Welcome to ProfessionalPK's coverage and recap of WWE Survivor Series WarGames.
This is the first time WWE has brought the double-cage setup to the main roster, so two big matches were set up to take place inside the dangerous structure.
Here is a look at the card:
- The Bloodline vs. The Brawling Brutes, Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre
- Damage CTRL, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Mia Yim and Becky Lynch
- Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi (SmackDown Women's Championship)
- AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor
- Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory (United States Championship)
Let's take a look at everything that went down during Saturday's show.
Women's WarGames Match
1 OF 5
The first match of the night was the women's WarGames match with Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Alexa Bliss and Mia Yim vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley.
Belair and Kai started the match for their teams. The heels had the advantage, so after the first five-minute period was up, Sky joined her tag team partner in the ring.
When it was time for Cross to enter the match, she brought a ton of weapons with her from under the ring. When Bayley joined a few minutes later, she brought some ladders and a table into the ring.
Ripley and Lynch were the final members of their respective teams to enter the match. Once The Man entered the ring, the match officially began and could be won at any point.
There's no other way to say this: The match was absolute mayhem. They used every weapon multiple times, had several big spots and even included some callbacks to past encounters between some of the women in the ring.
Some of the spots in this match did not go as planned, so there were several close calls that could have led to injuries. It helped the competitive nature of the bout, but it also slowed the match down in spots.
Lynch ended up scoring the pin for her team by hitting a huge leg drop from the top of the cage to put Kai through a table.
This was a fun way to kick off the show.
Winners: Belair, Bliss, Yim, Asuka and Lynch
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Everybody's gear in this match looked awesome. They went all-out on the designs.
- Belair hit a rough backbreaker at one point. Kai almost landed on her head.
- Sky's hurricanrana to Belair did not go as planned. She barely had her feet over Belair's shoulders.
- The dropkick Sky hit by jumping from one rope to another before hitting Belair was awesome.
- They keep teasing Sky vs. Asuka. Just give us the match already.
- Cross hit a big dive from the top of the cage onto everyone who was in the ring at the time.
- Cross breaking up a nine-person Tower of Doom spot was hilarious.
- The leg drop Lynch hit from the top of the cage was a good way to end the match.
Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles
2 OF 5
The second match of the night saw AJ Styles battle Finn Bálor to see which former Bullet Club leader was superior.
The Phenomenal One had control early, but The Prince wasn't about to make it easy on him. Whenever it looked like Styles had him cornered, Bálor would come up with a way to counter him.
About 10 minutes into the match, all hell broke loose at ringside. The O.C. and the rest of The Judgment Day began to brawl and fought into the crowd, leaving Bálor and Styles alone.
As expected, these two veterans put on a great show. When you get to the level of experience these men have, it's almost impossible for them to put on a bad match. When you put two guys like this together, it will almost always lead to a classic encounter.
After failing to get the win with the Calf Crusher, Styles was able to secure the victory with the Phenomenal Forearm. It was good that they got everyone else away from the ring so these two could shine on their own.
Winner: AJ Styles
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Bálor wore a strange black mask during his entrance. It was somehow weirder than the spiked one he wore for his last PPV.
- Styles also wore a mask, but his was made to look like a gas mask.
- The suplex Styles used to send Bálor into the corner was picture-perfect.
- The Phenomenal One makes the 450 look easy.
- Styles' chest was beet-red after this was over. Bálor was laying into him.
Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi (SmackDown Women's Title)
3 OF 5
Shayna Baszler accompanied Ronda Rousey to the ring for her SmackDown title defense against Shotzi.
The Ballsy Badass went right at the champ, but the former UFC star was ready for her and had her down in an ankle lock within the first minute.
This match was built up with Rousey as the dominant champion and Shotzi playing the valiant underdog. It worked when the former NXT star was trying to make a comeback, but whenever the titleholder took over, things slowed down.
They ended up fighting in the crowd at one point. Shotzi took out Rousey, Baszler and several planted fans in the front row with a dive off the barricade.
After they got back into the ring, The Baddest Woman on the Planet scored the win to retain her title.
This match had some fun moments, but as a whole, it was not great. Rousey gets a lot of things about this business, but when it comes to putting together a competitive match, she still has a lot of work to do.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- Shotzi's tank looked like it had additional pyro shooters on the back, but they went unused.
- Rousey countering a dive into a belly-to-belly suplex was a cool spot.
- They tried to do a DDT spot on the apron, but Rousey held onto the top rope, and it ended up looking sloppy.
Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory (United States Title)
4 OF 5
Right after the bell rang for the U.S. title Triple Threat match, Bobby Lashley clotheslined Austin Theory out of the ring. He tried to get back in, but Seth Rollins knocked him right back out.
This left The Visionary and The All Mighty to fight by themselves until the former Mr. Money in the Bank got involved again.
They did a great job balancing this match so all three had sequences when they were in control, and they also set it up so each person took a little time outside the ring so the other two could work.
Lashley tried to put Rollins in the Hurt Lock, but Theory jumped on his back with a sleeper to break it up. Rollins hit Theory with a superplex, but when he tried to hit the falcon arrow, The All Mighty speared him.
However, Theory made the cover and got the pin to win the title.
This match was decent, but a few spots looked way too planned. The crowd was so mad at the result, which made it kind of funny.
Winner: Austin Theory
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Theory's tron video was just an ad for a toy. It was really weird.
- Rollins hits every dive perfectly. He just knows how to make sure he hits them flush every time. Even if it doesn't look perfect, he lands exactly where he should.
- The flip Rollins did over the top rope to take out both opponents was an awesome spot. The crowd popped for it.
- The spot when The Visionary broke up a pin with a frog splash was great. He came from off-screen, so it was unexpected.
- The Stomp that Rollins hit by jumping off Theory's back onto Lashley was great.
Men's WarGames Match
5 OF 5
The main event of the night was the men's WarGames match with Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn taking on Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland.
Butch and Jey Uso started for their teams and traded insults from opposite rings before actually engaging each other. The babyfaces had the advantage in this match, so the next person to enter the cage was Holland.
When it was time for the second member of The Bloodline to enter the match, Reigns stopped Jimmy Uso and told Zayn to go instead. He took his time getting to the ring because Holland and Butch were in control.
Once Jimmy got to the ring, he brought some tables into the cage. Jey and Zayn almost got into a fight, but Jimmy got between them until the babyfaces got involved.
As expected, Reigns was the last man to enter the cage. Both teams stood in opposite rings for a showdown before everyone engaged.
Jey hit Zayn with a superkick by accident, but he did not seem sorry about it. When he recovered, he ended up turning the tide for his team by taking out Owens. This allowed Jey to hit a big splash to score the win for his team.
While the women's match was more about big spots, this was more about storytelling. Several feuds were addressed in interesting ways, but Zayn and Owens were the most interesting competitors.
Winners: The Bloodline
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Owens wore a Dusty Rhodes shirt to pay homage to the man who created the WarGames match.
- Does anyone else's elbow hurt when Butch stomps on his opponent's arm?
- Jey is one of the great underrated sellers in WWE today.
- The way McIntyre was throwing Zayn around was hilarious.
- Reigns sitting in a chair inside the little cage until he was ready to come out was so much funnier than it should have been.
- The spot when the entire babyface team hit The Bloodline with the Beats of the Bodhran felt a little excessive.
- Zayn stopping the ref from counting the pin for KO was a great moment. It was timed perfectly.
- Jey and Zayn hugging was the perfect way to end this.
