Randy Orton made his return to the WWE in the main event at Survivor Series: WarGames. But he wasn’t the only big return on the evening, because after the match, CM Punk’s music hit to signify that the Best in the World is officially back in WWE.
NEVER. SAY. NEVER.@CMPunk has just returned to WWE at #SurvivorSeries!!! pic.twitter.com/0dpG6vyT5r
— WWE (@WWE) November 26, 2023
Randy Orton with an amazing RKO! pic.twitter.com/mxHUtGcUu2
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) November 26, 2023
Seth Rollins started the match off strong against Finn Bálor before the numbers game caught up to him as JD McDonagh entered the fray. Jey Uso evened things up with a chair before Damian Priest got in the mix with a baton. The crowd erupted when Sami Zayn hit the ring with a table and Drew McIntyre joined the mix shortly thereafter, clearing the ring and getting his hands on Uso.
A determined @DMcIntyreWWE looks to destroy Jey Uso inside #WarGames!#SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/DtaY8ipJxH
— WWE (@WWE) November 26, 2023
Cody Rhodes then made his way to the ring and took out Judgement Day members left and right before teasing dissension with Rollins. With both teams at a stalemate, Dominik Mysterio gave his team the advantage momentarily before being everyone turned their attention to him. Rollins picked up Mysterio to powerbomb him through a table, but the Judgement Day made the save.
After the Judgement Day took out each member one by one, Priest powerbombed Rollins through a table. After the clock hit zero, Rhea Ripley came running down to cash in Money in the Bank before Randy Orton’s music hit.
THE VIPER IS BACK!@RandyOrton has arrived at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/AHsnL0Tg1X
— WWE (@WWE) November 26, 2023
Orton slithered his way to the ring for the first time since undergoing double fusion back surgery. He went one by one through each member of the opposition before facing off with McIntyre and getting hit from behind by Priest. Orton’s entire team hit stereo middle rope DDTs and teased an RKO to Uso before hitting one on Mysterio. After a Helluva Kick to McIntyre and an Uso Splash, the team chased McDonagh up the cage.
Zayn and Uso tossed him to Orton for an RKO before Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes on Mysterio for the pinfall.
As for what happened after the match, “Cult of Personality” hit and Punk emerged. While it’s unclear what he’ll be doing now that he is back in WWE, Punk’s return comes following his exit from AEW earlier this year.