WWE wraps up its 2021 PPV schedule on Saturday night in Brooklyn with a staple of their traditional slate. Survivor Series lands in New York with the top stars of both Raw and SmackDown battling it out for “brand supremacy” in the latest edition of the second oldest PPV WWE puts on with regularity.
In the main event, universal champion Roman Reigns will represent SmackDown when he takes on WWE champion Big E from Raw. On the women’s side, SmackDown champion Charlotte Flair will take on Raw champion Becky Lynch. Add to that a pair of five-on-five matches in Survivor Series tradition and there’s a stacked event planned, even without any championship stakes.
Let’s take a look at how we believe Survivor Series will play out on Sunday.
2021 WWE Survivor Series predictions
Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE Champion Big E
Reigns has drawn out the fury of Big E after attacks on New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. The Usos have also executed a few attacks on Big E before he got the last word after a six-man tag match, hitting Jey with a Big Ending and saying there’d be an ICU bed waiting for Reigns in Brooklyn. If WWE could be trusted to do the right thing at any given moment, this would be a good night for Reigns to take a loss and it to set off a spiral that freshens up his character as the act is quickly getting stale. That said… Pick: Roman Reigns wins
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
To say Flair isn’t exactly in the best graces of everyone in and outside the locker room in WWE is an understatement at this point. Lynch, unsurprisingly, is the woman WWE has thrown everything behind since returning from her leave to give birth to her daughter. Also, if you’re rolling with Reigns to win the battle of the top men’s champions, Raw will likely get the win in the showdown of the top women. Pick: Becky Lynch wins
Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley) vs. Team SmackDown (Drew McIntyre, Xavier Woods, Jeff Hardy, Happy Corbin, 1 TBA)
The five-on-five matches are difficult to predict, especially when one member of a team is not revealed. The secret here may well be McIntyre and Woods on the SmackDown side. Woods as King of the Ring has good storyline momentum and McIntyre is being positioned as one of the remaining men who could challenge Reigns for the universal title. Rollins already has a title shot locked up and doesn’t benefit much from a win anyway. The match coming down to Lashley vs. McIntyre and letting McIntyre get the win after Lashley dominated their rivalry earlier in the year makes sense to boost McIntyre toward a title shot on his end. Pick: Team SmackDown wins.
Team Raw (Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Zelina Vega) vs. Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Shotzi, Shayna Baszler, Natalya, 1 TBA)
That one TBA stands out again for the women’s five-on-five. In storyline, that spot makes sense to be filled by Naomi, who keeps fighting for opportunities as WWE official Sonya Deville screws her over. The Raw side feels a bit stronger, but strength doesn’t really matter in the end so much as who benefits most from winning. Morgan has earned a title shot at Lynch and it would be smart to have survive the match to build up her resume ahead of that match. Pick: Team Raw wins
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. United States Champion Damian Priest
Nakamura’s title reign has been forgettable. He has a single televised title defense (TV or PPV) since winning the belt on Aug. 13. Priest has been far more active with defenses of his belt, defending five times in that same stretch. Priest is also in the middle of a character overhaul, no longer operating as the smiling good guy and instead being a destroyer with a mean streak. It’s hard to see this going any direction other than a Priest victory. Pick: Damian Priest wins
Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos
This match is maybe the hardest to call on the entire show. RK-Bro are one of the better acts in WWE, providing a mix of comedy and wrestling that is more effective than most of the current WWE efforts to mix the two in the “modern era.” The Usos are tied to Reigns, which has made them more or less bulletproof. It feels like Riddle’s tendency to bumble his way into mistakes gives the easiest play for how either team loses. Pick: The Usos win
