WWE Survivor Series: War Games 2025

The 'Survivor Series' event has been a beloved staple of WWE premium live events for decades now, but the recent addition of the 'War Games' stipulation has revitalised it, making it an even more exciting and memorable event. I do miss the traditional tag matches, but I can't complain about having 'War Games' on the main roster. This year's matches were full of some of the best talent on the roster, and gave the show the potential to be one of the highlights of the year.

Usually, when a show has at least two big stipulation matches on a card, they bookend the show, and such was the case here, with the women's 'War Games' match starting the night. Choosing to begin with two all-time great rivals in Asuka and Charlotte Flair was a shrewd decision, and they gave the match a big fight feel immediately. With the face team holding the advantage, the match had a fairly atypical format, in that they had the upper hand for the bulk of the match. There were some fun spots before the main portion of the match began, but I expected the best moments to come once things began in earnest. Credit must go to Lash Legend, who looked great in her first main roster premium live event - she has so much potential to be a serious presence in the future. There was a frustrating botch, in which Flair mistimed a spot, making it look very awkward. However, the majority of the match went by very smoothly. Iyo Sky did her trademark trash can spot, which is always a highlight, and Becky Lynch's character work was very entertaining. I wish the main portion of the match had lasted a little longer, and maybe had involved slightly more big spots, but I still enjoyed the match we got.

The second match saw John Cena defend his newly won Intercontinental Championship against former champion, and current AAA Mega Champion, Dominik Mysterio, in what was Cena's last ever premium live event, with his retirement match taking place on 'Saturday Night's Main Event', which is shown on network television. There was one hell of a bamboozling, as Mysterio pulled off one of the most believable fake injury angles I've ever seen, so much so that I thought a genuine disaster had occurred. It did perhaps throw things off slightly, but once that moment passed, Mysterio and Cena kicked into the next gear, producing a very fun and creative match, which highlighted the sneaky tactics of the Eddie Guerrero inspired Dominik brilliantly. Cena was good value for money again, evidently up for not only making his penultimate career match as entertaining as possible, but making his much younger opponent look like a star in the process. The inevitable shenanigans added even more drama and unpredictability to the match, and honestly the whole match was thoroughly enjoyable. There was even a shocking ending to top it all off, which was maybe slightly overbooked, but was incredibly exciting and entertaining nonetheless.

Next up, it was Stephanie Vaquer's defence of the Women's World Championship against former friend turned enemy, and WWE Hall Of Famer; Nikki Bella. Since her return, Bella has been a little shaky in-ring, but her experience meant that I was sure she would produce a good performance on this big stage. I think the new-found aggression proved to be a good decision on her part, and it gave Vaquer a great foil for her first major title defence. The crowd was, unfortunately, all-but absolutely dead for the majority of the match, which irritated me, because I actually liked the match a lot. The two women played it smart, and utilised a more psychological approach to their match that really benefitted it. The only aspect of the match I didn't like, aside from the terrible crowd, was the slightly awkward way in which Bella sold the 'Devil's Kiss', but aside from that, this was a very solid title match, and the best Bella match since her return.

Ending the evening's action was the men's 'War Games' match, which saw two all-star teams, and Logan Paul, battle it out in what was sure to be a brutal, violent, and chaotic main event. I loved seeing CM Punk opening the match against the young stud Bron Breakker - it was a great opening, which only improved as more men joined the fray. Drew McIntyre's character was perfect for this kind of match, and his sadism was exactly what this kind of match needed. With such a chaotic match, there was bound to be blood and chaos, and that's exactly what happened. There was a also a slightly scary landing for Bron Breakker, which clearly worried everyone a lot, but thankfully, he was fine. All the heels looked like monsters in this one, and I absolutely revelled in it. The mid-match yeeting was cringe-worthy, and both distracted and detracted from the match so much. Thankfully, that didn't last too long, and the match could get back to being a serious main event. Having Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns come out last was the only correct decision, and made the match feel truly big time. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the end, which felt a little jarring. The right team won, but the way it happened was really odd. It clearly confused the crowd as well, which didn't help. I think the moment was slightly botched - it looked like the timing was off, which only made it more awkward to watch. However, the vast majority of the match was very good.

Overall, I thought this was a good event hampered by a few brief but noticeable errors, which unfortunately stuck in the mind after the show had ended. With that said, there were so many positives to take from 'Survivor Series' this year, not least the star-elevating positions given to both Bron Breakker and Dominik Mysterio, two men who will both almost certainly be among the top stars in the next decade or so. The future is bright for WWE, not just in regards to their rising stars, but because the next premium live event, after December's 'Saturday Night's Main Event', is one of the best and most popular of the year; 'Royal Rumble'.