WWE Survivor Series 2015: Booking Decisions That Must Be Made for Event

WWE Survivor Series 2015 is three weeks away, giving WWE Creative plenty of time to book a memorable event.

Fans already know the main event, Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and anticipate another: The Wyatt Family vs. a team headlined by The Brothers of Destruction, The Undertaker and Kane.

With the two signature matches either close to or already booked, it’s time to fill out the remainder of the card. There’s no shortage of options, either.

The other two individual men’s titles—Kevin Owens’ intercontinental belt and Alberto Del Rio’s United States Championship—could be defended, as well as the tag team titles held by The New Day. Charlotte is sure to put her Divas title on the line, with Paige the likely challenger.

There are problems, though. Neither Owens nor Del Rio has an organic rivalry at the moment. The New Day has defeated The Dudley Boyz in their last two pay-per-view matchups, leaving it without a No. 1 contender. Paige has won exactly one singles match since the Divas Revolution began, as noted by ProFightDB.com, making her a flimsy contender for the Divas Championship.

The solution for WWE Creative is to book stories, not titles. Of utmost importance is to use the pay-per-view’s signature bout, the tag team elimination match, to advance those stories well past Survivor Series.

Here are four critical booking decisions that must be made for WWE Survivor Series 2015, and how those decisions could help shape angles further down the road.

Advance the Entire Midcard Using a Traditional Survivor Series Match

Credit: WWE.com

There are a number of fascinating midcard storylines WWE could choose to pursue in its buildup to Survivor Series. But in true WWE fashion, no one is getting the time they deserve.

Kevin Owens has defeated Ryback with an eye rake not once but twice. No matter how much love he receives from the WWE Universe, Cesaro continues to get no respect from WWE management. Neville is battling both Sheamus and King Barrett without any backup. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze has yet to move full-steam ahead.

Pairing these men in a traditional Survivor Series matchup, heels versus faces, might steal the show.

Many fans might consider this lazy booking since it lumps numerous talented wrestlers into a single match. Look at it from the flip side, though: Instead of pushing four stale stories forward, WWE could use this as an opportunity to let all eight men grab the proverbial brass ring.

Breeze and Neville would be put in a match with seasoned veterans to gain valuable experience. Ryback, Sheamus and Barrett would remain in the spotlight by competing with Internet Wrestling Community darlings like Owens, Cesaro and Ziggler.

Looking ahead, WWE could even give Cesaro a clean pinfall victory over Owens without costing the champ his title, leading to a true feud between the two.

It’s a win all around and would make for a spectacular show for a number of underutilized wrestlers.

Have the Divas Revolution Truly Begin at Survivor Series

Let’s face it: The Divas Revolution has failed to take off.

There have been numerous mistakes since the so-called revolution began. Placing the three newly promoted NXT talents—Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch—into stables was the first. Reducing the division to a series of tag team matches was the second. Eliminating any single Diva’s identity, aside from those of Nikki Bella and Charlotte, was the third.

Now WWE Creative is at a crossroads with its main-roster Divas. It has developed either direct or subliminal animosity among the stalwarts (Paige, the Bellas, Naomi) toward their new partners from NXT. WWE could use the next three weeks to tell the same stories it has been, or it can go all-in on the Divas Revolution and break up the bands.

Have Paige lead the veterans against the NXT call-ups, orchestrating beatdowns on the NXT call-ups over the next few weeks. Have Naomi and Tamina Snuka turn on Banks. Team Bella can help, seeing how their leader Nikki was defeated for the division’s championship.

Let Natalya try to be the voice of reason among the women until she has to pick a side. It can all lead to a traditional Survivor Series match between the old guard and new blood to determine who truly reigns supreme in WWE.

Such a story would reinvigorate the Divas division while breaking up the monotony that has beset it just four months since the supposed revolution began. Advancing the Divas past the point of meaningless team-ups and into the spotlight is the only way for the revolution to truly take off.

Save the Return of The Usos for Survivor Series

Credit: WWE.com

According to PWInsider (h/t WrestleZone), The Usos are close to returning to WWE programming. In addition, Wrestling Inc. reported that The Usos have been added to the company’s European tour.

While this is great news for a tag team division that needs convincing contenders to champions The New Day, WWE should keep their first televised appearance under wraps until Survivor Series.

It’s likely The New Day will face off against another team for the tag titles at Survivor Series. WWE should allow The New Day to bask in the glory of a successful title defense until Jimmy and Jey’s music hits.

Bringing The Usos back on Raw or SmackDown and immediately thrusting them into a title match at Survivor Series would be poor planning. There needs to be more of a build for their impending matchup, in addition to getting Jey some much-needed action in real time.

It would also give another tag team (The Lucha Dragons? The Prime Time Players? The Ascension—just kidding with that one) a chance in the spotlight, even if a title shot at Survivor Series would be a glorified squash match.

Keep the Survivor Series Surprises Secret

WWE pulled a rabbit out of its hat with Alberto Del Rio’s surprise return at Hell in a Cell. His inclusion was that much more satisfying because WWE kept it under wraps.

That’s a rare feat in the Internet age, where websites are dedicated to reporting spoilers days, if not weeks, in advance.

WWE has an opportunity to continue that trend heading into Survivor Series. Aside from the aforementioned return of The Usos, The Undertaker and Kane still need two partners if they are to face The Wyatt Family in their rumored match at the event.

WWE could tease potential partners over the next three weeks, only to have Bray Wyatt and his flock mow them down. WWE handled The Wyatt Family’s Night of Champions matchup against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in a similar fashion. Numerous websites got word of Chris Jericho’s inclusion in the 48 hours before that event, but there were enough other rumors on the Internet that Jericho was still a mild surprise.

Heading into Survivor Series, plenty of potential teammates for The Brothers of Destruction have been rumored: Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor, Sting and a host of midcard talents have all appeared in “best of” lists. The best thing WWE could do is let the speculation run rampant, only to swerve WWE fans when the match begins.

Sometimes spoilers are great for business. They help drum up interest in what could be considered a lackluster event. Survivor Series, however, isn’t the same as a B-level pay-per-view like Payback. It’s one of WWE’s signature events. Plus, many of the major players are either already booked for the event (Wyatt, The Undertaker, Reigns) or on an extended leave (John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar).

Keeping the element of surprise in this instance would go a long way toward building the mystique for this match and the event as a whole.