As a work to fans who person a wide involvement successful WWE but mightiness not person watched a lucifer successful months, we're blessed to supply this FAQ arsenic a usher to Survivor Series: WarGames, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26, astatine 8 p.m. ET astatine Boston's TD Garden.
Why would WWE taxable a monolithic lawsuit similar Survivor Series arsenic a tribute to a 1983 sci-fi movie starring Matthew Broderick, successful which a rogue supercomputer pushes the satellite to the brink of planetary thermonuclear war?
No, silly, they're referencing that different relic of the 1980s called "WarGames." Created by the large Dusty Rhodes successful 1987 for the NWA, it keeps the Survivor Series contented of 2 ample teams of wrestlers battling but places them successful side-by-side rings wrong a coagulated alloy cage. This gimmick inspired a namesake yearly lawsuit successful NXT from 2017 to '21, making this perfectly the archetypal clip successful Triple H's tenure arsenic main contented serviceman that helium has recycled an thought from WWE's developmental territory.
Wait, Survivor Series is nary longer a "battle for marque supremacy?"
Correct. The WWE has scrapped the Raw vs. SmackDown conception for this year, which is nary uncertainty a alleviation to those competitors who had to enactment similar this rivalry wasn't a made-up happening whose apex of relevancy came connected the PlayStation 2.
The format alteration deprives america of a imaginable grudge lucifer betwixt the Universal and WWE champions, which would beryllium Roman Reigns hitting himself for 25 minutes, we guess.
What are the WarGames matches?
There are 2 of them scheduled, 1 involving men and 1 involving women, continuing a contented started during the NXT WarGames. The men's lucifer features wrestling's hottest faction successful the Bloodline: Undisputed satellite champion Reigns; cousins Solo Sikoa and Jimmy and Jey Uso, the undisputed WWE tag-team champions; and "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn, who cemented his relation arsenic the group's tribunal jester erstwhile helium made the full unchangeable interruption worse than Jimmy Fallon successful a "Saturday Night Live" sketch during a caller SmackDown promo.
Everything's fine. pic.twitter.com/Thx3JWR9RZ
— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) October 29, 2022Their opponents came unneurotic implicit time. It started with The Brawling Brutes -- Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland -- uncovering an improbable state successful Drew McIntyre, who had vigor with Sheamus and Reigns. Their 5th squad subordinate was a returning Kevin Owens, a rival of Reigns and champion frenemies with Zayn. It's a lucifer that should present the brutal goods successful the ring(s) and offers a soap-operatic magnitude of subplots. Or, arsenic Zayn would telephone them, the "Ucey Details."
What astir the women's WarGames?
Bianca Belair has been feuding with Damage CTRL, which sounds similar a spot that'll repair your breached laptop but is really Bayley's new faction with Dakota Kai and IYO SKY. Those 2 person been trading the WWE women's tag squad title with Alexa Bliss and Asuka, the different 2 members of Bayley's team. But it's Belair and Bayley who are astatine the bosom of this rivalry, with Bianca having retained the Raw women's title successful some a ladder lucifer and a last-woman-standing conflict against Bayley.
Belair challenged Damage CTRL to this WarGames match, and they accepted. Bayley's broadside loaded up with Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley. Belair added Mia Yim -- "Bah gawd, that's Reckoning from Retribution's music!" -- who had been retired of the WWE for implicit a twelvemonth earlier making her instrumentality connected Raw to feud with Ripley. She's present known arsenic "Michin."
By our math, that brings america to 5 heels and 4 faces. Belair said her team's last subordinate would beryllium revealed connected SmackDown earlier Survivor Series. Given the hype and the value fixed to this reveal, anyone but Becky Lynch would beryllium a disappointment. Unless it's Sasha Banks, of course.
She's inactive with WWE?
Sure. Maybe. We don't know. Banks hasn't been seen successful WWE since she and tag squad spouse Naomi walked retired aft a reported originative dispute. Another anticipation for a Survivor Series astonishment would beryllium Charlotte Flair, who hasn't been seen successful the WWE since losing to Rousey astatine WrestleMania Backlash. Flair has past with Bayley and Ripley ... and Belair, too.
What astir the SmackDown women's championship?
Ronda Rousey volition support the SmackDown women's title against Shotzi aft she won a six-pack situation lucifer for the shot(zi) astatine the title.
Because this lucifer is astir apt conscionable a one-off to springiness Rousey immoderate Premium Live Event time, let's absorption connected the existent contented here, which is the necessity for "six-pack challenge" matches. We're down with a Four-Way Dance, and we've seen large Fatal Five-Way matches. But six? Six gets messy. Too galore moments erstwhile a regular determination causes 3 times the harm due to the fact that the travel of enactment requires a rival to enactment down for similar 10 minutes. It strains credibility, which is saying thing erstwhile discussing nonrecreational wrestling. Watching a "six-pack challenge" usually means we're reaching for 1 conscionable to get done it. Anyway, bully connected Shotzi for getting this spotlight.
Are determination immoderate different rubric matches?
The U.S. rubric is connected the enactment arsenic Seth "Freakin" Rollins defends against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory successful a Triple Threat Match, which thankfully is lone fractional arsenic convoluted arsenic a "six-pack challenge."
If there's a communal taxable successful this Survivor Series, it's however the WWE has managed to publication matches with respective storylines colliding simultaneously. To wit: Rollins defeated Lashley for the U.S. rubric aft Brock Lesnar attacked Lashley earlier the lucifer successful October. Lashley mislaid to Lesnar astatine Crown Jewel and decided to instrumentality retired his aggressions connected Rollins, who issued an unfastened situation for the U.S. title. His brutal onslaught ended with Rollins laying atop a breached announcers' array ... and Theory arriving to currency successful his Money successful the Bank briefcase successful an effort to triumph the U.S. rubric from a bludgeoned Rollins. After Rollins kicked retired of a mates of pin attempts, Lashley returned to the ringing to interruption up different one. He past bushed the stuffing retired of Theory, allowing Rollins to curb-stomp him for the victory, marking lone the 3rd clip a Money successful the Bank cash-in resulted successful a defeat.
Lashley acceptable his sights connected getting his rubric backmost from Rollins. Theory attacked Rollins connected different occurrence of RAW and past tried to measurement to Lashley precocious earlier fleeing.
This full happening has a amusive physique that successfully built up Theory into thing beyond the selfie-taking hand-picked protégé of the erstwhile president and CEO.
What else? This seems similar a lot
AJ Styles is scheduled to instrumentality connected Finn Bálor successful a singles match. For months, Styles has feuded with The Judgement Day, that spooky radical Edge founded earlier Bálor overthrew him. Styles brought The O.C. (his erstwhile Bullet Club buddies Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) to articulation the combat against Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. (The second 2 are progressive successful a storyline narration whose suggestive dynamics would person made the Attitude Era blush.)
The 2 stables met astatine Crown Jewel earlier this month, with The Judgement Day winning a six-man tag match. Michin -- yeah, again, that's Mia Yim's caller sanction -- has since aligned with the O.C. arsenic an anti-Rhea Ripley countermeasure. They'll each beryllium successful the respective corners of their factions' leaders for this singles match.
This sounds wacky, but doesn't it marque much consciousness to person these four-person teams look each other? Perhaps successful a lucifer successful which each subordinate of the teams is individually eliminated until lone 1 radical is near standing?
What bash you deliberation this amusement is? Some benignant of Survivor Series?
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