For the first time in a long time, Survivor Series feels like Survivor Series. Instead of the traditional five on five elimination matches being added last minute or the lack of adequate booking to create any stakes for the matches, Survivor Series, 2016 edition, is a show that I am genuinely excited to see. Whether or not you agree with the brand split and what it has done to the product, one thing that it has done is make Survivor Series a must see show this Sunday, and I really hope it delivers, because the matches have the potential to be awesome. The best part is that, aside from Goldberg and Lesnar, there’s no accurate way of knowing who’s going to win what this Sunday, and the best WWE PPV’s are the ones that leave you guessing with possibilities. With that said, let’s go down the card and allow me to relay to you my predictions for the show.
The Brian Kendrick (C) (RAW) vs. Kalisto (Smackdown LIVE) – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Upon his return from his scripted injury, Kalisto made an impact by effectively taking Baron Corbin out of the running for the men’s team on Smackdown, and not only did he earn himself a cruiserweight championship match, he has the potential to bring the entire division to Smackdown LIVE. My honest assessment of the cruiserweights is that it has been a failure thus far. The CW’s themselves are great workers, but WWE has done nothing to make the crowd to care about them. Sure, the ropes are purple when they come out, but what about them distinguishes them from the main roster? There’s no doubt in my mind WWE’s watering down of the ring-work from the CWC has something to do with it. Now, the question is whether or not the CW’s would be better suited on Smackdown LIVE as opposed to RAW, and there’s upside and downsides to it. If the CW’s are on Smackdown, I’m inclined to believe that the CW’s would be booked better on Smackdown, because SD Live has been an easier watch than RAW, and while the show in itself is generally good on a weekly basis, the in-ring work, with the exception of whether or not AJ is in a match, has been lack-luster. It’s not everything, but it’s something, and perhaps the CW’s can shine more there. However, Smackdown Live is also one hour shorter than RAW, and with all of the stars on Smackdown, there may not be adequate time to build the division up as opposed to RAW, which has the leisure of having an extra hour of content to fill. As interesting as it would be to have the CW division come to Tuesday nights, objectively, I think it would be too difficult to transport an entire division to Smackdown. I think they could make it work, but I’d be more convinced if Smackdown had more time. Considering that Kalisto also just returned, I don’t see him picking up the victory, so I say the man with a plan finds a way to retain. Chock one up for team RAW.
Winner: The Brian Kendrick
The Miz (C) (Smackdown LIVE) vs. Sami Zayn (RAW)- Intercontinental Championship
I was looking forward to a match between Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn, but The Miz is still a good worker, so this can be a very good match as well. Beforehand, I had Ziggler beating Zayn to retain here, and I don’t see why that would change with Miz. Bottom line is that I can’t see RAW holding both mid-card titles as well as the Cruiserweight division. As much as I love Sami, and while I think he would be a great champion, I just can’t see him winning this Sunday. The bottom line is Smackdown can’t afford to lose the Intercontinental Championship under any circumstance because of what they are working with. As for The Miz, I’m not sure where he goes from here even after another Intercontinental title reign, but we shall see. I suppose that if the IC title bounces back between two viable contenders with Ziggler and Miz, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but at the same time, I was never a fan of the hot potato route between these two, because it makes it seems as if the IC Title only revolves around Ziggler and Miz. This could actually lead to Sami Zayn finding his way on to the blue brand afterwards in some sort of transaction afterwards, if you ask me, so all may not be lost for Sami. He’d be much better suited on Smackdown than RAW. That’s one for Team Smackdown.
Winner: The Miz
American Alpha, Breezango/Fabreeze, The Usos, The Hype Bros, Heath Slater and Rhyno (Smackdown LIVE) vs. The Club, Enzo and Cass, The Shining Stars, Cesaro/Sheamus and The New Day (RAW) – 20 Man Elimination Tag Team Survivor Series Match
The possibilities here are really endless. The tag team division’s best from both brands are represented here, headlined by the team who has held the RAW Tag Team Championship since Summerslam of last year, The New Day. Team RAW seems to be the team that has more of the turmoil on the team while Smackdown seems to be more of a well-oiled machine. In terms of star power, it tilts in RAW’s favor, though the addition of the Shining Stars is a head-scratcher. This match for me is really unpredictable just because of the ways how this can end. If I had to make an educated guess then I would have to say that Team Smackdown LIve prevails here, just because The Club had teased consistently that they were going to turn on Team RAW, and I think some betrayal is going to happen. While RAW has the star-power, I think team Smackdown’s tag team division has been more refreshing to see, and I think it would be a good way of showing out for the brand had the tag teams win here, so I’ll say that the blue brand picks up another victory here.
Winner: Team Smackdown Live
Team RAW (Charlotte w/Dana Brooke, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox) vs. Team Smackdown Live (Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Naomi and Carmella)
The women’s division hasn’t been this stacked in a while, so it’s good to see WWE make use of the division for both brands. I want to say that Team RAW wins here, because it contains Nia Jax, who is undefeated in singles action since her main roster debut and Charlotte, who has a near perfect record on PPV since winning the women’s title at WrestleMania. In addition, you have former champion Sasha Banks, and future champion, Bayley to represent team RAW as well. Team Smackdown Live doesn’t have any slouches, though. Captained by the face of the Women’s Division last year in Nikki Bella, their champion Becky Lynch, they have talent to hold their own. RAW’s team does have internal issues, stemming from Charlotte and Sasha Banks’ rivalry, but so does team Smackdown, with Nikki Bella and Carmella in addition with Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch. On paper and in reality, RAW’s women’s team is better, and I think that they will have the women’s team for RAW pick up the victory. I’d also be remiss not to mention that Charlotte and Sasha Banks were the first two women drafted, while three women from Smackdown’s team were drafted in non-televised choices. In addition, there seems to be much more protection of RAW’s women than Smackdown’s women, so I say that Team RAW represents here and ties it up making it 2 wins for Smackdown and two wins for RAW.
Winner: Team RAW
Team RAW (Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman) vs. Team Smackdown Live (AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon and Bray Wyatt)
Sorry, but I still would have preferred Corbin in McMahon’s place, simply because this may have been a bigger venue for Corbin, and I haven’t been a fan of McMahon’s in-ring work, because he’s not really a mat-worker so much as he is a stunt-man. All that being said, I’m really looking forward to this match just because of the combinations we could see here. Styles and Rollins. Reigns and Ambrose. Wyatt and Strowman. Orton and Owens. You name it. This match feels important because of the brand supremacy bragging rights that go behind it. What I’ll be looking for in this match is seeing how WWE builds towards future matches and feuds within these two teams. They’ve been teasing something with Jericho and Owens, Rollins and Reigns seem to be on the same page for the first time since their Shield days, and they’ve built Braun as this tower of strength that has yet to be compromised. Meanwhile on Smackdown’s side, we already know AJ will be defending his WWE Title against Dean in a TLC match at TLC, so it will be intriguing to see if AJ costs team Smackdown the match. Shane is really just there for name-brand purposes, and Orton and Wyatt, I assume will be resuming their feud realtively soon. As for this match though, just on paper, I can’t see how Smackdown beats RAW. They’ve built Roman up as a superhero, inquenchable monster, just like Braun Strowman. In addition, you have Seth Rollins, the first overall pick in the draft who’s been on a quest to take away Owens’ Universal Title and Jericho, the man who actually beat the current WWE Champion at WrestleMania this year.
On the other side, you have AJ Styles, perhaps WWE’s best performer this year. Shane McMahon, who’s not really a ring talent subbed in for Baron Corbin at the last minute, and I don’t see what value he brings to the team in terms of in-ring work and getting eliminations. We shall see. Ambrose is a tough customer as is Orton and Wyatt, but the latter two have fallen off a peg this year. From a storyline standpoint, RAW should also be considered the favorites because Stephanie McMahon put their jobs in jeopardy should they not come away with a victory. The Undertaker issued a similar warning to Team Smackdown, but that in all likelihood was meant so that they could build to a match between Undertaker and the man who costs Team Smackdown the match, and that man in all likelihood will be AJ Styles if there’s any. This match feels important, organic, and I like it. In the war between RAW and Smackdown, I say that team RAW comes away victorious on this night with a win for the men’s team. (I actually saw someone predict that Ellsworth superkicks Strowman to give Team Smackdown the win for squashing him on RAW a few months ago. Interesting.)
Winner: Team RAW
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
Can we really label this match as fantasy warfare if they’ve already faced before? Now, these two really don’t have beef with each other as this match was really used as a selling point for WWE 2K17. I’m happy that Goldberg is returning, because he’s doing it for the fans. I’m happy that these two will be facing off in a WrestleMania rematch, but to be honest, I think the match will flop. Upon seeing Goldberg since his return, he’s looked very shaky in the ring, falling down after a knee to the gut to Rusev, sweating profusely before throwing one punch, and he’s come out since that altercation and has said that he feels sore, so I think it will be safe to assume that Lesnar will be carrying the match. I hope that Goldberg gets a practice match in or something to get him more accustomed to the ring again, even if it is for one match, because Lesnar is a hard hitter. Now, if logic tells us anything, Lesnar is winning this match. Why? Because Lesnar is not going to drop a second straight match to a 49 year old version of Goldberg, AND he’s been booked as an unstoppable beast. So the winner won’t be in question. What I’m looking for is who the crowd will be cheering for, because Vince has seemed to make a concerted effort to make sure the crowd chants for Goldberg, so hopefully Canada will follow suit, though a part of me believes that the crowd will hijack the match just for old time’s sake.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
I’m genuinely excited for Survivor Series weekend. Should be a weekend of fun festivities. Until next time. Deuces.
