WWE Survivor Series 2020: Which brand will come out on top?

WWE Survivor Series 2020 will present another annual Battle of the Brands, but will WWE Raw or SmackDown come out on top this time?

WWE Survivor Series 2020 will be the 34th annual edition of the event, and this year’s version continues the Battle of the Brands theme that stems from WWE dividing their superstars between WWE Raw and SmackDown. While the show is also serving as a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of The Undertaker’s WWE debut, that doesn’t seem to have played into the night’s planned contests.

Instead, we’ve currently got seven confirmed matches to determine the “Best of the Best,” which WWE has bluntly slapped on as a tagline this year. I can hear Will Smith from Men in Black making fun of it already.

We’d only had six confirmed matches, but late this week the revelation was made that WWE will present a dual-branded Battle Royal during the WWE Survivor Series Kickoff Show. This serves first to get many other superstars on the card, but most importantly it’s likely so WWE can set things up to have one brand reign supreme at the end of the night.

With an odd number of matches, we’re likely to have one brand take four wins throughout the night with the other taking three, assuming we don’t have a no-contest or draw. With this in mind, it seems obvious that WWE will play the night out with a build towards a main event where WWE Raw and SmackDown are tied 3-3 going into that final match.

Setting the stage for the WWE Survivor Series main event

While Asuka and Sasha Banks will probably tear the house down with the match of the night, the main event is likely to be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre taking on Universal Champion Roman Reigns. In order to set the stage for that, we’ll need specific outcomes earlier in the night.

United States Champion Bobby Lashley will take on Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn. While Zayn has talked a lot of trash and seemingly set himself up to get some comeuppance, the potential presence of RETRIBUTION can’t be overlooked and they are likely to cost Lashley the match.

The New Day will take on The Street Profits in what is sure to be a tag team classic where Woods and Kingston seem poised to emerge victorious. We’ve seen Asuka and Sasha Banks square off several times, but this is a new Sasha Banks, and we need to see her topple Asuka on her own this time.

Those three predictions set things up with WWE SmackDown in the lead 2-1. We also have two 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Matches, and on the Men’s side, Team Raw hasn’t exactly been working as a unit. That could spell disaster for them, but meanwhile, a bold prediction of Lana being the last woman standing could come true and see Team Raw take the win in the Women’s Elimination Match.

Those outcomes would put WWE SmackDown up 3-2, but don’t forget the Battle Royal. In reality, that match is probably just there to even things up, and could quickly turn into a 24/7 Championship pile of chaos. Regardless of who gets the nod as the last man standing, Raw can take the win there to even things up.

WrestleMania Rematch: WWE Champion vs. Universal Champion

If things go like that, or similarly, it all paves the way for WWE Raw and SmackDown to be tied 3-3 heading into a Champion vs. Champion main event to decide which brand truly has the “Best of the Best” at WWE Survivor Series. On top of that, while WWE has neglected to mention this, we’re also set for a WrestleMania Rematch.

Back at WrestleMania 35, which admittedly feels like a decade ago considering the last several months, we saw Roman Reigns make a miraculous return after having to leave WWE to deal with a cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, the cancer went back into remission and Reigns returned in the build to WrestleMania 35.

While the build to the match wasn’t great, and the match itself felt a little lackluster, it was truly amazing to see Roman Reigns back on that stage competing against a talent like Drew McIntyre despite what he’d overcome. This time, it’s very different.

This is a very different Roman Reigns, but it’s also a very different Drew McIntyre. Back in 2019, McIntyre was still trying to find his groove on his own and carve out his path as a champion since moving to the main roster.

On the flip side, Roman Reigns was fresh off a battle with cancer and looking to prove he could still go like we’d seen him compete before. Both men came in with something to prove, and they delivered a solid ten-minute hoss fight that held up despite an unreasonably long event.

Now we’re looking at a ruthless “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns defending his seat at the head of the table as Universal Champion and a Drew McIntyre who only just recaptured his title after briefly losing it to Randy Orton. Drew is desperate to prove himself, but Roman Reigns has carved himself into a no-lose situation at every turn.

This match will likely go longer and be better than their clash at WrestleMania 35, and hopefully it can be the instant classic many fans had hoped to see that night. Who will come out on top? Universal Champion Roman Reigns will show up and win at all costs, which leaves SmackDown as 2020’s “Best of the Best.”