There could be chaos at Survivor Series.
WWE has plenty of chances for twists and turns with all the storylines rumbling under the surface of its WarGames matches at Allstate Arena in Chicago on Saturday (8 p.m., Peacock).
Add in the threat of Damian Priest potentially chasing his Money in the Bank contract on World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins during or after the match and some fans still hoping against hope CM Punk makes a surprise return as the person Shinsuke Nakamura has been waiting for and there is plenty to keep your eyes on.
On the men’s side, you have the Randy Orton wild card in his return to WWE after a more than 500-day absence because of a back injury.
He has reason to be angry with teammate Jey Uso, as he was part of a storyline beatdown with The Bloodline that led to his on-screen departure.
It also feels inevitable that Orton turns on “old friend” Cody Rhodes at some point.
Their opponents certainly have some tension too.
Damian Priest is the declared “leader” of The Judgement Day for WarGames, while it’s clear it’s Rhea Ripley running the show.
Will her addition of Drew McInytre pan out?
In the women’s match, leader Bayley feels tolerated and even manipulated by Dakota Kai in the newer big, stronger Damage CTRL.
Does that alliance make it through WarGames after Bayley was the one who sent new member Kairi Sane packing from WWE in storyline back in 2020?
We also get to see Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch rekindle their friendship and compete in a match together for the first time since their real-life, testy clash at Survivor Series 2021.
Can their alliance hold and how do they interact with Bayley as all three are in a televised match together for the first time since Oct. 2019?
With plenty of storylines to tap into at Survivor Series, chaos could ensue.
2023 Survivor Series Predictions
Santos Escobar over Dragon Lee
The end game here should be for a now-heel Escobar to build a new group to face off with Rey Mysterio’s LWO after turning on his mentor on SmackDown two weeks ago. WWE expedited the process by Escobar — who is accused of purposefully costing Mysterio the United States title — taking Carlito out in an injury angle and Dragon Lee stepping in to take his place. The change likely means will we see Escobar’s new allies intervene to win him the match and to protect Lee. Rumors have that most likely being Authors of Pain or Humberto Carillo and Angel Garza.
Rhea Ripley (c) over Zoey Stark to retain the WWE Women’s World championship
This is an incredible opportunity for Stark as Ripley is one of WWE’s top stars and her title defenses are sparse. Stark has looked every bit ready to be in consideration as a main event player down the road. While she won’t beat Ripley — as WWE likely wants to get her to a feud with Becky Lynch — Stark can keep pushing her star a little bit closer to an eventual title run herself down the road.
Gunther (c.) over The Miz to retain the Intercontinental championship
Guthner’s cold-hearted promo on The Miz this week on Raw absolutely made this feud, degrading the A-Lister for his “weirdo” wrestling fandom and reconnecting him with the audience. WWE appears to want Miz to finally be a babyface. To do that, Gunther will need to beat him before he moves on to bigger and better things either as Intercontinental champion or being in the world title picture after Royal Rumble.
Bayley, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane and Asuka over Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Shotzi, Women’s WarGames match.
Bayley’s waning power as Damage CTRL’s leader is the major story, so having her team losing would make it clear where things are heading. Even Bayley’s character will have to know. The better route is Damage CTRL winning in spite of Bayley — leaving her with a false sense of security so she will be less likely to see the turn coming. Or you could even have her get the pin somehow after someone else did all the work. Sadly, one of Shotizi’s purposes in their match might be to take the pin as it’s hard to see WWE wanted anyone else’s shoulders to the mat.
Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins and Jey Uso over Finn Balor, Damian Priest, JD McDonagh, Dominik Mysterio and Drew McIntyre in Men’s WarGames
Exploiting the tension within The Judgement Day’s group, after Priest calls himself the leader, Rhea Ripley adds McIntyre to the team and JD McDonagh just officially joins is far more interesting after a loss than the babyfaces falling short. Maybe it leads to a frustrated Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Any potential story between Orton and Rhodes or Orton and Uso can still be started with a win. My guess is those happen the next night on Raw. It also doesn’t feel like the best time for WWE to not lean hard on its babyfaces.
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