Update: check out our review for WWE Survivor Series 2020 right here.
This year’s Survivor Series is doing something extra special for a certain “Deadman.”
At the 1990 installment of the event, The Undertaker made his grand (and admittedly, terrifying) debut to showcase his immense power and agility to the world at large. In honor of the PPV that ‘Taker shocked the world at and the entirety of his legendary career, Survivor Series 2020 will celebrate his 30th anniversary. Besides that major milestone acknowledgment, this year’s show will focus on brand warfare between just Raw and SmackDown. While it’s disappointing that WWE’s third brand NXT won’t be a part of the festivities this year, the planned bouts between both brands’ champions look enticing.
Here is a full breakdown of the entire event and our predictions for all the announced matches.
Dual Brand Battle Royal
WWE
Predictions & Winner: So the rest of the male Raw and SmackDown roster members who haven’t been booked for the main bouts on this show will clash in a battle royal. This is a nothing match to me, honestly. I’m placing all my bets on this match being a showcase for Smackdown’s Lars Sullivan, who will largely dominate the rest of the field on his way to securing the win.
Team Raw (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans, and Peyton Royce) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, and Natalya) (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: Looking at the field for this women’s Survivor Series Elimination Match makes it come off as one of the weakest in Survivor Series history. Out of the 10 ladies participating in this bout, only three of them have the ability to put forward a good to great effort (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, and Bayley). No disrespect to the other ladies on both teams, but they either have lost a step since getting called up to the main roster or they’re simply not that impressive in the ring. I have no interest in this match whatsoever, but I still gotta offer my predictions on who the winning team will be. Here goes, I guess…
So Lana’s been getting smashed through a table these past few weeks by Nia Jax in a bid to get her over as a babyface. WWE’s strange logic dictates that we should feel pity for her and cheer her due to taking so much punishment. Instead, we’re all sitting back and cackling every time it happens. I think WWE’s going to go all in on their (failed) plan to finally cement Lana’s push and help her get one over on her Samoan bully. That plan will come to fruition during this match. I envision a situation where Nia and Lana end up as the remaining members of Team Raw, while Bianca and Bayley make it to the end as the last two members of Team SmackDown. Nia will want to get the win all on her own, which will lead to her putting Lana through a table yet again to incapacitate her.
Nia will go on to clash with Bianca and Bayley for a long duration afterward, which will see the Raw superstar eliminate Bianca. A jealous Bayley will ultimately be the reason for Bianca’s downfall, which will lead to a feud between the two in the near future. Somehow someway, Bayley will sneak away with a screwy win over Nia and celebrate as if she’s the sole survivor. But then, a fully recovered Lana will re-enter the bout after a pissed off Bianca returns to get revenge on her untrustworthy teammate behind the ref’s back. Lana will then seize the opportunity to pin Bayley, which will lead to her getting the final pin and the big win for Team Raw. Will this finally get her over? Probably not. But this is a scenario that I can totally see the powers that be going with.
Bobby Lashley (WWE United States Champion) vs. Sami Zayn (WWE Intercontinental Champion) (Champion vs. Champion Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: 2020 has been pretty good to both Bobby Lashley and Sami Zayn. Although the year didn’t start out too well for both superstars, they managed to rebound and get their hands on championship gold later on. Bobby’s a part of the most dominant stable in WWE, while Sami Zayn returned during the Summer to reclaim the Intercontinental Championship he never actually lost. Now that Survivor Series has come around, it’s time for both men to represent their associated brands in a Champion vs. Champion match.
I gotta keep it a stack with you all – I hated this feud when it went down in 2018. The less said about the “sisters” segment that happened on Raw between the two, the better. And as for the actual PPV match contested between them, it was entirely forgettable. Now that they’re meeting each other in the squared circle once again though, I get the feeling that Sami will put up more of a fight this time around. Since he’s holding an important title, I’m sure WWE won’t give him the weak “jobber to the stars” treatment. Although Sami will get in more offense than expected, I think we all know the end result – Bobby’s overwhelming power will ultimately prove to be Sami’s downfall. The United States Champion is walking away as the victor here.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) (Raw Tag Team Champions) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) (Champions vs. Champions Match)
Predictions & Winners: Now this is a match that has show-stealer written all over it. The New Day tandem is known for getting the very best out of their opponents. And the same can even be said about The Street Profits. Both duos exhibit high-energy in-ring performances that make their foes attempt to reach their level. Now that both men are being put against each other, I’m sure they’ll bring the house down and make both their brands proud. It’s the battle of eternal good vibes vs. “The Smoke.” Who will win?
While Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are an impressive tag team with a title record that speaks for itself, I think WWE is going to give the fresher act the W here. And that win will be used to further prop up SmackDown’s tag team champions in an effort to further legitimize them. What better way to do that than by having Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford beat the 10-time WWE tag team champions across two brands? The Street Profits will prevail and get the extra rub they deserve.
Asuka (Raw Women’s Champion) vs. Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women’s Champion) (Champion vs. Champion Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: You know what? You’d think I’d be tired of watching these two ladies tear into each other by now. But the high quality of their 2020 contests has me excited for what they’re most likely going to produce here. I certainly got a kick out of their SummerSlam match from earlier this year. If they’re able to match even a fraction of what they produced during that intense encounter, then we’re going to get something worthwhile here folks. So Asuka’s been running with the Raw Women’s Championship since August, while Sasha Banks recently relinquished Bayley of the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Asuka’s been rebuilt into the killer she was always meant to be on the main roster and has left plenty of unfortunate victims in her wake. A win over her means a lot these days and Sasha could sure use a victory like that to add some more steam to her new title reign. That exact scenario is what I think is going to happen here – a hard-fought battle between both ladies will end in Sasha overcoming Asuka and getting revenge for her loss at SummerSlam. After this bout wraps up, I’m expecting a huge show of respect to be shown from Sasha to Asuka. The long history between them will definitely elicit such a reaction. And then Sasha can tie up some loose ends with the newly revitalized Carmella.
Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins, and Otis) (Traditional Survivor Series Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: Team Raw recently took an L to Retribution…RETRIBUTION! They might as well wrap it up at this point cause if they lost to that collection of forgettable jobbers, they have no chance against the united front that is Team SmackDown. Ever since AJ Styles has been gaining new team members, his coalition of big brutes and a super chill MMA grappler have been at odds. Their lack of team synergy has led to some big disagreements and the aforementioned loss to one of the worst stables in WWE history. So now the dysfunctional lineup contained within Team Raw will now do battle with the much more cohesive Team SmackDown.
The big brawlers on Team Raw will most likely get into another disagreement of some kind and push themselves into getting eliminated somehow. This development will force AJ and Matt Riddle to leave their differences behind them to work against whoever’s left on Team SmackDown. By the time Team Raw’s down to two members, I predict them having to contend with Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. Due to Owens and Rollins’ past beef, they’ll definitely have a hard time getting along in the face of their opponents. I’m going to go with a Team Raw win here (shocking, I know) that sees Riddle emerging as the sole survivor. Owens will eliminate AJ, then Riddle will get rid of Owens. Then Riddle will get a huge rub as he and Rollins put on a final 10-minute barnburner that will end with everyone’s favorite bro getting the win.
Drew McIntyre (WWE Champion) vs. Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman) (Champion vs. Champion Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: WWE has thoroughly confused me on this one. So at first, Randy Orton was slotted in for this brand warfare matchup between top champions. He shockingly defeated Drew McIntyre at last month’s Hell in a Cell. And in the weeks since his big win, he seemed to be heading towards a big matchup between him, McIntyre, and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. Just a few days before this PPV is set to take place, Orton ended up losing the WWE Championship he just won right back to the previous titleholder. So Orton’s title reign was all for naught and was clearly being used to prolong his beef with McIntyre. I’m not a fan of hotshot title changes that are used for shock value and nothing more, honestly.
So now we’re getting McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. Reigns has been “reigning” over the blue brand while preparing for war and using his blood cousin as extra hired muscle. Paul Heyman’s seemingly unstoppable Universal Champion has been running roughshod over his challengers lately and has become even more interesting in the process. Drew has become a far more intriguing personality in his own right ever since he won this year’s Royal Rumble, so now we have two wrestlers that are entering this bout in much better positions than their WrestleMania 35 selves.
So this is how I see this match unfolding – both champions will find themselves downed near its closing moments. While the ref is counting, Jey Uso will run in and try to interfere on Reigns’ behalf. The ref will attempt to stop him, which will leave the ring unattended while Orton slithers in to drop McIntyre with an RKO. This will lead to Reigns cutting down McIntyre with a final Spear for the win. This outcome will give McIntyre a screwy loss and a reason to pursue Orton once more. Plus it will keep Reigns strong and undefeated while in the midst of his strong Universal Championship reign.