WWE Survivor Series WarGames
Photo credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton returned to WWE in a heated men’s WarGames match as Team Cody Rhodes defeated. After the main event, CM Punk also returned to WWE with great success.
WWE Survivor Series 2023 (WarGames) promoted a men’s WarGames match, with the return of Randy Orton, a women’s WarGames match with two titles on the line. GUNTHER defends his historic Intercontinental Championship reign against The Miz, while his final opponent Rhea Ripley defends her WWE Women’s World Championship against Zoey Stark.
Survivor Series WarGames from Chicago has been overshadowed by rampant rumors of CM Punk’s return, although various media outlets have denied that the fire is going up in smoke. Currently.
WWE Survivor Series 2023 Results | November 25, 2023
- Team Bianca wins Women’s WarGames
- GUNTHER def. The Miz | WWE Intercontinental Championship
- Santos Escobar defeated. Dragon Lee
- Rhea Ripley defeated. Zoey Stark | WWE Women’s World Championship
- Team Cody wins the men’s WarGames
WWE Survivor Series 2023 Ticket sales
- WWE SmackDown Venue: Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Ill.)
- WWE SmackDown tickets distributed: 16,809
- Available tickets: 115
WWE SmackDown Winners and Grades
Team Bianca wins the women’s WarGames match
Michael Cole certainly reiterated that if anyone escaped the cage at WarGames, his team would forfeit. I’m not saying it will happen, but I don’t think Cole would have highlighted this rule if she hadn’t played in one of these games.
Bayley and Becky Lynch began a match that was very heated at the start.
The fans wasted no time chanting “We want tables,” and when Shotzi entered the ring, she brought all the weapons except the table.
The babyfaces won the fan vote for the man advantage, leading to the always awkward “two babyfaces vs. a heel” moment.
Iyo Sky wrestled her fifth WarGames match before Charlotte Flair wrestled her first.
Iyo Sky hit a double springboard dropkick from one ring to the other and the fans immediately started chanting her name.
Next up was Bianca Belair, and she had two braids for this match. Needless to say, she used both.
Cries of “This is great” were drowned out by a countdown to the next fighter – Kairi Sane.
As Kairi made her way to the ring, the fans once again called for tables, but once again they were completely ignored.
Kairi Sane was sent flying into Shotzi with an impressive elbow strike.
Next up was Charlotte making her WarGames debut. As she fired a barrage of punches, Kairi fell to the ground before Charlotte could throw a punch, and Michael Cole was more than amused.
Iyo Sky was able to get another trash can into the cage by throwing Dakota Kai a chain and having Kai attach the chain to the trash can. Iyo placed the can on her head and jumped onto the field. The “Holy ST” chants were well deserved.
Finally, Asuka brought the table out with a loud bang as the heels continued to act like babyfaces in this match.
The obligatory Tower of Doom was actually punctuated by stereo powerbombs from Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch, followed by an insane moonsault from Charlotte Flair.
There was a sequence where Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch coexisted like hell. Fans applauded them for their collaboration and cheered even louder as they hugged.
Bayley grabbed the ball for Kairi Sane as Charlotte took her down with a spear. Bayley got the finisher from everyone and even went through a table.
Even if Bayley took all those bullets, it will likely still result in Damage CTRL turning against her.
Women’s WarGames Grade: A-
GÜNTHER Def. The Miz
Backstage, Sami Zayn said Randy Orton didn’t show up and fans immediately started chanting “CM Punk.”
As expected, GUNTHER dominated and bullied Miz at the start of this match.
The Miz came back with an awkward hurricanrana and kicks, but GUNTHER immediately put out Miz’s fire.
The Miz hit GUNTHER with two low blows and a skullcrushing finish, which caused a huge reaction and a near fall.
GUNTHER won with a lion tamer and opened up the crowd, similar to when GUNTHER does a promo. But a solid game.
The Miz vs. GUNTHER Grade: B-
Santos Escobar Def. Dragon Lee
Chicago audiences treated Dragon Lee like a huge star, and I promise it won’t fall on deaf ears in Stamford.
Santos Escobar went all out on AEW by ripping off Dragon Lee’s mask, and the Chicago crowd chanted “Culero!”
Santos Escobar did okay as a heel, but Dragon Lee was the bigger star.
Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee Grade: B
Rhea Ripley Def. Zoey Stark
Zoey Stark wore bear claw face paint, while Rhea Ripley sported a makeshift mohawk with crow-like face paint.
The fans got behind Ripley with loud chants of “Mommy,” but the story of the game right from the start was Zoey Stark defeating Ripley, who was having trouble understanding Zoey.
After bouncing Zoey Stark off a post, Ripley took control of the game.
Rhea Ripley hit a chokeslam off the top rope and Stark overcorrected, resulting in a very scary punch. Luckily, Stark was fine.
Rhea Ripley vs. Zoey Stark Grade: C+
Team Cody wins the men’s WarGames, CM Punk returns
Drew McIntyre entered alone while Judgment Day walked out as a unit. All members of Judgment Day stared at McIntyre suspiciously, especially Damian Priest, who stood directly opposite McIntyre throughout the entrance.
The Men’s WarGames opened with loud chants of “CM Punk” and WWE had only themselves to blame. The chants continued throughout the WarGames.
JD McDonagh’s new nickname is “the necessary evil”.
Jey Uso entered the match with chants of “Yeet” and Drew McIntyre wasn’t too pleased.
McIntyre tried to enter, but Damian Priest failed and entered himself. This received a great response from the crowd.
Unlike the women’s WarGames match, it was the babyface (in Sami Zayn) who introduced the table. The fans exploded, chanting “Ucey!” and “Thanks Sami!” Up until that point, Sami was the most over-the-top babyface in the match.
McIntyre came in last, running through the field and pursuing Jey Uso like a lion pursuing a wounded gazelle.
Jey and Sami managed a 1D and he didn’t get the pop he deserved.
At Cody Rhodes’ performance, Michael Cole said, “Cody Rhodes also invented a big event in this city!”
In another “can they coexist?” moment, Rhodes and Rhodes teamed up for a double clothesline with a gun.
Dominik Mysterio got insane heat before he was even let out of the cage. Mysterio joined in the response with his patented “Three Amigos” suplexes.
The fans finally got around to chanting “Randy,” but the chants were promptly drowned out by more “CM Punk” chants.
After the final countdown and after Seth Rollins was sent through a table, Rhea Ripley entered the ring with the Money in the Bank briefcase and a referee. This brought Randy Orton to a huge pop.
Orton and Uso provided tension, but they also coexisted.
McDonagh attempted to escape through the cage, which would have caused his team to lose the game.
Orton hit an RKO on a flying JD McDonagh, which got a big reaction. Cody Rhodes won the match by pinning Dominik Mysterio.
Men’s WarGames Grade: A-
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I have been a pro wrestling columnist and video blogger for a leading national sports website since 2010 and formerly at Bleacher Report, where I was a WWE columnist and host of the nearly 100-episode digital series WWE WTF. In 2012, I was featured in Bleacher Report’s documentary “Why We Watch,” which focused on the career of Kurt Angle. I graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a major in Business Administration, a concentration in Accounting, and a minor in Sports Management.
In addition to my appearances on BBC and ESPN Radio, I have been featured on NPR numerous times. My pro wrestling expertise includes live broadcasting countless WWE and independent wrestling events, including six WrestleManias.
I created the YouTube channel Pro Wrestling Bits. Subscribe at bit.ly/deezbits
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