Dave Simon and Johnny North break down tonight’s outdoor spectacle in San Diego.
WWE Survivor Series 2025 War Games hits Petco Park tonight in San Diego, bringing two rings, dual cages, and an outdoor pay-per-view setup that hasn’t been attempted since the early 2000s. Dave Simon and Johnny North broke down the entire card on this week’s Wrestling Uncensored, and they’re not exactly convinced this four-match show is worth the hundreds of dollars fans paid to attend.
“Looking at the card, I’d be a little upset, to be honest,” Johnny opened. “How many hundreds of dollars close to thousands of dollars people have spent to watch four matches, and I don’t know about you, I don’t believe these are gonna be four matches that are gonna live up to whatever people paid for. I don’t believe I mean the War Games matches; I’ve been over this so many years now. This is the worst match in all of WWE. It goes on forever. It drags, and then in the end, it’s just a spot garbage match. It’s not really fun, and you have to watch it twice. It’s too much.”
The Wrestling Uncensored crew previewed the entire Survivor Series card, discussed AEW’s new World Champion, Samoa Joe, and debated the state of both major wrestling promotions heading into the final weeks of 2025.
War Games Format Fatigue
The conversation kicked off with a fundamental question about WWE’s signature gimmick match. Johnny didn’t hold back on his War Games opinion, calling it the worst match type in WWE’s arsenal.
Dave acknowledged the format’s limitations while defending the spectacle WWE has built around it. “They have their ups and downs. I don’t love the format. It’s not my favorite,” Dave admitted. “It’s not, but they’re getting big stars. They’re gonna get some big stunts, you know, it’s stunt wrestling for the most part.”
Understanding what makes Brock Lesnar’s War Games participation so unusual requires understanding his entire career arc – from NCAA champion to UFC heavyweight king to WWE’s ultimate special attraction. Johnny North reviewed a Brock Lesnar biography back in 2010 that covered the foundation, and we’ve updated that review with everything that’s happened since: the 2012 WWE return, ending The Undertaker’s streak, the UFC 200 comeback, “Suplex City,” Cowboy Brock, and how he created the modern part-time megastar business model. The original book is available on Kindle here. If you want context for why tonight’s match represents such a departure from how Brock operates typically, check out our complete career retrospective at the end of this article. The Beast doesn’t work team matches for a reason – his entire post-2012 WWE run has been built on being the lone wolf final boss, not a team player locked in a cage for 30-plus minutes.
The unique appeal of this year’s War Games, according to Dave, comes down to one man: Brock Lesnar.
“The big attraction is Brock Lesnar in that type of match,” Dave explained. “Brock doesn’t usually work these kinds of multi-man matches. He doesn’t work well with others. To have to participate in a thing like this for Brock is gonna be weird, and I wonder how long he’s gonna be in the ring for because he’s not usually in the ring for very long.”
The staggered entry format adds another wrinkle to Brock’s involvement. Since the heels won the advantage on Raw this week (Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul defeating the Usos), Brock’s team gets numerical superiority throughout the match build.
“Brock Lesnar, that means we’ll get even more Brock because Brock is gonna have to enter the ring, do some stuff, and then somebody else will enter, probably Roman Reigns or… Cody, who’s the last guy for the babyface team? Punk, Cody, Roman, take your pick,” Dave analyzed.
Team Dynamics and Leadership Questions
The men’s War Games match features an unusual dynamic with multiple potential leaders on the babyface side. Johnny broke down the hierarchy issues.
“The last couple of weeks, it’s been Brock and Roman, the last two kind of thing, and it feels like Roman’s the only one who didn’t seem to put a dent into Brock,” Johnny observed. “ Roman being the last guy actually to start the match, it makes the most sense. However, they’re putting Cody as the top guy on the team. I think that’s mainly just because he’s the WWE champion. So that’s why it kind of makes it look like he’s the captain, where I don’t believe he actually is. I think it feels like it’s Punk and Cody trying to lead the team.”
Dave highlighted the Raw promo segment that directly addressed this tension. “They had that promo which I enjoyed, you know, Cody welcoming them to his team, and Roman’s like What do you mean, your team? I’ve been fighting this battle longer than you. Most of this team is my family. What are you talking about?”
Johnny pointed out the historical context. “Well, and what last year, I mean, that’s what it was. Was it not? It was pretty much Roman’s Bloodline with CM Punk.”
The babyface team of Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso faces Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Solo Sikoa, and Tama Tonga.
The Women’s War Games Match
The women’s match received significant discussion about team dynamics and leadership. Charlotte Flair led her team to victory on SmackDown this week, earning the babyface advantage for her squad.
Charlotte teams with Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Naomi, and Bayley against Nia Jax, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae.
Outside Setting and Weather Concerns
One of the biggest wildcards for Survivor Series isn’t in the ring at all – it’s the San Diego weather. Dave and Johnny discussed the unique challenges of WWE’s outdoor setup at Petco Park.
“It’s gonna be quite an image. It’s gonna look cool as hell,” Dave said about the dual cage setup outside.
The show represents WWE’s first outdoor pay-per-view in over two decades, adding an unpredictable element to an already complex production. With two War Games matches planned back-to-back, any weather issues could significantly impact the show’s pacing and presentation.
War Games Predictions: Dave and Johnny Pick Opposite on Everything
In a rare split, Dave and Johnny made opposite predictions on both War Games matches, creating a situation where one of them will go 2-0 and the other 0-2.
“I don’t know because you’re picking against me and usually we pick basically everything the same for WWE shows,” Dave noted with concern. “Maybe that’s a good thing with this show. It’s hard to tell, right?”
Women’s War Games Predictions
Johnny’s Pick: Babyfaces (Charlotte, Rhea Ripley, Sky, Alexa Bliss, AJ Lee)
Dave’s Pick: Heels (Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Becky Lynch)
Dave explained his reasoning for the heel team: “I think Charlotte and Rhea Ripley’s alliance will not last. I think the team might not survive as a unit. So I’m gonna go with Nia, Lash, Asuka, Kairi, and Becky to win.”
He also pointed to the physical size advantage: “Alexa Bliss and AJ Lee are tiny. Nia Jax and Lash Legend are very big.”
Johnny countered with his own analysis of team dynamics: “You put over the fact that the women’s babyface team, they’ve been at odds with each other, and that’s where you feel, oh, it’s not gonna work out. Where I feel the heel team, they’ve kind of shown a little bit where not everyone’s on the same page and believes in Becky telling them what to do. And I think that’s gonna play a factor in it too, where she’s gonna try to bully people around, and people are gonna tell her to do their own thing, and that’s gonna cost them the match.“
Men’s War Games Predictions
Dave’s Pick: Babyfaces (CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Usos, Roman Reigns)
Johnny’s Pick: Heels (Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga)
Dave’s logic was straightforward: “I have the opposite. I got Punk, Cody, the Usos and Roman winning because they got the champion, they got both champions… They got both champions and Roman Reigns on one team. How could they lose? The other team is mostly jabronis.”
He doubled down with historical comparisons: “If John Cena was on a team with Batista that team would win. If Hulk Hogan was on a team with Macho Man that team would win. If Cody Rhodes is on a team with Roman Reigns that team should win.”
Johnny immediately saw the flaw in that reasoning: “That’s it though, because you have the champions and you say it’s a super team, they’re too strong. So this is where they have to lose actually I think.”
He also pointed out historical precedent: “It’s funny, Hogan’s team lost his first-ever Survivor Series because he was the champion, he didn’t need to win.”
Johnny’s “Advantage Theory”
Johnny’s picks weren’t random – he had an overarching theory about this year’s War Games format:
“Pretty much everyone who got the advantage is going to win. Usually what they do is the opposite, right? If you have the advantage then you lose. So I think that happens, but I think this year the advantage will actually mean something and that would be the thing going forward.”
Since the heels won the advantage in both War Games matches (Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul for the men, and the heel team for the women), Johnny’s picking a clean heel sweep.
“If you notice too with the women’s, I find the heels have been mainly dominated and it seems the faces can barely keep it together,” Johnny added. “With the men’s it feels kind of even, but the way I look at it I see the two world champions are on one side. So the heel side has to look stronger, I think.”
Dave’s Self-Doubt
Despite his own picks, Dave seemed increasingly convinced that Johnny would end up being right.
“See the fact that you’re so convinced and I’m kind of on the fence makes me think that you’re gonna be right about everything,” Dave admitted.
“I feel like I’m wrong but I’m going with what I… I don’t know. I watch these,” Dave trailed off, clearly second-guessing himself.
“That’s amazing, you’re gonna be right about everything by the way,” Dave told Johnny, essentially conceding the predictions battle before the matches even happened.
Johnny remained confident: “I feel a lot of this is slam dunk stuff.”
AEW’s Samoa Joe World Championship Win
Shifting to All Elite Wrestling, Dave and Johnny addressed the surprise World Championship change that happened the previous week.
“A lot’s going on in AEW and it’s interesting. They got a new world champion right, Samoa Joe is the new world champion that happened last week,” Dave noted. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about that.”
Johnny expressed his surprise at the title change timing. “We expected new champions just not a new world champion that was a bit of a surprise. But I mean good for Joe to finally get a second reign. I didn’t think he’d ever get a second reign. I thought one, that’s it, but good for him to be a double champion too as well.”
The championship change came during AEW’s Continental Classic tournament period, adding another layer of storylines heading into the promotion’s final weeks of 2025.
Continental Classic Tournament Update
Johnny provided an update on AEW’s Continental Classic tournament, which had already begun airing.
“We got the Gold and Blue League all set up and matches already started because we had Dynamite and Collision was yesterday,” Johnny explained. “So a lot’s happened already and we had Full Gear that happened.”
The tournament structure features both a Gold League and Blue League, with matches distributed across AEW’s weekly programming. The tournament represents AEW’s attempt to build towards their next major pay-per-view cycle.
The State of Pro Wrestling
Throughout the discussion, Dave and Johnny touched on broader themes about professional wrestling’s current landscape. The contrast between WWE’s outdoor stadium spectacle and AEW’s tournament-focused approach highlighted the different philosophies driving each promotion.
WWE continues pushing the War Games concept as an annual tradition, building it around their biggest stars despite format criticisms. Meanwhile, AEW leans into its tournament-heavy presentation style with the Continental Classic, though questions remain about the sustainable appeal of this booking philosophy.
Looking Ahead
Beyond Survivor Series, the hosts acknowledged the packed wrestling schedule heading into the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.
“Tons going on in pro wrestling, tons,” Dave emphasized.
The show touched on Ringside Report Network’s upcoming 20th anniversary, with Dave and Johnny reflecting on two decades of combat sports coverage.
“2026, 2006 to 2026, if my math is right, that would be Ringside Report Network with the same number of people. We’d be entering our 20th year covering combat sports,” Dave calculated. “Consistently each and every week with very few breaks or weeks off. It’s a lot of content. That’s a lot of hours. It’s a lot of knowledge accumulated over the past 20 years.”
Johnny clarified Wrestling Uncensored’s specific timeline. “Wrestling Uncensored, I believe, was started in 2010 if I’m not mistaken.”
Dave explained the evolution. “Ringside Report started as a pro wrestling show, but then we started covering MMA as well on Ringside Report. So to give wrestling more time, we started a second show called Wrestling Uncensored, and we decided to keep Ringside Report strictly MMA and branch over the wrestling to Wrestling Uncensored and just kind of separate them because we felt like some people listening to the MMA show kind of tuned out with the wrestling, and some people wanted the wrestling but not the MMA. So just more content, separate them.”
Final Verdict on Survivor Series
As the preview wrapped, the hosts’ skepticism about the four-match card remained intact, though they acknowledged WWE’s ability to deliver spectacle even when the booking seems questionable.
The outdoor setting, Brock Lesnar’s involvement, and the team dynamics all add intrigue to tonight’s show. Whether the War Games format can justify a premium price point for just four matches remains the central question hanging over WWE Survivor Series 2025.
The show also wrapped with acknowledgments to the Wrestling Uncensored audience and long-time supporters, including Angelo Contagones and other members who’ve been with the show for years.
