WWE Survivor Series: WarGames Review - November 30, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rhea Ripley, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Bianca Belair, Bayley, IYO SKY and Naomi def. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae in a WarGames Match

I was adamant coming into this event that women's WarGames did not need to happen this year and that this could've easily been an elimination tag team match instead. I was hopeful they would have a great match regardless, but this ended up being boring early on, sloppy and poorly structured. The effort was there, but it felt like (similar to past years) they relied too heavily on the weapons because there was very little story. Yes, there were several intertwining feuds, but again, it wasn't necessary for this to take place inside the two cages. Ripley hitting Riptide on Morgan through a table for the finish was cool, but this was easily the weakest women's WarGames matchup to date.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. LA Knight to Win the United States Championship

I've been enjoying this feud since it started, but it was way too soon for them to be having a match on a premium live event. Knight is obviously over with the audience, but I'm not shocked the crowd sat on their hands for a majority of this, even though it was perfectly fine for what it was. Nakamura winning actually surprised me since he's been booked like a stepping stone for years. I'm not optimistic this title run will be anything special, and I do wonder what's next for Knight.

Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker def. Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser in a Triple Threat Match

As expected, this was a terrific Triple Threat that gave the show a much-needed boost. All three guys had wonderful chemistry and they maintained a fun pace throughout. This woke the crowd up and they were especially hot for some of the nearfalls down the stretch. I wasn't disappointed by the outcome whatsoever considering Breakker just got the belt back last month, but I'm holding out hope that Sheamus will finally win the title at WrestleMania 41.

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther def. Damian Priest

This was another good, well-worked match from these two, but I thought their original encounter at SummerSlam was better. Speaking of SummerSlam, we got almost the exact same finish here with Finn Balor interfering and costing Priest the win. It was really lazy since it made Gunther look weak and I have zero desire to see Priest and Balor resume their rivalry. I understand wanting to protect Priest in defeat again, but surely there were other ways to accomplish that.

Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Sami Zayn and The Usos def. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) and Bronson Reed in a WarGames Match

As has been the case for the last three years, the men's WarGames match told a far superior story and was much more compelling. Plus, the action was excellent and the tension between Reigns and Punk throughout was well done. It got extra interesting down the stretch once they were in there at the same time and they ultimately proved they could coexist. I loved how the babyfaces took turns hitting their finishers on Sikoa before Reigns pinned him for the win. Unlike last year, there was no big surprise to close the show, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens next with everyone involved.

Overall Show

WWE has produced a string of strong shows this year, but this was one of their most mediocre pay-per-views in a while. Thankfully, the men's WarGames match and the Intercontinental Championship match saved Survivor Series from being a miss. I appreciated the crowd's energy, but it would've been nice if there were more significant developments. It wasn't a consistent card and it took some time for things to heat up, resulting in a rather solid albeit unspectacular show.

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