This is WWE Survivor Series, featuring two huge WarGames matches and John Cena’s final WWE PLE match.
The WWE Survivor Series PLE is the second-oldest PLE in company history, behind WrestleMania. This is the 39th edition of Survivor Series. It’s the fourth year in a row that the show will feature WarGames matches for the men and the women. I’ve reviewed every Survivor Series in WWE history, as you can read in the PPV archive on TJRWrestling. I’m a fan of the WarGames concept, so I have no problem with WWE eliminating the traditional elimination tag team matches.
It’s a four-match card, which I feel is light. I get that the WarGames matches are going to go about 40 minutes (plus intros and video packages push them close to one hour), but I think there is still room for more matches. If it were up to me, there’d be six or seven matches. A few months ago, I wrote an article about five changes I would make to WWE PLEs, and one of them was to add more matches.
There are expected to be over 44,000 fans (thanks, Wrestletix) at Petco Park in San Diego, the home of MLB’s Padres. That will make it the biggest crowd ever for a Survivor Series event. It’s hard to sell out a baseball stadium completely, but I think it will look incredible with the stage and the double ring for WarGames.
There was a two-hour Survivor Series Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.
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WWE Survivor Series
From Petco Park in San Diego, California
Saturday, November 29, 2025
It was a big crowd at Petco Park in San Diego, with Michael Cole saying over 45,000 fans were here.
They showed Team Rhea walking backstage, and they also showed Team Asuka. The graphics on the screen said the team names. They also showed pre-show walking of Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki Bella. San Diego’s own Dominik Mysterio was also shown walking around earlier in the day.
The WarGames cage was lowered on the two rings to begin the show.
A video package aired, setting up the show. Great stuff as usual with the cold open.
There was some pyro that went off in the stadium. It’s about 4:05 p.m. locally in San Diego, so the sun is still out, but it will go down and get dark soon. The Black Sabbath song “War Pigs” that is used for this show is legit one of my favorite songs ever, so I certainly don’t mind hearing it every year.
It was Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on commentary.
The Women’s WarGames match was leading off as expected. Here are the WarGames rules as shown on the screen.
It was the babyface team from Team Rhea up first, led by Charlotte Flair, who started the match. There’s a long aisle on the way to the ring. I can see WWE President Nick Khan in the front row. Team Asuka’s leader, Asuka, was up first for her team. Flair beat Asuka on SmackDown and now they are starting the WarGames Match.
Women’s WarGames Match: Team Rhea – Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee and Iyo Sky vs. Team Asuka – Asuka, Kairi Sane, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch and Lash Legend
As a reminder, there are two rings surrounded by a double cage without a roof on it. There’s a metal structure connecting the two rings together. There were no shark cages with wrestlers waiting in them. Instead, the buzzer goes off for the next entrant and somebody runs out there to join the match.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka started the match as mentioned. Flair was in control early on with some kicks and a shoulder tackle. Flair did a body scissors around Asuka’s upper body and flipped her around the ring. Asuka trapped Flair between the two rings and kicked Flair in the back of the head. Asuka hit a rising knee smash. They exchanged strikes. Flair did the cartwheel clothesline on Asuka. Flair chopped Asuka several times. They went to the turnbuckle as the clock ticked down, and Flair was knocked down by the cage.
The second entrant on Team Rhea is Iyo Sky, who brought a trash can lid into the ring. There are three-minute intervals from here on out. Sky tried to attack with a trash can, Asuka avoided it and Sky hit a dropkick. Asuka did a necksnap to Sky across the top rope. Sky slipped on the top rope and knocked Asuka down. Sky hit the Bullet Train knee attack on Asuka against the turnbuckle. Sky stomped on Asuka. Sky did a drop toe hold onto the metal plate in the middle of the two rings.
There’s Becky Lynch as the self-appointed captain of the heel team. Lynch brought a kendo stick to the ring with her. Lynch hit Sky with the kendo stick a few times. Lynch set up Sky upside down against the turnbuckle. Flair got back into it to take the kendo stick from Lynch to rekindle that rivalry. Flair and Lynch exchanged forearms. Asuka held onto Flair, but Flair broke free. Flair and Lynch each hit Exploder Suplexes. Flair chopped Lynch and they went into the far ring. Asuka held Flair, so Lynch chop-blocked Flair’s left knee.
The third woman on Team Rhea was Alexa Bliss, who dropkicked the trash can lid into Asuka. Bliss saved Flair from Lynch, and Bliss hit a knee smash to knock Lynch down. Bliss kicked Asuka down and Bliss did dragon screw leg whips. Flair and Bliss hit double Natural Selections on their opponents. Sky got back into it with her uppercut strikes. Flair was tormenting Lynch’s face by stomping on her head against the cage.
It’s Kairi Sane, who is one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Asuka, as the third woman on the heel team. Sane brought a chain into the ring with her. Sane used the chain to her advantage by punching Bliss with the chain. Sane was doing a leg scissors to Flair by the ropes. Sane went up top and punched Flair while the chain was on her hand. Sane saved Asuka from Sky by hitting Sky with a trash can lid. Asuka hit a missile dropkick to Sky. The heel trio of Lynch, Asuka, and Sane were celebrating. Lynch held the three faces with the chain, so Asuka and Sane hit running dropkicks.
Light it up for the fourth woman on Team Rhea, it’s AJ Lee making her WarGames debut. This is Lynch’s second match since returning to WWE. Lynch held the cage door to prevent Lee from going into the ring by the door. Lee climbed to the top of the cage and got into the cage that way. Lee hit a cross body block on Asuka and Sane. Lee sent Lynch into the turnbuckle a few times. Lee tossed Lynch into the cage a few times. Lee hit a running knee smash. Sane was back up to knock Lee down with a forearm to the back. Lee hit a running elbow on Sane and a dropkick. Asuka faced off with Lee, but Lynch was back up to knock Lee down. The other babyfaces helped Lee, so the faces took control since it was 4 on 3 for them until the clock ticked down for the next entrant.
The fourth entrant for Team Asuka was Nia Jax as the biggest woman in the match. Jax sent Bliss and Flair into the turnbuckle. Bliss hit running hip attacks on Flair and Bliss against the cage. Jax punched Sky in the jaw. Lee went after Jax with punches, but Jax knocked her down and hit a body attack. Jax got a hold of Sky and hit a stiff Powerbomb. Jax laid out all four of her opponents. The four heel women were in control of the four faces.
Rhea Ripley was the last woman in for Team Rhea. Ripley had a trash can and a trash bag with weapons. Ripley was wearing a white Terrifier mask to protect her broken nose/face injury. Ripley threw the trash can at Jax to knock her down. Ripley had a kendo stick that she used to beat up the heels. Ripley hit two clotheslines on Lynch and a spinning slam into the mat. Ripley hit a running kick. Ripley kicked Asuka to knock her down. Ripley jumped off the top with a missile dropkick on Jax. Ripley hit a spinning slam on Sane into the mat. Ripley held Sane in a submission and Sky put a trash can on Sane followed by Sky hitting a running dropkick into the trash can. Jax knocked Ripley and Sky down while they were celebrating. Bliss jumped off the turnbuckle with a Tornado DDT on Jax. The final entrant was next.
The final entrant was Team Asuka’s Lash Legend, who recently joined SmackDown. It looks like she is wearing her engagement ring after getting engaged to Trick Williams on Thanksgiving. Congrats to the happy couple. Anyway, Lash getting into the ring means WarGames has officially begun and the first fall wins.
It was Lash dominating by tossing opponents into the cage. Lash caught a leaping Bliss and choked Bliss by spinning her around. Lash gave Flair a Chokeslam. Sky jumped off the top rope, so Lash smashed her with a forearm. Ripley got into a slugfest with Lash, Ripley hit a knee smash and Lash hit a back elbow to knock Ripley down. Ripley hit a kick to the head. Lash hit a pump kick on Ripley for a two count for the first nearfall of the match. Jax saved Lash by tossing Ripley into the cage. Jax hit Ripley with a kendo stick. Lash and Jax each sent Bliss and Flair into the cage, followed by Powerbombs and double pin attempts. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on Lee, but Sky broke up the pin with a moonsault and Lash broke up the pin attempt. Lash and Jax pressed Sky over their heads and tossed Sky from the near ring into the far ring onto the other babyfaces. Sane went up top with a chain on her right arm and hit an Insane Elbow on Sky for two count because Ripley made the save.
Asuka went for the blue mist on Ripley, but Flair shoved Ripley out of the way and the blue mist went in Lash’s face. Flair and Ripley hit strikes on Asuka, Sane and Lynch. Flair and Ripley hit a double suplex on Jax. Bliss went up top and hit Twisted Bliss on Jax. Sky went up top, so Ripley put Lee on her shoulders and Lee gave Sky the trash can. Sky put the trash can on her and jumped off the cage onto the heels on the floor. Sky hit a Swanton Dive onto four of the heels. Lynch was the only heel left standing. Lynch tried to run away. If Lynch climbed out of the cage then she would lose for her team. Bliss punched Lynch, Ripley hit a Riptide on Lynch, and Lee applied the Black Widow submission on Lynch, who tapped out to give AJ the win for her team. It went about 41 minutes.
Winners by submission: Team Rhea – Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee and Iyo Sky
Analysis: ***1/2 Good match. I wouldn’t say great, but everybody worked hard, and it was entertaining. Easy win for the babyface team. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if the heel team had had some more moments where it looked like they might win. Instead, the babyfaces dominated most of the way after the ten women were in the match. The key spot was Asuka accidentally spitting the blue mist into Lash’s face, and then Sky hit the dive with the trash can. Lynch tapping out to Lee was a finish that I thought was a possibility to continue that story, while Lynch can complain about it being unfair. The babyface team winning was always what I expected in this match. I just think the heel team wasn’t built up well enough, and they should have had more moments in the match where it looked like they might win. Why not have more nearfalls and near submissions? You gotta build the finish a bit. All of it was fine. I just think some more creativity would have helped the match.
The babyface Team Rhea celebrated the win together while some pyro went off behind them.
Up next is John Cena defending the Intercontinental Title in his last PLE match against Dominik Mysterio. A video package aired to set it up.
The moving graphics aired during a 4-minute commercial break.
San Diego’s own “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio made his entrance with the AAA Mega Champion while wearing a white mask. Dom was joined by The Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez. The fans were booing, but there were some cheers too. It’s hard to hear in an open air stadium with music playing. They waited nearly a minute to play Cena’s music.
John Cena made his entrance as the Intercontinental Champion for his final WWE PLE match. We could hear the fans explode in cheers for him. Cena was wearing some old-school San Diego Padres colors on his shirt and hat. Cena spoke to Stew the camera guy: “Last PLE, last time on ESPN. Man, it’s good to have your son here. Let’s go to work, right?” Cena ran down to the ring, and Stew, the camera guy, followed him all the way down there as usual. A graphic said that Cena has 100 career PLE victories and it’s his 12th match at Survivor Series. That’s actually low for him, considering he started 23 years ago. Cena looked around the stadium as if he were in awe of the crowd size. There were loud, “Thank You Cena” chants.
The ring announcer, Alicia Taylor, did the championship introductions. Dom weighs 200 pounds, which seems low to me. Taylor did the special Cena entrance, saying he’s the greatest of all time, the never-seen-17, celebrating with each and every one of you tonight in San Diego one final time, the last real champion, John Cena. Huge pop for that. Cole noted it was Cena’s 177th PLE match.
Intercontinental Championship: John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez)
Cena grabbed a headlock, then Cena was sent into the ropes and Perez tripped up Cena while the referee didn’t see it. Dom hit some punches, Cena fought back and Dom hit Cena in the face. Dom distracted the referee again, so Raquel punched Cena without the referee seeing it. Dom hit the Three Amigos suplexes for a two count. Dom worked over Cena with kicks against the turnbuckle. Cena came back with punches, so Dom bailed to the floor. Dom hid behind the girls and Dom hit Cena with a forearm to knock him down. Dom sent Cena into the ring apron and into the commentary table. The referee Chad Patton wasn’t doing much of a count because they were on the floor for a log time. It was probably over a minute. Dom went for a hurricanrana off the barricade onto Cena on the floor, but Dom’s left shoulder went crashing into the floor. The referee Chad Patton checked on Dom for about 20 seconds. It looked like a bad bump for Dom. The referee Chad Patton called for a medic to check on Dom, but these looked like fake medics rather than actual WWE trainers. This led to Raquel going into the ring and hitting a Tejana Bomb on Cena. Raquel hit Pop Rox on Cena. The referee never saw it. They set up Cena against the ropes and Dom hit a 619 kick. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash. The referee Chad Patton yelled at Dom for faking his injury, so he didn’t count the fall. The referee Patton ejected Roxanne and Raquel from ringside.
Analysis: That was a fun sequence. I enjoyed that creativity using the girls and having Dom fake the injury. That worked really well in terms of getting the crowd into it even more.
Cena recovered with two shoulder tackles, along with a spinning suplex. Cena did his “You Can’t See Me” taunt leading to the Five Knuckle Shuffle fist drop. Cena wanted AA, Dom countered it and Cena slipped out of a pin attempt leading to a STF. Dom got his hand on the bottom rope to force a break. Dom unzipped his left boot and Cena pulled the boot off. Dom sent Cena into the ropes and Dom hit a 619 again. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash for two. Dom put his left boot back on and zipped it up. Cena was back up and hit an Attitude Adjustment for a two count. Each man kicked out of a finishing move at that point.
Cena and Dom exchanged punches. Cena hit a shoulder tackle. Cena went for another shoulder tackle, Dom ducked and Cena hit the shoulder tackle on referee Chad Patton, who bumped to the floor. JD McDonagh and Finn Balor of The Judgment Day went down to the ring to stomp on Cena. JD went for a moonsault off the top, but Cena got the knees up to block. Balor went for Coup de Grace off the top, but Cena avoided it. Cena splashed both guys against the turnbuckle. Cena gave JD and Finn the Attitude Adjustment at the same time. Dom grabbed the Intercontinental Title from ringside. The referee was still down. Dom went after Cena with the title, Cena ducked it and Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment. Cena called for a referee, but here comes Liv Morgan making her return after being away for over five months with a shoulder injury. Liv ran down to the ring. Liv got in the ring with Dominik, who wanted a hug, and Liv slapped Dom in the head. Liv jumped into Cena’s arms and hugged him, but then Liv had crazy eyes. Liv kicked Cean in the groin. Dom hit a 619 kick. Liv hit Cena with the IC Title in the head. Dom went up top and hit a Frog Splash. Liv sent referee Patton back in and Patton counted the pin…1…2…3. Dirty Dominik Mysterio has regained the Intercontinental Title. The match went about 16 minutes.
Winner by pinfall AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Dominik Mysterio
Analysis: ***1/2 This was one of those classic matches with all kinds of chaos including a referee bump and Dominik getting a lot of help to win the match. You could use logic to complain about how sometimes there are replacement referees, but this time there was no referee to fill in after Chad Patton got bumped. They wanted to do a creative finish to give the title back to Dominik in a creative way while Cena lost the title as most of us expected because it makes sense for him to put over the younger guy. Liv Morgan was out for over five months, she worked hard to come back and she played a big role in Dirty Dom winning the IC Title again. This wasn’t an amazing Cena match like the match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam or with AJ Styles at Crown Jewel, but it was still a fine PLE match.
Dominik Mysterio celebrated with the Intercontinental Title, AAA Mega Title and his lovely ally Liv Morgan. They showed replays. The pyro went off behind Dom while Liv hugged him. There was no kiss or anything like that, but Dom carried Liv to the back.
The fans were chanting “Thank You Cena” so Cena waved goodbye to them. Cena talked to some kids at ringside right where Nick Khan was. Cena thanked ESPN for making WWE part of the family and he said thank you. Cena said one more left and he’ll see us on the 13th of December. Cena left.
Analysis: Thank you, Cena. Absolutely.
The women’s division WrestleMania 42 commercial aired.
A video package aired about the Stephanie Vaquer-Nikki Bella match. There were commercials after that as well.
