If the Royal Rumble is considered the greatest match concept created by wrestling legend Pat Patterson for the then-World Wrestling Federation, then NWA/WCW’s contribution is WarGames: The Match Beyond, created by WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes.
In NWA/WCW there were 28 official matches of WarGames using teams of five-on-five or four-on-four. Variations of the match have occurred in different wrestling organizations and include such concepts as the Cage of Death (CZW), Steel Cage Warfare (ROH), Lethal Lockdown (TNA) and WWE’s Elimination Chamber.
The WarGames: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches release contains 14 matches, many of which are making their debuts on DVD and Blu-ray.
According to WWEDVDNews.com, the disc will be hosted by Dusty Rhodes and will include comments from him in between the matches on the set.
The complete listing is as followed:
DISC 1
Creating the War Games
War Games Match
The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering) vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & J.J. Dillon)
Great American Bash – Atlanta, GA • July 4, 1987
Great American Bash On Tour
War Games Match
Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard) & The War Machine
Great American Bash – Miami, FL • July 31, 1987
A Different Type of Animal
Tower of Doom Match
The Road Warriors, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Ron Garvin & Jimmy Garvin vs. Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotunda, Al Perez, Russian Assassin & Ivan Koloff
Great American Bash • July 10, 1988
Brutality
War Games Match
Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Nikita Koloff, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams & Paul Ellering vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & J.J. Dillon)
Great American Bash Tour – Greensboro, NC • July 16, 1988
Live Events
War Games Match
The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. The Fabulous Freebirds & The Samoan Swat Team
Great American Bash • July 23, 1989
DISC 2
Getting Replaced
War Games Match
The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Sid Vicious, Barry Windham & Larry Zbyszko) vs. Sting, Brian Pillman, & The Steiner Brothers
WCW WrestleWar • February 24, 1991
Talent Change
War Games Match
Sting’s Squadron (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham) vs. The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude)
WCW WrestleWar • May 17, 1992
The Almighty Dollar
War Games Match
Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes & The Shockmaster vs. Sid Vicious, Vader & Harlem Heat
WCW Fall Brawl • September 19, 1993
A Really Special Night
War Games Match
Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes & The Nasty Boys vs. Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck & Colonel Robert Parker
WCW Fall Brawl • September 18, 1994
DISC 3
Pride in Their Product
War Games Match
The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger & Sting) vs. The Dungeon of Doom (Kamala the Ugandan Giant, The Zodiac, The Shark & Meng)
WCW Fall Brawl • September 17, 1995
Glimmer of a Fire
War Games Match
Team nWo (“Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & A Mystery Partner) vs. Team WCW (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & Sting)
WCW Fall Brawl • September 15, 1996
Pulling Out Every Stop
War Games Match
Team nWo (Kevin Nash, Buff Bagwell, Syxx & Konnan) vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Steve McMichael, Chris Benoit & Curt Hennig)
WCW Fall Brawl • September 14, 1997
The Talent Made The War Games
War Games Match
Team WCW (Diamond Dallas Page, Roddy Piper & The Warrior) vs. Team Hollywood (“Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Stevie Ray & Bret Hart) vs. Team Wolfpac (Kevin Nash, Sting & Lex Luger)
WCW Fall Brawl • September 13, 1998
The End of the War Games
War Games 2000 Match
Sting, Booker T, Goldberg & KroniK vs. Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner & The Harris Brothers
WCW Monday Nitro • September 4, 2000
The Main Event
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES
Rage in the Cage Match
Brian Lee, Jimmy Golden, Ricky Morton, Robert Fuller & Robert Gibson vs. Kevin Sullivan, Killer Kyle, The Tazmaniac , Stan Lane & Tom Prichard
Smoky Mountain Wrestling: Volunteer Slam II • May 9, 1993
Ultimate Jeopardy Steel Cage Match
Tommy Dreamer, Public Enemy & The Pitbulls vs. Raven, Stevie Richards, The Eliminators & The Heavenly Bodies
ECW December to Dismember • December 9, 1995
Ultimate Jeopardy Steel Cage Match
Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley & Mustafa Saed vs. New Jack, Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney
ECW CyberSlam • April 3, 1999
War Games Fantasy Booking with Dusty Rhodes
Instant Reaction: The fact that we finally get the Wrestle War ’92 match in a digital format is reason enough to purchase this set. On paper it’s hard to find any faults with this release. There was some worry that the inclusion of ECW matches would be inconsistent with calling a release “WCW’s Most Notorious Matches.” Thankfully, WWE was wise to include them as bonuses on the Blu-ray release. As far as repeats go, I can forgive WWE for including the same WarGames matches that were featured on NWO: Back in Black (Fall Brawl 1996), Loose Cannon: Brian Pillman DVD release (Wrestle War 1991) and Ric Flair & the Four Horsemen (WarGames from 07/16/88).
Click on either the Blu-ray or DVD image box above and pre-order WarGames: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches today. It hits stores on June 25, 2013.