After every pay-per-view, WWE recalibrates and starts to immediately build to the next event. Following Hell in a Cell 2017, the next SmackDown-branded event will actually Survivor Series 2017 set for November 19th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Per usual at the end of an event, I like to try to give my extended projections for which matches I think we’ll be getting on the next card, what makes the most sense, what missteps WWE may take and so forth before it’s all been fully fleshed out and announced while also recapping what we do know for sure is being set up.
This also allows everyone else to leave their comments below to sound off on which directions they think WWE will go so we can trace back to this point and say we were right all along, or that we wish they would have done something different, so on and so forth.
With a cross-branded event like Survivor Series, it’s a little more difficult to really judge what they’re going to do, since previous years have had all sorts of different arrangements for the event, but part of the fun is just blindly speculating, so let’s give it a shot regardless.
So, with that being said, what do I see in my crystal ball for Survivor Series 2017?
CONFIRMED MATCHES
n/a
POTENTIAL MATCHES
Champion vs. Champion Match: Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar
This apparently is the rumor going around, which is quite strange but also quite obvious, depending on your point of view.
If you think about how Bragging Rights no longer exists and used to have these types of matches, but that Survivor Series is essentially fulfilling that role, then sure, why not?
The downside to this is that Mahal stands no chance and he’ll just be wrecked, but also booed between the two, meaning Lesnar will build up a bit of babyface mentality that will work against WWE’s hopes to have Roman Reigns cheered against him at WrestleMania.
Also, this can’t possibly be the main event, since it will probably last ten seconds. But hey, at least it’s not Lesnar going up against Bray Wyatt or Mahal beating Shinsuke Nakamura the same way again, right?
Team SmackDown (Men)’s Representatives
Assuming WWE does the same layout as last year, with three elimination matches, we have to guess who the 5 men will be who will make up Team SmackDown’s standard guys match.
The way I see it, there are 12 men who are most likely available for the spots, depending on how much time is left on the card for other matches.
These most likely candidates are Aiden English, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Mike Kanellis, Randy Orton, Rusev, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Tye Dillinger.
Out of those, I’d have to assume Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn won’t be representing their brand, nor will Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode want to team up against each other, or Baron Corbin teaming with AJ Styles and Tye Dillinger.
However, I doubt WWE even knows for sure what the team members will be, but if I’m going to throw some names out there, I’d think AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura are guarantees, while the other three could be a couple of different options:
Option 1) Owens and Zayn DO make their way into the match and it’s a plot point. They’re joined by some random third person above like Rusev.
Option 2) Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler are joined by Rusev
Option 3) Baron Corbin and Randy Orton are joined by Rusev
United States Championship Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Randy Orton
Call it a random hunch, but I think Randy Orton’s feud with Rusev is over and done with, while Corbin will be moving on from Styles and Dillinger.
If Corbin has a separate title defense, his challenger basically has to be Roode, Orton, or Nakamura. We’ve already seen a Nakamura/Corbin feud and I think Roode will still be wrapped up with Ziggler, which leaves Orton left.
Also, Orton is the perfect person to work with Corbin and lose to him to help establish his United States title reign.
Team SmackDown (Women)’s Representatives
Again, assuming they’re going to have a women’s elimination match, our options are much more limited to pick from, but still somewhat hard to fully determine.
The whole roster consists of Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Nikki Bella and Tamina.
Out of that crew, we know Nikki Bella is off-limits dealing with Dancing with the Stars, and it seems highly unlikely we’ll see Lana wrestle over any of the others.
My guess would be that Team SmackDown Women consists of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Natalya and Tamina while Carmella hangs back in the wings and Lana accompanies Tamina ringside.
Team SmackDown (Tag Team)’s Representatives
Once more, if we get a tag team elimination match consisting of the actual tag teams, we have 9 candidates from the blue brand if we include the current champions and go with the idea that they aren’t getting a title defense.
Those options are The Usos, The New Day, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, The Hype Bros, The Colons, The Fashion Police, The Ascension, The Singh Brothers, and the newly reformed Bludgeon Brothers.
Since The Singh Brothers haven’t wrestled a single match on SmackDown, I doubt this will be their time to shine.
Also, The Colons haven’t returned to action with Primo’s injury, even though he’s supposedly ready to go. It doesn’t make sense for them to pop up with other teams at the forefront.
With the respect lingering between The New Day, The Usos and The Fashion Police, they’d be three easy picks. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin are going to be in the title hunt, so they’d make team #4. That fifth team is speculative, though.
The Ascension is always treated as jokes, so I’d rule them out. The Hype Bros may possibly break up, and if they do, then we’re down to Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, who could make their returns at the event to make them seem even more threatening for the future. I’m about 50/50 between those two teams and although I’m slightly leaning toward The Hype Bros, it’s a toss-up.
CARD PREDICTION SUMMARY
Champion vs. Champion Match: Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown [Men’s Division]
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown [Women’s Division]
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown [Tag Team Division]
+ more to come with the Monday Night Raw predictions after TLC
Those are my predictions, but what matches do YOU think will be on the card? Drop your guesses in the comments below!
