WWE Survivor Series 2025: Attendance Record Broken, But Creative Struggles Persist
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WWE’s annual fall spectacle, Survivor Series 2025, landed inside San Diego’s Petco Park on Saturday, successfully breaking the flagship event’s all-time attendance record. However, despite the impressive gate, the show itself was a mixed bag, leaning heavily on the brutality of its trademark double-cage structure with two WarGames battles that ultimately struggled to deliver satisfying conclusions on the road to WrestleMania season.
WarGames Disappointment: Interference Mars Main Event
In the night’s main event, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes captained a blockbuster squad, reminiscent of last year’s face team, teaming alongside The Usos and Roman Reigns. They proved insufficient to overcome the formidable coalition of The Vision – Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed – with Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar. The match’s momentum, however, was abruptly halted by a shocking interference. A masked man, utilizing the injured Seth Rollins’ moveset, climbed the cage late in the match to deliver a curb stomp on Punk before Breakker secured the victory with a spear on the World Heavyweight Champion.
“This was a massive miss to end a match that had some very good moments,” one analyst noted. While Breakker was positioned as a star in the making, the need for interference to secure the win undermined his progression, particularly given Punk’s early dominance in the contest. Despite WWE’s attempt to portray the incident as an attack by Rollins, skepticism remains. “It felt like a ‘WWE Raw’ ending on a PLE,” a senior official stated.
Women’s WarGames: A More Focused Affair
The women’s WarGames match, which kicked off the night, fared better in execution. Rhea Ripley led her superteam of Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and AJ Lee to an expected victory over Nia Jax, Lash Legend, The Kabuki Warriors and Becky Lynch. The match was largely built around bolstering the feud between Lee and Lynch, while also adding layers to the established history between Ripley and Flair.
The match started slowly, with the cage and no-DQ stipulation initially feeling like afterthoughts. However, it gained momentum as more competitors entered the fray. Despite the overall improvement, opportunities were missed. “Lee barely did anything in the match outside of making Lynch tap,” one observer commented. Lash Legend, despite a strong showing, was given limited time to shine. Nonetheless, the women’s WarGames match offered more promising developments for the future than its male counterpart.
Championship Changes and Questionable Booking
Championship stakes rounded out the card, but the outcomes were often perplexing. WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena failed to defend his title against Dominik Mysterio, with a returning Liv Morgan ultimately delivering the decisive blow. The overbooking and frequent referee interference, a recurring theme in Cena’s “retirement tour,” detracted from the match’s impact. The result, like Breakker’s win, devalued the attempt to elevate Mysterio to the next level. “It was fun for what it was, but probably not even among Cena’s five best matches of the year,” a fan remarked.
The Women’s World Championship also changed hands, with Stephanie Vaquer successfully defending against Nikki Bella in a match that felt out of place on a premium live event. “It was slightly better than it had any business being, but again, it was a television match and program shoehorned onto a PLE,” one commentator noted. Vaquer now has the opportunity to embark on a meaningful feud, while Bella’s heel character faces an uncertain future.
A PLE That “Just Happened”
WWE Survivor Series 2025 ultimately felt underwhelming. As many predicted, the annual WarGames stipulation needs reevaluation, reserved for storylines where it organically fits rather than being forced into five-on-five scenarios. Despite a title change, the event was largely overshadowed by Morgan’s unexpected return.
Overall, WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 receives a score of 👑 5/10. 👑
WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 Uncrowned Awards
MVP of the Night: Becky Lynch
This was admittedly a tough award to hand out Saturday, but Lynch was the glue of the women’s WarGames match. The self-proclaimed GOAT strung together a storyline practically on a week’s notice, and instantly weaved it into the match with her cowardice. Additionally, Lynch is a legendary performer. She proved that once again, propping up so many of her former rivals.
Uncrowned Gem of the Night: Lash Legend
Despite her limited appearance in the women’s WarGames match, Legend still felt like a big deal out there. She was booked appropriately, going toe-to-toe with Ripley with ease, and had to be taken out by Asuka’s mist. Legend needs to go straight for a world title, and if it’s on “SmackDown,” give me the Jade Cargill feud yesterday.
Match of the Night: The Men’s WarGames match
The more I reflect on it, the less I like the main event. However, until it ended with a thud, it had a lot of good things going for it. It felt practically meaningless, but it was fun while it was happening.
Best Spot of the Night: Roman Reigns’ spear to Brock Lesnar through a table while holding Jey Uso
I love the Iyo Sky trashcan front flip off the cage. I really do. But this spot had me sold on the possibility of some development between Reigns and Uso. (Shame on me there.) Ultimately, it looked like it wasn’t supposed to put Uso through the table, too, but Lesnar held on, and the way Uso tumbled down over both was an awesome image.
WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 Full Card Results and Highlights:
- Men’s WarGames Match: The Vision (Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed), Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar def. CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) and Roman Reigns
- WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c.) def. Nikki Bella
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio def. John Cena (c.)
- Women’s WarGames Match: Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and AJ Lee def. Nia Jax, Lash Legend, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) and Becky Lynch
Match Crown Scores:
- Men’s WarGames Match: 👑 3.75/5 👑
- WWE Women’s World Championship: 👑 2.75/5 👑
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: 👑 3.25/5 👑
- Women’s WarGames Match: 👑 3.25/5 👑
Ultimately, WWE Survivor Series 2025 felt like a missed opportunity, a show that prioritized spectacle over compelling storytelling and left fans wanting more.
