Roundtable: Survivor Series 2018

Who wins: Ronda Rousey or Charlotte?

Juan Bautista: Due to the injuries sustained on Monday, WrestleMania is coming early. The best case is a no contest, but if there is going to be a winner, it has to be Charlotte. She needs a marquee win and it will be a nice story if the woman who ended Asuka’s streak ended Ronda Rousey’s winning streak as well.

Sam Gladen: Charlotte.

Steven Jackson: Considering how WWE is booking Rousey, I will have to go with Ronda Rousey.

John Corrigan: This is a tough one: Rousey is on a roll, but you can never bet against The Queen. I’ll say Becky interferes, prompting Rousey’s first loss in WWE.

Chad Gelfand: Ronda Rousey.

David Gibb: Well, I was going to say that I think it goes 50-50 and then they do an angle to get Ronda the win and level up Becky-Charlotte even hotter. With Becky out of the match, though, I still think we see basically the same thing – just it’s Charlotte and Ronda going 50-50 before an angle involving Becky.

Anthony Mahalis: Well, Nia Jax ruined this match, but at least we get Charlotte and Ronda. I can’t imagine Rousey losing this early in her WWE tenure, so I will say Ronda wins in a real slugfest.

Jack Goodwillie: The fans! I mean… the fans??? That’s right. Sure, Nia Jax single-handily ruined another pay-per-view match, and should DEFINITELY be criticized for it, especially due to the highly questionable circumstances surrounding her spot in the pecking order in relation to the amount of talent she possesses compared to others. But hear me out: Before SmackDown, I called on Twitter for Charlotte to step in to face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series. Why? It’s two-fold. When you have to cancel a match, especially one like Becky-Ronda, you have to provide equal or greater value, and Charlotte vs Ronda was supposed to be a WrestleMania match, quite possibly the main event. Problem was nobody would have bought it. There was no heat. But with Becky Lynch… that was an A+ angle we saw on Raw, and the blood made it BETTER. Add to the fact that Becky is probably the perfect opponent for Ronda. Can she beat her in a real fight? No, but nobody can. The essence of her character, though, is that she can legitimately break limbs and has an extra edge that nobody in the women’s division has that makes her a worthy opponent. Besides, now it’s personal.

While before I scoffed at reports coming off last year’s Mania that Ronda and Charlotte was already being penciled in for the main event at next year’s show, I think next year’s main event kinda has to be Becky vs Ronda. As weird as it would have been to say six months ago, it’s not only the bigger fight than Ronda vs. Charlotte, it’s also bigger than anything they could have done with Roman Reigns.

So who wins? Ronda. But this match probably isn’t going on last.

Who wins: Seth Rollins or Shinsuke Nakamura?

Bautista: Shinskue Nakamura one way or another. They’re going to have an excellent match, in which Nakamura just out classes Seth or despite being on the same brand, Dean Ambrose interferes because it’s personal in what is a decent at times, but mostly cringeworthy feud.

Gladen: Seth.

Jackson: This is interesting as I really like the work of both of these men. I’d like to say Nakamura, but because of Rollins’ close affiliation with Roman Reigns and the current situation, I will go with Seth Rollins. It shouldn’t be a contributing factor, but WWE always dedicates wins to people in situations like this.

Corrigan: Shinsuke Cockamura picks up the win after Dean Ambrose interferes. Yes, that’s two interference finishes in one night, and I’m sure there will be more.

Gelfand: Seth Rollins.

Gibb: Seth Rollins. He’s too plucky to go down to a dick punch.

Mahalis: Shinsuke Nakamura with the assist from Dean Ambrose.

Goodwillie: This is an easy one, you would think. You can draw a straight line to Dean Ambrose having some sort of altercation with Seth during the match that ultimately costs The Architect. It’s like Seth said, he’s not even thinking about Shinsuke Nakamura. When you do that, both in sports AND WWE, you’re going to come out on the losing end nine times out of 10.

Who wins: Authors of Pain or The Bar?

Bautista: They really threw a monkey wrench in this one, but Authors of Pain. Although they just won the belts, it’s going to be the start of a run. The Bar will put up a good fight, but it will be too much to overcome.

Gladen: AoP.

Jackson: I’m a huge fan of The Bar, so I have to go with The Bar.

Corrigan: Can we talk about Big Show for a second? The poor guy could barely walk on SmackDown! Even my dad asked why is he still wrestling. Hopefully, it’s to help The Bar beat AoP.

Gelfand: The Bar.

Gibb: It would be a heck of a feather for AoP to beat The Bar at this stage in their careers. With that said, in a match between two top tag teams, having a manager seems like a big advantage historically. I think “licensed professional manager” Drake Maverick finds a way to get well-meaning-but-inexperienced enforcer Big Show involved, which winds up costing The Bar.

Mahalis: Authors of Pain. It would make little sense for them to lose if you want them to be a legitimate force.

Goodwillie: The Bar. Authors of Pain may be the Raw Tag Team Champions now, but these days that’s like getting a free toy in your happy meal. It doesn’t necessarily tell me that AoP is going to get the treatment they got in NXT, so I’m going with the Bar as something of a safe pick. Do know, however, that this is my sleeper match of the night and could surprise in just how good it is.

Who wins: Brock Lesnar or Daniel Bryan?

Bautista: Either way it was going to be an excellent match, but with Daniel Bryan now champ, it’s going to be a damn good match. It’s a match that should’ve happened a few years ago at WrestleMania 31, but I’ll take it now. Brock will probably get the win because he’s not losing until the Rumble or Mania.

Gelfand: Brock Lesnar.

Gibb: If you had asked me to call this one on Monday, I would’ve told you it was time to put AJ Styles over incredibly strong. With the title on a freshly-crowned Bryan, I actually think this is much harder to call…The new champion really needs a strong, clean win, but I think we’re more likely to see a WrestleMania 13-type finish where Bryan loses without giving up.

Corrigan: This is my only dream match right now. Can’t believe we’re actually getting it. Obviously, we already know the winner. The Beast gets a vegan feast right before Thanksgiving.

Mahalis: Unfortunately, Brock Lesnar. No way Vince McMahon allows Daniel Bryan to take home the victory here, even though he absolutely should. Lesnar sucks ass and I can’t believe I have to put up with him as champion again. GET OUT OF MY LIFE.

Goodwillie: The opponent may have changed, but Brock Lesnar is still fucking going over. Why? Because he’s not going to lose to Daniel Bryan. AJ Styles? Maybe, and there seemed to be a plan for that, but the decision to change the title on Tuesday was DUMB. How are you going to leave the best wrestler on the roster out of a match on one of the five biggest North American shows of the year? You know AJ will probably still have some kind of involvement here, but it won’t be the same. It’s not a knock on Daniel Bryan. Like Becky Lynch, his performance on Tuesday in turning heel was also an A+ performance. I just don’t know why they couldn’t have waited one week to pull the trigger on a Bryan heel turn, because after a whole year of WWE portraying Brock Lesnar poorly as a guy who never shows up to work, now they’re going to expect fans to cheer him over heel Daniel Bryan? Good luck with that one.

Which women’s team wins: Team Raw or Team SmackDown?

Bautista: It’s a tossup because this could be an opportunity for Ruby Riott to break away from the pack of women on Raw. Or, due to recent developments, the SmackDown team may get the win for their injured champion. It’s going to be intriguing to see how the women’s match plays out.

Gladen: SmackDown easy.

Jackson: I’m really not sure about this one, so because I love SmackDown…Team SmackDown!

Corrigan: Team Raw will demolish Team SmackDown, with Twitter exploding after Asuka is the first eliminated.

Gelfand: Team SmackDown.

Gibb: SmackDown wins because they have a mystery partner. A boat’s just a boat, but a mystery box could be anything – even a boat!

Mahalis: Raw’s women’s team takes home the win, but the SmackDown’s men’s team will be victorious.

Goodwillie: Team SmackDown, and if Shayna Baszler loses the belt on Saturday night, expect her to be the fifth member of the SmackDown team and eventually become a holdover for Becky Lynch to feud with before moving on to face Ronda. I don’t think Shayna SHOULD lose at Takeover, but it now makes more sense than it did a week ago. Either way, my pick is still with SmackDown, and I also think the men’s team will go over in the main event through some sort of Shane McMahon tomfoolery as he continues to move towards a heel turn, and also because they like to take turns with the storyline every year.