The WWE Network airs the Survivor Series event this Sunday at 8PM EST and there is excitement in the air. Whenever the WWE title goes vacant, eyes and ears take notice, but with a tournament ending on a big event, interest is even further piqued. Who will walk away WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Will the Brothers of Destruction, Undertaker and Kane, be able to take down the Wyatt Family? Will Tyler Breeze’s pay-per-view debut end with a win? We have some opinions…
Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Steve Coulson: I am very much excited for this match. I am a big fan of Breeze and like most, a fan of Ziggler. Some are concerned that their matches will go the route of Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels, in that both are best being the bump guy so they don’t click as well as you’d hope, but I think this will deliver. The feud has been decent, with Smackdown being better for it than RAW, but the intrigue of Breeze in a big match is the draw here. Also, I think Prince Pretty picks up a big win.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
Jon Potter: I’m torn on this match. Breeze has been lukewarm since his debut and Ziggler has sunk back into obscurity since this time last year. Neither man has a ton of momentum going into this contest. With all this said, both of these men are more than capable of performing at a very high level and so they could put together a very solid opening contest, which is where I expect them to be positioned. As far as a winner goes, Breeze is newer and will likely get the biggest win of his career thus far.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
WWE Diva’s Championship
Charlotte (C) vs. Paige
Steve Coulson: Oh boy. This controversial story. A lot of people have some serious thoughts on RAW’s main event segment and I can understand why, however I’d rather just focus on the match we’ll be getting. Truth be told, I’m not looking forward to it. This is probably controversial but I don’t enjoy Charlotte much unless she’s with a Becky Lynch or a Sasha Banks. Paige has kind of suffered since her matches with Emma, but I hope they pull something good off. I’m least excited for this, but with Sasha on the horizon I suspect some big divas matches are still to come.
Winner: Charlotte
Jon Potter: I’m with Steve. Call me soft, but I outright refused to watch their Raw segment after hearing about its content. This Divas revolution was never about causing controversy. If you just gave these two women a basic, clear story and 10 to 15 minutes on PPV, they could give us something solid. Instead, everybody is focusing on the tragic story of the champion’s brother, while nobody seems invested in the match. Controversy only creates cash when people don’t turn away in disgust. On this occasion, it seems WWE have pole vaulted over that thin line. As for the match, Charlotte wins. Her reign is too new and Paige seems to have regressed to the point where a championship reign for her is about as exciting as a root canal. Please God, bring on Sasha Banks!
Winner: Charlotte
Undertaker and Kane vs. The Wyatt Family
Steve Coulson: What can I say about this? On one hand, I am disappointed in a way it isn’t a four vs. four match. I’d have much preferred a Survivor Series style match for Undertaker’s Survivor Series farewell. With that said, I can understand that maybe they didn’t have anyone who fit the bill and that they wouldn’t have wanted to ruin the Brothers of Destruction together one last time or what have you. And I much prefer a two versus two match to a handicap, so that is a plus.
And realistically, if Undertaker is in action I don’t care as much about the booking because, hey, it’s the Undertaker on the WWE Network. We don’t have much of this left. We have to enjoy it while we can.
Winners: Undertaker and Kane
Jon Potter: This seemed a lock to be a traditional elimination match. If not for the emergency tournament, it still might have been. Instead we have a standard tag match with a lacklustre build. Let’s not pretend we don’t know who will win this. The damn show is being marketed as a celebration of The Undertaker. They’d be demeaning the entire theme of the night if Taker didn’t walk out victorious. I do wonder where this will leave Wyatt, but he always seems to bounce back. As Steve says, Undertaker at Survivor Series is a rare deal and could very well be the beginning of the end for The Phenom. I’ll enjoy it for the spectacle, but I don’t expect a classic.
Winners: Undertaker & Kane
WWE Championship Semi-Finals
Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Zeb Colter)
Steve Coulson: Not too interested in this and it is seemingly extremely predictable. Not much to say here. The match hopefully will deliver.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Jon Potter: Crabby Steve is a rare yet hilarious sight to behold! I can’t really say he’s wrong though. Del Rio has been booked pretty strongly since his return, but he’ll be no match for the Reigns juggernaut as it steam rolls into the finals. I expect something solid, yet unremarkable. Like a cheese sandwich.
Winner: The Cheese Sandwich Roman Reigns
WWE Championship Semi-Finals
Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Steve Coulson: I am much more excited for this semi final match. I enjoy both talents quite a bit and I feel like if given the time and platform they could really deliver together. Hopefully that happens here. I also think while Dean Ambrose seems like the obvious winner, there is always a chance we get a surprise Owens win.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Jon Potter: I hope these two get 20 minutes and permission to tear the house down. These two can deliver huge in big match situations and you don’t get much bigger than this. I’m hoping for at least a minor classic. Now, who do I think will win? I want to say Kevin Owens. His gimmick as a slimy prizefighter would fit with The Authority well. However, I don’t think WWE will want to pass up on Reigns vs Ambrose. God, I hate agreeing with Steve so much!
Winner: Dean Ambrose
WWE Championship Finals
Steve Coulson: This is the big one. I think everybody has two opinions going into this show. Either Roman Reigns will win the title clean, or something else will happen that I’ll discuss below. Personally, I think neither option will happen. I think one of two other scenarios happen. One is Roman Reigns turns and wins the title as a result, or we get a surprise and Dean Ambrose wins. I for one hope and think Dean Ambrose will get it but either option is better than the idea of Roman winning it clean. I don’t think predictability is always bad in wrestling. In fact, I think people harp on it too much sometimes. However I see WWE wanting to pique as much interest as possible by doing something different.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Jon Potter: Let’s be honest, this show is all about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament. Understandably so, as the injury of Rollins likely scuppered every single plan they had previously. Everybody and their dog’s goldfish thinks they know how this is going to end. Well, I don’t think it will be that clear cut. I think we’ll see Reigns become increasingly frustrated at being unable to win. Then Kevin Owens will attack Ambrose, which will be allowed due to the match having to have a clear winner. Reigns will seem reluctant to capitalise, before viscously spearing his former Shield stablemate and capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That’s right, I believe that both Reigns and Owens will join the ranks of The Authority on Sunday. Am I sure this will happen? No. In truth though, I’m fine with any potential outcome, as it catapults someone worthy of a chance to the top. Yes, even Reigns.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Final Thoughts and Predictions
Steve Coulson: The other big question lingering this show is whether or not we see a cash in by Money in the Bank holder Sheamus. While it seems like most people think that Roman Reigns walks out champion, the other opinion I’ve seen quite frequently is that Sheamus walks away with it. I sure hope not, and I don’t believe so. He wasn’t in the title tournament, which could either be a sign he was being protected to win it or that he didn’t matter enough to be in it, but I just can’t see him being a World champion right now. A lot of Money in the Bank winners have iffy booking before winning, but I don’t know if any have had such non-relevancy.
Beyond that, WWE announced a traditional Survivor Series match will be taking place. I have no idea who is on either team as they have yet to be announced, but for what it’s worth, I suspect Cesaro is on a team and beats whoever it is opposes him. The show looks like it could be a lot of fun and potentially really shake things up. I’m looking forward to it.
Jon Potter: This show will live or die on the quality of the tournament matches. As hard for me as it is to say, Undertaker is a nostalgia act at this point and needs fairly special circumstances to deliver a good match at this point. These aren’t those circumstances. Breeze and Ziggler should give us something solid, but will likely be hampered by time limitations. I will say that I’m seriously disappointed in how they’ve treated the traditional elimination match that was announced. We literally don’t know any of the participants in the match, making it impossible to preview and essentially insignificant. Like Steve, I hope Cesaro benefits from the 5 vs 5 contest in some way.
All together, this show could go either way. I’m cautiously optimistic though and will be watching live on the WWE Network on Sunday.
There we have it. Our preview for Survivor Series 2015! Be sure to keep an eye on The WWE Network Chroncle for our review shortly after the show ends. Here’s hoping you enjoy the show