Welcome to the latest post in the UnWrest Focus WarGames Edition. (As of 10/4/18, it is the last scheduled WarGames post I will share until NXT does another WarGames). WWE had pretty much sworn off of doing WarGames for a lot of reasons. Many say Vince simply didn't care for the format of the match. Others say it was another part of WCW that Vince just didn't want to acknowledge. In any case, WarGames remained buried...
Until 2017... and Adam Cole showed up in NXT. At NXT TakeOver Brooklyn, Adam Cole made his NXT debut joining Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish to form the group The Undisputed Era. The group began to run through the NXT roster, provoking many of the top acts that the brand had. Roderick Strong, a fellow ROH alumnus, was offered a position in The Undisputed Era but turned them down. This set up their attack on "Roddy." Then, The Undisputed Era provoked both the massive Authors of Pain (managed by War Games alumnus Paul Ellering) and the NXT Tag Team Champion stable Sanity. Eventually things boiled over to the point that NXT General Manager William Regal made a shocking announcement: Roderick Strong would team with The Authors of Pain to face Sanity and The Undisputed Era in a Triple Threat WarGames match. The announcement made during the NXT TV tapings spread through the internet wrestling community like wildfire to the point that WWE had to acknowledge the match's announcement weeks before the episode actually aired.
A lot of fans speculated about how WWE would use WarGames. What changes would be made? Would those changes be acceptable to the wrestling fans? Well, we knew it wasn't going to be the same as the WarGames of 1987, but this version of WarGames proved to be awesome in its own way.
LET THE WARGAMES BEGIN!
NXT TakeOver: WarGames
November 18, 2017
WarGames
The Undisputed Era (Cole, Fish, and O'Reilly) vs. The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. Sanity (Young, Dain, and Wolfe)
They bring down the roofless WarGames cage. To be clear, this is the double ring, double cage. It just does not have a roof to it. However, one of the big changes to WarGames is this: If a wrestler escapes the cage, their team forfeits the match. So, even without a roof, WarGames is still being contested as a battle without an escape plan. (An idea I have for the future would be to reintroduce the roof but at a higher level to allow for more high spots. But given what we are about to see, the roof being missing was probably a necessary evil.)
Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson are at ringside for this match. And when you think of WarGames of times past, you think of the great performances of Arn Anderson. Arn Anderson may be the MVP of WarGames in general. Even though his team almost always lost (The Horsemen only won once, and Arn wasn't wrestling that night), Arn always gave 100% of his body and effort into the match. Also, Dustin Rhodes had some really great performances in WarGames as well in 1992 and 1994 in particular. And you know Dustin is there not only for himself but for his father Dusty who created WarGames. (Side Note: If you get the chance, watch the WWE Network's WarGames Collection. It's bookended with Dusty explaining the concept of the WarGames and a Fantasy WarGames Booking that is amazing.)
The Rules Are:
Three teams will be in three shark cages. One man from each team will start the match for 5 minutes. Then randomly, one team will be released from their cage in 3 minute intervals. A victory by pin or submission can only be attained while all have entered. Also, you escape the cage, you forfeit the match.
LET THE WARGAMES BEGIN!!!
Sanity come out first. Wolfe and Dain will enter the shark cage. Young will start the match. SHOCK THE SYSTEM! And here comes The Undisputed Era. Hard to believe just a few months earlier that these guys were all in Ring of Honor. Now (November 2017), they are starring and prospering in NXT. Adam Cole is going into the cage for his team. ADAM COLE BAY BAY!!!! And here come the Authors of Pain, Roderick Strong, and Paul Ellering. And Roderick Strong is wearing AOP attire. Strong looks like one of these guys after doing some DDP Yoga. Roddy is starting off for his team. (This is so weird. Eric Young, a TNA/Impact mainstay, Roderick Strong, known for his Indy presence especially in ROH, and Adam Cole, a multi-time ROH World Champion, are in an NXT match in a revitalized NWA/WCW concept. You have to love modern wrestling, folks.)
All three men start in the left ring. Adam Cole backs up into the right ring. (Also, there will be no Arn head between the rings spot here. There is metal connecting the two rings together in between them. Arn's probably thinking at ringside "You just want to take the fun out of everything, don't ya?") Finally, we get some action here. All three men trade blows with the others to start this off. Cole continues to be the object of the others' attention. Backbreaker by Strong in the early going. Adam Cole prevents himself from hitting the cage and starts climbing it instead. Smart move unless he actually starts to exit the cage by going over the top. A heel could literally just crawl around the top of the cage until "the coast is clear." Cole gets the advantage by sending both men down on the ropes after being sent off himself. Cole has the advantage, knocking Young down with a ushigaroshe (sp?). Cole continues to dominate here. "I run this world."- Cole. Don't let Stephanie hear you say that. Cole continues to have the advantage over the other two. But Strong starts getting the advantage in the match. Running chops and attacks by Strong. Solid 5 minute period. It went by quickly.
In typical WarGames fashion, the heel team gets the advantage early on as The Undisputed Era's cage shines. The referees unlock the door, and here comes Fish and O'Reilly. The former reDRagon is now in the cage. (This is already better than the last several WarGames. Two rings, several TEAMS, and the heels win the coin toss.That's WarGames, folks.) As you would expect, they take the advantage on the other two combatants. 3-1-1 right now. Young takes a few big strikes while standing against the cage. And now, Young gets his face raked across the cage while Fish and O'Reilly go to work on Strong. And Strong gets the Eric Young treaetment a minute later in the other ring. The count goes down...
And here comes THE AUTHORS OF PAIN! The Undisputed Era try to hold the door shut (brilliant again), but AOP just overpowers them and slams the door in O'Reilly's face. They're in. The Undisputed Era is now getting a taste of violence as it's now 3-3-1. (One other positive I'll say about this concept is that you are getting more combatants in the ring which fundamentally changes the dynamic with every clock countdown. The only negative is that you don't have that sense of urgency that comes with the back and forth heel and face entrants that the original WarGames tended to have. Still, it's just different, not bad.) Young takes a big swing into the cage by AOP. The AOP THROW ADAM COLE FROM ONE RING INTO O'REILLY IN THE OTHER RING! WOW! AND NOW YOUNG GETS BACKDROPPED INTO THAT RING! AND NOW AOP FLIPS RODDY OVER THE TOP OF THE ROPES INTO THE SECOND RING ONTO ALL FOUR MEN! That's awesome! Huge AOP chant. This crowd is definitely hotter than the last few WCW WarGames crowds. More devastating offense by the AOP. Ellering is walking around ringside like the Conductor of Destruction. (The best thing NXT ever did for Authors of Pain was to put them with Paul Ellering. The dude is an absolutely amazing manager and mouthpiece for a team. I'm hoping to see him again as a manager.) The count is over...
AND SANITY HAS BEEN UNLEASHED! Wolfe runs to the ring, and he takes out a damn BILLY CLUB! He attacks the AOP with it while Dain gets some more toys. Trash Cans, Steel chain, steel chairs! Kendo sticks! The crowd is ERUPTING! "WE WANT TABLES!" Dain goes back under the ring and GETS THE TABLES! THE FANS ARE LOSING IT! "YES! YES! YES!" THE NXT TAKEOVER EVENT HAS BECOME THE ROMAN COLISEUM!!!!! IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU'VE GOT IT! (Great song and live album for AC/DC by the way). Absolute carnage with trash cans being compacted under the weight of human impact among other things. Dain closes the cage and locks the door behind him! DAIN EATS THE DAMN KEY TO THE PADLOCK! (I know some of you may think that WarGames isn't about weapons. Look back at the matches or the reviews. Weapons and WarGames go together like a leach to blood.)
Dain and AOP go at it. Big senton splash/dropkick combination by Dain on the AOP. Dain climbs the ropes and nails a big crossbody off the top to AOP and Undisputed Era. Damn. This match is Dain's big moment on the NXT roster. Dain hits a Michinoku Driver on Cole ON TOP OF FISH! Wow.O'Reilly gets sent into the cage a couple times. This is nuts. Dain hits a Fall-Away Slam and Samoan Drop combination now. One of the AOP and Dain fight in between the two rings. They go into the left ring. Big running crossbody by Dain. Akum gets Dain up for a big powerslam. O'Reilly hits a Parkour DDT using the cage. LOUD "THIS IS AWESOME" chant from the audience. Bodies are everywhere. All 9 of these guys are killing each other in this match. How can you not appreciate this as what it is: an awesome match? O'Reilly now shows off some of his Strong Style moves with a little Ax and Smash action. (I still say O'Reilly is the most underrated member of The Undisputed Era.)
At this point, this is already one of the longest, if not THE, longest post-entrant sequences in WarGames history. Wolfe is getting tied up with a chain now. Cross armbreaker by O'Reilly. Young hits a diving elbow drop off the top rope to break it up. Moonsault by Fish on Young. "We Want Tables!" Super Collider by AOP to Fish and O'Reilly with Dain smashed in between the four bodies. Young hits a Death Valley Driver on a member of AOP onto the other member of AOP. This is insane. Now Strong is hitting everyone moving in the ring with high paced maneuvers. HE GETS DAIN UP FOR AN OLYMPIC SLAM! Wow! Superkick by Cole breaks up the pin attempt by Strong. Young, Cole, and Strong are fighting on the top corners of two rings. Cole is stuck between the rings. ALL 9 WRESTLERS ARE IN THE CORNERS NOW! DOUBLE TOWER OF DOOM POWERBOMBS BY AOP TO 3 MEN EACH! Cole is left alone in the center of the two corners. (Funny moment here that while the replay is going on, the AOP start getting back up. The referees in both rings go to AOP to tell them to get back down. They collapse for a moment, and then the referees go back to them to say "Ok, now." Not too terrible of a botch for young guys in the wrestling business. I mean that's what NXT is all about: trying to learn how to do the craft better.)
Cole gets caught by the AOP, and he gets pulled down onto the corner. Tables are in play. Both men set up tables in the ring. Cole may be in trouble. They go up in the corner after Cole. Wolfe comes in. Cole escapes and climbs up the cage. He's sliding across the top AS WOLFE GERMAN SUPLEXES ONE OF THE AOP OFF THE CORNER SENDING THEM BOTH THROUGH TABLES! ERIC YOUNG HITS A LEAPING NECKBREAKER OFF THE TOP ON THE OTHER AOP WHO WAS ON THE TOP ROPE HIMSELF! Dear God. This is Unbelievable! The back of Wolfe's head is busted wide open. Dain destroys O'Reilly with a clothesline. Dain puts O'Reilly in the corner. The referees have gloves on now with the blood being shed. Dain sets up O'Reilly in the corner with a trashcan in the face. Dain climbs the top rope on the opposite side. COAST TO COAST VAN TERMINATOR INTO THE TRASH CAN TO O'REILLY!!!! Oh My God!
Adam Cole is now standing on top of the WarGames cage. ADAM COLE BAY BAY! Here comes Roderick Strong after Cole! Cole almost escaped the cage to avoid the confrontation. Strong pulls him up. Loud "PLEASE DON'T DIE" chants from the crowd. SUPERPLEX OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE ONTO A BUNCH OF THE OTHER WRESTLERS BELOW! THIS IS INDEED AWESOME! Dain and one of the AOP are in the area between the two rings. The AOP hit a Russian Legsweep/ Midrope Clothesline combination on Dain, taking him out. Loud "Wolfe" chants by the crowd. God, these 9 all have just destroyed each other. And they're still going at it. Strong and Cole find each other again. And they're going at it. Cole gets sent into the cage. Young catches Strong and wheelbarrows him into the cage. KENDO STICK TO THE FACE OF YOUNG! Young gets a steel chair. He's trying to use it to get up. BUT COLE HITS HIM WITH A RUNNING KNEE INTO THE CHAIR INTO HIS FACE. 1-2-3!!!! WHAT A FREAKING MATCH!
Winners: The Undisputed Era
Match Grade: A+. And for me, this is the NEW #1 WarGames match ever. These 9 guys just absolutely murdered each other for close to 40 minutes. While the lack of intentional blood may anger some, I think they more than made up for it with the amount of violence that the match itself had. It was a battle of pain and exhaustion to see who could survive long enough to get the 3 count. Killian Dain looked like a superstar after this match. Adam Cole looks like a survivor. The AOP look like monsters. Wolfe looks like a tough guy by continuing even while bleeding. Strong had several great moments as did O'Reilly and Fish. The new rules and cage were actually a breath of fresh air, and more importantly, they maintained the spirit of WarGames (unlike 1998 and 2000. Excuse me while I spit at the thought of those 2 for a second). Absolutely amazing match that washed the last few WarGames out of my mind.
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WarGames Ranked
1. WarGames (2017)- The Undisputed Era vs. Sanity vs. Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong
2. WarGames (1992)- The Dangerous Alliance vs. Sting's Squadron
3. WarGames (1988)- Horsemen vs. Dusty's Team
4. WarGames (1991)- The Horsemen/Zbyzsko vs. Sting, The Steiners, and Pillman
5. WarGames I (1987)- The Four Horsemen vs. The Dream Team
6. WarGames (1994)- The Rhodes and The Nastys vs. The Stud Stable
7. WarGames (1989) - Road Warriors/ Midnight Express/Dr.Death vs. Freebirds/Samoans
8. WarGames (1996)- Team nWo vs. Team WCW
9. WarGames II (1987)- The Four Horsemen vs. The Superpowers
10. WarGames (1997)- Team WCW/Horsemen vs. Team nWo
11. WarGames (1993)- Sid, Vader, Harlem Heat vs. Sting, Bulldog, Dustin Rhodes, and Shockmaster
12. WarGames (1995)- Hulkamaniacs vs. The Dungeon of Doom
(Tie)13. WarGames (1998)- Garbage
(Tie)13. WarGames (2000)- WarGames 2000
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Well, that does it for now for the WarGames edition of UnWrest Focus. Obviously, once NXT does a future WarGames, I will cover it and add the match review to this collection.
Be sure to comment with any other rivalries, matches. or match types you would want me to look into the history of.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And Spread Some Awesomeness.
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