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Survivor Series, one of the big four PPVs in WWE television, has often seen the best WWE Superstars face off, and put on iconic matches that are remembered for ages. This year's Survivor Series match will see several great matches as the Superstars of RAW and SmackDown battle it out for brand supremacy.
This week's SmackDown show saw several changes to the Survivor Series match card, including Daniel Bryan being removed from the card and replaced by Jeff Hardy, while it was also announced that Becky Lynch had sustained injuries following the brawl on RAW and was not medically cleared to wrestle. She was replaced by Charlotte Flair, who will now face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.
The change in the card has resulted in some top names being left out of Survivor Series, which includes former World champions, and a few who were destined for the top.
Here, we look at 6 top Superstars who do not have a match at the 2018 Survivor Series.
#6 Elias
Earlier this year, it was widely believed that Elias would be pushed to the moon by WWE creative and that he would be a prominent player on Monday nights.
But over the last few weeks, Elias hasn't had a strong feud on RAW, which will not help his development on WWE television. Turning face should have benefitted the guitar-wielding Superstar, but that's not been the case.
On RAW this past week, Elias lost his qualifying match for a spot on Team RAW for Survivor Series, when he lost his singles match to Bobby Lashley.
That match teased a future feud with Lashley, who won with the help of his hype man, Lio Rush, which is quite interesting.
We may not see Elias in the ring this Sunday night, but there is a possibility of him performing his satirical songs to gee up the Los Angeles crowd at the Staples Center. Or perhaps he could get some retribution by attacking Lio Rush and Lashley before the 5-on-5 Elimination match at Survivor Series.
#5 Randy Orton
It is quite a surprise to see that Randy Orton will not be a part of Survivor Series this Sunday.
Orton, who has been a part of 13 matched at Survivor Series, which is the second most among the current roster after Big Show (the others are Undertaker, Kane, and Shawn Michaels, who are not full-time performers).
Orton is too big a star not to be a part of one of the most important PPVs for WWE, hence I feel that he may make an appearance at the show and perhaps set up a feud.
On this week's SmackDown, he tried to attack Rey Mysterio, following Mysterio's match against The Miz. That could be one feud that could gather some heat at Survivor Series.
The other possibility is that Orton could face off against AJ Styles sometime after Survivor Series, and the feud could start at Survivor Series.
#4 Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal has had a difficult year in the WWE. This time, last year, Mahal lost the WWE title to AJ Styles, just before Survivor Series, following which Styles faced Lesnar at the show.
Mahal was then moved to RAW, where he has had a miserable time in the mid-card and lower mid-card.
On this week's RAW, he was a glorified jobber as he and The Singh Brothers were assaulted by Universal champion Brock Lesnar, after Mahal said that he would help Lesnar to prepare for AJ Styles at Survivor Series, having faced him previously.
Mahal has no match for Survivor Series, not even on the pre-show, and perhaps we may seem him in a backstage segment or not at all.
While his former 3MB teammate Drew McIntyre is touted to be the next big thing in WWE, Jinder is falling down the pecking order in rapid pace, and he may be in the mid-card of lower mid-card for a while now.
#4 Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose turned heel and on his teammate, Seth Rollins, last month, setting up a mouthwatering feud. At Survivor Series, though, we won't see Ambrose in action, as he is not part of Team RAW, and neither is he a part of any singles match.
Intercontinental champion Seth Rollins is to face US Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on Sunday, and there is a strong possibility that Ambrose will play a part in the match, which could play in the favor of Nakamura.
On this week's RAW, Ambrose explained why he turned on The Shield and Rollins, and in turn burning his Shield vest. Reports suggest that Ambrose and Rollins will face off for the Intercontinental title at next month's TLC pay-per-view, which means that this feud is not ending anytime soon!
Heel Ambrose has been incredibly entertaining to watch, and an interference in Rollins' match against Nakamura at Survivor Series will get him more heat!
#2 Rusev
Another fan favorite who hasn't been used well by the WWE, Rusev is not part of Survivor Series. The Bulgarian Brute got a shot at Shinsuke Nakamura's United States title at Crown Jewel, but lost the match, following which a match between Nakamura and Seth Rollins was set for Survivor Series.
Following the end of Rusev Day, Rusev hasn't had much to do on SmackDown and has no feuds currently. He last wrestled at Crown Jewel and hasn't been seen on TV, but has been on live events. He is still super over with the WWE Universe and WWE must capitalize on it by adding him to the United States title picture after Survivor Series.
It is unlikely that we will see him at Survivor Series, even in a backstage segment, now that the Rusev Day gimmick is over.
#1 AJ Styles
A year ago, AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal just before Survivor Series to win the WWE Championship and then went on to face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, in one of the better Lesnar matches in recent times.
After 371 days as champion, Styles lost his belt to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown, after the referee was pushed down and Bryan capitalized to hit a low blow and get the win. Styles was set to face Brock Lesnar for the second time at Survivor Series, but now it will be Bryan vs Lesnar this Sunday.
Following SmackDown, Styles didn't take part in the Mixed Match Challenge match and was replaced by Jeff Hardy, who teamed up with Charlotte Flair to win the match against The Miz and Asuka.
It seems that Styles may take some time off to rest or heal some injury that he has had and will most probably not feature at Survivor Series.
