Meet our Survivor Series 2018 Predictors:
Caleb Baldwin – Social Suplex’s Impact Wrestling reviewer.
Jeremy Donovan – Editor-in-Chief for Social Suplex and co-host of Keepin’ It Strong Style on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
Rich Latta – Columnist for Lords of Pain and Social Suplex, and host of One Nation Radio on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
Brian “Clive” Kinsella – Social Suplex’s 205 Live Reviewer and co-host of the Ricky & Clive Wrestling Show on the Social Suplex Podcast Network.
5-on-5 Tag Team Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Jeremy: The Raw tag division has been a complete joke this year. I have a hard time seeing these merry band of geeks defeating the SmackDown team that features two of the best tag teams in WWE history. Pick: Smackdown
Rich: This is one of the matches Raw can lose while still winning everything that matters. The stipulation should be loser gets their division abolished. Raw has been tag team Cyberia for ages. Pick: Smackdown
Ricky: Smackdown wins, more firepower and bigger stars. Pick: Smackdown
Clive: The Raw side aren’t as united as they should be, whereas the Usos have his troops behind him all the way. A Blue victory. Pick: Smackdown
Robb: Anything less than total annihilation by the Uso’s and co. would prove to be the worst booking decision in recent WWE history. Raw’s tag team division is about as useless as Marty Jannetty at a D.A.R.E. Convention. Blue brand, book it. Pick: Smackdown
Caleb: Usos win here. Expect them to win from a deficit too. Pick: SmackDown
Tom: I think Smackdown picks up the win here, mostly because The Usos and The New Day are bigger stars/more over than maybe all of team Raw combined. So yeah, Smackdown wins, I’ll say The Usos survive. Pick: Smackdown
Raw Tag Team Champions AOP vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar (w/ Big Show)
Jeremy: WWE has been slowing rebuilding AOP the last couple of months. I expect them to continue the team’s momentum by having them pick up the win over an established team like The Bar. Pick: AOP
Rich: Same rule applies. I don’t see Smackdown losing any of the lower tier matches. Pick: The Bar
Ricky: Should be a nice hard hitting affair. AOP to pick up the win and continue their momentum. Pick: AOP
Clive: The Bar with a hard-fought victory. Expect Big Show to throw Drake Maverick around like a wet j*zz rag. Pick: The Bar
Robb: Big Show is gonna toss Drake in a nice little spot, but AOP just got the titles. Expect them to eek out a hard victory and mount more momentum. Pick: AOP
Caleb: AOP needs the win more, so they’ll get the win. Pick: AOP
Tom: This match is my pick to steal the show, AOP brawl so well but I think they drop this one to The Bar, probably after Big Show interference. Is it stupid to have AOP lose? Maybe, but the important thing on this show is that the brand superiority angle is still alive going into the final couple of matches. Pick: The Bar
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali
Jeremy: If this match is given enough time it has the potential to be a banger and be the match of the night. Both Ali and Murphy have been on fire on 205 Live. They are two of the best TV wrestlers in WWE right now. With Murphy still early in his title reign, I don’t think Ali will get the win here. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Rich: Mustafa Ali is really really good. So is Buddy Murphy. It would feel premature to cut Murphy off so soon, but if left to their own devices, this is a sneaky match of the night. I’ll take Murphy, but he’s not done with Ali. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Ricky: Buddy Murphy to retain in the match of the night. Ali will eventually win the title but not yet. I predict Cedric Alexander costs Ali the title one way or another. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Clive: 205 Clive’s most anticipated match of the night, maybe the weekend. They’ll both do what they do best and wow the crowd for 10 minutes, but Murphy’s steamrolling style, coupled with potential Tony Nese assistance, will help the Juggernaut retain. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Robb: This will be the underrated banger of the night. Buddy in a close one, he won’t lose the strap for a while. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Caleb: I would LOVE to see Ali win here, but ya can’t always get what ya want. The chase continues. Pick: Buddy Murphy
Tom: It’s gotta be Mustafa’s time, right? Like we can’t keep not putting the belt on him. Give him a title win and let him be the face of 205 live like he has been for most of this year. Only now he can do it with a belt. Pick: Mustafa Ali
Men’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Jeremy: The Raw team has the advantage because Braun and Drew and they are two of the more protected guys on the whole roster. The only hope for Smackdown getting the win is for Braun and Drew to be eliminated early due to some kind of shenanigans. Pick: Raw
Rich: The only way McIntyre is losing is if he walks out on his teammates like Bad News Brown. The new makeshift team on SD’s youngest member is 38 years old The Miz. It’s not like Raw is that much better in that regard, but unless countouts and DQ’s run wild, Strowman and McIntyre are about to drill Smackdown. Pick: Raw
Ricky: This match is all about Drew McIntyre. I fully expect this to be a showcase of how dominating he can be and already is. Drew will be standing tall at the end of this match. Raw to win. Pick: Raw
Clive: I tossed a coin for this one. Raw to win. ZZZZzzzzz. Pick: Raw
Robb: the last few days has turned my predictions on their heads. In order for Braun versus Brock to make sense, Braun (and maybe Drew) gotta lull it out. Expect an RKO, too. Pick: Raw
Caleb: Shane will somehow cost his team. Pick: RAW
Tom: Raw is in desperate need of singles stars that can credibly challenge Lesnar, while everyone on Smackdown’s team is made already. I’ll say Raw wins with Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman surviving. Pick: Raw
Women’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Jeremy: With a future title match against Ronnie looming for Nia Jax, I expect her to clean house in the match and be portrayed as a potential threat to Ronnie’s title reign. Pick: Raw
Rich: This Raw team is an outright disaster. The God-awful Tamina-Nia duo has transformed this team into new levels of ineptitude. I don’t know how this company looks Sasha Banks & Bayley in the eye each PPV and tell them they are sidelined. As of this writing, we don’t even know the 5th member of SD is. I’m inclined to pick Raw, however, this isn’t a big match, so I’ll pick Smackdown. Lots of Faces for SD and Lots of Heels for Raw. Pick: Smackdown
Ricky: Expect a dominant showing from Nia and Tamina. Fully expect these 2 be standing tall at the end of the match and they may also attack Ember Moon at some point. Raw to win. Pick: Raw
Clive: I expect a Raw victory here to maybe plant the seeds for Becky Lynch to come back and bemoan her so-called “peers” on Tuesday nights for losing to what is essentially a pretty shit Raw team. Pick: Raw
Robb: Ronda is gonna drill Charlotte so the shaken up Women’s team, not helped by Boss and Hug, will crumble. Pick: Smackdown
Caleb: All the Nia Jax shoot punches in the world wouldn’t help Team RAW win this. Pick: SmackDown
Tom: It seems as though they’re trying to do something with Nia and Tamina. I guess Ronda’s gonna go over not one but TWO monster heels at the rumble? *Insert Stephen A. Smith “howEVA” here*, Smackdown needs wins in these lower card matches because Raw has locks in the Men’s 5-on-5, Lesnar, and Rousey. So I’ll say Smackdown somehow pulls off the upset. Pick: Smackdown
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura
Jeremy: Nakamura has been a complete afterthought for me since losing the AJ feud. Even though he’s the US champion he’s had interesting matches, feuds, or moments. I’m excepting Nakamura to pick up the win with an Ambrose distraction and a low blow. Pick: Nakamura
Rich: Hiroo– I mean Shinsuke Nakamura has been on TV intermittently ever since the AJ feud ended. He’s hidden the US title for months. Rollins is one of the key guys on the A show, and told us he doesn’t even care about Nakamura and can you blame him? Pick: Seth Rollins
Ricky: The build to this, like a majority of the matches, has been pretty much non-existent however the match itself should be great. Expect to see Ambrose cost Rollins this match and Nakamura to pick up the win. Pick: Nakamura
Clive: Nakamura has been the third wheel in this “feud”. Interesting though, as Dean considers himself the third wheel of the Shield too. I expect Dean to play a big part in Nakamura winning this one. Pick: Nakamura
Robb: Dean will be a factor and Seth won’t keep his eye on the ball. Expect a knee to the face and a Dirty Deeds soon after. Pick: Chaos Dipset Nak
Caleb: Dean will cost his old running buddy. Pick: Nakamura
Tom: My gut says Ambrose interferes here and costs Rollins the match, but I think a higher profile match will also have an interference finish. So I think Rollins goes over here, and I guess it’ll be clean. Pick: Seth Rollins
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
Jeremy: It’s a real shame that THE MAN couldn’t compete in this match and pummel Ronnie. However, Charlotte is a good replacement and this should be a very good match. With Charlotte coming into the match without a title Ronnie is going to get the win here and will probably undefeated going into Wrestlemania 35. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Rich: Ronda Rousey isn’t losing to a non-champion Charlotte on a 5 day build while she’s the champion of Raw. Or just the women’s champion in general as her placard reads during her entrances on Raw. Don’t believe me? Look up the tape. Charlotte is always up for big matches, and I expect no less from her performance wise. Pick: Ronda Rousey, but The Man is waiting
Ricky: Unfortunately, there has been no build to this match after the Becky Lynch injury. We’re about to find out how much Ronda has improved because there will be no dirty tactics in this match from Charlotte like Rousey’s last 2 opponents. Ronda to ultimately win. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Clive: Unfortunately this has had no time to build, so not much to add. In keeping with my pick for the 5 v 5 Women’s match, Ronda will beat Charlotte probably pretty easily. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Robb: Rich said it best; Charlotte is getting fed to Ronda in this situation. Personally, this is a better match than Becky/Ronda, because that is WM Main Event worthy. Run it. Pick: Ronda
Caleb: I highly doubt this main events WrestleMania now. This result has never been in doubt. Pick: Ronda
Tom: Let’s be real, it SUCKS that Becky Lynch got hurt on the go home Raw for this match. To a lesser extent, I also feel bad for Charlotte, because her match with Rousey now happens with zero build. Rousey was never gonna eat a pin here, no matter who was in the ring, and I think it’s even more likely that she looks strong in a win here. Pick: Ronda Rousey
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan
Jeremy: I have NO faith in WWE to lay this match out correctly. They’ve already screwed this match by making it heel vs heel because in their mind this show is “not canon”. I easily see Brock mauling Bryan and getting the beating he was supposed to get at Summerslam 2014. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Rich: I don’t know why this match exists. Daniel Bryan shouldn’t be a heel, and this ends up as a Heel vs Heel match. One can only hope they don’t turn Bryan into a chickenshit geek with a belt. Unless Heyman is going with Bryan and FOOKS Brock, this looks like a match with the right guys and the wrong elements at play. This should have been the WM 31 Main Event, this feels light years from that. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Ricky: This could be a hard-hitting match but let’s be brutally honest, there is no chance Bryan wins this match. I fully expect AJ to cost Bryan this match but I also expect Bryan to get enough offense in where he looks like a threat to Brock. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Clive: Yes. Great idea to put a man who has just returned from LIFE threatening injuries up against someone who regularly hard ways unfortunate souls and suplexes geeks right onto their cerebellums. A wince inducer with the almost obvious outcome of a Brock victory. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Robb: BROCK WINS LOL. But, unlike some people on the crew, I welcome ROH Heel Bryan. Also, I’m expecting Braun to do some work. Pick: Brock, by DQ
Caleb: I’m going balls to the fuckin’ wall here, Y’all. D Bryan will win, by hook or by crook. Pick: Daniel Bryan
Tom: Well s**t man, what’re we supposed to do now, boo Brock AND Bryan? I don’t think this is gonna be the squash match that was supposed to happen after mania 30, but Bryan has about the same chances of winning as he would’ve in that match. The smart thing to do here would be AJ interfering to cost Bryan the match, so I’ll go with that. Pick: Brock Lesnar
