PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

WHAT SHOULD TONIGHT HAPPEN IN CHICAGO: THE 2023 WWE SURVIVOR SERIES TIP SHEET

WWE will present the 2023 Survivor Series in Chicago this Saturday at the Allstate Arena.  Here are our takes on what will happen.

Wargames: Bianca Belair & Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair & Shotzi vs. Asuka & IYO SKY & Kairi Sane & Bayley.

Dave: The babyface need to get the win here, given all of the stuff that the heels have done to them.  I expect there will be something between Bayley and the rest of the group that will further the storyline where she wonders if she is on her way out.

Mike: I disagree with Dave.  Becky and Charlotte being on the same page would be a massive leap and I wonder if they tease something here.  I think Damage CTRL winning would be a nice surprise, since everyone expects a split among them.  That doesn't have to happen at the PPV.  The work here should be nuts and I expect Shotzi to take some insane bump.  Kairi flying elbow off the cage?  We will see.

Rich:  The story of this match is 'when does Bayley get kicked out of KaiEnFive' and I think it does not happen on Saturday night.  I think the path to eviction gets a lot easier to see, but maybe they save it for Smackdown when they have their promo to explain what happened in the match.  To try to convince people not to expect Bayley's removal, I let them win the match.  It would appear that Shotzi is the one to take the pin, but that would be the worst option for her since she is the one that needs a strong performance not to return to the 'hey, look at the people who aren't in the title picture but still appear on the show'.  Becky and Charlotte are 'friends forever' but without their Buddy Bands, will they be able to co-exist.  We have also seen a bit of a harder edge with Bianca, and if Becky and Charlotte start to take the spotlight from her, maybe Bianca decides to turn on her teammates and join her husband as part of The Hurt Profits (and take care of B-Fab).  Asuka gets the win for her team.

Wargames: Judgment Day's Damian Priest & Finn Balor & JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio, with Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes & Sami Zayn & Jey Uso & Seth Rollins, with the returning Randy Orton.

Dave: The heels have the advantage here so my guess is that they will get the win since they could use that key element as to why the babyfaces have a good reason to lose.  There could be a scenario where Drew costs his team the match due to his focus on Jey Uso, but I don’t see that happened.  Now here is one wild card, IF and I mean IF, somehow WWE came to a secret deal with CM Punk, I could see the heels attacking Orton and the faces, being true heroes, say they will fight five on four.  If an I mean IF, they signed Punk, and all of the sudden his music played when the fifth spot came up, the building will lose its mind (as will Tony Khan).  If that happens, the faces have to go over.

Mike: The babyfaces will go over, as Randy Orton isn't coming back unless it's a big win.  The build to this has been nothing short of sensational and I expect Cody working in his father's creation to be a LOT of fun.  In the end, I suspect McDonagh is the one to submit.

Rich:  The biggest story of this match will be what happens to THE Judgment Day after War Games ends.  If they win, they stay the top act on Raw, with the ability for two of them to travel to Smackdown while they hold the tag titles.  If they lose, what happens to the dynamic of the team since they just added JD to the mix but have Damian, Rhea, and Finn all trying to be the leader of a group that doesn't necessarily have a leader.  Then you add Drew McIntyre, the most logical person on the Raw brand, where he just wants to kick Jey Uso's ass.  Will the other team be able to work together?  What will Randy Orton do in the match since he has been out of the ring for so long?  Are there any behind the scenes deals for the members of Cody's team?  I would love to see Drew and Jey start the match and beat the hell out of each other for more than 25 minutes until the Match Beyond starts.  The person who needs to prove himself the most will be JD McDonagh.  I think he has a strong performance and justifies the addition to THE Judgment Day.  If they go with the 'leave the cage, your team is disqualified' rule, I am trying to think of a scenario where THE Judgment Day gets fed up with Drew and just let him get his ass kicked by Cody and friends.  Do they have Seth take the fall if THE Judgment Day wins and that sets up a future title match?  I am setting the RKO over/under at 7.5.  Give the win to THE Judgment Day.

WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark.

Dave: The build to this has been really good.  Stark can go and I expect this to be really good.  I see Rhea retaining but Zoey looking really, really good in defeat.

Mike: I expect this to be a really strong, fun match, but once Zoey gets some hope spots in, Rhea retains.

Rich:  Zoey has elevated herself since Crown Jewel and if they weren't going to look outside the four challengers from that match for Survivor Series, I am glad they went with Zoey.  Zoey should be a good challenger for Rhea and she has gotten inside Rhea's head.  Rhea is usually the best thing on Raw when she isn't caught up in THE Judgment Day's attempt to be a Monday Night Bloodline.  Getting back to the match, this should be very good and I hope Zoey tries to get the quick win due to the head games she is playing.  Eventually, Rhea remembers who she is and she finishes off Zoey with RipTide.

WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER vs. The Miz.

Dave: They have done a great job of making people care about Miz again after a long period of him mostly being a comedy guy.  I expect this to be very good, but the champ retains.

Mike: The build to this has been great and I expect the story to be Miz enduring a lot of pain and punishment to get the crowd behind him and build sympathy, but no one is taking down GUNTHER right now.

Rich:  Did you know that Miz is a face now?  I wish WWE would have been a bit more subtle with the turn.  This match should be like the Bob Holly/Brock Lesnar Royal Rumble Match (without the injury), but I see them give Miz a chance and this thing will probably get a decent amount of time.  I don't want the Imperium drama to invade this match, but I could see Kaiser trying to help and it backfiring so Gunther likes Vinci more.   Gunther gets the win.

Carlito vs. Santos Escobar.

Dave: After the amazing promo that Escobar did on Smackdown last week, he needs to win here.  The guy is a great heel and it’s time to show the world that.

Mike: The money is in Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar so it's time to show Santos is a threat and a star.  His promo, as Dave noted, was great and it was really nice to see him finally being presented close to how he comes across in real life as a confident star.  I expect Carlito to lose here.

Rich:  Santos went to the next level with his promo and is the voice of reason and logic on Smackdown.  Carlito entered a group he was not wanted in and then he had the audacity to accuse Santos of leaving the brass knuckles on the apron at Crown Jewel.  Santos is better as a heel and he should dominate this match and make a statement that he is a threat on this brand.  Will Legado be fully reunited at some point (even bringing in Elektra Lopez [but ignore the fact that she should have done something when Santos came back for that NXT appearance])?  If Cruz and Joaquin join up with Santos, I hope it doesn't happen until after the match is over and not be a factor in the finish to tarnish Santos' victory.  

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet