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This week on SmackDown, NXT led by Triple H and Shawn Michaels invaded the Blue brand. The show witnessed the top Superstars of the Black and Gold Brand laying the SmackDown on the Blue Brand's roster, at least what was left of them anyway. The main event of the night saw Adam Cole successfully defend his NXT Championship against Daniel Bryan in a barnburner of a match.
Following the main event, Triple H laid out the gauntlet to the Superstars of RAW and SmackDown as the brands get to battle one another at this year's Survivor Series.
It was announced during Crown Jewel that this year's Survivor Series will also include NXT alongside RAW and SmackDown. WWE is looking to expand the NXT brand and is looking to get more eyes on the product.
NXT's Takeover (pun intended) of SmackDown as WWE's way of insinuating that NXT will no longer be under the shadow of the main roster. Fans have been clamoring for superstars of RAW/SmacKdown to go up against the superstars of the black and yellow brand for a while now.
Here are five RAW/Smackdown Vs NXT dream matches we would like to see at Survivor Series:
#5 Cesaro Vs Kassius Ohno
If you're someone who has followed independent wrestling over the years, chances are that you'd heard about a tag team called Kings of Wrestling. The duo of Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero ( now known as Cesaro and Kassius Ohno in WWE) were one of the most renowned tag teams in the Indy scene during the late 2000s.
Together, The Swiss Cyborg and The Wrestling Genius have held numerous tag titles across all major promotions in North America.
Fans have been wanting to see this duo either re-unite or go up against one another for a long time. Following the announcement that Cesaro would be making an appearance at NXT UK Takeover Cardiff, Ohno commented that a future Kings of Wrestling reunion is highly unlikely, potentially hinting at a match between the two shortly.
Ohno and Cesaro are two of the most well-rounded performers in WWE today. They are what one could call your quintessential 'indy darlings', who have greatly contributed to the rise of the independent wrestling. Seeing these two inside a WWE ring doing what they do best would be an absolute joy. This has all the makings of a five-star classic.
#4 Bobby Lashley vs Matt Riddle
A former Ultimate Fighter, Matt Riddle was once considered by many to be one of the brightest young upstarts in UFC's stacked Welterweight division which had the likes of George St Pierre, Carlos Condit and Jimmy Hendricks in its ranks.
The Las Vegas native was on a five-fight win streak (two of which were later were deemed as No Contest) before he was released by the company in 2013. UFC President Dana White would verbally eviscerate Riddle for his use of marijuana and failing doping tests in an interview with Chael Sonnen. Following his UFC exit, it was revealed that Riddle had signed with Bellator MMA but the King of Bros never fought for the Viacom-owned promotion.
Following his initial departure from WWE in 2009, Lashley would try his hand in Mixed Martial Arts. The former collegiate wrestler has had fights in various MMA promotions across the globe but is known for his tenure in Bellator MMA. The All Mighty was undefeated in his last eight fights.
Lashley and Riddle are two of the most accomplished athletes in the company today. This is as close as we would get to see a shoot/ catch wrestling style fight in a WWE setting and we think this could be pure gold, with the right kind of booking and build-up.
#3 Bayley vs Candice LeRae
Ever since turning heel, Bayley has been a woman of few words. The current SmackDown Women's Champion successfully defended her title against Nikki Cross on this week's episode. After being a white meat babyface for the entirety of her career in WWE, this new dark side of the San Jose-native has been a joy to watch. Bayley's character had gotten a bit stale but the heel turn seems to have completely reinvigorated her career.
When you talk about white meat babyfaces in wrestling, you have to talk about Candice LeRae. Tenacious C has been one of the breakout stars in NXT over the past months. After being reduced to being Mrs. Johnny Gargano for the initial part of her run on NXT, the former PWG stand-out finally got something earlier this year with her feud against Io Shirai.
The duo had one of the best women's matches of the year at NXT Takeover: Toronto during the SummerSlam weekend where Le Rae proved why she is regarded as one of the top female wrestlers in the world. Everything she has done since that has been a home run.
Bayley has called out LeRae on social media on numerous occasions. Following her victory over Ember Moon at SummerSlam, Bayley challenged LeRae to a match at Hell in a Cell (in jest, of course). Le Rae going up against an evil Bayley is something we would like to see at Survivor Series. This match has the potential to steal the show.
#2 Seth Rollins vs Adam Cole
Two of the most gifted in-ring performers of our generation, Seth Rollins and Adam Cole's careers have mirrored one another in more ways than one. Cole was a rookie in ROH when Rollins was ruling the roost in the company as it's World Champion under the name Tyler Black.
They have both been a part of factions during their time in ROH and WWE. Cole and Rollins have been a part of two of the most dominant factions in WWE history in the form of The Undisputed Era and The Shield. The Current NXT Champion has always been complimentary of the inaugural NXT Champion and vice versa.
Both Rollins and Cole have spoken about facing off against one another on numerous occasions, with the most recent one being on an episode of WWE's The Bump. This is a match that fans have wanting to see for quite some time now.
Despite what your opinion might be about Seth Rollins, he is one of the best workers in WWE. Adam Cole has been on a different tangent since winning the NXT Championship from Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover: XXV. This match has all the makings of being a ' Match of The Year' contender.
#1 Becky Lynch vs Toni Storm
In a span of little over a year, Becky Lynch has gone from being just another face on the women's division to arguably the biggest Superstar in the company. One of the best things about Lynch's run, since she turned into The Man, has been her ability to talk trash and back it up in the ring, every single time. Lynch has the focal point of the women's division ever since she won in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
Toni Storm is one of the brightest female talents in the business at the moment. The 23-year old has been touted by many as the next big thing in the business and given what we have seen of her so far. Storm won the Mae Young Classic last year by defeating Io Shirai in the finals at Evolution. She would then defeat Rhea Ripley to become the NXT UK Women's Championship at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool in January.
She lost the NXT UK Women's title to Kay Lee Rae at NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff. We haven't seen or heard anything from Storm since her loss at NXT Takeover: Cardiff. There have been reports about her moving to NXT.
Lynch has called Storm out on numerous occasions even going so far as to say that she would like to send Storm back to Australia.
Storm, on the other hand, has citied the Irish Lasskicker as someone who inspires her. A match between the duo has money written about it. With Lynch's star power and Storm's in-ring acumen, this one seems tailor-made for an event like 'Survivor Series'.
