WWE Survivor Series 2011: 5 Superstars Who Could Have Their Breakout Moment

You often know when a wrestler officially becomes a superstar.

Not a WWE superstar. A bona fide superstar.

When "Stone Cold" Steve Austin made his Austin 3:16 speech at King of the Ring in 1996, you knew it. When Chris Jericho made his WWE debut in 1999, you knew it.

And this year's Survivor Series pay-per-view will give plenty of young stars a chance to have their breakout moment.

So, let's take a look at five WWE stars who may become true superstars at Survivor Series.

WARNING: This slideshow contains spoilers from this Friday's episode of Smackdown on the No. 3 slide, so do NOT read it if you want to be surprised.

5. Zack Ryder

WWE officials have shown a ton of confidence in Zack Ryder over the last couple of months.

He has four wins over United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, he was chosen to be John Cena's partner in a Raw main event (before The Miz and R-Truth ruined that) and Cena's been pushing for fans to follow Ryder on Twitter.

It's about damn time, because Ryder's gotten himself over in a huge way with little help from the creative team.

If he can keep all the jokes to a minimum and remain serious when he's in the ring, there's no doubt that Ryder's headed for big things.

He should be featured in some sort of match against Ziggler at Survivor Series, whether it's a US title match or traditional 5-on-5 match.

Either way, though, I think Ryder's recent wins are a sign that he is destined for a solid upper mid-card role, and another big victory at Survivor Series could be just what he needs to get there.

4. Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett's WWE career has been a huge roller coaster ride.

He started off on fire by winning the inaugural season of NXT, becoming the leader of the Nexus and then feuding with the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton.

Then, he moved to Smackdown, led a crappy Nexus ripoff known as The Corre and found himself buried as a lower mid-carder.

But the tide has turned for Barrett.

The creative team seems to be firmly behind Barrett at the moment, pushing his "Barrett Uprising" and giving him victories over Daniel Bryan and the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom in recent weeks.

Barrett has all the tools to be a giant star in the WWE, and with the WWE's newfound faith in him, there's no reason to think that his re-breakout moment could come very soon. 

3. Daniel Bryan

SPOILER WARNING: THIS SLIDE CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Remember how we've been wondering what the hell is going on with Daniel Bryan?

Well, on this Friday's Smackdown, Bryan runs into Mark Henry backstage, and Henry tells him that he could never beat him. The two men agree to face off in the main event, which Bryan loses by disqualification after The Big Show interferes.

But that's not the noteworthy story. What is a big deal is that Bryan teased cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase following the match.

A sign of things to come, perhaps?

With The Big Show challenging Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series, this seems like a perfect opportunity for Bryan to cash in, win the World title and shock the world.

And, if that happens, Bryan should certainly be on his way to stardom as the face of Smackdown.

2. Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes has already proven to be a future star--that's just how I feel.

But he hasn't had that one moment (that big victory, epic promo, etc.) where we say, "Damn. Cody Rhodes has arrived."

However, the WWE brass have put Rhodes in a lengthy feud with Randy Orton over the last couple of months, and both Rhodes' mic and in-ring work have shown that he's ready for the main event level.

It would do wonders for his career if he was the last surviving member of his 5-on-5 team, and that's something I could definitely see happening.

Imagine if Rhodes was put in a 2-to-1 hole at the end of the match, but managed to eliminate the opposing team's last two competitors to get his team the victory.

That could be the catalyst that makes Rhodes a World champion in 2012.

1. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler has been losing to Zack Ryder a lot lately, but I think that's because he's slated to move up the card, not down it.

He's done just about everything he can do as mid-carder (win the Intercontinental and United States titles, etc.) and he proved in his brief main event run on Smackdown at the beginning of the year that he can hold his own in the World title scene.

Ziggler's the real deal: the right look, vastly improved mic skills and some of the best wrestling ability in the company.

You can tell that Vince McMahon likes the guy when he actually books him in two matches on one pay-per-view (like he did at Vengeance), and I think we'll see just what McMahon thinks about Ziggler at Survivor Series.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least bit if it was Ziggler, not Cody Rhodes, who is the star of a 5-on-5 match.