WWE Survivor Series 2016: Predicting Match Card, Winners at PPV
WWE Survivor Series 2016 is rapidly approaching, scheduled for Nov. 20 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
This will be the first true cross-brand pay-per-view since the brand split in July, and as such, the gimmick has been tweaked to feature three Raw vs. SmackDown elimination matches.
With no indication that Bragging Rights will return in any form, this may be the one time of the year when both rosters clash for brand supremacy, as every person will be fighting for themselves during the Royal Rumble, and WrestleMania is too far off to call into question just yet.
On top of this, Survivor Series will be even more special because Goldberg is making his return for seemingly one last match, opting to fight Brock Lesnar in a rematch from WrestleMania XX.
The card has yet to be finalized, but plans are starting to unfold quickly, allowing us to start wrapping our minds around what is likely to happen at the annual November extravaganza.
Which matches will be added to the lineup, who will compete on Raw's and SmackDown's teams and which men and women will be victorious?
Let's take a shot at giving some predictions for WWE Survivor Series 2016.
10-on-10 Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match
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WWE will want to space out the elimination matches from each other, so don't be surprised if the card kicks off with the tag teams.
SmackDown is in need of one more team, while Raw is on the opposite end of the spectrum, as it has only chosen The New Day thus far.
The final duo to make up the blue brand's squad will probably be either Breezango or The Vaudevillains, as The Spirit Squad, The Headbangers and The Ascension lost qualifying matches, effectively taking them out of the running.
Whether it is Simon Gotch and Aiden English or Tyler Breeze and Fandango is almost a moot point, as neither team should make that much of a difference for Team SmackDown and will probably be the first to be eliminated.
With Raw, however, much more work needs to be done in crafting a unified team.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass seem to be guarantees, along with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, as those teams are the most prominently featured groups on Raw underneath The New Day.
Cesaro and Sheamus have had their problems, but they remain firmly rooted in the tag team division, so it's an easy call for them to make up one of the remaining spots. Their friction with each other will also lead to an easy elimination during the match itself, causing issues for Team Raw.
The last spot for the red brand is up for debate, as The Shining Stars and The Golden Truth are both viable options yet not valuable. Either team could be chosen over the other.
Then again, what if neither of those teams makes it? What if WWE has hinted at something else hiding right under our noses?
Several weeks back, Sami Zayn and Neville started to form a bit of a union. That felt short-lived, but they were the final two combatants against Braun Strowman in Monday's Battle Royal.
Since they both lost the ability to join the primary men's match, WWE may put them together as a makeshift tag team to join that division's elimination bout instead, as Zayn, in particular, isn't likely to skip two pay-per-views in a row, having not been booked for Hell in a Cell.
This is by far the hardest match to predict out of the bunch, but seeing as how The New Day will break Demolition's record soon after Survivor Series, it would make sense for it to lead its team to victory.
Prediction: Team Raw is victorious, with The New Day as sole survivors.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Brian Kendrick vs. T.J. Perkins
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After weaseling his way into winning the Cruiserweight Championship at Hell in a Cell, Brian Kendrick said he had a plan for how he would retain it against T.J. Perkins in their rematch on Raw.
Rather than a true strategy of how to beat Perkins, Kendrick's plan turned out to be a simple count-out loss, wherein the title doesn't change hands.
However, Perkins attacked him after the match, proving that this feud is not resolved quite yet.
Per WWE's flexible ruling policies, a win over a champion normally grants someone a title match. This is amplified even more by Perkins' rightful rematch ending in such a disingenuous way.
There needs to be more matches on the card than just the three main elimination bouts, Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental Championship defense and the main event between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, but there aren't many options among the wrestlers available to participate. Most of them are tied up in those matches.
As such, a Cruiserweight Championship rematch will likely be booked to act as a breather between the elimination contests, and since nobody is being set up as a potential alternative to the title shot, all bets should go on Perkins facing Kendrick once more at this event.
Prediction: Brian Kendrick retains the championship after cheating in some way.
5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Women's Elimination Match
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Team SmackDown's crew has been finalized, and it even has an extra woman in its ranks, as Natalya has been declared its coach, which will come into play somewhere along the line.
Team Raw, on the other hand, still needs to sort out its two final members, and there's a handful of names to pick from.
For some reason, Dana Brooke was specifically mentioned on the most recent edition of Raw but not added to the team. She could easily have been chosen, so are there plans for her not to be involved?
The same goes for Sasha Banks, although her situation may be slightly different. After battling through some injuries and coming up short at Hell in a Cell, Banks may be off the table for non-storyline reasons.
The real catch, though, is Emmalina. She is set to return sometime soon, but no official date has yet been mentioned.
Knowing how WWE likes to operate based on past situations like this, it can be surmised that Emmalina will be one of the team members, while Banks and Brooke will face off on Raw to determine who gets the final spot.
When Banks beats Brooke, it will upset team captain Charlotte while also giving Bayley someone to link up with so that she isn't the sole babyface of the bunch. Brooke could then be at ringside to act as a counterbalance to Natalya for Team SmackDown, although she probably won't be considered Team Raw's coach.
Charlotte's ego will get in the way of being able to properly lead her team, and a big focus will be put on Nia Jax's dominance, along with Nikki Bella and Carmella's inability to get alongālikewise with Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch.
The real woman to keep your eyes on in this match should be Natalya, however, as there's no way she's been booked to just cheer on TeamĀ SmackDown. She'll be interfering in some capacity, likely costing Team SmackDownĀ the match and consequently rekindling her feud with Becky Lynch.
Prediction: Team Raw wins, giving Charlotte another reason to gloat.
Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge
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All signs pointed to Dolph Ziggler defending the Intercontinental Championship against The MizĀ at Survivor Series, but those plans changed when he issued an open challenge to any member of the Raw roster to take advantage of a free title shot.
No word has been put out about which Raw Superstar will answer that call, but since the majority of the the brand's wrestlers are either tied up in the elimination matches or aren't worthy of a championship match, the field has been narrowed to only a handful of suspects.
The top candidate standing out above the rest is Rusev, who has finished his feud with Roman Reigns, unsuccessful in his quest to recapture the United States Championship. Spurred from his loss, he may want to gain SmackDown's midcard title as a replacement.
As mentioned before, Cesaro and Sheamus will probably be involved in the tag team match, possibly along with Sami Zayn and Neville, so there aren't many other options left. By no means will someone such asĀ Epico or Primo be facing Ziggler at this event.
Somehow, The Miz should be expected to get involved, whether it be as a commentator or an interference in the match, but since he is not a member of the Raw roster, he should be exempt from being the one who can wrestle for the title.
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler retains the championship, setting up a match against The Miz at TLC in December.
5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Men's Elimination Match
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One member of Team Raw has yet to be announced, but it's going to be Seth Rollins. Nobody else is even remotely close to superseding him in importance, and he has nothing else going for him on the card, so it's just a matter of WWE making it official, which will probably happen on the next edition of Raw.
Looking at the field of competitors for both sides, Raw seems to have a slight advantage when it comes to unity, which is odd, given the amount of problems it should still run into.
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are best friends and should be on the same page, Braun Strowman should be busy showcasing his dominance and, despite their differences, Rollins should be able to find a trustworthy companion in Roman Reigns because of their tenure as Shield brethren.
Meanwhile, on SmackDown, Baron Corbin may call himself The Lone Wolf, but it's Dean Ambrose who will be on an island.
There's no chance he will be able to get along well with AJ Stylesāor anybody else, for that matterāand even the alliance between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt feels like a superficial one that will implode during this match.
Watch out for Orton to hit Wyatt with an RKO, severing their ties and causing an issue for Team SmackDown, but don't be too surprised if Team Raw somehow comes up short despite having better odds.
As far as we know, nothing is on the line except pride, but it would be interesting if the winning brand received something for its efforts. This could be anything from priority for the main event of WrestleMania to the ability to steal someone from the opposing roster.
If the latter is mentioned in any capacity, watch out for the Intercontinental Championship match. There could be some shenanigans afoot that seeĀ Rusev win the IC title from Dolph ZigglerĀ and Team SmackDownĀ come away victorious here, transferring Roman Reigns and the United States Championship to the blue brand.
Until anything is announced, though, all of that has to be treated as pure speculation.
Still, SmackDown may walk away with the win because the brand needs it.
Despite WWE's refusal to admit it, fans still acknowledge Tuesday night as the "B show" in comparison to Raw. A win for SmackDown would be an attempt to prove otherwise, although it's doubtful it would make a difference in the long run.
Prediction: Team SmackDown is victorious.
Main Event: Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg
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Despite the outcome of this match being incredibly predictable and the inevitable ring rust getting in Goldberg's way, this should be better than their encounter at WrestleMania XX, which was one of the worst to ever take place at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Goldberg will do his best, but he will come up short, as Lesnar has the odds in his favor.
Right from the onset, Paul Heyman made reference to how Goldberg has a win over Lesnar, so this will be the match to even the score. There's no way WWE will have its star fighter lose twice, particularly to someone who will go back into retirement after this is done.
Lesnar has been in positions where a loss would make much more sense, and he still came out on topāsuch as when he broke The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
He's been booked as the most dominant man in the company for years, utterly destroying main event-caliber talents such as Randy Orton, Big Show and John Cena.
Even when he loses a match, it's usually because of circumstances out of his controlāsuch as Seth Rollins pinning Roman Reigns instead of Lesnar to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
This trend isn't going to end with Goldberg coming back after a 12-year absence to beat him and walk back into the sunset.
Just exactly how much offense Goldberg is able to get in is still up for debate, but he isn't going to be the one with his hand raised when all things are said and done.
Prediction: Goldberg puts up a fight, but Brock Lesnar wins.Ā
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling websiteĀ Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
