WWE is bringing back WarGames: Old WCW pay-per-view match returns in November
WarGames was a unique match that was one of the most popular stipulations in WCW history
For the first time since 1998, WarGames returns to professional wrestling in North America. WWE announced Wednesday that the old WCW match -- a featured part of its Fall Brawl pay-per-views -- will be brought back from the dead for the next NXT TakeOver pay-per-view to be held on Saturday, Nov. 18, one day before WWE Survivor Series.
For the first time in nearly 20 years...#NXTTakeOver: WarGames
— Triple H (@TripleH) October 5, 2017
Nov. 18 ONLY on the @WWENetwork
Tickets on sale 10/13 at 10am CT. pic.twitter.com/qt8gJULShi
WarGames was created by Dusty Rhodes and introduced by the NWA in 1987. The match consists of two teams of four or more wrestlers facing off inside of a steel cage cell that encompasses not one but two rings side-by-side. There were seven periods in a typical WarGames match, starting with a one-on-one fight for five minutes; every two minutes, another wrestler would enter the ring, usually giving one team an advantage over the other for short periods of time until all combatants were inside the structure at which point the so-called "Match Beyond" began. The match would not end until there was a submission, knockout or surrender; pinfalls and disqualifications were not valid finishes.
Thirty-two variations of WarGames were held from 1987-98 and in 2000, 16 of which were contested from 1987-89. WCW made it a regular part of its pay-per-view lineup beginning at 1993 Fall Brawl; it was held at the event every year until 1998. Head of WCW creative Vince Russo brought WarGames back in 2000 as a three-tiered cell match over a single ring, similar to the one featured in the "Ready to Rumble" film.

WarGames was very much a precursor to two different types of WWE matches: Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber. Hell in a Cell borrowed the fully enclosed structure but increased its size to include the ringside area; Elimination Chamber took on the concept of staggered wrestlers being introduced inside an enclosed structure, though Elimination Chambers are singles matches with all wrestlers in their own separate pods.
Independent promotions throughout the country, as well as Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor, have also taken pointers from WarGames over the years.
WarGames is the second former WCW staple that will be brought back by WWE in November. The company previously announced it will hold Starrcade, a former WCW pay-per-view, as a house show in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 25. Unlike WarGames, that will not air live on the WWE Network.
WWE will be holding its SmackDown-branded Hell in a Cell PPV on Sunday evening live from Detroit. The event begins at 8 p.m. ET and will air live on WWE Network. CBS Sports will offer full coverage of the show, so be sure to check back on Sunday.
















