Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
Weeks of buildup will come full circle this coming Sunday night for WWE Survivor Series 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
WWE Survivor Series 2017 is built around battles for brand supremacy pitting Raw champions against SmackDown champions while also featuring two Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown battles between men and women on both brands.
With how the buildup has been over the past few weeks, it’s safe to assume Survivor Series could be a very interesting show given how the WWE universe has already been treated to several unexpected twists and turns. There are several key matches at the pay-per-view, but who needs to win the most at Survivor Series?
Let’s take a look at the three superstars (or teams) that need a win the most at WWE Survivor Series 2017.
3. The Shield
Since reforming prior to the Raw-exclusive pay-per-view TLC, The Shield has seen its fair share of ups and downs. The ups have been really good and the only real down has been the absence of Roman Reigns over the past few weeks due to his health issues.
The Hounds of Justice have looked impressive when all three together, and they will meet up with another top trio in the WWE in The New Day at Survivor Series. The match is a dream match of sorts for much of the WWE universe and not only could be a match of the night candidate, but potentially a match of the year candidate.
Both The Shield and The New Day are among the most over entities in the WWE and both have seen a lot of success, but the original trio of Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose haven’t tasted major victory yet since reforming. A win over the trio of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods would legitimize The Shield as the top trio in the WWE and could lead to bigger things in the near future.
While The New Day could benefit from getting a win over The Shield, it has seen plenty of success already this year with several tag team title reigns under its belt. And if The Shield was to lose in its first major match back with the original trio, it wouldn’t be a good sign for the group’s future regardless of how long it lasts.
This match could be a special one and seeing the original Hounds of Justice getting the win could lead to many opportunities for the trio.
Smackdown. Photo by WWE.com
2. The Usos
Tag team supremacy will be at stake at Survivor Series when the Raw Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro battle the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos. The match has changed in recent weeks, but the addition of The Bar shouldn’t lessen this match in the slightest.
With Sheamus and Cesaro dethroning Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for the Raw Tag Team Championship, they earned the right to square off with arguably the top tag team in the WWE in The Usos. And needless to say, Jimmy and Jey have more than earned that reputation over the past several months.
The Usos’ battles with The New Day were nothing short of outstanding and they solidified Jimmy and Jey as not only the class of SmackDown’s tag team division, but arguably the entire WWE’s tag team division. This is precisely why The Usos need to defeat The Bar at Survivor Series.
It would set things in reverse if The Usos lose to The Bar who just recently earned a spot in the match to begin with. And with the comments by Sheamus and Cesaro on the Nov. 13 edition of Raw where they said The Usos are the B-team tag champions, this would be a bad look having them lose to The Bar.
Jimmy and Jey represent the best tag team going in the WWE right now, and they need to go over against The Bar at Survivor Series to prove that once and for all.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
1. Team Raw Men
Survivor Series has always heavily featured elimination tag matches, and the 31st annual Survivor Series will feature an elimination tag match between five major Raw stars and five major SmackDown stars.
Both brands have traded shots with the other over the past few weeks with Raw landing a huge shot on SmackDown on Nov. 14. And many would suggest that Team Raw going into Survivor Series with the momentum is a bad sign for the red brand given how WWE has operated in the past.
While we will also see a Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown women’s battle, the men’s battle is especially significant given the recent developments surrounding the match. If Team Raw is to lose at Survivor Series, Kurt Angle would be out as GM of Raw. This isn’t the only reason, but Raw needs to get the win over SmackDown.
Losing Angle as GM would be nothing more than a storyline development, but there are other reasons as to why Raw should get the win. Given how Team SmackDown got the win at the 2016 Survivor Series, winning two in a row would not be a good look for the perceived A-show of the WWE.
In addition, Team SmackDown losing could potentially further what was the hottest storyline on Tuesday nights between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and SmackDown’s commissioner Shane McMahon. With Owens and Zayn not on the card for Survivor Series, many have speculated they will cost Team SmackDown just to stick it to Shane O’Mac, which could lead to even bigger things in that storyline.
Next: WWE Survivor Series 2017 Bold Predictions
This year’s Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown battle is shaping up to be one of the best Survivor Series elimination matches of all-time, and the red brand going over is the best option despite many fans’ own personal beliefs that SmackDown is the better show.