Solo Sikoa’s hostile takeover of The Bloodline hit a major snag at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames. Roman Reigns, CM Punk and their team overcame Sikoa’s roster in a dramatic main event event on Saturday.
Survivor Series’ main event was a showdown between two iterations of The Bloodline. A major subplot in the match were the persistent issues betwen Reigns and Punk which nearly derailed their team. Ultimately, they got on the same page and overcame their tight-knit opposition. Sikoa still possesses the Tribal Chief’s ula fala, but Reigns’ success compromises Sikoa’s claim to the family throne.
Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada also featured a star-studded women’s WarGames match, a surprising title change and a particularly impressive triple threat match for the intercontinental title.
CBS Sports will be with you the whole way through the event, providing updates and highlights as the action goes down in the live blog below.
2024 WWE Survivor Series: WarGames results, grades
Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Iyo Sky and Bayley vs. Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae: The women’s WarGames match was big on blunder. Longtime rivals Bayley and Jax kicked things off. The no-holds-barred stipulation came into play early as the women lashed each other with a strap. Naomi was the first superstar to enter the fray, bringing a rainbow kendo stick to put Jax at a great disadvantage. A frontrunner for the night’s most bizarre moment involved a toilet seat. Naomi wrapped it around Jax’s head and gave her a stink face. LeRae evened the odds for her team, eliciting boos by cutting off Stratton to enter the fray. LeRae introduced multiple steel chairs. Jax somehow whiffed on simple chair shots to the back, but LeRae made a better effort with a springboard moonsault onto Bayley, the latter of whom laid across several chairs. Belair grabbed a trash can, a fire extinguisher and a table on her way into the match. Belair didn’t use the weapons as effectively as the next participant, Stratton, who dropped her opponents with a trash can lid.Â
The next error came at the height of what looked to be a big spot. Sky scaled the fence with a trash can but was intercepted by LeRae. Sky attempted a sunset flip off the top of the cage but LeRae held on, seemingly by mistake. Sky’s subsequent spot won the crowd back as she and Stratton one-upped each other with gymnastic handsprings. Rodriguez was a big equalizer in the match. Rodriguez and Jax’s shared physicality overwhelmed the fan favorites until Ripley, the opposing team’s bruiser, entered. All hell broke loose as the superstars laid each other out with various weapons. Most notably, Ripley broke the toilet seat on Rodriguez’s back. Ripley — sporting a demon skull face mask — was the only woman standing when the clock struck zero for the match’s final participant, Morgan. The women’s world champion fled to the back instead of facing Ripley, but returned with a baseball bat.Â
With all 10 participants in the ring, WarGames officially started with pinfall and submissions in play. Ripley tore off her custom face mask to reveal that her previous injury had healed. Morgan’s four teammates held down Ripley as Morgan repeatedly swung the bat into her stomach. The night’s biggest spot had the crowd in a frenzy. Sky and Stratton scaled opposite corners of the cage. Stratton performed a picture-perfect swanton bomb off the top of the cage, while Sky simultaneously performed a moonsault with a trash can over her head and torso. Each woman cleared half the field. With Morgan and Jax laid out, Stratton unveiled her Money in the Bank briefcase, teasing a surprise cash-in. Rodriguez confronted Stratton before she could potentially steal the women’s world title from Morgan. Shortly after, Sky blinded everyone in sight with a fire extinguisher. The fog cleared to reveal Ripley had handcuffed Rodriguez to the ropes amid the chaos. A table finally came into play when Naomi and Belair powerbombed Jax through the wood. Ripley claimed the match for her team with help from the second table, folding Morgan through it with a second-rope Riptide. Rodriguez, still handcuffed to the rope, was forced to watch her teammate eat the pin.
The live crowd ate it up, but that was a very disjointed match. Jax, unfortunately, dragged the whole thing down with numerous missed spots. Oddly, things were most cohesive once all 10 superstars were in the ring. The action picked up neatly right before Sky and Stratton’s dueling cage dives. A strong finish that almost makes you forget about the pacing and spot issues before it. Ripley def. Morgan via pinfall to win the match. Grade: B-
United States Championship — LA Knight (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Knight and Nakamura battled back and forth in a match between longtime fan favorites, despite Nakamura’s villainous notes. Nakamura’s martial arts strikes repeatedly troubled Knight. The defending champion picked his spots with big moves, like his signature elbow drop. Knight and Nakamura did not let the traditional stipulations of their match get in the way of maximizing the WarGames environment. Knight attempted to suplex Nakamura on the steel grating joining the two rings, but Nakamura countered with a reverse DDT. A dazed Knight could not protect himself from what was next. Nakamura nailed Knight in the back of the head with a Kinshasa to score the upset victory. The match never went into that next gear, but it was a clean and prompt title match with a surprising finish. Nakamura def. Knight via pinfall to win the title. Grade: C+
Intercontinental Championship — Bron Breakker (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser: Each superstar approached this match with unique game plans. Breakker fearlessly employed explosive athleticism, Sheamus sought to brawl and Kaiser meticulously picked his spots. Immediately, Kaiser left the ring and returned with a steel chair. Breakker was the most dominant of the three, effortlessly tossing around and running through opponents. “Sheamus” chants broke out early and often as fans implored him to win the one title that has eluded him during his 15-year WWE run. Breakker had the match’s first significant spot, leaping off the apron and double clotheslining his opponents over the announcers’ table. The crowd roared to life as Sheamus emerged behind Kaiser like Jason Voorhees from Crystal Lake. Sheamus bludgeoned Kaiser with 11 Beats of the Bodhran before doing the same to Breakker.Â
Sheamus scored the first near fall with a Celtic Cross. Breakker landed a stunning Frankensteiner but whiffed on the subsequent spear and went head-first into a chair wedged into the corner. That set up Sheamus for a match-winning Brogue Kick, but Kaiser pulled the referee out of the ring at the final millisecond. Kaiser cracked Sheamus a dozen times with the latter’s shillelagh ringside. In the ring, Sheamus retaliated with a Brogue Kick for a deep two-count. That was Sheamus’ last great effort, whose ribs were compromised by the shillelagh thwacking. Kaiser hit Sheamus with several signature moves before a Breakker spear hurled him from the ring. One more spear to Sheamus and the match was over. A great contrast of styles, a well-told story amplified by the crowd and a match that didn’t overstay its welcome. Breakker def. Sheamus and Kaiser via pinfall to retain his title. Grade: B+
World Heavyweight Championship — Gunther (c) vs. Damian Priest: Gunther and Priest reverted to their technical wrestling and fighting routes, respectively. “The Ring General” immediately targeted Priest’s left arm, looking to immobilize Priest’s legitimate striking background. Gunther was largely effective in executing his game plan. The world champion was like a dog on a bone, eating right hands from Priest while holding onto the challenger’s left arm for dear life. An enziguri and a series of hard open-hand chops from Priest finally got Gunther off of him. Priest’s martial arts background shined as he cracked Gunther with various arm and leg strikes. A clever moment saw Gunther’s obsession with the arm used against him. Priest weaved Gunther’s grip into a gogoplata, more commonly known to WWE fans as The Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission. Priest attempted the Razor’s Edge twice — his arm gave out the first time but found the strength to follow through on the redux. Priest attempted the South of Heaven chokeslam but his compromised arm failed him, allowing Gunther to lock up a kimura.Â
Finn Balor screwed over his former Judgment Day ally again, hitting him with a Coup de Grace off the steel steps while the referee was distracted. Gunther clocked Balor with a big boot for his unwelcome interference but still made the most of it. Gunther rolled Priest into the ring, dropped him with a powerbomb, attacked the injured arm and choked him out with a sleeper hold. A classic pro-wrestling formula of structuring a match around a targeted limb. The finish potentially sets up a Gunther vs. Balor match, so bonus points for story progression. Gunther def. Priest to retain his title. Grade: B+
Roman Reigns, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), Sami Zayn and CM Punk vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) and Bronson Reed (WarGames match): Jey and Tonga kicked things off for their respective teams. Tonga tried to go for the pinfall early, despite the match stipulations first requiring all 10 superstars to enter the match. Tonga played it off well with his zany persona, but the fans made him pay. Reed was the first additional participant, an advantage earned by Fatu on WWE SmackDown. Reed threw several steel chairs into the ring, one of which was thrown back in his face by Jey. The flying chair was a momentary setback as Reed soon punished Jey with his size and strength. Jimmy was his team’s first additional participant. Jimmy eagerly ran to his twin brother’s rescue. Jimmy added a beautiful whisper in the wind to his arsenal that popped the crowd. The crowd ate up The Usos tandem office but the cheers were short-lived. Sikoa sent his enforcer Fatu into the fray. “The Samoan Werewolf” singlehandedly demolished the twins. CM Punk tried to even the odds for his team but Reigns cut him off, instead sending Zayn into the mix. Punk was visibly angry with Reigns overruling him. Zayn was a different maker, taking out his three opponents before embracing Jimmy. Loa was the second last Bloodline member to join the match, bringing a table with him. Fatu’s athleticism continued to shine as he landed a handspring standing moonsault and a split leg moonsault off the corner.
Punk and Reigns continued butting heads in their shark tank. Reigns attempted to exit the cage; however, Punk cut him off. Punk took out The Bloodline’s forces with a toolbox and running knees in the corner. Fatu ate the running knee and a bulldog onto the toolbox like lunch. Punk pandered to the crowd before walking into a nasty pop-up Samoan drop. Sikoa and Reigns were the final two participants in the match. Sikoa — who entered first — directed traffic as The Bloodline decimated their outnumbered foes. Sikoa locked the cage door shut before Reigns’ timer expired. Reigns successfully scaled the cage despite his opponents’ efforts to intercept him. Reigns made first contact with the mat off a top rope splash onto his five foes. The crowd roared as Reigns and Punk came face to face. Paul Heyman stormed to ringside to try and get his current and former clients on the same page. With Reigns in the match, WarGames was officially underway.
Punk elevated Fatu for the GTS, but Sikoa side swept a spear, sending Reigns directly into Punk. The two stars finally got on the same page when Punk rescued Reigns from certain peril. Punk yanked Reigns off a table as Reed plummeted off the top of the cage with a Tsunami Splash. Jimmy had more success from the high ground, folding Fatu with an Uso Splash through a separate table. Sikoa found himself alone on the Island of Relevancy, trapped with all five of his opponents. Sikoa’s boneheaded Samoan Spike was cut off by The Usos’ super kicks. Zayn, Punk and Reigns each hit their finishing moves in succession with Reigns pinning Sikoa. A well-paced match with several interesting subplots, particularly Punk and Reigns. The match didn’t drag on as much as other WarGames matches and the big spots were executed well. Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn and Punk def. The Bloodline and Reed via pinfall. Grade: A-