Survivor Series 2016: The Brian Kendrick v Kalisto

The stakes won’t get much higher than when SmackDown LIVE’s Kalisto challenges Raw’s Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick at Survivor Series on Sunday, Nov. 20.

Not only will Kalisto have the chance to become champion, but if successful, The King of Flight will accomplish something even bigger: Bringing the entire Cruiserweight division to SmackDown LIVE.

The seismic deal was forged by Raw General Manager Mick Foley and SmackDown LIVE’s Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, agreed upon after Dolph Ziggler put SmackDown LIVE’s Intercontinental Championship in jeopardy by issuing his open challenge to Raw.

A victory by Kalisto would deliver a devastating blow to Team Red mere months after Raw launched the action-packed division, a decision that was driven by the brand’s competition with SmackDown LIVE.

Kalisto, a quintessential Cruiserweight if there ever was one, has had to watch from afar as his peers turn up the thrills on Monday nights, and before that, as part of the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic. The desire to prove himself as WWE’s premier Cruiserweight no doubt weighs heavily on The King of Flight.

And though The Brian Kendrick prides himself on being “the man with the plan,” does The Wizard of Odd have a strategy for dealing with the mesmerizing aerial assault of Kalisto — an opponent Kendrick has yet to face since returning to WWE?