We’ve got a new US Champion!
AJ Styles dethrones Finn Balor to be the leader of the Bullet Club, I think.
And Sami Zayn is the greatest babyface in professional wrestling, in the WWE’s main
heel faction.
I’m Oli Davis and this is my review of Survivor Series: War Games in about 10 minutes.
In Triple H’s continued TakeOver of the main roster, the start of this show felt the
most NXT of his reign so far - opening on a video package that intercut the various
main featured wrestlers, with Ozzy Ozbourne singing, and then saying: Welcome to War Games,
Sharon.
Thank you 2004 for letting me have your Ozzy Ozbourne joke.
Showing Triple H commitment to getting rid of gimmick pay-per-views, the PREMIUM LIVE
EVENT started with the first of two War Games matches - Team Belair of Belair, Alexa Bliss,
Mia Yim or Michin or Reckoning or whatever she’s called today, and Becky Lynch, taking
on Team Bayley of Damage CTRL, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley.
Which meant we saw Ripley in full dominatrix mode in two separate cages.
CALM DOWN, DOMINIC.
Take a cold shower, or beat up your dad or something.
The match was really one elongated hot tag build to Becky’s climactic return as the
last entrant, with plenty of fun spots in the lead up - like Nikki Cross bringing all
the weapons, her hitting a Crossbody off the top of the cage, Bayley grabbing a ladder.
Stop doing all the dangerous stuff, Bayley, and Mia Yim going crazy with a trash can.
Unfortunately Iyo never got in one of those trash cans and jumped off the top of the cage
in it.
Instead, Becky Lynch, once in, hit IYO with a leg drop onto a trash can, laid out everyone
else and finally got her hands on the women who took her out injured, Bayley.
SKY was probably the MVP in this match, hitting a moonsault off the top of the cage shortly
after, where it looked like she got absolutely zero air, going straight down and making it
look all the more whiplashing brutal.
And in a nice storyline beat, coming back to the women’s division feud that started
back at SummerSlam, Becky and Belair teamed up to go against Damage CTRL.
Bayley got taken out with a KOD into the cage wall, while Lynch hit an awesome leg drop
off the top of the cage on Kai and SKY through a table for the win.
The babyfaces stand tall and united, which is the right decision considering Becky’s
return momentum.
But what I liked most about the match was how it further laid the groundwork for Raw’s
women’s division feuds and characters.
Becky never actually pinned Bayley, so there’s a non-title grudge match you can do there.
Ripley continues to dominate, only really being neutralised by Asuka’s mist, building
her so well I think there’s an argument for her to beat Belair for the title soon.
And Nikki got some nice interplays with both her teammates and opponents, because she’s
been in dead end tag team acts with most of them.
The only downbeat was Bliss, who looks so actively low effort with everything around
her, I can only think it’s tying in with whatever she could become with Bray Wyatt.
Starting a terrific night long storyline, Jey Uso was trying to convince Roman Reigns
backstage that Sami Zayn was going to betray the Bloodline, after overhearing him talking
to Kevin Owens on SmackDown.
So not ucey.
Roman said he’s going to ask him face to face.
AJ Styles took on Finn Balor next in a nice change of pace from the multiperson insanity
of the opening War Games match.
Dominic’s slight interference prompted a Judgement Day vs OC brawl through the crowd,
leaving Styles and Balor to have a wonderfully straight singles match in the ring.
I really enjoyed this match, particularly the final few minutes with Balor countering
AJ’s Calf Crusher with the Brock Escape.
Which is the technical name for slamming someone’s head really hard repeatedly into the mat.
And I really appreciate a straight, clean, interference-free finish in this very interference-based
feud: AJ just won with a Phenomenal Forearm.
Zooming out, that makes AJ and Finn one win each in WWE, with Balor winning their only
other singles encounter at TLC 2017.
Like that match, this is nowhere near the Match of the Year contender I believe both
these guys can have.
This was more of a very decent filler match on a War Games card to keep the story moving
along.
I’m hoping this can build to the rubber match between them, which is where they’ll
finally get to do the five star classic.
Ronda Rousey vs Shotzi, however, probably shouldn’t be done again.
This was a pretty messy bout, but it did only go seven minutes, and I do really appreciate
the Shotzi dive spot into the front row, which wiped out three planted fans on their seats.
This was always going to be a filler match between actually credible title contenders
for Rousey, and it was comfortably the least best thing on the show.
Rousey retained.
Backstage, Sami confessed that yes, he did talk to KO last night, but he didn’t tell
Jey that because he wanted Jey to focus on his match.
Jey’s a hothead.
These explanations totally work for each persons’ characters, and Sami’s performance, talking
about how much he loves the Bloodline, and how they’ve given him a family, was perfect.
Roman hugged Sami in a genuinely sweet moment, seemingly believing Zayn.
BUT OH NO, ROMAN’S FACE SEEMED A LITTLE BIT PSYCHOTIC DURING THE END OF THE HUG!
While I prefer the men’s War Games match for the sheer drama of it all, the in-ring
twist and turns match of the night definitely goes to the US Championship Three Way between
Seth Rollins defending against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory.
Like the storytelling and spot opportunities War Games provides, all three men seemed intent
on wringing every last drip of innovation from the Triple Threat stipulation.
This wasn’t your Attitude Era three-way, where it’s actually a protracted singles
match, just with one guy always awkwardly recovering and waiting for his comeback spot
just above the ring apron.
This was a modern, dynamic, back and forth, all three guys constantly in action match.
The final five minutes went into overdrive, particularly off Bobby’s Double Hurt Lock,
Seth jumping off Austin’s back to hit a Stomp on Lashley, and the excellent finish
- where Bobby speared Seth while Seth had Theory up for a Falcon Arrow, meaning Austin
fell on Rollins and got the pin.
The crowd seemed delightedly shocked, so impressed with the finish’s execution, nobody really
minded that their favourite Seth had lost the belt.
Jeez, that failed Money in the Bank cash-in has ruined Austin Theory.
He will never recover.
Just before our main event, Roman told Jey backstage that he’s seen everything he needed
to see regarding Sami.
It was a great bit of intrigue going into the final match, where Reigns turning on Zayn
was still a definite possibility, but also now that he could turn on Jey too.
Jey saw Roman first.
Roman said he saw everything he needed to see.
That’s a great tease.
Could go either way again, or he could beat up Jey!
While the opening War Games match was more based around high spots and Becky’s return,
this one was far more grounded in strategy and character conflict, which I found significantly
more rewarding.
It wasn’t so much about Bloodline vs Assorted Babyfaces.
It was more about the Bloodline vs themselves.
Jey Uso started the match against Pete Dunne - where Dunne poetically worked over the right
arm of Roman’s Right Hand Man - but rather than let Jimmy go out next - unlocking your
tag team champions super combo points - Roman sent in Sami instead, the guy who’s been
bickering with Jey ever since he joined.
In multiple layers, Roman, in his Tribal Chief wisdom, wanted them to work together and sort
this crap out.
But also, really, he was testing them to see if he’d have to brutally turn on one of
them.
More wrestlers joined the match, but Sami was always kept apart from Kevin Owens - who
is the main force outside the Bloodline still vying for Zayn’s heart.
Jey accidentally, or maybe not accidentally, hit Sami with a superkick.
A few minutes later, Kevin Owens seems to have it won - hitting a pop-up powerbomb and
then a stunner on Roman Reigns.
The referee counts one, two, but Sami Zayn has revived himself, and stopped the ref counting
three.
The stare between them, Zayn almost regretful, Owens seriously pissed off, was outstanding.
But still, to this point, Zayn had not touched KO.
Until he low blowed him, hit a Helluva Kick, and let Jey Uso of all people hit the Splash
and get the pin.
It was a brilliant character driven ending to the match.
Sami has fully committed to the Bloodline.
And in the storyline beat we needed, Jey finally genuinely hugged Sami, making the faction
stronger than ever.
That hug made me way too happy, I actually welled up.
He’s the biggest face in wrestling.
He’s also a heel who just punched the Best Man at his wedding in the dick.
But to those people I say, even Steen-vens.
Oh yeah, Owens would never turn on his best friend.
I remember the ending of R Evolution.
KO rarely looked ashamed whenever he was physically destroying Sami in 2015 NXT, though.
What makes this so complex is Zayn’s obvious hurt at having betrayed his best friend.
What a simultaneously lovely and tragic character beat to end the show.
The Bloodline have never been stronger.
Which makes me think it is now time to begin the fall.
What did you think of Survivor Series: War Games?
Let me know in the comments.
The Sami drama, the US title three way, Becky’s return - this was the most NXT TakeOver Premium
Live Event yet.
All that was missing was the little copyright logo coming up, and then a major angle happening.
And at three hours 15 minutes, there’s not really enough time to fixate on the only downer,
the 7 minute Ronda vs Shotzi match.
Triple H’s Premium Live Event streak continues.
WWE Survivor Series: War Games is 80%.
Now watch Pete’s immediate reaction to
the show!