wrestling / Columns

411’s WWE Survivor Series 2022 Preview

November 26, 2022 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
WWE Survivor Series Women's WarGames Image Credit: WWE

Hello 411 guys, gals, enbies, and everyone else! Welcome to 411’s WWE Survior Series 2022 preview! I’m Jeremy Thomas, here as always, and today WWE goes to WAR for its annual November PPV. WarGames has arrived on the main roster and we have five — wait, only five? *Checks notes* Huh, okay. Five matches on the card. Of course that includes the men’s and women’s WarGames bouts that will eat up the bulk of that time, and WWE may still add one more match at some point between when I’m writing this (early in Smackdown) and the start of the show. Anyway, without further ado let’s jump right in!

WWE United States Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory

Image Credit: WWE

First up, we’ve got the United States Championship on the line between Seth Rollins and the two men that have been chasing him since he won the title. Rollins defeated Bobby Lashley and now that Lashley is done with Brock Lesnar, he’s been targeting his title (and anyone in his way) with a vengeance. Meanwhile, Austin Theory made his play for the title when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a chance at a downed Rollins, but Lashley cost him the title shot as well. That brings us to here, where Rollins must defend against both men. Rollins has had some fun with the title and Lashley had a good reign, but both of them seem ready to move further up the card and the Royal Rumble isn’t too far away. Now seems to be a good time to take the title off Rollins, and the triple threat stipulation gives him a way to lose it without losing any steam. While the smarter money may be on Rollins retaining, I think Theory wins the title here by taking advantage of an opportune moment. It gives Theory a run with a mid-level title to let him establish himself a little more, and frees Rollins and Lashley up as we approach the road to WrestleMania.

WINNER: Austin Theory (NEW WWE United States Champions)

AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor

Image Credit: WWE

The Judgment Day’s war with AJ Styles continues at Survivor Series, as Finn Balor goes one-on-one with the Phenomenal One. Some extension of Styles, Edge, and Rey Mysterio have been fighting the heel stable for a remarkably long period of time and while it has done the group some good to pick up some wins against the established veterans, it feels like the time for them to move on. I don’t know if that’s happening yet, but in the meantime we at least get what should be a pretty fantastic match between these two guys. Balor and Styles could put on a good match with each other in their sleep, and there’s every reason to expect the same here. If this were a feud-ender, I’d think that Balor would go over as it doesn’t hurt Styles and it would help Judgment Day a lot. But instead, I’m guessing that the O.C. is able to counteract the heels and Styles ekes out a win over Balor, with the feud perhaps ending once and for all at the Royal Rumble.

WINNER: AJ Styles

WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi

Image Credit: WWE

Listen folks, I’m a fan of Shotzi’s. I think she’s a very marketable character who can put on a good show, and the fans certainly have a tendency to get behind her. But this is the easiest match on the show to predict. Ronda Rousey just won the Smackdown Women’s Title back from Liv Morgan a little over a month ago, and they didn’t pull the title switch so Rousey could lose the title a month later to someone who is pretty far away from the most prominent Smackdown women’s roster member. I appreciate that WWE is trying to build up some of the roster so that they can challenge Rousey, and I think it’s done Shotzi some good but she’s not winning here. The match itself could be quite good or it could be a bit more mixed depending on how well the two click in the ring, but at the end of the night Rousey will stand tall.

WINNER: Ronda Rousey (STILL Interim SmackDown Women’s Champion)

Women’s WarGames Match
Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch vs.
Damage CTRL, Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley

Image Credit: WWE

The big appeal of this weekend’s PPV is the arrival of WarGames to the main roster, and WWE has stacked the lineups for both matches. We didn’t learn the full lineup of Survivor Series until the start of Smackdown (thank you WWE for not waiting to the end so I could get this finished), when a returning Becky Lynch was announced as the fifth member of Team Bianca. That would seem to put matters in the babyfaces’ favor, but I still don’t think they’re going to win. WarGames is clearly the kind of match where no one in particular will get hurt by a loss unless the booking is particularly bad, and Damage CTRL needs this win. It will also help solidify Nikki Cross’ spot on the card, and of course Rhea Ripley can look like a star in a match like this. I expect this will be a very back and forth affair, but in the end the booking really should favor a Team Bayley win.

WINNER: Team Bayley

Men’s WarGames Match
The Bloodline vs. The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens

Image Credit: WWE

The men’s WarGames match has a little bit less of a “thrown together team” feel than the women’s match. Here we have a full stable on one side in The Bloodline taking on the team of the Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens. No one is in this match feeling like they were put in on a whim with the justification provided after (hello, Mia), and that makes for a bit more intriguing of a match. The Bloodline has of course been the most dominant force in WWE for over two years now, with Roman Reigns heading into Survivor Series as WWE Champion for 236 days and Universal Champion for 809 days. The Usos have held their titles for 495 and 184 days. And that’s why I think they have to lose here. They need a challenge to carry them through to the Royal Rumble, when Reigns’ challenger for WrestleMania can be determined. A loss here doesn’t hurt them and sets up interesting wrinkles to the storylines going forward. And the group could stand to have some dissension following a loss to shake things up for them. There are multiple ways it can play out, but in the end the babyfaces should pick up the win here.

WINNER: Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens

And that’s all we have for WWE Survivor Series! WWE has what looks like a fun PPV on paper, and I’m sure they’ll be able to deliver. Thanks once again for reading and remember that we will have live coverage of the show courtesy our own Scott Slimmer right here on 411mania.com. I’m outta here; Bray Wyatt hasn’t yet been booked for the show and I don’t want to end up in his crosshairs for a potential opponent..

Image Courtesy of Tenor