Monday Night Raw Preview 11/17/14: Survivor Series Go-Home Show Featuring Team John Cena and Team Authority
The November 17, 2014 edition of WWE's Monday Night Raw will emanate live from the Burglund Center Coliseum in Roanoke, Virginia at 8 p.m. Eastern and will serve as the go-home show for the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday.
WWE has already advertised that Team John Cena and Team Authority would announce the final members of their respective teams for the major five-on-five traditional Survivor Series match this Sunday. Team Cena currently officially consists of John Cena, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Big Show and Sheamus. Team Authority officially features Seth Rollins, Kane, Rusev and Mark Henry. The likely candidates to round out the teams are Ryback for Team Cena and Luke Harper for Team Authority, but we'll find out for sure tonight.
Ryback was the focal point of Raw last week, as The Authority tried to recruit him to their team. Da Big Guy agreed, but the situation quickly dissolved and Ryback laid out almost every Authority member he could find. Cena applauded him on his way back to the locker room, but it was unclear if Ryback would officially join Cena's side or if he would just remove himself from the conflict altogether.
Likewise, Luke Harper tossed Dolph Ziggler at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's feet as a sacrifice of sorts and remarked that he is a team player. The two looked at each other in slight shock and confusion, but fans got the sense that the Authority had found its final member. Could either or both of these announcements become official tonight?
And speaking of Dolph Ziggler, infamous Reddit user MetsFan4Ever posted over the weekend that Ziggler could work two matches at Survivor Series. The champion had a tremendous Triple Threat Elimination match for the Intercontinental title with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro on Friday Night SmackDown recently, and MetsFan said the three could work another Triple Threat match at the pay-per-view before Ziggler competes in the main event. This would make sense in terms of the story, as the Authority would want to soften up Ziggler and the rest of Team Cena as much as possible prior to the five-on-five match. Could The Authority make this match official tonight? Could they book any other matches for Team Cena?
Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose are also set to collide on Sunday, as Wyatt has been trying to psychologically torment the former Shield member and convince him to join him. Ambrose, ever the lunatic, has responded with terrible tales of his own life and told Wyatt that if he's going to self destruct, then Wyatt's coming with him. Will these two come to blows tonight, or will the mind games continue until Sunday?
AJ Lee will defend her Divas Championship against Nikki Bella on Sunday. So far, Nikki has had the upper hand because she has forced her sister, Brie Bella, to attack AJ at every turn. Brie, unfortunately, has had no choice but to oblige because her loss to Nikki at Hell in a Cell stipulated that she must serve as her twin's personal assistant for 30 days or get fired. Which woman will have the momentum after tonight's episode of Raw?
Those are the only three matches scheduled for Survivor Series as of this writing. The main event is clearly the biggest draw, as a loss for Team Authority means The Authority is out of power for good. The Wyatt-Ambrose match is much more personal, while the AJ and Nikki match is for the right to sit at the top of the Divas division. What other matches could WWE announce tonight before the pay-per-view on Sunday?
As always, check back with MStars immediately after the show for a full recap of all the action. But for now, let us know your thoughts, opinions, guesses and predictions for Monday Night Raw in the comments section.