The Original Bloodline has reunited to combat Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. (Credit: WWE/Getty Images)
WWE Survivor Series 2024 is not shaping up to be the “Big Four” pay-per-view it should be, with the creative team hitting a booking roadblock en route to the event in Vancouver.
For much of 2024, WWE’s booking has been on point, and that has led to a stellar year of pay-per-views. Heading into Survivor Series, however, WWE’s booking has been unspectacular, and arguably the only truly intriguing match on the card is the WarGames match between the Original Bloodline and the new version of the faction, with CM Punk rounding out the former group’s five-man squad.
Of course, in terms of in-ring quality, Survivor Series should deliver a strong night of matches, but will it even surpass Crown Jewel? That event took place in Saudi Arabia just earlier this month and featured a rare Roman Reigns match as well as a dream match between Gunther and Cody Rhodes. Even then, the hype heading into that show was minimal, but the execution, on the other hand, exceeded expectations.
WWE officials should be hopeful that the lackluster lead-up to Survivor Series will, as was the case with Crown Jewel, not hamper the show. Indeed, the creative team can regain its booking momentum with these five smart booking decisions at WWE’s last pay-per-view of 2024, Survivor Series.
Gunther Soundly Defeats Damian Priest
Gunther vs. Damian Priest will be the first-ever world title match to headline both SummerSlam and Survivor Series in the same calendar year, an impressive accomplishment but one that ultimately feels like a step backward.
The reignited rivalry between Priest and Gunther has left a lot to be desired, feeling largely like a stopgap feud rather than a compelling long-term rivalry for the ages. That would be all fine and dandy for a B-level pay-per-view, but this is Survivor Series, which is supposed to be one of WWE’s most important shows of the year.
Rehashing a feud that wasn’t all that exciting to begin with is a head-scratching booking decision, especially given that most WWE PPVs now have incredibly limited spots on the card. But Gunther has already hinted at a much bigger upcoming feud on Raw two weeks ago, which implies that he will have no problem handling Priest at Survivor Series.
That’s the way it should be, too. Gunther, especially after losing to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel and being portrayed as a lesser version of his former self in recent weeks, needs a resounding victory in Vancouver.
Tiffany Stratton Wins The Women’s WarGames Match
WWE’s women’s WarGames match is quite the star-studded affair, especially on the babyface side, which boasts Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Bayley, Naomi and Rhea Ripley.
All of those stars have previously held a world title, but oddly enough, there’s a soon-to-be babyface on the heel side who would benefit from a win more so than anyone in this match. That star? Tiffany Stratton, a former NXT Champion and the current Money in the Bank holder who’s coming up on a year on the main roster and still lacks a significant singles win.
While the women’s WarGames match is genuinely a toss-up as to which side will emerge with a victory, Stratton best fits the bill as a borderline top star who really needs a marquee victory to catapult her to the next level. Stratton, after all, continues to generate strong reactions, and as we saw at Elimination Chamber way back in February, she will make a fantastic fan favorite when the time calls for it.
Imagine then if Stratton picks up the victory for her heel team at Survivor Series. That can then be used to add further tension between Stratton and her “friend” Nia Jax and speed up their inevitable implosion as well as Stratton’s face turn.
Bron Breakker And LA Knight Retain Their Titles
Even with just a five-match card, both of WWE’s midcard championships are on the line, and the two respective champions are trending in opposite directions.
WWE has big plans for Bron Breakker, the current Intercontinental Champion, and is pushing him as a “tweener” who leans either babyface or heel depending upon what his feud calls for at the time. All indications are that Breakker is headed for a massive push in 2025, where he’s reportedly set to play a huge role on Monday Night Raw when the show makes it big move to Netflix.
United States Champion LA Knight, on the other hand, hasn’t had anything interesting to do since winning the title at SummerSlam in August. In fact, going even further back to early 2024, there really hasn’t been much compelling storytelling for “The Megastar.” Now, Knight is getting a Survivor Series match against Shinsuke Nakamura that was incredibly rushed, with Nakamura returning only a couple of weeks ago to ignite this feud.
Maybe WWE wants Knight to drop the title so move on to something bigger, but given the other top stars he’d have to leapfrog on SmackDown, that appears unlikely. Given the current construction of SmackDown’s roster, the best bet is for Knight to get the win at Survivor Series and then transition to a better feud and more engaging storyline as champion.
So, Knight—as is the case with Breakker—should walk out of Survivor Series as champion if for no other reason than the way that a loss could instantly halt Breakker’s momentum and continue Knight’s cold streak.
Seth Rollins Confronts CM Punk
It was surprising to see CM Punk’s absence from the Survivor Series build, given that he made his unexpected and epic WWE return at this pay-per-view last year. But perhaps his disappearance from Raw over the past few weeks was done by design in order to lead to yet another blockbuster return.
That’s exactly what happened on last week’s SmackDown, when both Punk and Paul Heyman returned in an epic show-closing segment that added so many more layers to The Bloodline storyline in just a matter of minutes. Punk, of course, swooped in and took the fifth spot in the WarGames match on The OG Bloodline’s side, a spot originally offered to Punk’s nemesis Seth Rollins.
That certainly wasn’t a coincidence, either.
Now, with Punk casting yet another stone at Rollins, that should send Rollins into a frenzy and reignite a vicious feud between Rollins and Punk that is still expected to culminate at WrestleMania 41. No matter how things play out in the men’s WarGames match, Rollins should make his presence felt with a major moment confronting Punk.
Jey Uso Gets The Win For The Original Bloodline
Despite some up-and-down booking, Jey Uso’s popularity is absolutely undeniable. His crowd reactions are consistently incredible, and he even surpassed Punk, Reigns and Rhodes as WWE’s merchandise king last month.
Given that the original Bloodline fell short in six-man tag team action Solo Sikoa’s group at Crown Jewel earlier this month, it’s only logical that they would rebound with a win at Survivor Series. It will be tempting for WWE to give Reigns the victory after he was pinned at Crown Jewel, but let’s be honest, he’s bulletproof and doesn’t need the win.
Of all the stars who could benefit from a major victory on the babyface side of The Bloodline, Jey Uso stands out as the best choice. He continues to have an amazing crowd connection, and simply put, he’s the hot hand. WWE needs to ride with that as long as it can because there’s no telling how long it will last.
At Survivor Series, the final image as the show goes off the air should be Jey celebrating a victory with the crowd as the good guys even the score and Jey gets his revenge after losing to Fatu on SmackDown.
