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PREVIEWING TOMORROW'S SURVIVOR SERIES

By Marc Kickenweitz on 11/18/2017 12:20 PM

So last night, while recording Revival Radio, we kind of ran out of time and didn't get to talk much about this weekend's Survivor Series Pay Per View event. So I figured maybe I'd just do a writeup. This weekend's shows should provide quite a lot of great matches for us fans to watch on the WWE Network! The NXT group starts the weekend off on Saturday night with the latest TakeOver event in which a gimmick match we haven't seen in 20 years when SAnitY, The Authors of Pain with Roderick Strong & The Undisputed Era face off inside two rings surrounded by a cage in War Games.

Along with that awesome attraction, they're giving us an NXT Title match between defending champion, Drew McIntyre & Andrade "Cien" Almas and will also determine a new NXT Womens Champion when Nikki Cross, Ember Moon, Peyton Royce & Mae Young Classic Tournament winner, Kairi Sane face off for the title that Asuka vacated upon leaving for Monday Night Raw. Other matches include: Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan and Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream. A pretty stacked card that also includes for the live audience, a match for the WWE UK Title when Pete Dunne defends his title against Johnny Gargano. For us not attending, that match will air on NXT next Wednesday and it's sure to be another great match!

But on to my original purpose for writing today...this year's Survivor Series card is seriously stacked! I mean let's break this thing down and just marvel at the show that we're about to witness on Sunday night, shall we?

Teams of 5 Strive to Survive:

WWE has put together a couple of traditional Survivor Series matches which pits five members of Raw's roster against 5 members of Smackdown Live's roster...one for the men, one for the ladies, and boy have they stacked these teams!

Raw vs. SDLive Mens' Traditional Survivor Series Match

Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Finn Bálor, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman & Triple H) vs. Team SDLive (Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura & John Cena)

I mean just think of all the combinations we'll get to see here! Nakamura vs. Bálor, Joe vs. Orton, Roode vs. Triple H, Cena vs. Angle...this one should be a pretty awesome spectacle! Also of note: four guys (Bálor, Joe, Nakamura & Roode) in this match are former NXT Champions! I'm sure they'll give this one plenty of time. Also, conspicuous by his absence on this card is former Universal Champion, Kevin Owens, so I expect him to play into the outcome here. Also, Jason Jordan's bouncing from the Raw team could also become a factor in the finish as well. This one's gonna be fun!

Raw vs. SDLive Womens' Traditional Survivor Series Match

Team Raw (Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Asuka & Bayley) vs. Team SDLive (Becky Lynch, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, Carmella & Natalya?)

?A lot can be said about Alicia Fox being Team Raw's Captain, but I've always liked Fox. She's a hold over from the previous era of women wrestlers in WWE who tries really hard and to me, is really entertaining. So I'm glad for her for her inclusion in this match. Team Smackdown Live is still missing a member since Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya Neidhart for the SDLive Womens Title, so I'd expect to see Nattie replace Charlotte in this match. Either way, Asuka gets to mix it up with a lot of ladies here that she never got to see in NXT. She's teaming with Sasha Banks and is facing off against Becky Lynch...both of which were promoted to the main roster before she made her NXT debut. However, the pendulum would appear to be swung in Raw's favor here since Raw boasts Nia Jax & Asuka along with Sasha Banks & Bayley...maybe it's just me, but that's one power team if I ever saw one!

Universal Champion vs. WWE Champion Match

Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. AJ Styles

WWE pulled another switcheroo here when they had AJ Styles defeat "The Modern Day Maharaja" Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship, thrusting AJ into this match and sending Jinder to the sidelines for the Pay Per View. I'd expect to see Jinder & the Singh brothers have a hand in the outcome of this match. I know I've now predicted screwy finishes in two of the top matches for this show, but I think WWE has shown us in the past their inability to fully get behind anyone not named Brock Lesnar, John Cena or Triple H. Plus theoretically, they need to keep their champions strong following this show.

Intercontinental Champion vs. United States Champion

The Miz w/The Miztourage (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) vs. Baron Corbin

I think Miz takes advantage of the numbers game here, plus WWE hasn't shown me yet that they're fully behind Corbin yet since he made the jump to the main roster. They gave him the victory in the Andre battle royal, but then programmed him with Dolph, then gave him the Money In The Bank Briefcase, but had him lose his shot at the title in an idiotic way. This 50/50 booking has hurt his perception immensely in my eyes. He's a 6' 6", 275 lb ex-football player who should be dominating, yet this is how he's being portrayed. Alternatively, Braun Strowman is 6' 8" & 385 lbs has been portrayed as an absolute monster in the same time frame. He's rarely left his feet and typically is only knocked down to one knee. And I know you'll point out that he's over 100 lbs larger, but size is all in perception. It's who you pair him up against and how he is used that builds perceptions. Hell...Kevin Nash was only 4 inches taller than Corbin and a mere 20 lbs heavier, but Diesel was seen as a destructive powerhouse back in the day. My point is that they've done Corbin no favors since bringing him up from NXT & I don't expect that trend to change here.

Raw Womens Champion vs. SDLive Womens Champion

Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair

This is a truly hard one to pick. It's The Queen vs. The Goddess. Charlotte and Alexa really have never crossed paths as Alexa and Charlotte were in completely different stages of their careers during their time in NXT. Charlotte was rolling in the Womens division while Alexa was managing Blake & Murphy. Alexa's in-ring career really took off upon her elevation to the main roster when she came to Smackdown. The roster shakeup brought Alexa to Raw and sent Charlotte to Smackdown, so this is a fairly highly anticipated matchup. I'm really looking forward to this match. Also, being a big fan of Nattie made me sad for her not being a part of this match, but I can completely understand why WWE made this move since Alexa and Nattie had faced off on Smackdown before Alexa was sent to Raw. This is a fresh matchup which should be terrific!

Raw Tag Team Champions vs. SDLive Tag Team Champions

The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey)

I've been a fan of The Bar since they were first put together as a tag team. Cesaro & Sheamus are absolutely amazing together. They compliment eachother's styles so well and are two powerhouses who can wreck anyone in their sights. The Usos on the other hand, as I see them are rather stale. And while I understand that they've been freshened up a bit with their heel personas, I'm just not that interested in them. I mean sure, they have some good matches, but I just am bored with the act.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods & Big E)

It's kinda hard to believe that I've listed this 6-man tag match so low on this card...which really goes to show the strength of this amazing show we're all going to be witnesses to. The reformation of The Shield is something that I've really been quite happy with for the most part. Do they need to be wearing the whole SWAT team getups now? I don't really think so since Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns have each become their own men on their own with their own distinct personas. However, this is a 6-man tag match that we didn't get to see the last time The Shield was a unit since the New Day was formed about a month after Seth Rollins turned on Ambrose & Reigns. So once again...this is another fresh matchup! If anything, and I know I hate typing this...but New Day is kind of getting stale. But I fully expect this match to get the same treatment from the crowd as The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family got previously with a "This Is Awesome" chant before anyone even locks up.

On The Kickoff Show:

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Enzo Amore (c) vs. Kalisto

I may be in the minority here, but I like Enzo. I do think that his presentation lacks a bit now without Big Cass backing up his big mouth, but I like the silly character. His matches have been somewhat watchable to me recently, so I'm not unhappy with him being the "Realest Champ in the Room". I'm still not really sold on Kalisto...I mean his wrestling ability is clearly there, but he clearly isn't comfortable on the mic yet, so he's still a work in progress. I am really excited hearing the news that Rockstar Spud is WWE-bound and will be part of the 205 Live bunch as I think he really has quite a bit to offer. He's shown in TNA that he can be both a serious character and a complete goofball/comedy character and do both very well. His in ring skills are up there with a number of the 205 Live talent, so I don't have any worries that he won't fit in well.

So there ya have it...if Saturday night doesn't deliver enough action for you (which I'm sure it will), Sunday night's show should be off the charts good from top to bottom! I'm having a problem finding any matches here between the two nights to designate as the "bathroom match"!

So if you don't subscribe to the WWE Network, this is the weekend to pick up the free preview!

As always, thanks for reading! For more of my work, head on over to marcstwocents.com or you can also follow me on Twitter: @MarcKick or email me at: MarcPWInsider@gmail.com or marc@marcstwocents.com