10 Wrestling Matches Inspired By The Original WarGames

Ripoffs and reimaginings like Cage of Death, Lethal Lockdown and even the Elimination Chamber.

By Douglas Scarpa /

WarGames was first held on Independence Day in 1987. It was an innovative new wrestling concept birthed from the mind of Dusty Rhodes. After watching the film, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Dusty was inspired to create a steel cage structure which encompassed two rings and had a top on it. While the bout started with just one entrant from each team, “The Match Beyond” only began officially once everyone was locked inside, with submission or surrender being the only way to win.

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Thirty years after its inception, and over a decade past WCW's closure, WarGames was revived by NXT. It was the first time WWE had used the two-ring, steel cage concept. However, since the barbaric match was first dreamed up, independent and major promotions across the country had been adapting the idea. Teams fought inside similar hellish structures in promotions like Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Ring of Honor, ECW, and TNA.

Some companies directly ripped off the idea -- some even using the actual War Games moniker -- while others took the basic concept and created something uniquely their own. Here're ten matches from ten different promotions which were direct descendants of Dusty Rhodes' original vision.

10. Major League Wrestling: War Games

Court Bauer’s Major League Wrestling is a fast-growing independent promotion with an interesting history. Originally founded in 2002, the promotion attempted to become a followup to the defunct ECW -- as did XPW and Combat Zone Wrestling. The company featured some big names of the era but ultimately went belly-up by 2004. Last year, however, Bauer revived the promotion and has since carved out a niche in the independent scene thanks to talents like Pentagon, Fenix, and the up-and-coming MJF.

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In September, MLW held a match not just inspired by the original but an actual War Games bout of their own -- since WWE reportedly never trademarked the name. Contested in front of a sold out crowd in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the match saw Johnny Impact and Tommy Dreamer lead their team to victory over Sami Callihan, Jimmy Havoc, and others.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the company’s first experience with the unique match. 2003 saw a War Games bout which featured multiple ECW alums do battle, as Terry Funk led a squad including Sabu and the Sandman against Steve Corino’s Extreme Horsemen of Simon Diamond, CW Anderson, Justin Credible, and the legendary Barry Windham.

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