WWE Survivor Series: WARGAMES is the final major event of the year (part of the big four that includes WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble), and the annual November show was in San Diego at Petco Park—home of the SD Padres. The dual WarGames matches call for a smaller event than usual, but the four-match card is stacked with intrigue as Cena delivers his final performance in a ‘big four’ PLE.
There is a major Latin/Hispanic presence in the arena tonight, and celebrities like Andy Ruiz were seated in the front row for the show. Rumors have continued to circulate that the men’s WarGames match will foreshadow Mania.
MEN’S WARGAMES
ROMAN REIGNS, CM PUNK, CODY RHODES, JEY USO, JIMMY USO
VS
THE VISION (BREAKKER, REED, PAUL) W/BROCK LESNAR
Team ALL Stars: 5. CM Punk 4. Cody Rhodes 3. Jimmy Uso 2. Jey Uso 1. Roman Reigns
Team Vision: 5. Bron Breakker 4. Drew McIntyre 3. Logan Paul 2. Bronson Reed 1. Brock Lesnar
The Vision won the right to keep the WarGames ‘advantage’ after Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre, representing the heel team, defeated The USOs, repping the face team. Punk suffered at the hands of a 2-on-1 advantage for Bron Breakker and McIntyre. Cody was next in, but by the time he made it to the ring, Punk was beaten and bloodied.
Fans have come to expect a certain type of match from WarGames ever since it was revamped in 2017 on NXT, but it has also led to major injuries on the main roster—last year, it was Bronson Reed.
As expected, it was Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar out last, and since the heels held the advantage, it was Lesnar waiting on the steel steps for Roman. Roman came down and was rocked by Lesnar, who landed an F-5 on Roman through the commentator’s desk. Brock eventually threw Roman into the ring, and the bell sounded to officially begin the match.
The faces attempted to rally, but the ‘All-Star’ narrative faded quickly as preparation and teamwork prevailed. A mystery man dressed in all black with a hood and face cover climbed up the cage quickly and attacked CM Punk. The hooded figure hit Punk with a ‘Curb Stomp,’ leaving many to believe it was Seth Rollins, but the body did not totally match up with Rollins.
The mystery man left as quickly as he arrived, and that is when Breakker got the pin over CM Punk. The heels celebrated with pyro while the face team of Cody, Roman, and Punk stared daggers at each other.
Rumors that ‘Mania plans’ would emerge at the conclusion of WarGames, leading to the idea that Roman and Cody will be running it back as they faced off between the two rings as the credits rolled.
CENA PUTS OVER DOM IN FRONT OF SAN DIEGO CROWD; LIV MORGANÂ REUNITES
After a shocking intercontinental title win to complete his grand slam aspirations, John Cena agreed to run it back against Dom Mysterio, the man he beat for the title in his final show in front of Cena’s hometown Boston crowd. This is the final match before ‘the final’ match for Cena, representing the last major PLE outing before the December 13th Saturday Night’s Main Event.
There were early shenanigans in the match when Dom faked an injury after a nasty hurricanrana landing on the outside. WWE medical staff came out, the ref informed Cena of the situation, and that is when Raquel Rodriguez went on the attack. Roxanne Perez hit the Canadian Destroyer on Cena, and that is when Dom returned to the ring with a fully healthy shoulder.
Cena was able to beat the count as the match continued. Cena played his greatest hits to the enjoyment of all 46,016 in attendance at Petco Park.
The match’s finale became clear when the returning Liv Morgan made her entrance in the match, complete with music and a video package. She walked to the ring, staring at Dom the entire time before striking him in the face with an open palm.
The crowd went nuts as Liv leaped into the arms of Cena, smiling ear to ear, but just as it seemed the face turn was upon us, Liv’s smile turned into a devious stare as her eyes widened behind Cena’s back amid the hug. When Cena released the hug, Live took her calculated distance before kicking Cena square in the groin—a scene similar to his own heel turn on Cody Rhodes back in February of this year at ‘Elimination Chamber.’
Liv’s interference led directly to Dom winning via pinfall to become a two-time IC champ. Cena received an ovation on his way out, but if he is victorious on December 13, then that means Dom will have the final victory over Cena—a feat comparable to both Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr.’s own world title wins.
WOMEN’S WARGAMES
Team Rhea- 1. Charlotte Flare 2. Iyo Sky 3. Alexa Bliss 4. AJ Lee 5. Rhea Ripley vs.
Team Becky- 1. Auska 2. Fucky Lynch 3. Kairi Sane 4. Nia Jax 5. Lash Legend
The women stole the show as expected and delivered an all-around better match, complete with action and comedy. There was never a fully rational narrative for this program, but we knew that team pairings would produce, and they did.
Ripley was the clear star in the match, but it was AJ Lee who provided levity and a different feel. In the end, AJ Lee would submit Becky Lynch, likely continuing their feud, and picked up the win for the face team. However, the ‘big spot’ of the night went to Iyo Sky when she flipped off the top of the cage with a trash can on her to take out the heel team.
STEPHANIE VAQUER (c) VS NIKKI BELLA—WWE Women’s World Title
It was positioned in the ‘transition spot,’ the part in the match card where you deliver a break in adrenaline before the headlining event. Vaquer is a superstar with an outer-atmosphere ceiling, but creative seems to be waiting for ‘The Road to WrestleMania’ before they put her in a major feud.
Nikki was just not booked strongly enough to have come across as a viable challenger, and it is a shame because tonight, as a heel, she did some of her best work. Still, it was Vaquer’s night in an era that does not belong to Nikki.
Steph picked up the win, and hopefully, we will have a viable challenger emerge from the Women’s WarGames match.
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