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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
WarGames Match: Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair & Shotzi defeated Bayley, Asuka, Kairi Sane & WWE Women’s Champion Iyo Sky (33:37)
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.)
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.)
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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.