Warning: Spoilers for the November 18, 2024 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw!THE WWE Universe is glued to their seats wondering who Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns will recruit as the fifth men for their teams in the upcoming Survivor Series WarGames. WarGames quickly replaced 10-person elimination matches as the staple Survivor Series match. Once a WCW-exclusive match, one of its best ideas created by Dusty Rhodes in 1987, WarGames was revived for NXT in 2017 before making its way to the main roster in 2022.
Now, the fifth WarGames match will take place on the main WWE roster is set for Survivor Series 2024pitting Roman Reigns’ OG Bloodline against Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline 2.0. Wrestling’s longest history reaches its zenith when Roman is forced to reunite with the stablemates he bullied in hopes of becoming Tribal Chief again. The caveat is that WarGames is a five-on-five setup, meaning both teams need one more member.
Based on what has been foreshadowed and what has been recorded for the next episode of Raw, some fans may not be satisfied with the latest developments in this exciting story.
How WWE’s Next WarGames Match Came About
How each team won over its members
Following his WWE Championship loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, Roman Reigns disappeared from television. Without a tribal chief to answer to, Solo Sikoa styled itself as suchexpelling Jimmy Uso from Bloodline in favor of slowly rebuilding the group from the ground up. He would bring in the Guerrillas of Destiny, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, from New Japan Pro Wrestling, leading to a Tag Team Title reign, and the unstoppable Jacob Fatu from the indies. When Reigns returned as a babyface, he didn’t have a friend in sight to oppose Bloodline 2.0 after spending years as a diabolical tyrant on the roster.
Luckily for Roman, Jimmy Uso would return in Bad Blood, but still, the numbers four against two were not in their favor. Jimmy tried to convince Roman that they needed to rebuild their army by getting the band back together, starting with Jey Uso. However, having just won the Intercontinental Championship and still holding a grudge from their respective rivalries with his brother and cousin, the “Main Event” Jey Uso did not want to participate in a Bloodline reunion. Instead, he tried to convince Solo that dividing the Anoa’i family was not the answer. In defiance, Solo would cost Jey his title on an emotional episode of Monday Night Raw.
Since Solo’s Bloodline threw the first stone, Jey would return the favor by venturing onto Friday Night SmackDown to cost the Tongans their Tag Titles in a match against the Motor City Machine Guns. That same night, Jey and Jimmy reconciled to reunite the Usos. On the condition that everyone would be treated as equals this time, Jey agreed to reunite The Bloodline in a Six-Man Tag at Crown Jewel. Another former Uce in the bloodline, Sami Zayn, was understandably skeptical of his friend Jey’s trust in Roman and warned his brother of his concerns. Suspiciously, Solo was seen trying to recruit Zayn in a Raw parking lot.
While Zayn struggled to trust Jimmy and Roman (and vice versa), his friendship with Jey Uso was what persevered enough for Zayn to come to his Crown Jewel publicist (albeit accidentally kicking Reigns in the face). The former Big Dog wasn’t feeling Ucey enough to trust or like Sami Zayn. However, with an open challenge for WarGames as they share a common enemy in Solo Sikoa, the original bloodline found themselves vomiting those together to end the last Friday Night SmackDown.
WWE has teased many potential fifth members for both teams
An exciting guessing game for fans
Days later on Monday Night Raw both teams have begun actively recruiting to find their fifth man in preparation for WarGames. Heading into Raw, fans speculated about who could join these teams. Given his ominous warning to end Bad Blood, many suspected The Rock would join Bloodline 2.0. Speaking of Bad Blood, the perfect foil for The Rock could have been Cody Rhodes, considering their mysterious and menacing final match on Raw after WrestleMania.
Another interesting option was CM Punk’s surprise return to join Roman’s Bloodline team, which could guarantee Drew McIntyre’s return to Solo’s Bloodline. After all, Drew’s latest character arc began with him lamenting Jey Uso’s arrival on Raw, and how everyone seemed to have forgotten the abuse Roman and The Bloodline threw at the cast. An alliance with Solo would make sense then. Considering his matchup with Jacob Fatu on Raw, Bron Breakker is another option for Team Roman.
The one name no one expected to be teased on Raw last week as a possibility for WarGames was Seth Rollins. Sami Zayn makes the offer to Visionary in a backstage segment and, unsurprisingly, Rollins is sickened by the thought to team up with his former shieldmate who he spent the last decade hating. This wouldn’t be the end of WWE foreshadowing Rollins’ possible involvement in WarGames, as he was approached in the parking lot with an offer from Solo Sikoa. Rollins says that as much as he hates Roman, he would never join one “aspirant to Roman reigns.”
Next week’s recorded WWE Monday Night Raw spoilers have major War Games ramifications
Have the fifth men been chosen?
After the show went off the air last Monday, WWE taped next week’s November 18 episode of Monday Night Raw. As a result, spoilers have already reached the internet and the images show hothe episode may have revealed who the fifth men on each team will be: Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed. Rollins and Reed have had an explosive feud since the latter injured the former with a brutal attack following this year’s SummerSlam PLE. The Architect returned costing Reed his Last Monster Standing match against Braun Strowman.
Rollins beat Reed at Crown Jewel, with a rematch taped for next week’s Raw. It appears that Solo took the “Roman Reigns wannabe” comment personally, costing Rollins the match. Interestingly, he raises Bronson Reed’s hand after the match. Even more interesting, as Bloodline 2.0 surrounds the ring while Rollins stands alone, Sami Zayn and The Usos come down the ramp to make the save. Neither man was announced as the fifth man on each team, but it would seem pretty clear that Bronson and Seth are, in fact, those men.
Not every fan is happy to read WWE Raw spoilers
Some Fans Think War Games’ Fifth Man’s Choices Feel Forced
Keep in mind that since WWE never announced Reed and Rollins as the respective options, they could easily nix those picks before the next live show. As small as this chance may seem, one look onet Reactions from fans on social media who read the spoilers could convince WWE to change their mind. Fans who enjoyed Bronson Reed vs. Seth Rollins said his insertion into the Bloodline storyline feels forced, and perhaps even rushed, just over two weeks before Survivor Series.
Many fans seem to believe that Bloodline vs. Bloodline should have been four-on-four in WarGames. The 2018 NXT WarGames already set a four-on-four precedent, so it wouldn’t seem unusual to do it again. Forcing a five-on-five may have created more problems than it solved. The biggest criticism comes from the inclusion of Seth Rollins. Rollins mutilated his own body on consecutive WrestleMania nights seven months ago to dismantle Roman’s bloodline, resulting in him losing the World Heavyweight Championship. Choosing to join Roman as he seeks to regain power just doesn’t make sense. Although fan reactions are negative, WWE could still find a way to salvage this storyline before November 30th.