The WWE's annual Thanksgiving Week tradition continues Sunday with the 29th version of Survivor Series.
The Undertaker's Best Survivor Series Moments
There's no two ways about it, the booking for this show has been lackluster, especially since it's a Big Four event. Seth Rollins' injury led to some intrigue surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and even though a new title-holder is guaranteed to be crowned, the buildup to this card has left a lot to be desired.
Still, the Survivor Series has always been one of the best events on the WWE's calendar and the company could pull out some surprises as in past years. Here are our predictions for the event. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Greatest Survivor Series Teams Of All Time
WWE Championship Tournament Semifinals: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
It would make sense for the WWE to kick-off the show with the tournament semis to give the participants enough time to rest. Much like this show as a whole, the tournament bracket was pretty disappointing and served as proof that the WWE's roster depth is very thin right now. It's curious that the WWE has seemingly set up its two midcard champions to lose at this show, but there could always be a surprise in store. With Owens already holding the Intercontinental Championship, Ambrose should go over here.
The Pick: Dean Ambrose
Ambrose made his WWE debut as part of The Shield in 2012:
WWE Championship Tournament Semifinals: Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio
ADR shocked the world by returning last month, but it seems like he's going to serve as fodder for the WWE's next golden boy. Again, considering it's Survivor Series, there could be many swerves, but the WWE shouldn't resist the intriguing battle between former Shield stablemates in the finals.
The Pick: Roman Reigns
Reigns put on a clinic at Survivor Series 2013:
Singles Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze w/ Summer Rae
It's really just vexing why the WWE refuses to push "The Showoff." He goes straight from a lame storyline with Rusev to an angle with the newcomer in Breeze. The match itself should be fine, even if Breeze's character is pretty terrible. It's hard to pick a winner here, as the WWE may push the new blood to keep him fresh, but the veteran could also conceivably best the rookie. It's a coin toss.
The Pick: Tyler Breeze
Ziggler was the sole survivor last year:
WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
This angle took an interesting turn with Paige bringing up Charlotte's deceased brother on RAW, and whether or not that was in poor taste, it certainly adds some drama to the angle. The WWE hasn't given Charlotte much of a chance to shine as champion, so she is likely to go over here. Then again, Paige's heel turn is fresh and she could use some momentum. Unless the company has cold feet about Ric Flair's daughter as champion, there's no reason to take the belt off her this soon.
The Pick: Charlotte
The best Women's Championship bout in SS history occurred in 2002:
Tag Team Match: The Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker & Kane) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman) w/ Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
This match represents one of the most disappointing aspects of this card. The WWE appeared to be building toward a compelling traditional Survivor Series match until the legs were cut off. It's nice to see The Undertaker coming to the November Classic for the first time since 2009 to celebrate his 25th anniversary with the company, but man did the WWE miss the boat on this one.
Nevertheless, there are intriguing elements here as Strowman hasn't been manhandled yet and The Wyatts always have something up their sleeves. Still, seeing Kane & Undertaker decimate all four men on RAW two weeks ago definitely lessens the believability of two of them having a shot to stop the brothers.
The one plausible swerve here would see Kane turn on his brother, possibly setting up one final WrestleMania battle between the two. It's more likely, however, that the WWE plays it straight to celebrate 'Taker's anniversary. Though he was injured last time out, if Sting were to get involved, it could finally lead to a battle between two of wrestling's greatest legends.
It's good to celebrate The Undertaker's legendary career, but this is disappointing.
The Pick: The Undertaker & Kane
The Undertaker made his debut at this event in 1990 and won the WWE Championship in 1991
5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Match: TBD vs. TBD
Two days out of the pay-per-view, there still are no participants for the match announced. That just shows how disjointed the WWE's booking is. We can't predict the outcome, but we did predict the participants.
The most star-studded elimination match ever took place in 2001.
WWE Championship Tournament Finals: Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose
This seems to be the most intriguing matchup out of all the possibilities, but the WWE is risking having Reigns get booed out of the building as the crowd will undoubtedly be pro-Ambrose.
There are a few different scenarios that could play out. Either Superstar could very well turn heel.
For one, Reigns is getting booed already, so he could sell out to Triple H and The Authority. Ambrose already has a crazy personality, so adding an unpredictable heel persona would be astounding and play off the narrative of Reigns constantly getting betrayed and screwed out of the belt.
Though there were rumors the "Lunatic Fringe" may leave Atlanta with the gold, it's hard to see the WWE anointing him with its richest prize due to how poorly he's been booked since the split of The Shield. Reigns, on the other hand, has been pushed to the moon and has a huge fan in Vince McMahon, so he seems the more likely of the two to leave the Philips Arena as the champion.
The tournament overall has had some good matches, but hasn't been as interesting as past ones, likely due to the severe lack of depth. As of now, Sheamus doesn't have a role on this card, so he could easily cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win it all.
Anything is plausible, but with the WWE deciding to abort Reigns' push earlier this year, they could be looking to make up for it eight months later. The Reigns mega push is on for real this time, and he's likely to be the most booed babyface this side of John Cena. Then again, it is Survivor Series, anything can happen.
The Pick: Roman Reigns
The last time the WWE held a tournament at Survivor Series, The Rock won the gold in 1998:
The first ever main event in Survivor Series history saw Andre the Giant's team topple Hulk Hogan's in 1987
Thanksgiving Week has always been synonymous with Survivor Series and though the 29th version doesn't look amazing on paper, there should be many twists and turns along the way to hopefully make it live up to the moniker of the November Classic.
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