Who Will Be The Fifth Men For WWE’s Survivor Series War Games?

Warning: Spoilers for the November 18, 2024 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw!The WWE Universe is glued to the edge of 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 has quickly replaced the 10-person elimination tag team matches as the staple match of Survivor Series. Once a signature WCW match, one of their better ideas created by Dusty Rhodes in 1987, WarGames was revived for NXT in 2017 before coming to the main roster in 2022.

Now, the fifth WarGames match to take place on WWE’s main roster is set for Survivor Series 2024, pitting Roman Reigns’ OG Bloodline against Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline 2.0. The longest storyline in wrestling reaches its zenith as 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 set-up, meaning both teams need one more member.

Based on what’s been foreshadowed, and what was taped for the next episode of Raw, some fans may not be happy with the latest developments in this exciting story.

How WWE’s Next WarGames Match Came About

How Each Team Gained Their 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 appointed himself as such, kicking Jimmy Uso out of the Bloodline in favor of slowly re-building the group from the ground up. He’d 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 did return 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.

Thankfully for Roman, Jimmy Uso would return at Bad Blood, but still, the four-on-two numbers were not in their favor. Jimmy tried convincing Roman 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 harboring bad blood from his respective feuds with his brother and cousin, “Main Event” Jey Uso wanted no part of a Bloodline reunion. Instead, he tried convincing Solo that dividing the Anoa’i family was not the answer. In defiance, Solo would cost Jey his title on an exciting episode of Monday Night Raw.

Since Solo’s Bloodline threw the first stone, Jey would return the favor by venturing to Friday Night SmackDown to cost the Tongans their Tag Titles in a match with the Motor City Machine Guns. That same night, Jey and Jimmy reconciled to reunite The Usos. On the condition that they’d all be treated like equals this time around, Jey agreed to reunite The Bloodline heading into a Six-Man Tag at Crown Jewel. Another former Uce of the Bloodline, Sami Zayn, was understandably skeptical about his friend Jey trusting 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 is what persevered enough for Zayn to come to his aide at Crown Jewel (albeit, accidentally kicking Reigns in the face). The former Big Dog wasn’t feeling Ucey enough to trust or like Sami Zayn. However, with a challenge for WarGames out in the open as they share a common enemy in Solo Sikoa, the original Bloodline all found themselves throwing up the ones together to close out the last Friday Night SmackDown.

The WWE Teased Many Potential Fifth Members For Both Teams

An Exciting Guessgame For Fans

Days later on Monday Night Raw, both teams began actively recruiting to find their fifth man in preparation for WarGames. Heading into Raw, fans have 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 counterpart for The Rock could have been Cody Rhodes, considering their mysterious and ominous last confrontation on the Raw after WrestleMania.

Another exciting option was a surprise CM Punk return to enter Roman’s Bloodline team, which could warrant Drew McIntyre’s return for Solo’s Bloodline. After all, Drew’s latest character arc began with him lamenting the arrival of Jey Uso on Raw, and how everyone seemed to have forgotten the abuse that Roman and The Bloodline put the roster through. An alliance with Solo would make sense then. Considering his staredown with Jacob Fatu on Raw, Bron Breakker is another option for Team Roman.

The one name no one expected to be foreshadowed on Raw this past week as a possibility for WarGames was Seth Rollins. Sami Zayn makes the offer to The Visionary in a backstage segment and, unsurprisingly, Rollins is disgusted by the thought of teaming with his former Shield mate that he spent the last decade hating. This wouldn’t be the end of WWE foreshadowing Rollins’ possible involvement in WarGames, as he’s then approached in the parking lot with an offer from Solo Sikoa. Rollins says that as much as he hates Roman, he’d never team with a “wannabe Roman Reigns.”

Next Week’s Taped WWE Monday Night Raw Spoilers Have Major WarGames Ramifications

Have The Fifth Men Been Chosen?

After the show went off the air last Monday, WWE taped next week’s November 18th episode of Monday Night Raw. As a result, spoilers have already hit the internet, and footage shows how the 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 rivalry since the latter injured the former with a brutal attack after this year’s SummerSlam PLE. The Architect returned by 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 looks like Solo took that “wannabe Roman Reigns” comment personally, costing Rollins the match. Interestingly enough, he raises Bronson Reed’s hand after the match. Even more interestingly, 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 outright announced as the fifth man of each team, but it would seem pretty clear that Bronson and Seth are, in fact, those men.

Not Every Fan Is Happy to Read the WWE Raw Spoilers

Some Fans Think The WarGames Fifth Man Choices Feel Forced

Keep in mind that because WWE never outright announced Reed and Rollins as the respective options, they could easily overturn these choices before their next live show. As slim as that chance may seem, one look at social media reactions from fans who read the spoilers could convince WWE to change their minds. Fans who have enjoyed the Bronson Reed vs. Seth Rollins have said their insertion into the Bloodline storyline feels forced, and perhaps even rushed with just over two weeks before Survivor Series.

Many fans seem to believe that Bloodline vs. Bloodline should’ve stayed four-on-four for WarGames. 2018’s 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 solutions. The biggest criticism comes in Seth Rollins’ inclusion. Rollins mangled his own body on back-to-back WrestleMania nights seven months ago to dismantle Roman’s Bloodline, resulting in his loss of the World Heavyweight Championship. Choosing to join Roman as he seeks to regain power just doesn’t make sense. While fans reactions are negative, WWE could still find a way to salvage this storyline before November 30.