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 The Snowman is a genius Follow @TheDocLOP What an eventful Raw... Many a talking point came out of the follow-up to Hell in a Cell and, with four weeks until the Survivor Series, my question is whether or not the major storylines furthered or started last night will intersect to reignite the spirit of the 2nd annual PPV created by WWE. Will we see the return of the Survivor Series Elimination Tag match in a form that draws the house and buyrate? The foundation has been laid throughout the late summer, early fall. Survivor Series is not really the Survivor Series, in my opinion, if the show does not prominently showcase the traditional match of its namesake as the #1 bout on the card. Surely, if ever there was a year to make the old new again, it would be 2013. The Authority vs. The Anti-Authority. It begins with Daniel Bryan and Big Show on the "Anti" side. Big Show closed Raw by defying legal statutes and attacking the WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during what felt like the exact same celebration ceremony that closed the Raw after Summerslam (minus Vince McMahon). Triple H appeared so annoyed and frustrated by Show's repeated antics (and his own failure to keep him under control) that he was ready to take off the suit and come to blows. Does that mean we're heading for a spin-off of the same Big Show vs. Triple H feud from 2006? A match between the two, one-on-one, would be eerily similar to New Year's Revolution from nearly eight years ago. Personally, I have no desire to see that match again, though I can appreciate that the masses might. Show could also replace Bryan in the WWE title scene, but that would require some corporate finagling given the legal situations that they've tied into this story (a lawsuit, a voided contract, a restraining order that has been clearly violated). The scenario offers the perfect opportunity for a Survivor Series match, however. Triple H can stack the deck and make one of the stipulations that if the "Anti-Authority" loses, then Show is gone forever. If The Authority emerges victorious, then Bryan gets no more title shots, Show is history, and whoever else decides to stick their nose in opposition to Triple H's considerable schnoz will be relegated to irrelevance. QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you think the main-event of Survivor Series should be?? The Wyatt Family left Raw with a higher profile, attacking #2 and #3 in the business. "The Devil made" him do it, apparently. I presume that he means Triple H, but I could be too presumptuous. Bray has been cutting promos and attacking people for several months. It is time to put him in a high profile situation and see if he can handle it. I'm sure the man behind the persona can handle the pressure, but I'm curious to see if the character itself can handle the main-event caliber spotlight. I have developed doubts about the Wyatts' collective ability to click with the modern audience. The more I've observed, the more I've been tempted to draw the conclusion that Bray is fascinating but, perhaps, too complex for this era - that maybe he would have been a better fit 20 years ago. He will have the chance to prove me wrong battling the likes of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Targeting those two opens the door for TV main-events and potential headlining matches on PPV against talents that have all the ability in the world to hold up their end of the bargain to getting him not just over but poised for something big. Wyatt presents the biggest hole in my theory of a pending Survivor Series match involving most of the key players on the roster. They do not fit any corporate mold imaginable. It would take some fancy connecting of dots to get Wyatt in a logical position of Triple H's aid. We shall see. I'll follow the buzzards. The Shield would seem to be natural fits for a Triple H "Team." Perhaps not all of them, but at least one member. Survivor Series was once a great platform for stars to break out. Roman Reigns, in my opinion, is going to the first do it from The Shield. He's a main-event waiting to happen. Ambrose could beat him to it. If you put either one of those guys as the featured act of an Authority Survivor Series team, he could make the most of his time and leave Boston and the PPV buyers with a lasting memory. Their consistent opposition, Cody Rhodes and Goldust (plus, to a lesser extent, the Usos), would make natural foils to be included on the Anti-Authority Team. One of the interesting parts of Raw was how many mid-card acts moved up a notch in stature. The Wyatts, of course. The Shield, to an extent. The Real Americans beat the Rhodes boys. It was one of the items that made Raw so noteworthy this week. The WWE set-up several potentials for the next PPV if they choose to go away from the traditional elimination tag format that I'm strongly suggesting. The one major star that I'm quite certain won't be involved in any potential Survivor Series match is the new World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena. His rematch against Alberto Del Rio would seemingly be the secondary draw of the PPV if they did a traditional elimination bout with the rest of the key members of the roster. I'm sure there are a lot of angry smarks today after Cena defeated Damien Sandow last night. I was thinking that maybe Sandow vs. Cena was about to take over as a headlining program for the rest of the fall. As the attempted cash-in drew longer in length, I figured we were going to see Cena dash Sandow's dreams. It was a helluva match. I agree with the Orlando crowd's assessment that "it was awesome." Sandow's loss will certainly pour lighter fluid all over the fire that burns inside the minds of Cena's detractors. I actually thought that his promo was pretty damn capable of winning some people, at least temporarily, over. Yet, it was followed by the same Super Cena efforts that fan the flames of why people so strongly dislike his act. On the Sandow front, I do not think that there is any question that he came away with a higher profile than he has ever had after last night. Yes, he lost the match, but he went down in a blaze of glory. The follow-up will be everything for him. ------------------------- "The Doc Says..." on LOP Radio hits the airwaves at 6PM EST Wednesday night. Featuring special guest host, The Smartbreak Kid, the show will feature a breakdown of all the week's hot wrestling topics, including but not limited to HBK turning on Daniel Bryan, the direction of the main-event scene, Damien Sandow's failed cash-in, the return of John Cena, and the potential sale of TNA Wrestling. Also featured will be The Doc's "WrestleMania Moment." http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lordsofpain/2013/10/30/the-doc-says
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