The Observer gave it ***½, and Bleacher Report an A.
What didn't: as with every champion vs. champion match, no titles were on the line.
Our rating: ★★★½
Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn spent the match trying to escape, and The Hurt Business kept sending him back to the ring. Lashley ended it with the Hurt Lock for the submission at 7:50.
What worked: it was a fun, short story that made Lashley look dominant, which was exactly what he needed at the time.
What didn't: it was a squash in all but name, with Zayn's comedy doing most of the work.
Our rating: ★★
Sasha Banks vs. Asuka
The two had great chemistry, and it showed. They traded strikes and submission attempts, and the end came in a series of quick roll-ups, with Banks pinning Asuka with an inside cradle at 13:05.
What worked: the pace and the counters. The Observer had it at ***¾, the second best match on the show by that count.
What didn't: the finish was a little messy, and it felt short for two of the best women in the company.
Our rating: ★★★½
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (women)
The story here was Lana. Her own team made her stand on the ring steps and refused to tag her in while the other eight traded eliminations.
It came down to Bianca Belair alone against Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax and Lana. Baszler was disqualified, then Belair and Jax were both counted out after brawling outside the ring. That left Lana, who never tagged in, as the sole survivor at 23:20.
What worked: Belair looked like a star in her first big run on the main roster.
What didn't: the finish. A disqualification and a double count-out to give the win to someone who never wrestled was clever on paper, but flat to watch. Bleacher Report called it "not a good finish."
Our rating: ★★
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
This was the match of the night by a distance. It was physical and patient, with McIntyre fighting through Reigns' control and Heyman watching from ringside. Near the end, McIntyre hit the Claymore, but Reigns had knocked into the referee, so nobody could count.
Then Jey Uso, who Reigns had thrown out of the building earlier in the night after Team SmackDown's loss, ran in to help. Reigns hit McIntyre with a low blow, Jey added a superkick, and Reigns choked McIntyre out with a guillotine for the win at 24:50.
What worked: everything about the build of the match, and the finish moved the Bloodline story forward without making McIntyre look weak. The Observer gave it ****¼, CBS Sports an A+ and Bleacher Report an A+.
What didn't: a ref bump and interference in the main event is a familiar way to protect a loser, and with no crowd it lost some of its impact.
Our rating: ★★★★
The Undertaker's Final Farewell
The show closed with the ceremony. A ring full of legends, among them Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H and Kane, stood by as Vince McMahon introduced The Undertaker one last time.
He walked to the ring in full gear and said that his time had come to let The Undertaker rest in peace. A hologram of Paul Bearer appeared, the gong rang 10 times, and he walked back up the ramp and raised his fist for the last time.
We are not rating it, because it was not a match. It was a dignified goodbye, and it suited a character who was always about ceremony. The only real limit was the empty building. A moment like this deserved a live crowd, and the ThunderDome screens could not replace that.
Beyond the matches
- The Gobbledy Gooker: the character that debuted at Survivor Series 1990 came back and won the 24/7 Championship, then lost it twice in a backstage segment.
- Reigns and Jey: the backstage scene where Reigns blamed Jey for Team SmackDown's loss and sent him away set up the main event finish.
- The final score: Raw won four of the seven matches, including the Kickoff, to win brand supremacy.
- The setting: this was the last WWE pay-per-view in the ThunderDome at the Amway Center.
The verdict: does it hold up today?
Better than its reputation. Reigns vs. McIntyre is one of the best matches of Reigns' early Tribal Chief run, the tag title match and Banks vs. Asuka are both worth a watch, and The Undertaker's goodbye is a piece of WWE history. The two elimination matches are the weak spots, and the empty ThunderDome takes some energy out of everything.
- Best match: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
- Worst match: the Kickoff battle royal
- Overall: 3 out of 5
Full results and our ratings
| Match | Result | Time | Our rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kickoff battle royal | The Miz won, last eliminating Dominik Mysterio | 12:00 | ★ |
| Men's Survivor Series match | Team Raw def. Team SmackDown (clean sweep) | 19:25 | ★★½ |
| Street Profits vs. New Day | The Street Profits def. The New Day | 13:40 | ★★★½ |
| Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn | Bobby Lashley def. Sami Zayn by submission | 7:50 | ★★ |
| Sasha Banks vs. Asuka | Sasha Banks def. Asuka | 13:05 | ★★★½ |
| Women's Survivor Series match | Team Raw def. Team SmackDown (sole survivor: Lana) | 23:20 | ★★ |
| Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre | Roman Reigns def. Drew McIntyre by technical submission | 24:50 | ★★★★ |
What happened next
- McIntyre defended the WWE Championship against AJ Styles in a TLC match at TLC in December and kept the title.
- Reigns kept the Universal Championship through 2021 and beyond, with The Usos becoming a key part of The Bloodline.
- A year later, Survivor Series moved to Brooklyn with fans back in the building. Read our Survivor Series 2021 retro review.
More retro reviews
Other classic shows we have revisited, rated out of 5:
- Survivor Series 2021: ★★★ (3 out of 5), the last Raw vs. SmackDown Survivor Series, with Lynch vs. Flair and Reigns vs. Big E
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2022: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), the first WarGames Survivor Series and Sami Zayn's big night
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2023: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Randy Orton's return and CM Punk's comeback in Chicago
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2024: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Reigns and CM Punk on the same side in Vancouver
- Survivor Series: WarGames 2025: ★★★ (3 out of 5), the first stadium Survivor Series and John Cena's last PLE match
- WrestleMania XL: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5), two nights in Philadelphia, The Rock and the end of the Bloodline story
- WrestleMania 39: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5), two nights in Hollywood and Reigns vs. Rhodes, part one
- Crown Jewel 2025: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Cena vs. AJ Styles in Perth
- SummerSlam 2025: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), the first two-night SummerSlam and John Cena's last one
- Money in the Bank 2016: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Cena vs. AJ, a great ladder match and Reigns vs. Rollins
- Crown Jewel 2021: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), Hell in a Cell and a loaded card
- WrestleMania 41: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Cena's farewell year and a Heyman story in Las Vegas
- WrestlePalooza 2025: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), the first WWE show on ESPN, with Lesnar vs. Cena
- Crown Jewel 2022: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Reigns vs. Logan Paul and a Last Woman Standing match
- Crown Jewel 2024: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), the first Crown Jewel Championships
- Crown Jewel 2023: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), Rollins vs. McIntyre and Reigns vs. LA Knight
- Crown Jewel 2019: ★★ (2 out of 5), celebrities and the first women's match in Saudi Arabia
- Crown Jewel 2018: ★½ (1.5 out of 5), the first one, and the World Cup
See them all on our Retro Reviews page, and read our Survivor Series: WarGames 2026 guide.
