5 facts you need to know about WWE Survivor Series WarGames
WWE will present Survivor Series WarGames on November 26. We are but four days away from the final Big-Four Premium Live Event of the year, and it promises to be a cracker. With the WarGames theme on hand, fans can expect titanic and chaotic battles.
Two WarGames matches will be held at Survivor Series. In addition, the match card at this moment in time has three other matches on offer. Ronda Rousey battles Shotzi for the SmackDown Women's Championship, Seth Rollins takes on Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory in a triple threat match for the United States Championship, and AJ Styles locks horns in a grudge match against Finn Balor.
We have for you some interesting stats to raise your interest in the show. So sit back, relax, bask in our jealousy if you have tickets, and take in five facts you need to know about Survivor Series WarGames.
#5. This is the first non-RAW vs. SmackDown show since 2015
In 2016, WWE introduced the brand split. Since then, every Survivor Series Premium Live Event has been a RAW versus SmackDown affair. Superstars from both shows battled it out over a variety of matches for bragging rights and brand supremacy.
For 2022, WWE decided to end their six-year streak by making the theme of the show a different kind of war. This means the 2022 edition is the first non-RAW vs. SmackDown show since 2015. You can thank Roman Reigns and The Usos' destruction of the brand split for that. Their imprisonment of both brands' titles means fans won't see brand warfare this year.
#4. The show will have the first United States Championship match since 2012
BREAKING: @WWERollins will defend his #USTitle this Saturday at #SurvivorSeries in a Triple Threat Match against @fightbobby & @_Theory1!
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Seth Rollins has a mountain of a task ahead of him. At Survivor Series, he will be defending his United States Championship against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory. The match carries a bit of history, for it is the first US title match at the show since 2012. That is a surprising stat, but one that is very strangely true.
Indeed, the last time the US Championship was defended at the survival grounds was when Antonio Cesaro (now known as Claudio Castagnoli) put his title on the line against R-Truth. He retained it that night, so Rollins can breathe easy knowing history is on his side. However, we wouldn't be doing that if we were facing Lashley and Theory in a triple threat match.
#3. The show will debut the WarGames match stipulation on the main WWE roster
Unless you want to be 'that guy' and say WCW history was part of WWE, there has never been a WarGames match on the main WWE roster. It was a staple of NXT for many years, and it is only now that Triple H and the team have green-lighted its debut on the main product for this year's Survivor Series.
Given how WWE has never been shy about introducing new and innovative match stipulations, we are a little surprised that WarGames has never been a thing until now. However, we are not complaining, for we are extremely excited to see how it unfolds on November 26. The only people who will be complaining are WWE 2K23 gamers when they can't control the chaos of the match in the game.
#2. Two men and four women have previous experience in WarGames
As mentioned before, Survivor Series marks the first time a WarGames match will appear on the main roster. This means that most superstars wrestling inside the structure will be doing so for the first time. However, there are six superstars who can guide their teammates during their matches, having already waged war in the past.
From the men's side, Sheamus' team have two experienced wrestlers in Kevin Owens and Butch. The latter in particular has wrestled in quite a few matches of this kind as opposed to the former's one. In the women's camp, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai and Bianca Belair have competed in a WarGames match before. They will be looking to use their knowledge to help their teams get the W at Survivor Series.
#1. Kevin Owens is the only person in WWE history to wrestle a WarGames match as a main roster superstar
NXT's annual WarGames madness saw multiple superstars beat the tar out of each other. Their main roster counterparts never got to compete in the contest. However, Kevin Owens is the exception to this, having competed in NXT while he was a WWE main roster superstar.
In 2019, Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic were getting their behinds handed to them by The Undisputed Era at that year's Takeover. Their fourth member failed to show up, and fans were beginning to lose hope for the babyfaces. However, KO emerged to help Team Ciampa to a thunderous ovation. His arrival turned the tide for his team as they went on to secure the win.
With that appearance, the Prizefighter has become the first and so far only person in WWE history to wrestle a WarGames match as a main roster superstar. At Survivor Series, he will do so once again, but on the Kevin Owens show (yes, that's what it's called) instead of NXT. Which was also the Kevin Owens Show, but we'll just ignore it for now.