WWE has an up-and-down history when it comes to tournaments. There have been some truly memorable tournaments, boasting great moments, creating stars, especially in the earlier years of the King of The Ring. There have also been complete duds and pointless ones, notably the modern-day versions of KOTR, and more recently, the incredibly poorly booked Queen's Crown Tournament.

Though it’s a rare occurrence, WWE sometimes uses a PPV event to cap off a tournament bracket, hosting the finals, or in other cases stretched the entire bracket over one night – which was seen at Wrestlemania 4, which brought multiple short and uneventful matches, spread over a badly paced show. Survivor Series has held great tournaments in the past — notably in 1998, but Survivor Series 2015 hosted the semi-finals and final of the WWE Championship tournament to crown a new champion, and it may have been one of the most underwhelming tournaments of all time.

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Seth Rollins’ Injury Forced Him To Give Up The Belt

At Wrestlemania 31, Seth Rollins gate-crashed the main event showdown between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, where the latter seemed set on being crowned champion, and subsequently become WWE’s new top babyface, much to the distaste of the fans. Due to this fan disproval, WWE pulled one out of the bag and had Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, becoming champion. He carried the title through the next few months, with defenses against Randy Orton, John Cena, and even Sting, before suffering a devastating leg injury at a Live Event, forcing him into vacating the belt.

It may well have been the plan for Reigns to dethrone Rollins in revenge for him ruining his Wrestlemania moment, though no one will ever know for sure. However, once Rollins gave up the belt, there weren’t too many names on the roster that could conceivably be seen as the new champion in the eyes of some, with Reigns at the top of the list. This was even more evident upon the release of the tournament bracket, and subsequent matches.

The Tournament Bracket Was Poor With A Predictable Outcome

In a time when WWE boasted one singular, supersized roster, the bracket involved lackluster names and unrealistic contenders. Whilst there were some decent matchups — like Reigns facing both Big Show and Cesaro in earlier rounds, and Kevin Owens taking on Neville in an unsurprisingly good match — there were also contests such as Alberto Del Rio vs. Stardust, and Kalisto taking on Ryback. Other names that completed the bracket included the likes of Titus O’Neil and Tyler Breeze, who were names that had zero momentum going in, and had no chance of winning, wasting both spots and the audience’s time.

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Although there were former and future world champions such as Owens, Dean Ambrose, and Dolph Ziggler in the tournament, there was only going to be one winner, and that was Reigns. He was the guy that management saw as number one, and his victory was inevitable.

The Semi Finals And Final Had Little Heat, With An Underwhelming Finale

The tournament culminated at Survivor Series, with two semi-final matches of Reigns vs. Del Rio, and Ambrose vs. Owens. They were both largely predictable, short, and lacked heat. These matches were supposed to carry the show, with a poor card overall for the event. Reigns and Ambrose reached the final, in what was supposed to tell a great story as the two friends and former partners – Rollins’ former two teammates no less – fought for the WWE Championship in the main event of a Big Four event.

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What followed was an incredibly short, nine-minute Championship match, which packed in too much, making it feel rushed. Reigns beat Ambrose without much issue, emerging victorious as the WWE Champion, capping off a lifeless tournament, in a match not fitting for a main event. With a rainfall of confetti smothering the ring, WWE tried to paint the moment of an underdog babyface finally overcoming the odds, but it just didn’t sit right with fans, as Reigns was the obvious winner anyway.

That was why fans became unglued when Sheamus ran down to the ring to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, defeating Reigns, rendering the whole tournament pointless. Whilst it ensured that fans went home happy that Reigns didn’t walk out as champion, it didn’t matter anyway as he would win the title back in a month or so anyway. The whole tournament was dead from start to finish, with fans knowing the outcome ever since the beginning. The way the final matches were presented and booked gave the audience little to be invested in, especially with the final being so sparse and lacking, making the Survivor Series event in 2015, home to maybe not the absolute worst tournament of all time, but definitely one of the least memorable and forgettable.