WWE Survivor Series 2011 Preview: 15 Burning Questions Fans Want Answered

After months of hype and buildup, Survivor Series is almost here.

The WWE superstars will invade Madison Square Garden on Sunday, and the pay-per-view has a chance to be something really special.

The Rock's back, Randy Orton and Wade Barrett's teams are headed for a huge showdown and CM Punk is in position to win back the WWE Championship.

Survivor Series should be great, but it could suck it up. That all depends on how the creative team books it and whether or not the fans get what we want.

Here are 15 burning questions we want answered at Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view.

15. What Will Happen When Eve Battles Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship?

The WWE roster has so few Divas that we're seeing the same Divas Championship match at Survivor Series that we saw at Vengeance: Beth Phoenix vs. Eve.

When that match was announced on Monday's Raw, I couldn't help but wonder why we're seeing that bout again, but then I realized that this could be setting the table for something big to happen.

Eve turning heel on Kelly Kelly? The beginning of dissension between Beth and Natalya? The return of Michelle McCool?

Who knows.

But I think Eve vs. Beth will indeed give the WWE a great opportunity to make the Divas division a lot more interesting.

14. What Role Will John Laurinaitis Play at the Pay-Per-View?

John Laurinaitis is quickly making me wish Mike Adamle was back on Raw as the show's general manager, but I still don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

Although Laurinaitis hasn't played as big of a role in recent story lines as he did a month or two ago, he's still the key figure in the ongoing feud between Triple H and Kevin Nash...and he still keeps texting in just about every backstage segment.

We haven't gotten any real indication as to who he keeps texting or why he keeps getting involved in the feud between Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk as well as the one between Nash and Triple H.

But he's definitely doing so for a reason, and perhaps at Survivor Series, we'll find out why.

13. Will Big Show Finally Stop Mark Henry?

When Mark Henry defended his World Heavyweight Championship against The Big Show at Vengeance, the match ended in a draw when Henry superplexed Show and caused the ring to collapse.

So, here we are at Survivor Series, and the two behemoths are facing each other once again.

Of all of Henry's recent opponents, Big Show seems to be the one who's giving him the most trouble, and as a result, some of us are thinking that Show could actually win the World title on Sunday.

I'm not one of them, though.

I don't necessarily think that means Show gets pinned clean at Survivor Series because I think we'll see this feud extended until WWE TLC in December.  

12. Will We See a Heel or Face Turn in Team Orton vs. Team Barrett?

The traditional five-on-five matches at Survivor Series present the perfect opportunity for a star to turn heel or baby face.

With five competitors on each team, I can easily picture a star turning on his squad, causing a teammate or two to get eliminated, and thus, turning heel or face in the process.

It's a simple way to move a face to the dark side (or vice versa) without having to come up with some complicated storyline to do so.

During the Team Orton vs. Team Barrett match on Sunday, prime candidates to do so are Jack Swagger or Mason Ryan. 

11. Will Mick Foley Get Involved in the Rock and John Cena's Match?

On Monday's episode of Raw, we saw Mick Foley return to the WWE for a "This is Your Life" segment with John Cena.

It was cut short, however, by The Rock, who proceeded to hit Foley with The Rock Bottom and then walk out of the arena.

That may have been just a one-time thing to get Foley and The Rock back on-screen together, but it also could have been a sign of things to come.

With Foley seemingly back with the WWE full-time, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make his presence known during The Rock and Cena's tag team match against The Miz and R-Truth.

10. Will Booker T Get Involved in Cody Rhodes' Business?

Booker T recently wrote on Twitter that he's coming back for "my last run," and he's advertised to wrestle Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at a Dec. 29 Smackdown live event.

Combine those two hints, and it seems pretty obvious that a program between Booker T and Rhodes is on the horizon.

The only question is: When will it start?

9. Will Zack Ryder Get a United States Championship Match (and Win)?

Zack Ryder has been trying to get fans to sign a petition on Twitter that would get him a United States Championship match against Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series.

Like most people, I assumed that this was just a storyline way of getting Ryder his title shot. Then, Christian got injured, Ziggler replaced him on Team Barrett, and it looks like Ryder won't be getting his title match after all.

However, it's worth noting that Ziggler pulled double duty at Vengeance, and he can certainly do it again.

If Ziggler does wrestle twice at Survivor Series, I'd fully expect him to lose his US title to Ryder, who will pick up his first singles title in WWE.

Woo woo woo, you know it.

8. Will the WWE Shock Us?

I ask this question at every pay-per-view: Will the WWE shock us, or will we get the same old crap that we're accustomed to?

For our sake and the sake of the WWE, I hope it's the former one. 

7. Will We See an Appearance from Triple H?

Triple H is supposed to be out of action for another few weeks because of the "fractured vertebrae" he suffered during that brutal attack by Kevin Nash.

I just don't see it happening that way.

The WWE has spent a ton of time building up this feud between Nash and Triple H, and leaving The Game off of Survivor Series would mean that much of what has happened up to this point has been a complete waste of precious TV time.

Yeah, Nash and Triple H could still wrestle at WWE TLC in December, but no one's going to care as much about this feud at that point as they will at Survivor Series.

6. Who Will Be the Last Man (or Men) Standing in Team Orton vs. Team Barrett?

When Team Orton faces Team Barrett on Sunday, the WWE has the chance to give one of the WWE's young guns a career-definining moment by having him be the lone survivor for his team.

I doubt we'll see that happen, though.

While it would be phenomenal to watch Cody Rhodes and/or Wade Barrett as the last man standing—for the record, I'd have those two as the lone survivors if I were booking this match—I think it's a lot more likely that Randy Orton and Sheamus will be the winners for the baby face team.

But I certainly hope not.

5. Will the Undertaker And/or Kane Return?

The latest report on Kane is that he's set to return at the Royal Rumble, while it's believed that The Undertaker won't be back until around Wrestlemania 28.

Yet, no one really knows when either guy is returning.

I think that, as PWInsider.com reports, Taker probably isn't going to be back until the granddaddy of them all, but I could definitely see Kane coming back before then.

Given that Kane's former tag team partner, The Big Show, is wrestling the man who put him out of action, Mark Henry, at Survivor Series, it would make a ton of sense for Kane to return at the pay-per-view.

4. Can the Rock and John Cena Coexist and Get the Victory?

As we saw on Monday's Raw, The Rock and John Cena coexisting is going to be easier said than done.

Cena ripped The Rock on the mic, The Rock did the same and then The Rock stole Cena's thunder when he laid out both The Miz and R-Truth with Rock Bottoms.

Yeah, The Rock and Cena weren't exactly on the same page, and I really wouldn't expect that to be any different at Survivor Series.

The Rock will try to show up Cena, Cena will try to show up The Rock and there's a good chance that their beef with each other will wind up costing them the match against Truth and Miz.

In fact, I think it will. 

3. Will CM Punk Win the WWE Championship?

Alberto Del Rio has had two successful title defenses on pay-per-view during his current WWE Championship reign, but both came with dirty finishes.

ADR blasted CM Punk in the skull with a lead pipe at Hell in a Cell, and he needed help from four men—Ricardo Rodriguez, The Miz, R-Truth and the dumb referee—to pin John Cena at Vengeance.

So, I doubt that Del Rio's going to beat Punk clean at Survivor Series, but that doesn't mean Punk is going to win the WWE title, either.

My guess is that ADR will cheat to win like usual, Punk will become No. 1 contender again and then the "Voice of the Voiceless" will beat Del Rio to win the WWE Championship at WWE TLC.

At least that's how I think the predictable WWE creative team will book it, anyway.

2. Is Daniel Bryan Going to Cash In?

Daniel Bryan has been a key figure in the World Heavyweight Championship feud between Mark Henry and The Big Show, and I recently wrote a detailed article on what I think it means.

Basically, there are three options: 

1. Bryan cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Henry at Survivor Series.

2. Bryan cashes in on Big Show at Survivor Series and turns heel in the process.

3. Bryan fulfills his promise, waits until Wrestlemania 28 to cash in and does so on Henry.

There's really no telling what will happen, but I think the most logical choice is to have Bryan hold onto the briefcase and cash it in at the granddaddy of them all...even if it's not on Henry.

If not, then Bryan will either look like a liar or have to turn heel, and I don't think that the WWE wants to do that with Bryan at the moment.

1. Will John Cena Do the Unthinkable and Turn Heel?

Come on, you know this is the question on everyone's minds.

We all want to know if John Cena will turn on The Rock at Survivor Series and turn heel in the process.

Given that The Rock is an even more beloved baby face than Cena, the timing may never be better for Cena to do the unthinkable and turn heel for the first time since the early portion of his career.

I think there's a very slight chance it could happen because Cena's character needs to be tweaked more than anyone else's on the WWE roster.

But if I'm a betting man, there's no way I lay more than a dollar on Cena turning heel.

I just don't see WWE officials having the grapefruits to do it.