The last month has been a crazy time to be a fan of the WWE. First, there was an illness striking down key players like Roman Reigns, forcing Kurt Angle to return to the ring at TLC, and now, AJ styles has just defeated Jinder Mahal on an episode of Smackdown to become the new WWE champion.
Styles’ unlikely victory and The Bar picking up the tag team titles from Ambrose and Rollins on Monday night has given Survivor Series a little makeover this week, and with Natalya facing Charlotte on next week’s Smackdown, don’t be surprised to see another change just yet.
Survivor Series is now shaping up to be one hell of a card, and with the WWE in full-blown surprise mode at the moment, anything is possible a week on Sunday. The show is famous for its twists and turns and the inter-brand warfare angle allows them plenty of opportunities to set up future matches and angles, especially with Wrestlemania season on the horizon.
So what twists ight this year’s Survivor Series have in store for us? Let’s take a look at five potential twists we could see next Sunday night.
Carmella cashes in, on Alexa Bliss
Carmella has been teasing her Money in the Bank cash-in for months now and every pay-per-view that roles around creates speculation as to how and when she is going to do it. The logical assumption has always been that she is going to cash it on the Smackdown Woman’s Champion, whoever that happens to be, but it has not been made clear as to whether or not she can cash it on just the blue brand’s champion, or either of the women’s champs.
Survivor Series will see the two brand’s champions clash, and while the Smackdown side of things could see either Natalya or Charlotte as champ, Raw’s is definitely going to be Bliss.
Having Carmella cash in on Bliss would be a huge surprise, but if the opportunity were to present itself, then from a kayfabe point of view, she would be stupid not to take it.
She has also just presumably, severed her ties with James Ellsworth, which would free her up to join Monday nights and potentially join up with her real-life partner, Big Cass, who should be set to return from injury very soon. Having Carmella use Cass as protection would be a great gimmick for her, and would also present a strong challenge for Asuka, who is inevitably going to be winning the title in the very near future. Doing this at the start of the night would really establish a sense of ‘anything can happen tonight’ for the pay-per-view as well.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Screw Team Smackdown
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are currently locked in a feud with Smackdown general manager, Shane McMahon, and Survivor Series is likely going to be used to further that feud in some way. With neither man currently on the team (though, I suspect Owens will find his place before the event) there is every chance they could come out and cost their brand the victory at Survivor Series.
Owens has not exactly hidden his distaste for the brand, branding the whole show ‘The Kevin Owens Show’ and talking down the rest of the roster, and having him screw his own team at Survivor Series would be a really nice of furthering his character. Zayn is also on fire as a heel at the moment, and having the two make enemies of the whole Smackdown brand could make for some very interesting viewing.
Asuka is defeated
Every time I see Asuka on WWE television, I get nervous. The company hardly has the best track record with NXT stars and they almost always deliver an underwhelming end to any sort of unbeaten streak. Remember Nia Jaxs’ initial unbeaten run which was just ended in the same match last year? Or Charlotte’s unbeaten PPV run, that was just ended unceremoniously by Bayley one month before Wrestlemania!?
Asuka is set to be a star in the WWE, but I wouldn’t rule out them having her just get pinned in this match-up. Logic suggests she is going to be the night’s sole survivor, and I sincerely hope that is the case. I just hope they don’t do this for a cheap moment early in the bout.
Jason Jordan Screws His Father
The Jason Jordan/Kurt Angle storyline was dead on arrival, but that hasn’t stopped the WWE trying their hardest to get the damn thing over. Vince and Co are fairly persistent when they get an idea in their heads and I have a feeling that they are really intent on seeing this thing through.
In many ways, the best thing that could happen to Jordan is to have him turn heel and play the entitled son role, and I suspect we may see a slight variation on this at Survivor Series. Having Jordan cost his team, claiming that his dad never showed him the love he deserves could work for the character, though, it will likely just make the whole thing suck even more.
AJ Styles Beats Brock Lesnar
AJ Styles beating Jinder Mahal on Smackdown was one of the nicest surprises of the year. While AJ’s reign is likely to be short-lived, what with the WWE going on tour in India next month, the fact that we get to see AJ Vs Lesnar kind of softens that blow.
AJ Styles Vs Brock Lesnar is a dream match-up and has definitely made Survivor Series a must-see event. Is anyone really expecting Styles to go over Lesnar though? Lesnar is on course for his big mania match with Roman Reigns, and the company will want him to look as unstoppable as ever heading into the event. Styles picking up the win here would be a massive surprise, though, I wouldn’t rule it out altogether.
Lesnar is going to need an opponent before Lesnar and with Finn and AJ having earned each other’s respect last month, don’t rule out the Demon helping out his friend, and setting up a match with Lesnar for the Royal Rumble in the process.
