WarGames

[BUTT 0]

Hey Bix, do you also think WarGames '97 is rad? You have Ric Flair, admitted past steroid user, alleged wife beater, accused road rage perpetrator, a man who continued to wrestle for until he was 59 despite breaking his back in his 20s, a man who allegedly twirled his dick around on a plane while naked except for a robe; Curt Hennig, a notorious prankster who once took a noxious shit under the ring, causing the Ultimate Warrior to vomit, and who died of acute cocaine intoxication at 44; Steve McMichael, a former NFL star once referred to by a reporter as "one of the least evolved members of the human species," who allegedly, according to a highly popular message board thread, wrestled under the influence of cocaine; and Chris Benoit, a deranged drug-abusing psychopath who killed his wife, then killed his son with his wrestling finisher, an incident which caused members of the wrestling community to express false shock, while in fact they always knew he was a family-killer waiting to happen (by the way I'm not going to talk about his first wife and kids because I'm too much of a nice guy to do that. Congratulate me.) against the team of Kevin Nash, a 7-foot-tall asshole who once missed the biggest wrestling show of the year because he was so messed up on weed brownies and muscle relaxers that he thought he was having a heart attack; Konnan, the Mexican superstar whose GHB and steroid use caused him to need a kidney replacement; Buff Bagwell, a grossly-inflated muscle freak who once had a 40-pill a day Soma habit; and Sean Waltman, whose drug and alcohol issues led to multiple stays in rehab and a suicide attempt. I bet your friend Matthew R. could have some fun writing about that one!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I found that mildly amusing, but flaming is inappropriate.

[bob_barron 0]

That's not flaming.

 

War Games 89 is awesome, especially Michael PS Hayes and Paul E.

[Bix 0]

That's not flaming.

Yes it is, since it had no connection to what I was saying.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

It was a question.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

We made the mistake of watching the 1993 version immediately after the previous years. The crowd is dead from the onset and the action never really moves past lethargic. It doesn't help to have a bunch of guys who can't wrestle or brawl very well in there, either. The only good part about the match is Sid once again spouting off words he probably doesn't quite know the meaning of. "We demand satisfaction" doesn't make much sense in the context he uses it in.

 

The 1992 version is crazy, though. I'd seen it a time or two, but had doubts about re-watching it for some reason. Everyone delivers and the intensity is off the charts. Everyone's also extremely tan in that match.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

This reminded me that I need to tape 1992 tomorrow afternoon before it expires.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I heard Steamboat's music recently on something

 

Last time I checked, they were using Ultimo Dragon's WWE theme for Steamboat at least on RAW and recent PPVs and stuff like that.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Yes, that's true (because I was confused again when watching the Flair ceremony on DVD), but as mentioned I remembered I heard his WCW theme when 24/7 aired GAB 92.

[spman 0]

This Wargames 2000 match is the worst fucking train wreck I've seen in a long time

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

That was more trolling than flaming.

[Diamonddust 0]

I'm drawing a blank on this one...

 

Why did Larry Z. replace Arn Anderson in WarGames '91?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm drawing a blank on this one...

 

Why did Larry Z. replace Arn Anderson in WarGames '91?

I'm pretty sure Arn was legit hurt at the time.

[Diamonddust 0]

I'm drawing a blank on this one...

 

Why did Larry Z. replace Arn Anderson in WarGames '91?

I'm pretty sure Arn was legit hurt at the time.

 

Gotcha...

 

Just finished watching it...

 

I don't care how many times I see it... I still cringe every time Sid nearly kills Pillman and then powerbombs him again for good measure.

[franchise632 0]

I just watched 98 and good god was that an abortion...yea i don't think i really need to say anything else.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

WarGames '98 actually wasn't that bad for awhile. Once Hogan entered and they did the Warrior crap, THAT completely sank the match.

[cabbageboy 0]

Oh yes it was, good lord that match sucks. The 1998 Wargames is seriously on a short list of one of the worst matches ever produced by mankind. First off, even before the Hogan/Warrior trash happens you have a series of rule changes that render most of the match incoherent and foolish. Guys are going for pins in the first 5 mins. of the match, so it could end before anyone else even arrived! Further, it was in reality every man for himself despite the 3 team setup, so you have truly insipid moments like DDP and Piper fighting EACH OTHER when they are in theory both on the WCW side. I wanted to see a pinfall attempt between two guys from the same side, but no dice. It didn't help that guys like Bret just blatantly were cashing a paycheck and not giving a shit.

 

Fall Brawl 98 as a whole is one of the worst PPVs ever. It was all the worse because WCW hadn't yet wrecked their business and people still viewed WCW as a real promotion.

 

Oddly enough the 2000 Wargames was actually a pretty amusing match. I always liked the triple decker cage though, and we get to see Russo get his ass kicked in it. The booking even allows Nash to be lazy and have it work beautifully since he simply waits at the bottom for whoever retrieves the belt to get down.

 

The 1994 Wargames was a good match (given the brawling participants it can't help but be decent), but was hampered by 2 things: 1. WCW's lame family friendly lack of blood circa 1994. 2. Heenan's truly horrible announcing. Seriously, Heenan acted like he had never seen a Wargames before and had no idea what was going on.

 

1991 is probably the 2nd best Wargames ever behind the 1992 version. One of Pillman's best performances ever, with him showing all sorts of fire in beating the hell out of Windham. Love the quadruple Figure 4 as well. Sid weighs the match down however, since you can see him blatantly calling spots and generally having no idea what he was doing.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Fall Brawl 98 was the first PPV I watched at my wrestling fan cousin's house since KOTR 95 (which we watched at a local tavern). He walked out of that one and pretty much decided he hated wrestling from that point on even though he was the one that got me into it. He came around to the Attitude era in the summer of 98 and also followed WCW, but after Fall Brawl 98 I thought it might have all over once more. Luckily he stuck around until Unforgiven 2001 (nothing specific about that show, he had just been losing interest gradually since slightly after Mania X7).

[Diamonddust 0]

1991 is probably the 2nd best Wargames ever behind the 1992 version. One of Pillman's best performances ever, with him showing all sorts of fire in beating the hell out of Windham. Love the quadruple Figure 4 as well. Sid weighs the match down however, since you can see him blatantly calling spots and generally having no idea what he was doing.

 

In a slight defense of Sid, I was watching the match earlier today and noticed some of the called spots. My guess is that Sid probably didn't know the camera was on him at the time. When you have that many people in the ring at a given point, you never know when the camera is going to be focused on you at any time.

 

Not a real big excuse or anything, but something to consider... but yeah... Sid was pretty much blatantly calling the spots.

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

One of my great frustrations in watching a Vince Russo booked promotion is a match where the rules change to suit the booking.

 

Let's take a look at War Games 2000.

 

Sting and Jeff Jarrett start off for their respective teams. Of course the matchup states that one wrestler must win the title, this negating the team concept right off the bat. And Jarrett had to wrestle two matches already; evil commissioners I guess.

Steiner is out next. Within the concept of the rules, the three are not doing a bad job of things. Next is Kronic, both of them. Steiner gets to the second level, and has bolt cutters?! Nice crack from the announcers.

 

What can be more dangerous than Scott Steiner with a pair of bolt cutters?

A microphone.

 

Kronic makes it to the second cage. Here comes Vince Russo in hockey helmet and jersey, with the Harris Brothers. Joy. The Harris's climb the outside of the cage. They invade the second level of the cage and fight Brian Adams and Bryan Clark. Sting takes the opportunity to beat up Vince Russo. Of course Russo can not sell properly, so he makes Sting's offense look like a joke.

 

Kevin Nash is out, the present World Champion. Russo makes it right back up of course, because you can do that after you have been in the Scorpion Deathlock for over a minute. The Harris Boys and Kronic are now brawling outside the cage, on the floor. Booker comes out as Russo's team argues amongst themselves. You know what would make this match better? If it were a four on four competition.

 

It's essentially four on two with Booker T and Sting on the floor. "Boring" chant from the crowd, with good reason. Or maybe they are chanting Goldberg. Ah, there we go. Baseball bat from Russo puts Goldberg down. And now he's handcuffed to the ropes. This was a recurring problem for WCW. Sometimes, the fans want the FACES to look good.

 

Steiner and Sting are on the second level as well. Steiner is on the outside, using the cage door to his advantage. So you can leave the cage, essentially. Remember that. Booker climbs the outside of the cage to the roof of the top level, and acquires the belt. He has to get past Jeff Jarrett, and he strikes Jarrett with the belt. Next he strikes Steiner with the belt.

 

Let's pause the action a moment. Booker T has the belt. From where I sit, he has two options.

 

A: He can attempt to fight his way past the heels going through the cage. Kevin Nash is standing at the door waiting for him.

 

B: He can climb down the outside of the goddamn cage.

 

Since this is Vince Russo booking, Booker must take option A, the option that makes less sense but is necessary to fulfill the tired and retarded booking. Of course, Sting is handcuffed, and Scott Steiner gets ahold of the belt on the second level. Steiner drops the belt to Vince Russo on the fist level. The Cat interferes and KO's Russo. It would be great if you could somehow lock a steel cage.

 

Nash knocks down Cat, people attack one another, Goldberg breaks the cuffs and gets the belt. Of course, Bret Hart has to slam the door on Goldberg's head. The heels argue over who gets the belt. It was a SWERVE~! Russo hands the belt to Kevin Nash who walks out the door for the win.

 

Let's review again. Vince Russo is the booker and on-screen power. He wants Kevin Nash to retain the World Title. He can...

 

A. Book a convoluted War Games match with stupid rules. Make it a three-tiered cage, fill the second with weapons, hang the belt 50 feet above the ring, allow nine people to enter the match and get three people to interfere on his behalf.

 

B. Not book Kevin Nash in a title match at all.

 

This is generally why I refuse to watch a Vince Russo promotion today. Nothing means anything, except the crap Russo is throwing against the wall this match to get someone to take notice. Terrible.

[King Kamala 0]

I still think WarGames 2000 is much more entertaining than '98? Better? That's subjective but more entertaining.

[Hawk 34 0]

As I rewatch great War Games like 1992, I find myself wondering how many great War Games match-ups we've missed out on because of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to revive this gimmick on a true national level. There's no reason that this gimmick couldn't be used for Survivor Series on a annual basis.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

As I rewatch great War Games like 1992, I find myself wondering how many great War Games match-ups we've missed out on because of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to revive this gimmick on a true national level. There's no reason that this gimmick couldn't be used for Survivor Series on a annual basis.

1. 1992 was really the last great War Games. Some of the last ones were downright mediocre.

 

2. WarGames is not as simple as setting up a cage. You need two rings, that involves changing a lot of things around. The rest of the card has to work around the format, and one side of ringside can not see matches in the other ring as well. The production people may have found it's just not worth the trouble.

 

Honestly, I've found the concept a little overrated. Most of the matches barely clear 20 minutes. 1996 had a good concept with Sting but the rest of the match felt flat. 1993 was awful. I refuse to even call 1998 and 2000 honest War Games matches.

[Diamonddust 0]

As I rewatch great War Games like 1992, I find myself wondering how many great War Games match-ups we've missed out on because of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to revive this gimmick on a true national level. There's no reason that this gimmick couldn't be used for Survivor Series on a annual basis.

1. 1992 was really the last great War Games. Some of the last ones were downright mediocre.

 

2. WarGames is not as simple as setting up a cage. You need two rings, that involves changing a lot of things around. The rest of the card has to work around the format, and one side of ringside can not see matches in the other ring as well. The production people may have found it's just not worth the trouble.

 

Honestly, I've found the concept a little overrated. Most of the matches barely clear 20 minutes. 1996 had a good concept with Sting but the rest of the match felt flat. 1993 was awful. I refuse to even call 1998 and 2000 honest War Games matches.

 

Another thing to consider is the amount of seats and ticket sales generated you have to take out in order to put up two rings.

 

 

[Darth Pipes 0]

As I rewatch great War Games like 1992, I find myself wondering how many great War Games match-ups we've missed out on because of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to revive this gimmick on a true national level. There's no reason that this gimmick couldn't be used for Survivor Series on a annual basis.

 

Agreed. This gimmick is gold and could work even better now since the faces don't have to win every time like in the old days. Faces didn't quit but now everyone taps out. Vince is being a stubborn ass here. I'll take War Games over the Eliminator any day.

 

Watched War Games 94 the other day. It was fun but way too short and bloodless. Although it worked just great for 91, War Games works much better with five on a team than four.

 

Funk was funny and crazy as usual, dancing around the ring, falling between the two rings, and hitting everyone with his boot.

[Diamonddust 0]

As I rewatch great War Games like 1992, I find myself wondering how many great War Games match-ups we've missed out on because of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to revive this gimmick on a true national level. There's no reason that this gimmick couldn't be used for Survivor Series on a annual basis.

 

Agreed. This gimmick is gold and could work even better now since the faces don't have to win every time like in the old days. Faces didn't quit but now everyone taps out. Vince is being a stubborn ass here. I'll take War Games over the Eliminator any day.

 

Watched War Games 94 the other day. It was fun but way too short and bloodless. Although it worked just great for 91, War Games works much better with five on a team than four.

 

Funk was funny and crazy as usual, dancing around the ring, falling between the two rings, and hitting everyone with his boot.

 

I guess we have to let Vince take baby steps here. I mean I'm still shocked he's using the name "The Great American Bash" for a PPV.

[cabbageboy 0]

Here's something that has been in my mind of late with the GAB upcoming. Why doesn't WWE revive other WCW PPV names to replace the ho hum PPVs that no one cares about? For instance, No Mercy. Boring name for a filler PPV. Why not call the Oct. PPV Halloween Havoc and have some fun with it? Wouldn't the Dec. PPV being called Starrcade draw more than Armageddon or whatever? Ditto SuperBrawl instead of No Way Out? Bash at the Beach instead of Night of Champions or Vengeance?

 

Having seen most of these Wargames now the big problem they always have is the finish. It's so hard to keep track of 8-10 men and it's hard to put over a submission in that setting.

 

In regards to that 2000 Wargames I too wondered about Booker climbing down the cage. I ended up assuming that such a move would be illegal and that the only way to win was climb back down through the ring where you HAD to face everyone.

[Slickster 0]

No one in their target audience remembers any of the WCW PPV names...or was around for WCW's existence.

 

That said, Halloween Havoc is a sweet name that should be brought back.

[Diamonddust 0]

No one in their target audience remembers any of the WCW PPV names...or was around for WCW's existence.

 

That said, Halloween Havoc is a sweet name that should be brought back.

 

I remember a rumor a while back that said Halloween Havoc was being considered as a WWE PPV name, but it never materialized.

 

No way WWE will ever use Starrcade.

 

And if you're going to replace Night of Champions, it might as well be Clash of the Champions.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Best parts of Fall Brawl '98:

 

That awesome Raven/Saturn match, which just stole the fucking show. Hey, Raven stealing the show on a WCW PPV in 1998...

 

Roddy Piper's face when making his entrance during WarGames. THAT is why I will watch that match again sometime.