This is written prior to the final Raw and Smackdown episodes before the PPV as I am on holiday.
Yes! Proper Survivor Series matches! I am so pleased by this! I loved them back in the day. The added Raw v Smackdown battle for supremacy should give them a bit of bite, although the mix of faces and heels will mean that most teams will have some division within their ranks. That makes it extremely difficult to call but should make them very entertaining to watch.
On top of that, this Monday's Raw really levelled up the tension, with all 5 men from both sides in the main event facing off, with most of them getting to hit their signature moves, as well as a face to face with Goldberg and Lesnar. It looks like being easily the best PPV since the brand split.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship:
The Brian Kendrick (c) v Kalisto
Whilst Kendrick has only had the belt a couple of weeks, there are a few good reasons to take the Cruiserweigh division to Smackdown. Firstly, Daniel Bryan. He championed the division and clearly has a passion for it and may be able to help develop it properly. Secondly, the fact that 205 Live will be on Tuesdays as will Smackdown. Thirdly, Smackdown is an hour shorter and could afford to beef up a little bit.
I'm not sure whether Kalisto is turning heel. Attacking Corbin and taking him out of the men's 5 on 5 match makes it seem that way. Kendrick is clearly a heel. I'm not sure where this could go. It doesn't have much build up yet, and they don't have much time to build it up before the PPV. To put the belt straight on the returning Kalisto would seem unfair to Kendrick - and the rest of the division who want a shot at it - and so I can't see Kendrick doing anything other than retaining here.
However, why would they add the stipulation that the division will move if Kendrick loses if not to actually move the division. There is a way to move the division without giving the belt to Kalisto who doesn't seem to deserve it, which is to have Kalisto win but Kendrick to retain through the champions advantage.
Prediction: Kalisto by either count out or DQ.
Intercontinental Championship:
Dolph Ziggler (c) v Sami Zayn
I fully expect The Miz to lose in his title rematch on the final Smackdown before Survivor Series, leaving Ziggler to fight this match. One of the reasons is because Daniel Bryan has said he would try to trade him to Raw if he loses. With the the rumoured Jericho departure, the could be a spot for Miz TV to replace the Highlight Reel, especially as Cutting Edge is returning as well.All of this seems to make logical sense.
The two names that Daniel Bryan has mentioned are Cesaro and Sami Zayn, which means that Ziggler could lose this match but the title still remain on Smackdown if Bryan trades The Miz for Zayn. From a story standpoint, it wouldn't make sense for Stephanie or Foley to agree to that as it would stop them having a chance of taking the title to Raw.
Smackdown probably can't really afford to lose it's second title for the mid carders to compete for. So unless the Cruiserweight championship comes over to replace it, I can't see Ziggler dropping the belt. He has had a resurgence since the brand split and a reign as a fighting champion, with him defeating a large number of the midcarders should hopefully build him up to move to the main event scene again in the future.
Prediction: Ziggler
Women's Elimination Match:
Raw (Charlotte, Bayley, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks) v Smackdown (Nikki Bella, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Naomi)
Raw clearly has the stronger women's division with Carlotte, Sasha and Bayley all being top draws, and Nia Jax being a one woman wrecking ball, whereas Smackdown has Becky and Nikki - who hasn't had any big victories since her return. Anything other than a Raw victory seems unlikely here. I would imagine one of team blue - maybe Becky - will have a good showing eliminating at least one of Raw's big names but Raw winning with probably two or more competitors left.
Prediction: Raw
Tag Team Elimination Match:
Raw (The New Day, The Club, Enzo and Big Cass, The Shining Stars, Sheamus and Cesaro) v Smackdown (Heath Slater and Rhyno, Hype Bros, American Alpha, The Usos, Breezango)
Raw has the bigger names, but Smackdown has better strength in depth. This match could get crazy when you have one half of various tag teams eliminated and the teams needing to work together with each other. I'd love for Heath Slater to be the lone survivor. It'd be a great way to take his storyline. I don't know if that will happen. This match has too many possibilities to even be able to predict properly. The New Day have been so dominant in the tag team picture that they probably deserve to be on the winning side.
Prediction: Raw
Men's Elimination Match:
Raw (Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman & Seth Rollins) v Smackdown (AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon)
Shane was an interesting addition to this match. Baron Corbin was the one guy in the Smackdown team that didn't seem to be at main event level yet, but could really have done with the boost from being in this. However I was expecting Daniel Bryan to announce either Cena or the returning Undertaker. So, while I love Shane-o-Mac, I was a little let down at the announcement.
However, having your commissioner on your team could really help the team harmony and may give team blue the advantage. Both sides have two guys in an alliance with one another - JerichKO and Wyatt/Orton - although I can't see the Wyatt/Orton alliance lasting too long.
One thing I can see happening here is possibly Strowman lying down for Wyatt. They tried to play up the angle of Wyatt holding him down, but the easiest way for him to be pinned without looking physically weak would be Wyatt mind controlling him in some way.
I can also see the Universal Champions/best friends having some sort of falling out that might lead to Jericho (sadly) leaving the WWE again to focus on Fozzy, and therefore there will definitely be more cohesion on the blue team.
AJ Styles has been the guy who beats everyone this year, so I can see him being on the victorious side. On top of that, all of the Smackdown team bar Shane were attired in Smackdown t-shirts on last night's Raw. For those two reasons, I'm leaning towards team blue.
Prediction: Smackdown
Brock Lesnar v Goldberg
I never watched WCW back in the day, and when he was in WWE was one of my periods of not watching sports entertainment. So, basically, I don't really know who he is. Sure, I've heard about his achievements and I was aware that WCW had this bad ass called Goldberg, but I can't recall actually watching a match with him in before. It will be good to see someone whose image makes him look like he can stand up to Lesnar. Lesnar annoys me. He just seems to smash through everyone, has no personal charisma (he needs the amazing Heyman to get him over) and seems to have the fact he destroys everyone written into his contract.
You can make an argument both ways about whether Goldberg would come back for a one-off match and win. Firstly, why would he come back if he didn't think he could take out Lesnar again. On the other side, he's not going to be in as good shape as Lesnar (although in reality he probably would have known about the match for months), Why would Lesnar put over someone coming back for one match? It would make more sense for the main guy at the moment to continue to look indestructible.
I'm going for Goldberg just because I can only recall Lesnar losing one match recently - to the Undertaker and that wasn't clean - and it's about time he took a clean loss.
Prediction: Goldberg
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