Survivor Series has never been one of my favorite PPVs. It can be entertaining when you team up a handful of people together with common enemies. More often than not, though, it ends up feeling thrown together. It felt a little bit better constructed this year, as far as the WarGames matches were concerned. The problem is that with those matches taking up so much of the show, WWE only gave us a whopping four whole matches on their latest Premium Live Event. There were two WarGames matches starting and ending the show, along with two title matches. The show was broadcast from Petco Park in San Diego, California, with 46,016 people in attendance. Did those people get good value for their money? Let’s dive into it in our WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 Review!
Women’s WarGames Match
AJ Lee/Alexa Bliss/Charlotte Flair/Iyo Sky/Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch/Lash Legend/Nia Jax/Asuka/Kairi Sane
Charlotte Flair and Asuka were the first entrants in the match, and Charlotte had attire inspired by 7-year-old Scarlett, who is battling a rare and aggressive brain tumor known as diffuse midline glioma. It was a nice gesture from Charlotte, and it’s cool to see her make Scarlett’s night with such a gesture. There were no shark cages for the entrants in the match, so this one looked a little bit different than these matches usually do. I preferred it. I don’t see any reason these competitors need to be out there for that long waiting to get into the match. It makes sense for the Elimination Chamber, not so much for WarGames. I like the chemistry between Asuka and Charlotte. I wouldn’t mind seeing those two go head-to-head again in the near future.
Genius of the Trash Can
Iyo Sky entered next with an Iyo Sky-branded trash can. Why are we branding the weapons now? It’s weird to see Superstar names or company logos like Slim Jim on these things. It breaks my immersion. In my head, these are supposed to be items that these people find in the back. Now they feel fabricated and premeditated. Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss were next in the ring, and we got a lot of wasted time with a few moves here and there, and some rest holds. It wasn’t until AJ Lee entered that things started to heat up a little bit. She had to scale the cage to get in while Becky was holding the door shut. It was a fun spot, but all I kept thinking was, “Why doesn’t Becky open the door to knock her off?” It just seemed like such an obvious move.
A Fun Ending
Nia Jax entered the ring next and cleared it before Rhea Ripley did the same with some kendo sticks. Rhea also had sweet attire inspired by Art the Clown from Terrifier. Lash Legend entered last and had a great showing. I liked the decision to put her last. It made sure she was protected as she made her main roster debut. Lash did end up on the wrong side of a poison mist from Asuka by accident.
Iyo Sky would dive off the cage inside a trash can to take out most of the team before the rest of Team Iyo would take turns giving Becky moves before she submitted to the Black Widow by AJ Lee. It was a fun match overall, but the length of WarGames might need to be examined. It’s just too much filler for me. I did think the ending was fun and got everyone involved.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
John Cena (c) vs. “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio
After 23 years, this is it. It’s John Cena’s final PLE match. It’s wild to watch someone’s career from start to finish. That’s how I know I’m really getting old. This was a fantastic match that was simply fun. Dom and Cena had a good match going with some near-falls before things spilled to the outside. That’s when Dom tried a Hurricanrana off the security railing and looked like he botched it, injuring his shoulder. The referee called for some help as Cena went into the ring. He was then hit with a Tejana Bomb from Raquel Rodriguez and Pop Rocks from Roxanne Perez. I love that the girls from The Judgment Day got involved here. Of course, Dom jumps up and goes for the pin, but Cena gets the shoulder up. Both women are ejected. It only gets more eventful from there.
Liv’s Return
Of course, no match is complete without a good ol’ referee bump, and that’s what happens here. This brings in JD McDonagh and Finn Balor to try and help Dom, only to receive a double Attitude Adjustment. Then we see the return of none other than Liv Morgan. She seems to betray Dom, only to kick Cena in the balls moments later and hit Cena with the title after a 619 from Dom. He gets the 1-2-3 to win back the championship.
This seems overbooked on paper, but it was absolute cinema in motion. Super Cena did everything he could, but he couldn’t overcome all of Dom’s dirty tactics. I loved this one, and it made Cena look as powerful as he could look in a loss. I wish he could have gone out with a win in his last PLE, but he never would with that title around his waist—a victim of circumstances.
WWE Women’s World Championship
Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Nikki Bella
I expected a lot more from this match. I’m a huge Stephanie Vaquer fan, and I thought she could pull the very best out of Nikki Bella, but I was left disappointed. I feel like their time might have been cut short because the match didn’t seem very long. It was a relatively slow-paced match with very little excitement. Nikki has her heel persona down, and I’m so happy she can tap into it again. She was talking trash the whole match, showed up with a new look, and I felt like her moves were crisp and connected well. The highlight of the match was Stephanie hitting the Devil’s Kiss on the announce table before hitting that beautiful Corkscrew Moonsault for the win.
I’m hoping we may see one last Bella Twins reunion coming up. I don’t really know where Nikki can go from here if that’s not where we’re headed. I think it would be the perfect ending for the Bellas to go out as they came into WWE. As for Stephanie, I’d love to see her face off against Liv or Roxanne next. I feel like her reign has been a bit of an afterthought thus far, and I hope they give her some big-time feuds to sink her teeth into. She’s a star.
Men’s WarGames Match
Bron Breakker/Bronson Reed/Drew McIntyre/Brock Lesnar/Logan Paul vs. CM Punk/Jey Uso/Jimmy Uso/Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns
I may be in the minority here, but I was not a fan of this match. It has nothing to do with the participants involved or anything like that. It just doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. We had Cody off the top of the cage, Punk bleeding, and Lesnar leaving the cage. Seriously, they kept saying it’s a forfeit if a team member leaves the cage, yet Lesnar did it to confront Reigns. They explained that the match hadn’t started yet because not all participants had entered the ring. That explanation works, but it was a blunder to say the least.
The match ended when a masked assailant, who may or may not be Austin Theory, jumped over the side of the cage and hit Punk with a Superkick and Curb Stomp. This led to Bron Breakker hitting a Spear on Punk for the victory. This was the perfect ending for someone whom WWE easily sees as the future of the company. It creates a great WrestleMania feud where Punk can drop the title to him if he still has it by then. The match didn’t appeal to me, but it showcased a lot of young talent rising to take on some of the old guard.
The most interesting moment of the night took place after the match, where Roman Reigns appeared to snub Cody Rhodes. It looks like we’re heading for Cody vs. Roman III. I’m not sure how I feel about that at this point.
Final Thoughts
I appreciate the Triple H era of booking for its attention to detail in storytelling, but I do not like having only 4-5 matches on a PLE. It feels like there are so many stars that could use some time on these big shows that may never get it at this rate. I don’t think we need a dozen matches, but 6-7 seems fair. WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 was an okay show at best. You didn’t miss much if you missed it. The Cena match is the only one I felt was worth seeking out for its sheer ridiculousness. It sets some feuds in motion, but I don’t recommend going back to watch it if you missed it.