Each Survivor Series team is only as good as the sum of its parts. When Raw or SmackDown builds a team with no cracks, all the Superstars have to do is get along and victory is almost guaranteed.
But it is exceedingly rare all five Superstars make it to the end of their match, as there are always weaknesses to be exploited.
Sometimes, one person’s ego gets in the way of teamwork. Bad leadership could cause the whole team to unravel. Often, it’s just a matter of one Superstar not being up to par against the opposing forces.
Which Superstars appear to be the biggest hindrances of their teams this year?
Let’s look at the men and women of Team Raw and SmackDown for WWE Survivor Series 2020 and expose the weak links that may lead to that group’s downfall.
With the women on Team Raw, the clear and obvious weak link is Lana.
Nia Jax is the most powerful, largest member of the team and a current champion alongside Shayna Baszler, who is the most adept wrestler of the bunch.
Those two have been putting Lana through the commentary table at least once per week for the past month and squashing her every time they interact.
Dana Brooke would have been the next lowest on the totem pole, but she’s been reinvigorated a bit by teaming with Mandy Rose and the two of them were taken out of the mix. They’ve been replaced by Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, neither of which will contribute too much to the match as they weren’t even scheduled to be on it. However, I expect them to be just cogs in the machine, rather than total losers who get humiliated or anything of that sort.
Lana barely ever wrestles, meaning she has the least experience. When she does, she rarely ever wins. If she manages to score a victory, it’s usually a fluke or random bit of luck.
That won’t carry her far in the elimination match unless WWE specifically wants to laugh at how ridiculous it is she lasted as long as she did.
Don’t be surprised if the game plan is to put Lana through a table at the very start, only for her to be the last member of her team without actually doing anything.
Even still, she would be considered the weak link for not contributing at all. But more likely, she’ll be taken out very quickly by Team SmackDown.
Weak Link = Lana
Just like with the sole survivors list, we still don’t know who the final two members of this team will be. That makes it hard to figure out who the weak link is, as they could put two great wrestlers like Rhea Ripley and Bayley on it, or it could be Tamina and an empty slot.
Rest assured, Belair isn’t the weak link unless WWE is absolutely insane. I doubt that will be the case.
Assuming Ripley and Bayley were to get on, for instance, it would be down to Morgan and Riott. Between those two, they’re about on equal footing. However, I’d give the edge to Morgan, as she’s less experienced than Riott. WWE might push Morgan a bit more, but she’s kind of a goof and doesn’t have that much more of a force field in comparison. They’re virtually on the same level.
If Natalya finds her way onto the team with a last chance match (which hasn’t been announced yet, mind you, hence all the speculation) then she’s pretty much the default weak link. You can’t lose that many matches to get onto the team and then be considered anything but a nuisance. It’s not like she’ll pull a Lana and overtake the focus for her.
If not Nattie, then your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it’s Billie Kay if they want to have her offset Peyton Royce and they both get taken out. It can’t be Chelsea Green, as she’s too injured to compete. Question marks all around until we find out for sure who the other two are.
Weak Link = Natalya, most likely.
When you’ve got a team as impressive as this, there is no real weak link. Strowman is among the biggest superstars on the roster, Lee is an agile giant, Sheamus is a beast and a multi-time world champion, Styles is The Phenomenal One for a reason and Riddle is far from a slouch.
In terms of pure accolades, Riddle is the weakest of the bunch. He’s yet to win a championship, while the others have had much better runs on both NXT and Raw. Given his backstage problems, he’s also the most likely to get jobbed out as some sort of punishment.
However, that distinction could go to Styles if they want to drive home the point that he’s been a terrible “team captain”. After all, despite his constant claims that he can unite them as a team, all he’s done is stir the pot and get them fighting with one another even more than if they were left alone.
With his associate by his side, Styles isn’t likely to lose first or anything. That would be more Riddle’s position. It all depends on if WWE wants to make Styles look like a chump or if Riddle’s the one who has to take the first hit.
Weak Link = AJ Styles or Matt Riddle
Just like with the women’s team, we’re missing someone on the men’s. That person could be the easy pick for the weak link if it’s someone like Dominik Mysterio who isn’t as seasoned as everyone else. The same goes for Chad Gable, who might have a renewed vigor about him, but still has more losses than wins in the past year or so.
Then again, if it’s someone like Lars Sullivan or Big E, they won’t be the weak link. They could be the potential sole survivors.
Out of the rest of the crew, it’s a tough call. None of them are exactly weak members of the team.
Jey Uso is fundamentally the lowest on the totem pole as far as singles careers go, but he’s a stellar tag team competitor and could be a key component in making this unit work.
Kevin Owens has had better days, but he’s still KO. He’s still a former world champion among other things. He could also be the next No. 1 contender as he’s an obvious person to fight Roman Reigns down the line.
It’s down to Seth Rollins and King Corbin. I can see a case for both. One argument is that Rollins is too wrapped up in his feud with The Mysterio family and could be distracted, causing himself to be a problem. After all, he went nuts and turned heel when his team lost last year. He’s expected to take time off following this event, too. Maybe he gets embarrassed and they write him off in a way.
The case for Corbin is that he’s never been a world champion, unlike Rollins. He’s just as arrogant and unlikely to work with others, so he may just get in the way of the team’s success. Then again, he’s the tallest and one of the most powerful members of the team, so he should be an asset.
Ultimately, I’m more inclined to believe if they humiliate anyone, it will more likely be Corbin rather than Rollins.
Weak Link = King Corbin
What is your assessment of these teams? Drop your thoughts of weak links and anchor teammates in the comments below!