Pro wrestling in 2025 hasn’t really been resonating with me no matter which letters are on the logo, which is one of the reasons I was excited to re-watch the men’s WarGames match from Survivor Series 2022. I was in a similar malaise that year, and this was the match that rekindled the spark in me — that real pro wrestling love. After this match, wrestling was the best thing in the world for about nine months, and I will always treasure that period. I was eager to see if it could make me love wrestling again, and if you’re wondering what the answer was, as another WINC writer said, check the word count on this Watchlist slide.

I think what makes this match great is the fact that it’s aware of the audience’s feelings at all times. These are the days of the “feeling Ucey” promos; the Bloodline are nominally the heels, but you couldn’t pay the crowd to boo Sami Zayn during this period, and his “honorary” membership essentially made the entire group babyfaces. That’s why the alleged babyfaces, Team Brawling Brutes, have the advantage going in, even though traditionally the heels should always have the advantage in WarGames. It’s also why the match immediately begins with Pete Dunne (still rocking the “Butch” name but at least in a PPV match, which is more than I can say for him these days) torturing Jey Uso with submissions and finger breaks. Jey is the other piece of the puzzle; the crowd is desperate to cheer for him, and so the match begins with him getting his absolute ass kicked, which is objectively correct.

The true soul of the match, however, is the dynamic between Zayn and his eternal frenemy Kevin Owens, and the question of who will betray who by the end of the night. Fans by and large were expecting the Bloodline to turn on Sami, and WWE clearly knew it — Owens started telling Sami it would happen himself, and Roman Reigns became preemptively suspicious of Sami, creating what appeared to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The match is about the question of where Zayn’s loyalties lie, and whether the Bloodline will embrace him or destroy him. That’s why we have the wonderful little moment of Jimmy Uso trying to leave the Bloodline cage to help Jey, who has been getting more and more beat up, only for Roman to stop him and tell Zayn to go out instead. It’s why Sami sacrificing himself for Jey despite Jey not trusting him is such a big deal in the early going.

It’s also why Zayn and Owens never even touch for almost the entire match. In the build-up, the Bloodline had repeatedly attacked Owens, and while Zayn never stopped them, he also never joined in. He remained neutral, which is at the root of the Bloodline’s suspicions. In WarGames, he tries to remain neutral toward Owens as long as he can, never attacking him or being attacked by him; the match teases it once or twice, but otherwise doesn’t make a big deal of this initial separation, as the action focuses on other things. But finally, WarGames begins, and Owens ends up hitting a Stunner on Reigns and making the cover. Even now, Zayn doesn’t attack Owens — he jumps on the referee and prevents him from counting. This leads to Owens getting in Zayn’s face … and then Jey Uso gets in his face too. Sami can’t remain neutral anymore. Jey throws a superkick; Owens catches it. Both men are off balance.

Of all the decisions that went into the late-stage Bloodline being one of WWE’s best stories, the best decision by far was when Zayn finally made his choice, hitting Owens with a low blow and setting him up for Jey to splash and pin him to win the first-ever men’s WarGames match on a WWE main roster show. What’s actually happening here is a man making a terrible decision to betray his old friend and stay with his emotionally abusive adopted family. The bad guys win. The good guys lose. The crowd should theoretically be sad.

The crowd is elated, and the pop when the formerly distrusting Jey wraps Sami in a wild hug, fully embracing him into the Bloodline, is absolutely insane. The audience didn’t want anybody to betray anybody; they weren’t ready for “the Honorary Uce” run to end, and it turned out neither was WWE. It’s such a great moment for the fans, while also being an spectacular character turn for Zayn, who went on to turn in possibly the best work of his entire career in the months that followed. It’s the kind of thing that can only happen in pro wrestling, which is why re-watching it, I can now report 800 words later, still fills me with affection for this aggressively stupid art form.

Written by Miles Schneiderman