TJRWrestling WWE Survivor Series 2025 Preview
It’s WWE Survivor Series featuring two huge WarGames matches, plus John Cena’s final WWE PLE match.
The 39th annual WWE Survivor Series PLE is here and it’s taking pace at Petco Park in San Diego, which is the home of the MLB’s Padres. Putting a show in the middle of a baseball stadium will give it a different look for sure. They are expected to have over 40,000+ fans in attendance (thanks Wrestletix), so it will be one of the biggest crowds of the year. It will also be the biggest Survivor Series crowd ever.
This is the fourth year in a row with WarGames matches at Survivor Series. While I’m a fan of the WarGames concept, I also think WWE could do more to make the matches feel even bigger by doing something like rewarding the winners by saying whoever is in the Royal Rumble is guaranteed a spot in the final 10. You could even do something like if somebody wins for their team who is not a champion then that person gets a title shot on the first Raw or SmackDown of 2026. Something like that. All I’m saying is to reward the winners with something more than simply winning a match.
A lot of WWE PLE’s have only five matches, and this one is even shorter with just four matches. At the last three Survivor Series events, there were five matches. I’m writing this before a taped SmackDown episode is going to air, so perhaps there is one more match set to be announced. If not, then it’s just four matches. I wrote a column a few months ago about how I think WWE should change their PLE shows, and one of those changes was to have at least seven matches on the PLE shows. With Survivor Series, the two WarGames matches are going around 40 minutes, so perhaps that is why they want to limit the other matches.
You can watch WWE Survivor Series: WarGames on Nov. 29 streaming live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the ESPN App in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else. Let’s get to it.
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Women’s WarGames Match: Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair & AJ Lee vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, Kairi Sane & Becky Lynch
This is probably the most star-studded Women’s WarGames match. The star power on the babyface side is massive since Ripley, Sky, Bliss, Flair and Lee are all multi-time Women’s Champions, and all of them are very popular with the fans. The heel side has three Women’s Champions as well while Sane is a Tag Team Champion and Lash is new on the main roster.
I’m gong with the babyface side in this match. I would be surprised if they didn’t win. There are a lot of ways it can go since we’ve got the Becky Lynch story with AJ Lee that will probably lead to a singles match at some point. The Bliss & Flair team has tag team issues with the other four women on the heel side. Plus, they could always touch on the Flair/Lynch history as well. Ripley and Sky also have issues with Asuka and Sane, which will probably set up a Women’s Tag Team Title match. We know Iyo Sky is going to do her classic spot where she jumps off the cage while a trash can is on her. It’s tradition at this point, and it gets a big reaction, as it should.
I think the finish will be something like Ripley or Sky pinning Sane to set up a Women’s Tag Team Title match soon. They could have the “rookie” Lash get beat, but I’d rather she be kept strong and I think Jax, Asuka and Lynch are bigger stars than Sane, so that’s why I think Sane will take loss. They could also go with Lee beating Lynch to continue that rivalry and have Lee continue to have Lynch’s number, so to speak.
Winners: Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair & AJ Lee
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Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella
I have expressed my frustrations with how this match has been built up. I think it’s an example of poor long term planning. I understand that they went with the classic story of Nikki befriending Stephanie for a couple of months before Nikki turned heel on her, but if you are going to do that then why not have Nikki win some matches before it happens? Nikki Bella’s only singles match win this year was over Chelsea Green in July, and she lost three singles matches after that. Creatively speaking, if you know the plan is to get to Vaquer and Bella at Survivor Series then set it up by having Nikki win some matches to at least show she deserves a title shot.
By giving a title shot without actually doing anything to earn the title shot, and just basing it on her history as a former champion, you are telling the audience that the wins and losses don’t matter. So why should we care about who wins and loses the matches? WWE is telling us we shouldn’t care. That’s a bad way of booking, to me. It’s lazy. It should be better.
It should be a solid match because Vaquer is awesome and brings out the best in her opponents while Nikki is still a good performer. I like Nikki. I just wish they built her up better for the match. With that said, I would be very surprised if Vaquer lost since she hasn’t had the title for very long and I think it’s still early in a long title reign for her.
Winner: Stephanie Vaquer
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Intercontinental Championship: John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio
When they did the title change on Raw in Boston a few weeks ago, my feeling was that Cena would also win the rematch. I have since changed that opinion and I’m going to go with Dominik getting the win. The reason I thought Cena would win is that it makes Cena look better going into his final match in two weeks at Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, when I thought about it some more, I remembered how selfless Cena is most of the time, and he probably has no problem losing, and if you have Mysterio win this match, then it gives Dom something to brag about for weeks, months, and years.
It’s not just a title win for Dom. It’s a title win over one of the best wrestlers ever, John Cena. When you think about it like that. I think it makes a lot of sense for Dom to win. Will it be clean? Probably not, and that’s the right way to do it. A cheap win fits Dom’s character. Last time on Raw, Cena outsmarted Dom and got the title. This time, Dom should find a crafty way to win. If they have Cena win it wouldn’t bother me because then I think he’d just lose it to Gunther in Cena’s final match on December 13. I just think it’s better for Dom to win here and I think he will.
Winner AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Dominik Mysterio
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Men’s WarGames Match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Roman Reigns vs. Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
There are a lot of big names and big egos in this match. That should lead to conflicts all over the place with guys like Cody and Punk having issues getting along with Roman, who should be fine with his cousins, The Usos, but perhaps there will be tension there.
On the other side, I read a stat that Lesnar hasn’t been in a tag team match in over 21 years, going back to his walk year in 2004, so it’s a strange sight to see Lesnar on a team. With that said, I would use this opportunity to set up whatever Lesnar is doing at WrestleMania. I can see Lesnar being in the Royal Rumble match too, but with Survivor Series, they can plant the side. Perhaps that seed will be planted in the form of issues with Bron Breakker, which could lead to Bron or even Brock going babyface by the time we get to WrestleMania next year.
I certainly hope Bronson Reed doesn’t try doing a Tsunami splash off the top of the cage this year. Last year, when he did it, he landed awkwardly and broke his foot, which cost him over six months of his career. When you jump off a cage at that angle, you can’t land properly in the same way as when you do a splash off the top rope.
My lean in this match is for the heels to win. I know in the two years, the babyface side won, but the year before that, it was the heels. It’s time for the heels to win again. If it were me, I’d have Bron Breakker beat the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk. However, I think it’s more likely that Jimmy Uso is the one who gets beaten in the match since he’s the only one on his team who hasn’t been a World Champion and would be considered the weakest link on his team. I don’t see Reigns, Rhodes or Punk being pinned on that team.
This should be an excellent match that gets 40+ matches and features some memorable moments. As I said, I’m going with the heel side. I just think it makes more sense and can lead to better stories down the road.
Winners: Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar
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BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE SURVIVOR SERIES!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Men’s WarGames Match.
The Match I Care About The Least
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella. I like both women, but on a four-match card, that’s my pick.
Longest Match
Men’s WarGames Match around 42 minutes.
Shortest Match
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella going about 12 minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
I’m at 7.25 out of 10 for this show. I like the WarGames matches at Survivor Series, but I think the card could be stronger, especially when it comes to non-Survivor Series matches. It can certainly be an 8 out of 10 show in terms of quality and memorable moments. I just think going in, they could have done a better job of making it a stronger show.
I’ll be back with a review of Survivor Series on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.