The John Report: WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 Review

This is WWE Survivor Series, featuring two huge WarGames matches and John Cena’s final WWE PLE match.

The WWE Survivor Series PLE is the second-oldest PLE in company history, behind WrestleMania. This is the 39th edition of Survivor Series. It’s the fourth year in a row that the show will feature WarGames matches for the men and the women. I’ve reviewed every Survivor Series in WWE history, as you can read in the PPV archive on TJRWrestling. I’m a fan of the WarGames concept, so I have no problem with WWE eliminating the traditional elimination tag team matches.

It’s a four-match card, which I feel is light. I get that the WarGames matches are going to go about 40 minutes (plus intros and video packages push them close to one hour), but I think there is still room for more matches. If it were up to me, there’d be six or seven matches. A few months ago, I wrote an article about five changes I would make to WWE PLEs, and one of them was to add more matches.

There are expected to be over 44,000 fans (thanks, Wrestletix) at Petco Park in San Diego, the home of MLB’s Padres. That will make it the biggest crowd ever for a Survivor Series event. It’s hard to sell out a baseball stadium completely, but I think it will look incredible with the stage and the double ring for WarGames.

There was a two-hour Survivor Series Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Survivor Series
From Petco Park in San Diego, California
Saturday, November 29, 2025

It was a big crowd at Petco Park in San Diego, with Michael Cole saying over 45,000 fans were here.

They showed Team Rhea walking backstage, and they also showed Team Asuka. The graphics on the screen said the team names. They also showed pre-show walking of Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki Bella. San Diego’s own Dominik Mysterio was also shown walking around earlier in the day.

The WarGames cage was lowered on the two rings to begin the show.

A video package aired, setting up the show. Great stuff as usual with the cold open.

There was some pyro that went off in the stadium. It’s about 4:05 p.m. locally in San Diego, so the sun is still out, but it will go down and get dark soon. The Black Sabbath song “War Pigs” that is used for this show is legit one of my favorite songs ever, so I certainly don’t mind hearing it every year.

It was Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on commentary.

The Women’s WarGames match was leading off as expected. Here are the WarGames rules as shown on the screen.

It was the babyface team from Team Rhea up first, led by Charlotte Flair, who started the match. There’s a long aisle on the way to the ring. I can see WWE President Nick Khan in the front row.

Team Asuka’s leader, Asuka, was up first for her team. Flair beat Asuka on SmackDown, and now they are starting the WarGames Match.

Women’s WarGames Match: Team Rhea – Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee and Iyo Sky vs. Team Asuka – Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch and Lash Legend

As a reminder, there are two rings surrounded by a double cage without a roof. There’s a metal structure connecting the two rings together. There were no shark cages with wrestlers waiting in them. Instead, the buzzer goes off for the next entrant, and somebody runs out there to join the match.

Charlotte Flair and Asuka started the match as mentioned. Flair was in control early on with some kicks and a shoulder tackle. Flair did a body scissors around Asuka’s upper body and flipped her around the ring. Asuka trapped Flair between the two rings and kicked Flair in the back of the head. Asuka hit a rising knee smash. They exchanged strikes. Flair did the cartwheel clothesline on Asuka. Flair chopped Asuka several times. They went to the turnbuckle as the clock ticked down, and Flair was knocked down by the cage.

The second entrant on Team Rhea is Iyo Sky, who brought a trash can lid into the ring. There are three-minute intervals from here on out. Sky tried to attack with a trash can, Asuka avoided it and Sky hit a dropkick. Asuka did a necksnap to Sky across the top rope. Sky slipped on the top rope and knocked Asuka down. Sky hit the Bullet Train knee attack on Asuka against the turnbuckle. Sky stomped on Asuka. Sky did a drop toe hold onto the metal plate in the middle of the two rings.

There’s Becky Lynch as the self-appointed captain of the heel team. Lynch brought a kendo stick to the ring with her. Lynch hit Sky with the kendo stick a few times. Lynch set up Sky upside down against the turnbuckle. Flair got back into it to take the kendo stick from Lynch to rekindle that rivalry. Flair and Lynch exchanged forearms. Asuka held onto Flair, but Flair broke free. Flair and Lynch each hit Exploder Suplexes. Flair chopped Lynch and they went into the far ring. Asuka held Flair, so Lynch chop-blocked Flair’s left knee.

The third woman on Team Rhea was Alexa Bliss, who dropkicked the trash can lid into Asuka. Bliss saved Flair from Lynch, and Bliss hit a knee smash to knock Lynch down. Bliss kicked Asuka down and Bliss did dragon screw leg whips. Flair and Bliss hit double Natural Selections on their opponents. Sky got back into it with her uppercut strikes. Flair was tormenting Lynch’s face by stomping on her head against the cage.

It’s Kairi Sane, who is one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Asuka, as the third woman on the heel team. Sane brought a chain into the ring with her. Sane used the chain to her advantage by punching Bliss with the chain. Sane was doing a leg scissors to Flair by the ropes. Sane went up top and punched Flair while the chain was on her hand. Sane saved Asuka from Sky by hitting Sky with a trash can lid. Asuka hit a missile dropkick to Sky. The heel trio of Lynch, Asuka, and Sane were celebrating. Lynch held the three faces with the chain, so Asuka and Sane hit running dropkicks.

Light it up for the fourth woman on Team Rhea, it’s AJ Lee making her WarGames debut. This is Lynch’s second match since returning to WWE. Lynch held the cage door to prevent Lee from going into the ring by the door. Lee climbed to the top of the cage and got into the cage that way. Lee hit a cross body block on Asuka and Sane. Lee sent Lynch into the turnbuckle a few times. Lee tossed Lynch into the cage a few times. Lee hit a running knee smash. Sane was back up to knock Lee down with a forearm to the back. Lee hit a running elbow on Sane and a dropkick. Asuka faced off with Lee, but Lynch was back up to knock Lee down. The other babyfaces helped Lee, so the faces took control since it was 4 on 3 for them until the clock ticked down for the next entrant.

The fourth entrant for Team Asuka was Nia Jax as the biggest woman in the match. Jax sent Bliss and Flair into the turnbuckle. Bliss hit running hip attacks on Flair and Bliss against the cage. Jax punched Sky in the jaw. Lee went after Jax with punches, but Jax knocked her down and hit a body attack. Jax got a hold of Sky and hit a stiff Powerbomb. Jax laid out all four of her opponents. The four heel women were in control of the four faces.

Rhea Ripley was the last woman in for Team Rhea. Ripley had a trash can and a trash bag with weapons. Ripley was wearing a white Terrifier mask to protect her broken nose/face injury. Ripley threw the trash can at Jax to knock her down. Ripley had a kendo stick that she used to beat up the heels. Ripley hit two clotheslines on Lynch and a spinning slam into the mat. Ripley hit a running kick. Ripley kicked Asuka to knock her down. Ripley jumped off the top with a missile dropkick on Jax. Ripley hit a spinning slam on Sane into the mat. Ripley held Sane in a submission and Sky put a trash can on Sane followed by Sky hitting a running dropkick into the trash can. Jax knocked Ripley and Sky down while they were celebrating. Bliss jumped off the turnbuckle with a Tornado DDT on Jax. The final entrant was next.

The final entrant was Team Asuka’s Lash Legend, who recently joined SmackDown. It looks like she is wearing her engagement ring after getting engaged to Trick Williams on Thanksgiving. Congrats to the happy couple. Anyway, Lash getting into the ring means WarGames has officially begun and the first fall wins.

It was Lash dominating by tossing opponents into the cage. Lash caught a leaping Bliss and choked Bliss by spinning her around. Lash gave Flair a Chokeslam. Sky jumped off the top rope, so Lash smashed her with a forearm. Ripley got into a slugfest with Lash, Ripley hit a knee smash and Lash hit a back elbow to knock Ripley down. Ripley hit a kick to the head. Lash hit a pump kick on Ripley for a two count for the first nearfall of the match. Jax saved Lash by tossing Ripley into the cage. Jax hit Ripley with a kendo stick. Lash and Jax each sent Bliss and Flair into the cage, followed by Powerbombs and double pin attempts. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on Lee, but Sky broke up the pin with a moonsault and Lash broke up the pin attempt. Lash and Jax pressed Sky over their heads and tossed Sky from the near ring into the far ring onto the other babyfaces. Sane went up top with a chain on her right arm and hit an Insane Elbow on Sky for two count because Ripley made the save.

Asuka went for the blue mist on Ripley, but Flair shoved Ripley out of the way and the blue mist went in Lash’s face. Flair and Ripley hit strikes on Asuka, Sane and Lynch. Flair and Ripley hit a double suplex on Jax. Bliss went up top and hit Twisted Bliss on Jax. Sky went up top, so Ripley put Lee on her shoulders and Lee gave Sky the trash can. Sky put the trash can on her and jumped off the cage onto the heels on the floor. Sky hit a Swanton Dive onto four of the heels. Lynch was the only heel left standing. Lynch tried to run away. If Lynch climbed out of the cage then she would lose for her team. Bliss punched Lynch, Ripley hit a Riptide on Lynch, and Lee applied the Black Widow submission on Lynch, who tapped out to give AJ the win for her team. It went 41:10.

Winners by submission: Team Rhea – Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee and Iyo Sky

Analysis: ***1/4 Good match. I wouldn’t say great, but everybody worked hard, and it was entertaining. For WarGames it should be better. Easy win for the babyface team. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if the heel team had had some more moments where it looked like they might win. Instead, the babyfaces dominated most of the way after the ten women were in the match. The key spot was Asuka accidentally spitting the blue mist into Lash’s face, and then Sky hit the dive with the trash can. Lynch tapping out to Lee was a finish that I thought was a possibility to continue that story, while Lynch can complain about it being unfair. The babyface team winning was always what I expected in this match. I just think the heel team wasn’t built up well enough, and they should have had more moments in the match where it looked like they might win. Why not have more nearfalls and near submissions? You gotta build the finish a bit. All of it was fine. I just think some more creativity would have helped the match.

The babyface Team Rhea celebrated the win together while some pyro went off behind them.

Up next is John Cena defending the Intercontinental Title in his last PLE match against Dominik Mysterio. A video package aired to set it up.

The moving graphics aired during a 4-minute commercial break.

San Diego’s own “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio made his entrance with the AAA Mega Champion while wearing a white mask. Dom was joined by The Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. The fans were booing, but there were some cheers too. It’s hard to hear in an open-air stadium with music playing. They waited nearly a minute to play Cena’s music.

John Cena made his entrance as the Intercontinental Champion for his final WWE PLE match. We could hear the fans explode in cheers for him. Cena was wearing some old-school San Diego Padres colors on his shirt and hat. Cena spoke to Stew the camera guy: “Last PLE, last time on ESPN. Man, it’s good to have your son here. Let’s go to work, right?” Cena ran down to the ring, and Stew, the camera guy, followed him all the way down there as usual. A graphic said that Cena has 100 career PLE victories and it’s his 12th match at Survivor Series. That’s actually low for him, considering he started 23 years ago. Cena looked around the stadium as if he were in awe of the crowd size. There were loud, “Thank You Cena” chants.

The ring announcer, Alicia Taylor, did the championship introductions. Dom weighs 200 pounds, which seems low to me. Taylor did the special Cena entrance, saying he’s the greatest of all time, the never-seen-17, celebrating with each and every one of you tonight in San Diego one final time, the last real champion, John Cena. Huge pop for that. Cole noted it was Cena’s 177th PLE match.

Intercontinental Championship: John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez)

Cena grabbed a headlock, then Cena was sent into the ropes and Perez tripped up Cena while the referee didn’t see it. Dom hit some punches, Cena fought back and Dom hit Cena in the face. Dom distracted the referee again, so Raquel punched Cena without the referee seeing it. Dom hit the Three Amigos suplexes for a two count. Dom worked over Cena with kicks against the turnbuckle. Cena came back with punches, so Dom bailed to the floor. Dom hid behind the girls, and he hit Cena with a forearm to knock him down. Dom sent Cena into the ring apron and into the commentary table. The referee, Chad Patton, wasn’t doing much of a count because they were on the floor for a long time. It was probably over a minute. Dom went for a hurricanrana off the barricade onto Cena on the floor, but Dom’s left shoulder went crashing into the floor. The referee, Chad Patton, checked on Dom for about 20 seconds. It looked like a bad bump for Dom. The referee Chad Patton called for a medic to check on Dom, but these looked like fake medics rather than actual WWE trainers. This led to Raquel going into the ring and hitting a Tejana Bomb on Cena. Raquel hit Pop Rox on Cena. The referee never saw it. They set up Cena against the ropes and Dom hit a 619 kick. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash. The referee, Chad Patton, yelled at Dom for faking his injury, so he didn’t count the fall. The referee, Patton, ejected Roxanne and Raquel from the ringside.

Analysis: That was a fun sequence. I enjoyed that creativity using the girls and having Dom fake the injury. That worked really well in terms of getting the crowd into it even more.

Cena recovered with two shoulder tackles, along with a spinning suplex. Cena did his “You Can’t See Me” taunt, leading to the Five Knuckle Shuffle fist drop. Cena wanted AA, Dom countered it, and Cena slipped out of a pin attempt, leading to a STF. Dom got his hand on the bottom rope to force a break. Dom unzipped his left boot, and Cena pulled the boot off. Dom sent Cena into the ropes and Dom hit a 619 again. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash for two. Dom put his left boot back on and zipped it up. Cena was back up and hit an Attitude Adjustment for a two count. Each man kicked out of a finishing move at that point.

Cena and Dom exchanged punches. Cena hit a shoulder tackle. Cena went for another shoulder tackle, Dom ducked and Cena hit the shoulder tackle on referee Chad Patton, who bumped to the floor. JD McDonagh and Finn Balor of The Judgment Day went down to the ring to stomp on Cena. JD went for a moonsault off the top, but Cena got the knees up to block. Balor went for Coup de Grace off the top, but Cena avoided it. Cena splashed both guys against the turnbuckle. Cena gave JD and Finn the Attitude Adjustment at the same time. Dom grabbed the Intercontinental Title from ringside. The referee was still down. Dom went after Cena with the title, Cena ducked it and Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment. Cena called for a referee, but here comes Liv Morgan making her return after being away for over five months with a shoulder injury. Liv ran down to the ring. Liv got in the ring with Dominik, who wanted a hug, and Liv slapped Dom in the head. Liv jumped into Cena’s arms and hugged him, but then Liv had crazy eyes. Liv kicked Cena in the groin. Dom hit a 619 kick. Liv hit Cena with the IC Title in the head. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash. Liv sent referee Patton back in and Patton counted the pin…1…2…3. Dirty Dominik Mysterio has regained the Intercontinental Title. The match went 16:40.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: ***1/2 This was one of those classic matches with all kinds of chaos, including a referee bump and Dominik getting a lot of help to win the match. You could use logic to complain about how, sometimes, there are replacement referees, but this time, there was no referee to fill in after Chad Patton got bumped. They wanted to do a creative finish to give the title back to Dominik in a creative way, while Cena lost the title as most of us expected, because it makes sense for him to put over the younger guy. Liv Morgan was out for over five months, she worked hard to come back and she played a big role in Dirty Dom winning the IC Title again. This wasn’t an amazing Cena match like the match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam or with AJ Styles at Crown Jewel, but it was still a fine PLE match.

Dominik Mysterio celebrated with the Intercontinental Title, AAA Mega Title, and his lovely ally, Liv Morgan. They showed replays. The pyro went off behind Dom while Liv hugged him. There was no kiss or anything like that, but Dom carried Liv to the back.

The fans were chanting “Thank You Cena” so Cena waved goodbye to them. Cena talked to some kids at ringside, right where Nick Khan was. Cena thanked ESPN for making WWE part of the family and he said thank you. Cena said one more left, and he’ll see us on the 13th of December. Cena left.

Analysis: Thank you, Cena. Absolutely.

The women’s division WrestleMania 42 commercial aired.

A video package aired about the Stephanie Vaquer-Nikki Bella match. There were commercials after that as well.

Nikki Bella made her entrance first as the challenger, and she looked great as usual. She is my favorite Bella Twin, just saying. I also like her a lot more as a heel. With that said, Stephanie Vaquer is also very likable as the Women’s World Champion, and she got a nice ovation for her entrance. A graphic said that Vaquer is the winningest superstar of the year with 27 wins.

WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella

There was a cheap attack from Nikki at the start of the match with a forearm, and some choking against the ropes. Vaquer hit a dropkick and a running leg drop. Vaquer delivered some headbutts (into her hands on Nikki’s head). Vaquer went for a running attack, so Nikki bailed to the floor. Vaquer sent Nikki into the commentary table. Vaquer went for a knee drop on the apron, Nikki avoided it and sent Vaquer face first into the floor. Nikki hit a suplex and worked over Vaquer with punches. Nikki hit a knee smash and another facebuster into the mat. Nikki used her legs to choke Vaquer against the ropes. Vaquer applied an armbar upside down against the ropes. Nikki came back with a spinebuster. Nikki teased her version of a Vaquer move, but Vaquer countered with a rollup for two and a back suplex. Vaquer went for her Devil’s Kiss, but Nikki rolled to the apron to force a break, and the fans booed. Nikki pulled on Vaquer’s arms against the ropes, but when Nikki went back into the ring, Vaquer hit a superkick. Vaquer hit two clotheslines and a suplex. Vaquer got a rollup into a pin for two. Vaquer ran into a boot, but Vaquer stopped herself. Vaquer hit a dragon screw leg whip on the right leg. Vaquer hit the double underhook backbreaker that she used as the SVB finishing move, and it only got a two count. Nikki came back with a forearm. Nikki tried a lift, Vaquer moved out of the way, and Vaquer hit a clothesline. Vaquer hit a Meteora double knee attack against the turnbuckle. Nikki pulled Vaquer off the turnbuckle and Nikki hit a jumping kick to the jaw. Nikki hit a Rack Attack 2.0 near the ropes, but Vaquer got her foot on the bottom rope for two. It was pretty obvious that it was coming, and the fans barely reacted to it. They battled by the apron, where Vaquer hit a knee drop across the throat and upper chest. Vaquer put Nikki on the commentary table and did the Devil’s Kiss knee smashing on the commentary table. The fans counted along for the ten knee smashes. It was a very slow count by referee Eddie Orengo. Just saying. Anyway, Vaquer hit a belly to back suplex and a Devil’s Kiss in the ring, but it didn’t even make it ten times because Nikki was down and out. Vaquer went up top and hit the Corkscrew Splash for the pinfall win at 12:20.

Winner by pinfall: Stephanie Vaquer

Analysis: **3/4 The match felt like a solid TV match, but it was lacking heat and the fans were quiet for a lot of this match. I think that’s because of how much energy they expended for the Cena match before it, and because this feud isn’t that hot. I don’t think anybody watching this thought that Nikki had a shot to win and it showed by how little the fans reacted to her. I thought Nikki had a good showing, while Vaquer was awesome as usual, and Vaquer getting the win was the expected result.

There was a backstage scene with The New Day’s Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, along with Grayson Waller, and they plugged the WWE Supercard game.

The Unleashed Moment of the Night was Liv Morgan making her return to help Dominik Mysterio win back the IC Title from John Cena.

There was a plug for Saturday Night’s Main Event in two weeks on December 13th when John Cena has his last WWE match against he winner of the Last Time Is Now Tournament.

It was main event time with the Men’s WarGames match. They went to some commercials.

A commercial aired promoting Friday Night SmackDown in Montreal on January 23rd and Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24th. Those will be great crowds.

They showed more celebrities at ringside, including actor Gabriel Luna, singer Cassie B, singer Jesus Ortiz Paz, and actress Danielle Fishel, who is Topanga from Boy Meets World. The fans cheered loudly for Topanga. Good. She deserves it. They showed two lucky fans who got an Xfinity seat upgrade near the ring.

Ring announcer Alicia Taylor announced the attendance, which is a new Survivor Series record: 46,016 fans. I assume Survivor Series will be in stadiums in the future.

The video package aired for the Men’s WarGames Match. Well done, but the time between the match before it and this match was a long time. Just saying.

Men’s WarGames Match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Team Heyman – Brock Lesnar, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed and Drew McIntyre (w/Paul Heyman)

It was the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk making his entrance first for the babyface team with the title around his waist. Punk climbed to the top of the cage and went into the ring that way. Cole noted Punk’s wife, AJ Lee, did that earlier, too. The fans were chanting Punk’s name. For the heel side, Bron Breakker started the match for his team.

Punk and Bron started for the first five minutes of the match. Bron’s team has the advantage in the match. Bron overpowered Punk to take him down. Punk tried a shoulder tackle that didn’t work and Bron hit a body slam. Bron went for a clothesline, but Punk ducked it and hit a leg lariat to knock Bron down. Punk worked over Bron with punches, but Bron came back with a press slam attempt until Punk broke free and kicked Bron in the leg. Punk jumped off the turnbuckle with a double axhandle. Punk went for the same move, but Bron caught him and hit an overhead suplex. Bron sent Punk into the turnbuckle and Bron hit another overhead suplex. Punk came back with a clothesline off the turnbuckle. Punk sent Bron into the cage.

The second man on the heel team was Drew McIntyre, who was Punk’s major rival last year. Cole mentioned the McIntyre-Punk Hell in a Cell match “a couple of years ago” but it was really just over a year ago. Best feud of 2024 easily. One of the best feuds this decade. Drew went after Punk with kicks and chops, and Bron joined Drew in beating up Punk with strikes. Bron shoved Punk into a Claymore Kick by Drew. No pins yet, so Drew gouged Punk in the eye. Drew sent Punk into the cage. Drew and Bron launched Punk face first into the cage. Drew gouged Punk’s eyes some more followed by Bron punching Punk repeatedly. Drew and Bron tossed Punk into the cage again. Drew rake Punk’s head against the cage.

The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was next for the babyface team in the match that his late father, Dusty, created about 40 years ago. Drew held onto the door to stop Cody from going into the ring. Cody climbed the cage to get in. Punk was bleeding heavily from the forehead, so he likely did a blade job. Cody jumped off the top with a cross body block on Drew and Cody hit a Cody Cutter on Bron. Punk grabbed Cody, who hit him with a back elbow to the face, which Cole said was an accident, and Cody tried to explain himself. Cody sent Bron into the turnbuckle. Cody put Bron on his shoulders and Punk hit a clothesline for a Doomsday Device and Bron landed on the back of his neck. Ouch. That was a brutal landing. They replayed Bron’s landing and it looked awful. Drew was sent into the cage. Punk hit Dusty-style elbow on Drew, and Punk/Cody took turns doing some Dusty moves, including an elbow from Cody.

It’s Logan Paul as the third man on the heel side and he was booed as usual. Drew told Logan to bring some weapons into the ring, so Logan brought two chairs into the ring. Logan hit Cody in the ribs with a chair and then Logan flipped over Cody onto another chair. Paul jumped from one ring to the other and hit a cross body block on Punk. Cody got some offense going with chair jabs to the ribs. Logan and Cody exchanged punches on the top of the cage. Bron hit Cody with a chair, so it hit Cody in the right leg. Bron hit Cody with more chair jabs to the body. Drew hit Punk with a chair to the back. Bron grated Cody’s face against the cage. Drew and Logan hit a double suplex on Punk and did a kip up together.

There is Jimmy Uso as the third man in his team with Cole noting he was 2-0 in WarGames matches. Jimmy slammed the door on Bron and he hit a neckbreaker on Drew. Jimmy grabbed a table from under the ring and put it into the ring. The fans loved that. Jimmy superkicked Drew and Bron. Jimmy hit a Samoan Drop on Logan. Jimmy hit a corkscrew cross body block on Bron and Logan. Drew was back up with a Claymore Kick on Jimmy. Drew sent Cody into the cage. Bron ran the ropes and hit a running lariat on Jimmy. Punk hit a suplex. Bron hit a Frankensteiner on Cody and that drew a big pop. The heel trio was in control as the clock counted down for the next entrant. It looks like Cody’s cut was opened above his right eye as well.

The powerhouse Bronson Reed was the fourth guy for the heel side to give them a 4-on-3 advantage. As soon as Reed got in the ring, he jumped off the top with a Tsunami for Punk. Reed hit a Tsunami for Reed. Reed went up top again and hit a Tsunami for Cody as well. The heels continued to work over the faces with some basic stuff like sending them into the cage to continue their attacks. Reed set up a table against a turnbuckle. Jimmy broke free and hit superkicks on three opponents, but then Reed ran over Jimmy to knock him down. Bron hit a double knee attack on Jimmy.

Analysis: This is why the heels should always get the advantage in WarGames. They dominate the match and we watch to see if the babyfaces can make the comeback. It’s an easy story to tell.

The fourth guy on the face side was Jey Uso, who is 3-0 in WarGames matches and the fans were cheering him as usual. Jey worked over Reed and Bron with kicks. Jey hit running hip attacks on Reed and Bron. The Usos hit double superkicks on all four opponents in a row. The Usos hit the 1D on Logan. Jimmy superkicked Reed into the cage. Jimmy called for his music to play again, so they played Jey’s theme song and the stadium was Yeeting after that.

The last man for the heel side was Brock Lesnar, joined by Paul Heyman. Cole noted it was the first time since 2004 (21 years!) since Lesnar has been in a tag team match. Lesnar is in his first WarGames match. Lesnar went into the ring and hit German Suplexes on both Usos, a German Suplex on Cody, a belly to belly on Punk, and a belly to belly on Cody. That German Suplex on Jey was at the bottom of the table. Lesnar tossed Punk and Cody into the cage. Lesnar hit Jey with a belly-to-belly across the ring. Lesnar hit an F5 on Jimmy and an F5 to Punk. Lesnar hit an F5 on Cody as well. Lesnar gave Jey an F5 too. Punk had a chair in hand, but Lesnar kicked Punk in the ribs. Lesnar gave Cody a belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. Lesnar picked up a chair and hit the faces with chair shots to the back.

The 10th and final man in the match was “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns for the babyface team. Lesnar left the cage so that he could confront Reigns outside the ring. The match didn’t officially begin until Reigns went into the ring, so what Lesnar did was legal. Reigns hit Lesnar with three Superman Punches in a row. Lesnar picked up Reigns and gave Reigns an F5 through the Spanish commentary table at ringside. That was a big bump for Reigns. Lesnar sent Reigns into the steel cage a few times. There was nothing happening in the ring as Lesnar sent Reigns into the steel steps. Lesnar put Reigns into the ring. Let the WarGames begin.

Lesnar picked up Reigns and he hit an F5 for a two count because Cody saved Reigns. Punk picked up Lesnar and hit a GTS. Cody hit Lesnar with a Cross Rhodes and Paul broke up a pin attempt with a Frog Splash. Heyman handed Logan the brass knuckles. Logan punched Cody with the brass knuckles and Logan punched Jimmy with the brass knuckles as well. Logan charged, but Reigns was back up with a Spear. Reigns took the brass knuckles from Paul and put them on his hand. Reigns sent Reed into the turnbuckle and a Superman Punch with the brass knuckles. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Drew with the brass knuckles. Bron charged at Reigns, but Reigns was ready and hit a Spear. Reigns picked up Lesnar, but Brock picked up Jey and Reigns gave Lesnar a Spear into the table against the turnbuckle. Bron was back up with a Spear on Jimmy. Drew hit an uppercut low blow on Cody in the far ring. Bron hit a Spear on Jey. Bron ran the ropes and put down Cody with a Spear. Bron charged at Punk, who moved and Bron hit the cage. Punk went for the GTS, but Paul saved Bron. Punk hit a GTS on Logan for a two count. A dude in an all black outfit and a sweatshirt climbed into the cage. He hit a superkick on Punk and he hit The Stomp on Punk. Those were Seth Rollins’ moves, but the announcers figured it wasn’t Rollins since he had surgery on his left shoulder last month. The guy climbed up to the top of the cage and left the cage. We never saw who it was. The other heels in the ring acted like they had no idea who it was. Bron ran the ropes and hit a Spear on Punk for the pinfall win at 40:31.

Winners by pinfall: Team Heyman – Brock Lesnar, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed and Drew McIntyre

Analysis: ***3/4 I enjoyed that and it felt like a main event level WarGames match with a lot of star power. I don’t think I would call it the best Men’s WarGames match ever or anything like that, but it did feel like a near four-star level match to me. I picked the heel team to win, and when you have Bron Breakker pin CM Punk, it obviously sets them up for a World Title feud, which is a smart way of booking. I thought Lesnar looked fantastic in the match and then he sold when he needed to. Reigns also had a lot of big spots. Perhaps they could have had more nearfalls and maybe some submissions to tease finishes more, which is something I am going to say about most WarGames matches because it puts over the importance of winning. Who is the mystery guy? It might be a returning Austin Theory because I know he has been rumored to be part of The Vision, so maybe they are going with Theory in that spot. If it’s not him, then I’m not sure who it would be. The mystery guy was obviously a major factor in the match and the main reason why the heels won, because it weakened Punk for Breakker to finish Punk off. For a final thought on the mystery guy, I would love it if the identity of the person wasn’t spoiled online. Let’s watch the shows and figure out whenever it’s revealed. Everything doesn’t have to be spoiled. Try to enjoy the show as it’s presented.

After the match, the announcers put over Bron Breakker getting the big win for his team by beating the World Champion CM Punk. Heyman celebrated with his team at ringside while the fireworks went off behind them. Brock Lesnar was smiling. The heels left.

Roman Reigns went over to CM Punk and helped him back to his feet. Punk and Reigns touched fists. Reigns also looked at Cody Rhodes, who got to his feet on his own. Reigns said something like, “Good job,” and I’ll remember that. Reigns stared at Cody and left without any kind of handshake. Reigns stared at Cody. Reigns told Cody this was the last time they’ll ever team together. Cody responded as if he agreed. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: There are rumors that Roman Reigns will likely face CM Punk or Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42, and perhaps WWE doesn’t know who it will be yet. That ending made it seem more like it would be Cody, but there’s a long way to go until WrestleMania next April. I think Roman Reigns will win the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber. Going after Punk’s World Title makes a lot of sense.

WWE Survivor Series had a runtime of 3 hours, and 13 minutes.

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Five Stars of the Show

1. John Cena for his final WWE PLE match. That’s it. Thank you, Cena.

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Final Thoughts on WWE Survivor Series

I’m going 7.25 out of 10 for this show, which puts it at the same level as the bottom three WWE PLEs this year.

I went 7.25 out of 10, and perhaps some people think that is generous because I know there are a lot of haters out there who want to complain about everything. I don’t think WarGames matches are easy to do, so I have a lot of respect for the wrestlers doing their best in a tough match like that. With that said, I think the Women’s WarGames match lacked excitement at times. Let’s see more nefarious acts from the heels, let’s see nearfalls, near submissions and so on. There just wasn’t much of that at all. It was too predictable.

The Men’s WarGames match was better of the two WarGames matches and had more memorable moments. I’m glad nobody did any insane spots in the match like last year. The mystery attacker was the key part of the match. Bron Breakker pinning CM Punk to win obviously sets them up for WrestleMania, most likely. As I wrote in my analysis, I hope the identity of that person is kept private and that we find out on Raw or some future television show. Of course, I have my theories (wink, wink) and I’m sure all of you do too. (As I edit this on Sunday morning, the name of the mystery attacker is out there, of course.)

I enjoyed Dirty Dom’s win over John Cena thanks to Liv Morgan’s return. The heelish young guy cheated big time to beat the legendary babyface, and it’s the right move to have Cena put him over like that. The fake injury spot looked great. The Stephanie Vaquer-Nikki Bella match was probably Steph’s worst PLE match since there wasn’t much heat for it. Nikki isn’t bad, but she’ll get blamed for it. I just think it’s a tough spot following Cena’s last match and nobody in the stadium thought Nikki had a chance to win.

I think they easily could have added a fifth match that could have been an exciting match that would have helped the show. Put one of the many champions in WWE in a match, and it may have helped the show. The show went 3:13, but if you add another match and cut down some time between matches, then it would be doable to have another match around 12-15 minutes, and then it’s a 3.5-hour show overall.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2025:

Elimination Chamber (March 1) – 9 (out of 10)

Evolution (July 13) – 8.5

Royal Rumble (February 1) – 8.5

Crown Jewel (October 11) – 8.25

SummerSlam (August 2 & 3) – 8

Clash In Paris (August 31) – 7.75

Wrestlepalooza (September 20) – 7.5

WrestleMania 41 (April 19 & 20) – 7.5

Money in the Bank (June 7) – 7.5

Night of Champions (June 28) – 7.25

Backlash (May 10) – 7.25

Survivor Series (November 29) – 7.25

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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