The Original Tribal Chief reigned supreme in Vancouver on Saturday night.
At Survivor Series War Games, World Wrestling Entertainment’s first major event in the city in nearly three decades, Roman Reigns led his Original Bloodline to victory over Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline, much to the delight of the Canadian crowd.
Reigns, who was joined by brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso, Montrealer Sami Zayn and CM Punk, defeated Sikoa with a spear, effectively pushing the reset button yet again on the Bloodline storyline, which has stretched nearly five years and been arguably the greatest storyline in the history of professional wrestling.
Sikoa, the real-life brother of the Usos, was accompanied by Tama Tonga, his other brother Jacob Fatu, Tonga Toa and Bronson Reed.
The main event was, justifiably, the best match of the night, and featured two huge spots that saw both Jimmy Uso and Reed climb to the top of the structure and crash down on tables below.
The Women’s War Games match opened the show and finished strong after a slower start.
Bianca Belair’s team, which featured Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley and Rhea Ripley defeated the team of Nia Jax, Candice LeRae, Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan.
The format of the War Games match itself is a bit of an ask for fans.
All 10 entrants must be in the ring before the match starts. Before that, however, the first two combatants enter the double ring, surrounded by a steel cage. They wrestle five minutes before one by one, the other competitors join three minutes apart.
That means the match is well over 20 minutes old before it officially starts. There is no disqualification, which allows for weapons, keeping the crowd invested as it waits out the opening bell.
While both War Games matches delivered, they dragged at times waiting for all the competitors to get inside the ring.
For viewers watching it at home, a cameraman inside the ring keeps the view nice and clean, but those in attendance have the battle of the obstruction of the cage itself, which stands upward of 20 feet tall.
The Vancouver crowd was surprisingly docile considering this was the first event of its kind in the province since 1997.
Other than the main event, which brought the crowd to its feet, it felt a bit flat all night when you consider how ravenous fans have been at recent events in Saudi Arabia, Toronto, France and other places.
Perhaps that’s why there were still tickets on sale in the days leading up to the show, which WWE announced as a sellout on Saturday night, with more than 17,000 in attendance. In other wrestling-starved markets, tickets sell out well in advance. Do better, B.C.!
The night’s other matches were solid but produced mixed results.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated LA Knight to win his third United States title. It was an interesting choice by WWE, considering how much Nakamura has struggled to stay on TV and how often he’s had to reinvent his character. Conversely, Knight is among the most popular WWE talent in recent history.
The choice was probably right, though, as Nakamura needs the belt to get his character over a lot more than Knight needs it to keep his over.
Ludwig Kaiser and the legendary Irishman Sheamus challenged arguably the best young talent in all of wrestling in Intercontinental champion Bron Breakker.
The storytelling in the match was excellent, making us believe at times that Sheamus was going to win the IC title, the only belt that eluded him in WWE, and become a grand slam champion.
In the end, however, Breakker showed off his blend of speed and power and prevailed, which was the right call. It’s been a while since there’s been a young talent as impressive in all facets as Breakker, the son of the legendary Rick Steiner, has been in his young career.
The match that probably least delivered was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between former champ Damien Priest and current champ, Gunther.
While it had every reason to deliver – it featured two great talents, the storyline leading up to the match was great and it was on a card that gave it room to breathe – it never really got going.
Gunther, 43-3 in matches since 2022, typically brings fans to their feet with his unique and brutal style. But on this night, the crowd was notably subdued, an indication that the match wasn’t delivering.
Its finish, with Gunther winning by submission, was a bit of a head-scratcher. It did more harm to Priest’s momentum than it did good for Gunther’s. An odd finish, to say the least, and certainly the quiet Vancouver crowd felt the same way.
Typically coming out of a PLE, there is a sense of where storylines are headed, but such wasn’t the case with War Games. If anything, the night just hit the reset button and left open endless possibilities.
Which, if you’re Toronto and hosting Elimination Chamber in March on the road to WrestleMania, could be a great thing.
If you smell what I’m cooking.
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