We’ve come to love the setup for Survivor Series with the champion vs champion matches. The buildup, trash-talking and invasions leave us yearning for the action. This year is no exception with the champions of the women’s divisions. At Survivor Series, it will be RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch against NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler against SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley. Whether it’s through their words or their actions, each woman looks to make a statement heading into the pay-per-view. Who has the edge going into Survivor Series – Lynch, Baszler or Bayley?
We’ve been down this road before
As the ‘longest tenured’ of the trio, Lynch has been part of previous Survivor Series teams. However, those do not hold a candle to the epic buildup for the 2018 pay-per-view. The original match was supposed to be Lynch, who was the SmackDown Women’s Champion, against RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Their promos screamed poetry as they chomped back and forth at each other.
Lynch upped the stakes when she led the SmackDown women on an invasion of Monday Night Raw less than a week before the show. Due to a punch by Nia Jax, The Man left Raw a bloody mess. She accomplished her mission with bodies scattered in and around the ring. Lynch suffered the most from the invasion…you know the rest of the story!
We all know that Lynch can invade anywhere at anytime! The Man strikes when she wants to strike!
Queen of Domination
Dominant can be the only way to describe Shayna Baszler. As the only two-time NXT Women’s Champion, she’s demolished the NXT women’s division to date. Baszler started the party early as part of the NXT Invasion on the November 1st episode of Friday Night SmackDown. For back-to-back weeks, she took to the ring and laid out Bayley.
Baszler didn’t stop there when she confronted Lynch face-to-face on the November 4th episode of RAW and attempted to interfere in her match the following week. During that same show, she also had another run-in with Bayley who attempted to get the upper hand on Baszler herself. Just this past Wednesday, the Queen of Spades found herself on the end of an all-night attack by Bayley on the entire NXT women’s division.
I have a feeling that Baszler may want to up the ante herself. There’s more than enough time before Survivor Series for her to strike again!
The Wild Card
Even with the recent attitude switch, Bayley’s career already solidifies her among the industry’s elite. As the only Women’s Grand Slam Champion, she’s proven that there’s no mountain that she is not willing to climb to come out on top. Underestimated from the beginning of the buildup, both Lynch and Baszler said that they would “keep an eye on Bayley.” She suffered multiple attacks from Baszler on SmackDown and Raw; however, she was able to lay out Lynch this past Monday. Bayley finally got her hands on Baszler on this week’s NXT. Although she may be overlooked, Bayley is definitely the wild card in this match that both Lynch and Baszler need to be cautious about.
So, who has the edge going into Survivor Series? While each woman has their own method to their madness, the true edge for me goes to Bayley. She’s the quiet assassin that you don’t see coming until it’s too late. Will that work to her advantage? We’ll find out on Sunday, November 24th!
