Hey, WWE Fans, It's Time To Admit A Hard Truth About Survivor Series

The WWE is in the final leg of shows on the 2025 TV schedule, and still has one of its "Big Four" PLEs left to get through before the year is up. It's been a long year, and with some key injuries to superstars, it's fair to say some matches have felt a bit thrown together and out of sync with where the story was headed prior. Be that as it may, I'll maintain there's been a problem with Survivor Series for a while, and it's high time we talk about it.

Between the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, it's becoming abundantly clear this year and over the past couple of years, that one of these four is not like the others. Even with John Cena's retirement tour in the mix, it's clear that this year's (and maybe even other recent ones) Survivor Series hasn't quite lived up to the reputation the event had previously.

Survivor Series Has Lost The Aura Required Of A Big Four Event

Survivor Series used to be something I felt was a big deal. It was the final chance for the WWE to "shuffle the deck," so to speak, and get all its ducks in a row for WrestleMania season. I would argue that, more than any other big event in the WWE, this is the PLE where anything can happen from a storytelling perspective, and that's completely fine. Come the start of the new year, the WWE can right the ship and set everything in motion for its storytelling for WrestleMania.

Unfortunately, the past couple of years haven't been that. It's been, "Let's do a title match for a couple of low-stakes feuds, and then shove all the top stars into WarGames." Take a look at the match card for this year if you don't believe me, and then look at the match card for last year, and 2023 as well.

By the way, in those two prior years, the champion retained the title in defenses, with the exception of when Shinsuke Nakamura defeated L.A. Knight for the United States Championship. Title changes are part of the appeal of a Big Four PLE, and the evidence is right there, but we haven't been getting any of that.

Beyond that, we have the main event being hijacked by Wargames, which, despite the initial hype of its return, is essentially shoving a bunch of top-name superstars into an oversized cage match for a zero-stakes battle. The Royal Rumble gives wrestlers a chance to compete at WrestleMania, and SummerSlam has become a spectacle that effectively serves as a second Mania. Why should wrestlers, or we as the audience, care about who wins Wargames when it has the same stakes as a six-man tag match on Monday Night Raw?

The Wargames Gimmick Has Resulted In More Negatives Than Positives

I know there was a lot of initial excitement for Wargames to return and serve as a highlight to Survivor Series. Unfortunately, I haven't been impressed with what I've seen since its return, except for Iyo Sky's trash can dive. It's a fantastic spot she's pulled off without being injured, but she'd be one of the few who escaped a big fall from the cage without injury.

Let's not forget when Bronson Reed needed surgery after a leg injury he sustained from jumping from the top of the cage, or when Jimmy Uso broke his toe in the exact same match. I don't think it's a coincidence, as the presence of the cage can prompt wrestlers to try spots that, when there are a lot of people in the ring and a lot of moving parts, are pretty risky.

Beyond injury, it feels to me that, outside of a few scripted spots, so much of what occurs in a Wargames match is improvised. It's similar to what we see during a Royal Rumble match, but much more chaotic because everyone is in the ring from start to finish, and there are two wrestling rings with a rope right in the middle. From an outsider's perspective, it seems like it's quite a challenge to put on a convincing and entertaining fight, whilst still staying out of the way of other performers.

Performing a spear, for example, is incredibly risky if there's no communication and another wrestler attempts to run across the ring at the same time. Conversely, I feel like when a spot is planned, it feels telegraphed because everyone is trying to get into position or out of the way for that spot. Obviously, I have a lot of gripes about this match, which is a problem, because it accounts for a third of the entire show. It might be a hot take, but I feel like it's time to phase Wargames out again.

With This Usually Being The Last PLE Of The Year, Everything Feels Like It's In A Holding Pattern To Prepare For WrestleMania Season

I've hit on this previously, but it bears repeating. Out of all the PLEs of the year where the WWE should be able to do something wacky and give a title to someone who usually wouldn't have one, it's Survivor Series. All of it can be phased out ahead of the Royal Rumble, and the real storylines of the season can truly begin.

Unfortunately, the WWE has largely maintained the status quo regarding its champions. So, rather than get something exciting to hold us over until the new year, we get more or less the same, and can expect few, if any, exciting things to happen between now and the Royal Rumble. Certainly nothing as exhilarating as when Jey Uso shocked the world with a Rumble win.

Currently, the main draw is the same thing it's been for the previous two years. Can a ragtag team of superstars put their differences aside and take on a group of heels led by the legendary Paul Heyman? There are too many talented people involved in these matches every year for the final result to be middling or forgettable. And yet, I can remember a vast number of iconic moments from Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, or SummerSlam in the past five years. Take a wild guess on how many I can remember from Survivor Series?

I'm crossing my fingers that the upcoming Survivor Series will change my perspective, and I will be tuning in to ESPN's live streaming service on Saturday, November 29th, to see how it all plays out. I want to love this PLE, so I'm just hoping the WWE can give me a reason to once again.