In WWE’s last premium live event for the year, there were many heavy expectations leading into this event. You had the highly anticipated return of Randy Orton that would take place in the main event, the possibility of the voice of the voiceless coming back to WWE after nearly a decade, and the unpredictability of the Chicago crowd. Did Survivor Series live up to the hype? Let’s find out.
Women’s War Games: Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi, and Becky Lynch vs Bayley, Asuka, Iyo Sky, and Kairi Sane: Match of the night. I loved that Damage CTRL all had masks for Asuka and that the faces team wore all black and pink. The emotional moment in this match was the reunion of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair who looks to have solved their real-life friendship issues. Iyo Sky also doing her classic garbage can moonsault on top of the WarGames structure never gets old. I thought Damage CTRL needed this win to prove they are a dominant faction on Friday nights, but I was wrong. Guess we are going full force with kicking Bayley out of the group since she got the pin in this match.
Winners: Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi, and Becky Lynch
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs The Miz: Miz got a lot more offense than I thought he was going to get, which made the match a lot better than I expected it to be. I don’t like Gunther’s wrestling style so this particular match did not appeal to me but Gunther retains, the question still remains of who will be the one to defeat Gunther for the IC title sometime next year.
Winner: “And Still” Gunther
Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar: Escobar as a heel is the best form of Escobar. Having Dragon Lee move to the main roster quickly instead of going through NXT was a great decision because he is extremely over with the crowd. As far as the match goes, it was a fun way to get the crowd into the match because of the fast-paced pace between both wrestlers. Escobar gets the win to kickstart his incredible heel run.
Winner: Santos Escobar
WWE Women’s World Title: Rhea Ripley vs Zoey Stark: If there is an underrated Women’s Superstar of the Year award it should go to Stark. She has proven herself in a lot of high-pressure matches this year including Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, and now the women’s champion. Although it was fairly obvious Ripley was going to retain Stark really proved herself in this one and she is set to have a big 2024.
Winner: “And Still” Rhea Ripley
Men’s War Games: JD McDonagh, Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Cody Rhodes: This was the ultimate squash. I did not like that they teased Orton not showing up throughout the show when it was already announced throughout the week that he was going to be in the match. As soon as he entered the match the faces team dominated the entire time, which given how dominant Judgement Day has been on TV was disappointing to see.
Winners: Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Cody Rhodes
He’s Back: In the WWE world, you learn to never trust the lower thief graphic that ends a show because something always happens. As the lower third appeared to end the show a CM Punk graphic appeared and was accompanied by Cult of Personality in the background. CM Punk came out to over 15,000 members of the WWE Universe shocked by the pipe bomb king coming home. As much as this has sparked hundreds of conversations on X, Punk is good for business as he moves the needle it will be interesting to see what his road to Wrestlemania looks like as the Royal Rumble is only six weeks away.
Overall: I enjoy the shorter match cards, it gives the event time to breathe and also gives the proper time for all of the matches on the card without anyone having to worry about their match getting cut due to time. This was a great way for WWE to end their year as we await what they have in store for 2024.
