Date: November 29, 2025
Location: Petco Park in San Diego, CA
**********
Show Recap —
COUNTDOWN SHOW
“War Pigs” by Black Sabbath played as Joe Tessitore welcomed us to the pre-show at Petco Park in San Diego. He’s joined by Big E and Wade Barrett.
The heel women’s team (referred to as Team Asuka) arrived together, as did Team Rhea. Paul “Triple H” Levesque, not wrestling tonight, was also shown arriving.
Different personalities ran down tonight’s card. Peter Rosenberg referred to Dominik Mysterio, 28, as “the kid.”
Big E flat-out mentioned that there are online rumours that there is jockeying among the men’s babyface team to determine who would enter last.
Michael Cole showed up to the panel, and the fans (and Tessitore) reacted to him like he was the John Cena of announcing.
There was a Cena video package and an interview Megan Morant did with Stephanie McMahon. She told the story of discovering that Cena could rap and suggesting he do it as part of his act. She really put him over strong. Cole called Cena the greatest of all time and added, “I don’t care what anyone says.”
Cathy Kelley interviewed Stephanie Vaquer. She said she had no mercy and she would show Nikki Bella what a real champion was. Bella spoke to Jackie Redmond. Bella said she would embarrass Vaquer, and Vaquer would respect her.
There was a sit-down interview with Becky Lynch. She’s going hard on the idea that she was screwed out of the IC title, and she referred to Cole as “Misleading Michael.”
They cut back to Cole live, and he made fun of Barrett for suddenly having very grey hair.
Tessitore mentioned Lynch’s recent social media posts, where she posts in all-caps and uses a lot of alliteration and stated, “She’s taking some cues from somebody.”
Author Mark Kriegel interviewed Dominik Mysterio. Dom said he had issues with Cena that he didn’t know about, but admitted that Cena helped him a lot when he was getting started in WWE. Dom said he didn’t need Cena now and called himself quite possibly the face of WWE.
There was a video showing how mainstream WWE is now.
Rosenberg interviewed Levesque backstage. Levesque admitted the structure of a baseball stadium is difficult to work with, and wrestlers will actually be coming out of the dugout (which sounds cool, actually). He spoke about Cena and said it was surreal seeing the end of his career.
CM Punk interview
Kelley interviewed CM Punk live backstage. She asked him about all the egos in his match and said she noticed him pacing around earlier. Punk knew you would be dealing with egos when you were on top of the mountain.
He was happy to team with a friend, Cody Rhodes. He didn’t see eye to eye with Roman Reigns, but he loved his cousins. It’s everyone across from them who had to worry. Punk was a dangerous man inside a cage. Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar already knew that, and the others would find out tonight.
Roman Reigns interview
Redmond interviewed Reigns (pre-taped). Reigns said he was the young guy ten years ago trying to knock Lesnar off the top, but now the young guys were coming for what he had.
Reigns said his place at the head of the table was cemented, so if Rhodes and Punk wanted to win, they would listen to him. There was a role for everyone on his team, and they should all play it.
********
Tessitore explained the rules of WarGames. Somebody needs to tell Tessitore he doesn’t need to yell into his microphone.
SD Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, who happens to be from the town, spoke to Redmond. He put over Rey Mysterio and John Cena, but intimated that he would be cheering for Dom tonight.
Tessitore loudly introduced Rey Mysterio, who put over Cena, too.
They ran down the top ten Survivor Series moments:
10) End of the Alliance
9) Rhea Ripley getting revenge on Liv Morgan
8) Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles
7) Debuts over the years of Undertaker, The Rock, Kurt Angle, and The Shield (they did their best not to show Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley)
6) Randy Orton returns in 2023
5) Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair title vs. title
4) Mega Powers unite
3) Iyo Sky diving off the top of the cage
2) John Cena & The Rock team vs. R-Truth & The Miz
1) CM Punk returns in 2023
San Diego’s Cassie B sang God Bless America as the pre-show concluded.
**********
SURVIVOR SERIES 2025 MAIN SHOW
Michael Cole welcomed us to Petco Park in San Diego, with an expected sold-out crowd of over 45,000. Cole and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers.
The “superstar arrivals” segment had a sponsor attached to it. Show arriving at Petco: Team Asuka, Team Rhea, Nikki Bella, Stephanie Vaquer, and Dominik Mysterio (wearing a suit).
The intro aired, fireworks went off, and a siren rang as the WarGames cage lowered.
For the fourth year in a row, the women’s WarGames match opens Survivor Series.
Women’s WarGames match: Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, AJ Lee, Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nix Jax, Lash Legend & Becky Lynch
There’s a small stage where wrestlers will enter. Levesque said earlier that they would enter through the dugout, so if it is the dugout, you can’t really see it because screens cover it.
There are no shark cages at the stage to house the wrestlers, unlike in past years. I’m guessing there’s a story there.
Charlotte wore colourful gear inspired by a 7-year-old fan battling DMG, a form of brain cancer. Charlotte greeted the young fan at ringside before heading to the ring.
Charlotte and Asuka started. They wrestled normally for five minutes until Iyo Sky entered to join Charlotte.
Sky entered with a trash can lid with her name on it. Asuka avoided a lid shot, but Sky hit a dropkick anyway. Sky tried a double jump springboard move (off the two ropes closest to each other), but she slipped off the rope, so she hit a shoulder tackle instead. The fans didn’t care and were super into Sky, who nailed Asuka with the lid.
Becky Lynch entered next with a kendo stick and immediately attacked Sky with it. Charlotte got in Lynch’s face, and Lynch tried to play friendly, but they wound up exchanging right hands.
Alexa Bliss joined to give her team the advantage again, and she worked as a team with Charlotte to take down Lynch and Asuka.
The babyfaces stood tall, waiting as Kairi Sane entered next with a metal chain. The heel Sane beat up Charlotte and Bliss by herself while Sky was busy with Asuka.
Sane saved Asuka by hitting Sky in the midsection with the trash can lid. Cole said Sky was almost decapitated from that shot to the midsection.
AJ Lee stormed out next as Lynch tried to keep the door shut to block her from entering. Lee climbed the cage to enter the ring instead. The crowd chanted for her as she wiped out Asuka and Sane with a flying crossbody off the top rope.
Lee tossed Lynch around the ring and into the cage. Lee also fended off Sane until facing off with Asuka. They circled each other as Barrett called it a dream match. We didn’t get to see it because Lynch attacked Lee from behind.
The babyfaces took control again, thanks to having the advantage, as Nia Jax entered next to even the odds. The heel Jax beat up Charlotte and Bliss by herself. She also fended off Sky and Lee. Sky was making her way to the top of the cage, but Jax grabbed her and hit a powerbomb.
The heels stomped the babyfaces until Rhea Ripley entered. Ripley wore a Terrifier-inspired mask (to protect her injured nose) and gear, and she entered with kendo sticks and trash cans. Ripley also got fireworks.
Ripley beat up the heels alone before helping Sky to her feet. Ripley placed Sane in a standing Cloverleaf while Sane was trapped inside a trash can. Sky ran the ropes repeatedly before hitting a running dropkick into the trash can. Jax knocked down Ripley and Sky, but Bliss took down Jax with a DDT.
Lash Legend entered last to even the odds for the heels. The match ‘officially’ began about 32:30 into it. The heel Lash beat up Charlotte and Bliss by herself.
Ripley faced off with Lash, and they exchanged strikes. Lash eventually got the better of their exchange, hitting a powerbomb and big boot for two. Ripley tried a Rip-tide, but Jax intervened.
Lynch gave Lee a Man-handle Slam, but Sky broke up the cover by crunching her with a moonsault. Lash and Jax press-slammed Sky and launched her into her teammates. Sane gave Sky an Asuka-assisted Insane Elbow (called “the Kabuki special”), but Ripley broke up the cover.
Asuka tried misting Ripley, but Charlotte saved Ripley (her old rival), and Lash got misted instead. Ripley and Charlotte gave Jax a double vertical suplex, and Bliss followed with Twisted Bliss. (She did not go for a cover because this was not the planned finish.)
Sky went to the top of the cage and wanted a trash can. Lee was too short to hand it to her, so Ripley hoisted her up, and Sky was able to grab it.
Sky placed the trash can over her body and hit a spectacular senton bomb onto her opponents. (Sky could’ve injured her leg the way she landed, but she appeared fine.)
Lynch was the only heel who avoided the move, but was now alone against the babyfaces. Charlotte brought Lynch down from the cage, Bliss punched her, Ripley hit Rip-tide, and Lee applied Black Widow for the submission win.
Fireworks went off as the babyfaces celebrated together.
Match result: AJ Lee, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka & Kairi Sane (40:51)
This was a pretty ordinary match, WarGames or not. The first 30+ minutes were dull, and it didn’t pick up that match once everyone was in. Sky did some cool stuff as usual, but that was about it.
It really didn’t help that the babyfaces had the advantage all match. I know it’s predictable and maybe tiresome to have the heels with the advantage every single time, but that’s the bed you make when you feel the need to have two of these matches every year.
********
The sun has set in San Diego, so we’re under the lights now at Petco.
Lil Yachty, Adriel Favela, Andy Ruiz, and Jeremiah Estrada (Padres pitcher) were in the crowd.
John Cena’s final PPV match is up next.
********
Cena’s second-last match will be against Dominik Mysterio. Cena first wrestled Rey Mysterio 23 years ago on SmackDown in 2002, when Dom was five years old.
Intercontinental Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/ Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez)
Dom entered first with Rodriguez and Perez. They cut his music so the fans could chant for Cena. (The fans chanted at first, got quiet, then realized they should be chanting still, so they started again before Cena’s music hit.)
Cena entered and embraced fans along the length of the stage before sprinting to the ring. The chants chanted “Thank you, Cena.” Alicia Taylor introduced Cena as the greatest of all time. Chad Patton is the referee.
Very early in the match, Dom distracted Patton while Perez tripped Cena as he came off the ropes. Dom booted Cena in the corner before pulling Patton aside again for Rodriguez to give Cena a cheap shot. Dom hit three amigos for two.
Cena recovered, so Dom scampered outside the ring. Cena went after him, but Dom hid behind Rodriguez and Perez. Dom used their distraction to jump Cena and take over again. Dom bounced Cena’s face off the announce table and the side of the ring.
Dom tried a hurricanrana off the barricade, but like Penta on Raw, Dom landed awkwardly on his shoulder. (Although, unlike Penta, Dom did not successfully hit the move, so it looked like a botch.)
It was all part of the plan, and it led to a great spot. Dom sold his shoulder as medical staff checked on him. With the referee distracted, Rodriguez hit Cena in the ring with a Tejana Bomb, and Perez hit Pop Rox. (Great spot for those two.)
Dom suddenly recovered and bounced in the ring. He hit Cena with a 619 and a frog splash, but Patton refused to count the pin because he figured out what happened. Patton tossed Rodriguez and Perez from ringside.
Cena hit Dom with shoulder tackles, a side slam, and five knuckle shuffle. Dom avoided an AA, but Cena applied an STFU until Dom got a rope break.
Dom unzipped his boot. Cena grabbed him by the boot, but it slipped off, so Dom was able to drop him onto the middle rope to hit a 619 and a frog splash for a nearfall.
Dom took too long to follow up, so Cena planted him with an AA for a nearfall. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”
Cena went for shoulder tackles again, but Dom ducked, and Cena knocked down Patton. Cena applied an STFU, but Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh ran out to attack Cena.
McDonagh went for a moonsault, but Cena got his knees up and dodged Bálor’s Coup de Grace. Cena then hoisted both men on his shoulders and hit an impressive double AA.
Dom grabbed the IC title belt and tried using it as a weapon, but Cena ducked it and hit another AA.
Cena called for a referee, but the returning Liv Morgan ran out instead. Morgan acted happy to see Dom, but then slapped him across the head.
It was another swerve. Morgan hugged Cena before kicking him in the nuts. Morgan hit Cena with the title belt, and Dom hit a 619 and a frog splash for the pinfall win.
Dom and Morgan celebrated together.
Fireworks went off as Dom held Morgan up in one arm, and both his title belts (IC title and AAA Mega title) in the other. That was a great visual.
— Cena soaked in the crowd reaction before leaving up the aisle. He saluted the camera and said, “Thank you so much. That’s all.”
Match result: Dominik Mysterio defeated John Cena to win the Intercontinental Championship (16:49)
This wasn’t exactly a classic match, but it was a fun spectacle and the crowd was into it. At least until Cena lost. Dom is an emerging star, so it was more productive that he won, and he used every trick in the book to do so. I think people will feel better about this result if Cena goes on to win his final match (which he should).
********
Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Nikki Bella
Vaquer wore black and silver and was all business. Bella tried a cheap shot as the bell rang, but Vaquer came right back with a dropkick and proceeded to beat her up. However, Vaquer missed a knee drop on the apron, and Bella took over.
Bella had control as the crowd watched silently, but they woke up momentarily when Bella set up for Devil’s Kiss. Vaquer countered and hit a back suplex. Vaquer went for Devil’s Kiss, but Bella rolled to the apron to the crowd’s dismay.
Vaquer hit headbutts, strikes and a snap suplex for two, and an SVB (backbreaker) for two. Vaquer avoided Bella’s “Rack Attack 2.0” and hit a corner meteora. Bella pulled her down from the ropes and hit a Disaster Kick, followed by the “Rack Attack 2.0” for two after Vaquer got her foot on the rope.
With Bella leaning against the apron, Vaquer hit a knee drop (the one she missed earlier) and hit Devil’s Kiss on top of the reinforced announce table.
(Barrett stated, “You had the best view in the house, Michael Cole,” and Cole responded, “I’m not saying anything.”)
Vaquer slid Bella back in the ring, hit Devil’s Kiss again, and followed with an impressive corkscrew splash for the pinfall win.
Match result: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Nikki Bella to retain the Women’s World Championship (12:23)
A standard match with very little heat. Their positioning on the card didn’t help, but Bella also hasn’t won a match since July. She has one singles win since returning, and that was against Chelsea Green.
********
Gabriel Luna (wearing a Bret Hart t-shirt), Cassie B, Jesús Ortiz Paz, and Danielle Fishel (wearing a Vader t-shirt) were in the crowd. Fishel got the biggest pop of any celebrity.
They announced a crowd of 46,016, a record for Survivor Series.
(If you watch these PLEs on the Netflix international feed, there are long stretches of what seems like awkward silence. It’s happening because on the international feed, the announcers are muted while they do ad reads, and because there are so many damn ads, there is a lot of random silence.)
********
About 20 minutes elapsed between the end of the last match and the start of this one. Almost 25 minutes if you go bell to bell.
Men’s WarGames match: WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
CM Punk and Bron Breakker started. As AJ Lee did earlier, Punk entered by climbing the cage.
They wrestled back and forth for five minutes until Drew McIntyre entered. (Breakker had the early edge, but Punk took over in time for McIntyre to enter.)
Punk and McIntyre traded fists before Punk fought off both men, but McIntyre dropped him with a Claymore Kick. A handful of fans gasped when McIntyre rubbed Punk’s face against the steel cage (as if he was getting jabbed by a fork).
Punk emerged bleeding from the forehead moments later, and Cole said he wasn’t sure how that happened. It was obviously his face being rubbed against metal.
The crowd was quiet as the heels worked over Punk until Cody Rhodes entered. They literally repeated a spot from the women’s match. McIntyre held the door shut so Rhodes couldn’t enter, so Rhodes climbed the cage and hit McIntyre with a flying crossbody. (Off the top of the cage, instead of the top rope.) The crowd got more into it after that.
Punk walked up behind Rhodes, but Rhodes clocked him with a back elbow, not realizing who it was. Punk and Rhodes got on the same page and gave McIntyre a Hart Attack.
They also gave Breakker a Doomsday Device, and he landed right on the back of his head and neck. That looked brutal, and Barrett freaked out. (The camera didn’t focus on it, but doctors checked on Breakker and he continued the match.)
Logan Paul entered next and brought steel chairs into the ring. He helped his team gain the advantage until Jimmy Uso entered next, bringing a table into the ring with him. Jimmy shined for a moment until McIntyre cut him off with a Claymore.
The heels maintained control as Bronson Reed entered next. Reed planted Punk, Jimmy, and Rhodes with Tsunamis. Jimmy fired back later with superkicks, but Reed dropped him with a body block.
The babyfaces still have two guys left, but everyone knew it was Jey Uso’s turn next. They Yeeted as the timer counted down, and Jey entered. Jey handed out superkicks, helped Jimmy to his feet, and they handed out superkicks before giving Logan a 1-D.
Jey called for an encore, so they played his music again mid-match as he posed atop the cage. (This felt out of place for a match that’s meant to have a lot of heat.)
Jey’s music was cut off by Brock Lesnar’s. He entered with Paul Heyman. Cole said this was the first time since 2004 that Lesnar wrestled in a match with any teammates.
Lesnar handed out suplexes and F5s to Punk, Rhodes, Jimmy and Jey.
Roman Reigns entered last. He took his time getting to the ring as fireworks went off. Lesnar was anxious, so he left the ring to greet Reigns in the aisle. (They said you would forfeit the match if someone leaves the ring, but that didn’t count here because it hadn’t officially started.)
Reigns attacked Lesnar with Superman punches, but Lesnar ducked one and put him through the announce table with an F5.
Lesnar brought Reigns into the ring and hit another F5, but Rhodes broke up the cover. Punk gave Lesnar a GTS, and Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes, but Logan broke up the cover with a frog splash.
Heyman handed Logan brass knuckles (which he could’ve just brought in himself if he wanted). Logan knocked out Punk and Jimmy, but Reigns dropped him with a spear.
Reigns put on the brass knuckles and used them on Reed and McIntyre. Breakker faced off with Reigns, but Reigns speared him.
Lesnar got Jey up in F5 position, but Reigns speared him, sending both men through a corner table. Breakker speared Jey and Rhodes. Punk fended off Breakker and gave Logan a GTS, but Breakker broke up the cover.
A mystery man wearing all black (including a black hood and face mask) climbed the cage and attacked Punk with a superkick. The masked man also hit a curb stomp, and the crowd popped. Barrett said it couldn’t have been Seth Rollins, given his recent shoulder injury.
The masked man quickly left, and Breakker speared Punk for the pinfall win.
The heels posed together in the aisle as fireworks went off. (Lesnar had a huge smile on his face.)
— The camera focused on the dejected babyfaces in the ring. Reigns saw Punk and Rhodes on the mat, so he helped Punk to his feet. Punk was on the same page as Reigns, and they bumped fists.
It seemed like Reigns considered helping Rhodes, but Rhodes got to his feet on his own. They got into each other’s faces, and Reigns walked away without a peace offering.
Reigns looked back at Rhodes and told him this was the last time they would team together, and that was that. (Punk began to leave, too, and the final shot was of him looking back at Rhodes. They didn’t show it, but that left Rhodes in the other ring alone.)
Match result: Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre & Brock Lesnar defeated CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso (39:24)
While it was a bit more entertaining than the women’s one, this was still a fairly standard match, and it felt pretty pointless inside WarGames. There’s a certain routine with these matches that’s difficult to shake, especially when it’s a lot of the same talent every year (for the women and men). They may want to bench this concept for a while until they have a good reason to use it.
It’s telling that a show with two WarGames matches (and John Cena’s second-last match) wound up being quite dull. They’ve long been resting on their hot streak when putting these shows together, and it’s about time they snap out of it.
