Projecting The Authority's Involvement in Survivor Series' Top Feuds

WWE Survivor Series is nearly upon us, and as November 24 draws closer, there are some questions remaining unanswered. Chief among them is could Big Show dethrone Randy Orton as WWE champion? Will The Wyatt Family be able to destroy the combo of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan?  Will Alberto Del Rio find a way to defeat John Cena for the world championship?

And perhaps the biggest question of all: Just how deep will Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's involvement be in this pay-per-view?

As the company's most visible corporate figures, The Authority represent the ruling class of WWE. At any given time, they also act as WWE's top heels.

Each week, The Game and his wife hold hands as they walk to the ring and set out to impose their own twisted view of business. Siding with the heels and working against the babyfaces, The Authority are classic in their execution.

And their interest in Survivor Series' top feuds will surely be felt. But to what degree will it all happen?

The Rhodes Brothers, The Usos and Rey Mysterio vs. The Shield and The Real Americans

The Rhodes Brothers have been performing at a high level for quite a while now, and the biggest reason for that lies at The Authority's door.

It was Triple H who first "fired" Cody from WWE after the youngest member of the Rhodes family questioned both Hunter and Randy Orton backstage on Monday Night Raw. In the weeks that followed this event, both Dusty Rhodes and his oldest son Goldust stepped up to try and win Cody's job back for him.

But not only was Goldust not successful in his bid to defend his family's honor, even Dusty himself was cornered and knocked out by Big Show. In both instances, The Authority got exactly what they wanted, and it seemed as though the Rhodes family would eventually no longer be a threat.

But then, The Rhodes Brothers teamed up and defeated Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns to win their employment back. And as if that were not enough, they then beat Seth and Roman again to become the new WWE tag team champions.

Those two victories put Cody and Goldust back on the radar for fans and set them on fire more than any other time in either man's career. Suddenly, The Rhodes Brothers became the must see tag team of WWE.

And in a company that has seen The Authority rule with an iron fist over the roster, this sort of defeat is very rare. In fact, I would say that the rise of the Rhodes family is the biggest blemish on Triple H and Stephanie's run as the top dogs in WWE.

But that could all be rectified at Survivor Series. I believe that on that night, Hunter will have some sort of interaction with The Shield backstage. I think that he could read the riot act to the trio, leaving them no choice but to get in the ring and destroy everyone in it.  

This especially applies to Cody and Dustin Rhodes, who have the ultimate bragging rights of having gotten one over on The Authority. They were pushed, threatened and backed into a corner, but instead of buckling they came out swinging. And they eventually bested two of The Game's best weapons. For Hunter's character, this fact likely does not sit very well with him, and I believe that he will do all he can to gain a measure of revenge on The Rhodes Brothers.

Randy Orton vs. Big Show: WWE Championship match

For me, this is the only other match on the Survivor Series card that will truly warrant The Authority's attention. The reason for that is very simple; both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon want to see Big Show fall.

And they want to see it in the worst way.

What began as a silent protest against The Authority's treatment of Daniel Bryan has now evolved into the company's top storyline and this pay-per-view main event match. Big Show was the one man who almost immediately objected to The Authority's hostile takeover after SummerSlam, and because he did, he suffered for it.

Stephanie McMahon's character knew that even with the combined might of The Shield and any other heel that she and Hunter could use, Show would be impossible to take out. His size and strength, coupled with his heart and determination, make him nearly unstoppable. He is a force of nature that can destroy everything in his path when he is unleashed.  

So since The Authority could not stop him, they instead chose to attack him psychologically. This was the only hope they had to even remotely slow him down.

And it worked for quite a while. They exposed his financial problems to the world and even bought his mortgage, causing him to become indebted to them. They threatened to fire him if he stepped out of line and did not do as he was told. They forced him to act against his will and knock out anyone they put in front of him. They mocked him, ridiculed him and humiliated him on a weekly basis.  

They took a 7', 500-pound giant and emotionally reduced him to nothing. The plan worked perfectly.

But when Big Show decided to buck the system and knock out Triple H, it was game over. And even his "termination" could not stop Show from coming back and wreaking havoc on The Authority and their muscle.

He settled with Triple H and won his job back. He also won the WWE title match with Orton and that brings us to Survivor Series.

If Cody and Dustin Rhodes is the biggest blemish on The Authority's WWE reign, then Big Show is the catalyst for its destruction. If he wins the title from Randy at Survivor Series, then it's very likely over for The Authority. Randy was their one best hope at completely controlling WWE. He is their figurehead champion, a man they put into place because he would go along with the program and represent their vision of WWE to the masses.

So, Orton cannot lose to Big Show. If he does, then The Authority will be left with no one to impose their agenda on the rest of the roster. The Shield will not be enough. Kane will not be enough. And with John Cena as the world champion, the WWE title is the trophy that must remain in their control.

But then there is the issue that The Shield will supposedly not be allowed to interfere in the match. In fact, no one will be allowed to interfere in the match, as Randy must evidently go it alone with no assistance from anyone.

But I, for one, have a very hard time believing that this will be the case.  

Big Show has been booked to look very strong going into this bout. He has the crowd behind him, and he has all the momentum in the world. By all rights, he should go over on Orton and become the new WWE champion.

So if he drops a clean pin to Randy and does not win the title, then all of the work done to make him look good would have been for nothing. Orton does not necessarily need to break every rule in the book in order to get the victory, but I think something will happen at Survivor Series to allow him to retain the championship.

The Authority are heels after all, and for the most part, you can't believe a word that comes out of a heel's mouth. Triple H and Stephanie have been self-serving authority figures from day one, and I see no reason why that will change now. They may not send the cavalry down to help Randy beat Big Show, but I do believe that they will somehow have a hand in determining the outcome of this one.

Big Show cannot be allowed to leave Survivor Series with the WWE Championship, and I think The Authority will make a move to ensure it does not happen.

The Authority had their hands in the majority of the top storylines in WWE, and the Survivor Series pay-per-view will likely be no different. I fully expect their impact to be felt in more than one way that night, and come Monday, we will all be talking once again about how they played the game to get the outcomes they wanted.