WWE Survivor Series 2017: Predictions for the Interbrand War

Tim Sherry

Photo by WWE.com

Predicting the winners and losers of this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series 2017 pay per view.

When Kurt Angle took to the microphone on the October 23rd episode of RAW and announced that this years Survivor Series would involve a series of inter-promotional matches, most WWE fans realized that this was par for the course. Ever since the first years of the brand splits, the majority of Survivor Series events featured these types of matches and honestly, it’s a little repetitive. All the programs that had been building throughout the year all come to a screeching halt so the two brands can go head to head without too much build up. Meh.

Well, the repetitive nature of the show took a drastic turn when the blue brand roster showed up that night at RAW and savagely beat down it’s counterparts. The red brand returned the favor on the “go home” Smackdown last Tuesday and suddenly this show has a very different temperature than past years.

So as all the matches for Survivor Series began to iron out, it’s clear that Sunday night will be one of the most stacked cards in a very long time. Between an elimination style match that will include eight former WWE/NXT champions, a women’s match between two of the most prolific superstars over the past few years, and a dream match between both brands’ world champions, Survivor Series has the potential to be the best show of the year.

Predicting a card like this is not easy because after Sunday most of the competitors will go back their brand and pick up where they left off so there aren’t many future ramifications. But let’s give it a shot. Ahead are the predictions for Sunday’s Survivor Series.

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Singles Match: The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

Like many of the matches that are going to take place Sunday night, the match between the Intercontinental Champ, The Miz, and United States Champ, Baron Corbin, is a bit of a toss-up. Both men have been riding pretty high lately, albeit for different reasons. Miz has been his usual brilliant heel self, doing just enough most nights to keep his title while also falling victim to the RAW’s bigger superstars. Corbin on the other hand is riding higher than he ever has in pro wrestling career. He picked up his two most significant wins last month when he captured the U.S. title in a triple threat match against AJ Styles and Tyle Dillnger, and in a title defense against Styles on the following Smackdown.

So now the two mid-card champions will lock horns at Survivor Series in their first ever singles match against each other. When trying to decipher a winner in a match that features two heels with virtually zero back story, it’s tough. I guess we need to decide who can handle a loss like this on a big stage. Arguing that it should be Corbin will be tough. Like mentioned before, Corbin has never been better and halting his momentum right now seems like a terrible idea.

The Miz, on the other hand, can absolutely handle a loss like this. “The A-Lister” has that rare ability to come off stronger after his losses by using his the microphone to blame everybody except himself for losing. That’s the smart money here. Maybe a miscue from either Bo Dallas or Curtis Axel will cost Miz giving him yet another excuse. Either way, Corbin will benefit.

Winner: Baron Corbin

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Women’s Survivor Series Match: Team RAW (Bayley, Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, & Asuka) vs. Team Smackdown (Naomi, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina, & TBD)

Any time you have traditional Survivor Series elimination match, there’s bound to be a whole bunch of secondary factors. This one is no different. First off, the blue brand still doesn’t have a fifth member yet. Charlotte, the original team member, defeated Natalya on Tuesday to win the Smackdown Women’s title and that has thrust her into a match Sunday with RAW champion, Alexa Bliss. Smart money is on Natalya taking that fifth spot. But there’s been a lot of speculation that the return of Paige is imminent. Could she be the fifth member?

Then of course there’s the in-fighting on both teams. Anytime you mix baby faces and heels together in a group, there’s bound to be some tension. For the blue brand, it seems to just be the typical arguing, but things are a bit different on the other side. Captained by the maniacal Alicia Fox, Team RAW has been a giant mess leading up to Sunday with Fox and Jax on one side, the baby faces on the other. And there’s always the probability of an eventual Bayley/Sasha Banks fallout that fans have thirsted for ever since their scintillating 2015 wars in NXT. That could certainly derail the red brand’s chances of victory.

However, the x-factor in this entire thing is Asuka. “The Empress of Tomorrow” was elevated to RAW last month after run with the NXT Women’s title that spanned over 500 days and as of this writing, Asuka has yet to be pinned as a member of the WWE. There is just no way that begins at Survivor Series. There’s always the route of having Asuka get disqualified or counted out but that’s unlikely. Sunday’s match will be the first of many triumphs for Asuka as a part of the main roster. RAW wins. Asuka is the lone survivor which will earn her massive points with Kurt Angle and elevate her into title contention.

Winners: Team RAW

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Tag Team Match: Cesaro & Sheamus vs. The Usos

The original Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose versus The Usos match may have made more sense here but after Roman Reigns illness and time away, things had to be altered thus forcing Reigns into a six man match and the two heel championship teams to do battle. But either way, this should be another outstanding contest between two of the very best tag teams in the world today.

Cesaro and Sheamus, two outstanding singles workers, are doing arguably their best stuff to date as a team. And ever since their heel turn last September, The Usos have never been better, capturing three more world titles along the way. So to say that these two squads are finding each other at the exact right time would be an understatement.

Much like the Corbin/Miz match, this one is tough. However, unlike that match, a loss for either team here would not be the end of the world. Both duos are established teams and will pick up right where they left off once Sunday is over regardless of who wins. One thing is for sure, this is going to be a war.

The one word that comes to mind when trying decide on a winner here is “comeuppance”. Fans are always looking for heels to get exactly that. That pretty much describes the relationship between fans and “bad guys”. And Cesaro and Sheamus are in serious need of some comeuppance. After using a distraction from members of the brand that they’re just about to go to battle with when The New Day invaded RAW on November 6th to steal the tag titles away from Rollins and Ambrose, they need to suffer a loss at Survivor Series as a modicum of revenge. And that’s why I’m going with The Usos.

Winners: The Usos

credit: wwe.com

Singles Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair

Make no mistake, this is a huge match. Basically a history making match. This will be the first time since the brand split that two women, in fact the only two women, to win both brands’ titles will go to war. And it’s been a long time coming. Other than a two minute match in NXT back in 2014, Flair and Bliss have never wrestled a singles match against each other. What a great time to break that tradition as Charlotte, just captured her 6th world title as part of the main roster in just over a two year span.

Bliss, on the other hand, is a 3-time champion overall, but she picked up those three titles in half that time and captured both brands belts in less than nine months. These are two of the most accomplished females on the roster and Sunday’s match should be an absolute pleasure.

With all that being said, Charlotte should be considered a lock for this one. After all the attention she and her father, the legendary Nature Boy, received as “The Queen” marched to her sixth title, there is just no chance she loses to Bliss unless the latter receives some outside interference, which seems far-fetched. Add to it that when RAW invaded Smackdown Tuesday night, they made it a point to show Bliss laying Charlotte out backstage. Perfect reason for a revenge win for Flair.

Now, I may have said that Charlotte won’t lose to Bliss, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll leave Houston as champion. Here’s a second prediction. Bliss, bitter in defeat, attacks Charlotte after the match leaving her prone to a Carmella Money in the Bank cash-in. It makes sense. Bliss isn’t on Smackdown so why would she care enough to stop Carmella?

And it really is a perfect narrative for “The Princess of Staten Island”. She just kicked James Ellsworth, the guy who helped her win the case, to the curb and he was released by the company. What better timing to show the world that she doesn’t need him to become champion? And with all the emotion with Charlotte this past week, this would give Carmella molten-like heat. Book it.

Winner: Charlotte

Carmella Cashes in Money in the Bank

credit: wwe.com

Six Man Tag: The Shield vs. The New Day

This is another historic match. For the first time in WWE history, two of the best 3-man factions will square off as Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns take on Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston. Everyone knows the story about these two factions but it’s the timing of how one team formed and then broke up and how the other has remained dominant that is the key story here. The Shield arrived on the main roster in November of 2012 and for the next 20 months were one of the most powerful trios the company has ever seen.

In July of 2014, just one month after The Shield disbanded, Woods recruited Kingston and Big E and eventually formed The New Day. They would go on to win four tag team team championships, the second time breaking the record for longest WWE title reign in history at 483 days. So yes, this ought to be a classic. And the winner can confidently hold their heads high as the best trio of all-time.

As mentioned earlier, this match only came to be after Reigns injury knocked him out of a probable spot in the RAW versus Smackdown elimination match. And like always, Reigns is the x-factor here. Expect a thriller but don’t expect any team that Reigns is on to lose especially since his build for a match with Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34 will most likely begin to build sooner rather than later.

Not much else to say about this one other than that The Shield will win and Reigns will most likely make the pin.

Winners: The Shield

Credit: WWE.com

Singles Match: AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar

When the pairings for Survivor Series were first announced, you could almost hear a collective groan from the WWE Universe when it came to brand champion versus brand champion match. The idea of a Jinder Mahal/Brock Lesnar showdown didn’t exactly have anybody in the Houston area sprinting to their computers to buy a ticket to the event.

Men’s Survivor Series Match: Team RAW (Kurt Angle, Triple H, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, & Samoa Joe) vs. Team Smackdown (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, John Cena, Bobby Roode, & Shinsuke Nakamura)

This ought to be really interesting. Much like the women’s elimination match, there are clearly a few wild cards in play in this match. But first, let’s just bask for a second in what is undoubtedly one of the most star-studded matches in WWE history. Counting WWE and NXT, there are a combined 56 world championships among these men. If you add TNA to the mix, that makes the number 65. Wow. This is one of those types of Survivor Series matches that could possibly run between 30 and 40 minutes but it’ll feel like half that time.

It has a perfect mix of everything as far as who’s involved. You have four legends in Triple H, Cena, Orton, and Angle. You have four others that were massive superstars outside of the WWE and trying to become that again in Balor, Joe, Roode, and Nakamura. You have the budding, monster superstar on the precipice of a an eventual world title in Strowman. And of course, you have a non-wrestler executive type guy who’s made an in-ring career by sacrificing his own safety in Shane McMahon. If booked correctly, this could be the best match of its kind on the history of the company.

Let’s look at the variables for a second. On paper, it seems like the red brand could be in trouble. Jason Jordan could play a role in Angle or Triple H’s eliminations. Kane could do the same to Strowman. Balor and Joe despise each other. Not exactly a recipe for success.

But where I believe this match carries the biggest issue, resides with the Smackdown team in the form of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The two Canadians, infuriated by not being added to the team will undoubtedly have a say in at least some shape or form. They are two biggest villains on either brand right now and would take great pleasure in screwing over the team, Shane McMahon specifically, for holding them down.

Next: 3 Superstars That Need a Win Most at WWE Survivor Series 2017

Add in that the blue brand won last year and this has to be RAW Sunday night. Expect a ton of twists and turns, but also expect a red brand victory on the heels of a Zayn/Owens run-in and Finn Balor as the sole survivor becoming the front runner for Brock Lesnar’s next challenger.

Winners: Team RAW

Tim Sherry

Tim is a former indy wrestler, avid wrestling fan, and freelance journalist for dailyddt.com. He graduated with a BA in English and History from Salem State University and currently lives just outside of Boston. email: timwsherry@yahoo.com