WWEcontinues to have one of the greatest years in its history with a fantasticSurvivor Series 2024in Vancouver. Roman Reigns and CM Punk put their differences aside, asRoman’s team defeated Solo’s Bloodline in a thrilling WarGames matchfor the ages. In the Women’s WarGames match, Rhea Ripley pinned Liv Morgan to get her team the win, delivering a Riptide through a table in the process. Iyo Sky also continued her yearly tradition of jumping from the top of the cage in a trash can.
Elsewhere in the show,Shinsuke Nakamura became the new United States Champion, pinning LA Knight cleanly in a shock victory. Bron Breakker retained his Intercontinental Championship against Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser in a spectacular bout, and interference from Finn Balor saw Gunther retain his World Heavyweight Championship against Damian Priest.
CM Punk
The Wiseman’s Wildcard Comes Up Trumps
For a moment,the addition of CM Punk as the 5th man in Roman Reigns’s Bloodline looked like it was going to be a disaster.As the Second City Saint watched the clock countdown and thrust himself forward at the sound of buzzer, Roman put his hand across Punk to assert his dominance and let Sami Zayn enter WarGames instead. It was uncalled for and tense, coming at a time when Solo’s Bloodline was dominating the match, and hope looked even more lost when Reigns accidentally hit Punk with a spear.
Only CM Punk kept his part of the bargain. So much was made of the favor that Heyman would owe Punk, that people forgot this man was following up Hell In A Cell with WarGames at 46 years of age for the cause of someone he doesn’t even like. The timing ofPunk saving Roman Reignsfrom a top-of-the -cageBronson Reed Tsunamithrough a table was so good it should be studied in museums. Crucially, this is the night CM Punk showed he could hang with anyone in WWE andthe idea of Punk holding a major title again feels realistic.
Roman Reigns
The Biggest Step Forward On Roman’s Comeback Tour
A few short weeks ago, Roman Reigns was correctly assessed to be “a Tribal Chief with no tribe”. After Roman successfully pinned Solo to win the match for his team, he shook CM Punk’s hand andReigns looked like a man whose confidence and dominance had been restored. For years, Roman had a gang of wild henchmen to do his bidding. Now, he stands tall among his family and…well…not friends exactly, but the respect between Punk and the biggest superstar in wrestling was clear for all to see.
The door of possibility is once again wide open for Roman Reigns. He has unfinished business with Solo Sikoa and The Bloodline, but as we are less than 5 weeks away fromWWE debuting on Netflixand the official Road to WrestleMania begins,Roman Reigns feels like the king of the jungle again. It remains to see what role he will play once he is inserted in the world title picture again.
The Women’s WarGames Match
Superb Stuff From Everybody Involved
It has been a strange few months for the women of WWE. The positives of new mid-card titles have had to be balanced against a Crown Jewel feud that derailed all the top stories in the division, and a Survivor Series build that has never felt particularly high stakes. These issues faded into insignificance whenthis phenomenal, white-knuckle WarGames match made everyone look strongerthan before the match began.
Bron Breakker
And Still, Following An Explosive Triple Threat Match
Wow. For a match that felt more like a bout for Monday Night Raw than a PLE as big as Survivor Series on paper, Bron Breakker, Ludwig Kaiser, and Sheamus were on majestic form in a sensational Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match.Breakker retained after a rib-destroying Spear to Sheamus, but this was a match that did something for each of the competitors.
Ludwig Kaiser has butchered any idea that his future is to be nothing more than Gunther’s monkey butler. This match showed that he can hang under any circumstances and be a believable IC title winner. Sheamus’s quest for the Intercontinental Championship is one of the very few “holy grails” in WWE and is being protected as such. And then there’s Bron Breakker. Breakker is a freak WWE superstar who makes every match he’s part of feel like an event, showcasing exactly whyhe’s going to be a marquee name for decades. Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Bron have all kept the Intercontinental Championship scene red-hot this year. Now, who’s next?
10 Best Survivor Series Matches in WWE History, Ranked
The traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 elimination tag team match used to be a staple of the WWE PPV. Which were the best matches in its history?
Damian Priest
A Heavy Night For One Of 2024’s Standout Performers
For the past month, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther has been awestruck by the presence and power of Damian Priest. For much of this match, Priest had Gunther’s number like so few have managed over the years. However, in the match’s final stages, Priest appeared to land awkwardly off of the ring apron. Officials seemed concerned, butFinn Balor came out of the crowd to deliver a punishing Coup de Gracefrom atop the steel steps and cost his former Judgment Day team member.
The move didn’t seem to be appreciated by Gunther, who delivered a brutal head kick to Balor for interfering, before pinning Priest to retain his championship. His woes wouldn’t end there, asPriest was later attacked with a steel chair by The Judgment Daybackstage. It’s a brutal and bitter end to what has comfortably been the best and most high-profile year of his career to date. It’s hard not to think that Priest has been stuck in the same story since he lost the World Heavyweight Championship, but the silver lining is that his feud with Balor now feels even more personal as WWE heads into an enormous 2025.
LA Knight
A Limp End To A Questionable Title Reign
Nobody saw that one coming. In the night’s shock result,Shinsuke Nakamura won the United States Championship from LA Knight, just 15 days after returning to WWE, after a devastating Kinshasa. There will be plenty of time to talk about the new champion, but this was a soul-crushing defeat for LA Knight, bringing his 119-day US title reign to an end.
The big question when thinking about The Megastar is:did LA Knight’s run with the belt elevate the United States Championship?When the championship was on the shoulder of one of the world’s most influential contemporary pop culture figures, Logan Paul, he added a layer of prestige to proceedings, no matter what you think of him and his lack of matches. LA Knight was undeniably the right man to end Logan’s run with the gold, but it feels likehis momentum and popularity never quite translated to the required levelas US Champion. He will have great feuds and his talent deserves more chances, but it will be interesting to see how history regards LA Knight as a US Champion.
