WWE Survivor Series 2016: Why SmackDown's Women Deserve to Beat Team Raw

At WWE Survivor Series 2016 on Nov. 20, the WWE Universe will watch a traditional elimination tag team match between the Raw women's roster and the SmackDown women's roster. The bout will pit Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Alicia Fox vs. Carmella, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss and Naomi.

Who's going to win this match? Well, let's break this down.

On one side, we have three former NXT champions, including Charlotte, the most protected woman on either roster—she's 15-1 in pay-per-view matches, with the lone loss coming in tag team action, per CageMatch.net. On the other side, we have three women who have never held a title, Bella, a former champion who's not in the title picture, and Lynch, a first-time champion who has yet to defend her title on a PPV.

Simply put, this is a mismatch.

From a booking perspective, the Raw women have the superior talent and accolades, and they will most likely walk away as the winners next Sunday. But the SmackDown women are the ones who deserve the win. They've been consistently entertaining from week to week, making the most out of their two segments per show. Meanwhile, the Raw roster has been underutilizing its talent, a sad accomplishment, given that the rosters are so shallow to begin with.

There is one women's feud that's mattered on Raw for the past two months—Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte. It probably wasn't supposed to be this way. Summer Rae is injured. Paige is injured and suspended. Both of them (particularly Summer Rae, who is criminally underrated) would have made excellent opponents for either Banks or Charlotte.

But having been deprived of their top antagonists, the Raw writers have done little to adjust. It feels like they're stalling for time, hoping for the Royal Rumble to get here quicker so that they can start whatever WrestleMania build they've planned.

The way to adjust to injuries and setbacks is by elevating unexpected supporting characters. How about giving Jax some attention? Let her be more than just a silent ass-kicker—she has a natural sympathy that shines through and could endear her to an audience. Alicia Fox is fantastic when she's given the opportunity to play "crazy."

Neither woman has the grappling skills of The Four Horsewomen. But it's entertaining when either of them fight, and the writers should let them engage in some back-and-forth instead of booking squash match after squash match, with Jax always coming out on top.

Bayley is currently being kept on ice, and unlike Jax, who she beat in NXT, she is losing as much as she's winning. She even took a loss to an inexperienced Dana Brooke a couple of weeks ago. But that's OK—Bayley's character is an underdog. She can absorb a ton of losses before they affect the fan's love for her.

And Bayley brings attention with her wherever she goes; she should be fighting a variety of opponents, not carrying a wrestler who is too green for the massive spotlight she provides. 

On the other hand, SmackDown is actively promoting and elevating all of its talent. Since the draft, it's given Naomi a new entrance and costume design.

It's turned Alexa Bliss into a Harley Quinn-inspired badass.

The writers have taken their most inexperienced wrestler, Carmella, and put her directly in a feud with Bella, who is one of their most experienced female wrestlers.

Heck, even Eva Marie was given a gimmick and a new look when she re-debuted on Smackdown. In short, there's a plan and storyline for everybody. It's not just Lynch versus whichever opponent the writers picked for her this week.

It's ironic and somewhat disappointing that the three-hour Raw manages to feature its women less than the two-hour SmackDown. And if the cruiserweight division moves over to SmackDown, maybe Raw will have time and motivation to build up its women.

But until then, SmackDown's women's roster is doing definitively better. A win at Survivor Series would recognize the blue brand—its level of dedication and its resolution to do less with more. It probably won't happen. But it ought to.