With the smoke clearing in the aftermath of Sunday's WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, the focus now shifts to one of the longest tenured pay-per-views the WWE has as the 28th annual Survivor Series takes place live on Nov. 23 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
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The Survivor Series was once one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, showcasing long-running WWE feuds in the form of a full card consisting of five-on-five or four-on-four elimination tag team matches. The event also originally had an emphasis on Thanksgiving as it aired on Thanksgiving night its first four years and Thanksgiving Eve for four years after that.
The WWE has still kept the event close to Thanksgiving, usually airing the Sunday before the American holiday, but the elimination matches have dwindled from being featured in every match on the card to just one or two each year.
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Later this week, we'll project the Survivor Series card that the WWE is more likely to go with, but for tradition's sake Sports World News will fantasy book the Survivor Series using the old school elimination format.
For the main event, we are going to go with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar being booked to appear at the show. Even though there are rumors that the WWE may not have Lesnar wrestle until January, there have also been reports that the company is trying to book him for more dates.
If the WWE is to truly treat Survivor Series as a Big Four pay-per-view -- something it has failed to do in the past few years -- the WWE World Heavyweight Champion has to be there.
For the final bout of the evening, a classic Survivor Series four-on-four elimination tag team match would pit Lesnar, "Mr. Money in the Bank" Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Kane against John Cena, Dean Ambrose, a newly turned Randy Orton and a mystery partner.
The mystery partner, if possible, would be a returning Daniel Bryan (neck) or Roman Reigns (hernia) as a way to re-vamp the company's depleting babyface roster.
The major storyline I would book heading into this event is The Authority souring on Lesnar for not appearing at events and not defending his title. Ever defiant, Paul Heyman will speak for Lesnar and say he shows up when there is a fight and right now there is no one in the WWE worth fighting.
Triple H would then make an edict that if Lesnar doesn't defend his belt at Survivor Series, he will be stripped using the old school rule that a title must be defended at least once every 30 days. Wanting the title off him in the worst way, Triple H will then announce that for the first time in WWE history the WWE Championship will be defended in a traditional Survivor Series match.
With the rumors of Orton turning face arising and Wyatt's actions Sunday night debunking the speculation that he was becoming a good guy, now is as good a time as any to pull the trigger on an Orton face turn since he will likely fall out of favor with The Authority after losing to Cena at Hell in a Cell.
While Orton as a face is never great, the WWE needs some more babyfaces in the upper-tier because Cena and Ambrose are the only two right now.
Triple H would stack the deck against Lesnar, but also toy with the babyfaces by having the stipulation stated that whoever pins Lesnar in the match will win the title, causing friction between the babyface team, but putting Lesnar's belt at risk.
It seems more logical that Reigns will return than Bryan at this point as the jury is still out as to whether or not Bryan needs a second surgery. It's conceivable Reigns could be ready by Survivor Series to give the WWE one of the most stacked babyface teams ever assembled with Reigns, Cena, Ambrose and the newly turned Orton.
Furthermore, for the heels, Triple H will announce that anyone who survives is guaranteed a future title match against Lesnar or the babyface team member that eliminates him within the next month on RAW.
With this, Lesnar now basically has seven enemies as The Authority attempts to wrest the title away from him, putting an important emphasis on the elimination match, which is something the bouts have lacked in recent years.
Elsewhere on the card, I would have The Miz win the United States Championship from Sheamus in the next few weeks and develop a rivalry over who is a more important champion in the WWE, The Miz or WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler.
To solve this problem, each man will recruit three others and captain their own teams for a traditional match that would ultimately see The Miz, Damien Mizdow, Cesaro and Bo Dallas take on Ziggler, Sheamus, The Big Show and Mark Henry for midcard bragging rights.
While Rusev is left off this card due to his likely inability to formulate a solid team and get along with American heels, he could play a role in this match should the WWE want to have him interfere to continue his feud with The Big Show and Mark Henry.
The WWE can also try to put an emphasis on its tag division by having Goldust and Stardust team up with a returning Ryback and Curtis Axel to battle The Usos and Los Matadores in a traditional bout.
If the division was deeper, I'd suggest the old school huge tag team elimination matches the company did in the past, but unfortunately there aren't too many solid teams.
Rounding out the card would be a five-on-five Divas traditional match pitting Team Brie (Brie Bella, AJ Lee, Natalya, Naomi and Emma) against Team Nikki (Nikki Bella, Summer Rae, Cameron, Paige and Alica Fox) -- depending on if Fox and Paige still get along after last night's event. Eva Marie can always be thrown in as well.
While four matches may be short, it would give the WWE enough time to make the matches as good as possible on the night, but they could throw in another midcard elimination bout if needed to fill out the card.
The WWE could use guys like Adam Rose, the Kofi Kingston stable and others to make a fifth match if necessary.
Here is the Sports World News traditional Survivor Series card for Nov. 23:
WWE Championship Four-on-Four Traditonal Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match:
Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Kane vs. John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and ? (Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns if they are ready to return from injury).
*If any babyface team member pins Lesnar, they win the WWE Championship.
**If any heel survives, they earn a title shot within the next month on RAW.
Four-on-Four Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match:
Team Miz (U.S. Champion The Miz, Damien Mizdow, Cesaro and Bo Dallas) vs. Team Ziggler (I.C. Champion Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, The Big Show and Mark Henry)
Four-on-Four Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match:
Goldust & Stardust and Ryback & Curtis Axel vs. The Usos and Los Matadores
Five-on-Five WWE Divas Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match:
Team Nikki (Nikki Bella, Summer Rae, Cameron, Paige and Alicia Fox) vs. Team Brie (Brie Bella, AJ Lee, Natalya, Naomi and Emma)
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