The 2024 women’s War Games match at WWE Survivor Series: Why?

I want to preface this by saying that I’m a big supporter of women’s wrestling and believe they should have just as many opportunities as the men. However, I think those opportunities should have a solid reason behind them and not feel forced—like they’re being done just because it’s that time of year and WWE feels obligated to give women the same spotlight as the men.

This leads me to my main issue: Why do we need a women’s WarGames match this year? Last night, WWE officially announced that at Survivor Series, there will be a women’s WarGames match featuring Rhea, Bianca, Jade, Naomi, and Iyo vs. Liv, Raquel, Nia, Tiffany, and Candice. But the buildup to this match felt so forced that it seems like it only exists because they “needed” to have a women’s WarGames match. As Jim Cornette would say, this is lazy booking at its finest.

Look at the men’s WarGames match. While I’m not a big fan of them tacking on the Seth vs. Bronson feud to the Bloodline storyline, at least it makes sense for these guys to team up to fight a common foe. With the women’s match, though, it’s just a bunch of wrestlers thrown together to fill a spot on the card.

I get that Liv and Raquel have had a feud with Rhea since the RAW after WrestleMania, so it makes sense for those three to be in the match. But what’s the reason for including the other participants? Let’s break it down:

Bianca and Jade: The reason they’re seemingly in the match is because they started a side feud with Liv and Raquel three weeks ago. That feud began when the faces interrupted the heels’ celebration, which led to Liv and Raquel getting a title match (which they lost) and then attacking Bianca and Jade backstage. Does this feud scream “WarGames-worthy”? Not really.

Naomi: Naomi has been feuding with Nia and her crew for about a month. The only reason I’d even call it a feud is because Naomi beat all three members before losing her title match last week. Does that merit inclusion in a WarGames match? Again, not really.

Tiffany, Nia, and Candice: This group is a mess. Nia is leading a faction with Tiffany and Candice, but the latter two are feuding with each other over who’s the better henchwoman. The storyline is more about their internal drama than anything involving Naomi. So why are they suddenly acting like best friends? Make it make sense, WWE.

Iyo Sky: Iyo’s involvement is baffling. When did she even turn babyface? Story-wise, the only explanation is that she won a battle royal to earn a title shot—likely at Saturday Night’s Main Event. She hasn’t had any real interactions with Liv or Raquel since winning that shot, so why would she care about being in WarGames? Also, wasn’t Damage CTRL still a heel faction three weeks ago? This makes everything even more convoluted.

WarGames should elevate or conclude a blood feud, not be done for the sake of it. I’m sure the match will be fine, and all 10 women will work hard to make it as memorable as past women’s WarGames matches. But this feels like classic WWE laziness: booking something just to get good PR. There’s no real reason for this match to exist this year, and it feels thrown together just to fill a spot.

This reminds me of what I hated about the early days of the “women’s revolution” in WWE. If there were a long-term storyline connecting all the participants, I wouldn’t be as critical. But aside from the history between Rhea and Liv, everyone else seems like they’re just there to fill spots, and it makes no sense. A traditional elimination tag match or even a tag team match featuring Rhea, Raquel, Liv, and a partner would have made far more sense than this forgettable WarGames match.

It’s frustrating because I thought we had moved past this lazy, PR-driven booking that Vince and Stephanie were known for. But I guess Triple H is just as guilty of it when he needs to tick the same boxes.