WWE: Possible Participants in Team Triple H Versus Team Punk at Survivor Series

The latest rumor circulating around the WWE is that there are plans afoot to book a traditional Survivor Series match between Team Triple H and Team CM Punk.

Punk's feud with the corporate forces that run the WWE has taken a very similar path to Stone Cold Steve Austin's feud with the original "Corporation."

In 2011, CM Punk has also been trying to battle the politics and the corruption that is supposedly rife within the company as proven by his interactions with Stephanie McMahon and John Laurinaitis.

It was originally rumored that a match was planned between Punk and the returning Kevin Nash but there were apparently worries over Nash's abilities to compete in such a high-profile bout.

A blockbuster main event is needed for Survivor Series which will take place at Madison Square Garden and a Survivor Series elimination match could be in the cards.

This would give Nash an opportunity to compete without having to expose his in-ring limitations and his aging body.

This match also indicates that the much-talked about "ROH Invasion" could be in the cards.

The WWE are supposedly interested in signing talent from "Ring of Honor" including Punk's good friends Colt Cabana and the "Kings of Wrestling."

These men could actually be on the card at Survivor Series and it would be a natural way to extend the feud between Punk and the WWE.

The following is a list of men that are likely to be on Team Triple H or Team Punk and some long shots that would make sense. 

Team Triple H

"The Game" would of course lead his own team into Survivor Series in typical aggressive fashion.

Triple H has made a career out of leading stables to success and his spells in charge of "Evolution" and "Degeneration-X" have provided some of the highlights of his career.

The question has been asked time and again whether "the Game" would ever step back inside the "squared circle" after his epic match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania

This match may give the COO a platform on which to lace up his boots and return to in-ring competition.

Triple H has said that he now sees himself as a "special attraction wrestler" and if he felt that it would be good for business to get back into the ring, then I am sure he would not hesitate.

Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash's long-term friendship with Triple H, involvement with the "Kliq" and verbal showdown with CM Punk make him a prime candidate.

There is still the issue of the text message sent from Triple H's phone which led to Nash's attack on Punk.

This has yet to be resolved but if it turns out that Nash and Hunter are "on the same page" then it seems inevitable that they will team up together.

Why else would the multi-World Champion have returned unless the WWE wanted him to compete on pay-per-view?

But Nash has not wrestled full time for years and his lighter schedule in TNA did not produce any truly memorable matches or moments.

It is unclear as to whether he would be able to hold up in a singles match with Punk without stopping the former WWE Champion's run of great matches.

He would be given the role of enforcer on the team and his strength and power would be effective in dominating the smaller athletes from Team Punk.

X-Pac

Another former member of the "Kliq," Sean Waltman's friendship with Triple H has been well-publicized and he was present at the Hall of Fame this year for HBK's induction.

The man who wrestled as X-Pac and the 1-2-3 Kid has also revealed that he will soon be returning to the company where he made his name in a backstage position.

It is not yet apparent as to what this role will be but there are some indications that it has something to do with developing future main\-event talent.

But CM Punk's accusation that Triple H is "bringing back the cronies" would only gather momentum if the former DX member was to return to TV.

It may be that Waltman has something left to contribute in an in-ring capacity and the "Attitude Era" recognition would generate yet more interest in the match from casual wrestling fans.

Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre's career has come to a standstill recently and most people were surprised that he escaped with his job after the recent exodus of talent.

His WWE appearances are limited to Superstars and since his draft to Raw, he has become lost in the shuffle.

But if the WWE ever wanted to revive the career of the "Chosen One" then aligning him with Triple H would be a perfect way of making him relevant once again.

McIntyre's gimmick was based on the fact that he was "hand-picked" by Mr McMahon and this could be revived.

He could be put forward as a candidate by Stephanie and his association with the McMahon family would continue.

McIntyre still has the potential to be a main-event talent one day but he just needs the television time to remind everyone what he is capable of.

Alberto Del Rio

Just as the original "Corporation" was fronted by the Rock as the "Corporate Champion," Triple H's group would need a current main-event talent.

If Del Rio is able to keep the WWE title until Survivor Series then he will have to be involved in a championship match ruling him out of a spot on Team Triple H.

But if he was to lose that title to Cena or another contender, then he could be the perfect man to represent Triple H.

He is arrogant, rich, powerful and has already benefited from the new regime in more ways than one.

If Kevin Nash had not "stuck" CM Punk then Del Rio would not have been able to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to become champion.

The distraction provided by Nash and Triple H has also prevented Punk so far from cashing in his rematch clause.

It would not be a stretch to imagine a scenario where Del Rio aligned himself with the powers that be in the company to gain a huge advantage for himself. 

John Cena

There are many problems with this selection and there are many arguments against the possibility of it becoming reality.

Firstly Cena has feuded with Triple H time and again in the past and it was actually a dodgy call from the "Game" that cost him the title at SummerSlam.

But CM Punk's battle is with the company and how many times has John Cena underlined his commitment to and love for the WWE?

By the same premise of Punk's previous battles with Cena, the "Champ" would represent the "company man" determined to preserve the future of the WWE.

He would be pitted against the anti-establishment "Second City Saint" and his team of "ROH Originals."

This would not necessarily constitute a heel turn for Cena as a large portion of the audience has still not bought into the idea of Punk as a babyface.

This coupled with the fact that Punk's team would be made up of relative unknowns to the mainstream wrestling audience means that there does not have to be a clear boundary between faces and heels.

However it is very unlikely that John Cena will not be in the title picture at Survivor Series and with a rumored appearance by the Rock, Cena may have his hands full.

Mason Ryan

Before Mason Ryan's injury, he was being pushed as a monster heel and was the enforcer of CM Punk's "New Nexus."

But since he has been off TV, that stable has disintegrated with Punk's sudden rise to prominence as the WWE Champion and "Voice of Voiceless."

When Mason Ryan returns, he has a built-in feud with his former mentor over Punk's abandonment of the Nexus.

But not only that, the giant Welshman represents everything that the "Second City Saint" is opposed to in terms of what a wrestler should be.

Ryan has come into prominence based on his chiselled frame and bodybuilder physique as opposed to actual wrestling talent.

He is following in the footsteps of the likes of Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, John Cena and Batista, who all were pushed to superstardom based on Vince McMahon's stereotype of what a wrestling champion should look like.

Men like Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and now CM Punk have had to battle against their small statures all their careers.

It prompted Kevin Nash to call Guerrero a "vanilla midget" and the debate about whether a musclebound body is needed to be a champion in pro wrestling fuelled the verbal showdown between Nash and Punk.

It would also be a pay-per-view main event for Mason Ryan to add to his resume and could help to kick start his career.

Team CM Punk

CM Punk has a history of leading stables and the announcers continually put over his leadership qualities and the strange power he seems to have over his stooges.

We saw this first in the "Straight Edge Society" where Luke Gallows and Serena Deeb would go to extreme lengths to try and live up to the standards set by their "saviour."

When Punk took over the Nexus, the tests that the members had to pass to remain part of the group made for compelling television.

CM Punk is more than capable of leading a Survivor Series team and, at the moment, every match that he is involved in appears unmissable.

Colt Cabana

Colt Cabana's name has became a trending topic ever since Punk made a reference to his best friend in a promo.

Punk and Cabana worked together on the independent scene and even formed a tag team known as the "Second City Saints."

Cabana also had a run with the WWE as Scotty Goldman but was released because the company had no storylines for him.

But Cabana recently wrestled a SmackDown dark match in a losing effort to Wade Barrett and has cancelled his independent dates for the foreseeable future.

Does this indicate a WWE return for the man that knows CM Punk better than anyone?

If this Survivor Series match is to take place then Colt Cabana will be the first name on Punk's team sheet.

The Kings of Wrestling

Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero are both known for their friendships with Punk as well as their legendary status on the independent scene.

They are known as one of the premier tag teams in pro wrestling today and there have been many rumors that the WWE are interested.

If the "Kings of Wrestling" do put pen to paper on a WWE contract then they could bring credibility to Punk's stable by winning the tag team titles, as well as underlining the "Ring of Honor" connection.

The only drawback to this is the fact that they may not be known to many casual wrestling fans, but their pure wrestling talent and their connection to Punk should be enough to get them over.

Seth Rollins (Tyler Black)

The former ROH World Champion and star of the independent scene caused a stir in the wrestling world when he signed with the WWE in August 2010.

He has been wrestling in the developmental promotion FCW where he is one half of the tag team champions.

Seth Rollins is the name he has been given in FCW but he is more widely known as Tyler Black.

This would be a perfect way to elevate him to the main roster and immediately establish the fact that he is one to watch.

Rollins' independent wrestling style combined with charisma and star power could make him a future World Champion in WWE, and a place in Punk's team would really put him over.

Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan's recent victory at "Money in the Bank" and his promise to cash in his title shot at WrestleMania means that the WWE needs to think of ways to make him relevant until then.

His current feud with Wade Barrett could last through "Night of Champions" but after that the WWE needs to build Bryan into someone that the fans will believe in come WrestleMania 28.

As most people know, Daniel Bryan is a legend of the independent wrestling scene where he competed as Bryan Danielson.

He is a former ROH World Champion and if the company had a Hall of Fame then Danielson would be a first ballot inductee.

Some of the matches that he wrestled in ROH will go down as all-time classics and he competed with Punk on more than one occasion.

If the WWE wanted to put over Punk's ROH connection then adding Bryan to the Survivor Series team would make perfect sense.

Chris Jericho

There has been no indication that Chris Jericho will return to the WWE in the near future and this pick is by far the most unlikely.

But Jericho has had real-life problems with Triple H and his backstage influence in much the same way as Punk.

In Y2J's autobiography, he details the resentment that he had to put up with from the "Game" and his DX cronies.

Jericho has also suffered from the fact that he does not have the bodybuilder physique so prized in the WWE and, like Punk, he has never been afraid of speaking his mind.

Jericho's on-screen rivalry with Stephanie McMahon was legendary and this would add more fuel to the fire.

This is never going to happen but if Jericho wanted to return to the WWE then this would be a fresh and exciting way to bring him back.

Samoa Joe

Another extremely optimistic pick as no-one has any idea of Samoa Joe's contract status with TNA but this would certainly create a firestorm of publicity.

Joe has become a jobber in TNA and has apparently indicated that once his contract runs out, he would like to discuss terms with WWE.

It is unknown whether Joe would be able to make his WWE debut before Survivor Series or if these rumors are even true.

However Stone Cold Steve Austin recently put the "Samoan Submission Machine" over on Twitter by describing him as one of his "favorite workers."

Joe is also a former ROH World Champion and his series of matches with CM Punk drew the plaudits.

The Samoan stereotype in WWE has been overused and instead of making Joe the "next Umaga," they could add him to CM Punk's "Cult of Personality."