A huge tag team championship match will take place on the next episode of Monday Night Raw . WWE reports that Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins will challenge The Viking Raiders — Erik and Ivar — and the match could change the course of Survivor Series .
Ryder and Hawkins earned their title shot after winning a triple threat match against The O.C. and The Street Profits at a house show in Mannheim, Germany. A victory on Monday Night Raw would also mean that they’ll replace The Viking Raiders at the pay-per-view, as the champions from the red brand will face their counterparts on Friday Night SmackDown and NXT .
Of course, the match will come as a surprise to many fans as Ryder and Hawkins aren’t the most successful duo in WWE . While they did win the gold earlier this year, they’ve spent the past few months on a losing streak with no upward direction in sight.
The Viking Raiders, on the other hand, have been squashing the majority of their opponents since debuting on the main roster. The pair won the Tag Team Championships in October and have looked unstoppable ever since.
Most fans will be tuning in to this match expecting Ryder and Hawkins to be easily defeated, but WWE has shown in the past that they’re capable of booking upset victories. This is especially true in regard to Ryder, who won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32 .
A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.
Erfurt, Germany Mannheim, Germany Regensburg, Germany Dusseldorf, Germany
?? #Gratitude pic.twitter.com/GkAeJcyV4J
— Brian Myers (@Myers_Wrestling) November 11, 2019
WWE will be hoping that the title match will bring in more viewers. As documented by f4wonline.com , the latest episode saw viewership plummet, with the third hour in particular seeing television audiences tune out. However, a championship match with high stakes on the line is a smart way to regain fans’ interest.
This isn’t the only match that will have potential ramifications for the Survivor Series card. As noted by Wrestling Inc , tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown will see Mustafa Ali and Shorty G defend their Survivor Series team spots against Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler.
Also booked for tonight’s show is a tag team championship rematch between The New Day and The Revival. The winner of that match will also go on to compete in the triple threat match for brand supremacy at Survivor Series . Given that The New Day won the championships on a recent Friday Night SmackDown , it’s unlikely that they’ll drop them back to their opponents.
Furthermore, The Revival members — Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder — have once again voiced their frustrations with WWE , which might make the company hesitant to give them another title run right now.