Although WWE Survivor Series 2019 is months away, it’s never too early to attempt to predict a “Big 4” Pay Per View card.
Based on the fact that Becky Lynch, Kofi Kingston, Bayley, and Seth Rollins are the current main champions in WWE, it’s safe to say that the upcoming major Pay Per Views could be even more exciting than usual. WWE has also brought in Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff to lead Raw and SmackDown Live respectively, so by the time WWE Survivor Series 2019, the product itself could look quite different.
That’s not even accounting for the fact that SmackDown will debut on FOX in October, so the vibe around Survivor Series in November could be unique on the strength of the new TV deal alone. There’s also the matter of AEW, as their television will start up in the fall at around the same time as SmackDown shifts to FOX.
Exciting times are ahead for wrestling fans, so to get an early start on the hype train, let’s predict the Survivor Series match card before Extreme Rules kicks off. And then we can go back and see how poorly these predictions aged, since, you know, WWE is always full of surprises.
The New Day vs. The Club (Champion vs. Champion)
There’s no doubt that The New Day vs. The Club has to happen at some point in 2019, because these are the two best factions in WWE right now. The New Day are living legends of the industry, and they’ve somehow reached another level of success during Kofi Kingston’s all-time great WWE Championship reign.
Meanwhile, The Club are back in business after once ruling WWE in 2016. That was when AJ Styles joined forces with old NJPW buddies Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to make John Cena’s life miserable, and the final payoff was Styles pinning Cena at SummerSlam in one of the greatest matches at the Pay Per View’s history.
A match between The New Day and The Club at Survivor Series could also be one of the greatest matches in a Big 4/5 Pay Per View’s history. Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods are unstoppable in the ring, and their creativity is essentially surpassed by nobody else’s in wrestling. These three geniuses once put on an all-timer against The Usos inside Hell in a Cell, so imagine a trios match against the experienced trio of Styles, Gallows, and Anderson.
This would be a wonderful wrestling match with some great brawling spots, and the energy from all six men would be insane. Also, watching Big E and Gallows battle while Anderson, Woods, Styles, and Kingston sell their hearts out would be something else.
Prediction: The New Day, because they’re the best faction in the world
10-on-10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match: Team Raw (The Usos, The Revival, The Viking Raiders, The Authors of Pain, and Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder) vs. Team SmackDown (The Planet’s Champions, Heavy Machinery, The B-Team, Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev, and The Hardy Boyz)
It’s almost impossible to predict the full field of tag teams from July to November, because the non-established tag teams tend to be switched around at WWE’s will. Injuries and random pairings are prone to happen, but this could be a great mix of talent for a fun 10-on-10 match.
The 10-on-10 tag matches are usually great, as they’re wild and a great change of pace from the rest of the card. Plus, it’ll be special to see guys like Jimmy and Jey Uso, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Daniel Bryan, Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura, and The Hardyz in the ring potentially all at the same time. The sheer madness of this match guarantees that there will be some interesting shenanigans outside the ring.
Predicting a winner is tough, especially since the whole “Wild Card” thing threw out the idea of brand loyalty, if it even truly existed to begin with. But the thing is, SmackDown moving to FOX and being further away from Raw in the context of a Monday-Friday “workweek” could bring back the whole brand warfare idea. And that’s not even mentioning a potential rivalry between Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff, which could bleed into television.
I’m going to go with Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan as the sole survivors. I think it’ll lead to an intriguing fallout, since Bryan can further his ego with this honor.
Prediction: SmackDown, Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan as sole survivors
United States Champion Ricochet vs. Intercontinental Champion Aleister Black
There are a number of dream matches for Aleister Black on either Raw or SmackDown Live for the remainder of 2019 once he battles Cesaro at Extreme Rules in his first PPV singles match, but a WWE Survivor Series 2019 champion vs. champion match could be the dreamiest of them all.
Because in order for this to happen, two exciting outcomes would need to take place in the months prior to Survivor Series. Firstly, Ricochet would have to successfully hold off all comers for the United States Championship, including AJ Styles at Extreme Rules. Meanwhile, Black would have to win the Intercontinental Champion, meaning he’d either defeat Finn Balor cleanly or grab a win from Balor’s Extreme Rules rival Shinsuke Nakamura. Better yet, that means fans would be treated to either Balor vs. Black or Nakamura vs. Black after already imbibing the greatness that is Cesaro vs. Black.
The IC Title vs. US Title matches should be show-stealers at Survivor Series, just as The Miz vs. Sami Zayn captured our inspiration in 2016. Last year’s Nakamura vs. Rollins match between champions was pretty good, too.
But a match between former tag team partners, champions in NXT, and 2019 NXT call-ups? Now that may be an all-time Survivor Series classic. Black and Ricochet are two elite athletes with great chemistry and have taken well to the main roster; this is a match to dream about.
Women’s 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Raw (Becky Lynch, Lacey Evans, Natalya, Naomi, and Nikki Cross) vs. Team SmackDown (Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Ember Moon, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose)
This could be another show-stealer. Last year, Nia Jax got all the heat after being the sole survivor, whereas the sole survivor in 2017 was Asuka, who began her push towards facing Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34. This year’s sole survivor should be a similar breakout star, so Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose are all excellent candidates.
To that point, Deville and Rose were tremendous in last year’s Survivor Series five-on-five match, stealing the show from bigger names in that match. Their work together in this year’s five-on-five would be fantastic, and it would be interesting to see how they co-exist with Mella and Moon, who aren’t exactly fans of the heel “Fire and Desire” tag team. And imagine Charlotte Flair trying to hold all of that together as the arrogant leader! (Unless if she returns as a babyface, in which case she’s the noble leader just doing her best.)
The Raw side of the bracket is just as talented, if not more volatile due to the rivalry between Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans. But it’s hard to see chaos befalling the Raw side, as Naomi and Natalya are true leaders and team players. Naomi is another wrestler to watch closely in this match, because she will undoubtedly have some genius spots that make you blink twice.
Prediction: Raw wins with Nikki Cross as the sole survivor after an inspired performance
Men’s 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Raw (Baron Corbin, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and Bobby Lashley) vs. Team SmackDown (Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Andrade)
Roman Reigns is the biggest acquisition in the history of SmackDown Live, so it’s only fitting that he captains a star-studded team in to WWE Survivor Series 2019 agains one of his old rivals in Baron Corbin.
Honestly, the Raw side is no match for SmackDown, even with living legends Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Lashley joining forces with The Monster Among Men. Corbin is just way too atrocious of a leader to ever grab a win as a team captain, and Reigns will pick him apart in the most satisfying of ways. Seriously, there are few things in wrestling that give me as much joy as watching Reigns absolutely embarrass Corbin. It’s hilarious.
As for SmackDown, there are still a lot of egos that could potentially clash. Whereas Corbin is liable to blow up at anyone, SmackDown’s potential in-fighting is far more layered. Andrade, Randy Orton, and Finn Balor cold make for a dream Triple Threat match, which means that there’s bound to be some sort of a clash there.
But babyface Owens and Reigns are here to save the day. Plus, no matter how insane Orton is (I’m guessing he’ll turn on Balor at some point during the match), Reigns will be the one to pull it through. The Big Dog is the most obvious sole survivor if I ever saw one.
Prediction: SmackDown wins to cement the FOX move, Reigns is the sole survivor
Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley
We can dream, right? For as long as I live (or at least for as long as I’m writing about professional wrestling for Daily DDT), I’ll probably have Sasha Bank vs. Bayley penciled in on just about every way-too-early match card predictions piece. And that’s because of one simple question: Why the hell wouldn’t you want to watch two of the greatest rivals in wrestling history have a match at a marquee Pay Per View?
I remember getting my hopes up for a WrestleMania 34 or SummerSlam match between Sasha Banks and Bayley last year, so even though Banks isn’t even in WWE right now (I’ll leave the speculation as to the reason up to you, dear reader), you had better believe I won’t stop dreaming.
Who wins? Who cares? Banks and Bayley have traded so many victories over the years, and while it’s true that Banks has never won “The Big One” over Bayley, a champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series is more about the match quality and spirit of competition than the stakes. Of course, Bayley and Banks have such great fanbases and the duo are so keenly aware of all the layers in the stories they’ve told that there will be plenty of opportunities to dissect the question of “Who (in kayfabe) is better?”
All the while, the other 90% of us will bask in the glory of an all-time classic between two of the best in the business. And yes, for the record, I very much miss watching Sasha Banks wrestle.
Prediction: Nope, predicting the match is where my end of the bargain lies here
Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. WWE Champion Ali
If Kofi Kingston were to hold the title for a full year between WrestleMania 35 and 36, I’d be more than ecstatic. I’m just not sure it shakes out that way, because there’s a wonderful story to be told involving Kingston and Ali. Ideally, Ali would win the 2020 Royal Rumble to face Kingston at ‘Mania 36 in Tampa, but, alas, WWE probably won’t book that long term. Though a trading of the titles between Ali and Kingston in a feud from SummerSlam this year to WrestleMania next year wouldn’t be a bad thing either…
That said, I think Ali could very well win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam this year, setting up a champion vs. champion dream match against Seth Rollins at WWE Survivor Series 2019. Assuming Brock Lesnar doesn’t win a cash-in on Rollins, The Architect is a good bet to main event WrestleMania 36 against Roman Reigns in a Universal Title match.
But before that, Ali vs. Rollins could be a real highlight in Seth’s Universal Title reign. Ali is one of the best story-tellers, promos, and athletes in the wrestling business today, and he’ll bring something out of Rollins that maybe we haven’t seen in the ring before. Rollins is typically the slickest athlete in the ring, but Ali is one of those few guys who can potentially out-wrestle and out-maneuver him.
This should be a classic match, with Ali taking Rollins to the brink. But yeah, as good as Ali is, I doubt even he’ll beat the Universal Champion. Honestly, though, what’s far more important is the match itself and the joy of watching Ali compete as WWE Champion against Rollins. This could be a special match on a wonderful night of wrestling.
Prediction: Seth Rollins