10 HUGE Problems With WWE's Raw Vs SmackDown Survivor Series Concept

5. Stakes

Baron Corbin The Miz
WWE.com

In the interest of fairness, WWE still have time to attach some semblance of importance to the two major Survivor Series elimination matches or the overall card itself, but when the implementation of the renewed brand warfare has been so shoddily thought-through, it's hard to imagine anybody bothering to flesh out minor details such as why superstars are actually fighting in the first place.

Annoyingly, there are actually a number of incentives the respective General Managers could and should be offering to talent in order to compete in this otherwise-meaningless p*ssing contest. The Royal Rumble is around the corner - the winning brand could be afforded the number 30 spot, or perhaps guaranteed spots in the back 15.

Though money is a tough concept to introduce into a world where men and women fight over gaudy belts instead, huge bonuses could at least be suggested as a reason for the stars to fight tooth and nail. Title shots for eliminations? Time off for titleholders that win their matches? Next November off for the winners so they don't have to endure garbage television like this again in 2018?

Despite how WWE often makes performers react when authority figures book them in matches, the performers are still actually there to wrestle. Like the audiences that cheer and boo them, all they require is a reason that the creative team are haphazardly failing to provide.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett