Like last year, this year’s Survivor Series will have a brand warfare team, with all the champions from each brand facing off against each other, and two Survivor Series tag matches taking place. The biggest match, in this battle, will be the one between the men from Raw and Smackdown and both general managers have already begun assembling their troops. 

Angle seemed to have a team ready to announce this week, before Shane and the Smackdown brand ambushed the whole show, while Randy Orton became the first Smackdown member to qualify this week by defeating Sami Zayn in Smackdown’s main event.

With all of the champions tied up in matches with each other, this match is a nice chance for several superstars from each brand to get a chance to perform for us on the big stage.

A quick note before the list begins, I have left AJ Styles, Finn Balor, Kane and Braun Strowman off their lists because I’m hoping we get to see them involved with matches against each other.

Raw: Roman Reigns 

Providing he is well, there is no way The Big Dog is being left off the Survivor Series card. With his Shield team-mates being tied up in a match against The Usos, Reigns has no clear opponent heading into the show, which means making him a member of team Raw their best option.

It also makes perfect sense from a storyline perspective, with Angle now having something of a bond with The Shield and Reigns being one of the biggest threats on the Raw roster.

Raw: Samoa Joe 

Samoa Joe has not been seen on WWE television since the start of September and if reports are to be believed, then his return to the brand is imminent. Joe needs to be chucked right back into the thick of things to maintain the momentum he had before his injury and throwing him in here would be the perfect way to keep him occupied.

They could also play on the history between Angle and Joe here, with the duo’s past in TNA and other promotions causing tension among the ranks of the Raw team.

Raw: Sheamus and Cesaro

Sheamus and Cesaro are on fire right now and leaving them off the card at Survivor Series would be a crime. With Lesnar tied up, and Braun and Kane likely to do battle with each other, Raw will need to find two guys near the top of the card to fill this team and Sheamus and Cesaro are the best options.

While they are in a little bit of a feud with Raw general manager Kurt Angle at the minute- Angle acknowledging their brilliance and putting them in the team would be a nice little rub for them.

Raw: Kurt Angle

The ending of this week’s Raw saw the Smackdown roster ambush the Raw locker room and then take Kurt Angle to the ring to confront Shane McMahon. With Angle having returned to the ring at TLC, it seems highly likely that the general manager of Raw will step into the ring once again to captain his team at Survivor Series.

The structure of the match will allow him plenty of protection and he will almost definitely pick up at least one elimination during his time in the match, in fact, don’t be surprised to see him be one of the group’s survivors when the final bell rings.

Smackdown: Shane McMahon 

With Angle likely to step into the Raw team, Shane is almost definitely going to captain the Smackdown team. The commissioner of Tuesday nights can’t keep himself out of the limelight at the minute and he will no doubt be central to the build over the next month or so.

Shane will almost definitely eat a pin at Survivor Series too, but not before pulling off some crazy stunt and landed the worst punches in all of the WWE. Hopefully, his involvement here won’t see his storyline with Kevin Owens rejected.

Smackdown: Kevin Owens 

One easy way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to place Kevin Owens in the match as well. Owens and Shane’s feud has been the best thing about Smackdown Live in recent months and having the two of them having to share a team at Survivor Series would be a nice way of keeping it ticking over.

This week on Smackdown we saw Sami Zayn miss his chance to get on the team, but don’t expect Owens to suffer the same fate. One way or another he is going to make it onto this team.  He faces Shinsuke Nakamura on next week’s Smackdown for a place in the team, a match I expect him to lose, before finding another way into the fray through brute force.

Rumours were floating around last month that Owens was going to jump ship to Raw in the next few months, if that is the case, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t turn his back on his team-mates at Survivor Series.

Smackdown: Shinsuke Nakamura 

Shinsuke Nakamura has no current feud to speak of following his embarrassing program with Jinder Mahal in recent months, and the company really need to help rebuild him in the lead-up to Wrestlemania. Nakamura is a megastar, and leaving him off the Survivor Series would be an outrageous decision. He can deliver in the ring and the prospect of seeing him square off against the likes of Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe is a mouth-watering prospect.

Randy Orton was the first man to join team Smackdown when he picked up a victory over Sami Zayn on this week’s show and he and Shinsuke have been teaming on Smackdown over the last few weeks, so his inclusion here is nothing if not logical.

Smackdown: Rusev 

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a massive Rusev mark. The Bulgarian Brute is one of the most underutilised talents on the WWE roster, and after basically being jobbed out to Randy Orton and John Cena this Summer, it would be nice to see him gain back a little credibility.

While this is more in hope than expectation, Rusev was heavily featured in this week’s invasion angle and if that trend continues, then hopefully, we will get to see him in the match at Survivor Series. Plus, what is a good team without a good mascot? And seeing Aiden English provide the official anthem for Team Smackdown is something well worth seeing.