Major Update On WWE Men's War Games Match At Survivor Series

John Cena will be absent from the marquee match.
Roman Reigns will be a featured part of War Games.
Roman Reigns will be a featured part of War Games. | WWE

WWE Survivor Series is a little more than a month away, and the annual men's War Games match appears to be finally taking shape.

It was reported earlier Friday that John Cena will not be a part of this year's War Games bout, and instead, is set to face off with "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, a belt he has never held. Cena's exclusion from the match leads to some open doors for others to step through.

According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, this year's match is mostly put together at this juncture. He reports CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Jacob Fatu, and Jey Uso will team with a fifth member against The Vision, Brock Lesnar, and Austin Theory.

Meltzer noted that while the fifth member hasn't been cemented yet, it will likely come down to LA Knight or Jimmy Uso.

Additionally, Meltzer indicated that the nature of the plans could be changing, explaining that the reported plans were as of one week ago. Most notably, Cody Rhodes, who will be facing Seth Rollins at WWE Crown Jewel this weekend, is not listed as part of the match.

Austin Theory's Return

Austin Theory
Theory vs. Cena at WrestleMania 39. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

It has been months since WWE fans have seen Austin Theory in action on Raw, but if Meltzer's report is correct, he will be a major part of one of WWE's biggest matches of the year. That would be quite a juxtaposition from his previous role on the card, as he was a part of the A-Town Down tag team alongside Grayson Waller the last time he wrestled.

Theory has reportedly been out of action since May, dealing with an undisclosed injury. His partnership with Waller was quickly broken up not long after. Meltzer explained that Theory's look is a major part of being given other opportunities, despite having received pushes that ended up ultimately not going far in the past.

The 28-year-old's biggest opportunity came at WrestleMania 39, when Theory was WWE United States Champion. There, he defeated Cena clean to open up the Premium Live Event, the biggest win of his career. This came after he became the first and only man to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase for the United States Championship, breaking the tradition of it being used for a world title shot instead.

His most recent WWE match was on July 19, a loss to El Grande Americano on WWE Main Event.

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Jon Alba
JON ALBA

Jon Alba is an Emmy Award and SPJ Award-winning journalist who has broken some of pro wrestling's biggest stories. In addition to writing for The Takedown on SI, he is the host of "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast, and a host and contributor for Sportsnet New York. Additionally, he has been on beats for teams across MLB, the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS during more than a decade in the sports media sphere. Jon is a graduate of Quinnipiac University with a B.A. degree in Journalism.

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