US Champion AJ Styles vs. IC Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong
This is one of the few story driven Raw vs. SmackDown vs. NXT matches for Survivor Series. Well, a story did not officially kick off until the Friday before the PPV, but hey, we got something.
After receiving his new belt design for his Intercontinental Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura and his manager goaded how he was going to beat AJ Styles and implied that Roderick Strong was a no-name nobody. Then, after Undisputed Era beat The New Day and Heavy Machinery later that night, Sami Zayn and Nakamura got the last laugh after dropping both the North American Champion and United States Champion with steel chair shots to their back before retreating, well, to the back.
It’s hard to imagine Nakamura losing after just getting a new belt and it’s hard for me to see Styles losing a match right before his US Championship defense against Humberto Carrillo the next night on Monday Night Raw. However, if I’m correct in thinking Raw wins both elimination matches, then NXT has to win something. So, sure, let Strong win this one.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Raw Tag Champions Viking Raiders vs. SD Tag Champs New Day vs. NXT Tag Champs Undisputed Era
At first, I was ready to predict a win for the Viking Raiders to help them pick up momentum after suffering their first ever loss. But given they’ve been pretty irrelevant in this three way storyline, I expect the same out of this contest.
Given all of the story elements have been between New Day and Undisputed Era, they’re more likely to pick up a win. Since Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly have the largest set of eyes on them for their first major PPV, it makes more sense to give them that win. Help add some intrigue to casual viewers who may want to check out NXT on USA Network.
Winner: Undisputed Era