Survivor Series - SD versus Raw: Elimination Match

[Dave]

Survivor Series has always been home to the "traditional" 5 on 5 Elimination Match and this year's event will be no different. Smackdown Live laid down the challenge to the flagship show and the match will be made. 5 men will represent their brand against the other to see who will be crowned as the dominant brand.

Personally, I have a lot of love for these kinds of matches, I always have. But this year it seems to be worth a little bit more to the WWE and I am feeling the excitement already. There is a lot of talent on both shows who aren't really doing anything of note and this match could be their way of making it onto the show and into a meaningful feud afterwards. People Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Neville, and Sami Zayn are all waiting for something to happen for them. I have no doubt that this is the match that is waiting to happen.

The good thing, at least to me, is that there is no shortage of people who could make this an interesting match. The WWE should build this match as being one of the biggest on the card and give those aforementioned people a little rub for competing. I'm looking forward to it personally.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's a bit too soon to be doing the Smackdown vs. Raw thing. They can tell me there's a rivalry there but I'm not feeling it yet.

S.D. get the win because they are perceived as the weaker brand, when from what I've read it's Raw that's struggled with viewership in recent months.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Myself I'm just happy Survivor Series is going back to its roots and actually having more than one Survivor Series type match. This one will probably be the one to watch though. The other two? Meh. They should do what they did back in the 90s with all Survivor matches and proper hype of each team to add importance to each match. Or even the importance felt from the main event a couple of years ago where Sting showed up and helped Ziggler win one of the best elimination matches of Survivor Series lore.

Jericho should gather Canadians and create Team Canada. Y2J, K.O, Sami and Christian vs Team USA John Cena, Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns.

That's the kind of match the WWE should do even though it kind of ignores the draft, but it would have excellent hype and the match would be highly entertaining.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I'm wondering where they're gonna go with these matches. If they want the best from each show, are we getting Team AJ vs Team Owens? I mean, with Lesnar/Goldberg headlining we don't really need world title matches. How will Reigns and Ziggler factor in? I'm interested to see how the teams take shape. Haven't been this excited about a ppv in a while

 

[King Patrick Star]

If the Main Event of Survivor Series 2016 isn’t:

Team Raw
Team Captain and The Best In The World At What He Does, Chris Jericho
WWE Universal Champion, Kevin Owens
WWE United States Champion, Roman Reigns
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship Title, Seth Rollins
The Number 1 contender for the WWE United States Championship Title, Rusev
with Raw Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager, Mick Foley

vs.

Team Smackdown
Team Captain and The Face That Runs The Place, John Cena
WWE World Champion, A.J. Styles
WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler
The Number 1 contender for the WWE World Championship Title, Dean Ambrose
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Title, The Miz
with Smackdown Commissioner, Shane McMahon and Smackdown General Manager, Daniel Bryan

Then it really isn’t today’s best Reds vs. today’s best Blues

 

[ShinChan]

If the Main Event of Survivor Series 2016 isn’t:

Team Raw
Team Captain and The Best In The World At What He Does, Chris Jericho
WWE Universal Champion, Kevin Owens
WWE United States Champion, Roman Reigns
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship Title, Seth Rollins
The Number 1 contender for the WWE United States Championship Title, Rusev
with Raw Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager, Mick Foley

vs.

Team Smackdown
Team Captain and The Face That Runs The Place, John Cena
WWE World Champion, A.J. Styles
WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler
The Number 1 contender for the WWE World Championship Title, Dean Ambrose
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Title, The Miz
with Smackdown Commissioner, Shane McMahon and Smackdown General Manager, Daniel Bryan

Then it really isn’t today’s best Reds vs. today’s best Blues

Yeah, these guys are the today's best but I strongly disagree with the notion of making it happen. Survivor Series is one of the Big 4 & dual brand PPVs and atleast both titles should be defended at this event. It would be a bad decision to make such a match main event the PPV.

Back to the thread, I guess that the midcard champions might be included in this match. Both midcard champions could lead their respective brand teams.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Yeah, these guys are the today's best but I strongly disagree with the notion of making it happen. Survivor Series is one of the Big 4 & dual brand PPVs and atleast both titles should be defended at this event. It would be a bad decision to make such a match main event the PPV.

Back to the thread, I guess that the midcard champions might be included in this match. Both midcard champions could lead their respective brand teams.

There are now 19 WWE Pay Per Views in a year, with 14 of them being Brand exclusive. The Survivor Series started out as a PPV featuring only traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination matches. They should go back to that format to make it stand out from the rest. The Championship Title Belts can be defended on the other 18 PPVs as well as on Raw and on Smackdown. It has to be Raw's Best vs. Smackdown's Best. With 3 traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination matches, plus Goldberg vs. Lesnar, I think these 4 matches, plus a Cruiserweight Championship Title match should be enough for this card.

 

[ShinChan]

There are now 19 WWE Pay Per Views in a year, with 14 of them being Brand exclusive. The Survivor Series started out as a PPV featuring only traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination matches. They should go back to that format to make it stand out from the rest. The Championship Title Belts can be defended on the other 18 PPVs as well as on Raw and on Smackdown. It has to be Raw's Best vs. Smackdown's Best. With 3 traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination matches, plus Goldberg vs. Lesnar, I think these 4 matches, plus a Cruiserweight Championship Title match should be enough for this card.

Survivor Series itself stands out as it includes the matches of both brands. A brand Vs brand can only be done at dual brand PPV like Survivor Series just like Brock Lesnar Vs. Randy Orton took place at Summerslam.

The way you're suggesting is that make it all about Raw Vs. Smackdown. That would be a remake of Bragging Rights. Survivor Series is and should remain different from Bragging Rights.

 

[@smarkmouth]

It's a bit too soon to be doing the Smackdown vs. Raw thing. They can tell me there's a rivalry there but I'm not feeling it yet.

I agree. I think this was a built in problem no matter when the draft happened. It will always be to soon. Perhaps the Rumble would have been a good opportunity for the draft, but alas, here we are.

I'm thinking there's one ingredient missing, and that's stakes for the match. No, bragging rights don't cut it. I would like to see the victor of each Survivor Series match earn a draft pick for their respective brand, specific to the division of the match in question. To keep it simple, make champions ineligible for draft, but make a draft pick the prize. Then I will be interested in seeing what team wins, and who they pick.

If the Main Event of Survivor Series 2016 isn’t:

...

Then it really isn’t today’s best Reds vs. today’s best Blues

You're roster is accurate, but their hyperbole is far more powerful. No doubt someone like Neville or Darren Young will be occupying Survivor Series real estate.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Both teams at full potential have the following line ups:

Team RAW: Rollins, Owens, Y2J, Reigns and Rusev
Team SD: Styles, Ambrose, Cena, Miz and Ziggler

Obviously Wyatt and Orton will stay away from that match and will have their own match (Please make it a Parkling Lot Brawl or Boiler Room Brawl).

Those line-ups are perfectly equal. Of course the winner of this one will end up winning the whole SD vs RAW deal. I said in a previous thread: This needs to transition into a Shield vs Club match. Styles, Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins are the final 4. Club comes out. The Club does not care about brand supremancy, they just want to see their boy AJ Styles ending up the winner here. Dean won't stand for a cheap victory, so it's Shield vs Club.
Final two are Rollins and Styles. They have a great exchange. Out comes the Game and pedigrees Rollins, thus costing RAW the war.
This whole deal leads to Steph vs Foley on RAW (It's about damn time for a proper civil war storyline). I know, this is too much Steph and Foley, but RAW, being 3 hours, needs more "extravaganza", more "soap-opera" in order to attrract viewers. Plus this puts Rollins vs HHH to a whole other level and further advances the "Death of the Authority" storyline. First, they lost half the company when Shane took Smackdown. Now it's time to lose the other half.

Also, this being Canada, Y2J and Owens will probably be the leaders. Survivor Series will be the final nail in the coffin. Something will happen that will enhance the break-up.

 

[Dave]

I seen a report today that stated that the winning brand in this match would be allowed to trade 3 people from the losing brand. With Raw taking on the Cruiserweights lately, maybe there is a but of truth in this. Perhaps the draft cane too early before the success of the CWC and now the WWE are quite happy to balance the books a little bit and give Smackdown some more talent from their talent pool. I'd be looking for at people like Zayn, Cesaro and Sheamus to head over to the blue brand to give a little bit of support to the main event scene over there.

Of course, this is all a rumour but an interesting one nonetheless.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Survivor Series itself stands out as it includes the matches of both brands. A brand Vs brand can only be done at dual brand PPV like Survivor Series just like Brock Lesnar Vs. Randy Orton took place at Summerslam.

The way you're suggesting is that make it all about Raw Vs. Smackdown. That would be a remake of Bragging Rights. Survivor Series is and should remain different from Bragging Rights.

The traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination matches doesn't necessarily have be Raw vs. Smackdown themed matches. With the line up I proposed, the other 5 on 5 matches could be Team Perkins vs. Team Kendrick for Raw and Team Orton / The Vipers vs. Team Wyatt / The Wyatt Family for Smackdown.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In some ways, Survivor Series may feel like something of a "throwaway" ppv because there's not really a huge, long standing rivalry between the two brands. However, I think that this match, along with others, will primarily be used to foster continued animosity in existing feuds due to opponents being on the same team with one another.Based on what we heard on Raw this week, Jericho & Owens will be on Team Raw which means, I'm guessing, that probably Ambrose & Styles will be on Team SmackDown. At any rate, Survivor Series may be the catalyst for the breakdown of the "friendship" between Owens & Jericho. Simultaneously, there's also a possibility of fostering animosity across the brand as part of a longer term build towards the Royal Rumble in January. Right now, the rivalry between the brands comes off more along the lines of a friendly one, though this is something that could potentially begin to change at Survivor Series.

For the most part, the traditional Survivor Series matches haven't been all that relevant in quite a long while. Truth be told, Survivor Series itself has been, by far, the weakest of the original Big Four ppvs for a long time as well. I like the novelty of a card made up mostly of 5 on 5 elimination tag team matches. Aside from this match of male singles stars, the match of tag team wrestlers, the match featuring the female stars and Goldberg vs. Lesnar, I can see them doing an elimination tag match featuring the cruiserweights.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I seen a report today that stated that the winning brand in this match would be allowed to trade 3 people from the losing brand. With Raw taking on the Cruiserweights lately, maybe there is a but of truth in this. Perhaps the draft cane too early before the success of the CWC and now the WWE are quite happy to balance the books a little bit and give Smackdown some more talent from their talent pool. I'd be looking for at people like Zayn, Cesaro and Sheamus to head over to the blue brand to give a little bit of support to the main event scene over there.

Of course, this is all a rumour but an interesting one nonetheless.

Smackdown has Styles, Cena, Ambrose, Orton, Wyatt, Harper, Rowan, Miz, Ziggler, Swagger, Corbin, Crews, Kane, Hawkins, Kalisto 7 women and 6 tag teams.

RAW has Rollins, Owens, Y2J, Reigns, Rusev, Zayn, Neville, Strowman, Henry, Bo Dallas, Big Show and Balor who are both inactive, Lesnar who is inactive, 6 tag teams and 9 women, one of which is Paige.

Lesnar is part-time, Jericho will be leaving. For the time being either brand can't afford to lose talent IMO.

Also weight the rosters. SD is heavy. RAW is weak. Who else is there to main event after Rollins and Owens are done. Y2J won't be staying for long. They can barely make it to WM season. Fans don't want Roman near the scene for the time being.

IMO, RAW is the one that needs the extra power. My pick for RAW has been Bray Wyatt since the beginning. Always Bray. There's nothing for him on Smackdown after the feud with Orton. IF RAW wins, they need Bray Wyatt asap.

But one brand getting 3 picks is just stupid really. Trades is what needed to be made.

Had Zayn gone to SD, he would have been the one to beat the Miz. But noo, they had to give this to Ziggler, while Zayn is floating. Bray Wyatt would also have made an amazing champion, holding the seat warm for the Demon King. Nothing against Owens. He's amazing too, but c'mon man, Bray's been carrying feuds on his back.

PS: Why do people consider Rollins, Owens, Y2J, Zayn, Reigns and Rusev > Cena, Orton, Bray, Ambrose and Styles? Zayn is a nobody at the moment. Rusev is not proven. Y2J is old news. Rollins and Owens have zero star power, or at least they're still building it. Look at the reactions Ambrose and Styles are getting though.

 

[sMark]

I can see final Survivor Series card right now:
- Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg
- Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt (i hope for some Boiler Room like rules)
- AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose
- Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins
- SD vs RAW 5 on 5 match
- SD vs RAW 5 on 5 women match
- SD vs RAW 5 on 5 tag teams match

Personally i want Shane and Foley to be in 5 on 5 Elimination match, leading their respective teams

Team SD - Shane Mcmahon, Dolph Ziggler, Miz, Baron Corbin, Appolo Crews
Team RAW - Mick Foley, Rusev, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn

 

[kadroan]

Survivor Series has always been home to the "traditional" 5 on 5 Elimination Match and this year's event will be no different. Smackdown Live laid down the challenge to the flagship show and the match will be made. 5 men will represent their brand against the other to see who will be crowned as the dominant brand.

Personally, I have a lot of love for these kinds of matches, I always have. But this year it seems to be worth a little bit more to the WWE and I am feeling the excitement already. There is a lot of talent on both shows who aren't really doing anything of note and this match could be their way of making it onto the show and into a meaningful feud afterwards. People Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Neville, and Sami Zayn are all waiting for something to happen for them. I have no doubt that this is the match that is waiting to happen.

The good thing, at least to me, is that there is no shortage of people who could make this an interesting match. The WWE should build this match as being one of the biggest on the card and give those aforementioned people a little rub for competing. I'm looking forward to it personally.

It should be a good match. I expect Strowman to be in this match and be the sole survivor. Therefore, getting in line for a major push going into WrestleMania season.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

My ideal team RAW would be:

WWE Universal Champion (Kevin Owens) (captain)
Chris Jericho (co-captain)
Roman Reigns (WWE United States Champion)
Seth Rollins
Rusev w/Lana

vs

Team Smackdown Live

WWE World Champion AJ Styles (captain)
Dean Ambrose
John Cena (co-captain)
The Miz (WWE United States Champion)
Ziggler

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For whatever reason, they're just going with a 4 on 4 elimination match this year. I don't know if they'll take that same route with the tag team and women's matches or not, but I'm guessing they probably will so that they can tack a few more matches onto the card.

The four members of Team Raw were finalized tonight being made up of Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Even though I don't know who'll be on the blue brand's team, I'm calling a win for SmackDown Live in this one. There's already tension between Jericho & Owens, there's tension with Roman Reigns with both those guys and I just see it ultimately imploding.

 

[Gallops77]

For whatever reason, they're just going with a 4 on 4 elimination match this year. I don't know if they'll take that same route with the tag team and women's matches or not, but I'm guessing they probably will so that they can tack a few more matches onto the card.

The four members of Team Raw were finalized tonight being made up of Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Even though I don't know who'll be on the blue brand's team, I'm calling a win for SmackDown Live in this one. There's already tension between Jericho & Owens, there's tension with Roman Reigns with both those guys and I just see it ultimately imploding.

They are doing 5 on 5. The website shows the Raw team with the silhouette for the 5th member. Odds are it'll be Rollins.

They're doing 5 teams on each side and 5 women on each side. I'm thinking the final 2 women for Raw will be Sasha Banks and Dana Brooke. Smackdown will probably be Nikki Bella, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss and a returning Eva Marie.

I think team Smackdown live wins, but I think we finally get a Shield reunion with Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose laying waste to whoever else is left, particularly Owens, Jericho and Styles.

 

[kadroan]

I think RAW wins. I got Strowman being the sole survivor. Dude is in line for a major push. I got him facing Reigns some point before/at Mania.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

So who replaces Corbin? Those are strong teams with one exception and I have a hard time believing he'll be involved unless he gets the Mike Knox in 2006 treatment.

 

[King Patrick Star]

If the Main Event of Survivor Series 2016 isn’t:

Team Raw
Team Captain and The Best In The World At What He Does, Chris Jericho
WWE Universal Champion, Kevin Owens
WWE United States Champion, Roman Reigns
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship Title, Seth Rollins
The Number 1 contender for the WWE United States Championship Title, Rusev
with Raw Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager, Mick Foley

vs.

Team Smackdown
Team Captain and The Face That Runs The Place, John Cena
WWE World Champion, A.J. Styles
WWE Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler
The Number 1 contender for the WWE World Championship Title, Dean Ambrose
The Number 1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship Title, The Miz
with Smackdown Commissioner, Shane McMahon and Smackdown General Manager, Daniel Bryan

Then it really isn’t today’s best Reds vs. today’s best Blues

Team Raw (Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Seth Rollins) vs. Team SmackDown LIVE (AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Baron Corbin)

…and it really isn’t Monday’s best vs. Tuesday’s best. I’m going to break down who should be on the All-Star teams, and what to do with those who I think shouldn’t be in the main event.

On the Team Have A Nice Day:
Rusev should replace Braun Strowman

On the Team Yes:
John Cena should replace Randy Orton
Dolph Ziggler should replace Bray Wyatt
The Miz should replace Baron Corbin

The (actual) Face that runs the place is not in the main event, and not even on the entire card!? Imagine if Hulk Hogan was excluded from the main event of Survivor Series 1988, just because he wasn’t WWE Champion at that very moment. I’d love to hear women and children chant, “This is bull$#!+!!”

Rusev and the Miz have been carrying Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler, respectively, for the past few months, and they are not even on the card!? This also means no Lana and no Maryse. I need to get my Russian / French fix. Yeah, now you feel the anguish.

If Dolph Ziggler retains, then this whole open challenge would be pointless. If Sami Zayn wins, then things will be very interesting with the Championship Titles in the WWE. Would the Intercontinental Championship Title Belt become exclusive to Raw?? Will Sami Zayn become a Smackdown SuperStar?? Dolph Ziggler should be on Team Smackdown, and Sami Zayn should have “lost” 7 lbs. and challenged for the Cruiserweight Championship Title.

If they really wanted / needed a Raw vs. Smackdown singles match, instead of Dolph Ziggler defending the Intercontinental Championship Title Belt against Sami Zayn, it should have been Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin. Of course a match like this would have to end in a double count out, with both behemoths brawling all the way to the back. I’d even cut to the back during the next 2 or 3 matches showing that the battle between the giants is still taking place.

Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Luke Harper should have been placed in a six-man tag team match against Kane and 2 mystery partners of his choice…Big Show…and the Undertaker!! Then, just as the bell rings, they do a new version of the Curtain Call and form the new Unholy Alliance…the new Ministry Of Darkness!!

That’s how I would book Survivor Series 2016!!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's a nice mix of established guys and fresher faces.

From reputation gained by accomplishments, both groups appear pretty even. The "weak link" in that area for Raw, for lack of a better term, is Braun Strowman while the "weak link" for the blue brand is Bray Wyatt; neither guy has won a championship in WWE while Corbin, at the very least, did win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

In terms of power, Raw has the advantage in my eyes. Reigns & Strowman are the physical powerhouses of the team whereas, generally speaking, Wyatt & Corbin are the muscle for SmackDown.

As far as overall athleticism, I think SmackDown has a slight advantage with Styles, Ambrose & Orton. The most athletic guys for Raw are Rollins & Jericho and while Jericho is still in great shape, he's not as fast or fluid as he once was, so, again, I think the blue brand has the advantage here.

When it comes to overall ability, I think they're split pretty even. Both sides have guys who're sort of the jack of all trades in guys who can fly, brawl and mat wrestle like Styles, Jericho, Rollins and Ambrose.

Both teams also have ongoing feuds happening that could ultimately screw things up for them. Raw has more of a disadvantage here since Owens, Jericho, Rollins & Reigns are all sort of at each other's throats, or about to be at any rage, whereas SmackDown has Styles & Ambrose who have a WWE World Championship TLC match lined up for the TLC ppv next month.

This could genuinely go either way, though I'm betting on the blue brand to take this particular match/

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Due to an "injury" in a scuffle with Kalisto, Baron Corbin is off the SmackDown Live Survivor Series team and GM Daniel Bryan announced his replacement at the close of the show tonight: SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.

The Glasgow crowd seemed really excited with Shane being named part of the team and while I'd normally be against Shane wrestling, it actually has a purpose here. For one thing, this isn't a singles match and, therefore, isn't going up against someone he has no "realistic" chance of beating like Taker. I just hope & pray that they're not going for Shane vs. Lesnar for WrestleMania. Anyhow, as to the subject at hand, both teams have various grudges going on that ultimately threaten their chances of success but Shane, as the SmackDown Commissioner, potentially has a much better shot of holding his team together and keeping them on track. After all, Shane is the "boss" and it's more likely that the blue brand team members will remain loyal if the "boss" is there fighting to help them win and keep them away from each other's throats.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Shane McMahon is not a wrestler. He's been in matches in the past where he's pulled off a good stunt or two and jumped coast to coast on a few people. But he's way, way past that now. Why doesn't he just fuck off and be the -behind the scenes- guy? Why any real fan has interest in seeing shitty Shane McMahon in the ring baffles me. I hope Strowman grabs him straight away and plants him on his head for a quick ten second elimination to start the match.