TJRWrestling WWE Survivor Series 2019 Preview (Raw vs. Smackdown vs. NXT)

John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling WWE Survivor Series preview. The goal of this year’s Survivor Series is to elevate the NXT brand. At least that’s my perception of it. I think the “battle for brand supremacy” concept is lame and I guess WWE realized that too, which is why they added a third brand to the mix. My main issue is that we are supposed to care about Raw vs. Smackdown vs. NXT for about a month going into this show and then when Monday comes it’s like none of it matters anymore. This is just short term storytelling aside from the WWE and Universal Title matches. I’m glad that there are WWE, Universal and NXT Title matches on the show. I think that’s better than matching up those three champions. We need some title defenses on the card. Plus, it’s smart to keep Lesnar and The Fiend away for now.

Will there be great matches? Sure, but I think a show needs more than that. I hope there are surprises and things that get people talking in a positive way. Predicting the matches on this show, aside from a few, is just a guess because there aren’t many storylines other than “wrestler from another brand goes on another show and attacks somebody” for the past month. I’ll try to think of the positives, though. What I can promise you is I will definitely be sick of triple threat matches after this show.

I mean this with no disrespect to the wrestlers on the card, but I think I am more interested in Steve Austin interviewing The Undertaker on WWE Network, which airs for the first time after Survivor Series. Too bad I will be dead tired on Sunday night and likely won’t watch it until Monday. I am just really excited for that. Two legends chatting for two hours sounds incredible to me.

Joining me for the preview are Mike Holland and Mike Sanchez. Mike is a popular name.

(Note: All graphics are from WWE. The banner up top is courtesy of our friend Melo Man.)

Raw Tag Team Champions Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) vs. Smackdown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish)

Mike Holland: I am in general a very big fan of three-way matches where the participants all have a legitimate shot at winning, and this certainly would qualify. The Undisputed Era have their fingerprints all over NXT, The New Day have resurfaced with Smackdown’s tag straps and are always a solid pick, and as for Raw’s Viking Raiders, well…they just haven’t lost. As in, at all (unless you count that World Cup thing at Crown Jewel). That means all three teams have solid reasons for getting their hands raised tomorrow. And it should be a heck of a match as well.​

My personal mantra for this year’s Series is that the booking of the NXT talent is clearly paramount, both in order to further the “brand vs. brand vs. brand” hoo-hah and to position some of the key players for this critical stretch in the WWE event planner. What’s nice in a match like this is you can protect the team you want to, which in my mind would be the NXT crew. New Day has reached a point where they can take a loss without it mattering much, and I think it’s important for the Viking Raiders to keep their win streak rolling. Won’t be the last time this logic is employed.

Winners: Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Raw 1, Smackdown 0, NXT 0)

Mike Sanchez: Firstly, I want to thank John for asking me to take part in this preview. It’s an honor. Thanks, buddy. If this Survivor Series was three or four years ago, then I think most if not all the NXT talent would be set up to fail, however as the brand has grown and with Triple H spearheading the company, I think we could be in for some surprises, no more so than in this match. Survivor Series will give the yellow brand a real opportunity to showcase their skills to a wider audience and though I think the Undisputed Era won’t come out on top here, they’ll put on a hell of a show, setting out the stall for what to expect the rest of the night. For me, the New Day don’t need this win, so I’m going for the Viking Raiders. Their championship run has been pretty good – especially using enhancement talent to push them on Raw to make them look even more dangerous.

Winners: The Viking Raiders

John: I like all three teams a lot and I’m sure they look forward to having this match. My immediate thought was that The Viking Raiders would get the win because they get pushed so much as dominant champions. However, that prediction feels too obvious. I’m going with New Day pinning somebody from Undisputed Era just because I think Smackdown will need some wins and it makes sense for New Day to get them a win.

Winners: The New Day

Women’s Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Raw (Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane and Sarah Logan) vs. Team Smackdown (Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross) vs. Team NXT

(Late Night Saturday Update: Team NXT was announced after Takeover Rhea Ripley, who said the team will be Ripley, Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Toni Storm)

Mike Holland: I’m not quite sure how to feel about these matches with multiple people not announced. On the one hand, it certainly makes the event a lot more exciting (potentially, natch). When you’re in the predicting game, though, it’s a veritable pain in the keester. I will assume based on what we saw on Smackdown that Team NXT will consist of Rhea Ripley, Teagan Nox, Toni Storm, Mia Yim and Candice LeRae. That’s a ton of talent and really goes to show you how strong the division is in NXT right now. Raw’s squad, on the other hand, seems tossed together to say the least. Smackdown’s makes a bit more sense, but if we’re scoring on points, Trips’ Troop is ahead by an, ahem, nose. (Side note: I miss the goofy team names!)​

This match is really overshadowed by the women’s triple threat featuring the respective brand champs, unfortunately, and with no real stakes to speak of, I don’t know how good this is going to turn out. I could see either Charlotte or Sasha anchoring their team to victory, and likely making it there alone, but doesn’t Charlotte always win this kind of thing really? Better the newbies learn it now.

Winner: Team Raw (Charlotte Flair as the Sole Survivor) (Raw 2, Smackdown 0, NXT 0)

Mike Sanchez: I believe this match would be a great opportunity for the NXT ladies to make their mark and in the coming months flesh out the women’s division on the main roster. This could be a match where NXT dominates from start to finish. That being said, this is WWE after all and they have to protect some of the Raw and Smackdown talent.

I think this match will kick off with some quick eliminations, so I’m going to predict that Sarah Logan, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Carmella, Natalya and Lacey Evans will be heading back to the locker room within the first five to ten minutes. Add a couple of the NXT ladies to that list too. Sasha Banks will put up the good fight for Smackdown and probably eliminate one, if not both of the Kabuki Warriors. Ultimately, she will succumb to either Charlotte Flair or more likely, Rhea Ripley. I think Ripley will be the shining star in this match and will get several eliminations. Can team NXT win? Not with Charlotte Flair in the match. Though some grumble about her eternal pushes, she’s one of the most talented women in the company and fully deserving of the top spot. Team Raw wins for me.

Winners: Team Raw (Charlotte Flair as the last woman standing after submitting Rhea Ripley with the figure eight)

John: I think it’s lame that WWE didn’t announce the NXT wrestlers for this match or the other elimination match earlier. When I saw this match was happening, my immediate thought was that the NXT women were going to win because I figure that NXT won’t win the men’s elimination match, so if they win one match, it will be this one. What makes me not sure of that is that Rhea Ripley pinned Charlotte Flair on Smackdown, so do they want Ripley to win again? I don’t know.

I’m still going to go with my gut and pick NXT to win although it really can go either way. Good luck to the women in the match because it’s going to be a mess with 15 people in one match where you need to book at least 10 eliminations and potentially 14 eliminations if there’s one survivor. It’s a chaotic match.

Winner: Team NXT (Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm as the survivors)

United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong

Mike Holland: I was tempted to just write match of the night and leave it there, but that’s a bit too easy. I feel like a good chunk of my life has been spent looking forward to AJ Styles versus Shinsuke Nakamura matches in WWE that never measure up to the expectation. I am more than hopeful that adding Strong, a sensational talent in his own right with the ability to adapt to any needed style, will balance the scales and inject that missing element that can turn the very good into the sublime. I can hope anyway.​

This type of match is going to appeal to a wide chunk of wrestling fans, which is important for WWE at this time of competition. I feel like this could be an eye-opener of better times ahead. It is WWE we are speaking of, of course, but nonetheless I am amped to see this thing and figure on it being a slam-dunk show-stealer, particularly if given enough time to tell a story. When there aren’t any real “stakes,” you can make up for it by just letting fantastic wrestlers tell their story in the ring. I think Strong takes it down and makes a loud statement.

Winner: NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong (Raw 2, NXT 1, Smackdown 0)

Mike Sanchez: The new IC Title debuted on Smackdown on Friday, and I have to say, I like the new look. Having Styles vs Nakamura would normally be enough for the WWE fans, but the addition of Roderick Strong will add a different dynamic. The two veterans in Styles and Nakamura will make Strong look like a legit superstar here who can hold his own against two of the most experienced and talented wrestlers on the roster. I believe the only way Strong could sneak the win would be with some outside interference from his Undisputed Era brethren, so if that happens, expect Strong to have his arm raised. No outside interference? Then I can’t look past AJ Styles.

Winner: AJ Styles

John: The match quality should be outstanding because it’s three guys with a lot of experience. I can remember watching all of them wrestling in the early 2000s. Strong is the youngest of the three guys at 36 years old, but I looked it up and he debuted in 2000. Styles and Nakamura have wrestled many times, so they have good chemistry.

The unique thing about this match is they are all heels, so it will make it hard on the crowd in terms of deciding who to root for. All three guys cold have allies at ringside too, so that’s an interesting dynamic as well. Styles is the biggest name of the three, but he’s not my pick. I’m going with Nakamura to win with Sami Zayn’s presence at ringside as a factor in the finish of the match. It really can go either way as you can tell by the fact that the three of us are all picking different people to win.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs. Pete Dunne

(Late Night Saturday Updated: The Dunne/Dain/Priest match NXT Takeover WarGames on Saturday night was won by Dunne.)

Mike Holland: I like that WWE is having this match at Survivor Series, even though it’s at the likely expense of any of these talents being involved in the 15-man match later on. In my mind, it’s an excellent way to showcase some of what’s going on weekly in NXT to those WWE viewers who may not have made it a point to tune in. Adam Cole is a heck of a hand and incredibly fun to watch, so it truly doesn’t matter that much in my book who ends up winning the right to face him. I have a sinking feeling this gets relegated to the preshow, but even that puts eyeballs on the product and that’s a good thing. (Cue DDP smile.)​

As to who will challenge him, my guess would be Pete Dunne. I feel he is best known to the average viewer courtesy of his Royal Rumble appearance earlier this year, and we already know he is more than capable of delivering the goods in a high-profile match. In any event, I don’t see Cole dropping the belt just yet. Consider this a showcase of things to come.

Winner (and STILL NXT Champion): Adam Cole

Mike Sanchez: First off, this is being written prior to the NXT Takeover match. I’m going to go for the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne to come out on top there and be the challenger for Adam Cole (Bay Bay). Nothing against Dain & Priest, but to the non-NXT WWE audience at a big PPV like Survivor Series, Dunne is probably the most recognizable out of the trio.

As for the NXT Championship match, this shouldn’t disappoint. I fully expect a hard-hitting, all out brawl that’ll be a contender for match of the night. All signs point to an Adam Cole victory and establishing the NXT Title as something worth putting one’s body on the line for. Hopefully this won’t be Cole’s swansong to move onto the main roster, as I think that will happen post Wrestlemania and Cole and the Undisputed Era still have much to offer in NXT. Cole is being built into something very special.

Winner and still NXT Champion – Adam Cole (Bay Bay)

John: It will be a win for Adam Cole no matter who the opponent is. I went with Dunne getting the win in my Takeover preview because it would lead to the best match at this show. Plus, Dunne is a natural face that the fans in Chicago are going to love, so he makes the most sense as the winner to me. I think long term, Cole will have a rivalry with Tommaso Ciampa or maybe Matt Riddle and his title reign will continue after this show.

Winner: Adam Cole

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler

Mike Holland: There is a lot to like about this match, and I’m feeling like it just might go on last. I have absolutely no issue with that, as I think the Baszler/Lynch showdown is one of the most anticipated things on this entire card top to bottom. Baszler has been booked very smartly, and has managed to maintain her badass persona in the manner WWE seemingly wanted for Ronda Rousey before it fell off the Total Divas cliff. Given Lynch’s character, this is something that will make a powder keg look tame.​

Lest we forget that Bayley is in this match, she has also had a very good run since unleashing the heel side of her persona. I’m sure that is intentional, as it puts her in the perfect position to benefit. My original thought was a clear Baszler win here, and that very much could be in play. I don’t see her beating Lynch, simply because that’s a match for another card (or two, or three) altogether. Plenty of time to tell that story. The more I think about it, though, the more I feel like it plays into Bayley’s character to steal a pin on Lynch during the inevitable confrontation.

Winner: Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley (Raw 2, NXT 1, Smackdown 1)

Mike Sanchez: Oh my! This should be excellent. I say ‘should’ because I’ve been drawn in too many times by WWE in believing we’re about to see something extremely special, only to end the match feeling underwhelmed. This is a difficult one to predict as Becky Lynch has been firmly placed as the #1 darling of the Women’s Division, Bayley has been reinvigorated since turning heel (which I love) and Shayna Baszler has been chomping at the bit to prove she can hang with the best women wrestlers in the world. I think WWE will have a hard time booking a finish to this, so I’m expecting an exciting, competitive match with a screwy finish. Lynch wins almost all the time, Bayley needs to keep up her momentum and Baszler won’t want to be made to look like a loser on the main roster. A run in could help somebody get the win, or maybe cost somebody the win. Picking Lynch to win is never a bad idea. I’m also predicting a post match attack by a returning Ronda Rousey, who will attack Lynch and leave her in a heap.

Winner – Becky Lynch

John: This should be fun although it feels like Bayley and Baszler care a lot about the match because they have interacted a lot more than Lynch has. I expect them to get 15 minutes or so with a lot of believable near submission attempts and some good nearfalls too. I’m going with Lynch because she wins nearly every match she has. I doubt WWE wants to have her lose, even if she’s not involved in the finish, in a match like this. If it was up to me, Bayley would win because she needs it. I think Lynch will make Baszler tap out to the Disarmher and they can say Baszler was hurting from the Takeover WarGames match one night earlier.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Men’s Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre and Ricochet) vs. Team Smackdown (Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, “King” Baron Corbin, Shorty G and Mustafa Ali) vs. Team NXT

(Note: The NXT team has not been announced. They may be announced on social media prior to the show, but for now, we don’t have any names.)

Mike Holland: There’s plenty to unpack here, so let’s start with the biggest unknown, namely who will make up the NXT team. I think Tommaso Ciampa is pretty much guaranteed to be leading the yellow brand, as he’ll be pulling captain duty tonight at War Games. Keith Lee has already teased things with Strowman, so he’s likely in too. There are plenty of options following that, but I only have two humble requests: 1) Under no circumstances allow Triple H to be an active member of this team. 2) Under no circumstances fail to allow Finn Balor to be on this team. Following those two rules will preserve the idea of this show and also give WWE fans a cool moment as Balor takes it to the other brands. It’s certainly possible that NXT gets this duke, but I’m not sold on this company giving up that much ground at this juncture. I think it much more likely they make a big splash and take out a few big names before the old familiar sets in.​

Raw’s team is odd once you get past Seth Rollins, who has done his level best to illustrate how seriously he is taking his responsibility as the face of Monday nights. Is it me or are Randy Orton and Ricochet already setting up a future battle? McIntyre was a running buddy of Shane McMahon during his seemingly never-ending feud with Kevin Owens, and now they’re united on Team Raw. It just seems like kind of a mess, and that’s likely intentional. I’ve already given Raw two wins and I don’t see any brand getting booked to win three of five. ​​

As for Smackdown, it’s a mixed bag with two key players in Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Strowman always excels in these type of elimination matches, but rarely wins. The idea of Roman Reigns being sole survivor would certainly make Fox happy, and it’s a pretty easy scenario to envision in this era of WWE. I think this match has plenty going for it, and the NXT entries will be fun to watch play out, but I wouldn’t expect a shocking ending.

Winner: Team Smackdown (Roman Reigns Sole Survivor) (Raw 2, Smackdown 2, NXT 1)

Mike Sanchez: Without a doubt, this will be the longest match of the night and could be the best on the card. The NXT guys will put on a good show here, likely eclipsing much of the Smackdown team, and probably eliminating some too. I’m excited to see what the plan is for Kevin Owens who has been making his presence known to devastating effect in recent weeks. He’s the odd man on Team Raw, brought into the fold after being forgotten for so long. Team Raw is too strong here to ignore, so I think it’s possible they might win, however Owens is the wildcard in the match and may have his allegiances tested, especially with the influence of Triple H reminding him of his NXT past. If I had to pick just from the teams, I’d go with Team Raw, but the Owens factor is too strong to ignore. I think he’ll turn on his team – especially Seth Rollins – and cost Raw the victory leaving a chance for his opponents. Expect some high-flying incredible moves by the always-brilliant Ricochet in this match. Roman Reigns has been steadily climbing back up the ladder and has been well received by the WWE Universe. I think he’ll pick up the win for the blue brand.

Winners – Team Smackdown (Roman Reigns as the last man standing, will pin Seth Rollins after Owens costs his team the match)

John: It’s hard to really break this down when we don’t know the names of the NXT wrestlers in the match. I’ll guess that they are going go with Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Matt Riddle and Finn Balor. I don’t have any information on if that is the team, but it makes sense since the Undisputed Era guys have other matches on this show.

I don’t expect the Smackdown team to win because they have had this story of Corbin not getting along with Reigns due to the captaincy issue on the team. I expect the other Smackdown guys to be eliminated early, then Corbin may lose on a fluke rollup or something and after that, Corbin will cost Reigns with a cheap shot and somebody will pin Reigns.

I think one of the safest predictions I can make is that Seth Rollins will be greeted with “CM Punk” chants from the Chicago fans and that should be music to Seth’s ears as he continues to trash talk Punk. I don’t see Rollins winning this match, but I’m going with Team Raw for the win here. They have tried to build up an alliance of sorts with veteran Randy Orton and younger star on the rise, Ricochet. It’s also worth noting that Orton is arguably “Mr. Survivor Series” thanks to winning the most elimination matches and having the most eliminations. I expect that to continue. They might do some spot where Ricochet saves Orton from an elimination to show that Ricochet trusts Orton now. I’d like to see Kevin Owens last as a survivor, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. I think the Orton and Ricochet story will lead to them getting the win.

Winners: Team Raw (Randy Orton and Ricochet)

WWE Universal Championship: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Daniel Bryan

Mike Holland: As a big Police fan, any Fiend match just naturally makes me think of the classic “Roxanne” because, WWE, you don’t have to put on the red light! This one is odd to me because despite the solid nature of the combatants, the build is just sort of..meh. The two have a long history during Bray’s tenure as, well, Bray, and yet it’s barely been hinted at thus far. It’s just happening because, basically. I’m guessing Daniel is being used as a mouthwash to help the viewing public gargle out the putrescence that was Fiend/Rollins, and I won’t ever complain about D-Bry getting a title shot, even when there’s just about zero chance that he’ll be winning it.​

All Fiend matches seem to have some degree of odd goings-on, so if I was a betting man I’d be surprised if we saw any kind of pinfall here. Interference is always a viable option, especially with Luke Harper remaining gainfully employed by Titan Tower, and good old Bryan never minds doing the job to help a fella out. The real tragedy here is not the silly lighting or Undertaker homage-read-ripoff ring hacks, it’s that all of that stuff is taking away from the very real momentum gained by Bray during the Firefly Funhouse segments. At least this caliber of opponent should be able to get a match worthy of the character.

Winner (and STILL WWE Universal Champion): “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Mike Sanchez: Please, no red lights. I get The Fiend is being built as an unstoppable monster, but lose the silly lighting. As for the match, this reignites old rivalries from a few years ago when Daniel Bryan was recruited into the Wyatt family and eventually turned on Bray. Both men have good chemistry with one another and I expect Bryan to push the Fiend in this match. I’ve been worried about Bryan’s health since he returned and though I’m very happy to see him back in the ring, I don’t want him to be put at risk in such a high-profile match. Do I see Bryan walking away with the title? No, so expect a hard-hitting, very physical match but with a familiar outcome.

Winner and still WWE Universal Champion – The Fiend

John: This should be a win for The Fiend, who is probably going to hold the Universal Title until WrestleMania or perhaps longer than that. The match will be hurt by the STUPID RED LIGHT~!, which is getting the all caps treatment now. I absolutely hate it. The weird thing is I’ll have people on Twitter trying to defend it to me. You’re defending something that hurts how easy it is to consume the product? Weird to me. I’m sure Daniel Bryan will bust his ass and sell for everything as well as he can, but the match will be hurt by fans knowing Bryan is going to lose. It also wouldn’t surprise me if we get a rematch at the next PPV, TLC in December, so maybe they do a screwy finish. Even if they do a clean finish, I can see Bryan getting another title shot just because Bryan’s a former top guy that can easily be put in that challenger spot any time. I don’t know if it’s going to be a great match, but it can be depending on the story they tell.

Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

No Holds Barred for the WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Rey Mysterio

Mike Holland: I’m on the fence here, because this is yet another case of everything leading up to the match being largely good but the end result of most Brock Lesnar title matches in WWE these days are, shall we see, less than stellar. The sting of Kofi’s decimation still lingers, and do we really think the legendary Rey Mysterio will fare better? Good luck with that.

​Back to that excellent build though, where Lesnar has done the unthinkable (completely thinkable in pro wrestling clime), and involved Rey’s son in his reign of terror. I’ve heard some grumblings about Lesnar attacking Mysterio out of the blue, but it fits with his character in my view: he does what he wants when he wants and that’s that. The injection of Cain Velasquez into the feud was good for business on the surface, but injuries kind of shorted things out before they got going. I would imagine he’ll be appearing here too, likely for light physical involvement to keep things moving along.​​

Rey is a tremendous worker and one of the best to go against a guy Lesnar’s size without having everything look silly. I don’t think they will squash him here, although anything is possible. The No DQ is of course a big deal, and seemingly favors Mysterio since he’s got multiple folks in his corner. But are they really? Dominick’s desire to wrestle is not even a secret at this point, and a feud with dear old dad in the twilight of his distinguished career ain’t a bad way to start.

Winner (and STILL WWE Champion): Brock Lesnar

Mike Sanchez: I’m looking forward to this. As many wrestling commentators have said, a motivated Brock Lesnar is something special and I fully expect to see him up for this. Maybe it’s been Brock’s more regular appearances on TV lately, but he seems to be back into the swing of things and enjoying his matches more. Mysterio will make Brock look even more like a superstar and will be tossed around the ring and beyond like a rag doll. The ‘No Holds Barred’ stipulation gives Mysterio some advantage in that he’ll be able to bring the beast down with weapons, but expect little Rey to be on the receiving end of some too. Will Dominik make an appearance? I hope so. A father/son angle hasn’t been used to this effect in some time (Miz’s dad will always be awesome) and will bring a different dynamic. I think there will be breakages, carnage and blood, but Brock will stand tall when all is said and done.

Winner and still the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Champion – Brock Lesnar

John: I think this match has the best story of anything else on the show and it’s not even close. With that said, Rey hasn’t had a match on television since September 23, which was a win for him. Is Rey one of the best wrestlers ever and somebody that can be in a title feud at any time? Sure, but I would have liked to see Rey earn the title shot by beating somebody else or doing something. I think WWE needs to be better at having people earn title shots, especially the major titles. Look at Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel too. There are many examples.

When they announced this as a No Holds Barred match, that told me there would be interference from others. That could be Velasquez, but I think we’ll see Rey’s son Dominik go after Lesnar. I can see there being a point where Lesnar is in full control, then Dominik attacks with a steel pipe or a chair or something like that to save his dad. That can lead to Mysterio getting a nearfall or two where it looked like he might win. Ultimately, though, I think this is a win for Lesnar and if it’s not, I would be very surprised by that. I think this will be a great match between two guys that were key in the growth of Smackdown in that 2002-03 period that I loved so much. They are probably good friends going back all those years and I think Brock will be happy for sell for Rey’s moves. If I’m wrong on that then so be it, but I expect a fast paced 10-15 minute match with Lesnar retaining his title.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

BONUS TOPICS!

The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most

Mike Holland: This is a no-brainer for me. Styles vs. Nakamura vs. Strong. I don’t care who wins or loses, this should be five stars and then some.

Mike Sanchez: Brock Lesnar vs Rey Mysterio. Probably the first time I’ve been looking forward to a Lesnar match for a while.

John: The men’s Survivor Series elimination match. I like the uniqueness of it.

The Match I Care About The Least

Mike Holland: This is historically a very easy pick for me, but not so much here. I could pick any of the bigger brand vs. brand vs. brand matches, as there are no stakes involved to speak of, but I’ll go with the Women’s traditional elimination as the least exciting since the champion vs. champion vs. champion is far more interesting.

Mike Sanchez: The Fiend vs Daniel Bryan (purely because I think they’ll do the red lights).

John: Viking Raiders vs. New Day vs. Undisputed Era. I like the teams, but they haven’t done much to make me care about it.

Longest Match

Mike Holland: The traditional elimination matches are usually a safe bet here, so I’ll go with the Men’s match.

Mike Sanchez: Men’s 5 on 5 Survivor Series Elimination Match.

John: I think the men’s Survivor Series elimination match will be over 40 minutes. The women’s elimination match will probably be in a similar range, but likely less time.

Shortest Match

Mike Holland: Lesnar/Mysterio won’t be a squash, but it won’t be that long either.

Mike Sanchez: Raw Tag vs Smackdown Tag vs NXT Tag.

John: I’ll go Lesnar vs. Mysterio around 12 minutes and I expect everything else to be more than that.

Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)

Mike Holland: I will say a solid 7.5 here. Plenty of intrigue going into it, but not an absolute must-see due to the lack of ramifications.

Mike Sanchez: A solid 8. Though I don’t think there will be any title changes, the card excites me. I want WWE to showcase the NXT talent and I want all the talk to be about NXT the next night. I’m predicting Rhea Ripley will be the star of the night.

John: 7. I’m surprised I am the lowest score, but I’m happy the Mike boys are excited about the show. My concern is that triple threat matches can be so repetitive and I think that can hurt the show a lot. There also aren’t enough good stories going into the matches. On the plus side, the match quality should be great. When that happens, most of us are happy with the show, so I can totally understand the reasons for optimism.

Final Thoughts

Mike Holland: Survivor Series was always a hoot when I was growing up, and a lot of that shine wore off a long time ago. WWE consistently treats this as a pseudo-“big” event, and so I appreciate that injecting NXT into the proceedings this time around has added an element of mystery and excitement to an event that deserves much more of it. Whether or not it’s lip service will be answered presently, but WWE doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to “invasion”-type storylines or brand battling. It gets stale quickly and the creative group seemingly runs out of gas before it starts. I’m happy to be wrong on this account.​

I will add to the litany of voices that would appreciate some tangible stakes to turn the corner and make the traditional Survivor Series matches mean something. All of that said, I like the amount of uncertainty here, and should WWE make the decision to put their money where their mouth is and let NXT have a huge night, I am all for it. Competition for viewers can and does make everybody better, and it’s the fans that win. Here’s hoping for a return to form with this show.

John: I’ll be back with a review of Survivor Series on TJRWrestling.net most likely on Monday morning because I won’t be watching it live, so check it out when it gets posted.

Mike Holland – @DharmanRockwell

Mike Sanchez – @MikeSanchez1878

John – @johnreport

If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.