Sasha Banks

SmackDown women's champion Sasha Banks defeated her Raw counterpart, Asuka, in a champion vs. champion match at WWE Survivor Series on Sunday.

As the match neared its conclusion, the two stars exchanged a series of pinning combinations. Asuka grabbed an opening for herself with a brutal kick to the head of Banks.

As The Empress of Tomorrow was running off the ropes, The Boss countered into a pinfall for the victory.

BOSS OF THE BEST.#SmackDown #WomensChampion @SashaBanksWWE earns the victory over #WWERaw #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/TfVIDpeven

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2020

With the pay-per-view utilizing a "best of the best" theme, the titleholders on both brands faced each other Sunday in an effort to prove their supremacy.

While most of the matches didn't have much of a storyline going in, there was already a built-in rivalry between Asuka and Banks since they feuded over the Raw women's title during the summer while The Boss was still aligned with Bayley.

During that time, Bayley helped Banks win the title by attacking Kairi Sane backstage. That prompted Asuka to leave the match and allowed The Boss to win the Raw Women's Championship since the stipulation stated the title could be won by any result.

The Boss dropped the title back to Asuka in her first title defense, though, when Bayley seemingly avoided lending a helping hand at SummerSlam, which allowed The Empress of Tomorrow to prevail.

Then, on the Sept. 4 edition of SmackDown, Bayley and Banks broke up by virtue of The Role Model viciously attacking her former friend and trying to injure her neck with a steel chair.

Banks bounced back and secured a title shot at Hell in a Cell. She and Bayley did battle in one of the greatest women's matches in WWE history, and The Boss prevailed to win the SmackDown women's belt for the first time.

Bayley got an opportunity to win it back on the Nov 4 episode of SmackDown and tried to get inside Banks' head by reminding her that she always lost her first title defense previously, but The Boss finally shed that label by beating Bayley in a hard-fought contest.

That win cemented Banks vs. Asuka for Survivor Series, but it also put The Boss in the crosshairs of another Superstar, as Carmella made her long-awaited return and attacked the champion after the match against Bayley.

While Asuka has been dominant on Raw and hasn't been involved in many substantial storylines lately, Banks entered Survivor Series having to worry about whether Bayley, Carmella or someone else might come after her.

Despite that, The Boss prevailed and now has a ton of momentum on her side entering what could be a long-term rivalry with Carmella.

        

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The best of the best in WWE will clash for bragging rights Sunday at Survivor Series, as Superstars from Raw and SmackDown cross over to prove their supremacy.

In addition to the traditional men's and women's Survivor Series matches, WWE's top champions will face their counterparts on the opposite brand, including a highly anticipated encounter between universal champion Roman Reigns and WWE titleholder Drew McIntyre.

While no titles will be on the line, Superstars will have an opportunity to make a statement, and they could also be laying down bread crumbs for future matches and rivalries in the process.

Ahead of the annual Thanksgiving week tradition, here is everything you need to know about how, when, where and why to watch Survivor Series.

         

Where: Amway Center in Orlando, Florida

When: Sunday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. ET (Kickoff Show starts at 6 p.m. ET)

Watch: WWE Network

         

Survivor Series 2020 Match Card

• Universal champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE champion Drew McIntyre
• SmackDown women's champion Sasha Banks vs. Raw women's champion Asuka
• Raw tag team champions New Day vs. SmackDown tag team champions The Street Profits
• United States champion Bobby Lashley vs. intercontinental champion Sami Zayn
• Men's 5-on-5 elimination match: Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Riddle, Sheamus, Braun Strowman) vs. SmackDown (Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, King Corbin, Otis)
• Women's 5-on-5 elimination match: Raw (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans, Peyton Royce) vs. SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Natalya)
• Kickoff Show: Dual-Brand Battle Royal

         

Top Matches to Watch

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

Reigns and McIntyre feuded in 2019 and had singles matches at WrestleMania and Stomping Grounds, as well as a tag team match at Extreme Rules that saw The Big Dog and The Undertaker beat the Scot and Shane McMahon.

While it wasn't long ago in the grand scheme of things, both Superstars have changed significantly since then, and their match at Survivor Series will have a very different feel.

McIntyre has developed into the top babyface in the company after previously being a monster heel, while Reigns is now the top heel. The roles are completely reversed compared to 2019, which makes Sunday's encounter a true dream match.

Fans got a taste of Reigns vs. McIntyre last week on SmackDown when the WWE champ showed up to cut a promo on The Tribal Chief and then defeated Jey Uso in the main event.

McIntyre vowed to win back the WWE Championship and earn a match against Reigns, and he did precisely that by beating Randy Orton on Raw to become a two-time WWE champion.

As great as McIntyre is, he has a massive target on his back and may have to deal with some interference from the likes of Orton, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt or perhaps even Sheamus.

That likely gives Reigns an upper hand, although it is possible Reigns could be looking over his shoulder as well after Uso beat down Daniel Bryan on his behalf a few weeks ago.

It seems like a safe bet that interference will play a role in the match, but until that happens, it will be fun to watch two of the roughest, toughest guys in wrestling go toe-to-toe in a hard-hitting affair.

        

New Day vs. Street Profits

In terms of dream matches that have never been seen before, The New Day vs. The Street Profits takes the cake on this year's Survivor Series card.

The New Day have been the dominant team in WWE for the past several years, but The Street Profits have taken the company by storm and are looking to carve out a path for themselves similar to the one Sunday's opponents took to the top.

Both teams were moved as part of the WWE draft, which led to them swapping the SmackDown and Raw Tag Team Championships. As a result, New Day are the clear top team on Raw and The Street Profits hold that distinction on SmackDown.

The teams haven't really interacted aside from the title swap, but they have taken jabs at each other from afar, with The New Day pretending to be The Street Profits and The Street Profits trying to get under the skin of former New Day member Big E.

While it can be argued WWE's tag team depth is somewhat lacking currently, The New Day and The Street Profits are clearly the top two teams in the company right now, and they have a chance to shine a huge spotlight on tag team wrestling Sunday.

Since it is a first-ever match that so many fans are anticipating, it stands to reason that both teams will go to great lengths to knock it out of the park and steal the show.

The New Day vs. The Street Profits is a match that could have a featured spot on WrestleMania one day, but until that happens, Survivor Series represents their chance to stand out.

It isn't a stretch to think that this contest has a chance to be the best tag team match of the year in WWE.

        

Sasha Banks vs. Asuka

SmackDown women's champion Sasha Banks and her Raw counterpart, Asuka, are set to renew the rivalry that took the red brand by storm earlier in the year.

Over the summer, Banks and Asuka did battle on numerous occasions for the Raw women's title. The Boss beat Asuka for the belt with some help from Bayley, but The Empress of Tomorrow managed to win it back at SummerSlam, which started the downfall of Sasha and Bayley's friendship.

Now, after beating Bayley for the SmackDown women's title at Hell in a Cell and again in a rematch, Banks is perhaps the biggest babyface the WWE women's division has to offer.

If The Boss doesn't own that distinction, it belongs to Asuka, who has been a dominant force ever since winning Money in the Bank and the Raw women's title in May.

While not much time has elapsed since Banks and Asuka faced each other last, the match will have a much different feel since they are both fan favorites now and the bout should be built more on mutual respect than The Boss trying to get the upper hand through nefarious means.

Even with The Boss and Bayley employing heel tactics, the Banks vs. Asuka matches were fantastic and helped carry the women's division through a time when Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and others were absent.

Lynch and Flair are still out of the picture, meaning Banks and Asuka have another chance to prove they belong at the top of the food chain, and one can only assume they will do precisely that given how good their previous encounters were.

         

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

      

Undertaker Talks How He Wants to Be Remembered

The Undertaker is set to give his final farewell at Survivor Series on Sunday, thus ending his 30-year in-ring career with WWE.

With his career presumably closing, The Phenom has been reflecting quite often in interviews over the past few weeks, and he did precisely that in a talk with Vicente Beltran (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News).

When asked how he wants to be remembered, Taker provided the following response:

"I'd want to be remembered as someone who loved this business and gave everything that they had, not only to do well while I was there but to move the business forward. I wanna be remembered as somebody that was always willing to help somebody who wanted to get better, and those are the things that are most important to me is being able to go out there and know that my fans were gonna get what they paid to see.

"I never mailed it in, I always went there no matter how bad that I felt, whatever physical condition I was in, I gave 'em everything that I had, because I always looked at it as, 'They're paying their hard-earned money to come and see me. I gotta give them what I have,' and hopefully they know that and appreciate that and then on the professional side of it, always trying to pay it forward and help the next guy along to kind of miss some of the bumps that I had to take and some of the lumps and the learning process. Those I think are the most important things I want to be remembered for."

The Undertaker will be remembered by many as one of the greatest characters and in-ring workers to ever grace pro wrestling, but those within the business may remember him best for his leadership.

Past and present WWE Superstars often talk about how The Undertaker was the clear locker room leader during his days as a full-time performer, and based on his comments, he took that role seriously.

The Undertaker did plenty to get himself over during his career, but he was also an unselfish performer who helped further the career of others both inside and outside the ring.

The Undertaker is one of the greatest assets WWE has ever had, and even in retirement he can continue to be that as long as he continues to pass along his knowledge.

            

Banks Throws Shade at Carmella

SmackDown Women's champion Sasha Banks has been targeted by Carmella in recent weeks, which hasn't sat well with The Boss.

During an appearance on WWE's The Bump on Wednesday (h/t Upton), Banks had some strong words for The Princess of Staten Island:

"I would only hope she would act like—I've been watching her vignettes. She looks beautiful. She looks gorgeous. She has like, you know she looks like she has class—I thought, but she doesn't. So, hopefully next week if she wants to have a sit down. I'm calm, I'm cool. If she wants to talk about it, we can, but it's WWE we can settle it in the ring. It would only take three seconds, maybe one because all I need to do is make her tap. Even a slap can knock her out. We'll see."

The Boss finally became SmackDown Women's champion for the first time at Hell in a Cell last month when she beat former best friend Bayley in a memorable Hell in a Cell match.

Banks also conquered some demons by defending the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bayley on SmackDown, but her celebration was short-lived, as Carmella made a surprise appearance and attacked her.

Last week, Sasha cut an in-ring promo only to be interrupted by Bayley's theme music, but it was a well-laid plan by Carmella, who once again jumped her from behind and laid her out.

Banks is set to face Raw Women's champion Asuka at Survivor Series on Sunday, but it is clear she is revving up for a rivalry with Carmella over the SmackDown Women's title after Survivor Series, and she doesn't intend to get pushed around.

        

McIntyre Reveals Where He Got Sword on Raw

Drew McIntyre went all out prior to his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton on Monday's episode of Raw, as he was decked out in a kilt and carried a sword with him for his entrance.

In the storyline, McIntyre was given the kilt and sword by Sheamus, who wanted to help him get back to his roots ahead of one of the biggest matches of his career.

In actuality, it was WWE Chairman Vince McMahon who gave McIntyre the sword, as Drew told Fox Sports (h/t Upton):

"Recently, we [Vince McMahon and I] had a conversation about it. I was just thinking about walking out with a kilt. But, obviously, he likes to take it a little bit further. Suddenly, we had the sword and the pyro, and he was very hands on with this.

"I guess I'll just let the cat out of the bag. The sword I had is actually Vince's sword. It was gifted to him by Stephanie [McMahon] and Hunter [Triple H]. I did not know how it started but I believe the conversation went, 'We need a sword and we don't have one.'

"And Vince goes, 'I have a sword.' I heard that story and told him, 'Of course, you have a sword.'"

McMahon has always been hands-on when it comes to every aspect of the WWE product, so it comes as little surprise that he had plenty to do with McIntyre's special entrance.

It isn't often that Superstars receive a special entrance on Raw or SmackDown since they are normally reserved for pay-per-views, but given how big the match was, it made sense.

McIntyre beat Orton on Monday to become a two-time WWE champion after dropping the title to The Viper at Hell in a Cell last month. By virtue of the win, McIntyre gets to face Universal champion Roman Reigns at Survivor Series.

Reigns vs. McIntyre is about the biggest match WWE can put on, and it will anchor what promises to be an entertaining card at Survivor Series.

         

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).