Traditionally speaking, Survivor Series has always been considered amongst the “big four” when it comes to WWE PPV’s and up until a certain point, that was indeed the case. Over the years however, it slowly lost its prestige, its glamour and due to various reasons that are not of the presence to discuss turned into more or less a “B” show with little to none interest, a…meh PPV, if you will. Opinions may vary and I’m sure there are a lot of fans out there that may respectfully disagree which is absolutely fine. Let’s just say that me being more of an old school kind of guy, I personally missed the traditional elimination type matches so on that note, it actually feels good to say that I’m really looking forward to this PPV.
Now, was the build to this PPV up to par? Well, as mentioned in my latest post under “Rate RAW” the other day, I feel that overall WWE could have done so much more to make this even more exciting. Unfortunately, creative (or, should I say, the lack of) missed on the opportunity to really give us some special moments that would have made for a much better build but, hey, it is what it is.
Nevertheless, between some good stuff to some hits and misses over the past month, Survivor Series is literally right around the corner, I'm excited so…let’s talk about it:
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg
Given the magnitude of both these superstars, it really is a shame to say that this pairing brings back some rather horrible memories. Who could ever forget their first disastrous encounter at Wrestlemania 20, leading to both being practically booed out of the building? That being said, when this second encounter was made official a few weeks ago, the first question that popped into everyone’s head was “can they pull it off this time and deliver a good match”? Well, why wouldn’t they? The concerns are certainly understandable and especially when it comes to Goldberg being out for all these years, it surely makes one wonder what kind of shape he’d be in but from what we’ve seen thus far, I’d say he looks just fine. Quite frankly, I’m even more confident both will look to redeem themselves for that awful first match all those years back so bottom line, I think they’ll do just fine.
The million dollar question is, of course, who wins and in order to answer that question, I feel one should first put things into perspective and examine the facts we have available to us. There’s really no right or wrong answer, just a matter of how the story will be told.
During his first promo on RAW, Goldberg made it perfectly clear that Brock was “next” but most importantly “last”, thus confirming all the reports noting that his return is fa one match deal, a one off so his son can see him wrestle live. That may very well be the case but what if this is all just an attempt to throw us fans off while setting up a second match down the road, say Wrestlemania? The thing is, many find it hard to believe that Goldberg would agree to finally come back after all these years for one more match only to lose neglecting what is perhaps the most important factor: Brock’s undefeated run.
Some perhaps might not even care about the undefeated streak but the fact of the matter is WWE have gone out of their ways (rightfully so) making notice of it every single time they can and this of course has nothing to do with making Lesnar look good; it’s not like this dude needs it anyway. The big picture is obviously the build up to the point that his defeat, whenever that occurs, will be something big, something special and a huge deal for the beneficiary of it. How many times have we discussed in various threads the options in regards to an opponent suitable and/or believable that will finally conquer the conqueror, that will slay the beast? That’s exactly the point, therefore the question here is, how important is it for WWE to maintain Brock’s undefeated streak? Well, in my opinion, it should remain a big fucking deal and his eventual defeat can only be a Wrestlemania moment in my book.
The above assumption, if accurate, amongst others also disregards one of the very common scenarios that I’ve heard floating around lately, a theory in which Shane MacMahon would interfere and cost Brock the match following the events that took place at Summerslam and ultimately leading to a match between these two at Wrestlemania. The story is definitely there, can’t deny it, but it’s one that I feel doesn’t really make too much sense. Aside from this being a very uneven contest, it’s also a waste of Lesnar time, let alone Mania time. As for the “this isn’t over” quote on Smackdown, Shane could easily just choose someone to go against Brock because, again, it has to be somewhat realistic and you know that Shane can’t possibly stand a chance, as crazy and fearless he is. Or, per WWE standards, that quote could be just…forgotten, I don’t know, like, uh, does the infamous lockbox ring a bell? All I'm saying is, it wouldn't be the first time WWE would fail to follow up on a story.
All in all, I am predicting that Brock Lesnar will come out victorious from Survivor Series, however this should be the…easy part so allow me to try and take this a step further.
As noted above, I’m having a hard time believing that Goldberg will simply come back, lose a match and ride into the sunset. It may very well be the case and a lot will obviously depend on how his match at Survivor Series goes but if I’m Goldberg, I ain’t granting my son’s wish just for a loss. If I’m Goldberg, I would also like to have my son see my hand raised in victory and a capacity crowd going bananas over it, giving him a moment to remember forever. In other words, yes, I am thinking one more match and yes, I’m thinking Wrestlemania. How would I book it?
My simple idea is that when it appears that Goldberg is closing in on a win over Lesnar, you could have some type of bump with the referee that will knock him out for a few minutes; you know, the typical stuff. Perhaps Goldberg goes for a spear, Brock sort of stumbles out of the way and the ref eats it instead. As Goldberg tries to understand what just happened or checks on the referee…Machka !!! Rusev (whom by the way was noticeably absent this past Monday on RAW) comes out of nowhere and attacks Goldberg. He does whatever he needs to do (super kick, accolade, anything) and leaves. That's it. Referee slowly awakes, Lesnar is back on his feet, F5, one two three, ring it. This allows Brock to preserve his undefeated streak and take massive heat for it while at the same time it creates sympathy for Goldberg who got screwed AND…sets up your Wrestlemania match: Goldberg vs. Rusev. Why?
Because…why not? Think about it. You already have one RAW segment to build off of (two weeks ago), it’s a big time match for Rusev on the grandest stage against a legend (talk about a huge rub) and a very nice setup for a Goldberg win at the same time. Not for nothing, aside from Rusev being a legit opponent, he’s also a very good worker in the ring and most importantly, a safe worker for Goldberg. And how epic would it be to get that Goldberg entrance one last time at Wrestlemania? The way I see this, it’s a win-win situation.
I'm sure there are several other dream matches that would probably sound better but for the reasons stated above, i feel Rusev would be the perfect candidate, IF of course Goldbeg is to have one more match at Mania.
Cruiserweight Championship: Kendrick vs. Kalisto
Intercontinental Championship: Miz vs. Zayn
With both of these matches having so much in common in terms of storylines, stipulations or being inter-promotional, I figured it only made sense to put them together, under one category.
On one hand, RAW’s Brian Kendrick defends his Cruiserweight title against Kalisto with the added stipulation that if Kalisto wins, the entire cruiserweight division will move to Smackdown. On the other hand, SD’s Miz defends his IC strap against RAW’s Sami Zayn and, again, if Zayn wins, the IC title goes to RAW.
So, the question begging is this: does either title change hands? The stipulations injected in both these matches obviously add to the intrigue and importance respectively and one could easily argue that if by the end of the day both champions end up retaining, it may feel kind of a bummer, as in “all this fuss for nothing”. In addition to that, WWE have tried to throw some “hints” out there leading to speculation in regards of the outcomes. For example, the fact that 205 live will start airing shortly on Tuesdays has led to many assuming Kalisto will win and then you had this almost out of the blue “attack” on Stephanie’s behalf against Samy Zayn the other week, literally ripping him apart while adding pressure being she considers this a must win in order for the IC title to return to RAW.
My approach, though perhaps simplistic, is that the timing seems off for either Kendrick or Miz to drop their belts. It’s barely been half a month since Kendrick won the gold over TJ Perkins at HIAC and then Miz was crowned new IC champ just last night, something that probably took most by surprise. I, for one, figured Ziggler would get a somewhat lengthier run (as in a couple of months, three max) however WWE elected to take the belt off of him a little over a month after he won it at No Mercy and four days shy of SS. Interesting move, to say the least and to be honest, I am kind of wondering if by Sunday WWE decide to insert Ziggler into this match and make it a triple threat. I know I’d be down for that, not to mention it could work if Zigger were to demand for his rematch instantly but whatever the case, Miz is too damn good these days to have him be somewhat of a transitional champion.
Now, as we all know, trying to put too much logic when thinking out these scenarios usually doesn’t pay off because…WWE. After all, how many times have we scratched our heads wondering about certain decisions they’ve made? Yes, exactly what you’re thinking reading this but apparently something has to give, otherwise this entire storyline would just seem pointless.
While they made such a big deal about the cruiserweight division being “exclusive” to RAW, it hasn’t really felt that they are treating it that way, has it? Changing the ropes, ok, may be a nice little touch but what have they actually done with the talent itself? I’ll tell you what: 6-man tag matches EVERY SINGLE FUCKING WEEK for some four or five minutes that mean absolutely nothing. As far as I’m concerned, this experiment has failed so perhaps a move towards Smackdown might be the best way to rejuvenate both our interest and the division itself. It also makes sense from a logistics standpoint because, why have the talent being on RAW if they are going to be travelling with SD anyway? And last but not least, they all of a sudden added Tom Philips, a pretty good play by play announcer in the booth last week, making me wonder if they are grooming him for whatever changes may be bound to happen. I know they are currently referring to him as a host but let’s be real: a 3+ hour RAW has 3 announcers and a 2 hour Smackdown all of a sudden needs 4? How does that make any sense? This can’t be a permanent thing…
Bottom line, though I still am not convinced that WWE will pull the trigger (maybe because Kalisto has fucked up time and again), all the facts point to a Kallisto victory so I guess I’ll go with that myself. HOWEVER, unlike several rumors floating out there insinuating a possible “switch”, I am also predicting that Miz will retain, thus keeping the IC title on SD. Why? A) you already have a mid-card belt on RAW, B) there’s not enough mid-card talent on RAW (not any that we give a fuck about anyway) to support two belts, C) having both the US and IC straps on RAW will eventually lead to both being devalued and D) what the fuck will the SD mid-card be fighting for eventually, as in the Corbins and Apollo Crews’s etc?
On a side note and based on Stephanie’s reaction the other week towards Zayn, I am going to furthermore predict that Zayn’s failure to capture the IC title will lead to him getting either fired or some kind of bullshit along those lines, leading then to DB and Shane eventually picking him up and adding him to the SD roster. It totally makes sense storyline wise and it is a move that will undoubtedly boost the blue brand in a major way, not to mention Sami Zayn himself. After all, what has Zayn been doing on RAW lately? Yeah, right…
The Three Traditional Elimination Matches
Once again, I feel there is no need to go with each of the three individually so making this a category of its own.
So, up until the go home shows on Monday and Tuesday respectively, I was really hoping they would add a bit more intrigue to these matches, make them even more interesting by adding some extra stakes instead of it being simply for bragging rights. Meh, apparently bragging rights is good enough so, yeah, okay, go teams…
Now, I’ve heard several suggesting a clean RAW sweep. Given it’s Vince we are talking about and this being the “flagship” show versus the eternally “B” show, I wouldn’t be surprised but it would probably be a dick move, right? Hmm, but isn’t Vince a dick anyway? Hmm.
Personally speaking, I would like to see SD get the best over RAW being it has constantly been the better show since the brand split but, again, I can’t see how Vince would ever approve of such an outcome, which is why I’ve concluded on a 2-1 victory of the series in favor of RAW.
Keeping it short and sweet:
a) RAW women beat SD women. I would personally like to see Nia Jax be the sole survivor for team RAW but chances are, it’ll probably end up being Charlotte instead, most likely in a showdown with Becky.
b) SD Tag Teams beat RAW Tag teams because too many combustible elements on the RAW team. Being how over Slater is, I wouldn’t be surprised if him and Rhyno would end up being the survivors but my better judgment says it’ll come down to New Day and American Alpha. That, I'd really like to see...
At this point, amongst others, this would ultimately lead to the main event with the score tied at 1-1, thus adding a bit more suspense for the final outcome. What will that outcome be?
C) Well, of course Team RAW defeats Team Smackdown and of course Roman Reigns will be your sole survivor. God forbid, the golden boy will be booked strong again and it’ll most likely come down to him and AJ Styles. Bray, Orton and Strowman I am guessing will all be counted out while brawling at ring side (or even beyond that) and then maybe Ellsworth will cost his team with some DQ when he decides to interfere.
Hey, it’s not the ideal scenario but to be perfectly honest, it does make the most sense, more so when putting into considerationa the Undertaker’s promo last night. Simply put, AJ being the captain of the team will be the one to be called upon and this is something that can easily start after TLC. AJ will successfully retain his belt against Ambrose but the following Tuesday on SD, while perhaps celebrating and running his mouth…the bell tolls and out comes Taker confronting him on team SD losing at SS, issuing a challenge and leading to a title match at the Royal Rumble. If you ask me, the story just writes itself…
All in all, I am very confident this will be a very entertaining show so get them beers chilled and let us have a good time watching...
Cheers !!!
Now, was the build to this PPV up to par? Well, as mentioned in my latest post under “Rate RAW” the other day, I feel that overall WWE could have done so much more to make this even more exciting. Unfortunately, creative (or, should I say, the lack of) missed on the opportunity to really give us some special moments that would have made for a much better build but, hey, it is what it is.
Nevertheless, between some good stuff to some hits and misses over the past month, Survivor Series is literally right around the corner, I'm excited so…let’s talk about it:
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg
Given the magnitude of both these superstars, it really is a shame to say that this pairing brings back some rather horrible memories. Who could ever forget their first disastrous encounter at Wrestlemania 20, leading to both being practically booed out of the building? That being said, when this second encounter was made official a few weeks ago, the first question that popped into everyone’s head was “can they pull it off this time and deliver a good match”? Well, why wouldn’t they? The concerns are certainly understandable and especially when it comes to Goldberg being out for all these years, it surely makes one wonder what kind of shape he’d be in but from what we’ve seen thus far, I’d say he looks just fine. Quite frankly, I’m even more confident both will look to redeem themselves for that awful first match all those years back so bottom line, I think they’ll do just fine.
The million dollar question is, of course, who wins and in order to answer that question, I feel one should first put things into perspective and examine the facts we have available to us. There’s really no right or wrong answer, just a matter of how the story will be told.
During his first promo on RAW, Goldberg made it perfectly clear that Brock was “next” but most importantly “last”, thus confirming all the reports noting that his return is fa one match deal, a one off so his son can see him wrestle live. That may very well be the case but what if this is all just an attempt to throw us fans off while setting up a second match down the road, say Wrestlemania? The thing is, many find it hard to believe that Goldberg would agree to finally come back after all these years for one more match only to lose neglecting what is perhaps the most important factor: Brock’s undefeated run.
Some perhaps might not even care about the undefeated streak but the fact of the matter is WWE have gone out of their ways (rightfully so) making notice of it every single time they can and this of course has nothing to do with making Lesnar look good; it’s not like this dude needs it anyway. The big picture is obviously the build up to the point that his defeat, whenever that occurs, will be something big, something special and a huge deal for the beneficiary of it. How many times have we discussed in various threads the options in regards to an opponent suitable and/or believable that will finally conquer the conqueror, that will slay the beast? That’s exactly the point, therefore the question here is, how important is it for WWE to maintain Brock’s undefeated streak? Well, in my opinion, it should remain a big fucking deal and his eventual defeat can only be a Wrestlemania moment in my book.
The above assumption, if accurate, amongst others also disregards one of the very common scenarios that I’ve heard floating around lately, a theory in which Shane MacMahon would interfere and cost Brock the match following the events that took place at Summerslam and ultimately leading to a match between these two at Wrestlemania. The story is definitely there, can’t deny it, but it’s one that I feel doesn’t really make too much sense. Aside from this being a very uneven contest, it’s also a waste of Lesnar time, let alone Mania time. As for the “this isn’t over” quote on Smackdown, Shane could easily just choose someone to go against Brock because, again, it has to be somewhat realistic and you know that Shane can’t possibly stand a chance, as crazy and fearless he is. Or, per WWE standards, that quote could be just…forgotten, I don’t know, like, uh, does the infamous lockbox ring a bell? All I'm saying is, it wouldn't be the first time WWE would fail to follow up on a story.
All in all, I am predicting that Brock Lesnar will come out victorious from Survivor Series, however this should be the…easy part so allow me to try and take this a step further.
As noted above, I’m having a hard time believing that Goldberg will simply come back, lose a match and ride into the sunset. It may very well be the case and a lot will obviously depend on how his match at Survivor Series goes but if I’m Goldberg, I ain’t granting my son’s wish just for a loss. If I’m Goldberg, I would also like to have my son see my hand raised in victory and a capacity crowd going bananas over it, giving him a moment to remember forever. In other words, yes, I am thinking one more match and yes, I’m thinking Wrestlemania. How would I book it?
My simple idea is that when it appears that Goldberg is closing in on a win over Lesnar, you could have some type of bump with the referee that will knock him out for a few minutes; you know, the typical stuff. Perhaps Goldberg goes for a spear, Brock sort of stumbles out of the way and the ref eats it instead. As Goldberg tries to understand what just happened or checks on the referee…Machka !!! Rusev (whom by the way was noticeably absent this past Monday on RAW) comes out of nowhere and attacks Goldberg. He does whatever he needs to do (super kick, accolade, anything) and leaves. That's it. Referee slowly awakes, Lesnar is back on his feet, F5, one two three, ring it. This allows Brock to preserve his undefeated streak and take massive heat for it while at the same time it creates sympathy for Goldberg who got screwed AND…sets up your Wrestlemania match: Goldberg vs. Rusev. Why?
Because…why not? Think about it. You already have one RAW segment to build off of (two weeks ago), it’s a big time match for Rusev on the grandest stage against a legend (talk about a huge rub) and a very nice setup for a Goldberg win at the same time. Not for nothing, aside from Rusev being a legit opponent, he’s also a very good worker in the ring and most importantly, a safe worker for Goldberg. And how epic would it be to get that Goldberg entrance one last time at Wrestlemania? The way I see this, it’s a win-win situation.
I'm sure there are several other dream matches that would probably sound better but for the reasons stated above, i feel Rusev would be the perfect candidate, IF of course Goldbeg is to have one more match at Mania.
Cruiserweight Championship: Kendrick vs. Kalisto
Intercontinental Championship: Miz vs. Zayn
With both of these matches having so much in common in terms of storylines, stipulations or being inter-promotional, I figured it only made sense to put them together, under one category.
On one hand, RAW’s Brian Kendrick defends his Cruiserweight title against Kalisto with the added stipulation that if Kalisto wins, the entire cruiserweight division will move to Smackdown. On the other hand, SD’s Miz defends his IC strap against RAW’s Sami Zayn and, again, if Zayn wins, the IC title goes to RAW.
So, the question begging is this: does either title change hands? The stipulations injected in both these matches obviously add to the intrigue and importance respectively and one could easily argue that if by the end of the day both champions end up retaining, it may feel kind of a bummer, as in “all this fuss for nothing”. In addition to that, WWE have tried to throw some “hints” out there leading to speculation in regards of the outcomes. For example, the fact that 205 live will start airing shortly on Tuesdays has led to many assuming Kalisto will win and then you had this almost out of the blue “attack” on Stephanie’s behalf against Samy Zayn the other week, literally ripping him apart while adding pressure being she considers this a must win in order for the IC title to return to RAW.
My approach, though perhaps simplistic, is that the timing seems off for either Kendrick or Miz to drop their belts. It’s barely been half a month since Kendrick won the gold over TJ Perkins at HIAC and then Miz was crowned new IC champ just last night, something that probably took most by surprise. I, for one, figured Ziggler would get a somewhat lengthier run (as in a couple of months, three max) however WWE elected to take the belt off of him a little over a month after he won it at No Mercy and four days shy of SS. Interesting move, to say the least and to be honest, I am kind of wondering if by Sunday WWE decide to insert Ziggler into this match and make it a triple threat. I know I’d be down for that, not to mention it could work if Zigger were to demand for his rematch instantly but whatever the case, Miz is too damn good these days to have him be somewhat of a transitional champion.
Now, as we all know, trying to put too much logic when thinking out these scenarios usually doesn’t pay off because…WWE. After all, how many times have we scratched our heads wondering about certain decisions they’ve made? Yes, exactly what you’re thinking reading this but apparently something has to give, otherwise this entire storyline would just seem pointless.
While they made such a big deal about the cruiserweight division being “exclusive” to RAW, it hasn’t really felt that they are treating it that way, has it? Changing the ropes, ok, may be a nice little touch but what have they actually done with the talent itself? I’ll tell you what: 6-man tag matches EVERY SINGLE FUCKING WEEK for some four or five minutes that mean absolutely nothing. As far as I’m concerned, this experiment has failed so perhaps a move towards Smackdown might be the best way to rejuvenate both our interest and the division itself. It also makes sense from a logistics standpoint because, why have the talent being on RAW if they are going to be travelling with SD anyway? And last but not least, they all of a sudden added Tom Philips, a pretty good play by play announcer in the booth last week, making me wonder if they are grooming him for whatever changes may be bound to happen. I know they are currently referring to him as a host but let’s be real: a 3+ hour RAW has 3 announcers and a 2 hour Smackdown all of a sudden needs 4? How does that make any sense? This can’t be a permanent thing…
Bottom line, though I still am not convinced that WWE will pull the trigger (maybe because Kalisto has fucked up time and again), all the facts point to a Kallisto victory so I guess I’ll go with that myself. HOWEVER, unlike several rumors floating out there insinuating a possible “switch”, I am also predicting that Miz will retain, thus keeping the IC title on SD. Why? A) you already have a mid-card belt on RAW, B) there’s not enough mid-card talent on RAW (not any that we give a fuck about anyway) to support two belts, C) having both the US and IC straps on RAW will eventually lead to both being devalued and D) what the fuck will the SD mid-card be fighting for eventually, as in the Corbins and Apollo Crews’s etc?
On a side note and based on Stephanie’s reaction the other week towards Zayn, I am going to furthermore predict that Zayn’s failure to capture the IC title will lead to him getting either fired or some kind of bullshit along those lines, leading then to DB and Shane eventually picking him up and adding him to the SD roster. It totally makes sense storyline wise and it is a move that will undoubtedly boost the blue brand in a major way, not to mention Sami Zayn himself. After all, what has Zayn been doing on RAW lately? Yeah, right…
The Three Traditional Elimination Matches
Once again, I feel there is no need to go with each of the three individually so making this a category of its own.
So, up until the go home shows on Monday and Tuesday respectively, I was really hoping they would add a bit more intrigue to these matches, make them even more interesting by adding some extra stakes instead of it being simply for bragging rights. Meh, apparently bragging rights is good enough so, yeah, okay, go teams…
Now, I’ve heard several suggesting a clean RAW sweep. Given it’s Vince we are talking about and this being the “flagship” show versus the eternally “B” show, I wouldn’t be surprised but it would probably be a dick move, right? Hmm, but isn’t Vince a dick anyway? Hmm.
Personally speaking, I would like to see SD get the best over RAW being it has constantly been the better show since the brand split but, again, I can’t see how Vince would ever approve of such an outcome, which is why I’ve concluded on a 2-1 victory of the series in favor of RAW.
Keeping it short and sweet:
a) RAW women beat SD women. I would personally like to see Nia Jax be the sole survivor for team RAW but chances are, it’ll probably end up being Charlotte instead, most likely in a showdown with Becky.
b) SD Tag Teams beat RAW Tag teams because too many combustible elements on the RAW team. Being how over Slater is, I wouldn’t be surprised if him and Rhyno would end up being the survivors but my better judgment says it’ll come down to New Day and American Alpha. That, I'd really like to see...
At this point, amongst others, this would ultimately lead to the main event with the score tied at 1-1, thus adding a bit more suspense for the final outcome. What will that outcome be?
C) Well, of course Team RAW defeats Team Smackdown and of course Roman Reigns will be your sole survivor. God forbid, the golden boy will be booked strong again and it’ll most likely come down to him and AJ Styles. Bray, Orton and Strowman I am guessing will all be counted out while brawling at ring side (or even beyond that) and then maybe Ellsworth will cost his team with some DQ when he decides to interfere.
Hey, it’s not the ideal scenario but to be perfectly honest, it does make the most sense, more so when putting into considerationa the Undertaker’s promo last night. Simply put, AJ being the captain of the team will be the one to be called upon and this is something that can easily start after TLC. AJ will successfully retain his belt against Ambrose but the following Tuesday on SD, while perhaps celebrating and running his mouth…the bell tolls and out comes Taker confronting him on team SD losing at SS, issuing a challenge and leading to a title match at the Royal Rumble. If you ask me, the story just writes itself…
All in all, I am very confident this will be a very entertaining show so get them beers chilled and let us have a good time watching...
Cheers !!!
Bra & Panties, Paddle On A Pole Match (Fans bring the paddles)
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