WWE: ‘Survivor Series 2016’ Predictions — Who Will Survive?

Aside from the annual 30-man battle royal that kicks off the “Road to WrestleMania” every year at the Royal Rumble, there may be no match harder to predict in WWE than a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match — but that certainly doesn’t stop the WWE Universe from trying.

With just 10 days left until WWE Survivor Series 2016, the card for the night that pits Monday Night Raw vs. SmackDown Live appears to be set. Five of the six matches booked for Survivor Series — including three traditional elimination matches and two title matches — will help determine which is the dominant brand in WWE. But with the emphasis being placed on “fantasy warfare,” the main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg may be the most highly-anticipated match of the night.

The Brian Kendrick vs. Kalisto WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

According to Daniel Bryan on this week’s SmackDown Live, Mick Foley offered this opportunity in response to Ziggler allowing a member of the Monday Night Raw roster to challenge for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The added stipulation to this match is that if Kalisto wins and brings the Cruiserweight Championship to SmackDown, then the entire Cruiserweight Division comes with him. While there is no doubt that Daniel Bryan would genuinely love to see the high-flyers on the blue brand, it seems like too major of a move for the young division.

Predicted Winner: The Brian Kendrick

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Just as it doesn’t make a lot of sense for the entire Cruiserweight Division to be moved to SmackDown Live, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for both mid-card titles to be on Monday Night Raw. What does make sense is the opportunity for Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn to put on one of the best IC title matches in the history of the WWE, and completely steal the show on a night when they could easily be overlooked.

Predicted Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match

If The Shining Stars and Breezango aren’t the first two teams eliminated from this match, it should come as a surprise. But the rest of the contenders, especially on the Raw side, have a legitimate chance of survival. When the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was first introduced, it looked as though American Alpha would be the inaugural champions. The kayfabe injury derailed that storyline, but Chad Gables and Jason Jordan continue to get a lot of respect within their ranks. After the eliminations of The Hype Bros and The Usos gave Team Raw an early lead, look for Sheamus and Enzo to be responsible for the eliminations of their respective tag teams. After Gallows and Anderson take care of Rhyno and Heath Slater, look for American Alpha to score a come-from-behind victory for Team SmackDown.

Predicted Survivors: American Alpha (Team SmackDown)

Traditional Survivor Series Women’s Elimination Match

After SmackDown Live just narrowly avoids losing in the Tag Team Elimination Match, Monday Night Raw will respond by dominating in the Women’s Elimination Match. While Charlotte certainly isn’t making any friends on Team Raw, the animosity that exists between Nikki Bella and Carmella, Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss, and even Naomi and Team Coach Natalya will just be too much for Team SmackDown to overcome. While Alicia Fox should be an easy elimination, look for Bayley to go down after quite a struggle — perhaps in a double-count out situation. While the combination of Lynch and Bella might have a chance on their own against Nia Jax, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks, the fact that Alexa Bliss and Carmella have nothing but bad intentions will somehow result in Team Raw getting the decided victory.

Predicted Survivors: Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax (Team Raw)

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Traditional Survivor Series Men’s Elimination Match

Assuming neither (or both) of the title matches result in a new champion — and that Raw and SmackDown split the women’s and tag team elimination matches — the deciding factor in who leaves Survivor Series 2016 as the dominant brand will come down to the Men’s Elimination Match. These types of matches are literally battles of attrition. That being the case, both Braun Strowman and Chris Jericho are easily expendable members of Team Raw. While Y2J is past his prime, Strowman has yet to reach his. On the blue team, there’s no reason for Shane McMahon to be a survivor in this match, and it seems likely that Randy Orton will turn on Bray Wyatt, eliminating both members from Team SmackDown.

Kevin Owens, stuck with two men he can’t stand in Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, could very easily decide to walk out on Team Raw. And giving the WWE Universe something they only get once in a blue moon, a surprise elimination of AJ Styles would leave just The Shield in the ring: Reigns and Rollins vs. Ambrose. This ending gives the Lunatic Fringe a huge boost of momentum leading into his main event title match at WWE TLC, and gives SmackDown Live the chance to prove they are Monday Night Raw‘s equal, even if that isn’t demonstrated by the weekly ratings.

Predicted Survivor: Dean Ambrose (Team SmackDown)

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

If Goldberg came out of retirement and defeated Brock Lesnar — who was just competing in top form at UFC 200 a few months ago, before leaving Randy Orton a bloodied mess at SummerSlam — it would cheapen everything Lesnar has done since he once again became a semi-regular contributor to WWE. As fans learned from the return of Sting in 2015, being a WCW legend doesn’t mean you’ll have a successful run in modern-day WWE. Sting lost his match at WrestleMania 31 against Triple H and his title match against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. Goldberg shouldn’t expect a more successful run than Sting, especially when he already has a big match victory over Lesnar from WrestleMania 20.

Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

Where To Watch

WWE Survivor Series 2016 is scheduled to air live on the WWE Network at 8/7c on November 20. The Survivor Series Kick-Off Show will begin at 7/6c. The program airs live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

[Featured Image by WWE]