WWE Survivor Series: WarGames is a few days away. The teams are set. The Men’s and Women’s divisions have two big matches scheduled, featuring the ten biggest stars in both groups. Two other matches are scheduled, with one of those matches featuring a top title from the main roster. While this is going to be a car-crash of a show, it is clear that Survivor Series has not been an important PLE for quite a long time.
For some, Survivor Series may be more of a Thanksgiving tradition than a PLE that matters to the greater “lore” of the promotion. For decades, this showcase featured elimination-style matches that would include some interesting storylines along the way.
All of that changed in 2017. A few months prior, the brand split on the main roster returned, creating a divide between WWE Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Along with it, came the phrase known as “Brand Supremacy.” Those are perhaps two of the emptiest words in professional wrestling.
From that point forward, wrestlers were beholden to fight for the “pride” of their assigned show. Putting on either a red or blue t-shirt suddenly marked a level of loyalty that caused them to invade other shows for a few weeks leading into the PLE. The elimination matches pit stars from one show against the other in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions. Nothing was on the line. No title matches promised to the groups that came out on top. Just good ole “Brand Supremacy.”
Now, there’s WarGarmes. Now, WarGames does come with some improved aspects of ingrained storylines heading into the match. But those are often rushed and not given the space to fully develop leading into the show. Take the 2026 showcase for example. Why would Becky Lynch side with Asuka’s team? There’s no real reason to do so. Charlotte Flair being apprehensive to join the team because her history with Rhea Ripley was the only bit of long-term storytelling built into the angle.
Not only that, but WWE fails to do anything “new” with these matches. IYO SKY has been in every single women’s WarGames match since the match was moved to the main roster. The Team led by CM Punk is nearly the exact same group as 2024, except for flipping in Cody Rhodes for Sami Zayn. More of the same.
TKO President Mark Shapiro talked openly about the idea that WWE needed to “move past events created by Vince McMahon.” That’s an interesting statement. No one should expect WrestleMania and Royal Rumble to change, but if this is an opening to change the rest of the PLE calendar, WWE Survivor Series must change or go away completely. There’s a lot that could be done to improve the show, such as adding stakes to the elimination matches to build a reason why performers want the victories. WWE’s creative hasn’t delivered when it comes to offering new ideas that bring in fans, so it will be interesting to see what changes are coming to these PLEs outside of the push to extract more revenue.
WWE Survivor Series is a relic from the past. It is time to either make major changes to this PLE or do away with it entirely.