Raw vs. SmackDown Live will once again be the centerpiece feud of Survivor Series.
For this year’s edition of the long-running PPV, the champions and top talent from both brands will butt heads during interbrand matches. The most shocking match of all will be between Raw’s Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and SD Live’s WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Along with that massive main event, the Intercontinental Champion will take on the US Champion, the Raw tag champs will battle with SD Live’s respective tag title holders and the women’s champions of both brands will vie for brand supremacy. These bouts, plus the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination matches, have me anticipating this show as one of 2017’s best.
It’s time to break down the competitors from each match and predict who’ll walk away as the winner for their brand at Survivor Series 2017.
Enzo Amore (c) vs. Kalisto (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: What’d I tell ya? That Kalisto title win was simply done to show love and respect to the late, great Eddie Guerrero (the first time this match happened, it was around Eddie’s birthday). I knew Enzo’s act as the slimy, cocky, trash talking heel champ was still a hit, so it made more sense to put the Cruiserweight Championship back on him. So of course it makes all the sense in the world that Kalisto will get his rematch at the next PPV. And that PPV is Survivor Series. Once again, I’m gonna go with Enzo simply because there’s still money in him being the champ and main focus of 205 Live. Enzo has a lot of life left in him as the Cruiserweight Champion and I don’t think he’ll drop the title again so soon after getting it back. Who will be his next challenger, though? If the rumors are true, Hideo Itami could get that main roster callup and be the man to finally make Enzo “GTS.”
Team Raw (Alicia Fox, Asuka, Bayley, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks) vs. Team SmackDown (Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Tamina and Natalya) (with Lana) (Women’s Traditional Interbrand 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winners: Some of the ladies representing this Women’s Traditional Survivor Series match are a nice bunch. The ones that really stand out amongst the pack are Asuka, Banks, Bayley, Jax, Naomi and Lynch. Fox, Carmella and Tamina are just warm bodies that’ll be there to get eliminated early, honestly. Expect Ellsworth to get thoroughly embarrassed at some point by every lady in a rare moment of WWE brand unity. I can even see Lana joining in on the Ellsworth beatdown fun before she gets some punishment of her own from the Raw women.
I envision a situation in which the final two women will come down to Asuka and Natalya in a sort of tease of a future dream match. They’ll just give us a sample of what a full match between them could look like, which will be the standout moment of this bout. Asuka will eventually come out on top and continue her mean streak as the top up and coming women’s wrestler on Raw.
Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor, and Triple H) vs. Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and John Cena) (Men’s Traditional Interbrand 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winners: Mega. Star. Power. This year’s Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match between the fellas looks awesome. Shane McMahon’s brand has gotten the upper hand on Kurt Angle’s roster for a while now, but I expect Raw to deliver some much needed revenge before this PPV. With the announcement of the last member of Team SmackDown being announced via social media, we now know both teams are finally ready for war.
There’s gonna be a ton of interesting matchups here – Angle and Shane will rekindle their feud from 2001, Strowman will try everything in his power to steamroll through the competition, HHH will lock up with Roode in a battle of father vs. son (HA! They look so alike! Get it? No? Ok…) and Joe will make a beeline for Cena while Finn beefs with Nakamura. This match will eventually erupt into pure chaos near its closing moments (I’m guessing Strowman will turn into an uncontrollable wrecking ball…again). I get the feeling that Angle and Shane will be the last men standing for their respective teams. My money’s on Angle making Shane tap out and walking tall as Raw’s GM/conquering hero.
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) vs. WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin (Non-Title Champion vs. Champion Interbrand Match)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: The Miz has managed to breathe new life into the Intercontinental Championship, while Baron Corbin has enjoyed a less than stelar run as the newly reigning US Champion. On paper, this looks like a case of complete domination due to Corbin’s domineering stature and Miz’s cowardly heel nature. But I can’t see The Miz being taken down so easily by an opponent that’s been made to look less than intimidating these days. You can probably count on Miz’s cronies doing their best to distract Corbin, which’ll lead right into him tearing them apart and falling right into Miz’s signature Skull Crushing Finale trap. Raw’s midcard title holder will emerge victorious here in a match I’m predicting as the worst bout from this show’s lineup.