Question of the Week: Who should get a push from being on a Survivor Series team?

[Poit]

TLP Question Of The Week:

Which midcarder or jobber do you think should get a push started by being on a Survivor Series team, and why?

[Lock Jaw]

Christian. No reason necessary.

[Shisen Kopf]

The Uso on the left

[Bad News Gertner]

Slater

[road doggy dogg]

John Felix Anthony Cena

[Big Vic]

Ambrose should score a pinfall over Rollins if they plan to move him on to face Wyatt next.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Zack Ryder. He and Dolph are friends. Like Dottie Henson and her sister from a League of Their Own. Ryder is forced on the team by the Show Off.

He then becomes the fat kid from the movie saying "you're gonna lose" to teammates.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>If they've totally abandoned the idea of the new Nation of Domination stable (and after several months I think it's safe to say they have) I wouldn't mind Big E getting thrown onto Team Cena. I love that dude. Plus it'd make sense that Cena would want to have some extra muscle on his team.</font>

[Ultra Mantis]

Johnny Curtis, because push Johnny Curtis damn it!

[Mr. Nerfect]

Johnny Curtis, or whatever he is repackaged as would be cool. But I'm actually hoping for Ryback to be a part of Team Cena.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It would also make a weird amount of sense for Cena to bring up Adrian Neville for his team, since Cena's character finds Neville so impressive.

[XL]

Not so much a genuine shove but the start of something; I'd have Miz and Mizdow on a team, have Miz pinned but have him send Mizdow to the back in his place (the ref would be confused but allow it). Somewhere down the line I'd have Mizdow sent in as a replacement for Miz in a match against Sheamus for the US title and actually have Mizdow score the upset victory only for Miz to grab the title from the time keeper and take the title for himself. This would give plenty of sympathy for Mizdow and build towards a match between the two where Mizdow wins the belt proper.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Zack Ryder. He and Dolph are friends. Like Dottie Henson and her sister from a League of Their Own. Ryder is forced on the team by the Show Off.

He then becomes the fat kid from the movie saying "you're gonna lose" to teammates.

He's even on-air friends with Cena. The more I think about it, he'd be a good fit for the team.

[Emperor Smeat]

Cesaro. Can become the new "muscle" of the Authority and right now compliments the Ziggler pick on Cena's side.

Also really deserves to get that long awaited post-Mania push that got quickly tossed in the gutter just like the dreams of this post-Mania period being really amazing for the WWE.

[Fignuts]

Yeah, Cesaro needs to be in this.

I wouldn't say he's been buried, since he still looks kinda strong in all his recent losses, but he's still losing all the time.

[VSG]

Cesaro, and then he can come to the amazing remixed Dean Malenko again. Heck, get Maxine back and have her be a valet.

[Tazz Dan]

Jeff Hardy

[Tazz Dan]

But since he's not with the company, Ziggler.

[Tazz Dan]

Also, while I don't realistically seeing it happen, I think Zack Ryder would be a good pick for the team, given his on-screen friendship with Cena and Dolph, and the fact he'd like revenge on Kane.

[Tazz Dan]

And after reading this thread, others agree with my thoughts :y:

[Tazz Dan]

Adrian Neville would also make sense I guess, I noticed somebody suggest him. As NXT champion, and wanting his chance to take the step to the main roster, it would be a good place to bring him up.

[XL]

Borrowing from that idea;

They should push NXT as a whole by having a Traditional Survivor Series NXT Showcase.

Neville/Zayn/Corbin/Lucha Dragons vs. Breeze/Kidd/Bull Dempsy/Vaudevillains.

[loopydate]

I love that idea! Even if it's just the preshow match. I would use it to build upon Corbin's "lone wolf" character by having him reluctant to join in on the pre-match promo, insist on starting the match, and refusing to tag out. He has a good showing and gets a couple eliminations, but he's eventually worn down by the numbers and eliminated. The heels win and start to beat down Neville, who was the last one eliminated. Corbin comes back and helps fight them off, then has an "I want that" stare down with Neville and the belt. Boom, there's your next NXT title feud with an instantly credible contender.

[Ruien]

THE RYBACK! Assuming there is a second 5 on 5 match then he should be in it and just dominate the match.

[Shisen Kopf]

Definitely THE RYBACK. All other answers are so terribly wrong.

[XL]

I love that idea! Even if it's just the preshow match. I would use it to build upon Corbin's "lone wolf" character by having him reluctant to join in on the pre-match promo, insist on starting the match, and refusing to tag out. He has a good showing and gets a couple eliminations, but he's eventually worn down by the numbers and eliminated. The heels win and start to beat down Neville, who was the last one eliminated. Corbin comes back and helps fight them off, then has an "I want that" stare down with Neville and the belt. Boom, there's your next NXT title feud with an instantly credible contender.

It'd be interesting just to see what Corbin can do, as he's only had 20 second matches.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I like the idea of the NXT Elimination match, but I wouldn't have Corbin out there. Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn are musts for the face team. Lucha Dragons also fit. Maybe Hideo Itami as the last guy in there? Have Tyson Kidd, Tyler Breeze, The Vaudevillains and maybe Bull Dempsey on the heel side. Titus O'Neil would also make sense given current storylines.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That being said, they also have that "NXT 5" thing going on. Kevin Steen hasn't debuted on NXT television yet, but it would certainly help him stand out in NXT if his claim to fame was working Survivor Series first. Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor & Kevin Owens vs. Titus O'Neil, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd & The Ascension?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Heath Slater can appear in Titus's corner and get kicked in the head really hard by Itami to start off the match in a big way.

[loopydate]

Hm... Blue-chip prospect debuts at Survivor Series. Could work.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Michael Cole mentioned on SmackDown that The Rock and The Undertaker debuted at Survivor Series. I could see them hyping that aspect during the match.
"We could be looking at a future Hall of Famer, Mackel!"

[Mr. Nerfect]

How about this booking for the match:

* Tom Phillips, Renee Young and William Regal switch in as the commentary team, to give the match a different feel presentation-wise.

* Sami Zayn comes out kicking and dancing as he usually does. Hideo Itami is out, followed by his friend, rival and sometimes partner, Finn Balor. Kevin Owens makes his WWE debut, showing up at Survivor Series before he even appears on NXT. Adrian Neville is last out as the NXT Champion.

* Heath Slater accompanies Titus O'Neil, Tyson Kidd, Tyler Breeze & The Ascension to the ring. Prior to the match, Kevin Owens, the unknown bad-ass of the group, slinks off the apron, and approaches an unaware Slater, doing his usual cocky antics outside the ring. Owens then beats the living crap out of Slater all around the ringside area.
"Meet Kevin Owens." - Tom Phillips

* O'Neil now wants to start with Owens, who is all too happy to oblige. They brawl for a bit, and then Owens plays up his history with Zayn, tagging him in. I never saw them team, but this would be a great time for their double-team moves to come out. Zayn breaks things down and hits all his high-flying stuff, with all the faces (and some of the heels) hitting their moves to the outside too.

* Zayn gets O'Neil back in the ring and hits a Helluva Kick followed by the Koji Clutch to make the big man submit. A great way to introduce Zayn as a guy who can fly and is a great mat-wrestler, and the least NXT-associated guy going first puts all the other guys over.

* The Ascension mug Zayn, and the heels beat Zayn down in their corner, but he tags out to Itami, who has a personal grudge against The Ascension, who cleans house on them. He lines up a kick from his corner on Viktor, which allows Balor to blind-tag in, and follow up the kick with a move off the top rope, showing some impressive teamwork. Balor pins Viktor.

* Tyson Kidd and Finn Balor then have a chain-sequence which escalates quickly, but Kidd can't put Balor away, and sells the frustration. Balor makes a comeback, but before he can beat Kidd, Breeze blind-tags in and then sneakily rolls up Balor using the tights for the three count.

* Zayn and Breeze mix it up as old/current rivals, and they re-do the spot where Zayn looks for the Helluva Kick, but Breeze drops down, crotching Zayn. Breeze quickly tags in Konnor, and the two heels do an improvised version of The Fall of Man, with Breeze hitting Zayn with a Beauty Shot as Konnor sweeps the leg. This eliminates Zayn.

* Itami wants his hands on Konnor, and he nails some vicious kicks, but his tunnel-vision leads to him being caught and dropped with the fireman's carry flapjack, but Konnor bounces back into the ropes, allowing Kidd to tag in and hit the Springboard Flying Elbow for the overkill pin.

* Neville does some cool stuff, and ends up in the ring with Kidd, and the two trade some moves, with Kidd going for the Sharpshooter -- only for a roll-up to eliminate Kidd.

* Breeze and Konnor now beat-down Neville, as Owens is fuming on the apron. Neville does make a hot tag, and Owens lights up Breeze. Owens looks for the Package Piledriver, but Konnor nails Owens in the back with a steel chair. Konnor is disqualified, but Owens is down. Breeze rolls into a cover, but only gets two. An execution-style Supermodel Kick finally puts Owens down, however.

* Breeze and Neville are the last two guys, and they work the end stages of the match. Neville goes for the Red Arrow, but Breeze gets the knees up, but it only gets a two count. Breeze again goes for the execution-style Supermodel Kick, but Neville counters and manages to position Breeze for a top rope move again. This time it is an Imploding Star Press, which connects, allowing the faces to win the match.

* Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor & Kevin Owens all come back out and celebrate with Adrian Neville as the commentators pimp NXT on the WWE Network.

[FourFifty]

What Noid said, only with less words, and more stress on Tyler Breeze being awesome.

[XL]

I omitted The Ascension due to the rumour of their imminent call-up. Didn't want to muddy the water with that. Same kinda deal for Titus; he's a Main Roster guy, really.

[XL]

Love the booking, Noid. Wouldn't see the match being given all that time though, sadly. We'd be more likely to see the faces demolish the heels in quick fashion. Unless it was on the pre-show, which kinda contradicts the point of it being a showcase.

[Poit]

How many viewers do the kickoff shows get? They're free on Youtube & such.

[GD]

I would like to see Dolph Ziggler get a push. Although, he has held the big gold belt twice, he has yet to win the WWE Championship. It would be interesting if the WWE gave him more mic time and a chance to evolve his character.

[Tom Guycott]

I'm inclined to agree with all the Ryder talk. Even if he is on a losing team, him making a strong showing (like a couple of eliminations himself, or being the last guy and not being dropped easily, or both) could be a step in a good direction for him... as long as WWE puts it over and doesn't downplay it.

Little things like this could help build the foundation for greasing the wheel with relevant stars instead of scrambling to hotshot main eventers to be instantly over and marketable from the bottom of the deck.

[XL]

How many viewers do the kickoff shows get? They're free on Youtube & such.

With no stats or facts to back this up; I'd say fewer people watch the Kickoff show than watch the PPV.

Even though it's free and widely available it seems a lot of effort to watch it if you're not going to watch the actual show, and you don't need to watch the Kickoff in order to watch the PPV.

[XL]

They should turn Ryder heel.

Have him join Team Cena, get down to Ryder/Cena being the last men and you do the drop off the apron heel turn. Ryder walks away, leaving Cena to the mercy (or lack thereof) of Team Authority.

I wouldn't have Ryder physically attack Cena as we don't want to suspend disbelief too much. I definately wouldn't go with a Ryder/Cena programme or match afterwards either, let the guy keep some steam.

Ryder justifies his actions by recalling what happened to him a couple years ago with the whole Cena/Eve deal, and he becomes a relevant midcard heel act.

You could attach him to The Authority if you wanted, and explain away the whole Kane issue with the usual wrestling BS. You'd have him be the corporate-backed guy sent after Dolph and the IC Title.

Though I'd be inclined to keep him separate do he doesn't become the Authority's whipping boy, and still have him go after the IC Championship.

[drave]

And also needs to be a badass submission machine.

[XL]

Haha. Very nearly made reference to that "meme" myself.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Why Ryder hasn't turned heel yet baffles me. His character being frustrated at not being handed opportunities despite how "beloved" he is basically screams for it.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Would love to see Johnny Curtis brought in as a member for Team Authority. Just have Seth Rollins bring him in, have Curtis be generally creepy and entertaining, and have him win the IC Title from Dolph Ziggler heading into Survivor Series.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I've decided I want the SS Elimination Match to look like this:

Seth Rollins, Kane, Randy Orton, Mark Henry & JD Curtis

VS

John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Cesaro & Ryback


Cesaro and JD Curtis are the odd choices there. I'd have Johnny Curtis come back using kayfabe initials, although they can still play up that he's the better John when he and Cena interact. Rollins brings him in due to his bucket loads of potential. Cesaro wants to be in Team Authority, but they laugh him off because he hasn't been able to win any championships. Cesaro, then out to prove himself, aligns with Cena and Ziggler, even though he doesn't like them. They at least respect what he can do in the ring.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm actually cool with Kane subbing himself out for the monster of the next generation in Erick Rowan too. Kane, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury can be at ringside to further stack the deck.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Got my ideal booking for the match down:

* Mark Henry is eliminated first by Big Show after a Knockout Punch. Not before he takes the Cesaro Swing though.

* Henry is pissed off, and hits an illegal World's Strongest Slam on Big Show. This allows opportunist, JD Curtis, to pin Big Show after his Flying Leg Drop -- which he can gloat about forever.

* Erick Rowan and Ryback are two stubborn bulls who beat the crap out of each other, and break the barricade during a brawl outside the ring. Rowan makes it back into the ring, but Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury keep Ryback from re-entering, causing him to eliminated. Ryback gives Noble a good shove sending him flying before heading to the back.

* Dolph rolls up Erick Rowan, using his speed and skill to best the freed big man.

* JD Curtis, who wins the Intercontinental Title before Survivor Series, gets in there with Dolph, who wants to beat Curtis to prove that he is still worthy of being IC Champion. Tunnel-vision gets the best of Dolph, however, and Rollins sneaks in, capitalizes on the situation, and beats Dolph after the Curb Stomp.

* Orton is in control of Cesaro, but a disagreement between Orton and Rollins allows Cesaro to surge back with a Chaos Theory to Orton, knocking Rollins off the apron in the process, eliminating Orton. Rollins gets in the face of Orton, blaming him for losing control. This leads to an RKO from Orton to Rollins, with Curtis' reaction probably being hilarious.

* Cena puts Rollins in the STF, and Seth taps out.

* Curtis actually holds his own against Cena, but misses his Flying Leg Drop. At this point, Kane has Mercury & Noble pull Cesaro off the apron and attack him. Kane snatches the ringbell before the referee can call a disqualification, and Kane announces that this is now a No Holds Barred Elimination Match.

* Cesaro fights off Mercury and Noble, but gets drilled with the bell by Kane.

* Mercury, Noble and Kane beat-down Cena in the ring. Kane hits Cena with a Chokeslam, but the pin is broken up by Cesaro, who flies back into the ring just in time.

* A beat-down of Cesaro ensues, but Cesaro battles back with vicious uppercuts to everybody.

* Cesaro looks to swing Kane, but Curtis has the ringbell and nails Cesaro with it before he can hit the move. Curtis laughs to himself and tells Cesaro he's a joke, and he'll never be good enough for The Authority. Curtis runs at the slowly recovering Cesaro, but gets a pop-up uppercut for his trouble, which sets up Curtis for the Attitude Adjustment. 1-2-3.

* John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Cesaro & Ryback win with Cena & Cesaro surviving.

* Erick Rowan feuds with Ryback going forward, and becomes another bodyguard for Seth Rollins and JD Curtis.

* Dolph Ziggler chases Curtis and the IC Title.

* Cesaro has issues with The Authority, specifically Kane.

* Cena has his match looming with Brock. Paul Heyman is none too happy about Cesaro being aligned with Cena.

* Seth Rollins and Randy Orton now have big problems.

[Mr. Nerfect]

TLC booking:

* Ryback beats Erick Rowan in a Tables Match. This doesn't need to be long or pretty. They beat each other up, and then Rowan sets Ryback up on a table in the corner. Rowan charges, but Ryback moves and Rowan goes through the table -- but the match goes on, because Ryback didn't put him through one. Ryback goes to splash Rowan who is on a table, but Rowan moves and Ryback goes through himself. Still the match continues. Rowan looks to Chokeslam Ryback through one, but Ryback counters and then spinebusters Rowan through one to end the match. Ryback isn't satisfied though, and then gets another table and spinebusters Rowan through it. Ryback goes to leave, but thinks again, sets up another table and places Rowan on it. This time Ryback connects with the splash, righting his wrong from earlier.

* Cesaro defeats Joey Mercury, Jamie Noble and Kane in a Gauntlet Match. Mercury and Noble aren't too much trouble for Cesaro, but they get a few minutes in there with him. Kane gives Cesaro the most trouble, but eventually takes the Cesaro Swing and is pinned with The Neutralizer.

* Sheamus wants the US Title back, but he wants to fight Rusev on his own terms this time. A Street Fight is used to freshen the match up, and to build the idea that this is Sheamus' match to win, since he loves fighting so much. Rusev retains the title however.

* Nikki Bella retains the Divas Title she wins at Survivor Series when she pins Brie Bella in a Triple Threat Match also involving AJ Lee. This builds to Nikki vs. Lee at the Rumble.

* JD Curtis retains the IC Title against Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match. Maybe they do a spot where Mercury or Noble pulls the title up just as it looks like Dolph is about to win the match. This would go on before Cesaro's match with them in that case.

* Paige beats Charlotte. I'd have Charlotte called up for an Elimination Match against Paige's team at Survivor Series. The match actually comes down between Paige and Charlotte, with Charlotte actually getting the Figure Four locked in and forcing Paige to tap out. This starts an obsession with Charlotte for Paige, who watches Charlotte lose the NXT Women's Championship to Sasha Banks from the stage at an NXT live special or something. Paige also begins a mission to seduce Ric Flair, since her character seems aware of its sex appeal. I'm sure Flair wouldn't mind being used in a story to empathize with his daughter more, and he might be willing to play a man who has his weaknesses and let them get the best of him. A segment where Flair snaps out of it and tells Paige he hopes his daughter kicks her ass at TLC would be a pretty good "WOOO!" moment. Epic freakin' Divas feud waiting to happen.

* Orton beats Rollins when he catches him off a springboard with an RKO.

* Mark Henry beats Big Show in a Chairs Match.

* John Cena defends his title shot against Brock Lesnar in a TLC Match against Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt. I'd consider giving the win to Ambrose here. Lesnar vs. Ambrose is a fresh match, and the Royal Rumble will be sold on the Rumble itself. Cena isn't pinned to lose the shot, and can give Ambrose kudos, but still thinks it's his spot, and can enter the Rumble with the intention of winning it and headlining against Brock -- which you just know we smarks will fear might actually happen, working us a bit too.