WWE Survivor Series 2011: Previewing and Predicting This Sunday's Event

The Survivor Series—for fourteen years, it has been the most controversial show on the WWE's pay-per-view calendar. Beginning with the Montreal Screw Job (which has apparently earned its own capitalization) in 1997, each year the annual November event gives fans something to talk about the following day around the water cooler at work or on the playground at school. This year will likely be no different.

The Rock makes his highly anticipated return to the ring for the first time in seven years. CM Punk looks to add to his collection of WWE Championships in 2011 by defeating Mexican aristocrat Alberto Del Rio. "The World's Strongest Man" and the "World's Largest Athlete" battle for the company's World Heavyweight Championship. And good, old-fashioned Survivor Series goodness will reign supreme in the form of a 10-man tag team elimination match.

What will have fans talking on Monday? Which titles will change hands? Will there be any conclusion to the wildly out-of-control conspiracy storyline?

One will have to wait until Sunday for these answers. But you can join me inside as I preview and predict all of the winners and, in some cases, losers, of this weekend's Survivor Series extravaganza.

United States Championship Match: John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler

The United States Championship match at this Sunday's pay-per-view is the least built of all six matches on the card. John Morrison, the victim of a long losing streak, as early as three weeks ago, was suddenly thrown into the mix and granted a U.S. Championship match, despite Zack Ryder holding several non-title victories over current titleholder Dolph Ziggler and having a highly-entertaining rivalry building with him on the Long Island Iced Z Web show.

But this match is less about the challenger and more about the champion. In recent months, Dolph Ziggler has evolved into being the 2011 equivalent of a Mr. Perfect or Honky Tonk Man.

He is the highly-talented mid-card performer that often loses non-title matches but uses his in-ring skills, and an outside distraction, to retain his gold. He has an arrogance about him that makes him unlikeable but also allows him to succeed where others with less self-confidence have failed. He may be the hottest in-ring performer in the company right now.

With that said, expect the U.S. Championship match to kick off the evening in thrilling fashion. As spotty as Morrison is, he has a track record of working very well with Ziggler, and Dolph has flat-out been money as of late. Both men are over with the crowd, and the Madison Square Garden audience appreciates good wrestling.

Dolph should retain here. There has been little reason to care about anything Morrison does of late and, with the more popular Zack Ryder waiting in the wings for his title shot, it makes the most sense for Ziggler to retain. The problem remains, however, that the creative team within WWE has done little that makes sense in recent weeks—this match existing in the first place being one of those nonsensical things.

I believe Vince McMahon recognizes that he has a workhorse in Dolph Ziggler that has been missing from the company for quite sometime. Dolph is the anchor of the mid-card and he, quite frankly, can have entire feuds built around him. That is a rarity in the wrestling business, a crown jewel that comes around once in a decade. Why risk ruining that in hopes of once again pushing a guy that has stumbled and fallen back down the card too many times before?

Prediction on following page.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Look for Dolph to retain the U.S. Championship in a fast-paced, high-impact contest. Morrison will have his chance to shine, the NYC crowd will be heated, and the match will set the pace for the rest of the card to come. Ziggler retains, likely after the Zigzag, and many are left to wonder if Morrison will bolt for TNA when his contract comes up at the end of the month.

Divas Championship Match: Eve Torres vs. Beth Phoenix

The Divas Championship match at Vengeance between Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres was far better than anyone expected. With Kelly Kelly and Natalya barred from ringside, limiting the whacky interference, the two Divas were given time to craft a match that exceeded what most thought the current division was capable of presenting.

Eve's story is interesting because, of anyone on the female roster, most would assume she would be a given to be the face of the division. She is athletic, beautiful, is one of the main spokeswomen of the Be A Star campaign, is highly skilled in martial arts and most impressively, she can solve the Rubik's Cube in five minutes.

Eve is the perfect mix of athleticism, beauty and intelligence. She is strong and self-reliant. In many ways, she is the perfect role model for the young girls in the audience.

Her opponent in this match, Beth Phoenix, is a powerful wrestler, perhaps the best in the Divas Division. She and Natalya's crusade to rid the WWE of its "Barbie doll Divas" started strong but has stalled in recent weeks, largely due to the creative team losing interest in the division once again.

If Eve and Beth can craft a match near the quality of their Vengeance encounter, it will be considered a success. Unfortunately, late in the week, it was announced that the match will now carry the stipulation of a "Lumberjill Match," with the rest of the WWE Divas surrounding the ringside area. That will likely lead to distracting outside events and really hurt the quality of the match going on inside the squared circle.

Beth retaining makes sense, especially if she and Natalya are meant to continue their "Divas of Destruction" storyline. Eve winning could, however, signal the transferring of "top face Diva" title from Kelly Kelly to the Denver native.

Prediction on following page.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix

A second heel leaves Survivor Series having retained its title.

At the end of the day, Eve has not been built as a threat to Beth or the Divas Championship in the few weeks that have passed since Vengeance. Outside of winning a battle royal, she has been tossed aside in favor of hyping Kelly Kelly's Maxim cover. While serving a greater purpose than Kelly in the long-term, Eve will not be WWE Divas champion by the time Survivor Series concludes.

Beth wins a sloppy match, made all the worse by the overbooked nature of the Lumberjill match. Let's say pin-fall, at around 5:00, following the Glam Slam.

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Mark Henry continues to be one of the most interesting characters on WWE television and one of the few pleasant surprises in this year's wrestling world.

With that said, the return of the Big Show has slowed Henry's development as the monster heel in the company. In recent weeks, Mark has been portrayed as a badass villain, tearing through everyone on the WWE roster...except for Show. Since the giant's return, Henry has ducked Big Show, going as far as bailing on tag team matches rather than facing his rival.

Big Show has been booked as strongly as he has ever been since returning from hiatus. He is the unstoppable big man that the creative team has failed to book him as during his 12-year stint with the McMahon-owned company. For the first time in a long time, he has a legitimate chance to win the world championship.

Smackdown ratings have been up as of late, and the dominant reign of Mark Henry as champion has been impressive. Booked, in many ways, similar to the way Vader was in early 1990's WCW, Henry is a legit monster. He brutalizes and dominates even the best (ask Randy Orton) and issues no apologies when he inducts Superstars into the Hall of Pain.

Big Show is the motivated giant. In many ways, this better illustrates the "unstoppable force vs. immovable object" saying.

Prediction follows on next page.

WINNER: Mark Henry

"The World's Strongest Man" retains his title.

This is one prediction I do not feel strongly about. There has been something to WWE's push of Big Show that tells me they are serious about reestablishing him as the killer giant of the company. But WWE has done so much to push Mark Henry as champion, to make him into a viable main event player after 15 years, that to sacrifice that to once again push Big Show would be disappointing and unnecessary.

I see Henry winning via nefarious means, either via count-out, disqualification or cheating. I do not believe now is the time to blow the feud off as there is still plenty left to do with Henry and Show, including a rumored tables match at the TLC pay-per-view in December.

Expecting a hard-hitting brawl of a match, not unlike their high spot-filled encounter at Vengeance. If that is the case, Mark Henry and Big Show may have the potential to steal the show at Survivor Series.

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match: Team Orton vs. Team Barrett

The traditional Survivor Series tag match returns for another year, and the 2011 edition features a group of young talent poised to dominate WWE for years to come.

Team Orton, captained by "The Viper," features four of the most popular baby faces in wrestling and a wild card in Mason Ryan. Ryan is a terrible wrestler but has managed to get over with the fans. Kofi Kingston has been in a holding pattern since his tag champion partner Evan Bourne was suspended for a wellness policy violation.

Sin Cara has been a major disappointment but remains popular with the fans and sells a boatload of merchandise. Sheamus is as hot as he has ever been, as popular too, and seems poised to break through as one of the top faces in the company. Randy Orton is in the midst of his best year, a year that saw him evolve into one of the two or three best overall wrestlers in the company. Nobody has been on a hotter streak of good-to-great pay-per-view matches than Orton.

Team Barrett is among the most talented Survivor Series teams of all-time. It is a team full of young stars that many expect to lead WWE into the future. Hunico is the team's enigma, a performer who has shown enough in-ring talent to garner attention but whose character is still undefined.

Jack Swagger is a former world heavyweight champion whose push is finally on the rebound after spending most of 2011 making up for a failed reign. Cody Rhodes is the closest thing to a sure-fire future world champion fans have seen in quite some time.

Dolph Ziggler, who has already been covered previously, is one of the finest in-ring performers in the business today. Finally, Wade Barrett is well on his way to becoming the champion many expected he would be by now. His renaissance is a welcome sight to those turned off by his lackluster year thus far.

This match is very much as toss-up. With so many heels expected to be victorious, it would be very un-WWE-like not to break up the streak of "bad guy" wins by throwing the fans a bone with a baby face win. With that said, the talent is so immense on the heel side of things that a loss could hurt the legitimacy and credibility that Rhodes, Ziggler and Barrett have recently built with the fans.

Prediction on following page.

WINNER: Team Barrett; SURVIVOR: Wade Barrett

There really is no other suitable conclusion to the match. Wade Barrett has been so poorly used this year that all of the good faith WWE and Barrett have built up with the fans could disappear if Wade falls back into his losing ways.

Sheamus and Randy Orton have been booked so solidly over the summer and fall that losing this match, especially to a team of highly-talented up-and-comers, will not hurt them in the eyes of the fans. Add to it the dire need for Barrett to begin collecting signature wins, and you have a proverbial "no-brainer" in terms of this match's result.

I expect the finish of the match to see Orton left two-on-one against Rhodes and Barrett. After several moments, Orton makes the comeback, eliminates Rhodes with the RKO, but falls prey to the wasteland by Barrett.

The ensuing rivalry between Barrett and Orton, a rehash of the one in November of 2010, should benefit without the heavy influence of John Cena. Randy is money when it comes to pay-per-view, and most television matches, and Barrett appears motivated to regain his spot as the hottest young star in the company.

This is my pick for match of the night.

WWE Championship Match: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio will meet in a WWE Championship for the third time in five pay-per-views. At SummerSlam, Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to defeat a downed Punk and win the WWE Championship. At Hell in a Cell, Del Rio became champion for the second time, defeating Punk and John Cena in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match. Despite the familiarity between the two, this is the first time Punk and Del Rio will meet in a singles match with the gold on the line.

Punk has rebounded from the storyline involving Triple H and Kevin Nash, which nearly killed any momentum built for him over the summer. Del Rio continues to be a disappointment as champion, with the fans struggling to find reasons to care about him. This match, in the storied Madison Square Garden, could go a long way in shaping the futures of both men.

This could be the best match of the night. Both men are highly-skilled in-ring performers. CM Punk has been among the best in the business this year, rivaled only by Randy Orton in WWE. Alberto Del Rio continues to impress fans with what he is capable of between the ropes, from a technical standpoint, but his in-ring charisma is seriously lacking.

The match result could go either way. The company has clearly invested a lot into Del Rio, spending a year getting him to the point of being champion. Whether or not he has lived up to the hype, to his push, is another question. Abandoning the title reign would be a major statement on the part of Vince McMahon, his creative team and his company.

CM Punk is among the hottest performers in wrestling. He is a major merchandise mover, perhaps the best talker in the sport, and he consistently performs at a high level inside the ring. Punk is the people's choice for WWE champion.

Prediction on following page.

WINNER: CM Punk (New WWE Champion)

Madison Square Garden is the Mecca of professional wrestling. It is the home of some of the most memorable moments in wrestling history. CM Punk winning the WWE Championship from Alberto Del Rio would supply the company with a piece of film that could be played endlessly in signatures, video packages and on home video releases.

The fans in New York will be hot for Punk. A former ROH wrestler, who performed a number of times in the state and had memorable contests there, Punk is the type of wrestler the blue-collar fans in the Empire State adore. He is a hard worker who is not afraid to voice his displeasure and does whatever he can to make sure fans leave the building feeling like they had a great time and that their money was well spent.

Del Rio is not. He has noticeably struggled in his current position. The only way to put an end to that struggle is to put an end to the title reign.

Finish sees Punk counter an attempt at the cross arm breaker with the GTS for the pin-fall win.

Never Before, Never Again: The Rock and John Cena vs. the Miz and R-Truth

The marquee match of the Survivor Series 2011 is, fittingly, a tag team bout. For the first time in seven years, The Rock returns to Madison Square Garden, to a WWE ring, to do battle with the hated Miz and R-Truth. To top it off, Rock's Wrestlemania XXVIII opponent, John Cena, will be his tag team partner in a bout billed as "Never Before, Never Again."

The Miz and R-Truth have been entertaining through most of the year. Miz elevated his game and became WWE champion for the better part of four months. Truth is the surprise of the year, evolving from mid-card comedy act to one of the more unique characters on the show.

John Cena is as loved/hated as he ever has been. Like every other year he has spent in the main event picture, Cena collected several WWE Championships and never sank below a certain spot on the card. The Rock continued his movie career but returned to WWE in early 2011 before hosting Wrestlemania 27 and setting up a monumental clash with Cena at next year's Wrestlemania.

Realistically speaking, Miz and Truth have little chance of winning this match. Unless there is some sort of screwy finish or the conspiracy storyline plays into the contest, Rock and Cena should win convincingly. After all, this match does not exist to showcase The Miz and Truth. Hell, it does not exist to showcase John Cena any further than he has been all year.

This match exists to bring The Rock back into the ring. The match has been sold on The Rock's first in-ring work in seven years and as such, is likely to feature "The Great One" picking up the victory.

Prediction on the following page, if you have not figured it out yet.

WINNERS: John Cena and the Rock

Many expect some sort of dissension between Rock and Cena to cost them the match. Others expect a heel turn. Neither will happen.

WWE will not conclude their pay-per-view return to Madison Square Garden with a finish that will leave fans anything but satisfied. Rock and Cena win, rather easily and without much fan anxiety. Where the dissension between Rock and Cena will come in is post-match, where I expect The Rock to flatten John Cena with a Rock Bottom and stand tall, posing for and celebrating with the fans as Survivor Series concludes.

This match, more than anything, is another chapter in the storyline leading to the epic story-ending match at Wrestlemania 28. It is about The Rock, his return to wrestling and furthering the Rock-Cena story—nothing more, nothing less.

What Kind of Show Will Survivor Series Be?

Complete with a gratuitous picture of the lovely, "Geek Goddess," AJ.

The 2011 Survivor Series will likely be remembered as another in a long line of really solid wrestling shows WWE has produced this year. There is no real "Match of the Year" quality contender on the card, but with the environment that MSG in known for, there are several average matches on this card that could end up surprising.

The WWE Championship, traditional Survivor Series tag and The Rock's return to the ring are all matches that have the potential to steal the show and, possibly, exceed expectations. Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix surprised at Vengeance, as did Big Show and Mark Henry, and both of those contests have the potential to do so again. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison is almost guaranteed to be one of the better undercard matches of the year.

Regardless of whether the show surpasses "solid" status or not, enjoy the WWE's presentation. The show features one of the most talented rosters the company has had in quite some time, the majority of the stars involved having the potential to deliver in big match, high-pressure situations.

Survivor Series has the potential to come in second to Money in the Bank for pay-per-view of the year.