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We are less than a week away from WWE's final 'Big Four PPV' -- Survivor Series, 2020. The match card of this upcoming pay-per-view looks quite promising, and there are a lot of surprises in store for the WWE Universe. Creative has managed to book a lot of exciting matches. More than anything, the names representing both RAW and SmackDown have already managed to create a lot of hype ahead of the PPV.
Despite that, the biggest story ahead of Survivor Series 2020 involves The Undertaker and his ‘final farewell’. WWE have announced a special segment to bid adieu to the legendary Phenom at the PPV this Sunday. But is that all, or do creative have something else planned? There are a lot of rumours and speculations doing rounds in the media, and as you know, there’s no smoke without fire.
In this article, we will take a look at the five biggest rumors surrounding Survivor Series and the build-up to the PPV. So, let’s begin.
#1 ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt to attack The Undertaker at Survivor Series
As confirmed by WWE, Survivor Series 2020 is set to host the ‘final farewell’ of The Undertaker on Sunday. But given the history of Undertaker and his farewell from the promotion, the WWE Universe can’t be blamed for speculating that this might not be the last appearance of this legend. The not-so-subtle hints dropped by ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt over the last couple of weeks have also added more fuel to the fire.
We saw Bray Wyatt use the numbers ‘19/11’ during a Firefly Fun House segment. This was the exact date that marked The Undertaker’s debut three decades ago. Bray then continued teasing a possible altercation with Undertaker on Twitter, ahead of Survivor Series. WWE’s official handle sent out a tweet saying that Taker has battled against all and Bray Wyatt was quick to reply with ‘Not quite ALL’.
This doesn’t just stop here as Undertaker has also made a lot of comments on ‘The Fiend’ over the last few days. Although all of them are praises for Bray Wyatt’s alter-ego, the words from both Superstars are strongly indicating towards a plausible feud. Hence, the rumors suggest that it is all going to start with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt attacking The Undertaker at Survivor Series.
When ‘The Fiend’ first arrived in WWE, he almost exclusively attacked the legends of the business. It is expected that he will do it again, only this time it will be none other than Undertaker. The two Superstars might build up a rivalry from Survivor Series to WrestleMania, where Taker could bid farewell to this world in front of fans. Moreover, given how selfless the latter has been throughout his career, he might want to actually retire by losing his final match and ‘passing the torch’ to The Fiend.
#2 Reason behind the change in the Survivor Series main event
Earlier this week, Drew McIntyre defeated Randy Orton and won the WWE Championship for the second time this year. He is now set to represent the red brand at Survivor Series where he will clash with Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Before his title match, McIntyre made an appearance on SmackDown and came face to face with Reigns and challenged the dominance of the ‘Tribal Chief’.
Recently, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE were not in favour of having a heel vs heel match at Survivor Series. The speculations suggest that the creative didn’t want Reigns to be picked as a clear favourite. Moreover, McIntyre’s brief interaction with Roman Reigns gained a lot of hype amidst the WWE Universe following last week’s episode of SmackDown. Hence, the WWE Championship changed hands to ensure that both these Superstars will square off at the upcoming PPV.
"Because they got nothing going on and they'd already done a bunch of Randy Orton-Drew McIntyre matches, but Drew McIntyre kept winning and to keep it going they had Randy Orton win one so they did." "They're both good wrestlers but it's two heels... the eventual thing would be that everybody would cheer Roman Reigns and they're not really looking for that this week. Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre is kind of like the battle of the top dog in each brand."
There have also been reports that suggest a different reason behind Randy Orton losing his title. Some claim that he was ‘punished’ for attacking Adam Pearce while others suggest that The Viper will win the title again to eventually equal John Cena’s record for most world championships.
#3 Reason behind no brand invasion during Survivor Series build-up?
One of the most exciting things about Survivor Series is the brand invasion between WWE RAW and SmackDown. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing that this year. Those who were expecting a tiny glimpse of an invasion on SmackDown’s final episode before the PPV might be heavily disappointed from the following report by Dave Meltzer.
“If you noticed RAW and SmackDown haven’t even been sending people yet because they want to keep those separate because if something happens they only want one brand infected. If you build it up the way it was last year where they had people from all three shows ... if someone is infected from the Performance Center, it’s going to spread to all three rosters because if something happens they only want one brand infected.”
WWE decided to cancel the brand invasion because of the high-risk amidst the global pandemic and want to keep both their rosters safe. So far, we have only seen Drew McIntyre making an appearance on SmackDown, and he might be the only one who will do it once again this week. But apart from that, we might not see any sort of invasion in the build-up towards Survivor Series.
#4 Reason why two RAW Superstars were dropped from the Survivor Series team
The change mentioned in the previous slide is not the only last-minute alteration made in the Survivor Series match card. On RAW’s final episode before the PPV, it was confirmed that Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce would replace Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. In his report, Dave Meltzer revealed that Mandy Rose sustained a legitimate injury that forced the creative to make the above-mentioned change.
Rose sustained an injury during the match that saw her teaming up with Asuka and Dana Brooke to take on Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Lana. After the match, Jax and Rose started brawling during which Jax threw Rose into the ropes. The latter got tangled and landed awkwardly, injuring her shoulder in the process. With that, she unfortunately lost her spot in the Survivor Series team.
After Rose was ruled out of in-ring action, the creative decided to take Dana Brooke out of the team as well. Thus, she was attacked by RECKONING backstage and was declared unfit to compete at the upcoming PPV. Both Superstars are expected to return after Mandy Rose fully recovers from the actual injury that she sustained earlier this month.
#5 Kurt Angle set to appear during The Undertaker segment at Survivor Series?
According to the latest rumours, WWE legend and former multi-time world champion Kurt Angle is set to return at Survivor Series. The Olympic Gold Medalist is expected to make an appearance during The Undertaker’s ‘final farewell’ from WWE. The rumours suggest that he will join the likes of Kane and The Godfather in the segment featuring The Phenom at Survivor Series.
"WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle is scheduled to be in attendance at the Survivor Series this Sunday, PWInsider.com has confirmed. It is likely that Angle is being brought in for the Undertaker's Final Farewell. As previously reported, Kane, The Godfather and Savio Vega will also be in attendance at the PPV. Whether any of them will appear on camera remains to be seen. It's entirely possible they are being brought in to film WWE Network content or additional material related to Undertaker that will be released down the line."
Angle was one of the many Superstars who were let go by WWE earlier this year amidst the promotion’s battle against the financial implications of Covid-19. At the time, he was working as a backstage producer. Angle was involved in a few memorable feuds with The Undertaker during the Attitude Era and would make for a great addition to the segment dedicated to bidding farewell to one of the all-time greats of the business.
