Tossing Salt Presents:
WWE Survivor Series 2023
Thoughts & Predictions
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

WWE will present the 2023 Survivor Series in Chicago this Saturday at the Allstate Arena. That means it’s prediction time. Let’s roll!

Wargames: Bianca Belair & Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair & Shotzi vs. Asuka & IYO SKY & Kairi Sane & Bayley.

The big questions for here are can Becky and Charlotte get along and/or will this be when Bayley gets kicked out of the group Damage CTRL, a group that she helped create? This should be a fun match to see and you know that Shotzi will take a crazy bump, while Kairi will probably find a way to jump off the top of the cage or something equally as wild. The faces should win here.

Winners: Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair & Shotzi.

Wargames: Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Finn Balor & JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio, with Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes & Sami Zayn & Jey Uso & Seth Rollins, with the returning Randy Orton.

This is the match that I’m most looking forward to seeing and I’m totally for The Judgement Day and Drew on this one. Can Cody & Seth work together? Randy is back, but partner Jey Uso is one of the main reasons he was (kayfabe) out for over a year, and can a Viper be trusted to ignore that for the sake of the team? No, I don’t think so. Randy has always been a better heel than a babyface and I think his betrayal of his partners, to lay out Uso, will end up costing the team the match. Never bet against Judgement Day because they’ll always find a way.

Winners: The Judgement Day and Drew McIntyre.

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark.

This match will make Zoey Stark into a superstar, and she’ll look like a force of nature for the majority of the match. But and you know that there has a be a but, once Zoey shows her stuff and has her moments, Mami will get mad and crush the dreams with the comeback and the strong win.

Winner and STILL WWE Women’s Champion: Rhea Ripley

WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER vs. The Miz.

This match is a great example of why The Miz is so valuable to WWE. He can be inserted into any role and within a few days, he’s the talk of the town. Miz is a future Hall of Famer with many more opportunities to win WWE gold in the future. But, and there’s that word again, Gunther is cementing his legacy as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, until he’s ready to move to the WWE or Universal Championship. Gunther is not losing the title. Miz will come close, but the champion will dominate and chop him down to size in the end.

Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: GUNTHER.

Carlito vs. Santos Escobar.

Escobar turned on his mentor and idol, Rey Mysterio, and as a result, the LWO is in shambles and Rey is out for a while with a leg injury. It’s up to Carlito to fight for the honor of the WWE Legend and seek revenge. It’s a good story and this should be a very good match. The question here is will Zelina Vega, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro get involved, and if so, for whom? Yes, they didn’t like Escobar’s betrayal of their leader, but it’s wrestling and things change quickly. Both Vega & Wilde especially have always made great heels so who knows for sure? The big thing here is to push Escobar and take him to the next level in WWE. Carlito is already over and win or lose, he’s always going to be cool. Escobar should get the win here.

Winner: Santos Escobar

UPDATE: Carlito versus Escobar is off. The match has been changed.

Santos Escobar versus Dragon Lee

Carlito has been removed from the match and now Dragon Lee has stepped up. I’m kind of disappointed that Carlito won’t be wrestling, but Dragon Lee is a good pick to take his spot and this match should be banging. I had Santos picked to win the match against Carlito, but now I’m not so sure. I think that it all comes down to whatever the rest of the LWO decides to do. Will they approve of this outsider stepping up and taking Carlito’s spot? I still think that Escobar should get the win here. He needs it more than Lee. I just don’t think it will be a clean win.

Winner: Santos Escabar

Shinsuke Nakamura versus ???.

Yes, Shinsuke has been making mysterious references and challenges for the past few weeks and we all know who the speculation and rumors are implying that they’re directed at. So will it happen? Will Hornswoggle make his big return? Okay, maybe it’s not Hornswoggle. Maybe it’s the infamous Pepsi Phil, as AEW star Danhausen likes to refer to him. Will Larry the Dog’s human papa show up and blow up the internet and world of professional wrestling? I say, yes. Shinsuke would be a great place to begin the second WWE Era of Punk. Will it be a match or just a confrontation or brawl to get the ball rolling? Who knows, but I’d go with the latter. Save the match for down the road with a strong build. Just an appearance would be enough right now. So yes, The Best in the World will appear. Cult of Personality will echo throughout the Allstate Arena. Heads will explode and Tony Khan will cry.

CM Punk Returns…

And I guess that’s it. There are so many other possibilities of matches being added tonight on the live Smackdown with Kevin Owens, Austin Theory, Grayson Waller, LA Knight, etc. If anything is added and I get the chance, I’ll be back and update this prediction column. But until then, let’s wrap things up. Take care and thank you for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Message me at Doug28352@yahoo.com. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has a Happy Black Friday. I’ll see you at the Survivor Series.

Ubuntu!