This Sunday in Boston is the 27th annual Survivor Series, one of the “big 4”. Sure many feel the other 3 (as well as a few secondaries) may have passed the November tradition, it easily pumps up all fans when it comes up. We have two traditional Survivor matches, as well as a very important tag team match and three championship matches. Will the Authority get involved? Will they not? We’ll find out Sunday. Now on to the card.
Survivor Series Kickoff Match: Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I am ecstatic that The Miz’s overly annoying babyface run is over and that smarmy asshole look is back in his eye. His heel turn on Kofi was magnificent, equal to Sid dumping Hogan on that 1992 Saturday Night’s Main Event. He wins here. Scott’s Pick: Miz
Now for the PPV matches:
Survivor Series match: Total Divas (Team Ben-Jen) vs. Anti-Total Divas (Team Scott)
The participants are Natalya, the Bellas, The Funkadactyls, Eva Marie & JoJo vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Aksana, Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes & Summer Rae. So when did AJ and Kaitlyn make amends and be on the same team? Is Kaitlyn a heel? Or was this simply to fill the team out and we’re all supposed to forget their feud earlier in the year? Probably the latter. In any event this will be a fairly fun match, with some moves. From where they come from remains to be seen. I think this one will come down to the continuing Brie Bella/AJ feud, and like any matches were the Divas Title isn’t on the line Brie will be the last one standing. AJ eats a rare pin and Brie Bella may earn one last Divas Title shot down the line. Scott’s Pick: Total Divas (Survivor: Brie Bella)
Survivor Series match: Team Rhodes vs. Team Shield
The participants are Goldust, Cody Rhodes, The Usos, and Rey Mysterio vs. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and the Real Americans. Workrate-wise, this could be the most fun match of the night. Pretty much everyone in this match are awesome workers and they will certainly keep the pace up as well. I’m curious as to how Mysterio will adapt to all these younger, less broken down guys like himself. It’s likely he will be protected to decrease the strain on his balky knees. The Usos will likely do most of the yeoman’s work. This is the match where Cody should begin his ascension to the main events by being one of the last (if not the only) survivor. If Goldust helps book it (as I feel he has been since coming back) the match will have quick strikes and stellar storytelling. This show will likely be very babyface-heavy in terms of victories, and this one will be no different. I think Rollins will probably eat the final pin here. Scott’s Pick: Team Rhodes (Survivors: Cody Rhodes & Rey Mysterio)
Intercontinental Championship: Big E. Langston (C) vs. Curtis Axel
Big E. Langston has finally gotten the rewards he has earned since coming to the roster earlier this year. His babyface run as NXT Champion received rave reviews with his “five count” gimmick. After paying his dues as Dolph Ziggler’s muscle, he was organically turned face via CM Punk. As for our former Champion, well it was clear that Axel’s run as a “Paul Heyman” guy was running very thin, as was his run as IC Champ. When he won the title on Father’s Day it was one of the more emotional moments of the year, even if he was a heel. As the year progressed and CM Punk kept kicking the crap out of him the shine dulled. Langston was ready, and thus the title change. This match will be fun, but predictable. Remember this was supposed to be the pre-show match at Hell in a Cell but Axel was injured. Langston instead faced US Champ Dean Ambrose and those couple matches were very entertaining. Big E retains. Scott’s Pick: Big E. Langston
CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs. Rowan & Harper
I thought the entire time of this build that it was a handicap match but once again Bray Wyatt is kept out of the ring. I don’t have a good feeling about the quality of this match. Rowan & Harper are solid enough but this is a big test for them against the two top workers in the company. Punk and Bryan are taking a stop after being in the two top storylines of the company to be in this feud. Will Paul Heyman get involved here? Well Bray Wyatt keeps saying “The devil made me do it” after Punk and Bryan are getting pummeled. It’s not Triple H and it’s not Vince McMahon. They’re usually the ones associated with the devil in pro wrestling. I’m going to watch this match carefully and see if the Wyatts can keep up with the company’s best. I think the rebirth of 2011’s feud between Punk and Bryan could ignite here, maybe a begrudging respect between the two could lead to what comes down the line in 2014. Scott’s Pick: CM Punk & Daniel Bryan
World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena (C) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Boy was I dead wrong about what the premise was to Cena’s win over ADR at Hell in a Cell. I thought Cena was either transitioning to a Damien Sandow win, or he going to outright lose the match. Instead he’s given a title to isolate him from the “Authority” storyline. I still think ADR is one of the MVP’s of this entire company dating all the way back to his feud with Big Show in January. Being both a face and a heel, Del Rio has been all over the place and has worked to the best of his ability. Cena’s promos are back to being self-serving and bland but that’s never going to change so we might as well not bitch about it. The match will be ok, as they’ve been in the ring plenty times before. With the WWE Network rumored (strong) to be back on again, Cena needs to be a showcase champion, so as much as ADR deserves to be champion again, it won’t. Scott’s Pick: John Cena
WWE Championship: Randy Orton (C) vs. Big Show
As great as Big E. Langston, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have been as characters, is how annoying and bad Randy Orton has been. This entire gimmick of pissing and moaning and whining isn’t doing anybody any favors and it certainly isn’t helping the ratings. Sadly Big Show’s big return hasn’t been doing anything spectacular either. We’re in the final two months of the year which is usually where storylines go to die. We hit 2014, and the Royal Rumble build starts, then the fun begins. For now we’re stuck with all this holding pattern crap. This match won’t be much, and Orton will either win cheap, or Big Show wins by DQ. I think Orton wins, and then I think we have a four-way title match with Punk/Bryan at TLC to end the year. No one care, but if you’re paying you might as well get into it. Scott’s Pick: Randy Orton
There’s your preview. Join us here at Place to Be Nation for our Survivor Series Live Blog Sunday Night starting at 7pm!
