WWE Survivor Series 2013: Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for Top Storylines

This Sunday night, WWE presents its annual November pay-per-view Survivor Series from the TD Garden in Boston.

The show features several matches with intriguing possibilities surrounding their finishes.

Big Show challenges Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in a match where neither man can really afford a loss, but a win for either guy essentially ends the angle.

John Cena and Alberto Del Rio clash over the World Heavyweight Championship in a match where the finish is the least in doubt of any, though that is not necessarily a bad thing.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan will meet the Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in a match that is probably the most interesting in terms of story and the potential directions the creative team can take it in the weeks that follow.

The tag team elimination match has every chance to be one of the best matches of the year, while the Divas elimination bout, if given time, may surprise a few critics.

For the stories and individuals involved, there are certain scenarios that can either help or hurt their progression.

What are those scenarios?

Find out inside.

The Big Show vs. Randy Orton

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Best-Case Scenario

Randy Orton pins The Big Show to retain the WWE Championship.

WWE and its crack creative team managed to book itself into a corner Monday night when Triple H told Orton that his match with Big Show would have no interference and that there would be no help for The Viper as he attempts to retain his title.

That announcement severely limits the potential outcomes for the match. The one that sees Orton somehow manage to knock off his bigger, stronger opponent despite the anger and rage coursing through Big Show is the one that does the least amount of damage to those involved.

Sure, Show loses in his first shot at redemption, but Orton is the far more valuable asset in the match, and his booking since SummerSlam in August has been dreadful. He has consistently been treated as an afterthought and is little more than the errand boy for The Authority at this point. He wrestles the matches that Triple H cannot (or will not), and how he is booked has seemingly been secondary to how the COO has been portrayed.

A win over Big Show allows Orton to save face, score a defining victory in his latest title reign and potentially sets up a rematch at December's TLC.

Unfortunately.

Worst-Case Scenario

The match ends via disqualification or count-out.

Would Big Show winning the title do great damage to Orton and his portrayal as a legitimate champion?

Absolutely.

But the absolute worst thing that can happen Sunday night is for the main event of one of WWE's marquee events to end in a screwy finish that leaves crowds hurling insults and spewing venom on social media, as they did following Battleground back on October 7.

The company has already disappointed a large portion of its fans with the handling of Daniel Bryan and his main event push, and Big Show's sudden ascension to the top of the card has been less than successful to this point.

Why give disgruntled fans another rock to hurl at your head?

Focus on delivering a definitive conclusion to the match.

Regardless of what that conclusion is.

John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Best-Case Scenario

John Cena defeats Alberto Del Rio, cleanly and decisively, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

This Sunday will mark Alberto Del Rio's 32nd pay-per-view match. Of those 32 matches, 23 will have been for either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship.

That is a staggering statistic that shines a spotlight on the most glaring problem with Del Rio's character and the lack of crowd support for it.

Del Rio has been, since his 2010 debut, the Mexican aristocrat whose destiny it was to wear championship gold in World Wrestling Entertainment. Some three years later, that has not changed.

Not once. Not even a little.

When he made his babyface turn late last year, he was still the same character; he just came to the defense of Ricardo Rodriguez instead of letting other Superstars bully him.

Del Rio has appeared in so many title matches and so many subsequent rematches, many of which he did not earn, that fans have given up caring about him.

Why should they? In six months, he will still be in the same spot he is now.

To this point, Del Rio's strong in-ring abilities have been able to keep his critics at bay. That is no longer the case. The World Heavyweight Championship has been so devalued by the lack of attention given to it by creative and Del Rio's inability to carry it with anything resembling personality.

It is time for the talented Mexican Superstar to take a significant leave of absence from the title picture and focus more on developing a character that fans can get behind rather than simply being "that guy fighting for that title" that he has become over the last 18 months.

Cena will forge ahead and continue to elevate the title and restore some much-needed prestige to it, even if it is on name value alone.

Worst-Case Scenario

Alberto Del Rio regains the World Heavyweight Championship.

Del Rio capturing the title would be a step back at this point and would continue its devaluing.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Best-Case Scenario

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan def. The Wyatt Family by disqualification.

Ideally, the Wyatt Family would defeat Punk and Bryan, two former WWE champions, to strongly put them over and continue their trek up the ladder in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Daniel Bryan, however, cannot afford another pay-per-view loss after the debacle that was his two-month main event push. Unlike his partner Punk, who can recover from a loss by cutting a strong promo the following night on Raw, Bryan must be treated very delicately over the next few weeks if he is to remain a main event player.

With that said, a disqualification loss for the Wyatt Family, especially if they get over on Punk and Bryan and leave them lying after an impressive beatdown, does the same (if not better) for them as a win would and continues the feud into next month.

Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper could benefit greatly from working with two of the best in-ring workers of the last five years. The one thing lacking from their act is really strong in-ring work. The experience that working with Punk and Bryan brings would shore up those skills and abilities.

Worst-Case Scenario

The moment is too big for Harper and Rowan.

Thus far, Luke Harper and Eric Rowan's in-ring exposure has come on Raw and SmackDown. While their in-ring stints got off to a rather bumpy start, they have improved with every passing week.

The worst thing that could happen at Survivor Series would be for them to lay an egg in the biggest match of their careers to this point and give management a reason to reevaluate its decision to give them the substantial push they have had over the last month.

The Wyatt Family is such a cool, unique, innovative gimmick that has a ton of potential to succeed in the land of vanilla, nondescript characters and performers. Bray Wyatt was able to survive a truly awful performance against Kane at SummerSlam because he is the charismatic member of the group. He is the one that carries the promos and is the figurehead of the group.

Harper and Rowan are not that lucky. If the spotlight proves too bright and their performances and the match as a whole suffers because if it, they could see themselves free-fall down the card.

Unless management does what it does and blames the whole ordeal on Bryan.

Tag Team Warfare

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Best-Case Scenario

The tag team division continues its streak of delivering show-stealing pay-per-view matches.

A glance at the card for this Sunday's show reveals several matches that have potential to be really good but only one that looks like a legitimate Match of the Night candidate.

That match involves four of the best tag teams in the business and two fringe players with the ability to significantly add to the quality of the bout.

WWE Tag Team champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust will team with the Usos and the returning Rey Mysterio to take on The Shield's Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro of the Real Americans.

Over the last two months, the tag teams have delivered some of the finest matches on pay-per-view and free television in 2013. The Shield and the Usos have been consistently great all year, while the Rhodes brothers and the Real Americans have come on strong as of late.

Add in Ambrose, who is an above-average wrestler, and Mysterio, who is one of the best workers in the history of the sport, and this match is exploding with potential for greatness.

And the card will rely heavily on this match, above all others, to provide strong workrate and high-quality moments that will have fans fondly remembering the show for months and years to come.

If it delivers on its potential, it will not only be reminiscent of the traditional Survivor Series elimination tag matches that made the event the success it was early in its inception, it will also earn consideration for Match of the Year.

Worst-Case Scenario

Rey Mysterio is the sole survivor.

If there is one person in this match that absolutely, unequivocally does not need a win, it is the former two-time World Heavyweight champion.

Mysterio is one of the most popular, most respected and most beloved Superstars in the history of the business, but he is the last person who should benefit from the rub that a win on one of WWE's marquee shows brings with it.

As one of the established stars who is on the backside of his career, Mysterio winning the match as the sole survivor would do nothing to elevate the younger stars in the match, nor would it further any of the feuds between the teams involved.

Instead, Mysterio can win the match but as one of several survivors. Perhaps he and Cody Rhodes eliminate Ambrose or Reigns to win the match for their team. Maybe he delivers 619 to Jack Swagger before Jey Uso comes off the top rope with a big splash for the win.

Whatever the case is, there is far too much talent involved for the Master of the 619 to be the sole Superstar celebrating at the end of the match.

Total Divas vs. Everyone Else

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Best-Case Scenario

Dissension on her own team leads to AJ's next challenger being revealed.

Some of the best Survivor Series elimination tag matches have established new feuds and, in some cases, even set up future contenders to the company's top titles.

The Divas Championship may not fit that description, but current titleholder AJ Lee has done an exceptional job of restoring prestige to the title.

Her recent matches with Brie Bella have been far better than the Divas have gotten credit for, but that rivalry has run its course, and it is time for a new contender to be determined.

What better way to do so in a match involving 14 different women?

The obvious choice would be for one of the opposing Divas to score a pinfall over AJ and set herself up for a title shot. At this point, however, Naomi, the Bella Twins and Natalya have all received title shots in recent months, so no program involving them would be fresh.

Cameron is the weakest in terms of in-ring skills of the experienced Total Divas cast, while Eva Marie and JoJo are nowhere near ready enough to be involved in a title feud.

So why not tease dissension on Team AJ and have one of her partners inadvertently cost her the match, setting up a rivalry that can be settled as soon as December's TLC?

Based on her work in NXT, Summer Rae would be an interesting choice, as she and AJ are polar opposites when it comes to personality.

The fact that AJ already receives babyface reactions whenever she enters the arena would easily position her as the babyface in the program, and Summer could even try to recruit Tamina to join her, giving the company the option of turning the champion full babyface if it so chooses.

Regardless if Summer is the choice or not, there are several more interesting and fresh options on AJ's own team to consider for the next shot than there are on the opposing team.

Worst-Case Scenarios

A totally "real" Total Divas cast celebrates for the E! Network cameras.

The sight of the Bellas, Funkadactyls, Eva Marie, JoJo and Natalya celebrating together for the sake of the Total Divas reality show has become so transparent and so uninteresting and so detrimental to the rest of the Divas on the roster that the idea of watching them do so for the millionth time at Survivor Series is nauseating.

Cycling the same mix of Divas in and out of the Divas title picture does nothing to help them when they keep losing, it devalues the title and it hurts the other women on the roster whose careers have essentially come to a standstill.

Yes, the show has done very well for WWE, and it is understandable that the company would want to showcase the women involved, but for the love of an almighty being, find something else for them to do.