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With Survivor Series less than two days away, the go-home SmackDown finished up the card for the event. Every Champion is now safe, following quite a few title matches that jeopardized their positions at Survivor Series. The final members of SmackDown's teams were also known.
Bayley and Natalya round out a solid women's team for the Blue brand, joining Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, and Liv Morgan. However, the men's team heading into Survivor Series isn't the most enticing. WWE could have put more effort into building Team SmackDown.
Joining Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and King Corbin is Otis. He was informed of this decision by the authority of WWE, Adam Pearce, who personally picked him. It was a baffling pick, to say the least, from a creative standpoint, as well as in storyline.
Here are five reasons why making Otis a part of Team SmackDown at Survivor Series 2020 is a mistake.
#5 The RAW vs. SmackDown Men's elimination match at Survivor Series needed a shot of excitement
Ever since brand warfare became an annual Survivor Series fixture in 2016, that year's 10-man Elimination Match set a new standard for such matches. It was epic in length and was rich in storytelling. Every Superstar had a purpose in the match and made it better. They tried to follow a similar format the following year, with RAW and SmackDown both fielding stacked teams.
However, the immense star power did not translate to a coherent story like the 2016 Survivor Series classic. Following that, WWE stopped trying much with the men's elimination match. This year is no different, as hardly anything has been done to make this year's 10-man elimination match feel exciting.
The only build it received was the dissension between the members of Team RAW, featuring code-names and whatnot. The members of Team SmackDown haven't even interacted with each other, aside from Kevin Owens and Jey Uso. There isn't any excitement for the match in the story department, with hardly any match-ups to look forward to.
Having Big E as the final member of Team SmackDown would have been a shot of excitement for the match, with a potential collision between him and Keith Lee promising to be spectacular. However, Otis does not provide that excitement, largely because of his in-ring style and complete lack of history with every Superstar in the match.
#4 Otis' recent bad luck in WWE could affect Team SmackDown at Survivor Series
Ever since the 'Summer of Otis', which saw the big man on top of the world with the Money in the Bank contract and Mandy Rose by his side, life in WWE has gone downhill for Otis. He has had a string of terrible luck over the past few months, which could affect Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
His girlfriend, Mandy Rose, and best friend, Tucker, moved from SmackDown to RAW either before or during the WWE Draft. Meanwhile, Otis lost his Money in the Bank contract to The Miz at Hell in a Cell, after Tucker turned heel on him. This series of unfortunate moments has left him alone on SmackDown.
While things may be taking a positive turn for Otis, thanks to Chad Gable and the Alpha Academy, putting him on Team SmackDown should be a risky move. Adam Pearce described the former Heavy Machinery member's last few months as 'up-and-down', but there was a lot more down than up.
This was not the greatest decision by the WWE official, with much better options to choose from. If his only purpose in this match is to get pinned, other Superstars like Murphy and either of the Mysterios could have been considered. They are on a high after ending their respective issues with Seth Rollins.
#3 Otis lost his Survivor Series qualifying match on SmackDown
Contributing to his recent bad luck, Otis lost a Survivor Series qualifying match a few weeks ago on SmackDown. He was defeated by Seth Rollins, following a distraction from Murphy. Does Adam Pearce really want somebody who is so easily distracted to be a part of the team?
Besides, there was no need for him to pick the final member of SmackDown's five-man team. The Blue brand has a roster stacked enough to birth another qualifying match. Every Superstar on the team, except for Otis, earned their place.
Just like RAW, SmackDown could have made time for a 'Second Chance' qualifier, pitting all four men, who did not qualify, against each other. It would have been much more exciting and made sense of Otis' inclusion if he'd win that match. This simply feels lazy and uninspired.
There might even be a hint of dissension among the Superstars on Team Blue, with the likes of King Corbin and Seth Rollins taking issue with the fact that Otis did not have to win a match to qualify for Survivor Series. His squash victory over Dolph Ziggler cannot be that much of a factor in this.
#2 The other SmackDown Superstars who lost qualifying matches would've been better fits for the Survivor Series team
Even if WWE did book a 'Last Chance' fatal-four-way for the final spot on Team SmackDown, Otis shouldn't have been considered. The other three Superstars would have been much better fits for the Survivor Series team than him, thanks to a variety of factors.
Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio both proved themselves over the past ten days, with respective big victories over current members of Team SmackDown, Jey Uso and Seth Rollins. The in-ring action during the match would have also been so much more exciting with either of them in the fray.
The team dynamics would have been more intriguing as well, with Rollins and Mysterio, or Bryan and Uso, trying to co-exist for the betterment of SmackDown. Even Dolph Ziggler would have made more sense than Otis, considering his Survivor Series pedigree. Ziggler is a two-time sole survivor.
It is infuriating when one thinks about it. WWE really should have booked SmackDown's side of the men's Survivor Series elimination match much better. Bryan or Mysterio, in particular, would have worked well against the entire line-up of Team RAW, especially AJ Styles and Riddle.
#1 Otis has unfinished business with other RAW Superstars and should represent SmackDown in the Kickoff Battle Royal instead
When it comes to the battle between RAW and SmackDown at Survivor Series, a few rivalries have been put in place from before the draft. WWE has done a fine job at making some of the 'Champion vs. Champion' matches feel bigger and there is a dual-brand Battle Royal scheduled for the Survivor Series Kickoff Show.
Other mini-rivalries across the brands could be settled in this match, like the Lucha House Party break-up and Apollo Crews' never-ending issue with The Hurt Business. However, Otis happens to be at the center of these stories. He has multiple issues with Superstars who moved from SmackDown to RAW.
The Miz and John Morrison, who could be in this battle royal, managed to pry the Money in the Bank contract off from his hands. Also, Otis should ideally have some vested interest in going after Tucker, who betrayed him at Hell in a Cell. The battle royal would have been the perfect way for the two former best friends to collide.
Otis could have gotten some closure by eliminating Tucker and winning the dual-brand Battle Royal for SmackDown. This gives the Blue brand an early lead heading into Survivor Series, as they look to finally defeat RAW at the event. It makes complete storytelling sense.
But instead, he is now part of a five-on-five Survivor Series Elimination Match that he does not fit in at all, at the expense of Superstars like Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio, both of whom could have been pinned at the event and remained fine.
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