WWE Survivor Series 2015: Final Picks and Predictions for All Matches
Sunday night, World Wrestling Entertainment will crown a brand new world heavyweight champion when the company presents the 29th annual Survivor Series pay-per-view extravaganza.
Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio and intercontinental champion Kevin Owens will wage war for the right to leave Atlanta with the top prize in the sport, thus establishing themselves as the leader of the next generation of WWE Superstars.
But the semifinals and finals of said tournament are not the only newsworthy matches to take place at the premiere event.
The Undertaker will celebrate a quarter of a century with Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire when he partners with fellow Brother of Destruction Kane to battle two of the four members of The Wyatt Family.
The Divas Championship will be on the line in a match that became incredibly personal this past Monday night on Raw as Charlotte defends against Paige.
With Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze also slated for the show, the 2015 edition of the Survivor Series could very well go down in history as one of the best ever from an in-ring perspective.
Who will leave with their heads held high, their arms raised in victory?
Find out with these final picks and predictions for Sunday's spectacular.
Tournament Semifinal: Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio
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The preeminent favorite to leave with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night, Roman Reigns may very well have had the toughest journey to Sunday's semifinals.
First, he was entered into the tournament with a qualifying round match against one of his fiercest rivals, The Big Show. He speared his way into the quarterfinals, eliminating the World's Largest Athlete from contention in the process.
But it was his next opponent who really tested his mettle.
On the November 16 episode of Raw, Reigns battled Cesaro in a hard-hitting match that nearly saw the Swiss Superman shock the world. In the end, though, a Superman Punch and spear again fueled his victory.
His opponent Sunday night in the semifinals, Alberto Del Rio, had a much easier path to Sunday night's monumental bout.
First, he defeated Stardust to advance to the quarterfinal round. From there, he utilized his vicious double stomp finisher to thwart a determined Kalisto.
When the two Superstars step into the squared circle for their match on the WWE Network, Reigns will once again have to summon energy and strength to overcome one of the most decorated and celebrated stars of this decade.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
This is what one would call a foregone conclusion.
To quote the theme music of Vince McMahon, there is "no chance in hell" that Alberto Del Rio wins this match and heads to the finals, not when the entire ordeal has been booked to finally put Reigns over as the top babyface in professional wrestling.
In what may be the most one-sided of Sunday's tournament bouts, Reigns will tear through the United States champion and head to the final round, chasing his destiny.
Tournament Semifinal: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
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Prior to the injury suffered by Seth Rollins that necessitated the tournament to crown a new WWE world heavyweight champion, Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens appeared destined to compete in a match at the Survivor Series event.
Thanks to victories in both the qualifying and quarterfinal rounds, the budding rivalry will take center stage when The Lunatic Fringe battles the Prizefighter in one of the night's most anticipated bouts.
Ambrose defeated Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler in two tremendous tournament bouts while Owens soundly defeated Titus O'Neil, then survived a stiff challenge from Neville to get to Sunday's broadcast.
Dark horses to leave with the title, both Ambrose and Owens are incredibly popular with the diehard portion of the audience, ensuring that their match will be one of the hottest of the night.
But who leaves as the winner and opponent of Roman Reigns in the main event?
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
As much as one may want to see Owens get the opportunity to headline the show, and even win the world title, WWE has done so much to insinuate that Ambrose will battle Reigns in the finals of the tournament that it is hard to see them change course.
That is not to say that The Lunatic Fringe would not make an excellent choice to head to the finals. The most consistently popular star on the roster, Ambrose has a wealth of charisma and breakout potential, but has never really been given the opportunity to be a credible main event talent.
That could all change with a win over Owens and a strong showing later in the night.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae)
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The rivalry between Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze was born in the ashes of the awful program involving The Showoff, Lana, Rusev and Summer Rae from a few months back.
Summer, essentially dumped by Rusev, tried to get back in the good graces of Ziggler, but the former world champion would have none of her manipulative ways. A woman scorned, she introduced the world to Tyler Breeze, the longtime cornerstone of NXT and one of the most talented workers on the roster.
Prince Pretty wasted little time making his presence felt, jumping Ziggler and leaving him lying in a heap.
In the weeks that followed, each Superstar took turns getting one over on the other, Ziggler planting his rival with a superkick on the most recent episode of SmackDown.
Breeze and Summer Rae have vowed to put down Ziggler and move on, making WWE all the more gorgeous in the process.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
Breeze already lost his very first Raw match, dropping it to Dean Ambrose in the qualifying round of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament. If he is to be taken seriously, avoiding the same issues that have plagued other NXT talent as they transitioned to the main roster, Breeze must defeat Ziggler Sunday night.
He needs a signature victory, and putting him over guys like R-Truth on Raw and SmackDown will not do it.
Beating Ziggler will lend him credibility, even if the feud continues on to Raw and going forward.
WWE Divas Championship Match: Charlotte vs. Paige
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The issues between Charlotte and Paige were intensified Monday night when the latter evoked the name of the Divas champion's deceased younger brother Reid.
It was the latest chapter in a rivalry that began when Paige betrayed her former partners in PCB, Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and revealed just how selfish and vindictive she can be when it comes to regaining the WWE Divas Championship.
The British-born Diva has demonstrated a renewed arrogance and greed as Survivor Series and her latest chance at title glory arrives.
Having gotten into the head of Charlotte and proven that she can manipulate her emotions to throw her off her game, can Paige do what no one else has proven capable of and defeat Charlotte for the Divas title?
Prediction: Charlotte
It feels a bit too early to take the title off of Charlotte, though that is really the only piece of evidence this writer can offer up in defense of this prediction.
Paige is hotter, from a crowd response perspective, and is delivering some of her finest heel work to date. But a loss Sunday night will only force her to become more vile and despicable, helping her in the long run.
Charlotte wins here, but the story is far from over.
The Undertaker and Kane vs. The Wyatt Family
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The Undertaker's loss to Brock Lesnar at Hell in a Cell felt like the conclusion of The Phenom's latest run with WWE.
Then it happened. He was confronted, assaulted and abducted by The Wyatt Family. Shortly thereafter, brother Kane endured the same fate.
In the absence of The Brothers of Destruction, Bray Wyatt again labeled himself The New Face of Fear and proved that he can summon the same mystical powers that have been a staple of Kane and Undertaker's act for decades.
But The Deadman and The Devil's Favorite Demon returned, laying waste to all four members of The Wyatt Family before accepting Bray's challenge for a tag team match at Survivor Series. The brothers accepted, despite not knowing which two of the four Family members they would square off against.
That remains a mystery as Sunday's broadcast arrives.
What is not is the hatred the two teams have for each other.
Prediction: The Undertaker and Kane
On a night dedicated to paying tribute to the 25-year career of The Undertaker in WWE, there is no way The Phenom is staring at the lights Sunday night.
At the same time, there is no reason to believe that Bray Wyatt will actually compete in the bout. Do not be surprised to see Undertaker and Kane battle Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, or Harper and Strowman.
Whatever the case may be, do not expect a fantastic match of any kind. Instead, expect a brawl, a physically intense bout that brings a close to this latest chapter of The Deadman's feud with Wyatt while simultaneously setting the stage for one more battle between the enigmatic personas.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
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Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are the closest thing to brothers.
They have stood by each other's side since the moment Seth Rollins betrayed The Shield and joined The Authority, and have established their friendship every week thereafter, waging war against The Authority and Wyatt Family in the process.
Sunday night, if the semifinals play out as predicted earlier, they will step foot inside the squared circle to battle each other for the right to leave with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Their loyalty to each other has been unwavering, but all friendships will be thrown out the window with the most coveted prize in the industry at stake.
Of the most interest will be Triple H's presence in the match or at ringside. Was he able to recruit either man to join The Authority?
And what about Sheamus, the current Money in the Bank briefcase holder?
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns will complete his quest to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Sunday night, defeating Dean Ambrose clean and without any heel turn to speak of.
WWE clearly has a plan and rather than allowing any unnecessary twist or turn to adversely affect it, they will stay the course and crown the champion they have worked to put in this position for the last year.
Will Sheamus make his presence felt? Probably not, though do not be surprised if he pops up as soon as Monday's Raw.
Survivor Series was always going to be the Reigns show and that will not change.
Nor should it.
Go ahead according to plan, WWE Creative will, and the result will prove to be the right one in the long run.
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