Brock Lesnar-Goldberg, Survivor Series and More from the Red vs. Blue Mailbag

WWE Survivor Series 2016 is on Sunday, and both Raw and SmackDown have done their bests to form an actual rivalry. Unfortunately, it seems to be too little, too late, and a match that could have possibly headlined Survivor Series will have to give way to special attractions.

Save The Beast for Last?

It would be shocking if anything other than Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg headlined Survivor Series. This is a dream match that many felt could have headlined this year's WrestleMania, and WWE has done a good job building it up as such with limited physicality.

Goldberg and Lesnar are on a different level than the rest of the roster. Their presence juxtaposed against full-time members points out glaring weaknesses in WWE's ability to churn out main event Supserstars as it once did.

Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown will feature mostly full-time stars in a clash for brand supremacy, but little has been done to establish team spirit or high stakes. Not only are the team members hesitant to get along, but this match is also essentially an exhibition.

The incentives are to avoid punishment, with Team Raw looking to impress Stephanie McMahon and Team SmackDown looking to avoid the wrath of The Undertaker. Something as little as allowing the winning brand to be represented in the main event of WrestleMania would have added more meaning to this match while possibly justifying a headlining spot.

Zayn Changer?

Dolph Ziggler never felt like the true intercontinental champion outside of his memorable victory at No Mercy. Not only has The Miz always felt like the champion, but he also feels like the biggest heel on the show. The inclusion of The Spirit Squad has only helped Miz continue to evolve as quite possibly the best natural villain in the company.

Consider it a blessing in disguise that Miz is not mired within a dysfunctional Team SmackDown. Instead, he'll be featured in an inter-promotional championship match against a hometown favorite. Nobody in the Air Canada Centre will be behind Miz, while just about everybody will be supporting a fellow Canadian who is already one of the better natural babyfaces on the Raw roster.

The dynamic between a strong heel and a babyface who will be given a hero's welcome is probably the reason WWE opted to replace Ziggler with Miz in this spot, which will prove to be the right choice.

Blue Wall?

This should be one of the subplots of a pay-per-view that is mostly pitting Raw against SmackDown. WWE should have been primarily focused on the budding rivalry between the two promotions. Instead, both shows chose to focus on in-house rivalries virtually until the go-home episodes.

Though the brand-supremacy storyline has been mostly neutered, the Survivor Series broadcast would be enhanced if the announcers periodically kept track of which brand accumulates the most wins. This should be a point of pride moving forward for whichever brand owns that distinction.

If I were to guess, I'd say Team SmackDown will come away with more victories. Nobody will question Raw as the flagship in WWE, even if SmackDown's content is hipper and edgier. I see Miz retaining the Intercontinental Championship, Kalisto winning the Cruiserweight Championship and the Team SmackDown men winning their elimination match. 

Perhaps Raw's defeats at Survivor Series will give Stephanie McMahon more of a license to be a heel, and they could possibly give way to the Raw commissioner unleashing Lesnar on her brother to set up their seemingly inevitable feud.