Once upon a time, WWE fans looked forward to the Survivor Series in the same way they looked forward to the Royal Rumble. Then again, these same fans also looked forward to the King of the Ring in the same way, and that hasn’t been annual in over a decade. The Survivor Series, however, held a different intrigue. It was about seeing some of your favourite superstars team up to face your most detested superstars. The names, the Vince McMahon introductions prior to the Pay Per View and everything in between was special. Today it’s just another WWE Network event, only with a more familiar name. What makes this event stand out a bit more is that it’s free for everyone to watch. Free much like the old WCW Clash of the Champions that WWE so desperately hated back in the late 80s and 90s. The advantage to being free? More eyes.
More eyes, of course, leads to rumours if one wishes to read them. The WWE wants people to pay for the WWE Network after tonight’s event, and to do that, they have to introduce things you could only see on the WWE Network. That takes shocks, twists and turns. With that, we go to our esteemed Last Word on Sports panel on predictions and analysis of the show. The panel today includes Aaron Wrotkowski, Adam Contant, Philippa Hopwood, Jeff DeHaan and introducing Ricky Rana.
The event is live (and free!) on WWE Network, beginning with a Bad News Barrett Kickoff at 7PM.
Survivor Series Divas Match
Emma, Naomi, Alicia Fox and Natalya vs. Summer Rae, Cameron, Layla and Paige
WINNING TEAM:
Philippa, Aaron and Adam: Team Fox
Jeff and Ricky: Team Paige
SURVIVORS:
Philippa: Alicia and Natalya
Aaron: Natalya
Adam: Alicia Fox
Jeff: Paige and Layla
Ricky: Paige
THOUGHTS by Ricky Rana: So Alicia Fox has apparently turned face? Emma, Naomi, Cameron and Layla will be eliminated within the first few minutes into the match and things will really pick up between the final contestants at this point Paige, Natalya, Summer and Alicia. The final two divas remaining will be Alicia and Paige. Considering the fact, this will be Paige’s first ppv where she is not involved in a Divas Championship match, I cannot see Paige being side-lined so quickly. Paige pins Alicia for the 1,2,3 and wins one for her team.
WWE Tag Team Championship Four-Way
The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. Gold & Stardust (c)
WINNER:
Philippa: Miz and Mizdow
Aaron: Los Matadores
Adam, Jeff and Ricky: Gold & Stardust
WHO WILL EAT THE PIN:
Philippa: Stardust
Aaron: Goldust
Adam and Jeff: The Miz
Ricky: Mizdow
THOUGHTS by Aaron Wrotkowski: I don’t know what it is with the WWE tag division but even with four “competitive” teams, nobody really feels like a stand out. At one point, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were rising stars in the tag division, both ready to break into singles any time soon. They revolved a Money in the Bank match around it even. Miz was once a WWE champion himself. It doesn’t feel like that’s what’s going on here. Instead it’s just a bunch of teams treading water. Cody puts everything he can into Stardust but it just isn’t really elevating him. The most entertaining person in this match is Damien Mizdow, taking what would be a terrible gimmick for anyone else and turning it into solid gold. Wish I could say the same about his partner. I kind of expect the Usos or Los Matadores to walk away with the titles, just to set up The Ascension to take them out. Then maybe the WWE could bring up the Lucha Dragons and have a division with some fire (not a pun).
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee (c)
WINNER:
Philippa, Aaron, Adam, Jeff and Ricky: Nikki Bella
WILL BRIE BELLA GET INVOLVED?:
Philippa, Aaron, Adam, Jeff and Ricky: Yes
THOUGHTS by Philippa Hopwood: AJ Lee is the best thing that has happened to the women’s division since Trish and Lita and if there wasn’t so many rumours circulating about her set to leave then I would have thought she would have defeated Nikki as she has so many times. But this time it different, we are led to believe that Nikki can win, she has improved in the ring and has actually played a good role in the Bella feud so it feels like now is the right time to grant her the belt. I think end game is for The Bellas to face off for the title which means Brie has to get involved and she could, whether it’s to help or hinder still remains to be seen.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
WINNER:
Philippa, Aaron, Adam, Jeff and Ricky: Bray Wyatt
THOUGHTS by Jeff DeHaan: Another one that isn’t easy to call. Both guys are fairly young and, while not rookies, they each have long careers ahead of them. I fully expect that this will simply be round one of this story line, Dean will come back with a vengeance but Bray needs the win more here. He’s got a bit more to prove after his absence.
Survivor Series Main Event
Team Cena vs. The Authority
The Ryback, Erick Rowan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and John Cena vs. Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Rusev w/ Lana, Corporate Kane and Seth Rollins w/ Money in the Bank briefcase
WINNING TEAM:
Philippa: Team Authority
Aaron, Adam, Jeff and Ricky: Team Cena
SURVIVORS:
Philippa: Seth Rollins and Rusev
Aaron and Ricky: The Ryback
Adam and Jeff: The Ryback, John Cena
WILL THERE BE A RUN-IN:
Philippa: Maybe
Aaron: Yes (HHH)
Adam: Yes
Jeff: Yes (HHH, Mercury, Noble)
Ricky: Yes (Orton)
THOUGHTS by Adam Contant: I have loved watching this story unfold on WWE TV, as it has had enough twists and turns to keep it intriguing and compelling. There is so much talent involved with this match that it has great potential to be a match of the year candidate. With such high stakes involved in the contest, the only thing that’s certain is that everyone involved will be trying to steal the show, whether they are official participants or not. There have been enough parties playing a role on the sidelines that the most valuable player in this match may not even be advertised for this Sunday. If I had to guess, my money would be on Randy Orton showing up to gain a measure of revenge on the Authority for incapacitating him a few weeks back, leading to a victory for the two men who have seemingly been the focal point of this story: Ryback and John Cena. The Authority losing their power seems like an easier route to take than trying to find a way in which to rehire all of Team Cena, and it opens more thought provoking possibilities. I predict by the end of the night, Team Cena will be standing tall and the WWE Universe will be left wondering who will be in charge come Monday night.
Survivor Series is tonight on the WWE Network.
Feel free to comment below, and follow the site @lastwordonsport. Also follow @AaronWrotkowski, @AdamContant, @DeHaanoffate, @r1ck33 and @Dstokie01 on the Last Word on Sports Wrestling team.
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