WWE Survivor Series 2016 Preview

Welcome one and all to my blog previewing and predicting what is going to happen at this years WWE Survivor Series live special. This is the first in a series where I will be previewing all of the WWE live specials including NXT Takeover specials. As always I encourage you to comment and discuss any of the points I make; you can do this by commenting on the post itself or following me on social media by following the links on the right hand side of the page.

1. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: The Brian Kendrick (C) Vs. Kalisto
This is a match that could go one of two ways. I have been slightly dissapointed by the representation that the newly formed Cruiserweight division has been given during the past couple of months after launching from the CWC onto the Raw brand. The division has a wealth of talent including the champion as well as talent that has featured on TV such as TJ Perkins, Noam Dar and Rich Swann to name a few, however there is a large amount of talent that hasn't had nearly as much or any exposure such as Jack Gallagher, Akira Tosawa and Drew Gulak. The announcement was made that at Survivor Series there would be a match between Kendrick and Kalisto, a Smackdown Live superstar, and if Kalisto was to be victorious not only would the Cruiserweight Championship, but the entire division would go to Smackdown Live. Its my opinion that the division going to Smackdown Live is probably the best decision going forward. If you partner the move with the new 205 Live show this would be a far better way of displaying the huge amount of Cruiserweight talent at the disposal of the WWE. I would expect Kalisto to win but, maybe with a little help from one of Kendricks disgruntled peers.

2. WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (C) Vs. Sami Zayn
This is another strange situation. Like the Cruiserweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship match is a battle of brands featuring The Miz from Smackdown Live and Sami Zayn of Raw. The stipulation of the match is similar as well; if Zayn becomes champion the Intercontinental Championship goes to RAW. I'm not sure if this will happen, however I think Zayn will beat The Miz. With the seeds of discontent between Miz and Daniel Bryan being planted for months previous I believe there will be a trade of talent regardless of what the outcome of this match will be. I think it would be short sighted of WWE to have both the IC and US championships on Raw this would leave only the WWE World Championship and Cruiserweight Championship on Smackdown Live, if my predictions are right. Smackdown needs the IC Championship as a secondary championship and I think Sami Zayn would be a perfect leader for that Championship division.

3. 10 on 10 Raw Vs. Smackdown Live Tag Division Match:
This match will be a fantastic showcase for all of the great tag teams within both brands. Raw Champions The New Day have been nothing short of fantastic for a long time now, however I feel that they need to win a lot more matches on TV as they seem to lose most non title matches they have competed in recently. Cesaro and Sheamus are slowly but surely working towards a great run as a team and I would expect them to either be close or to win the Tag Team Championships in the near future. Enzo and Big Cass are great but are really just comic relief for the most part. Gallows and Anderson are being criminally under utilised overall and should be having more matches on TV and being promoted as the team to beat. The Smackdown tag teams are pale in comparison with team Raw. I think American Alpha and The Usos should be leading this division without a doubt but are being overlooked in favour for Slater and Rhyno a mediocre team, who haven't done very much at all since winning the championship. I fully expect Team Raw to be victorious in this match but I think this will lead to seeds being planted for a feud between New Day and Cesaro and Sheamus.

4. 5 on 5 Raw Vs. Smackdown Live Women's Division Match:
I for one am really glad that the women's division has become a lot more popular over the past couple of years and shows how hard they've all worked in showing that the women's division should have a lot more attention and promotion than they have ever had. Both brands have a wealth of talent in their respective divisions. This match is going to be hard to call. I expect Charlotte and Sasha to be stand outs for Raw but, don't be surprised if Bayley has an incredible showing in this match perhaps maybe even being in the final 4 or even 2 of the match. This is also a chance for Alicia Fox and Nia Jax to show off their under rated talents. Team Smackdown Live is just as good but, need a lot more opportunities to shine. Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss have had a great little feud recently and have proven themselves to be the future for Smackdown Live. Naomi should take full advantage of the opportunity to show how dominant she can be with her sheer power . Carmella is a surprise for me, showing in her feud with Nikki Bella, she has great mic skills she simply needs to continue showing she is just as good in the ring. This is a hard one to call. I would like to see Smackdown Live pull out an upset but, WWE management seem to be high on the Raw division so I think they may pull out the win.
5. 5 on 5 Raw Vs. Smackdown Live Headliner match:
I'm really glad that whilst Goldberg Vs Lesnar is a huge match the traditional Survivor Series matches are the majority of the card and simply not filler for bigger matches. Team Raw features 5 of the biggest names in the recent past of the WWE as a whole. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho are great at walking the line between comic relief and bonafied bad guys which is probably why they are getting a lot of time on screen just now. Owens has been a great champion overall, whilst I was looking forward to seeing Finn Balor getting a run as Universal Champion, I'm really glad they made Owens champion instead of going back to the Reigns Vs Rollins title picture. That being said what Reigns and Rollins have been doing recently has been only slightly better than OK. Braun Strowman rounds out Team Raw and whilst I like what they're doing with him I would have much rather seen Rusev on Team Raw than Strowman. Team Smackdown is, as with Raw, a fantastic example of some of Smackdown Live's best talent. AJ Styles has been a great champion and a nice refreshing change from John Cena. I read rumours of a face turn for Styles in the future, I really hope this doesnt happen as he's a great heel champion. Dean Ambrose is a weird one for me; I feel his character needs to be tweaked or altered for him to remain in the main event, perhaps a heel turn by destroying Smackdown Live mascot James Ellsworth would be of benefit. Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton have gone from strange bedfellows to a pretty cohesive team in a short time but, I think the bigger picture will reveal that Orton may be playing mind game with the Wyatt family. Other than that Bray Wyatt can do no wrong and really needs a run with a championship already. Shane Mcmahon was a late change from Baron Corbin and whilst I can see why it has happened, adding more interest into the match, I can't help but feel a little bad for Baron Corbin who has disappeared from the card now. Hopefully a push will happen soon and can finally show how good Corbin really is. Overall I think this will be a close one but, I think Raw will come out with the win simply for the fact that it's considered to be the flagship show despite Smackdown Live doing better in the ratings.

6. Goldberg Vs. Brock Lesnar
This match has been built incredibly well despite the lack of TV time either one has had since the announcement was made. I'm not as excited for this match as I am for the others. I think this might be because of a couple of reasons. I didn't watch WCW when Goldberg was around and didn't think much of his ill fated first WWE run, so I'm not a Goldberg fan. Whilst I appreciate Brock Lesnar is a beast, or so Paul Heyman would like us all to think, I am getting bored of his come in, do what I want, embarrass my opponent, finish and leave for a while approach to his WWE career. Is he a draw ? Of course he is; as Paul Heyman has said a million and one times he is the only person to ever cross from amateur wrestling to WWE to UFC and dominate everywhere and that should be respected and admired but I simply could care less for this match. I fully expect Goldberg to get a few good shots in and then Brock to dominate as he always does.

Thanks for reading and look out for not only my NXT Takeover Toronto preview but, more content to come.

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