Survivor Series 2023 was a record-breaking success for WWE.
The event took place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday night and featured two WarGames matches. The show ended with CM Punk making his surprise return to WWE after nearly a decade away.
On Tuesday, WWE issued a press release announcing that this was the highest viewership, largest gate, and best merchandise sales in the history of Survivor Series.
“Viewership for Survivor Series was up 44 percent versus the previous record set in 2022. With 17,138 in attendance, the event broke the previous Survivor Series gate record set in Brooklyn in 2021,” WWE wrote.
“In partnership with Fanatics, Survivor Series broke the premium live event’s all-time merchandise record. Sponsorship revenue was up 24 percent versus 2022.”
WWE also stated that Punk’s return was the most social post in company history, generating more than 71 million views across all of WWE’s social media platforms.
This was the second straight year that WarGames was the theme of Survivor Series. The men’s WarGames match saw Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn & the returning Randy Orton defeat Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Drew McIntyre.
In the women’s WarGames match, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi & Becky Lynch defeated Bayley, IYO SKY, Kairi Sane & Asuka.
There was a WWE show on Saturday, but no one will remember much aside from the final few minutes.
Yes, after weeks of speculation and despite all the reports indicating that WWE didn’t have any interest in bringing CM Punk back, guess what happened? CM Punk came back, much to the joy of the Chicago crowd and the many people on social media who now feel vindicated against the reporters who they knew, deep in their hearts, were just plain wrong. It was a genuinely surprising moment in an era where those kinds of surprises are few and far between, though I guess for the true believers, Punk’s return wasn’t a shock.
So what happens now, does Punk go to Raw? SmackDown? What’s the WrestleMania plan? Who is his first opponent? We’ll probably find out sooner than later, but at the very least, it’s an interesting wrinkle in the current dynamics of pro wrestling where WWE right now feels like the hotter product than AEW who, perception-wise, feels lacking in terms of storytelling. A lot about pro wrestling is momentum, and it’s clear which promotion has that right now.
Punk’s return followed the men’s WarGames match, which had a very simple formula: make everyone wait for Randy Orton’s return. Of course, as soon as everyone entered the ring, all the heels beat up the babyfaces and started to pose when….Rhea Ripley came out with Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank contract. It was only then that Orton’s music hit, leading to a very jacked Orton to come out and do all of his trademark spots. A big RKO to JD McDonagh off the steel cage and a crossroads to Damian Priest later by Cody Rhodes, and that was the match.
These WarGames bouts don’t have the intensity of the ones back in the NWA/WCW days, and I wish there wasn’t such an urgency to use the same weapons you see in just about every WWE hardcore match. But this crowd was hot for everything in this match, so you can’t say this match didn’t work. If anything, it was a huge success.
And now, on to the rest of the card:
The Women’s WarGames match was also very relatively simple, with the heels controlling until the babyfaces mounted their comeback, did cool stuff (Charlotte with a moonsault off the cage! Becky Lynch putting Bayley through a table!) and got the win. Very good way to start the show, and a bad omen for Bayley, who took the pin. The split is coming, but the question is when. That trash can spot IYO SKY did, by the way, was nuts.
One of the biggest problems that I had with The Miz and Gunther was that they booked this like a competitive match. Miz even kicked out of the powerbomb finish. To that, I say, no. Not that I thought this would be a squash, or Miz would get zero offense in, but I had a vision for this match and they had a completly different match that I found hard to believe. I cannot buy that THE MIZ would have a competitive match with Gunther, sorry. To be fair, out of context wasn’t a bad match particularly due to the crowd, who ate up all of Miz’s nearfalls towards the end.
Santos Escobar defeated Dragon Lee in what I thought was a good match, particularly toward the end. I thought the finish was flat, with Escobar hitting the phantom driver in the middle for the win. Not sure why you’d have Dragon Lee lose after being highlighting him the last few weeks on SmackDown. It is true that the big program in the future is Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar, so it’s not like Escobar should have lost here either. But then the question is, why did they replace Carlito with Lee at the last minute?
Rhea Ripley defeated Zoey Stark. That’s about it. This was good while it lasted, but I thought they didn’t get enough time for it to be anything of substance. I think one of the problems with this match is that no one thought Stark would win, and unlike the Intercontinental title match where people bought into Miz’s nearfalls, they didn’t here. With Ripley, it’s just a holding pattern until they want to do the Nia Jax match and, presumably, the Becky Lynch match.
And that’s Survivor Series! It was a two match show, and the two matches delivered, so it’s an easy thumbs up show. There’s actually no PLE next month, so the next WWE review will be 9 weeks away for the Royal Rumble!
At the Survivor Series press conference on Saturday, Triple H said that the deal to bring Punk back to WWE happened ‘super quick’, saying that by the time people stopped speculating on his return, that was when everything came together.
“This came together super quick,” he said “There was a lot of speculation, it really didn’t come into fruition until everybody stopped thinking it was going to hpapen, then all of a sudden, it was happening.”
“Love him, hate him, positive, negative, people talk about him all the time,” he also said. “He’s a magnet for that. He’s a conversation starter, and it’s hard to look past that. If our fans want it, if the WWE Universe is excited to have it, let’s go.”
Triple H also said that both he and Punk were different people, alluding to Punk’s departure from WWE in 2014 that ended on bad terms.
“I’m a different person. He’s a different person. It’s a different company, we’re all on the same even starting ground,” he said.
When a reporter asked who pushed for Punk’s return to the company, Triple H said that the only people who knew about Punk’s return was himself and WWE president Nick Khan.
Here are other notes from Saturday’s press conference that took place shortly after Survivor Series ended:
Triple H said Saturday’s event was highest grossing Survivor Series in history, with sponsorship up 25 percent. It is also the highest grossing event at the Allstate Arena aside from WrestleMania 22.
One reporter asked about Giulia possibly coming in. Triple H sidestepped the question, saying they were looking to recruit “globally”.
Regarding Jade Cargill, Triple H said he had no less belief in her than when she came in. He said that they wanted to make sure that no matter what is thrown at Cargill, she’ll be ready, and there’s no rush to bring her in. He also mentioned that, through no fault of her own, she was “limited” in her development prior to WWE.
When asked about Jon Moxley’s recent comments about concussions, Triple H said “I don’t know what he went through or his situation.” He would put WWE’s medical protocol against anyone’s, mentioning a recent situation where a Rey Mysterio match was stopped due to Mysterio suffering a possible concussion.
When Cody Rhodes was asked about CM Punk’s return, he said that if Punk can help with where WWE is going and what they’re doing, then he is welcome aboard. He said that it was “the best” when someone is “hungry”, and he feels this CM Punk is hungry.
With the returning Randy Orton on their side, the babyfaces were victorious in the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.
Orton, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins & Sami Zayn defeated Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) & Drew McIntyre in the main event of Saturday night’s show. Rhodes scored the pinfall on Priest after hitting Cross Rhodes.
There was a show-long storyline where the WarGames participants questioned whether Orton would show up. He didn’t arrive until it was his turn to enter WarGames as the final participant. When Orton finally appeared, he thwarted a potential Money in the Bank cash-in by Priest. Priest still holds the briefcase since he never officially cashed in on Rollins.
This was Orton’s first time wrestling since May 2022. He underwent double fusion surgery last year as he battled a career-threatening back injury.
Orton was feuding with The Usos prior to being forced out of action. There was some dissension between him and Jey teased in the WarGames match, but they ultimately worked together to get the win.
Before the finish of the match, Orton delivered a super RKO to McDonagh after Rollins and Zayn threw McDonagh off the top of the cage. Orton then handed Priest to Rhodes so that Rhodes could hit Cross Rhodes.
Team Bianca claimed victory inside WarGames at Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series event.
The team of Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Shotzi defeated the Damage CTRL foursome of IYO SKY, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Bayley to win the women’s WarGames match to kick off Survivor Series after Lynch pinned Bayley after a Manhandle Slam off the ropes through a table.
Belair’s team began the bout with the order of entry advantage following a fan vote in a poll sponsored by Ruffles decided that factor. The match featured many of the expected weapons spots, including IYO SKY reprising her trademark blind crossbody off the top of the cage with a trashcan placed over her body.
Other key moments in the bout included Belair hitting a double superplex on SKY and Bayley as the Damage CTRL duo tried to hold her by her braided hair, Sane hitting her Insane Elbow, Lynch hitting a legdrop off the top through a table, plus Belair spraying Asuka with a fire extinguisher.
Flair and Lynch also embraced in the ring to a big crowd reaction, settling their years-long storyline beef that hit its apex at Survivor Series two years ago with a singles match.
At Survivor Series, a WWE veteran appeared for the first time in more than a year.
R-Truth returned to WWE programming by taking part in a backstage comedy segment at Saturday’s event. The segment was sponsored by Ruffles and also included Alpha Academy, Pretty Deadly, Chelsea Green, and Piper Niven.
The 51-year-old Truth (Ron Killings) had been away from WWE since suffering a torn quad in November 2022. During an NXT match against Grayson Waller, Truth suffered the injury when he didn’t fully clear the top rope on a dive attempt and landed badly on his left leg. The match ended in a referee stoppage after Truth got hurt.
Truth underwent surgery to repair the quad injury. In January of this year, Truth gave an update on his condition and said he underwent a second surgery due to an infection.
“I’m going back to WWE. I just got to heal up. I had to have two surgeries — a lot of people don’t know that,” Truth said. “I caught an infection so I had to have another surgery.”
Truth was a 53-time WWE 24/7 Champion when that title was in existence.
Former WWE co-CEO and chairwoman Stephanie McMahon is reportedly backstage at Survivor Series.
Fightful reports that Stephanie is backstage at Saturday night’s premium live event, but she isn’t working at the show. Fightful notes that Stephanie is “said to be hanging out and visiting, as opposed to being there in a work capacity.”
Survivor Series is being held at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
This January, Stephanie resigned from her position with WWE. Stephanie’s decision to resign from the company coincided with her father Vince McMahon forcing himself back into power as WWE’s executive chairman.
Stephanie had shared the CEO role with Nick Khan following Vince McMahon’s retirement in July 2022. Khan’s current job title is president of WWE.
“I look forward to cheering on WWE from the other side of the business, where I started when I was a little kid, as a pure fan,” Stephanie said when she resigned. “I will always remain dedicated to WWE. I truly love our company, our Superstars, our fans, and our employees.”
Stephanie was also backstage at WrestleMania 39 earlier this year.
Date: November 25, 2023 Location: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL
The Big Takeaway —
CM Punk is back.
Show recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW —
The preshow panel was hosted by Kayla Braxton, Jackie Redmond, Booker T, Wade Barrett and Peter Rosenberg. Braxton noted how chilly it was because, in fact, they were hosting outside the arena. Redmond wasn’t bothered by the cold because she’s Canadian. (I’m guessing they were placed outdoors in part to free up as many seats in the arena as possible.)
They ran down the card including the return of Randy Orton.
There were some CM Punk chants but it didn’t last long as fans are filing into the arena.
Among the things Booker has said so far: You can always trust a snake and Bayley is like Tom Brady.
********
Byron Saxton interviewed Santos Escobar and asked about his attacks on Rey Mysterio and Carlito. Escobar said “attack” was too small a word. He delivered justice. Justice for all the time he spent in Mysterio’s shadow. They called themselves mentors but they were really gatekeepers and he showed the world that their time was up.
Dragon Lee was the next chapter in the same old story. Dragon Lee had spirit but spirit didn’t win fights. Escobar could do whatever it took and Dragon Lee made the biggest mistake of his career by challenging him. Dragon Lee would be an example of what happens when you turn your back on Santos Escobar.
********
Thanks to a fan vote, the team of Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair and Shotzi will have the advantage in their WarGames match.
There was a video package for Roman Reigns, who is not on tonight’s show.
********
SURVIVOR SERIES: WARGAMES 2023 MAIN SHOW —
As you may have seen on Smackdown, the lack of a big stage makes it look like there are a ton of people in the building. It appears most people are in as the show kicks off.
They lowered the cage as fire pyro went off. Michael Cole and Corey Graves are on commentary.
If you didn’t see it on the preshow, the babyfaces will have the advantage in the Women’s WarGames match.
Team Damage CTRL all entered wearing masks. Becky Lynch and Bayley started for their teams. (Graves made a reference to the Four Horsewomen as Bayley entered.)
Bayley suplexed Lynch onto the metal plate between the two rings but Lynch suplexed Bayley into the cage and and applied a Disarmer. Dakota Kai showed up at ringside and hit Lynch with a kendo stick to break it up. She handed the kendo stick to Bayley who used it on Lynch. The crowd chanted for tables less than five minutes into the match.
Shotzi entered next and the crowd cheered as she looked under the ring but they booed because she didn’t grab a table but instead shoved chairs and a trash can into the ring. Bayley tried to escape the cage (which the announcers noted would be a forfeit) but Shotzi and Lynch brought her down.
Iyo Sky entered next. Cole noted this was her fifth WarGames match which was the most in history. The crowd cheered for a moment as she also looked under the ring but she brought out a steel chain, not a table. Sky wiped out her opponents with a springboard double dropkick before Sky and Bayley hit Lynch with a double superplex.
Bianca Belair entered next. She had her hair in two braids instead of one. She didn’t bring a weapon into the ring and used her braids instead. Bayley and Sky tried to yank Belair off the top by her braids but she did a backflip and hit them with a double superplex. That was a cool spot.
Kairi Sane entered next. The crowd chanted for tables. Sane grabbed a trash can lid instead and nodded at the crowd. Even though the babyfaces were in control and had the numbers advantage, Sane was able to take them down one at a time. Damage CTRL buried Shotzi under some chairs. Sky launched Sane into the air and she hit an elbow drop on Shotzi. Belair press slammed Sane into her partners. Damage CTRL regained the advantage by using the chairs.
Charlotte Flair entered next and she handed out chops. She didn’t even look under the ring. Charlotte slammed Sky into the cage and Sky slid down and landed awkwardly on her tailbone. Charlotte also hit Sane and Bayley with a double Natural Selection/blockbuster off the top. Lynch and Charlotte faced off and Damage CTRL used the distraction to attack them.
Sky went to the top of the cage and dropped one end of the chain down to Kai who tied it to a trash can. Sky pulled the trash can up and placed it on top of the cage. Sky stood up on top of the cage as my hands began sweating. Sky placed the trash can over her body and did a flying crossbody onto everyone while in the lid. The crowd chanted “Holy shit.” Indeed.
Asuka entered last with everyone down. The crowd cheered as she went under the ring but she pulled out two kendo sticks. The crowd booed. Asuka did pull out a table next and the crowd cheered. She also grabbed a fire extinguisher.
Damage CTRL chained Lynch and Belair together and all four team members dropkicked them simultaneously. Asuka blew mist in Shotzi’s face and hit a missile dropkick on Lynch, who was inside the trash can, for two. Lynch and Belair powerbombed two opponents out of the corner.
Charlotte went to the top of the cage and hit a moonsault on all four members of Damage CTRL. Iyo Sky caught the worst of this as Charlotte, predictably, didn’t exactly land gracefully. Charlotte covered Bayley for two.
Charlotte and Lynch did a double-team move and they did a big hug. Lynch really played it up as a big moment. They got attacked from behind again but each managed to apply their submissions. Sane tried an elbow drop but Lynch countered into a Disarmer. Bayley broke that up with a knee strike. Belair put Asuka on her shoulders and Shotzi hit a nice missile dropkick but Bayley broke up the cover.
They traded some moves before Belair sprayed the fire extinguisher in Asuka’s face. Sane killed Shotzi with a trash can lid. Charlotte went to spear Sane but Bayley took the bullet and ate the spear. Shotzi hit Bayley with a senton and Bayley hit her with KOD.
Belair handed Bayley to Lynch who put her through a table with a Man-handle Slam off the ropes for the pinfall win.
Lynch, Belair, Charlotte and Shotzi celebrated together. Cole put over Lynch and Charlotte finally being back on the same page together.
(This was a perfectly fine/good WarGames match but the highlight by far was Iyo’s blind dive off the cage. The crowd enjoyed it.)
********
Jey Uso met with Sami Zayn in the back. Zayn warned Jey that Randy Orton wasn’t there yet. Jey wasn’t surprised. He wondered why Orton would show up after what they did to him. (This led to CM Punk chants.) Zayn said they would take care of this together no matter what happens.
********
Cole said that if Miz won, he would tie Chris Jericho for most Intercontinental title reigns ever. He also said that Gunther has been champion for 533 days and if you add up all of Miz’s eight title reigns, it amounts to 592 days. (Cole also mentioned Edge later on the list of great former IC champions.)
Gunther defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship (12:21)
They gave Miz a lot but Gunther won by submission.
Miz chopped Gunther which just irritated him. Gunther dropped Miz with a chop. Miz fought back but his strikes didn’t have much of an effect. However, Miz tripped Gunther while outside the ring and drove his leg onto the edge of the ring. Miz also applied the Bret Hart figure four around the ring post. Miz tried a springboard move but Gunther booted him out of the air.
Gunther took over from there and kept cutting off Miz’s offence. Gunther gloated to the crowd who booed. Miz managed to fight back, again targeting the leg with unconvincing strikes. Gunther sold big for him anyway. Miz continued to use kicks, this time to Gunther’s chest to bring him down. Miz followed with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two.
Gunther countered a Skull Crushing Finale and hit a dropkick and powerbomb for two. Gunther applied a sleeper as Miz accidentally-on-purpose yanked the turnbuckle cover off.
Miz kicked Gunther in the nuts as the referee fixed the turnbuckle cover and followed with Skull Crushing Finale for a nearfall. I guess the ref didn’t fix the turnbuckle because Miz drove Gunther into it and applied a cradle for another nearfall. (The crowd bought a potential title change.)
Gunther clotheslined Miz, splashed his back, and applied a Boston Crab. Gunther transitioned the crab into a Liontamer and Miz tapped out.
(Cole mentioned Jericho earlier, and they compared a few of Miz’s spots to Bret Hart, but they did not mention Jericho when Gunther used the Liontamer.)
********
There was a credit card ad with Jey Uso and Liv Morgan.
The male members of Judgment Day met in the back. Dominik Mysterio heard that Orton wouldn’t be there. Finn Bálor said they were good either way. Either Orotn wouldn’t be there, or he would show up and poison his team from the inside. Damian Priest left to let Drew McIntyre know what was going on.
********
Cole mentioned some notable wrestlers who made their WWE debut at Survivor Series including Kurt Angle, The Rock, Undertaker, The Shield, and Sting.
Santos Escobar defeated Dragon Lee (8:19)
Escobar was in control from the get-go but Dragon Lee leaped over the top and brought Escobar down with a hurricanrana to the outside. Dragon Lee followed with a flip dive and the crowd chanted for him. Lee went to the top but Escobar met him and brought him down with a hurricanrana for two.
A frustrated Escobar aggressively ripped at the mask of Dragon Lee and the crowd chanted “assh*le.” (Denise Salcedo on Twitter said they were chanting “culero” and I will take her word for it.)
Dragon Lee came back later with a double foot stomp off the top for two. Escobar dropped him with a superkick. They traded knee strikes before Dragon Lee showed off his strength and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two.
Dragon Lee went for something but Escobar countered into a Canadian Destroyer and Phantom Driver for the abrupt pinfall win.
This was good for the time they had but this and the Gunther matches felt like TV matches.
*******
LA Knight was in a Slim Jim commercial.
Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston arrived at the arena in a Slim Jim car. They honked their horn to the New Day chant and the crowd sang along. Woods and Kingston were happy to have Slim Jims.
********
Rhea Ripley defeated Zoey Stark to retain the Women’s World Championship (9:15)
By the end of the match, Cole made it seem like Stark put up a hell of a fight but that’s not how it came across at all. Ripley dominated and Stark got some offence but everybody liked Ripley and Stark didn’t get even as much as Miz got against Gunther.
There was an odd spot where it looked like maybe Ripley was going to chokeslam Stark off the top and Stark tried to land on her feet but she didn’t. WWE crowds are patient these days so they let this go.
While Ripley was on offence, Stark dared Ripley to hit her because she’s tough. Ripley did, but Stark countered the Rip-tide into a German suplex. Ripley countered a Z360 and hit a headbutt. She followed with Rip-tide for the pinfall win. Another TV match.
(The crowd really likes Ripley but her matches lately have no heat at all.)
********
Cody Rhodes approached Seth Rollins, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn in the back. They were annoyed that Orton wasn’t there. Rhodes assured them that he’d be there. Rollins and Jey weren’t so sure. Zayn seemed to trust Rhodes.
WarGames Match: Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Drew McIntyre (34:07)
Priest and McIntyre stared each other down for a long time before the match as Bálor entered to start for his team. Rollins started for his team. Orton wasn’t there so they started without him. Some fans chanted for CM Punk and some other fans booed.
The crowd sang Rollins’ song as he entered. He played it up like usual but then suddenly attacked Bálor to start the match because Bálor wasn’t expecting it.
Rollins had the advantage over Bálor until the “tenacious Irish ace” JD McDonagh entered next to team up with Bálor. They attacked Rollins with kendo sticks. The chants for tables have been replaced with chants for CM Punk. (Admittedly, not as loud.)
Jey Uso entered next and the crowd woke up because they got to say “Yeet” as he hit strikes. Jey was doing well until McDonagh hit him with a standing Spanish Fly. Rollins and Jey worked together to regain the advantage.
The next member of team Judgment Day was up next. It seemed like it would be McIntyre but Priest, the leader for tonight, said it would be him instead. Rollins and Jey fought off the numbers advantage momentarily but Priest used a metal baton to get the advantage for his team.
A relatively small group of fans keep trying to get CM Punk chants going but it isn’t carrying. (It seems like the crowd is just waiting for Orton, or whoever, to enter.)
Sami Zayn entered next. McDonagh tried to attack with a kendo stick but Zayn grabbed it and used it on him instead. Zayn slammed the door on Bálor’s face too. Zayn woke up the crowd for a second time by grabbing a table. The crowd chanted “Thank you, Sami.” Zayn grabbed a conveniently placed pipe from the cage and used it as a weapon on Judgment Day.
McIntyre entered next. He suplexed Zayn and Rollins before turning his attention to Jey. Jey fought him off for a moment before McIntyre hit a neckbreaker. Jey and Zayn teamed up to give McIntyre a 1D.
Cody Rhodes entered next. Cole talked about Dusty Rhodes inventing WarGames. Rhodes hit a few moves before grabbing a bull rope. Rollins grabbed the other end and they used it as a weapon together. (Dominik was alone in a cage so the crowd chanted “Dom, you suck.”)
Dom entered to a chorus of boos. Dom used some Miz-level strikes before suplexing Rhodes. He tried three amigos but was surrounded by the babyfaces. They put the boots to him and set up a table. They were going to put him through a table but the rest of Judgment Day saved him.
There were chants for “Randy” followed by chants for “CM Punk” Judgment Day and McIntyre each took turns hitting big moves on the good guys.
Time counted down to the final member of team Rhodes. Nobody entered.
However, Rhea Ripley entered with the briefcase. They planned to cash in but… Randy Orton entered. Orton was in terrific shape.
Orton clotheslined Dom and hit a powerslam. He also powerslammed McDonagh. The crowd chanted for Orton as he gave Bálor a draping DDT. Orton and McIntyre faced off but their encounter was quickly cut off when Priest attacked Orton from behind.
The babyfaces jumped in to save Orton which led to a spot where all the good guys hit draping DDTs to members of Judgment Day. Orton set up for an RKO but seemed to draw his attention to Jey Uso. Orton was letting Jey know he didn’t forget what happened.
Priest was about to attack Orton but Jey saved him with a superkick. This led to the babyfaces each hitting their finishers. McDonagh was the last man up and tried to escape the cage but was stopped by Zayn and Rollins.
Zayn and Rollins chucked McDonagh off the cage and Orton planted him with an RKO. Orton shoved Priest into Rhodes who hit Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win.
— The good guys posed together as the show ended.
Nope, the show didn’t end. CM Punk entered. He’s back. Crowd went nuts.
The end of Monday’s Raw saw Drew McIntyre win the WarGames advantage from Jey Uso. McIntyre announced himself as part of the Bloodline’s team at Survivor Series earlier in the night as their fifth member. Cody Rhodes and the rest of Uso’s team came to the ring with chairs for the save. Rhodes revealed that he has a “legacy” with the fifth man on their team. After mentioning phrases like “prey” and “apex predator”, Rhodes said the crowd (who were chanting for Orton) weren’t hearing voices in their head, they were right.
WWE on X then confirmed Orton as the fifth participant on Rhodes’ team:
Orton has been out of action since May of 2022 with a back injury that required fusion surgery on his lower back. Back in September, Orton was seen training at the WWE Performance Center, and it was reported last month that he was expected to return by Survivor Series.
Here is the updated card for WWE Survivor Series:
WWE Survivor Series, Saturday, November 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Men’s WarGames match: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) & Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes, and Randy Orton
At WWE Survivor Series this weekend, Gunther and The Miz will face off for the first time ever.
Gunther is defending his Intercontinental title against Miz at Saturday’s premium live event in Rosemont, Illinois. In advance of the match, Gunther was interviewed by Sports Illustrated. Gunther said he’s looking forward to sharing the ring with Miz.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to being in the ring with one of the top stars of the past 10 years,” Gunther said. “I’m looking forward to proving myself against him.”
Gunther admitted that it will be a clash of styles when they face off, with Miz representing the more traditional WWE sports entertainment style.
“I’m not a typical WWE guy,” Gunther said. “I established and developed myself far away from WWE. Miz is different. He went through the WWE system, and he’s living proof of how effective the system is. He’s one of the most decorated wrestlers they’ve ever had. So it will be a clash of styles.”
While the matchup will be a styles clash, Gunther added that Miz will also need to bring out a different side of himself at Survivor Series.
“It’s great when I hear, ’Here’s your match, make it exciting.’ I do a lot of my storytelling in the ring. That’s what makes it stand out, and that’s what you’ll see at Survivor Series,” Gunther said. “Miz’s rah-rah stuff that he usually does, that won’t work against me. He’s going [to] need to bring out a different side to wrestle me.”
Miz became the number one contender to the Intercontinental title by defeating Bronson Reed, Ivar, and Ricochet in a fatal four-way match on Raw two weeks ago. Last Monday, Miz defeated Ivar in a singles match.
Gunther has now been Intercontinental Champion for more than 500 days. His reign began when he defeated Ricochet on SmackDown in June 2022.
Though Gunther currently isn’t able to wrestle outside of the United States, Gunther told Sports Illustrated that he should be in action at WWE’s Bash in Berlin premium live event in Germany in August 2024.
“I’m applying for my green card,” Gunther said. “During that process, you can’t leave the process for a little bit. But the PLE is in August. It should be over by then.”
Former allies will square off at WWE Survivor Series.
After turning on Rey Mysterio and the LWO on last week’s SmackDown, Santos Escobar will take on the LWO’s Carlito at Survivor Series on Saturday, November 25.
The match was made official during this week’s SmackDown following a promo segment where Escobar explained his reasoning for attacking Mysterio, then laid out Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro of the LWO. Carlito attempted to make the save, but Escobar escaped through the audience.
Five matches are now set for Survivor Series, including a pair of WarGames bouts, an Intercontinental title match, plus a Women’s World title defense.
The Survivor Series lineup:
WWE Survivor Series, Saturday, November 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Men’s WarGames match: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso & Cody Rhodes
The women’s WarGames match is official for WWE Survivor Series and the teams are set.
A week after Asuka turned on Bianca Belair, Shotzi, & Charlotte Flair on SmackDown, Asuka officially joined Damage CTRL on this week’s SmackDown and the gauntlet was thrown down for a WarGames match at Survivor Series with Asuka, IYO SKY, Bayley, & Kairi Sane on one team. Belair, Flair, & Shotzi would make up the other team, and a show-long storyline commenced on SmackDown with Damage CTRL attacking potential partners backstage.
In the show-closing angle, Becky Lynch made a surprise appearance to join the Belair, Flair, & Shotzi team, and the match was officially announced for next Saturday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
WWE later announced that a fan vote will determine which team in the women’s WarGames bout will have the order of entry advantage as part of a sponsorship deal with Ruffles:
The men’s WarGames match has been announced for Survivor Series.
Adam Pearce announced it would be The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio) and JD McDonagh vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Cody Rhodes in a WarGames match at Survivor Series, which takes place on November 25.
The end of Monday’s Raw saw Seth Rollins defeat Sami Zayn to retain the World Heavyweight title. The two shook hands, but The Judgment Day soon came out and started their attack. Uso and Rhodes then came out for the save. Adam Pearce sent out security and said he had enough of the games, setting up the WarGames match.
Rollins, Zayn, Uso, and Rhodes all have a history with The Judgment Day, with Balor and Priest defeating Uso and Rhodes to win back the WWE Tag Team titles on a recent episode of Raw. A rematch between the two teams is set for next week’s Raw.
Here is the updated lineup for WWE Survivor Series:
Men’s WarGames match: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio) and JD McDonagh vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Cody Rhodes
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Zoey Stark
WWE Intercontinental title: Gunther defends against The Miz
The Intercontinental Championship will be defended at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames.
The Miz won a four-way number one contender’s match on Monday’s Raw to earn a shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental title at Survivor Series: WarGames set for Saturday, November 25.
Miz pinned “Big” Bronson Reed after Reed missed a Tsunami in a four-way also involving Ivar & Ricochet to earn the title shot at Survivor Series. Ivar had Ricochet pinned simultaneously, but Ricochet kicked out at two while Miz held on to his cover on Reed to cement the win.
Ivar attacked Miz after the match and a bout between the two is set for next Monday’s Raw.
Zoey Stark won a number one contender’s battle royal on Raw to earn a shot at Rhea Ripley’s Women’s World Championship at Survivor Series and the first two bouts are now official for the event.
The current lineup:
WWE Survivor Series: WarGames, Saturday, November 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against The Miz
Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Zoey Stark
