Which Brand Has the Better Champions Entering 2020 WWE Survivor Series?

Since WWE Survivor Series 2020 features the tagline "the best of the best," we should be expecting the very top talent in the company to face each other at the pay-per-view on Nov. 22.

Theoretically, whoever holds the belts should be the pinnacle of each division. But fans know that isn't necessarily true.

Some champions capture their titles through less-than-legitimate means and hold onto them by cheating, rather than actually winning.

The best on Raw might not be better than what SmackDown has to offer, which begs the question: Which brand has the better champions?

Let's compare the titleholders in each of the champion vs. champion matches this year and determine which brand will reign supreme.

While the tag team, midcard, women's and world titles have matches set for Survivor Series, there are two titles on the main roster that aren't factored into the brand-supremacy angle.

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is cross-branded, so there isn't another set of titleholders for Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler to face. Instead, they will spearhead Team Raw for the 5-on-5 women's elimination match.

Raw also has the 24/7 Championship, which has no equivalent on the blue brand.

WWE may have some fun with the belt and allow someone from SmackDown to win it, only for R-Truth or someone else from Raw to take it back by the end of the night. It's a USA Network creation, so it will ultimately stay on Monday nights.

While some matches feature stark differences between opponents, the tag team contest at Survivor Series is more a mirror image.

The New Day and The Street Profits are as evenly matched as the WWE roster can get. Both teams are charismatic babyfaces who have proved themselves able to hold their titles for long stretches of time.

The two teams traded belts after swapping brands in the 2020 WWE draft, which reset the clock on Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins' times as champions. If you count their current run with the SmackDown belts, they will have held titles for almost 265 days.

That makes them the longest-reigning tag team champions of either belt from the past 12 years, outside of one team: The New Day, with 483 days from August 2015 to December 2016.

Neither side has much of a power game, as both are more about finesse and speed. However, Dawkins is likely the strongest of the bunch.

The New Day have experience, but The Street Profits have youth. Then again, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are only 39 and 34, respectively, compared to Ford and Dawkins (both 30). That isn't too drastic a difference.

This is the biggest toss-up. The winner will likely depend on the other matches, but WWE may favor The Street Profits just to give them the rub. If it were based purely on clout, though, The New Day have the advantage with more title reigns overall.

Sami Zayn is a very capable Superstar, but he is the underdog in this fight. That doesn't rule him out completely, though.

The intercontinental champion has proved himself a cunning strategist who is able to outmaneuver opponents bigger than him, such as Kevin Owens.

However, Zayn has never been on the winning side of any fight against Bobby Lashley, who is his physical superior.

The All Mighty has been on a tear lately, while Zayn was out of action for several months and spends most of his time cowering and running away, rather than keeping his skills sharp.

Outside of a fluke or outside interference, Lashley has this win guaranteed.

If you count the Royal Rumble and house shows, Asuka has a 13-4 record over Sasha Banks.

However, The Boss captured the majority of those wins recently due to outside interference help from Bayley, who is unlikely to come to her aid these days. If anything, Banks may have to watch out for her former friend costing her the win.

However, WWE doesn't always follow logic. Sometimes, the priority is in carrying the torch for a particular Superstar's storyline even at the expense of others.

Banks has been treated as a bigger deal in the past month than The Empress of Tomorrow, who has been largely sidelined. There are no strong contenders being built to challenge Asuka, while The Boss maintains a strong hold on SmackDown's airtime.

That may dictate a win for the blue brand. On any normal night, Asuka should win, but WWE will likely go in Banks' favor to prevent her looking weak and also to balance out Zayn's expected loss to Lashley.

It's hard to find any two heels doing a better job captivating the WWE Universe right now than Randy Orton and Roman Reigns.

The Legend Killer and The Tribal Chief have had some of the best storytelling moments in the entire company in 2020 and are two of the most prominent Superstars on the roster.

Orton is tied with Triple H for the most world title reigns in WWE history outside of John Cena and Ric Flair.

Reigns is no slouch, though. He's won everything imaginable and beaten everyone in front of him, including The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33.

It's strange WWE has booked a heel vs. heel match here, but that may expose the outcome. Orton has Bray Wyatt, Drew McIntyre and The Miz gunning for him, while Reigns just converted his latest rival, Jey Uso, onto his side.

There are three people who can interfere and cost Orton the win, while Reigns will have his cousin and Paul Heyman watching his back and no one currently going after him.

They're equal in many ways, but Orton is at a strategic disadvantage this time. Considering Reigns has more overall wins against The Viper dating back to even The Shield vs. The Authority/Evolution days, the blue brand is looking at another point here.

Ignoring the two extra titles on Raw, Survivor Series will be an even affair.

Raw has a slight advantage in terms of power and experience, while SmackDown could be gifted an edge due to storyline favoritism.

Reigns will not lose and nor should Lashley, so it all hinges on The Street Profits and Sasha Banks.

Even if one brand has more points on the champions matches, there are still the two elimination matches that factor into the ultimate tally. Both Banks and The Street Profits could win to give SmackDown three victories, only for Raw to win both elimination matches and even the score.

If this wasn't a scripted scenario, Raw would be the favorites for every match except Orton vs. Reigns. However, to keep SmackDown from looking like the weaker show, WWE may lean in its direction.

Raw wins the subjective verdict of the better champions, but SmackDown will probably win more matches at Survivor Series, making the blue brand the team to bet on this year.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.