Survivor Series: WarGames 2024: CM Punk Joins the Bloodline, but Bron Breakker Steals the Show

The women's WarGames match takes almost forty minutes to prove that the final fifteen are substantially better than the first twenty-five. Bayley and Nia Jax begin slowly, Naomi arrives with a birthday party hat, and the ring gradually fills with kendo sticks, chairs and a toilet seat before the match has established much personal conflict. The advantage belonging to the babyface team also works against the traditional WarGames rhythm because the supposed heroes spend long stretches with the numbers edge.

Candice LeRae improves the pace when she enters, and Bianca Belair adds the athletic power the match needs. IYO SKY's arrival finally creates anticipation for a signature cage dive, while Tiffany Stratton becomes the obvious visual counterpart. The problem is that both women spend enough time arranging the stunt that the spectacle briefly looks like choreography waiting for permission.

Once Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan are both inside, the match becomes much stronger. Ripley removes her protective mask, Liv retrieves the baseball bat, and the rivalry gives the chaos a center. Iyo and Tiffany eventually dive from opposite sides of the cage, Bianca and Naomi powerbomb Nia through a table, and Ripley handcuffs Raquel before catching Liv on the ropes.

The finish is excellent. Liv tries to attack Rhea while Rhea is on the table, but Ripley counters and hits a Riptide from the top through the table for the pin. The victory gives Rhea another direct claim to Liv's championship and creates the image the match has been searching for since the opening bell.

B- / 7.1 reflects a spectacular second half attached to a clumsy first half. TJR gives it 3.5 stars, Meltzer three and Pantoja three, while Cagematch audience voting is much colder. WrestleFile lands between those positions because the biggest moments work, but WarGames should not need a shopping trip under the ring to become interesting.

Shinsuke Nakamura returns to premium live event wrestling looking more interesting before the bell than he has in months. The darker presentation, altered entrance and more sinister pacing immediately tell the audience that this is supposed to be a different version of Nakamura. That creates an awkward challenge for the match itself: nine minutes now have to justify a character overhaul and a championship change.

The wrestling is competent without becoming urgent. Nakamura controls with kicks and knees, Knight answers with familiar power offense, and neither man receives enough time to develop a sustained strategy. The best sequence comes when Nakamura catches Knight near the ropes, hits a reverse Exploder from the top and then uses the space between the two rings to change the match.

Nakamura gouges Knight's eyes, plants him with a reverse DDT onto the steel plating between rings and finishes with the Kinshasa. The title change is decisive enough to make the new presentation matter immediately, even though the eye gouge gives Nakamura a heel shortcut.

C / 6.2 reflects an average match with a useful result. TJR gives it 2.75 stars, Pantoja gives it two and Meltzer gives it 2.25. WrestleZone is somewhat warmer because the new champion creates a fresh direction. WrestleFile agrees with the booking more than the wrestling.

The championship is the real story. Nakamura leaves with his third United States title reign, and Knight suddenly has something new to chase after a run that had begun to feel static. Ten more minutes would not automatically have made this great, but three or four more might have allowed the title change to feel like a match instead of a strong presentation followed by a conclusion.

Bron Breakker, Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser waste almost no time pretending a triple threat needs diplomatic introductions. Kaiser tries to avoid the obvious collision between the two larger men, Sheamus wants to hit everyone, and Breakker moves at a speed that makes the camera seem briefly underqualified. The match establishes all three personalities before the first major nearfall.

Breakker's athleticism creates the spectacle. He launches himself from the apron and turnbuckles, throws both opponents with suplexes and repeatedly appears from outside the frame at full speed. Sheamus provides the emotional center because the Intercontinental Championship is the major WWE singles title he has never held. Kaiser provides the sabotage, caring almost as much about preventing Sheamus from succeeding as he does about winning himself.

The closing stretch is exceptional. Sheamus hits the Celtic Cross on Breakker, survives a top-rope Frankensteiner and then avoids the Spear by sending Breakker into a chair. The Brogue Kick lands and appears to complete Sheamus' championship collection, but Kaiser pulls the referee from the ring. The crowd reacts exactly as the match needs it to react: not because a referee bump happened, but because a specific dream has just been stolen.

Kaiser then attacks Sheamus' ribs with the shillelagh, Sheamus fights back, and Breakker returns to Spear Kaiser out of the ring before hitting another Spear on Sheamus for the pin. Breakker retains by surviving a match where both challengers have genuine reasons to hate each other, and Sheamus leaves protected by the stolen count and rib damage.

A- / 8.9 makes this WrestleFile's Match of the Night. Meltzer and Pantoja both give it 4.25 stars, TJR gives it four, and Sporting News gives it an A+. The match is short enough to remain violent, long enough to create suspense and smart enough to make the third participant essential. No cage, family tree or surprise ally is required. Three wrestlers hit each other until the best sequence wins.

Gunther and Damian Priest wrestle a much better match than their SummerSlam result requires them to. Priest enters believing Gunther needed Finn Bálor's betrayal to win the championship in August, while Gunther is increasingly irritated by the suggestion that his reign has begun with doubt. That gives the rematch a useful psychological difference before either man starts attacking a limb.

Priest's left shoulder becomes the story almost immediately. Gunther kicks it, drives it into the post, bends it on the mat and watches for every moment Priest tries to hide the pain. Priest responds almost entirely with his right side, which makes his comebacks feel less rehearsed than they would if the injury disappeared whenever he needed a signature move.

The best details arrive when Priest tries to lift Gunther. The Razor's Edge works once but produces a weak cover because the shoulder is damaged. Later, Priest cannot complete South of Heaven and the failure creates an opening rather than simply reminding the audience that he is hurt. Gunther's Kimura and later sleeper therefore feel like logical extensions of the same plan.

Finn Bálor's interference is the deduction. He hits Priest with Coup de Grace from the steps while the referee is occupied, repeating the basic betrayal that cost Priest the title at SummerSlam. Gunther immediately boots Balor away, powerbombs Priest and finishes with a sleeper that traps the damaged arm, so the champion still earns the final submission. The outside help remains unnecessary.

B+ / 8.2 reflects very good wrestling with a frustrating finish. TJR and Meltzer each give it 3.75 stars, while Pantoja gives it 3.5. The shoulder psychology is among the smartest work on the card. The match would score higher if WWE trusted that story enough to let Gunther finish it without borrowing Finn Bálor for another chapter.

The men's WarGames understands that the cage is not the story. Roman Reigns has reunited with the Usos and Sami Zayn, but he still struggles to treat them as equals. CM Punk is present because Paul Heyman asked him to be there, not because Punk has suddenly developed affection for the family. Solo Sikoa's team enters together and behaves like a unit. Roman's team enters separately and looks like five stars sharing a temporary emergency.

That difference gives the entry period structure. Jey Uso starts against Tama Tonga, Bronson Reed supplies the first major power shift, Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu raise the intensity, and Sami Zayn arrives to a strong Canadian reaction. The best character beat comes when Roman blocks Punk from entering and sends Sami instead. Later, Punk steps in front of Roman and enters when Roman wants to go. Neither man is willing to surrender status even while losing the numbers battle.

Solo tries to lock Roman outside the cage before the final entry. The logic is questionable because WarGames cannot officially conclude until every participant has entered, but Roman climbing the cage gives his entrance a bigger visual than simply opening the door. Once he is inside, the match becomes a series of alliances forming under pressure. Reigns accidentally Spears Punk, Paul Heyman appears and pleads for cooperation, and Punk eventually saves Roman from Bronson Reed's Tsunami through a table.

The closing stretch is exactly right. Jimmy Uso splashes Jacob Fatu from the top of the cage through a table, the winning team gradually clears the ring and Solo is left alone. The Usos hit superkicks, Sami hits the Helluva Kick, Punk hits Go to Sleep and Roman finishes with the Spear. Roman pins Solo, but the victory belongs visibly to all five men.

A- / 8.8 makes this the runner-up by a tenth. Meltzer and TJR both give it 4.25 stars, Pantoja gives it four and Cagematch audience voting sits around eight out of ten. The match has stronger storytelling than the Intercontinental triple threat but a few more contrived transitions and almost forty-two minutes to manage.

The aftermath makes the match even more valuable without inflating the wrestling score. Roman and Punk shake hands, Punk hugs Heyman and reminds him that the promised favor will eventually be collected. The team wins the war without pretending the peace is permanent. That is a much better ending than a surprise betrayal thrown in merely because the cage door is still nearby.