Survivor Series is a cross-brand pay-per-view, pitting Monday Night Raw against SmackDown Live. And because of that, the wrestlers on the fight card had little face-to-face time with their opponents in the weeks leading up to this Sunday.That`s a pretty big problem. After all, the entire goal of the weekly shows is to sell the PPVs, and when the wrestlers can`t have live staredowns and insult contests in the center of the ring, it`s difficult to generate buzz and excitement. Fans need a narrative reason to care.It`s true that some of the matches this weekend sell themselves. AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar, for example, is the type of showdown that could main event WrestleMania, let alone Survivor Series. That the match was even booked is enough reason to watch it. One man is the greatest active wrestler of his generation. The other man is The Beast. Fans will unquestionably pay money to see the two of them fight.But further down the card is The Miz vs. Baron Corbin-the Intercontinental champion squaring off against the United States champion. Like Styles and Lesnar, they have no reason to fight other than some abstract `champion vs. champion` PR spin. But unlike with Styles and Lesnar, the personalities and reputations of these two individual performers are not enough to sell the match on their own.The Miz is a decent, solid hand in the ring, but he doesn`t have the type of transcendent technical skill that puts butts in seats. His greatest strength, his in-ring promo skill, is difficult to leverage when his opponent isn`t even on the same show. And Baron Corbin is too green to carry an angle on his own. He has great future potential, but until he acquires more years under his belt (and a couple more title runs, for that matter), he doesn`t have the marquee name recognition to sell WWE Network subscriptions.Both men are heels, which also doesn`t help matters. A face versus heel match has an easy, classic dynamic. The try-hard underdog versus the cheating scoundrel. ...
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