FEEDBACK: War Games from '87, '91 and '98

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This Friday on Review-A-Wai - we will be joined by Nate Milton as the three of us review four War Games from the NWA/WCW.

You can post your feedback & questions below.

We will be reviewing the following matches:

Ric Flair & Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard & Lex Luger & J.J. Dillon vs. Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff & Road Warriors & Paul Ellering (Great American Bash, July 4, 1987 at The Omni in Atlanta)

Ric Flair & Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard & Lex Luger & The War Machine vs. Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff & Road Warriors & Paul Ellering (Great American Bash, July 31, 1987 at The Orange Bowl in Miami)

Ric Flair & Sid Vicious & Barry Windham & Larry Zbyszko vs. Sting & Flyin' Brian & The Steiner Brothers (February 24, 1991 at Wrestle War in Phoenix, Arizona)

Hollywood Hogan & Bret Hart & Stevie Ray vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Warrior & Roddy Piper vs. Kevin Nash & Sting & Lex Luger (September 13, 1998 at Fall Brawl in Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

All the War Games can be watched on the WWE Network at network.wwe.com/shows/collections/175773724

[Christian Small]

In terms of a match idea this is one of the greatest creations there has ever been in wrestling. It's visually different with the 2 rings being surrounded by a cage and it's one of the easiest booked matches as you start with the faces starting off strong, heels get heat when they get the advantage and you switch back until everyone is in. It's a simple recipe that you shouldn't alter too much, as the 98 match shows and I find it strange that WWE are going with 3 teams of 3 for their War Games and not sticking with the traditional setting. Now personally I'm like many who feel that War Games is a little overrated as a match. It has produced some absolute classics but you can't get invested until the last man is in as you know it can't end until then. It's also a very crowded match even with the 2 rings. I am interested in how NXT handles this match and you do have some really good talent in there that can make it great.

[mcwaylon]

The War Games was the best gimmick match in the history of WCW. I still the promo packages of old hyping the match. While I did not watch the network, I own the War Games Blu-Ray that WWE released a few years ago. It was great to watch the classic matches of old except for the 98 match, that was bad. Sid nearly breaking Pillman's neck with the powerbomb was is still one of the most cringe inducing moves I have ever seen. Seeing the rampant use of the flapjack, which was the lamest weapon ever used in my opinion, during the match as well as Warrior injuring himself, the match was just a cluster to watch. I don't know if the 98 match was the worst or the war game 2000 match on Nitro but both were just awful.

Look forward to seeing how the gang from NXT pulls off their showing.

[randycabbage]

Alexander from Portland

I know wrestling had a completely different style back in the 80's/90's, but I just could not get into the wrestling for the first three matches. It's not like there was anything bad, but because I did not grow up watching this style of wrestling I found it hard to buy into. This first match had poor audio quality and the closed captions were unhelpful, so I couldn't get a story for this match from the announcers. The ending came out of nowhere, and guys continued to fight after the bell had rung. The second match had the bell ring, but the crowd literally did not react until they were told who won. With no referee to watch and action happening with eight guys crammed in two rings, how do you figure out what to focus on? The third match was good, but yet again there was just so much action going on that I felt like I was missing some. With these first three matches, I also could not buy into them until THE MATCH BEYOND. Before then, it's just guys aimlessly beating up one another.

Call me crazy, but to me the fourth War Games match was the most enjoyable. THE MATCH BEYOND stipulation was removed, so I was able to buy into all of the action. A referee was added, so I felt more focused with what to pay attention to. While I knew that this match wouldn't end until everyone got into the match, just having that option available was appreciated. Not that this match was great, almost everyone in it was shit. The first two guys in the ring could go, but it seemed like each subsequent person who entered the match was worse than the last. Not complaining about that, I'd much rather see less Nash and Hogan and Warrior than more of them. I was curious about the winner getting a "mandatory title match." The way it was phrased made it sound like a title match was to be avoided. "Fun" note: the trap door that The Warrior used in this match lead to injuries to Davey Boy Smith and Perry Saturn.

As a bonus, I watched The Hulkamaniacs vs. The Dungeon of Doom, which is one of the most lopsided multiman matches in pro wrestling. Hogan, Savage, Luger, and Sting against Kamala, Brutus Beefcake as Zodiac, John Tenta playing The Shark, and Meng. Never before have I seen Hogan win a match via submission. I'm sure it was a much more even matchup at the time, but I found it laughable seeing the Dungeon of Doom getting offense on any of The Hulkamaniacs.

Overall, I think this gimmick match is mediocre. Typically when there are multi-man matches in WWE, some guys are kept out of the ring while action in the ring is focused on two or three people. However, with this gimmick, you can't do that. There's no action ring and no rest ring. Even with Royal Rumbles, when there are so many guys in the ring, action is well focused. The first three matches weren't, and the fourth just sucked. I'm not terribly excited to see the forthcoming War Games match, but I have faith in NXT that I'll enjoy it more than the five I watched. Thank you both for providing the opportunity to watch these matches.

Question: Is there any other gimmick match from WCW that you'd like to see WWE bring back?

[jmtempleton]

Jesse from the 6

Good choice of review this week; very interesting.
Maybe it's a case of having to have been watching NWA in the 1980's or WCW in the '90's to really appreciate the War Games, but I wasn't blown away.
I have a few questions (which you may have already covered in the body of the review):
Whose creation was War Games? Dusty's?

Why did they need two rings? It seems to me that, while it would be crowded, you could fit 8-10 guys in one ring. In fact, perhaps the best design would have been one ring with a Hell in a Cell type cage, allowing guys to go to the floor. This would also help to keep focus as there'd only be one ring.

What were these first Great American Bash shows for? They can't be just house shows, because they were filmed and had commentary. But why was the commentary on the first match mixed so low? Were these aired on Turner at some point?

My biggest problem with War Games is the submission ending. In almost every match, the live crowd couldn't tell where the finish came from. It seems a pin would have been easier to spot. And, also, as John has pointed out, the match only being able to end after everybody's entered takes away the drama.

Oddly enough, many of these problems were "fixed" with the '98 version, but then they made up a whole bunch of new, Warrior-sized problems.

All that said, it was fun looking back on these old shows and the '91 match was genuinely good. It was also fun to see how over Nikita Koloff was in '87, and the Wolfpac were in '98.

Take Care

[pj]

I do like the two rings with the cage, however I think the rules themselves are bad. You do have to WAIT until everyone is inside to start the match. Everything before that means nothing. Tweaking the rules is necessary.