WWE Survivor Series preview & predictions: Cinema inside a double cage

This Saturday will be the third WWE Survivor Series in its “WarGames era.”

Paul “Triple H” Levesque didn’t waste much time getting the two ring, double-cage match on the main roster schedule upon becoming WWE’s creative content officer in 2022. Vince McMahon resigned on July 22nd that year, and 48 days later, Levesque announced WarGames would happen annually at Survivor Series. It was clearly something he had thought about. 

By the time Survivor Series 2022 rolled around, The Bloodline angle and Sami Zayn as the honorary Uce were red hot. Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Zayn defeated The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens that night, but several hints about brewing discontent within The Bloodline have fueled WWE storylines since. 

Despite McMahon’s return to the company in January 2023, Levesque was back to making all key creative decisions come last year’s Survivor Series. It was an interesting event in Chicago last year which saw Randy Orton return from injury, followed by CM Punk’s dramatic first appearance in the company since 2014 to close the show.

Here we are in 2024 with Survivor Series a hot ticket in Vancouver and a main event that has been years in the making. This show could be one of the most memorable Survivor Series ever, which is saying something, given the event’s history.  

Below are previews and predictions for each match at tonight’s WWE Survivor Series (6 PM Eastern main card).

Men’s WarGames match: CM Punk, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn vs. The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) & Bronson Reed

The oddsmakers aren’t sure who will win and neither am I. The babyfaces are favored at -250 which seems about right.

Many different stories are being told and potential matches are being made here. The options as to what could happen are pretty vast. Punk’s involvement adds a whole new wrinkle to things as well. With Punk and Reigns sharing history with Paul Heyman, it’s unclear how long they will be allies and how long it will take before a singles match between them is scheduled. Of course, Reigns and Sikoa still need to have a singles match which likely happens before Reigns vs. Punk. 

With so many different directions the match could take, picking a winner is tough. Still, the most likely ending is a babyface win done in a way that builds up several upcoming matches leading into WrestleMania season. 

Prediction: The original Bloodline & Punk 

Women’s WarGames match: Candice LeRae, Liv Morgan, Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez & Tiffany Stratton vs. Bianca Belair, IYO SKY, Jade Cargill, Naomi & Rhea Ripley

The odds for the Women’s WarGames match are even closer than the men’s version. The babyfaces are listed as -150 favorites, but I’m going to go against the grain and pick the heels.  

The babyfaces being favored might be related to the feeling that Ripley needs a big win to justify her getting another shot at Morgan. However, there are several ways to get to another Ripley vs. Morgan match. They don’t necessarily need to factor the finish of this match into things. 

The story that seems to have the highest likelihood of factoring into the finish is between Bayley and Belair. Belair may be turning heel, but I don’t know why as she’s such a popular babyface. I can’t picture her in a heel role at all, but they seem to have a plan. I wouldn’t be surprised if Belair is revealed to be the one who attacked Jade Cargill, leading to a feud between the two that culminates at WrestleMania. 

Another possible factor here is Stratton. At some point, she’s going babyface and cashing in on Jax. She could do here, but her turn will likely occur closer to WrestleMania. 

Prediction: Team Morgan

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Damian Priest

The longest odds of the night belong to Priest, listed as a +1200 underdog. He could be listed as an infinite underdog, but I’d still be hesitant to bet on him. 

This match being sandwiched between two WarGames matches leads me to believe not much will happen. Gunther will get a hard-fought victory that makes everyone forget he lost to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel and then off we go into 2025 where matches with Goldberg and others are on the horizon. 

Finn Balor isn’t finished with Priest yet, and he could also factor into things here. 

Prediction: Gunther retains

Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser in a triple threat

Breakker is listed as a -900 favorite to retain his title in this triple threat, which seems likely. 

With the Intercontinental title being the one belt that has eluded Sheamus in WWE, it would be sort of anticlimactic for him to win it in a match that is essentially filler. His odds (+500) are listed as better than Kaiser’s (+1000) which I think is off. Kaiser has a far bigger chance of winning the title here than Sheamus. As a heel, he can steal a pin, pin the non-champion, or do any number of dastardly things so I’m not sure why his odds would be lower than Sheamus’. Levesque isn’t giving Sheamus the one title he hasn’t won in such an anticlimactic way. He might for Kaiser, however. 

Still, the most likely result here is Breakker retains.

Prediction: Breakker retains

United States Champion LA Knight defends against Shinsuke Nakamura

The betting odds for this match favor Knight, but not by much as he’s a -200 favorite.

If you’re a big Nakamura fan, you likely haven’t been too pleased with how WWE has used him lately. Every time he’s on TV, he does something cool but ultimately loses. His victory on SmackDown over Andrade was just his second televised win all year.  

Late last year, he lost two PLE matches to Seth Rollins. Then, early this year, he lost two big matches on Raw to Cody Rhodes as Rhodes prepared to head into WrestleMania 40. Since then, Nakamura has lost TV matches to Zayn, Ilja Dragunov, Sheamus, and Jey Uso. He just always loses but does so in such a way that we still want to see him lose to someone else in a few months. That’s a valuable skill to have. 

Nakamura has likely returned to do the same thing for Knight that he’s done for Rollins and Rhodes. There is a chance he wins here, though, to start the rivalry off hot and give Knight an obstacle to overcome. Nakamura could win here, but he’ll ultimately lose the feud, as his role is to help build up top babyfaces. 

Prediction: Knight retains