The men’s WarGames match is set, and has red hot momentum

With the build to the women’s WarGames match taking place on WWE Raw, the company has used SmackDown to hype up the men’s match. WWE started putting things into motion on the Nov. 11 episode, as the Brawling Brutes joined forces with Drew McIntyre to fend off The Bloodline and signal their intent to settle this conflict inside WarGames.

Knowing that Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and “Honorary Uce” Sami Zayn comprised team Bloodline, this week’s SmackDown focused on who could potentially fill the final spot for the babyface side.

By the end of the show, we learned who that opening would be filled by a ghost from Reigns and Zayn’s past.

Kevin Owens joining the WarGames match has added more heat to an already-red-hot match.

In the main event, Zayn took on Butch in a SmackDown World Cup quarterfinal match. As expected, the two put together a fun match that eventually got bogged down by outside shenanigans. The former Pete Dunne scored the pinfall win after hitting The Bitter End, but The Bloodline pounced on the babyfaces immediately afterward.

Eventually, Roman Reigns sauntered to the ring, and the heels overwhelmed Butch, Sheamus, McIntyre, and Ridge Holland. As Reigns set up to spear Sheamus, though, Kevin Owens’ music hit to a rousing reaction, and those cheers got louder when “The Prizefighter” marched to the ring.

After a brief staredown win Zayn, Owens kneed Reigns in the face to prevent the spear and hit the Undisputed Univeral Champion with a Stunner as the episode came to a close.

Owens’ return and inclusion in the men’s WarGames match move WWE’s hottest story to its next chapter. Along with the lingering beef he still has with Reigns over screwing him out of the Universal Title multiple times in 2021, his longtime friendship/rivalry with Zayn should plant some dissension between Zayn and the Bloodline.

That gets us one step closer to Roman and his family turning on Zayn, which will lead to Zayn rediscovering his self-respect and teaming with Owens to chase the tag team titles.

Add in the always-reliable McIntyre and the revitalized Sheamus — who should get a world title match out of this — and you get a match that could be the most anticipated on the Survivor Series: WarGames card.