By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Survivor Series WarGames Hits
Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser in a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Championship: There was no mystery regarding the outcome, but all three men worked really hard and produced the best match of the night. The finish was clever with Kaiser hitting Sheamus with shillelagh shots to the ribs before Breakker speared and pinned Sheamus. This gave Sheamus an out for losing, while Kaiser was able to maintain his momentum by not factoring into the finish.
Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk vs. Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Bronson Reed in a WarGames match: This match unintentionally made a great case for having a roof on the WarGames cage. Had there been a roof, Jimmy Uso and Bronson Reed wouldn’t have made high risk splashes from the top of the cage that apparently resulted in injuries. A roof also would have spared us from the worst moment of the match when they actually expected fans to marvel over Roman Reigns climbing a small fence. On the bright side, they made good use of the awkward shark cages by having Roman Reigns stop CM Punk from entering the match, while also showing Solo Sikoa opt to send Jacob Fatu to the cage rather than Tonga Loa (always a wise decision). I was hoping for a gritty and even bloody WarGames match, but apparently we only get blood during WWE matches when they essentially tell viewers in advance to expect blood. Despite my many criticisms, I actually did find more to like about the match than I disliked. The friction between Reigns and Punk was interesting even if it turned out to be much ado about nothing. Punk reminding Paul Heyman that he now owes him a favor is interesting even though I don’t expect that story to be paid off soon.
Gunther vs. Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship: The story of Priest having the edge in confidence was thrown out the window once he started playing up a shoulder injury early in the match. This wasn’t the most memorable title match, but it was solid aside from the needless Finn Balor interference.
LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the U.S. Championship: A soft Hit. The title change made the match feel significant and saved it from “in the middle” status.
WWE Survivor Series WarGames Misses
Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Naomi, and Bayley vs. Nia Jax, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae in a WarGames match: There was no storyline need for this to be a WarGames match. I really wish this match had been a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Why not give fans the best of both worlds an avoid watering down the WarGames match by forcing a second one? It wasn’t all bad, but there were too many weapons and some slow moments before they got everyone inside the cage. The latest Tiffy Tease of cashing in her Money in the Bank contract was similar to all of the other Tiffy Teases that go nowhere.
It’s funny. As fans we complain when Tony overbooks the shit out of the main event in AEWs last PPV and then we complain that the War Games main event was anticlimactic and had no surprise at the end!! We’re never happy!!
Truthfully I found this the more boring PLE since HHH took over creative. It was like a trap game in the NFL. WWE is looking toward SNME and (moreso) the Netflix premier. So from a creative standpoint this felt a bit mailed-in, which isn’t fair to some of the wrestlers who really put on stellar performances (like Reed and Fatu and Gunther/Priest)
While not BAD this show was totally skippable
By far their worst PLE in a while. The men’s WarGames match was an anticlimatic joke and the women’s match was every bad indie trope possible, including the trashcan being above the ring for Iyo Sky to use. The matches between them were solid to good, but not enough to outweigh the nonsense.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – War Games sucks. 80% of the time is spent twiddling your thumbs waiting for the glorified pre-match brawl to finish. I would love them to bin the whole thing go back to traditional Survivor Series matches.
Agreed on going back to the traditional SS matches, and save WarGames for situations where it makes sense and then do it the traditional way with the roof on the cage, no weapons, and the finish is only submit or surrender.
Storyline-wise, something called War Games should be ghe end of the Bloodline vs Bloodline saga. Solo got his comeuppance, his BL was decimated. They lose, hand over the necklace. We don’t need to see anymore.
Likewise with Rhea dominating, pardon the pun, Liv. She got her revenge. Move on.
I don’t care who gets jumped on the next TV show, or what other contrivance to continue these feuds, there is no need. Story’s over.