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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TONIGHT: THE 2022 SURVIVOR SERIES TIP SHEET

By Dave Scherer, Mike Johnson & Richard Trionfo on 2022-11-24 10:44:00

Here is the updated Survivor Series lineup as of Thursday and our takes on what will happen Saturday night.

Wargames: Bianca Belair & Alexa Bliss & Asuka & Mia Yim & a final competitor to be announced vs. Bayley & Nikki Cross & Dakota Kai & IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley.

Dave: The fifth member gets announced on Smackdown and I have to think it will be Becky Lynch.  Otherwise, why would she be in town?  She makes the most sense as well.  I think we will see a heel/face split in the two War Games matches so the faces go over here.  But as is usually the case with Triple H booking, I could make a case for it going the other way as well.  That's a big reason why I love Triple H booking.

Mike:  There is zero way the Bloodline is losing at the show, which means Team Bianca ends up going over here.  This should be a lot of fun.   I'd have Bianca say their partner is on the way but she isn't there at the start. I'd start Asuka and Dakota, then Iyo, then Mia, then Rhea, then Bianca, then Nikki, then Alexa (keep her out of the cage as much as possible due to previous concussion issues), Bayley enters last and then HIT THE MUSIC for Becky for the big pop.   

Richard:  The delay to reveal the fifth member makes me think they are checking with every doctor to make sure that Becky Lynch is okay to go.  She is my first pick for the fifth.  Second is Charlotte Flair (to set up her move to Raw and to challenge Bianca after helping them win [sorry . . . prediction spoiler].  My third pick is Sasha Banks because they are in Boston and she is from Boston.  Whichever negotiation/diagnosis works best will be the determining factor.  Why not bait and switch to hold off the announcement for Saturday and have that person be the final entrant in the match to get that 'YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE LIVE' pop if it is Sasha.   Rhea will be the MVP for her team and I think Mia Yim has the potential to elevate her position the most in the women's division with a strong outing.  Rhea and Bianca will be a fun match in the future, but I think whoever is the fifth will get the victory and then we will find out on Raw that a condition for that person to be the fifth on Bianca's team is that she gets a title match.

Wargames: WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos & Sami Zayn & Solo Sikoa vs. Drew McIntyre & The Brawling Brutes & Kevin Owens.

Dave: The big moment in this match will be when Sami faces off with KO.  What will happen?  We don't know, that's what's great about it.  Since I picked the faces in the first match, I will go with the heels here, with the deciding moment being Sami suckers KO after playing possum the whole match, to solidify his spot in The Bloodline.  Then again, he could just as easily cost them the match by his reluctance to hit KO.

Mike: I don't see The Bloodline losing here.  We've seen them do the deal where Uso fails Roman already.  I think we see Usos have someone beat and Sami steals the win and Roman's adulation to continue that slow burn.

Richard:  I expect the Bloodline to have the advantage (as is tradition) and I have discussed how I want it to happen on recent audios.  Since Roman will probably be the last person for his team, maybe Kevin Owens is the last one so we hold off that first interaction in the match between Owens and Zayn for the start of the MATCH BEYOND.  I think we get a tease for potential Drew, Sheamus, or Owens matches against Roman but I think they should build the tag title potential from this match.   If the Usos are going to beat Sheamus and Drew on Friday, then have one of the Usos pinned by Butch (after some confusion between Sami and Jey?) to set up the Brutes vs Usos for the tag titles (keep New Day out of the mix for a while).  My MVP for this match will be Solo Sikoa, who I think may start off the match to showcase that he is worthy of being at the table.

WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi.

Dave: This one is the match I am most confident in picking.  Ronda retains against a game Shotzi.

Mike: I like Shotzi a lot but the right thing to do here is give her a few hope spots before being taken down by Ronda.

Richard:  Shotzi gets a chance to wrestle on a pay per view, but I don't see a Saudi Arabia/Argentina repeat on Saturday night in Boston.  Maybe Raquel and Shayna get involved but Ronda will make Shotzi tap out and she can move on to her next challenger.

WWE United States Champion Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory.

Dave: I love what they have done with Theory.  They got the insipid briefcase on him and made the character harder edged.  The fitting ending would be Lashley having the match won on Seth when Theory attacks him.  Seth takes advantage and pins Lashley.

Mike: I think this will be the night Theory ascends and wins the title.  My gut is Seth hits the stomp on Lashley.  Theory takes him out, turns into the Lashley spear, somehow kicks out and then takes Lashley out.

Richard:  I am picking Austin Theory to win, but it doesn't make too much sense for it to happen since Theory HAD SETH BEATEN during the 'worst cash in in MITB cash in history' if not for Bobby Lashley's actions (which Bobby does not remember happening).  Theory's evolution over the last few weeks has been great and he is back to what he was before signing with WWE.  Seth has turned into a Batman villain (The Cackler) despite being a face.  Bobby is pissed and wants to hurt anything, especially Mustafa Ali.  I expect the typical Triple Threat WWE finish but Theory will be the one who thwarts Lashley's chance to win and pins Lashley.

AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor.

Dave: This one could go either way but I think Finn needs the win more than AJ does so I will go with him.

Mike: I would actually do a bunch of run-ins and a non-finish in order to set up a big multi-person tag coming out of the show, but I actually lean towards Dave's thoughts here.  Balor could use a definitive, big win.

Richard:  With Mia and Rhea in the War Games match, I am less disappointed that this isn't a faction vs faction match.  If they don't add more matches, this could get a lot of times and be an amazing match.  THE Judgment Day is the top faction on Raw and I think they need the victory more than AJ.  We will see interference from Luke, Karl, Damian, and Domnik.  Maybe we see a cameo from 'Dominik's father . . .  Rey Mysterio' or Edge.  Regardless of the result, wrestling fans are the true winners.

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