WWE Survivor Series 2014: Matches Under Most Pressure to Deliver

There is no denying the importance of Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view for the future of the WWE Network. The company has eyed the annual November event as the key to enticing fans to subscribe and has done a far better job of crafting a main event that fans are interested in and legitimately care about. 

So much has been made of the monumental stipulations attached to the main event (not to mention the undeniable star power involved) that WWE Creative did very little to build the undercard. It didn't have to. The main event tag bout pitting Team Cena vs. Team Authority has such a strong story that it sells the entire show.

That the match is full of some of the biggest, brightest and best stars in the business only adds to the pressure that all 10 men will be under to ensure the highest quality match possible.

But the 10 Superstars involved in Sunday's marquee match are not the only ones facing tremendous pressure to deliver. Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt will be facing their own brand of pressure, the result of a lackluster angle leading into the show. 

Now, just hours away from what WWE undoubtedly hopes is a historical pay-per-view, take an in-depth look at why the night's two highest-profile matches have the most pressure on them Sunday night.

Credit: WWE.com

Team Cena vs. Team Authority

The main event of Sunday's show has not only been incredibly hyped thanks to the meaningful stipulations attached to it but has had entire episodes of Raw devoted to the match. Whenever that much attention is paid to a single contest, expectations are going to be incredibly high. Pressure is going to weigh on the shoulders of those involved.

That there are so many talented individuals involved, all capable of delivering an outstanding wrestling match at any given time, only enhances the pressure.

The company has gone out of its way to hype the match to the extent it has because it hopes that the contest will attract new eyes and thus new subscribers to the WWE Network. This has resulted in a pressure-packed situation ready to explode.

Luckily for fans, the likelihood that the match fails to live up to expectations is low. There are too many outstanding wrestlers involved, and the booking is far too important to the immediate future of the company from a storytelling standpoint for WWE Creative to mess it up.

For performers such as Dolph Ziggler, Rusev, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, the show is an opportunity to brighten their star in a marquee contest. Any one of those four men could emerge with an intensified push, the promise of which is more than enough to guarantee strong performances out of them.

Fans are invested in the story enough to this point that they should be fairly hot for the night's headline bout. With the likelihood of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's reign of terror coming to an end somewhat strong, the heat the match generates should be off the charts.

Yes, the pressure is there, significantly so. The overall quality of the pay-per-view hinges on how well the match is executed and how fans react to the outcome. As WWE has demonstrated numerous times over the past two years, it has mastered the art of the multiple-man tag team match, and Sunday night should be the latest (and perhaps greatest) entry.

Credit: WWE.com

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

The night's second-most important bout features the first of what should be many matches between Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt.

The result of the controversial finish from Hell in a Cell, which saw Wyatt return and inexplicably lay waste to Ambrose, costing him a match against Seth Rollins, Sunday's contest is sure to be wild, chaotic and violent.

Wyatt has spent weeks toying with the mind of Ambrose, bringing up his convict father in an attempt to knock The Lunatic Fringe off his game. All it has done is incensed and enraged the former Shield member to the point that it is unlikely that he will be able to maintain his cool long enough to abide by the rules of a traditional singles bout.

The pressure on Ambrose and Wyatt's battle is very different that the pressure on the main event. While the headlining match has pressure on it for a variety of reasons outside the confines of the squared circle, Ambrose and Wyatt's exists almost exclusively between the ropes.

Both men are in need of a shot of adrenaline. The booking for the match has been disjointed leading into Sunday's broadcast, only recently picking up and hooking audiences with the "daddy issues" element of the story. 

How can Ambrose and Wyatt convince the WWE Universe to invest in their program?

They need to deliver an outstanding match that leaves fans buzzing. If they do so, word of mouth will spread, fans will sit up and take notice, and the audience will want to tune into Raw to see what the next chapter of the feud entails. 

It will be up to Ambrose and Wyatt to sustain their rivalry, at least until the writers can take a little of their attention and focus off of The Authority and concern themselves with filling in plot holes and writing stronger material for the two immensely talented performers.