WWE Survivor Series 2017: Exposing Weakest Links of Raw and SmackDown Rosters

Although nothing is officially on the line other than pride, the basis of Survivor Series is built around Raw and SmackDown colliding to determine which is the better brand.

Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle have sorted through their respective rosters and determined the five men and women they think will best represent their show and take home the victory.

However, every team is only as strong as its weakest member—someone who could potentially tilt the scale in the opposition's favor and screw everything up for their brand.

When looking at the list of men and women set for this year's Survivor Series elimination matches, who are the Superstars who stand out as the potential vulnerabilities that could cause the downfall of their teams?

Let's examine the weak links Team Raw and Team SmackDown should be worried about come Sunday night.

Credit: WWE.com

Weak Link for Women's Team Raw: Alicia Fox

Surprisingly, having someone unpredictable at the helm hasn't led to a haphazard Team Raw for the women's side of things, but actually a strong group of contenders.

Asuka alone should seal the deal for Raw, seeing as she's the only undefeated woman in the company and has a better record than even Goldberg amassed.

Nia Jax as a powerhouse is another strong anchor, with Bayley and Sasha Banks—two of the Four Horsewomen of NXT—rounding out the team as best as one could hope.

But after looking at those four, it all circles back to captain Fox, who is decidedly the least credible wrestler in the crew.

She's had her title run in the past, but it was so many years ago most people forget about it and only remember her as the woman who dated Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar.

Out of the five, Fox is the only one to regularly be used as enhancement talent—not just for a temporary stint, but for years at a time, often not even appearing as other jobbers took that role from her.

It wouldn't be a shock at all if Fox not only contributed very little to Team Raw, but perhaps is even eliminated in an alarmingly quick fashion.

At least the other four women will be able to hold down the fort.

Credit: WWE.com

Weak Link for Women's Team SmackDown: Carmella

Looking at the five women on Team SmackDown, there is a sense of a good variety of different strengths and weaknesses, with Carmella being the one who brings the least to the table.

Tamina is the blue brand's response to Raw's Nia Jax as far as power goes, even though she'd lose that fight.

Team captain Becky Lynch has a track record of being one of the most consistent performers with a well-balanced mix of the attributes you'd find in the standard create-a-character template.

While the Irish Lass Kicker doesn't stand out in one way or another, she's the glue holding everything together.

Naomi—a two-time SmackDown women's champion—has the finesse and stamina along with the right attitude to keep the fight going until the end.

Natalya is going into this having just suffered a big loss, dropping the SmackDown Women's Championship to Charlotte Flair this past Tuesday, but she still has the clout of being a former multi-time champion, with one of those title reigns being so recent.

What does Carmella have to offer?

She's the least experienced and the smallest competitor out of the bunch with few legitimate wins in her career, particularly since turning heel.

Her Money in the Bank contract seems flashy, yet she won that with the help of James Ellsworth, whom she's kicked to the curb and who will not be able to help in any fashion here after being released from WWE.

Perhaps her biggest flaw is her attitude, since cockiness and an unwillingness to get along with her teammates can create a situation where she becomes an easy target to pick off for a quick elimination.

Credit: WWE.com

Weak Link for Men's Team Raw: Kurt Angle

Just a few short days ago, it was Jason Jordan who was standing out as the elephant in the room and easy pick for the weakest link.

This week on Monday Night Raw, that idea was put into motion, as he was literally written out of the team for being unable to compete at the necessary level.

However, to replace him, Triple H stepped in, changing the whole dynamic of this team.

Now, by default, it is actually the team captain himself who has the most likelihood of screwing things up, if not just by process of elimination.

Immediately, Braun Strowman can be taken out of the discussion since he's the most physically dominant Superstar out of all 20 men and women involved on these teams.

In a similar fashion, but to a slightly lesser extent, is Samoa Joe, who put up a great fight against Brock Lesnar in his own right, has two NXT Championships to his name and boasts a legacy as a main event-caliber benchmark for Impact Wrestling.

Finn Balor—in demon makeup or not—is still a former NXT champion and the first-ever universal champion as well, even though his track record in the past few months hasn't been indicative of being a top star in the same vein as Joe and Strowman.

When comparing Triple H to Angle, The Game has the size advantage and much better conditioning than what we've seen from the Olympic gold medalist at TLC.

Clearly, Angle isn't what he used to be, both in real life and in kayfabe.

When it comes to the storyline, almost the entire thing has revolved around Angle's inability to be an effective leader and how his inadequacies are getting in the way of progress and superiority over SmackDown.

Triple H will undoubtedly be watching over him like a hawk and taking command of the team in his own regard, causing them to butt heads, while Angle will be concerned about his duties as a father to Jordan and how he's been disappointing people left and right.

Coupling the wrong mindset with a legitimate lack of in-ring stamina compared to the old days means it's very likely Angle is excised as Raw general manager after being the man who weighs this team down.

Credit: WWE.com

Weak Link for Men's Team SmackDown: Shane McMahon

SmackDown's male team is one of the best-sounding teams on paper, as it boasts the two men with the most world title reigns in the company's history outside of Ric Flair along with two newcomers who are by no means rookies to the game.

Randy Orton has a history of being a sole survivor, so this is his event to shine at. Under no circumstances should he be anything but an asset.

John Cena is Mr. Untouchable—the guy who spent the majority of his career winning nearly every single match and becoming one of WWE's most valuable players in the entire history of the company.

While he's still getting his footing, Shinsuke Nakamura was a legend in Japan and a two-time NXT champion who has rarely ever lost during his WWE tenure, mostly only because of extraneous circumstances like The Singh Brothers interfering.

The Artist is also well-protected and clearly going to remain a priority for the brand going forward, with the potential that he may even be in the running to win the Royal Rumble to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Bobby Roode is relatively new to the scene in WWE as well, but just like Nakamura, he established himself long ago as a main event player in Impact Wrestling and has the aura of a fresh face where he won't be a sacrificial lamb.

On the other hand, what does McMahon have to offer to the team?

It isn't leadership, as Cena already has that covered. It isn't power, or speed, or the wisdom of a grizzled veteran.

McMahon is the head of SmackDown, but he's the least qualified competitor out of not just the men's elimination match, but all four Survivor Series teams.

He rarely ever wins a match, and he's the oldest of the bunch by seven years who will be wrestling without the safety net of a no-disqualification style stipulation—his bread and butter—to be able to save him.

Undoubtedly, if one person is the easiest to pick off for Team SmackDown's men, it will be McMahon.

Who do you think are the weakest links for the four Survivor Series teams? Tell us your picks in the comments section below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website 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.