WWE Survivor Series: War Games 2025 ~ Recap

This past Saturday, the superstars of WWE converged on Petco Park in San Diego for 2025’s Survivor Series: War Games. One of WWE’s premiere premium live events, Survivor Series saw two five-on-five War Games cage matches, as well as a pair of matches with championship titles on the line.

The night began with the women’s War Games match. As per the rules of War Games, each team started with one wrestler in the cage, with new alternating team members joining every few minutes until the full five-on-five match could begin. Charlotte Flair faced off against Asuka to start, and one by one they were joined by their respective teammates. Charlotte managed to put aside her animosity towards former rival Rhea Ripley long enough for the two of us, plus Iyo Sky, Alexa Bliss and AJ Lee to gain the upper hand on Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nia Jax, Lash Legend and Becky Lynch.

With all her teammates taken out by an attack by Iyo Sky (diving off the top of the cage while wearing a trash can), cowardly Becky Lynch attempted to flee the War Games cage. But her escape was cut short by a barrage of finishing moves from Ripley, Flair, etc., culminating in a vicious submission hold from AJ Lee, forcing Lynch to tap out and hand her team defeat.

Next up was the Intercontinental Championship match between reigning champ John Cena and former champ Dominik Mysterio. In what was likely his final Survivor Series and final title match, Cena put up a typically solid defense, overcoming the interference of multiple members of Mysterio’s Judgement Day faction. But the turning point came with the return of Liv Morgan, who had been away from the Judgement Day due to injury. Morgan’s cheap shot between Cena’s legs was enough for Mysterio to get the pin and retain the title, but Cena left Petco Park a winner, soaking in cheers and applause on one of the last stops of his retirement tour.

Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer also faced off against a longtime WWE veteran, as former mentor Nikki Bella challenged Vaquer for the title. Bella put Vaquer through her paces, forcing the champ to use her Devil’s Kiss finishing multiple times to wear the more experience Bella down. But in the end, Vaquer emerged victorious with yet another successful title defense.

The show ended with the hotly anticipated men’s War Games match. On one side, Paul Heyman’s new faction “The Vision” had assembled a quintet of bruisers, including Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul and the so-called Beast Incarnate himself, Brock Lesnar. And while none of these men could exactly be called “friends,” they formed a more unified front than their opponents. While current World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk was technically captain of the opposing team, neither Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes and former longtime champion Roman Reigns were big on taking orders.

Alongside Jimmy and Jey Uso, they fought the good fight against the Vision. Punk ultimately took the fall for his team when a masked assailant climbed into the ring and delivered a beatdown on behalf of the Vision. Heyman’s team took advantage of the attack to grab the pin and the victory, leaving fans pondering the identity of the masked man as WWE headed into the aftermath of Survivor Series on Raw and Smackdown this week.