Key storylines heading into Survivor Series WarGames 2022

The WWE will return to pay-per-view on Saturday with Survivor Series WarGames coming live from the TD Garden in Boston. The show will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Peacock.

Survivor Series is one of the WWE’s annual “Big 4” ppv’s and there’s added intrigue with this year’s show featuring two WarGames matches.. If you haven’t paid attention the Raw or Smackdown over the past month, we’ll get you caught up with how these Survivor Series matches came to be below.

Survivor Series WarGames 2022 storylines

Men’s WarGames match - The Bloodline vs. The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens

This WarGames match stems out of the Bloodline’s dominance over the rest of the company for the past two years. Several stars like Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens have tried to dethrone undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns only to be overwhelmed by the rest of the Bloodline.

In recent weeks, the group has targeted the Brawling Brutes on Smackdown and even put Sheamus on the shelf for several weeks. Two weeks ago, Sheamus returned to help Ridge Holland and Butch fight the Bloodline and they were joined by McInytre. A WarGames match was made official the following week and KO was revealed as the fifth member of the team.

Women’s WarGames match - Damage Control, Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and TBA

The women’s WarGames match has been brewing since SummerSlam, when Bayley returned along with Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to official form Damage Control. The trio immediately began feuding with Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka in a war that saw each side trade the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship multiple times.

A WarGames match was made official on Raw a few weeks ago and Nikki Cross immediately enlisted her services on the Damage Control side. The following week, Belair’s team got a commitment from Mia Yim and immediately afterwards, Rhea Ripley linked up with Bayley’s squad to round out that group.

The night before the show, Belair and company revealed Becky Lynch as the fifth member of their team. Lynch has been out since the Raw after SummerSlam, where Damage Control attacked her backstage and put her on the shelf for three months.

Other matches

• Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will defend her title against Shotzi on this show. Shotzi became the No. 1 contender when winning a six-pack challenge match on Smackdown a few weeks ago and has had to fight off attacks from the champ and Shayna Baszler since.
• Seth Rollins has had two competitors gunning after him in recent weeks in Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory. Rollins took the title of Lashley with an assist from Brock Lesnar last month. Meanwhile, Theory failed to cash in his Money in the Ban briefcase on Rollins just a few weeks ago.
• A.J. Styles will battle Finn Balor in singles action. Styles has been fighting against the various iterations of The Judgement Day since Wrestlemania and got some backup recently when Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows returned to reform the O.C. To even the odds against the presence of Rhea Ripley, a returning Mia Yim joined the group as well.