WWE Raw 5 Takeaways: Survivor Series Card Taking Shape
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1. SmackDown’s Invasion Raises Stakes in Battle For Brand Supremacy
Thanks to last summer’s brand split, Raw vs. SmackDown brand supremacy matches are back in the saddle at Survivor Series. Last year’s Survivor Series saw a very entertaining five-on-five matchup pitting Raw’s top stars against SmackDown’s top stars and the same is going down this year.
But last night’s Raw raised the stakes for this year’s encounter. With Raw GM Kurt Angle in the ring at the end of the show to announce Raw’s five participants to battle SmackDown, blue brand Commissioner Shane McMahon’s music hit. Shane O’Mac then entered through the crowd with a large portion of the SmackDown roster following him.
Earlier in the night, Angle and Shane had a backstage promo that led to some tense discussions about Survivor Series. And that was taken to another level when Shane claimed Raw was under siege. This led to the SmackDown superstars to rush the backstage area and take out any and everything that moves.
The blue brand laid waste to every individual they came across to stake their claim as the dominant brand heading into Survivor Series. There was not nearly as much intensity in last year’s five-on-five matchup, but this year’s battle has already exceeded last year’s intensity and we still have nearly four weeks remaining until the pay-per-view.
Survivor Series has presented fans with many memorable moments over the years, and the fall classic could do the same again in a battle for brand supremacy the likes of which we have never seen before.