Survivor Series has long been considered one of the biggest pay-per-view events produced by WWE each year. Running consecutively since 1987, only Wrestlemania outshines the event in longevity.
With AEW set to debut on weekly television in early October, the 2019 edition of Survivor Series will take place almost two months into what is sure to be a heated battle for supremacy between the two wrestling organizations. Given recent reactions and speculation, WWE will have to step up its game in the buildup to the biggest event before Wrestlemania in order to cement their dominance on the industry. Here are ten ways they could stay on top.
10 Need: Squash Match And Rival For Bray Wyatt
The Debut of “The Fiend” at Summerslam 2019 was spectacular. Professional wrestling headlines have been dominated by news of Bray Wyatt’s new character and questions of whether or not he will be on Raw or Smackdown each night.
As great as Wyatt’s attacks on legends feel each time, they have to be building to something. In the long term, especially given Wyatt’s recent social media activity, the hope is that he will take down a Sting or Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
But what to round out 2019? Another squash. What perfected Wyatt’s re-debut in 2019 was the decisiveness of his victory over Finn Balor. Before entering a long-term feud, Wyatt needs one more quick squash to really set up a longer story at Survivor Series.
9 Doesn't Need: A Championship For Bray Wyatt
Have we mentioned Bray Wyatt yet? It wasn’t an accident. The fact remains that Wyatt’s new split character is currently the hottest thing in WWE. There is no doubt that Wyatt should be in the main event scene soon. There is no doubt that fans are enthusiastically supporting this new character. And there is no doubt that The Fiend needs a title.
But not yet. Bray needs to dominate for a few months to come. Ideally, The Fiend won’t lose a match before Wrestlemania. And while we all hope he gets pushed to the stars; he should not be injected into the title hunt yet. The direction doesn’t make sense for the character yet, and the 50-50 booking which tends to accompany these runs would kill his momentum.
8 Need: Legitimacy For Tag Titles
While The New Day has held onto the Smackdown Tag Team Championship for over a month now, their reign has done little more than underscore Kofi’s run with the WWE Championship. While their title reign is still relatively young, no others have really served to legitimize the belts since the blue tag team straps were introduced in 2016.
If the Smackdown titles feel a bit lacking, the Raw Tag Team Championship is completely barren. The last longer reign it saw was when The New Day picked up the straps in August 2015. They held the titles for 483 days. The longest since has been 80. With Strowman and Rollins recently picking up the titles, and another mismatch set to challenge in September, the outlook is bleak. WWE absolutely needs to put these belts on a legitimate team and book them to look strong, and that needs to begin sooner than not.
7 Doesn't Need: Styles Losing The Title
Few have looked as solid atop the mid-card as AJ Styles does. A main event competitor, styles brings a sense of prestige with him into the United States Championship division. Besides his ability as a performer outpacing his current championship, there are too many opportunities to gain heat for The OC if Styles retains the gold.
While he doesn’t need to be absent from the card at Clash of Champions either, Styles cannot afford to look weak going into Survivor Series. All indications point toward his faction playing a big part in the show, and it is critical that he go in looking the part of a champion.
6 Need: More Freedom For Talent
One of the best things about WWE in recent memory is Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse segments combined with his in-ring appearances as The Fiend. This character has been a stroke of genius, and much of that creative genius has come from Wyatt himself.
Combine Wyatt’s pop with Dean Ambrose’s departure and one thing is clear: talent in WWE does not have enough creative control. While Survivor Series doesn’t necessarily need this change to be a success, superstars need to be given more freedoms as soon as possible.
5 Doesn't Need: Vince Rewriting Shows
Before Eric Bischoff returned to WWE, he had publicly stated that he was only interested in focusing on long-term booking. While his fingerprint is evident on Smackdown today, his previous ambitions are not.
The cliff hangers to end Smackdown each week have been wonderful for fans itching for a reason to keep tuning in. While they have kept current storylines engaging, there doesn’t seem to be a distant purpose. One major factor behind this is that Vince has allegedly continued rewriting episodes at the last minute.
4 Need: Survivor Series Factions
Survivor Series is known for its elimination tag matches. For the past three years, we have seen the factions for the themed matches as Team Smackdown versus Team Raw. This is a trend which is likely to continue. In a perfect world, we will see a return to the old faction-versus-faction format in 2019, but that would require lines which haven’t currently been drawn.
Regardless of how the teams are formed, WWE will need to begin showing signs in the storylines soon. The OC has a good start for this in place if additional allies can be shown in the coming weeks. Most likely, they will be the foundation for Team Raw while The New Day leads Team Smackdown. In any event, buildup needs to happen soon for a quality story to develop before November.
3 Doesn't Need: Shane McMahon
Fans breathed a sigh of release at Summerslam when Kevin Owens defeated the self-proclaimed “Greatest in the World.” With all of Owens’ buildup as of late, it seemed as though he was nearly back into the championship hunt. Unfortunately, the best means to reach that end was stolen from him.
On the August 20th, 2019 edition of Smackdown, Owens was facing Elias in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament. A win in this tournament could have pushed Owens back to the top. Unfortunately, instead of a victory, Shane McMahon cost Owens the match.
For this rivalry to feel legitimate, McMahon needs to back out of the spotlight and let Owens continue doing what he does best. For everyone’s sake.
2 Need: Finn Balor Joining The OC
Just prior to Summerslam, rumors indicated that Finn Balor was looking for two months off. That timeframe should have him coming back just prior to Survivor Series. If he does make his return prior to the event, he needs to see a heel turn and join forces with his former partners in The OC.
Fans are dying to see this union. Not only would his addition create a huge buzz, it would allow Balor to embrace a heel turn and inject new life into his longtime face persona.
1 Doesn't Need: Kofi Kingston Retaining The WWE Championship
If The OC and The New Day find themselves at the center of the Survivor Series elimination match, this would play off perfectly. Shedding brands, a bolstered Randy Orton could join with Finn Balor and The OC against The New Day, Seth Rollins, and Braun Strowman in the culmination of several storylines simultaneously. This match would even allow Bray Wyatt to begin a feud with Strowman while giving ties to past storylines with Orton and Balor.
While that might be a long shot, Kofi’s reign has become stagnant. If nothing else, the WWE Championship is overdue for a change, and there is no better venue than Clash of Champions prior to Survivor Series.