The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally by Jim Crockett Promotions and later by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) mostly at their September Pay Per View event Fall Brawl.
Structure
Two rings, side by side, enclosed by a cage with a roof.
Rules
Two teams of 5 (shortened to 4 in later matches) face each other in which you can only win by making a member of the other team submit, (tap out or verbally submit) or surrender, (give up/quit). No pin falls, no disqualifications, no escaping the cage, no time limit. But you cannot win the match until all members of each team have entered the match.
Order of entry
Each team starts with 1 man in the match who fight for five minutes. After five minutes, a coin toss is held to decide which team can send their next man, gaining the advantage by making the match 2 on 1. The teams then alternate sending a man in every two minutes. The match going 2 on 2, 3 on 2, 3 on 3 etc. Once all men from each team are in the match, the The Match Beyond begins where a team can then win by making a member of the other team submit, (tap out or verbally submit) or surrender, (give up/quit).
Match history
| # | Match | Event | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard, and James J. Dillon) at 22:10 when the Road Warriors forced Dillion to submit after a Doomsday Device where he landed awkwardly on his right arm. | NWA The Great American Bash Tour 1987 - Night 4 July 4, 1987 | ||
| 2 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard) and The War Machine at 19:38 when Animal forced the War Machine to submit by gouging his eyes with a spiked armband. | NWA The Great American Bash Tour 1987 - Night 27 July 31, 1987 | ||
| 3 | Ron Garvin, The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger, and James J. Dillon) | Chicago August 16, 1987 | ||
| 4 | Ron Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) defeated Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), Big Bubba Rogers, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard when Rhodes forced Lane to submit to the figure-four leglock | Long Island November 25, 1987 | ||
| 5 | Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Lex Luger and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) when Rhodes forced Dillon to submit to the figure-four leglock. | Orlando, Florida June 26, 1988 | ||
| 6 | Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Lex Luger and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) when Rhodes forced Dillon to submit to the figure-four leglock at 24:00. | Oakland, CA August 6, 1988 | ||
| 7 | Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Lex Luger, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) in WarGames when Dillon submitted to Luger's Torture Rack. | Charlotte, North Carolina July 2, 1988 | ||
| 8 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting, Lex Luger and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) | Huntsville, Alabama July 12, 1988 | ||
| 9 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting, Lex Luger and Steve Williams defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) | Chattanooga, Tennessee July 14, 1988 | ||
| 10 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting, Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) when Dillon submitted to Sting's Scorpion Deathlock. | Richmond, Virginia July 15, 1988 | ||
| 11 | Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Lex Luger, Steve Williams, and Paul Ellering defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) at 21:10 when Rhodes forced Dillon to submit to the figure-four leglock while grabbing the ropes for additional pressure. | Greensboro, North Carolina July 16, 1988 | ||
| 12 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting, Lex Luger, and Nikita Koloff defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) | Cincinnati, OH July 21, 1988 | ||
| 13 | Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) | Philadelphia, PA July 23, 1988 | ||
| 14 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting, Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) | Johnson City, Tennessee July 24, 1988 | ||
| 15 | Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), Sting and Nikita Koloff defeated The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon) when Dillon submitted to Sting's Scorpion Deathlock | Daytona Beach, Florida July 28, 1988 | ||
| 16 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), and Steve Williams defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) and The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu and Samu) at 22:18 when Hawk forced Jimmy Garvin to submit. | The Great American Bash 1989 July 23, 1989 | ||
| 17 | The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), and Steve Williams defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) and The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu and Samu) | Atlanta, GA August 6, 1989 | ||
| 18 | The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, and Larry Zbyszko) defeated Sting, Brian Pillman and the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) at 21:50 when El Gigante ran in to surrender the match on Pillman's behalf after he had been knocked out and legitimately injured by two Powerbombs from Sid Vicious. | WrestleWar 1991 February 24, 1991 | ||
| 19 | Sting, Lex Luger, The Yellow Dog, and El Gigante defeated Barry Windham, Nikita Koloff, Kevin Sullivan, and The One Man Gang at 16:38 when Kevin Sullivan submitted to El Gigante's claw hold. | East Rutherford, New Jersey July 3, 1991 | ||
| 20 | Sting, Lex Luger, The Yellow Dog, and El Gigante defeated Barry Windham, Nikita Koloff, Kevin Sullivan, and The One Man Gang; Magnum T.A. was the special guest referee. | Norfolk, VA July 6, 1991 | ||
| 21 | Sting, Lex Luger, The Yellow Dog, and El Gigante defeated Barry Windham, Nikita Koloff, Kevin Sullivan, and The One Man Gang | Richmond, VA July 7, 1991 | ||
| 22 | Sting, Ron Simmons, Tom Zenk, and Robert Gibson defeated Nikita Koloff, The One Man Gang, The Diamond Studd, and Richard Morton | Greensboro, NC August 10, 1991 | ||
| 23 | Sting, El Gigante, Barry Windham, and The Yellow Dog defeated Cactus Jack, Kevin Sullivan, The One Man Gang, and Arn Anderson | Jacksonville, Florida August 24, 1991 | ||
| 24 | Sting's Squadron (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham) defeated The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin, Larry Zbyszko, and Rick Rude) at 23:27 when Sting forced Eaton to submit with an armbar after Zbyszko had accidentally struck Eaton in the shoulder with a metal piece of a dismantled turnbuckle. | WrestleWar 1992 May 17, 1992 | ||
| 25 | Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, and The Shockmaster defeated Sid Vicious, Vader, and Harlem Heat (Kane and Kole) at 16:39 when The Shockmaster forced Kole to submit with a bearhug. | Fall Brawl 1993 September 19, 1993 | ||
| 26 | Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, and The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) defeated Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck, and Col. Parker at 19:05 when Dusty Rhodes forced Parker to submit. | Fall Brawl 1994 September 18, 1994 | ||
| 27 | The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Sting) defeated The Dungeon of Doom (Kamala the Ugandan Giant, The Zodiac, The Shark, and Meng) at 18:47 when Hulk Hogan forced Zodiac to submit using a Camel Clutch. | Fall Brawl 1995 September 17, 1995 | ||
| 28 | The nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and nWo Sting) defeated Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Sting at 18:15 when nWo Sting forced Luger to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. | Fall Brawl 1996 September 15, 1996 | ||
| 29 | The nWo (Buff Bagwell, Kevin Nash, Syxx, and Konnan) defeated The Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael, Ric Flair, and Curt Hennig) at 19:37 when McMichael asked for the match to be stopped in order to prevent further punishment to Flair. Curt Hennig, having recently replaced Arn Anderson as a member of the Four Horsemen, showed up while nursing a hurt arm, only to turn on the Horsemen and aid the nWo to a 5 on 3 victory. | Fall Brawl 1997 September 14, 1997 | ||
| 30 | Team WCW (Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper and The Warrior) defeated nWo Hollywood (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Stevie Ray & nWo Wolfpac (Kevin Nash, Sting and Lex Luger) at 20:06 when Page pinned Ray after a Diamond Cutter. | Fall Brawl 1998 September 13, 1998 | ||
Videos
- How Dusty Rhodes created the WarGames Match
- Arn Anderson reflects on WarGames
- Booker T on what makes WarGames a match unlike any other
- Legacy of WarGames
- WarGames Match: WCW Fall Brawl 1995 FULL MATCH
- WarGames Match: WCW Fall Brawl 1998 FULL MATCH
NXT TakeOver: WarGames
On November 18, 2017 WWE brought back the WarGames match for their NXT brand at the NXT TakeOver: WarGames event.
Structure
Although the match had two rings and a cage covering both rings, the cage did not have a roof.
Rules
The rules for the match were different then the original rules of the match in that instead of submit or surrender, teams could now win by pin fall or submission.
Order of entry
Instead of 2 teams, there were three teams facing each other in the match.
- All three teams were contained inside separate shark cages by the entranceway, with a member from each team (as chosen by his respective squad) starting the match.
- After five minutes, the remaining members from one team were released from their shark cage and allowed to enter the match.
- When another period elapsed, the remaining members from a second team were released from their shark cage and entered the match.
- Following another period, the final team’s members were released from their shark cage and entered the match.
- Once all members of all three teams entered, a victory was attained via pin fall or submission.
- If someone from a team tried to escape the cage by climbing out of the structure, they forfeited the match for their team.
Results
- The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) defeated Sanity (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) and The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) & Roderick Strong.