WWE Survivor Series 2016: Updated Match Card, Predictions for Entire PPV

WWE's brand war will reach its boiling point this Sunday with the 30th annual Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE has upped the stakes with three traditional Survivor Series matches as Raw and SmackDown battle to become the company's top brand.

Expect drama and controversy at almost every turn throughout those matches, with future rivalries for the rest of this year and beyond becoming clearer.

But there are also high-stakes matches besides the main three bouts. Will the Cruiserweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship find new homes?

And can Goldberg cause one of the biggest upsets in years? Here's a look at what's in store this Sunday, as well as some predictions for each and every match.

The Brian Kendrick vs. Kalisto (Cruiserweight Championship)

Recently, WWE's cruiserweight division has begun to look like a valuable asset for Raw—just at the time when it could be about to lose it.

The Brian Kendrick is growing into the role of being the champion. However, not only will he be defending his title this weekend at Survivor Series, but he'll also be defending the position of the entire division.

If Kendrick wins, everything stays as it is. But if he loses to Kalisto, Kendrick, the Cruiserweight Championship and the whole division move to SmackDown and Tuesday nights.

The result of this match probably depends on what happens in the Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and The Miz—and vice versa. 

But given the start to life the cruiserweights have had on Raw, a switch at this time looks like the best thing for all parties.

Prediction: Kalisto

The Miz vs. Sami Zayn (Intercontinental Championship)

The six-time intercontinental champion heads to Survivor Series having claimed the belt from Dolph Ziggler Tuesday night. Can The Miz really drop the belt within a matter of days?

It would be an extraordinary chain of events to see two new champions crowned within a week—not to mention the fact that the title would change shows and become exclusive to Raw.

But if Kalisto wins the Cruiserweight Championship and brings the entire division with him to SmackDown, it creates the need for Raw to gain an extra title.

It would be far from good news for the blue brand, which would suddenly find a whole host of stars without genuine opportunities to win hardware.

But Sami Zayn would be an excellent champion, and much like The Miz has done, he can make the title interesting again.

Plus, the opportunity to see The Miz crash Raw and demand his shot at the title is an extra bonus.

Prediction: Sami Zayn

Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (Women's Elimination Match)

WWE did an efficient job of promoting the traditional Survivor Series match featuring its female stars on SmackDown this past Tuesday.

A routine match between Nikki Bella and Carmella quickly descended into chaos. Enemies quickly became allies as all the women involved in the match showed up to fight for their respective brands in an all-out brawl.

But when the bell rings Sunday, how will things go down?

Names like Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Carmella and Naomi will be among the first to leave the match, leaving heavyweights like Bella, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.

The journey of Bayley throughout this match—especially since she looks like Flair's next challenger for the Raw Women's Championship—will be interesting. 

Can Flair stay on the same page as her Raw teammates? Expect it to come down to the two champions in the closing moments, and with SmackDown's chances looking limited elsewhere, this looks like the brand's best chance of victory.

However, it will be Flair who continues her huge push by standing alone as the survivor.

Prediction: Team Raw (Flair is the sole survivor.)

Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (Tag Team Elimination Match)

The New Day has been racking up losses at a rate of knots recently. Will that continue this Sunday?

The trio will captain Team Raw in the tag team division match at Survivor Series, which will see the company's biggest duos do battle in a traditional Survivor Series match.

A glance at the lineups for both brands suggests this could be one of the easiest matches of the night to predict.

There is way too much star power on Team Raw to go down to Team SmackDown—unless a team like Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson decides it fights for itself, not Raw, and costs The New Day victory to set up a title feud.

But that could occur after this match. Teams like The Hype Bros and Breezango will not outlast teams like Enzo Amore and Big Cass and The New Day.

All things equal, this should be a win for Team Raw.

Prediction: Team Raw (The New Day and Gallows and Anderson are the survivors.)

Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (Men's Elimination Match)

The most excitement this weekend surrounds the traditional Survivor Series match involving WWE's male competitors.

Both teams are stacked full of main event talent, and it promises to be the longest match of the night by some distance.

But how do you start determining who will be eliminated first? On Team SmackDown, Shane McMahon looks like the obvious contender to drop out early—although he won't leave without a high-risk spot of some sort.

On Raw, Chris Jericho may suffer the early pinfall. WWE fans are set to find out just how serious Braun Strowman's push is by how many men he goes through in this match.

But there is bound to be controversy of some sort. It could come in the shape of Randy Orton, who turns on Bray Wyatt and affords Raw the chance of victory. It may well be that Team SmackDown turns on Dean Ambrose, or it could even be a mini-Shield reunion that sees Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns attack Kevin Owens.

Raw will survive, and AJ Styles will, deservedly, be the last man standing for SmackDown.

The survivor for Raw? Many would love it to be Owens, but it wouldn't be out of WWE's power if it were to thrust Reigns in the limelight as the sole survivor.

Prediction: Team Raw (Reigns is the sole survivor.)

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

Can Goldberg do the unthinkable this weekend and stop the seemingly unstoppable Brock Lesnar?

If the go-home edition of Raw was anything to go by, then he has a chance. WWE booked Lesnar in a way that he was afraid of the former WCW champion, leaving Goldberg to clear the ring and stand tall.

But in reality, this looks like Lesnar's fight to lose.

He hasn't lost for so long that it's hard to see how a 49-year-old can inflict a second consecutive defeat on Lesnar 12 years apart from the first meeting.

Expect a physical, brutal contest from start to finish, but expect it to be Lesnar's night—although Goldberg will put in a strong showing in defeat.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar