Good news hits sports entertainment fans as Chief Content Officer for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Paul Levesque, reveals that the company’s upcoming November pay-per-view Survivor Series will feature two separate WarGames matches making up the main event on what is sure to be a well-lauded night. In a recent interview, the former world champion revealed this detail in light of his elevated responsibilities behind the scenes.
The November event, which has now been christened Survivor Series WarGames, is a revamped take on WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view, which has been produced in front of massive crowds in November every year since 1987, making it one of the longest-running wrestling pay-per-view events in wrestling history, second only to celebrity-studded supershow Wrestlemania. The WarGames match type, which consists of two rings laid side by side and then enclosed in a massive steel cage, has a similar historical origin, being a result of the '80s NWA product before being utilized in the '90s by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which was a big rival of the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Most recently, the WarGames format was used to great fan acclaim on some of WWE NXT's pay-per-view shows, overseen at the time by Levesque, who is best known for his time as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a blueblood aristocrat character that eventually morphed into Triple H and in addition to being heralded as The Game, one of the most successful gimmicks in wrestling history. In an exclusive interview with The Ringer, Levesque revealed that the double main event would feature one WarGames match each for the male and female superstars. This stands to replace the usual face-off between the WWE brands, such as the highly remarkable three-way events that took place in 2019.
Speaking more on the concept, Levesque noted that the spirit of the pay-per-view had seen some changes over time and highlighted that the addition of WarGames wouldn’t be too far off the mark. Rather than the traditional Smackdown vs Raw angle that has been popular at the event since the brand split, the new concept will see the large-scale action be more storyline driven instead. This is a decision that Levesque, who announced his retirement from ring action for good in May, says he made from his position as a longtime fan of professional wrestling.
The news will likely excite fans and is one of many changes that the former Triple H has made since taking on new responsibility in the aftermath of Vince McMahon's surprising retirement earlier in the year. Many fans respect Levesque for his time as a performer and also for his role in building up the NXT brand, which managed to draw more fan interest than its larger sister programs under his careful nurturing.
Also worth noting is the need for WWE to bolster its viewership and win back many older fans who have flocked to the competition. Most notable is Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling, which airs its Dynamite show weekly and has been making big moves as of late, such as buying out leading indie promotion Ring of Honor, the former home of many top stars. While Triple H has met with initial praise, his long-term success banks on decisions that maintain WWE's decades-long domination of the industry.
WWE Survivor Series WarGames is scheduled to take place on the 26th of November, 2022, at TD Garden in Boston.
Source: The Ringer