The Survivor Series card was stacked and that means a number of matches ended up on the Kickoff show. Things kicked off with a Tag Team Battle Royal match (which was added to the PPV at the last-minute) featuring talent from all three brands.
However, it was Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode who managed to outlast The O.C., Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, The Revival, The Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery, The Forgotten Sons, Breezango, and Imperium after they eliminated The Street Profits to win the match.
That marked an early win for SmackDown but things picked up for NXT when Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush managed to retain his title over RAW's Akira Tozawa and SmackDown's Kalisto.
Much to the surprise of fans, the match pitting RAW Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day and NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era was moved to the Kickoff show as well. However, it was the Raiders who scored the 1-2-3 after hitting The Viking Experience on Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish.
As a result, each show was on 1-1-1 heading into the main show!