The ongoing Bloodline saga is, arguably, one of the best storylines ever in professional wrestling. On Saturday night, the story continued, with the Original Bloodline winning a major battle against the New Bloodline in a WarGames match to close out the annual Survivor Series event.
While the match wasn’t necessarily a WarGames classic, it was a strong match that offered a showcase to all of the participants, and included not only some twists and turns, some jaw-dropping high spots, and more than a few feel-good moments, including the (temporary?) burying of the hatchet between CM Punk and the Original Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.
The New Bloodline made their entrances first and were locked in the cage, other than Tama Tonga who made his way to the ring. During Punk’s entrance, he went up to their cage and took a shot at Bronson Reed, leading to everyone in the cage trying to take a shot back through the bars. In a neat touch, Jacob tried to squeeze his way through the bars like a wild animal would.
Jimmy Uso and Tama Tonga were the first two to start. They started off tentatively, circling each other cautiously and not touching for more than the first minute. When they did, they had a pretty even exchange, with neither man holding an advantage for too long.
Bronson Reed was in next, but all the chairs he brought into the ring didn’t help him too much when Jey got to them first. But after Reed blocked a chair shot, he flattened Jey with his sheer bulk, and then he and Tonga went to town on Jey with chair shots and heavy tandem moves.
Jimmy ran in next to help Jey, and at even strength, the brothers were able to take over, with moves like Jimmy hitting a Somersault Dive on both Reed and Tonga off the top rope. The Usos were standing tall as the time ran down for the next entrant.
Their dominance made Solo change his plans, because though Tonga Loa was ready to join the fray, Solo told him to hold back and sent Jacob Fatu to the ring instead. The Usos charged him as soon as he entered the cage, but Fatu absorbed it all and went on the savage attack. He cut through both of them like a hot knife through butter, and then he, Tonga, and Reed triple-teamed the Usos, leaving them flat.
Roman blocked Punk from leaving the cage and sent Sami to the ring instead, visibly frustrating Punk who glared at Reigns as the referees re-locked their cage. A fresh Sami fared fairly well against Reed and Tonga, but not so much against Fatu, who once again helped the New Bloodline take control.
Tonga Loa was next in, but he also detoured before entering the cage, to pull some tables out from under the ring and hand them to Fatu. 4-on-3, the New Bloodline simply dominated the OGs for the entire three minutes advantage.
Roman was going to change the equation, but CM Punk shoved Roman aside and left the cage, pausing before he entered the ring to look back at Roman, who was not happy, and to grab a toolbox from underneath the ring. They commentators recalled that the last time Punk had a toolbox in the ring, it was the last time Drew McIntyre was ever seen.
Punk smashed his opponents with the toolbox before going after them with more traditional strikes. In a great visual, Punk dropped Fatu face-first onto the toolbox with a Bulldog, but Fatu simply bounced back up. Punk didn’t realize it and was celebrating and he ate a Pop-Up Samoan Drop by Fatu. Stellar. This cooled down the OGs’ momentum, and the New Bloodline were in control even before Solo made his way into the ring. Solo paused only to momentarily trash-talk Roman.
JACOB FATU is RUTHLESS! 😤#SurvivorSeries#WarGamespic.twitter.com/wkFtTyFLhj
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
Solo immediately made an impact by slamming the cage door into the heads of the Usos who were held prone in the doorway by Tonga and Loa. At Solo’s direction, the New Bloodline dissected all of their opponents. Fatu hit both Usos simultaneously with a Moonsault, and Reed flattened Sami with a Tsunami. Punk tried to intervene, but he got absolutely swarmed and beaten down 5-on-1. With seconds to go until Roman was going to be released from his cage, Solo brought out his own chain and locked the door to the WarGames cage, effectively preventing Roman from joining the fray.
As Roman walked to the ring, the New Bloodline taunted him as they beat up his teammates while he could only watch from the floor in frustration.
With no other way in, Roman climbed the cage from the outside, fighting off the New Bloodline as they tried to stop him from entering. He joined in a big way by hitting all five of them with a High Cross Body off the top rope. And then fired on all of them with big shots, before helping pick up the rest of the team, with the exception of Punk, who he simply glanced at but didn’t extend a hand to.
Punk got up and confronted Reigns about the slight, and it looked like things were going to get heated. Paul Heyman walked to the ring and yelled at the two of them from the floor, telling them to get on the same page and focus on the task at hand – beating the opposing team.
Don’t let the Wiseman down inside #WarGames!#SurvivorSeriespic.twitter.com/FaMGZDVOdX
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
The bell, signifying the official start of the match, got their attention, and they fell into formation. Leading to a 5-on-5 brawl, leading to big moves being thrown in all directions.
At one point, the Usos hit stereo Superfly Splashes on both Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga. Seconds later, Roman and Punk battled Solo and Fatu in the other ring.
Punk dodged a Pop-Up Samoan Drop by Fatu, and Reigns dodged a Samoan Spike by Solo. Punk set up Fatu for GTS, and Roman went to Spear Solo. But Solo moved, and Reigns ended up Spearing Punk by accident. The timing of this was excellent.
As Reigns looked on in shock at what he’d done, Solo sneaked up behind him and hit the Spike, but Roman kicked out at 2.999.
The New Bloodline then went back on the offense and piled the beating on Punk. In an ugly moment, Fatu seemed to miss the Moonsault on Punk and grabbed his leg – it looked like he landed wrong and possibly hurt himself legitimately. Which would be a crying shame.
The New Bloodline set up a table in the ring. Fatu hobbled over to get Roman, presumably to put him on or through the table, but Roman hit Fatu with a low blow, and then hit Solo with a huge Spear.
But Reed hit Reigns with a Superkick out of nowhere, and then lay Reigns on the table. Reed then climbed up to the top of the cage and went to Tsunami Reigns through the table off the very top. In a holy s— move, as he leaped, Punk scrambled over and pulled Reigns off the table, and Reed crashed through it, splatting onto the mat. Wow!
Reigns looked confused as to what happened, but after realizing it thanks to the crowd chants for Punk, he reached down to lend Punk a hand and help pick him up. But as he did, he was attacked by Fatu, who was still standing despite the leg injury.
Fatu then went to hit Punk with an Elevated DDT, but Roman hit Fatu with the Superman Punch. But then was blind-sided by a Samoan Spike by Solo, who was laying in wait. A second Samoan Spike looked like it was going to end things, but the Usos made the save.
They then turned their attention to Fatu, hitting him with Double Superkicks and a 1-D. The Usos set up a table and put Fatu on it. As Jey and Sami took out Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga, Jimmy climbed to the top turnbuckle – then changed his mind and climbed to the very top of the cage. He hit a Superfly Splash off the top of the cage, driving Fatu through the table.
Sami went over to Jimmy and Jey and picked them both up. He then went over to Punk and picked him up, and finally, they went and picked up Roman Reigns. The five of them surrounded Solo, who was truly solo as the rest of his teammates were strewn about the ring unconscious.
It all comes down to THIS!#SurvivorSeries#WarGamespic.twitter.com/5HBNzXWQmI
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
A defiant Solo tried to make a move, but ate Superkicks by the Usos, a Helluva Kick by Sami, and a GTS by Punk. Stunned, Solo staggered around in a state of zombosis after that, and Reigns put the final nail in the coffin with a Spear and covered Solo for the pin.
The more traditional psychology of this one made it much better than the women’s match (though that was a very low bar). Jacob Fatu continues to be a beast. There were some really good moments here, as the match got cooking. This could, in theory, be the end of the Bloodline storyline, though something tells me there is a lot more to come.
After the match, Reigns, Sami, and the Usos embraced, while Punk simply watched from across the ring. He extended a hand and hugged all of the other teammates. Roman watched the four of them embrace, but he and Punk looked warily at each other. At Sami’s prompting, Roman went up to Punk and extended his hand, and Punk accepted it and they shook hands. On the floor, Paul was clearly pleased, beaming with a smile. Roman and the Bloodline pointed their fingers in the air, and Punk gave the GTS signal. They all left the ring together, and Punk and Paul embraced on the floor. Punk reminded Heyman that Paul owes him a favour and Paul said all Punk has to do is ask.
Roan stopped to give Heyman an appreciative pat on the cheek, and then they all headed up the ramp. At the top of the ramp, the four Bloodline members embraced, and the five of them posed again in celebration as the show came to a close.
Survivor Series – Full Results
The two-hour pre-show featured some interviews that yielded nothing of note, some recaps of the storylines heading into the show, and a countdown of the Top 10 Survivor Series moments of all time. The best thing about it was hearing William Regal say “WarGames” like only William Regal can.
Survivor Series – Main Show
Vancouver Canucks anthem singer Elizabeth Irving started the night with her renditions of the US and Canadian national anthems.
They then showed clips of key participants in tonight’s matches walking around the back. Biggest reactions were for Paul Heyman and CM Punk (separately).
Then they went into the opening video.
Match 1: Rhea Ripley, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, and Naomi vs. Liv Morgan, Racquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Candice LeRea, and Tiffany Stratton – WarGames match
Bayley and Nia started the match for their respective teams. I assume Nia was in there to stack the DraftKings odds on the over-under for botches during the match. They were awkward together, including some moments where it was clear Bayley was telling Nia what to do – in one case, audibly calling for an elbow while in a camera close-up. Seconds before their five minutes were up, Nia flattened Bayley and threw her around like a child.
Naomi was next to join and she brought in some weapons, including a Singapore cane and a toilet seat – because when babyfaces have the numbers advantage, they also should pad the advantage with weapons. #OppositeDay They beat her up and were well in control until the next person was set to enter.
Tiffany was looking to join, but Candice cut in front of her and left the shark cage (the teammates waiting to enter were in cages at the top of the entrance ramp) before Tiffany could. As Candice delayed to get some weapons from under the cage, Nia was able to catch Bayley and Naomi napping and she was in control. And that continued when Candice entered, and she flattened both Bayley and Naomi.
Then, Candice set up a bunch of chairs in the second ring – instead of just smacking Bayley and Naomi with them, because why bother hurting your opponents the easy way, when you can instead set up a very convoluted bridge of chairs and then do a move that looks like it completely missed and didn’t hurt anyone? This has been awful so far, and we’re not even halfway through.
Bianca was in there next, and she also paused to get weapons, including a garbage can, a fire extinguisher, and a table. At least she used the garbage can to good effect, throwing it into the face of one of her opponents – you know, as a babyface does.
Bianca must have been watching Nia tapes because she botched some moves with a chair. Nia proved she was still the blueprint, because anything she did with the chair looked bad, including her kind of pulling it into herself to make it look like she got hit with a chair-assisted dropkick. And this continued to be awful.
Tiffany came in next and she used a garbage can lid to allow her team to regain control. In some bad staging, Tiffany and Nia beat up both Naomi and Bianca, completely overlooking the fact that in another corner, Bayley was choking out their teammate Candice with a chair. And then they saw it and simply went on to plan the next convoluted piece of nonsense. Please, Rhea, come in and save this mess.
Iyo was up next. She went under the ring to get yet another garbage can. But this one had a rope tied to it, which she used as a harness to bring it with her when she scaled the cage from the floor to the very top. But Candice climbed up to the top from the inside, and it looked like whatever they planned didn’t happen but was replaced with clumsiness. Anyway, the can was left perched on top of the cage, presumably for use later on.
Racquel was in next after giving up on trying to find a weapon under the ring that she was looking for. She pulled out a table, but left it on the floor outside. With her and Nia in there, they used their power advantage to beat up the babyfaces, because at even strength, the babyfaces are disadvantaged. Who booked this?
Finally, it was time for Rhea to try to fix this debacle. She brought in the chair that Racquel had abandoned, and then rallied her team to get to their feet and attack the heels 5-on-4 with weapons. They did, and when it was Liv’s time to enter the ring, the only woman left standing in the ring was Rhea.
Here comes MAMI! 😈#SurvivorSeries#WarGamespic.twitter.com/f0sqNMjOe3
— WWE (@WWE) November 30, 2024
When Liv got in the ring, brandishing her baseball bat, the match officially started, and now the match can be won by pinfall or submission.
Liv tried to intimidate Rhea with the bat, but Rhea surprised her by removing the devil mask she had been wearing all night, and revealed that she was no longer wearing any protective nose/face-guard. She attacked Liv, but then got swarmed by Liv’s teammates. They held her up and that let Liv take free shots to Rhea’s body with the bat. Because why not go for her face? Bad booking, that’s why.
This led to sloppy 5-on-5 brawl, with everyone hitting big moves on everyone else in a parade of finishers. Tiffany and Iyo climbed up to the top of the cage at opposite corners, with Iyo coming back to the garbage can she’d left up there before.
Iyo put the can over her head and hit a Moonsault on the heels, while Tiffany hit a Swanton Bomb on all of the babyfaces in the other ring.
Then, Tiffany pulled the Money in the Bank briefcase from a garbage can, and eyed both Nia and Liv laying flat out on the mat. She seemed unsure as to which one she might cash in on, prompting Racquel to confront her on behalf of Liv. Before that could be resolved, Iyo sprayed both of them with a fire extinguisher. In the confusion, Rhea handcuffed a blinded Racquel to the top rope, and then started waylaying her with punches.
Some shoddy camera work missed seeing Candice get dropped face-first onto the turnbuckle. Meanwhile, Iyo and Bayley seemed like their history was going to set them against one another, but they both got flattened by Nia.
Nia then put Bianca on a table and was going for a Super Annihilator but Bianca sprang up and she and Naomi put Nia through a table with a Double Powerbomb. Liv broke up the pinfall attempt, hitting Naomi with the baseball bat.
Liv hit Bayley with a chair-assisted Oblivion, but then got caught by Rhea. Rhea went for Riptide, but got too close to the corner where Racquel was handcuffed, and Racquel pulled Liv to safety. Rhea made her pay for that, but then she also fell prey to a chair-assisted Oblivion, with her previously-broken face being crunched against the metal. Liv set Rhea on a table and climbed to the top with bad intentions. But Ripley got off the table and climbed up to the top with Liv. They battled for a bit, and then Rhea hit Liv with Riptide off the top rope, driving her through the table and hard to the mat, where she covered Liv for the 1-2-3.
Rhea was good, and the last minute or so was exciting, but otherwise this was very much a mess. Backwards booking with the babyfaces having the advantage, sloppiness, big spots with no psychology behind them. Just not good.
Winners: Rhea Ripley, Bayley, Iyo Sky, Bianca, and Naomi
Match Rating: 5/10
Match 2: LA Knight (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – for the United States Championship
Knight started off aggressively, looking to keep Nakamura from gaining any momentum. He battered Nakamura both inside and outside the ring. But Nakamura surprised Knight with a hard Spinning Elbow strike and then followed that up with some more strikes to take over.
Knight fought back, nearly getting a pin after a quick DDT, and then again after a Burning Hammer that looked great. Knight slipped, as usual, on his leap up to the top rope, and Nakamura used that to slip free and hit Knight with a big Backflip Superplex that saw Knight nearly land on the top of his head.
Knight had no quit in him, though, and he was able to recover. They went into the neutral territory between the two rings and, after blinding Knight with an eye rake, Nakamura dropped Knight, driving the back of Knight’s head onto the metal plating that connected the rings. Knight was dazed from that, and Nakamura put him down right after that with a Kinshasa for the pinfall and to become the new US Champion.
We have a NEW United States Champion at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/9JtLLF0sYW
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
The announcers noted it was the first time any WWE title had changed hands in Vancouver. #TheMoreYouKnow
This was pretty quick. Nothing to write home about, but nothing bad either. The dirty tactics used by Nakamura suggests this feud will continue.
Winner, and new US Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura
Match Rating: 6/10
In the back, the Alpha Academy did a commercial for True Classic T-shirts. It ended with Otis walking around naked from the waist down – fortunately this was pixelated. Somewhere, Naked Mideon is smiling to himself.
Match 3: Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser vs. Bron Breakker (c) – Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship
Early on, Kaiser stayed out of the ring, looking on picking the bones after Sheamus and Breakker beat the tar out of each other. But he got caught when they paused their battle to see him trying to wedge a chair in the ropes for later use. And they temporarily aligned to put the hurt on him. But it was only temporary, and after they went back to fighting each other, Kaiser hit some stealth attacks.
Until he ate a huge Flying Shoulder Tackle on the floor by Breakker who looked like he defied physics to hit it that fast and that high out of nowhere.
Breakker and Sheamus continued their slobberknocker, only taking momentary breaks to go after Kaiser. At one point, Sheamus and Kaiser fought in front of the announce table, and then got hit with a Double Clothesline by Breakker who dove on them from the apron.
THIS IS AWE-SOME!#ICTitle#SurvivorSeriespic.twitter.com/907iNywRKy
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
Later, Sheamus hit each of them with the Ten Beats before putting them down with a Double Clothesline.
A desperate Kaiser tried to use Sheamus’ own shillelagh against him, but Sheamus easily dispatched him of that notion. But instead of using it himself, Sheamus threw it aside and went back after Breakker mano-a-mano. He got the better of Breakker, hitting a Celtic Cross for a near-fall. Sheamus went for a top rope attack, but Breakker hit a Frankensteiner. He went for a Spear, but Sheamus dodged it, and Breakker smashed into the wedged chair. Only Kaiser pulling the referee out of the ring before his hand could hit the mat for a third time saved Breakker from being pinned.
Sheamus went after Kaiser, but Kaiser blasted him with several shillelagh shots. A Jumping Knee by Sheamus stopped the onslaught and even earned Sheamus a surprise two-count. Kaiser put Sheamus down but as Kaiser moved to cover Sheamus, he ate a huge Spear by Breakker that sent Kaiser to the floor. Breakker waited for Sheamus to get back up, and then put him down for good with a huge Spear.
This was a strong, hard-hitting match. At times, it looked like either challenger could have won, and the audience was biting on every near-fall. Best match of the night so far.
Winner, and still Intercontinental Champion: Bron Breakker
Match Rating: 7/10
Match 4: Damian Priest vs. Gunther (c) – for the World Heavyweight Championship
Priest outwrestled Gunther early on and was beating him to the punch, strike-wise, which frustrated the champ. But Gunther smiled evilly when he saw Priest clutch his shoulder after a particularly hard collision, and that shoulder became Gunther’s target. He kicked Priest there when he got a chance, and then continued to go after it, throwing Priest shoulder-first into the ring post after taking Priest to the floor.
Gunther battered the shoulder with various kicks and stomps, occasionally adding to the punishment with submission holds that targeted the injury.
Priest fired up, fighting back with strikes and chops, finally forcing Gunther to release his arm. A neat exchange saw Gunther try to get back control only to end up in a Hell’s Gate, forcing him to rethink his strategy.
This allowed Priest to go for a Razor’s Edge, but his shoulder gave out. Gunther capitalized, hitting a Powerbomb for a two-count.
Gunther went up top, but Priest hit a desperation Hurancarana to buy himself some space and a chance to recover. With Gunther groggy, Priest twice went for a South of Heaven, but his shoulder gave out both times. Gunther then locked on a Kimura Arm Lock, but Priest got to the ropes to force the break.
They exchanged big Clotheslines, before the action went back up to the top. Gunther went for a Superplex, but Priest shoved him to the mat. But in doing so, Priest fell off the top and landed hard on the floor at ringside.
The ref checked on him, but Priest waved him off. As the ref went back into the ring, Finn Balor ran in, and behind the ref’s back, hit Priest with a Stomp off the ring steps onto the floor. Gunther slid out of the ring and blasted Balor with a huge Kick, then threw Priest into the ring for the cover. 1-2-No! Priest kicked out!
Déjà vu…#SurvivorSeriespic.twitter.com/ap6K9p8nEL
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
Gunther then hit a series of Elbow Smashes on Priest’s shoulder, and locked on a Sleeper, squeezing Priest’s head, neck, and shoulder. Priest had no means of escape, and his arm fell lifelessly when the ref checked him, forcing the ref to end the match.
This was another strong match, with a good story told. Not sure anyone wants to see the feud between Priest and Judgment Day continue, but it looks like that’s where we’re headed.
Winner, and still World Heavyweight Champion: Gunther
Match Rating: 8/10
LA Knight and Jey Uso were in a Slim Jim commercial. Yeet to the meat.
They did an NFL-like video package where the participants of the next match introduced themselves and the schools they went to. Most of them did them in character with school names like the Island of Relevancy (Roman) and Tsunami State (Bronson Reed).
We’re STOKED for this one! ⛓️#SurvivorSeries#WarGamespic.twitter.com/lGf8jvw4Jx
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024
Match 5: Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and CM Punk vs. Solo Sikoa, Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu, and Bronson Reed – WarGames match
Winners: Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk
Match Rating: 7/10
TOP PHOTO: Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and CM Punk. WWE.com
RELATED LINKS
https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2024/12/01/vancouver-survives-war-games/
https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2024/11/30/countdown-to-survivor-series-2024/
