Opening up the show is our Women's War Games match - Team Belair (Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch) taking on Damage Ctrl (Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky) and their partners Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley. This match seemed like it was building up well until it hit a rough, slow patch as it almost seemed like they "peaked" a little early and had the babyfaces beaten down a full 5-10 minutes before Becky Lynch came in to make the heroic save. Highlights included seeing Asuka and Iyo tear it up, Nikki Cross being nutty (though I do prefer her as a loony-but-lovable babyface rather than a heel) and cleverly stopping the Tower of Doom spot , and a very good final stretch that saw Becky Lynch square off against Bayley and then Ripley. The low points were Bianca Belair, who put in an undeniable Ironwoman performance by "going the distance" (as did Dakota Kai) and competing for 40+ minutes, getting lost in the shuffle at times and not really establishing that next rival the way I would've hoped and Mia Yim spending what seemed like an eternity just tossing useless weapons into the ring that didn't lead to anything special (and, again, were completely needless by that point as the ring had already been filled with kendo sticks and trash can lids). A solid match, but not must-see, and featured too much overly-choreographed spots. (2/5)
Next up - AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor in a match that would've felt like a huge deal 5-10 years ago (and did when they faced eachother in 2017), but this felt considerably lesser. For starters, neither AJ or Finn have been booked as super strong main event-level guys for at least a couple years, a real consequence of only booking Lesnar and Reigns (and slightly below them Seth Rollins) as true top guys. But even if this didn't feel special, Styles and Balor are good enough workers to avoid ever putting on a stinker. This went a touch long for me and, while there weren't any real "slow" moments, this didn't wow me (or the live audience either). Another good-not-great match that ended surprisingly clean with Styles getting the clean W with a Phenomenal Forearm. (2.5/5)
This was followed by, to my eyes, one of Ronda Rousey's worst WWE showings ever. Now, not all that blame lies with Rousey as her opponent, Shotzi Blackheart, is not a ring general or super established star. The chemistry between them was just not there. There were moments of sloppiness, but what was most unlikable about this match was that it seemed fairly obvious that neither performer was really having any sort of fun out there. The crowd wasn't either as they erupted into a loud "We Want Sasha" chant at one point. Rousey shines best when her feuds are built around her star power and her opponent either being someone with pro-wrestling credibility - Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, the aforementioned Banks - or is a competitor with a big enough personality or gimmick to counterbalance Rousey's serious MMA bad-ass gimmick (Nia Jax and, in their first match at least, Liv Morgan). I'm digging seeing Shayna Baszler getting some time in the spotlight because she's been underutilized multiple times over the years, but they need to find an interesting, fresh challenger for Rousey or the Sasha chants will continue. (1/5)
The United States Championship was on the line in the next match as Seth Rollins defended the title against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory in a threeway match. Seth Rollins is over with the live crowd, but I'll continue to harp on him being basically cherry-picking elements of more original wrestlers to "create" his new character - Becky's wardrobe, Asuka's weird dancing, half of the riff from Shinsuke's music for fans to sing along to. Austin Theory, meanwhile, jettisoned whatever gimmick he had going on before this as a cocky, self-obsessed prima donna but that gimmick was so thin and uninteresting, I wouldn't call him no longer smiling a real character reinvention. I'm not 100% on-board with Lashley's recent heel turn as he was enjoying a really good run as a babyface with the most glaring flaw being that he simply had run out of top heels to beat up (because, well, there's kinda really only one truly dominant heel on the roster right now and he's not losing anytime soon). But, even though I'm not really a fan of any of these guys' current incarnations, this match had a great breakneck pace and lots of clever - if not a touch hokey (a double full nelson? really?) - spots involving all three men. I audibly gasped when Lashley, who had Theory in his Masterlock, got his shoulders pinned and essentially took a blind frog splash from Rollins that looked like it could've cracked a whole bunch of his ribs. The finish wasn't exactly "botched," but the execution was clearly imperfect and even the commentators had to admit that Lashley's spear - which inadvertently led to Theory's victory - wasn't on the money. This might've been the match of the night...but that doesn't mean it was must see. (3/5)
Main event time - The Bloodline vs. Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, and The Brawling Brutes in the Mens' edition of War Games. This was all story and, for some reviewers, this was the perfect pay-off to a months long storyline centered on Sami Zayn and the Bloodline and, more recently, Kevin Owens. But, as someone who is not invested in the weekly TV series (but does follow along a little bit via YouTube and podcasts), I was hoping for something a bit more along the lines of the Brutes/Imperium series and, as naively as it may sound, some actual blood. I mean, Owens and Zayn have done violent brawls before and, with Triple H in charge and such a big fan of "classic" wrestling, it seemed at least within the realm of possibility that he'd allow this match to go a little "old school" and live up to the War Games of the past. Unfortunately, this was just not the case. Instead, we got some good wrestling, some very stiff exchanges, and some cool sequences, but nothing I'd really consider to be extra special. As one reviewer put it - this felt more like your standard 5-man match than a career-threatening grudge match. If AEW's Blood and Guts matches may be a bit too gory, this match didn't push the envelope enough. Like the women's match, we saw all sorts of "plunder" thrown in the match, but the cage itself felt underutilized (if anything, the most innovative moves were based more on there being two rings rather than the steel wrapped around them). As I'm not a weekly viewer, I hadn't seen much of Solo Sikoa before this match but I was impressed with his presence. This also seemed like a real spotlight match for Pete "Butch" Dunne (whose name is still a major injustice in my book), who got to start things out for his team. All in all, not a terrible match and there's no denying that the live crowd absolutely exploded for the finishing stretch involving Sami, KO, and Reigns (and then popped huge again during the post-match), but this still felt a bit light on the brutality that I'd really like to see in a War Games match. (3/5)
Survivor Series 2022 was a show for today's WWE superfans (read: not me). The entertainment value relied heavily on how invested you are in the WWE's current storylines - Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair, the Bloodline saga, AJ's rivalry with Judgment Day, and the Rollins/Theory/Lashley three-way feud for the United States Championship. As someone who doesn't watch the weekly shows, I wasn't as engrossed in the show as others and not as ready to heap praise on either of the War Games matches. With a Kwang Score of 2.3-out-of-5, Survivor Series 2022 was an underwhelming show for an increasingly casual viewer like me.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever
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