Survivor Series 2018: Predicting the quality of every match

After another NXT TakeOver, Survivor Series is going to have a hard time measuring up, though with the mess of the women's match last night, the show has more of a fighting chance than it ordinarily would have.

There are eight matches scheduled for the card. We'll now rank them according to how good they'll probably be.

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#8 Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (women's elimination match)

Bad lineup.

The only real portion of intrigue going into this match is who the fifth member of team SmackDown will be after the withdrawal of Charlotte Flair. Either way, the lineup as it stands is puzzling, to put it lightly. The decision to not put Ember Moon, Sasha Banks, and Bayley in this match is bizarre.

Asuka is the only truly exciting competitor in this contest. Sadly, it's likely that she won't get as much shine as she should, because, for some odd reason, WWE has decided to put emphasis on Nia Jax and Tamina.

If there's a match to miss on this show, it will likely be this one.

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#7 Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown (tag team elimination match)

Hopefully the division rebuilds.

All of the other matches on this show should be good at the worst. So how do you start distinguishing the least good ones?

The tag team division in WWE is a mess right now. Most of the teams here feel like afterthoughts, so it might be hard for fans to invest in this match. Nevertheless, WWE has an opportunity to start rebuilding its tag team division by giving them this spotlight.

The Usos in particular could use this moment as a breakout performance of the year to get their rhythm back heading into WrestleMania season starting in January. The Usos vs. The Bar stands out as the potential best feud in the division now.

#6 The Authors of Pain vs. The Bar

That was unexpected.

The Authors of Pain unexpectedly won the tag team titles almost out of the blue after feeling irrelevant for so long. That puts a damper on this match in terms of the build going into it.

Nevertheless, this should be an interesting first time ever clash. The Authors of Pain still haven't been able to show what they can do since moving to the main roster this past April and now is the chance for them to have their breakout performance.

Meanwhile, we're well aware of what The Bar can do. Now we get to see how good they'll be with the Authors of Pain.

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#5 Raw vs. SmackDown (men's elimination match)

Hopefully Shane doesn't hog it.

This is a good lineup which should deliver a good match. Hopefully, though, Shane McMahon doesn't hog the spotlight like he did last year.

The real interesting thing about this match is that it might start revealing some WrestleMania plans. Furthermore, we'll get to see some fun combinations like Braun Strowman or Drew McIntyre vs. Samoa Joe, and Finn Balor vs. Rey Mysterio or Jeff Hardy.

I've got my eye on Drew McIntyre in particular. This contest could be his real breakout moment since returning to the main roster.

#4 Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

First time.

By now, we should know better than to think that Shinsuke Nakamura will equal his NXT TakeOver: Dallas performance in a first time ever match. His performance will be good, but nothing more than that.

Seth Rollins will play off of him well. However, the real point of intrigue in this match is going to be the role that Dean Ambrose plays. You'd be insane to think that he won't interfere somehow.

After some good action, we'll all be waiting for that big surprise.

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#3 Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair

WrestleMania come early?

This was unexpected, and now we'll see where it leads going forward. Charlotte is going to be the most athletically gifted woman Ronda Rousey will step into a wrestling ring with, so it's going to be as much a test of her mettle as it will Charlotte's career path.

Charlotte Flair isn't the best at carrying lesser women to a good match, so hopefully Ronda Rousey will be prepared and won't look lost out there, but I doubt this possibility. This should be a fun match with a lot of explosiveness.

It will also be intriguing as to where WrestleMania plans head from here, so we'll always be on the edge of our seats.

#2 Buddy Murphy vs. Mustapha Ali

Big stage.

This match hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, because Mustapha Ali and Buddy Murphy have knocked it out of the park each and every time they've gotten in the ring together. Now they'll get their biggest match yet.

If they get enough time, they could deliver the night's best match. The action is going to be explosive either way. If you haven't been watching them on 205 Live, you're missing out.

This is a match that could either be the first in a rivalry culminating at WrestleMania, or a run off. We'll just need to see.

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#1 Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

First time.

History would indicate that one should pause when hyping a Brock Lesnar match. We've been disappointed with them far too many times to have much faith in him. However, there are two things that usually get Lesnar to perform to his capabilities - respect for his opponent and money.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar has been a dream match for years. I'd also wager that Brock Lesnar respects Daniel Bryan as a competitor.

This has all the ingredients that made Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles so great.

Therefore, I think Brock Lesnar is going to try, even with the UFC fight coming up. Daniel Bryan is certainly going to try to make it as good as he can.

Fingers crossed.