One of the most iconic match types in pro wrestling history makes its WWE main-roster debut as Survivor Series takes place this Saturday night.
Thirty-five years after first being introduced in Jim Crockett Promotions, WarGames will be the theme of this year’s Survivor Series. It replaces the previous Raw vs. SmackDown format for the pay-per-view, which had become stale in recent years.
Bringing WarGames to the main roster is one of the first significant moves that Paul “Triple H” Levesque made after taking over as WWE’s new head of creative. Levesque, who is a fan of old-school NWA wrestling, had used WarGames as a yearly NXT event since 2017. Now it has the chance to become an annual tradition for one of WWE’s signature PPVs. Everyone involved in the men’s and women’s WarGames matches will be motivated to make sure that WarGames lives up to its legacy.
A brainchild of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, WarGames features two rings surrounded by a steel cage. The two WarGames matches at Survivor Series will pit teams of five against each other. The match begins with one member of each team in the ring. After five minutes, the team that has earned the man-up advantage will have a teammate enter. The teams will then have their remaining wrestlers enter over alternating three-minute periods. Once everyone has joined the match, it can be won by pinfall or submission.
Survivor Series will be a pivotal night for The Bloodline. In the men’s WarGames match, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn will take on the team of Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens. If The Bloodline win, it will further cement their case for being the most dominant faction in WWE history. If they lose, it could be where things start to unravel. The Bloodline have been on an incredible run, producing some of the best TV segments in recent memory over the past couple of months. The dynamic between Zayn and Jey Uso has been especially hilarious. While the rest of The Bloodline has gone along with Zayn thinking he’s part of their group, Uso has no tolerance for it. Saturday is where Zayn will either prove his worth to The Bloodline or be responsible for their loss.
The women’s WarGames match will see Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim and a mystery partner face Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley. The mystery partner, who will be revealed on Friday night’s episode of SmackDown, is reportedly planned to be Becky Lynch. Assuming that comes to fruition, it will be the first time Lynch has wrestled since suffering a separated shoulder at SummerSlam in July.
Survivor Series: WarGames is being held at TD Garden in Boston and will stream live on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET time on Saturday. Here’s a full rundown of the card, along with predictions for each match:
WarGames match: The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn) vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens
The WWE playbook over the past two years has been to build up Reigns as an unstoppable force who is head and shoulders above the rest of the roster. As tempting as it might be to give him yet another high-profile victory, this is a match The Bloodline should lose. A Bloodline loss would set up so many future matches. Owens and Sheamus are both viable future opponents for Reigns, who needs a world title challenger for the Royal Rumble. Winning would also likely put Holland and Butch in position for another tag team title shot against The Usos.
Given the talent involved and how invested fans are in the Bloodline/Sami Zayn story, this could be one of WWE’s best matches of 2022. The ultimate destination for WWE should be Owens and Zayn reuniting to win the undisputed tag team titles from The Usos at WrestleMania. It may be a slow build to get there, but Survivor Series is where that build will begin. The Bloodline will eventually turn against Zayn after he costs them WarGames, leaving Owens to make the save for his best friend.
Prediction: Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens win
WarGames match: Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and TBA vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley
Damage CTRL enter Survivor Series desperate for a statement win. At both Extreme Rules and Crown Jewel, Bayley failed to win the Raw women’s championship from Belair. Damage CTRL won’t have much credibility left if the team they put together comes up short in WarGames.
Lynch’s potential inclusion in this match is the only thing that makes it feel like the babyfaces have a chance. Would WWE really bring Lynch back just to have her lose right away? Still, Lynch can look great in her return without being the reason why Team Belair loses. WWE's goal with this match should be to help Damage CTRL gain momentum while also establishing Ripley as the next challenger for Belair’s title.
Prediction: Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley win
Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi for the SmackDown women’s championship
Finally a heel and partnered up with fellow Four Horsewomen of MMA member Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey is on the right track heading into Royal Rumble and WrestleMania season. Rousey was a capable babyface, but she fits so much better as a badass heel who doesn’t care what the fans think. As much as getting a title shot on a major PPV is a great step for Shotzi, she shouldn’t be all that competitive here. Rousey needs to be a dominant champion.
Prediction: Ronda Rousey retains
AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor
This will be just the second time that AJ Styles and Finn Bálor have ever faced off in a singles match. With the two former Bullet Club leaders being such natural opponents for each other, it’s surprising that Styles vs. Bálor hasn’t happened more often. It could have been a WrestleMania main event at one point.
Bálor and The Judgment Day defeated Styles and The O.C. in a six-man tag match at Crown Jewel earlier this month. Since it seems like this won’t be the end of the rivalry between the two factions (and with Ripley’s team potentially defeating Yim’s in WarGames), Styles should probably get the win here. The new WWE regime is committed to protecting Bálor, but he won’t be hurt too much if he loses because of a distraction or interference.
Prediction: AJ Styles wins
Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory for the United States championship
Two weeks ago, Austin Theory seemed poised to win the United States title but failed when cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The loss definitely wasn’t a positive development for Theory. Wrestlers being unsuccessful in their Money in the Bank cash-ins usually means that WWE has lost faith in them. But it’s important to remember that the circumstances surrounding Theory’s failure are pretty unique. He likely never would have been Mr. Money in the Bank to begin with if Cody Rhodes hadn’t gotten injured, and WWE has gone through a regime change since Vince McMahon decided to give Theory the briefcase. If anything, Theory’s failure says that WWE’s new leadership believes he isn’t quite ready to be a top star at this point.
WWE has used Theory’s loss to take his character in a more serious direction. That will likely continue as he loses again on Saturday. This isn’t the time for Seth Rollins to drop the U.S. title. He’s less than two months into his reign and has already lost too many matches on PPV this year. Rollins should pin Theory to win this triple threat. Bobby Lashley will wreak havoc in the match, but he's only still involved in the United States title picture so he has something to do while waiting for Brock Lesnar to return.
