Survivor Series: WarGames Review

Saturday night, we had Survivor Series: WarGames in Vancouver. It was a good show, with some hiccups and issues, but overall, it ended up being another solid event for WWE. So, let’s get right to my review and ratings for the matches and show overall performance (Basic system: 1 to 5, with one being bad and five being excellent). We start with the Women’s War Games match.

Women’s WarGames Match
This obsession with weapons in these war game matches is the worst thing to happen to this match because everybody doesn’t need to look for weapons before entering! I say this every year, but the women’s war games match needs to be a traditional Survivor Series match, which does not insult the women in the match.

Bianca’s use of the braid is timeless for me. I wonder why Nia Jax was messy throughout the match, and Liv’s use of the baseball bat was laughable. I’m for an all-equal presentation, but unfortunately, some things don’t work. Tiffany Stratton and Iyo Sky were probably the MVPs of the match, and I wouldn’t mind that match-up down the road, but the synchronized moonsault and Swanton bomb were a little AEW-ish. I hate to say that, but where was I lying with that statement?

With the super riptide through the table, Ripley was ideal for the win despite some fans’ disapproval.  Sadly, the match had dead moments throughout the night because the Vancouver crowd was not the most exciting. However, it may be time to make the WarGames match just for the men and bring a little nostalgia back with the traditional Survivor Series team match for the women’s roster because this match often makes them and their talent look bad, which is unfair. I am sure I sound sexist, which I am not. But as a fan, it doesn’t deliver match-wise for some reason.

RHR Rating: 1.5 out of 5

United States Championship
Nakamura’s new entrance was awesome. I know it’s not what it once was, but he has something left in the tank. LA Knight is ready for the main event scene regardless of what happens tonight. The match was okay, and I was surprised that Shinsuke won in the fashion he did. Hopefully, Nakamura winning the US title means they have something planned for him while finally moving LA Knight to the WWE Undisputed championship scene.

RHR Rating: 3 out of 5

Intercontinental Championship
I will be a broken record again here, but Bron Breakker is a straight superstar. How can anyone deny that at this point? Ludwig Kaiser certainly has the potential to be a champion. I have nothing against Sheamus but wish it were Breakker and Kaiser one-on-one. Sheamus is a fan favorite. Everything Breakker does is must-see stuff with his explosiveness. Every time Sheamus came close, the place went wild. Breakker’s spear to Kaiser was incredible! Breakker retaining was another surprise. Tonight’s predictions could be better, with only two matches left.

RHR Rating: 3.5 out of 5

World Heavyweight Championship
I was not too thrilled with where this match was placed. It was just a no-win situation for Gunther and Damian Priest. The match was decent but slightly underwhelming, or it came off that way. Finn Balor stomping Priest for Gunther to retain hopefully means Balor vs. Priest can continue. Even a triple threat with Gunther, Priest, and Balor wouldn’t be a bad option.

RHR Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Men’s WarGames Match
Solo’s Bloodline looks like a tribe of killers. Tama Tonga is great, and I couldn’t wait to see him and Jacob Fatu in this match. The OG Bloodline entrance order was interesting, but Jey coming out last was excellent because the visual is insane. Jey and Tama starting is great, and someday, it could be a title or main event match.

Bronson Reed is big-time. Finally, he may even be underrated, but what a turnaround. Jacob Fatu entering the war games was awesome! So damn happy he is finally on this stage where he can show how good he is. Roman cutting Punk off so Sami could go certainly was the beginning of friction for the OG Bloodline in the match.

Then Tonga Loa came in and was okay. Punk pushed Reigns out of his way to go in and got the crowd going. Punk using the toolbox as a weapon was refreshing! It made sense, but Jacob Fatu eating the toolbox shot from Punk was incredible. He’s a freaking star, folks. With his Bloodline working in unity, Solo was a slight reminder of Roman with the SHIELD or the OG Bloodline at its peak. Again, the little things in this Bloodline saga keep us interested, or I must chill out a bit (laughs). We’ll see as this continues.

The timing of Heyman coming out to remind Punk and Reigns to work together was good. Reed going for the Super Tsunami and missing because Punk saved Reigns at the last second was good. Jimmy Uso doing the Super Uso splash through a table on Fatu was incredible. Hopefully, Fatu wasn’t injured, but this match’s MVPs were easily Jimmy Uso and Bronson Reed for me.

The ending with the OG Bloodline working together for the win was well done. The Usos and Sami embracing Punk, only for Reigns to shake Punk’s hand, was a moment some had waited for, bringing everything full circle from when Reigns and the SHIELD debuted at Survivor Series in Punk’s title match was a nice touch. I’m glad to be wrong about The Rock appearing, but it was an excellent finish to the match and Survivor Series.

RHR Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Show Rating: 3.3 out of 5

Now, I wanted to mention some other points about Saturday night’s show.

* The 6 p.m. start time is the best! Hopefully, this will stick/work for most events; it works perfectly with these earlier start times.

* Again, the presentation is everything I have wanted WWE and pro wrestling to be for so long, and it’s finally here!

 * If there was something to tweak with the WarGames match, then cut the interval time down to a minute at most and find a way to limit the crutch of using weapons in this match.