MR. TITO: Happy Thanksgiving – The WarGames Format SUCKS for WWE Survivor Series Events
Happy Thanksgiving from me to you… Yes, I’m only writing these days when I feel the need or the headline merits it, but I prided myself in the past for producing columns on holidays. At least for 2025, I want to keep that tradition alive by discussing WWE Survivor Series 2025. No, it will NOT be a predictions column, as I’d rather gouge out my eyeballs than to predict that nonsense. Plus, to Triple H’s credit since becoming creative lead again, WWE isn’t as easy to predict as it was with Vince McMahon.
Honestly for me, I see many problems with Survivor Series 2025 on Saturday (11/29/25). Let me list the many issues that I have with this TKO produced show.
#1 – WWE events work better in arenas, not stadiums.
Right now on Ticketmaster.com, if you wanted to purchase the CHEAPEST ticket for this event at Petco Stadium in San Diego, CA, it will cost you $107.20. Nevermind the parking cost (between $40 and $100), you’ll endure the upper deck of that facility with massive structures around the ring that block your view plus the BRIGHT lights that will be staring at you all night long.
By the way, this event is NOT sold out… Plenty of seats available.
And if you ponied up for the ringside view (paying over $2,000 and up to $5,000 PER TICKET), just realize that thanks to the WarGames format, there are two rings side-by-side. Enjoy the neck strain of looking back and forth, no matter what ticket that you purchased.
#2 – WarGames Theme Sucks
If you are going to have these ignorant cage matches, trying to rehash Dusty’s old idea, then stop calling it “Survivor Series”. Survivor Series, which was invented by the WWE, features 5 on 5 or 4 on 4 elimination style match-ups. It was invented to counter and defeat the promotion who created the “War Games” cage format, NWA Mid-Atlantic territory which later become World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
By the way, the 5 on 5 or 4 on 4 elimination style match-ups were MORE EXCITING than those cage matches. Take out the top War Games match-ups from NWA’s past, and you’re left with many bad match-ups. Often, the Survivor Series match-up allowed for midcarders and main eventers to actually work together and it created a measuring stick for wrestlers to potentially climb up the card. Then, WWE made its Royal Rumble plans and then Wrestlemania plans.
Wrestlers are NO GOOD to a wrestling promotion if they are INJURED. Having cage matches, which encourages stupid stunts by the wrestlers, are recipes for disaster for the WWE as it heads into Rumble to Wrestlemania season when they need their top wrestlers to be healthy. Furthermore, great match-ups DO NOT need match gimmicks to succeed. A 5 on 5 classic Survivor Series match-up would draw equally was well as this stupid catch match this year. That’s a FACT. People aren’t watching Survivor Series just for the cage match, no, they are watching because CM Punk and Roman Reigns are teaming up against a team that features Brock Lesnar. THAT IS THE DRAW, not a stupid cage covering 2 rings.
Plus, now that WarGames is the Survivor Series theme, it’s ridiculous to think that wrestlers are like “well, it’s November, might as well have a cage match”.
NO!!! If you’re going to have a big match that involves cages, ladders, tables, chairs, of no-disqualification standards, then the STORYLINE should induce it, not the month of the event!
Because it’s November, both men and women have to wrestle in a catch that spans 2 rings. That is such LAZY booking.
#3 – The Vision Sucks
Even when Seth Rollins was there, this stable did nothing for me or most wrestling fans. Attendance and viewership have both dropped since the Seth/Paul Heyman heel turn and forming of the group occurred. Switching back and forth between heel, face, and tweener has burned Seth out as a wrestler, while Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed just aren’t exciting as characters.
You can tell that Bronson is a “Triple H guy”, based on the way he’s incorporated into bigger WWE storylines. I, along with other wrestling fans, felt NOTHING when Reed defeated Roman Reigns. Again, HHH, you can keep pushing guys like him, Kross, Black, or Priest… Brooding big guys, which was your template, just doesn’t draw when the in-ring performances aren’t exciting or mic skills/personality aren’t there.
With Bron Breakker… He’s a more athletic version of his Dad and Uncle, but he lacks personality like those two. Rick Steiner was the “Dog Faced Gremlin” and brought a lot to the table as a singles wrestler, back in the day, when he was feuding with the Varsity Club. Took Scott Steiner a while, but “Big Poppa Pump” was full of personality and thrived when he finally made the heel turn to join the NWO. Bron has been switched between heel and face too many times, and honestly, I think being seen too much in NXT actually exposed him in the WWE.
Paul Heyman’s time deserves better. If I were booking the ending of Survivor Series 2025, I’d have Heyman fully rejoin Brock Lesnar and then have Lesnar just obliterate Breakker and Reed. Vision is over and we can at least have 1 great heel for the many babyfaces (Punk and Reigns, especially) to challenge. As the NoDQ Review guys said the other night, there’s real money in a big CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar feud and I agree.
#4 – Survivor Series could be renamed to OLDER Series
Let’s look at the average age of the WarGames main event on the male side:
CM Punk = 47
Cody Rhodes = 40
Jey Uso = 40
Jimmy Uso = 40
Roman Reigns = 40
Versus
Brock Lesnar = 48
Bronson Reed = 37
Bron Breakker = 28
Logan Paul = 30
Drew McIntyre = 40
Now, in pro wrestling circles, many top performers work well into their 40s… I’m NOT disputing that, as often, that is still the prime for many performers.
My issue is WHAT IS BEHIND those wrestlers coming up in the WWE midcard or in the NXT developmental system.
I already discussed my concerns with Reed and Breakker above… For Logan Paul, I see all kinds of superstar potential with him, but he has only wrestled 25 matches in 4 years and from those matches, he has a 11-14 win/loss record. All of the top guys have already defeated him, while most of Paul’s wins are against midcarders or someone line AJ Styles past their prime. Thus, rebuilding him would take time if there were ever consistent considerations to make him a long-term main eventer.
With Lesnar, Punk, the Usos, Reigns, Drew, and Cody, we’ve seen each of them achieve their peak moments and already wrestle virtually everybody already. Punk vs. Cody or Punk vs. Lesnar, in my opinion, is the only thing that remains from this group with any form of juice to draw.
The WEAKNESS of WWE Developmental should be a major concern for the strategy makers at TKO. This has been a massive issue of the WWE for YEARS, as I’ve argued for 15 years now. The trainers on the male side just aren’t teaching personality, mic skills, or encouraging charisma like they used to in OVW or FCW. Hell, look at this match-up… Aside from Breakker, who was a John Laurinaitis signing, Reed, and Paul, it’s all OVW and FCW signed and developed guys. Roman started in FCW, by the way, and was later moved over to NXT.
#5 – Why is there a female WarGames match?
Sorry, but I dislike having 2 of the same special match on the same card. Completely waters down the events when 2 of the same match happens, such as TLC, Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WarGames. “Too much of a good thing” and “less is more” should be principles for the WWE to consider with these specialty matches.
And I just don’t get the psychology of the match-up, either, as it feels so thrown together unless the babyface unravels. The babyface with Rhea, Iyo, Charlotte, Alexa, and AJ Lee is far more stacked and interesting compared to Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Kabuki Warriors, and Becky Lynch.
#6 – If Nikki Bella wins, San Diego fans should riot.
DISCLAIMER: I’m joking and being sarcastic with the “riot” comment! Fans in attendance should obviously not riot.
Sorry, but older Nikki Bella with in-ring mileage and injuries mounted should not be wrestling Stephanie Vaquer. This is likely going to be staged right before the men’s WarGames match to allow everyone to get one last beer or take a piss at the stadium.
If Nikki wins, this is an absolute crime and diminishes the women’s title that Vaquer holds. In fact, if I were booking this, I’d have Stephanie absolutely obliterate her within 1 minute. That, or just toy with her for 5 minutes and let the fans enjoy it.
Nikki Bella just isn’t good inside the ring, but that’s merely thanks to getting older and the injuries she sustained. Remember, she retired due to her neck injury and the cyst inside her head. Thus, she’s overly protective inside the ring and afraid of taking any risks. The end result equals a bad performance by her, especially against performers who are more athletic than her right now.
#7 – Dominik Mysterio should defeat John Cena to win back the IC Title
Recently, ESPN listed Dominik Mysterio as the top wrestler under 30 years of age. Hard to dispute, as Dominik has more than proven himself as a PERSONALITY who is magnetic with fans. While I think he’s a solid worker, it’s his personality, charisma, and confidence that sets him apart from many other wrestlers his age. The guy totally owned his character and has made a name for himself.
This is a big stage for Cena and Dom, and a perfect one for Dom to steal a win from Cena, if not outright defeating him. However, I think WWE needs to save that big CLEAN win for someone else for Cena’s final match and thus can get away with Dom CHEATING TO WIN instead. In fact, Dirty Dom should defeat Cena with a past method used by Eddie Guerrero as a 20-year tribute to a guy once alleged to be his father. Cena can then just laugh inside the ring that Dom did him, much like Eddie would, and then Cena can just move on to the big retirement match without feeling any need to get revenge on Dominik.
#8 – WWE should incorporate Mr. Tito’s idea for Survivor Series
I have suggested this idea for YEARS! Instead of having these STUPID and I repeat STUPID WarGames cage matches, WWE should retain the 5 on 5 Survivor Series elimination matches but with a massive special stipulation on the match.
The top 5 babyfaces and then the top 5 heels should face-off with the classic elimination style matches, unless WWE really wants RAW and Smackdown teams instead. Whatever the format may be, the basic idea is that the WINNING TEAM receives slots #26-30 at the WWE Royal Rumble while slots #1-5 are given to the LOSING TEAM. WWE could make it simpler by having the #1 seed as the reward for the lone survivor instead, and in the event that more than 1 person survive on the team, they should have a match during the December PLE to determine who gets that #1 seed.
My point is to LINK Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble together, while also placing a “sense of urgency” on the Survivor Series 5 on 5 classic elimination style match-up and the PLE.
The WarGames cage match is not only LAME, but a tired format. Tito’s plan of placing Royal Rumble positions up-for-grabs makes Survivor Series a much more interesting event.
Otherwise, if “WarGames” is going to continue to dominate Survivor Series, then make WarGames a separate event and either retire Survivor Series or make that a separate event? Give event to the Saudis, as they’ll literally buy anything that advertises what is currently happening in their country.
Actually, let’s give WarGames to the Saudis so they can enjoy those crappy matches while keeping the better WWE events here in North America where they were created and belong.
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