WWE Survivor Series, the biggest party of the autumn, airs this Sunday, November 18, live on WWE Network. The One Time Each Year When Raw And Smackdown Go Head-To-Head™ features a series of Raw vs. Smackdown matches, including Universal Champion Brock Lesnar taking on new WWE Champion Daniel Bryan. Here’s the complete card, as we know.
WWE Survivor Series Card:
1. Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan
2. Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (subbing for Becky Lynch)
3. Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: The Bar vs. AOP
5. Team Raw (Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson), The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel), Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Kalisto, and/or Gran Metalik), and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)) vs. Team SmackDown (The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods), Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, and/or Killian Dain), Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and The Colóns (Epico Colón and Primo Colón))
6. Team Raw (Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Bálor, and Bobby Lashley) (with Baron Corbin and Lio Rush) vs. Team SmackDown (The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy)
7. Team Raw (Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Natalya, and Ruby Riott) (with Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) vs. Team SmackDown (Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, and TBA)
8. Cruiserweight Championship Match: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Mustafa Ali
As always, we’ve got your complete rundown of the card and analysis below, featuring predictions for all eight matches. Make sure to drop a comment and let us know who you think’s winning, and be here on Sunday to see if you’re right. And pour one out for The Man.
Cruiserweight Championship Match: Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Mustafa Ali
What Should Happen: Is this not on the pre-show? I saw the tag team Survivor Series match was. Are we actually getting this on the main card, or are they running it at the BEGINNING of the pre-show, when even FEWER people are watching? I sure hope they’re on the main card. These are two of the most underrated dudes in the company, so I want them to blow everyone away.
What Will Happen: I love Mustafa Ali with my entire heart, but I think I might love Buddy Murphy a little bit more. Murphy got the big title win in his home country and I want him to retain, but … engh, smart money is on him being a transitional champion to get the belt from Cedric Alexander to Mustafa Ali. And honestly, WWE’s had Mustafa on the payroll way too long without giving him a Cruiserweight Championship run. Go ahead and pull the trigger.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – THIS IS GOING TO RULE. Also Buddy retains. Buddy forever.
Raj Prashad – Mustafa Ali might be one of the most underrated guys on the main roster, and predicting he’ll finally win the big one against Murphy.
Elle Collins – If you’re not going to put the belt on Mustafa Ali here and now, when and where are you going to do it? Buddy got to win in Australia, which was great, and he can always be champion again later. Mustafa’s been working towards this for a very long time, and I think he’s finally going to get it.
Emily Pratt – As much as I want to see Ali with the Cruiserweight Championship, I think there’s more left for them to do with Murphy as champ right now, so I think he retains.
Team Raw (Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Natalya, and Ruby Riott) (with Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) vs. Team SmackDown (Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, and TBA)
What Should Happen: If TBA is someone good, and not just Mandy Rose, Smackdown should win. How great would it be if it was a super cool NXT call-up? Maybe Shayna Baszler showing up, to set up her interference in the Ronda Rousey match later in the night? Ooh, what if it’s Meiko Satomura? Or Toni Storm? What if monkeys fly all the way out of my butt?
What Will Happen: I’ve got Raw winning the men’s match and Smackdown winning the tag team match, so I’ve got to give the women’s match to Smackdown to give them the 2-1 advantage. Lesnar and Rousey are obviously winning as well, so Smackdown needs to get one up on the team competitions. I really do hope the TBA is someone cool; maybe even Paige, since she refuted those rumors that she had been cleared to compete.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – Boy, it would be pretty great for Asuka and/or Sonya Deville to wreck shop in this one. Sonya looked amazing in the Raw invasion, and she’s really got something going on. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Asuka manages to be sole survivor after eliminating every member of Team Raw. I know that’s not going to happen, but that’s my official prediction. ASUKA WE NEED YOU.
Raj Prashad – This seems like a good opportunity to build Asuka back up, so I’m picking her in a lone survivor situation.
Elle Collins – Considering what’s been happening with them on Raw lately, I’ll be surprised if Natalya and Ruby don’t come to blows during this match, despite being on the same team. That makes a SmackDown victory seem inevitable, and all the more so since they have dominant Asuka, beloved Naomi, having a moment Carmella, full-of-promise Sonya Deville, and of course the mysterious “TBA.”
Emily Pratt – This is a tricky one, but I think the mostly-evil Raw team goes over. Natalya and Riott obviously have their issues right now, but they have Bliss, Morgan, and Logan along for shenanigans, and Nia and Tamina have been getting strengthened up lately (and more than any of these SmackDown ladies.) I’ll definitely be rooting for this to be a status-revamping match for Asuka, though I think that’s unlikely.
Team Raw (Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Bálor, and Bobby Lashley) (with Baron Corbin and Lio Rush) vs. Team SmackDown (The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy)
What Should Happen: How can Smackdown lose this when they’ve got the Best Wrestler In The Entire World on their team? Miz is supposed to be the team captain, but he’s standing behind Shane McMahon. What does that tell you?
What Will Happen: I’m picking Smackdown to win the tag team Survivor Series match and the Smackdown women’s division should clearly truck Raw’s heels and Natalya team, so I’ll go the other way and pick Raw to win here. Even though most of Raw’s team is booked to not get along, they’ve got Braun Strowman AND Drew McIntyre on their side, going up against a 48-year old non-wrestler, the guy who gets beaten up every time he tries to hold a talk show, a literally broken member of the Hardy family, and the guy who couldn’t beat AJ Styles with 15 tries. I love you, Joe, but the truth is the truth. The only thing that would change my mind is Rey Mysterio, as he’s basically unstoppable, but Miz is going to ruin that for Smackdown anyway.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – On paper, you’d think Smackdown might have this one, but I don’t really see a team with Braun Strowman AND Drew McIntyre losing … anything. Ever. Having written that, I guess Smackdown wins this one, with Best Wrestler in the Known World Shane McMahon being the sole survivor on his team. Gotta make Shane look strong.
Raj Prashad – If WWE is planning to push Shane as the next heel authority figure, assuming he finds a way to steal the victory and claim the glory for Team Smackdown.
Elle Collins – I feel like this could go either way, depending on what stories they want to tell coming out of it. Based on what they seem to be doing, I think Drew McIntyre has the most to gain by standing tall at the end of the match, so my prediction is Team Raw.
Emily Pratt – There are a lot of interesting things that could happen with this match, and I have no idea if any of them will. Last year’s men’s Survivor Series match seemed to matter very little, but maybe this will continue the Drew McIntyre push. It should be pretty quality if the McMahon element is kept to a minimum though.
Team Raw (Tag Teams) vs. Team Smackdown (Tag Teams)
What Should Happen: I feel like me and my cat could win a 10-on-2 handicap match against the Raw tag team division. The Usos should be able to do it in record time. Look at Raw’s teams. It’s like an e-fed created by someone you’d never want to be in an e-fed with. Even the poor Revival have been reduced to ash.
What Will Happen: This is on the pre-show, so yeah, there’s no reason to give the match to anyone but the New Day and the Usos. Let Raw’s teams eliminate the Colons and Sanity and the Good Brothers, because those teams might as well be on Raw, and let New Day and Uce and Uce steamroll Raw’s entire squad. Bonus points if Nikki Cross shows up at any point.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – My heart is hoping for the Revival being the sole survivors after outwrestling both the Usos and the New Day, but Smackdown picks up the easy win here, as it’s the Usos and the New Day against a bunch of cardboard cutouts of pro wrestlers. They didn’t even need the other three teams to join. New Day One Ish has got this.
Raj Prashad – Going with Team Raw here, predicting the Revival and Ascension leading the way for the Red Brand.
Elle Collins – What on Earth is going on in the Raw tag team division? Don’t get me wrong, there’s some really talented guys in there, but not exactly a lot of tag teams that have been made to look impressive. This is Smackdown’s match for sure. There’s no way a team with the New Day and the Usos on it isn’t going to win against a team where the biggest stars are Bobby Roode and Kalisto.
Emily Pratt – What the heck is this match? Is there a way for it to be good without going a minimum of 45 minutes? Is there any way it gets 45 minutes? So many questions and so many tag teams, so many of which will be operating under Freebird rules! I kind of hope Lucha House Party just makes a clean sweep, because why not.
Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: The Bar vs. AOP
What Should Happen: This is only happening to give us a staredown between The Big Show and Drake Maverick, right? Part of me wishes it was a six-man just to make that confrontation a bigger deal. I want to see how far The Giant can throw a potato in sunglasses.
What Will Happen: AOP just won their tag team championship, and they did it in a 2-on-1 handicap match. The Bar beat The New Day in a six-man tag on Tuesday. Raw’s tag team division is a flaming hot bag of dog turds right now, so The Bar rolls. Like my “The Usos should be able to beat all the Raw tag teams by themselves” talking point, I’m pretty sure Cesaro should be able to beat the Raw versions of AOP by himself.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – I’m weirdly looking forward to this match, our one true mandatory HOSS FIGHT on the card. The Bar will win, because they’re the god damn Bar, but I’m looking forward to Cesaro and Sheamus doing what they always do in situations like this, and pretending like they’re on TakeOver against two guys who have been on MANY TakeOvers. (TakesOver?)
Raj Prashad – With Big Show backing them, The Bar has been on a roll. Fully expecting AOP to stop that momentum and blitz through Sheamus and Cesaro, picking up another win for Raw.
Elle Collins – I think AOP wins here. The Bar can afford the loss (especially against two enormous monsters), and AOP could still use the rub.
Emily Pratt – I’m sorry, this is supposed to read “Big Show vs. Drake Maverick for like thirty seconds,” because that is the part of the match for which I will be watching. (I think AOP goes over because they need it.)
Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
What Should Happen: Seth Rollins uses the last finger on his monkey’s paw to get a great main roster WWE match out of Shinsuke Nakamura, and for a beautiful 15 minutes or so, the Staples Center in Los Angeles is turned into the Tokyo Dome. Whatever you need to do to get Nakamura to show up with his working boots on, do it. Jesus, how many times are we going to get a match that could be this good? JUST PLAY PRETEND, GUYS, YOU’RE FIGHTING FOR NOTHING.
What Will Happen: If the 75 matches with AJ Styles taught us anything, it’s that the match result will be, “Nakamura and Rollins wrestle the beginning of a really great 30 minute New Japan match, then go to a crummy WWE finish at the 12-minute mark instead of doing the rest of it.” The pessimistic part of my brain says this is going to be another, “it was very good, but not as good as it should’ve been,” match. The optimistic side says that if I type the pessimistic prediction, that energy will get to Seth Rollins and he’ll weave hay into gold again.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – I have much higher hopes for this match than most do, as I think Rollins is determined, and that he and Nakamura actually line up much better right now than did Nakamura and Styles, as that feud obviously underwhelmed in a major way. Rollins will get the win, but I’m expecting big things out of this match. Let me down softly, brothers.
Raj Prashad – Underrated match of the night here as Rollins continues his ridiculous run with the Intercontinental strap. Going with Nakamura and expecting some shenanigans with Ambrose.
Elle Collins – I’ll be shocked, shocked, if Seth Rollins doesn’t win this match. The only way Shinsuke wins is if Dean Ambrose shows up to mess with Seth. I’d like to live in a world where WWE treats Nakamura like he’s as big a star as Rollins, but we just don’t live in that world.
Emily Pratt – I’m pretty sure these two are going to super hard, and I’m very excited. Probably too excited! Basically, out of all the champ vs. champ matches, I wish this one was a real feud. My fingers are crossed that Nakamura goes over, and I think it’ll happen due to Ambrose interference. I also hope Shinsuke keeps up his Mickie James to Seth’s Trish Stratus character work from his promo on this week’s SmackDown in some form.
Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair
What Should Happen: I think I speak for everyone in the world when I say, “Becky Lynch shows up in an Undertaker-style face mask and just destroys both of them with a chair for 10 minutes.” It’s probably better that Lynch not be involved and Rousey go over Charlotte somewhat strongly to add further intrigue to an already Mania main-event quality feud between Rousey and Lynch. Who doesn’t want to see Becky return in the #2 spot in the women’s Royal Rumble in January, win the whole thing Stone Cold Steve Austin style, and go on to Mania to give Rousey her first loss? Via submission, preferably?
What Will Happen: The comedy option is Flair winning, but that’s not going to happen. If I’m booking this, I have Shayna Baszler drop the NXT Women’s Championship to Kairi Sane on Saturday and show up on Sunday to keep Rousey from tapping out to the Figure-Eight. And then I launch into that NXT Four Horsewomen vs. MMA Four Horsewomen story I pitched at the end of Monday’s Raw column before we all realized Becky Lynch had a concussion.
But in simpler terms, yeah, put Rousey over Flair. Charlotte doesn’t need another rub. Rousey does, amazingly, if we want her to be at top strength and top ego when The Man comes back around.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – If we’re not going to get Rousey replicating Lesnar/Cena in honor of being at Staples Center, I believe Becky Lynch helps Flair get the victory, leading to what we can only hope is the one true main event of WrestleMania 35: Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey. Pour one out for The Man, but do not mourn her, for she will return to kick even more ass very soon.
Raj Prashad – Rousey appears to be out for blood (literally) after Lynch was removed from Sunday night’s show. Charlotte is going to put up her best effort, but I don’t imagine there’s any way this is where Rousey’s winning streak ends.
Elle Collins – If this isn’t Ronda Rousey’s best WWE match thus far, I’ll be very surprised. I’m expecting Charlotte to put her through the ringer and for both of them to come out looking strong. Ultimately though, I still think Rousey wins. This won’t be their last match, and I expect Charlotte may still be the one to break Rousey’s winning streak, unless Becky Lynch does that when she returns. Either way, I just don’t think Rousey’s streak gets broken at Survivor Series, in a last minute fill-in match.
Emily Pratt – Especially with Becky out of the match, I think Rousey takes this home. It makes more sense for her to keep winning and Charlotte Flair to keep losing to continue each of their current storylines, which should be resolved with people they actually interact with. If they keep Rousey strong until she loses the main event of WrestleMania 35 against Becky Lynch, I will be the most satisfied possible.
Raw vs. Smackdown Champion vs. Champion: Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan
What Should Happen: I’ve been waiting for this match to happen in one fantasy-booked form or another for like five years. Probably longer than that. I’ll reiterate it in the “what will happen” section, but I don’t expect Bryan to beat Lesnar; especially not the newly heel Daniel Bryan on less than a week’s notice, instead of a scrappy babyface Bryan at the end of a WrestleMania build. What should happen is something akin to last year’s match with AJ Styles, but better: Lesnar brings his working boots, Daniel Bryan gets a great match out of him, and we get another six months of wondering why Brock Lesnar has the Universal Championship again.
What Will Happen: Yeah, Bryan’s not beating Lesnar. As much fun as that would be, ESPECIALLY since Bryan’s made so much fun of the Universal Championship making you the “champion of the universe,” it would take a wrestler of SHANE MCMAHON’S quality to beat Brock. Brock wins, but let’s all keep our fingers collectively crossed that it’s not just 10 German suplexes in two minutes and Bryan leaving holding his neck and brains in his hands.
Staff Picks
Bill Hanstock – I honestly can’t believe this match is actually happening. We dreamed about it for so long, but then just assumed it would be gone forever. Daniel Bryan can of course get a great match out of anyone, but I think he might actually have the capacity to make Brock put on his working shoes (which have little Jimmy John’s logos on them). I think either Lesnar will win or the match will have a non-finish, but never count out Mr. Small Package.
Raj Prashad – I’m genuinely terrified for Daniel Bryan the way Brock Lesnar throws opponents around. Going with Lesnar here, but this one looks like the match of the night.
Elle Collins – When AJ Styles was the WWE Champion, I had no doubt that Brock Lesnar was going to win this match just like he did last year. Now that it’s Daniel Bryan, and not just Bryan but new heel Bryan, I’m less certain. I still think Brock probably wins, because winning is usually what he does on the days when he bothers to show up. On the other hand, a win against Lesnar would make this more dangerous Daniel Bryan look like a force to be reckoned with. Still, if he beat Brock Lesnar he’d probably get cheers no matter how he did it, and that’s no way to solidify a heel turn. On reflection, therefore, I’m sticking with Lesnar as the winner.
Emily Pratt – I’m going to have to make sure not to look at Twitter during this match because Lesnar dropping Bryan anywhere near his neck is going to make people have panic attacks, but I think it should be very good. Heel Bryan twists the little guy vs. big guy aspect of this match a little, and I’m hoping that Bryan wins and goes back to SmackDown the strongest possible evil WWE Champion.
Those are our thoughts on Survivor Series 2018, happening under the watchful, one-operational-eye of The Man. Do you agree with our thoughts and picks? Let us know down in the comments section, and make sure you’re here all weekend for our Survivor Series coverage!
