Survivor Series: WarGames | |||
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Promotion | WWE | ||
Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
Date | November 26, 2022 | ||
City | Boston, Massachusetts | ||
Venue | TD Garden | ||
Attendance | 15,609[1] | ||
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Survivor Series chronology | |||
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The 2022 Survivor Series: WarGames was the 36th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the fourth Survivor Series to be held in Boston after the 1993 (at the original Boston Garden), 2008, and 2013 events. It was also the first Survivor Series to take place on a Saturday and the first since the 1994 event to not take place on a Sunday. This was also the last WWE pay-per-view event to take place before Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation as co-CEO and Chairwoman of WWE, with Vince McMahon subsequently returning as Executive Chairman. It was also WWE's final pay-per-view to be available to livestream on the standalone version of the Australian WWE Network before the launch of Binge's WWE Network channel in Australia on January 23, 2023. Additionally, this was WWE's first pay-per-view to be livestreamed on Disney+ in the Philippines.
Unlike the Survivor Series events from 2016 to 2021, the 2022 event was not themed around Raw versus SmackDown for brand supremacy. Instead, it was based around the WarGames match, a gimmick match first used in Jim Crockett Promotions and then World Championship Wrestling, the assets of which WWE acquired in 2001. From 2017 to 2021, it was used by WWE's developmental brand, NXT, and held at the brand's annual WarGames event. Survivor Series was in turn branded as "Survivor Series: WarGames", marking WWE's first main roster event to feature the match, as well as ending NXT's WarGames event. Due to hosting the WarGames matches, this was the first Survivor Series since the 2002 event to not feature a traditional Survivor Series match, or any type of elimination match, and only the third event to not include one, after the 1998 and 2002 events.
Five matches were contested at the event, including two WarGames matches. In the main event, which was the main match from SmackDown, The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn) defeated Team Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens) in the men's WarGames match, while in the women's WarGames match, which was the opening bout and was the main match from Raw, Team Belair (Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch) defeated Team Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley).
Survivor Series: WarGames was the highest-grossing Survivor Series of all time, as well as the highest-grossing gate for WWE in Boston. It was also the most-viewed Survivor Series. WWE reported that the event was a complete sellout, with a disputed attendance of 15,609. The event also received critical acclaim, with high praise directed towards the WarGames matches for their storytelling and long-term booking, while also praising AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor, and the United States Championship triple threat match. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter would go on to rate a majority of the matches three-and-three-quarters stars or higher, with only the SmackDown Women's Championship match receiving a negative response.