Survivor Series is a pay-per-view that has long been about the weird balance between being in a group and being totally alone. Sometimes, an entire team will prevail, utterly decimating their opposition and making it a clean sweep, but many times in the past, it’s come down to one single individual who has to get the job done: the “sole survivor” of the team.
This year, Raw and SmackDown will collide in three different matches to determine brand supremacy, but just as each team is only as strong as its weakest link, every group could have one person who is singlehandedly responsible for capturing the victory. Either side can win between the red and blue brands and there could be any number combination between one and five people left on the winning team, but if all things come down to one sole survivor, who do you think stands out amongst the rest of the competitors as the most likely candidate for that role?
Tag Team Elimination Match
Depending on time constraints, WWE could make this a match where a duo is eliminated if one member of their team is pinned or it can be in the style where everyone is an individual. For instance, if Cesaro gets pinned in the first setup, Sheamus is also out, but in the second variation, The Celtic Warrior can still compete. WWE can change this on a whim depending on how much time they want to dedicate to the match and whichever style they choose could be a huge indication of how things god own. I’m inclined to think once one member of a tag team is taken out, the other one has to leave as well, but WWE has always been flexible on rules.
Working under that assumption, I think the tag team that stands the best chance to be the only survivors of their side is The New Day. They will surpass Demolition’s tag team title reign length record on December 12th if my math is correct, cementing them as one of the greatest stables in WWE history. If you count their previous title reign not being broken up for the short amount of time The Prime Time Players held it, they would have already achieved this accolade a while back. Although the tag team division has never been the most important thing in the company, this situation is quite monumental as it’s not likely to be beaten any time soon. With all eyes on Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E around this time, it makes sense for them as team captains to be the sole survivors of Team Raw.
Devil’s advocate: what if WWE feels that breaking the record a few weeks later is good enough and in turn, they want to give the sole survivor spot to another team so they can look strong in comparison and be able to challenge The New Day at Roadblock? This could be Cesaro and Sheamus, Enzo and Cass, or Gallows and Anderson. If I had to guess, I would think Gallows and Anderson would be chosen over the rest, since Enzo will likely be eliminated somewhere along the line and Cesaro/Sheamus arguing with each other also spells out an easy elimination. Giving The Club the spotlight could do wonders in rehabbing them from the missteps they’ve taken over the summer.
Women’s Elimination Match
Logically, if any two people should stand out on their teams, Charlotte and Becky Lynch seem to be the best choices for the sole survivors as they’re the champions of their respective brands. However, I don’t think that will be the case. They have far too many enemies that could cost them the win, although I do think there’s a chance the losing team has their champion as the final elimination.
On Team Raw, I’m flip-flopping back and forth between thinking Bayley will be the sole survivor and the opposite scenario, where WWE knows her popularity and will eliminate her just to get a big chorus of boos from the audience. If they want to transfer that heat over to Carmella or Alexa Bliss, they could have one of those two take the hugger out of the equation and it would elicit a big response. Then again, wouldn’t the same thing happen to Sasha Banks? Then again still, what if Sasha Banks is the one who needs to be the sole survivor to counterbalance her loss to Charlotte at Hell in a Cell?
Over time, I’ve changed my mind and I now think Team SmackDown has a better chance to win. For a while, I thought Natalya would be the undoing of the blue brand’s chances, but with Dana Brooke not being included in the match, now I think that evens the odds as she could be just as much of a problem for her team in the same regard. I also don’t think it will be just one woman on Team SmackDown who is victorious as I could see Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch celebrating, but if I had to pick between the two, I’d go with Nikki Bella. She’s the captain of the team for some reason rather than the champion, so WWE might view her as a priority that needs to be kept in everyone’s minds as being on par with Becky even though she doesn’t have the title. Having her be the captain that leads her team to victory would definitely give off that impression.
Men’s Elimination Match
There’s a few interesting scenarios that could happen here, but in only one instance do I think things could turn out to be a “sole survivor” situation: if AJ Styles is the last member of Team SmackDown. He’s had a stellar year making his debut at the Royal Rumble and working through several great feuds before becoming the top dog on the blue brand and I’m inclined to believe that success will continue.
I’m also heavily leaning toward SmackDown being the winning brand with 2 out of 3 wins, only losing the Tag Team Elimination Match. SmackDown is still viewed as the B-show and could definitely use the win to help offset that perception from the audience, and if their champion is the one to bring home the win, he can carry that momentum far into 2017 and toward WrestleMania season.
Of course, since no titles are on the line or anything of the sort, theoretically anybody could be the one they choose to push. Randy Orton has an impressive record at Survivor Series and that may continue, although both he and Bray Wyatt seem like they could be eliminated without causing much of an uproar. Shane McMahon could be the final member of his team and truly fight for his own brand by getting the win, but doesn’t that take away from the other people?
As far as Team Raw goes, if one single person stood out as a potential sole survivor, it’s definitely Braun Strowman. I don’t think WWE is willing to give him that big of a push just yet, though, as history has shown that men in his position at Survivor Series tend to get eliminated by disqualification or they are counted out, which keeps them looking strong but also takes them out of the equation. He’ll get some action, but he won’t be the star.
Here’s hoping WWE doesn’t do what many fans would hate, which is for Roman Reigns to be the sole survivor. That just isn’t going to be a popular choice to go with since over half the crowd will boo. If Team Raw wins, I expect both Rollins and Reigns to still be on their team, which of course isn’t a “sole survivor” victory.
Who do you think would be the most likely picks for sole survivor on these teams? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Drop your ideas in the comments below!
