5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Survivor Series 2023 (Results & Review)

4. Men Go To War

The men’s WarGames match was not nearly as violent as it could have been, and yet it still was a highly entertaining bout. But if someone was expecting a wild, chaotic plunder brawl, then they probably would have been disappointed.

The Judgment Day’s team maintained control for much of the match due to having the man advantage, as they double-teamed people and put them down using chairs, a baton, and kendo sticks. Cody Rhodes channeled his father and retrieved a bullrope to level the playing field in a cute moment. Damian Priest put Seth Rollins through a table with a Razor’s Edge, looking to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, although Randy Orton’s return thwarted that plan.

But a lot of the big, standout moments did not involve plunder or wild action. Orton’s return after 18 months due to injury was fantastic to see, and the babyface team’s five-man draping DDTs was fun. Orton got to land an avalanche RKO on JD McDonagh, while Cody put Damian Priest down with a Cross-Rhodes for the win.

If anything, the match finish was almost anti-climactic, as it came just moments after Orton entered the cage and officially started the WarGames match. However, the action in the lead-up to that point was super-hot, and fans were all in on it, so it gets an “up” here.

As a WarGames match, this probably ranks in the lower tier, but it was entertaining enough to get passing marks.