This Sunday WWE will present the 28th annual Survivor Series from St. Louis. As it stands, the pay-per-view features only six official matches, although that could change come showtime. Let’s take a look at the matches we know will be taking place and who we can expect to come out on top.
Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan, Ryback) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Rusev, Mark Henry, Luke Harper)
With WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar skipping out on one of WWE’s biggest pay-per-views of the year, the company has decided to focus on a major power struggle between the Authority and John Cena at this year’s Survivor Series. The build-up to this match has been a bit subpar to say the least. The battle to recruit a returning Ryback to their respective teams was the focus for a few weeks before the Big Guy eventually chose to team up with Cena against the Authority. (Side note: boy was surgery good to Ryback, leave stuck in tag-team hell and come back right into the main event.)
Early on, Vince McMahon himself added the stipulation that should Team Authority lose, they would be stripped of their power over the WWE roster. This lead to Stephanie McMahon and Triple H assembling one of the biggest traditional Survivor Series teams in history. Kane, Rusev, Mark Henry and Luke Harper are all massive human beings. By comparison, their teammate Seth Rollins looks like a kid. But Rollins is easily the most important member of the team, as he has become the face of the Authority in the ring and will be heavily leaned upon to deliver a win.
Team Cena is an interesting mix of wrestlers. There’s Superman himself, John Cena, fighting for the good of the WWE Universe and trying to rid it of the Authority. He’s joined by Dolph Ziggler, recently robbed of his Intercontinental title by the aforementioned Luke Harper (#PUSHZIGGLER!), Big Show because he has nothing else to do, the returning Ryback and… Erick Rowan?! Yes, Erick Rowan. The former Wyatt Family member took the place of Sheamus who may or may not have legitimately needed surgery following an injury on Raw.
Oh and since Triple H doesn’t like that people teamed up with Cena, if Team Cena loses, everyone on the team (minus Cena of course) will be fired from WWE effective immediately. So yeah, there’s a lot on the line here and Cena has to hope that his teammates will trust him enough not to cost him a win and save their jobs.
So what happens when the teams finally hit the ring? There are two pretty obvious endings here. One, Super Cena shows up, falls behind 5-1, and somehow comes back to win it for his team because LOL CENA WINS! This is pretty much the worst case scenario for any WWE fan over the age of 13. We’ve seen enough of Super Cena, but you can never put it past WWE to make their poster child look good, especially with a match against Brock Lesnar coming to him soon.
Our other likely finish? Mr. Money in the Bank delivers a victory for the Authority in a dastardly way, gets Ziggler fired (who cares about everyone else really) and continues his ascent up the mountain of great heels in the company. Regardless of the outcome of the match, one thing we know for sure is that Rollins is going to put on an awesome display in this type of match. Love him or hate him, the man is a master of the squared circle and he will be the most memorable competitor in this one.
All that sounds likely, but there’s just one thing bothering me about all of this. First, this is in St. Louis, hometown of one Randy Orton. The same Orton who the Authority put out of action and who is expected to make a return any day now. Could he return to cost the Authority their power with a timely RKO of Rollins? That would definitely get a pop from the crowd.
But no, that doesn’t seem right either. Let’s be real here. WWE is giving this pay-per-view away FOR FREE to anyone who signs up for the WWE Network. This is going to be a show with more eyes on it than the usual pay-per-view, and WWE isn’t going to just give us a normal outcome. So expect a swerve, and a major one at that. The best choice here (besides a Roman Reigns or other big superstar surprise return) is a heel turn from someone on Team Cena that costs his team the win.
The one guy on Team Cena that stands out is Dolph Ziggler. Triple H has spent an inordinate amount of time trying and ultimately failing to recruit the Show Off to Team Authority. Trips has made a ton of good points, that Cena is Dolph’s glass ceiling and he can’t break through on Team Cena where John will get all the credit. Ziggler has received a mini-push in recent months, but there are a ton of faces in the company right now. If Dolph is really going to get over, he needs to make an impact. What better way to do that then turn on Cena and cost him the win?
Ziggler listens to the Authority and turns on Cena, giving Team Authority the win and giving us our next great heel.
FLIP THE PAGE TO SEE IF DEAN AMBROSE AND BRAY WYATT CAN STEAL THE SHOW…