Smark Out Moment

The build-up to Survivor Series was kicked into overdrive on the November 17th episode of Monday Night Raw as WWE pulled out all the stops at Madison Square Garden. John Cena kicked the show off on his last ever appearance on the professional wrestling giant's flagship show, accepting Dominik Mysterio's challenge for an intercontinental title match at Survivor Series in Dirty Dom's hometown of San Diego. But it was the end of the night that truly lit the touch paper.

While that match is a banger in its own right, it's the main eventing men's War Games match that everyone is currently talking about. Two stacked teams will head to SoCal: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, and the Usos vs Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, and Drew McIntyre, chaperoned by mastermind supreme Paul Heyman. Or so we thought.

Two Jawdropping Returns Ramp up the Excitement

On Raw, two blockbuster returns within minutes of each other ramped up what was already a highly anticipated four-on-four matchup to a scarcely believable five-on-five. First, Brock Lesnar appeared for the first time since destroying John Cena at WrestlePalooza two months ago, brutalizing CM Punk and aligning himself with long-time advocate Heyman and his team.

Then, out came the man who held WWE hostage as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion for three and a half years, Roman Reigns, who took out Lesnar before all hell broke loose. Now, excitement ahead of Survivor Series has reached monstrous heights, so much so that online betting sites are expected to soon publish their odds on the huge War Games matchup.

WWE betting odds are regularly offered by Bovada’s sports betting site, as demonstrated by April's WrestleMania, when they made John Cena a -250 betting favorite to claim a record-breaking 17th title. Ultimately, that pricing was bang on the money as Cena emerged victorious, and when the American betting giant does publish its Survivor Series odds, it's the villainous team headlined by Lesnar expected to be installed as a -150 frontrunner.

Seeing two teams stacked so heavily could come as a surprise to some fans, but we're here to tell you why it shouldn't. January's Royal Rumble is the official start of the Road to WrestleMania. However, in recent years, Survivor Series has kicked off a somewhat unofficial Road to the Royal Rumble: the Road to the Road to WrestleMania, if you will. Yeah, that's a little clunky, but let's let history explain exactly what we mean.

2023 War Games Match Accelerates the Bloodline's Implosion

Survivor Series 2023 saw WWE bring War Games to the main roster. On the one hand, we had a Bloodline team at the peak of its powers: dominant champion Roman Reigns flanked by tag team champions The Usos, enforcer Solo Sikoa, and the Honorary Uce Sami Zayn. They faced off against a Brawling Brutes team assisted by Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens, with the latter's long and storied history with Zayn providing the pivotal subplot.

Zayn would prove his loyalty to the Bloodline, hitting Owens with a low blow and then a Helluva Kick, before offering his former best friend up on a plate for Jey Uso to finish off. That was enough for both the Usos and Solo to welcome Zayn into the family. But Reigns needed more. The champ would face off with Owens one-on-one at the Rumble, winning in dominant fashion before demanding Zayn prove himself with one final test: brutalizing a helpless and handcuffed Owens with a steel chair.

Zayn ultimately refused, instead turning his chair to the back of Reigns, resulting in the Honorary Uce being destroyed by an incensed Bloodline. This then dominated the Road to WrestleMania, with Zayn and Owens going on to face and defeat the Usos on the Grandest Stage of Them All, as well as providing assistance to Cody Rhodes in his unsuccessful maiden title tilt against Reigns.

Not long after Mania, the Usos had had enough of their Tribal Chief's ruthless ways, leaving the Bloodline after super-kicking Reigns in Saudi Arabia. None of that would have happened had War Games not ensued at Survivor Series, with Sami Zayn’s repeated loyalty tests triggering a turn of events that would run right through Mania and beyond.

CM Punk and Roman Reigns' Alliance Leads to WrestleMania Main Event

Last year, Roman Reigns' OG Bloodline team needed a fourth member in their fight against Solo Sikoa's new look family. Reigns' wiseman, Paul Heyman, turned to his one-time best friend, CM Punk, in his hour of need, securing the Second City Saint to fight alongside Reigns and the Usos. And while the alliance would initially yield victory against the Bloodline's former Enforcer, trouble was brewing.

At the Royal Rumble, Reigns and Punk would come to blows, with Seth Rollins - a man with a long history with both men - also getting involved. Punk simultaneously eliminated both Reigns and Rollins from the Rumble match, much to the ire of both. Logan Paul would eliminate Punk shortly thereafter, triggering an all-out brawl at ringside as Rollins laid out former Shield brethren Reigns with a vicious Curb Stomp.

The animosity between all three men would culminate in a monster triple threat main event to close out night one of WrestleMania 41: Roman Reigns vs CM Punk vs Seth Rollins. Rollins would ultimately come out on top, with Heyman betraying both Reigns and Punk to side with the Visionary. But had the Wiseman never secured Punk's support for War Games at Survivor Series, he and Reigns would have likely never crossed paths, and today’s WWE landscape would look much different.