What If? WWF War Games In The 90s

With the recent announcement that the WWE is going to be bringing War Games to the main roster this November at Survivor Series, I thought it would be fun to look back through the years and see what other War Games the WWE could have done had they introduced it back in the 1990s. Obviously with WCW running the gimmick, that wouldn’t happen, but under a different name, who knows, it could have. Here are my ideas for the 1990s. Lets try to stick to November (Survivor Series) for such a match:

1990: Hogan, Warrior, Roberts, Piper vs. Rude, DiBiase, Bossman, Savage
With 1990, it was a tossup already for me to figure out both teams. Initially, I didn’t even have Savage in the match, but had to put him in there for ultimate star power. The heel team of Rude, DiBiase, Bossman and Savage is absolutely strong enough to be a threat to the face side of the match. This could be around the time that Bossman is ultimately turned into a face and start a feud with DiBiase into 1991, too.

1991: Hogan, Warrior, Virgil, Roberts vs. Slaughter, Undertaker, DiBiase, Martel
A fairly easier direction to go into here. Hogan and Slaughter feuding for most of 1991 and leading their teams into a two ring cage match seems like a fitting conclusion. Warrior and Taker started a feud in the summer and had steam to justify being in a cage, too. Virgil recently breaking away from DiBiase and of course Roberts being blinded by Martel. There are many heated feuds here and just thinking about the intensity makes me wish this would have happened.

1992: Flair, Michaels, DiBiase, IRS vs. Macho, Bret, Earthquake, Typhoon
Kind of a weaker direction, but I like it. Flair and Savage had a personal feud for many months in 1992. Michaels and Bret fighting to be the next breakout start. Money Inc and the Natural Disasters battling over the tag titles that included Jimmy Hart ditching on the Disasters. I also just want to see the Disasters in a cage. I probably could have put LOD in the there, but the Disasters first came to mind and I feel like their feud with Money Inc is more fitting for the stipulation.

1993: Yoko, Borga, Crush, Gonzalez vs Luger, Savage, Taker and Tatanka
Yoko and Luger heading the two teams as the company was 100% focused on USA vs. Japan and Luger leading the way. Borga was on the rise on the heel side and had just ended Tatanka’s undefeated streak. I know that Giant Gonzalez wasn’t around past SummerSlam, but for the sake of the match, I’m adding him so that there’s four monsters to be defeated by four of the top faces in the WWF. I contemplated putting Bret in the match, but Taker fits better considering the opponents. Plus, Bret can still do his match and angle with Owen at the show.

1994: Michaels, Diesel, Crush, Tatanka vs. Ramon, Kid, Luger, Bulldog
Most of 1994 was focused on the feud between Michaels and Ramon. Kid and Diesel played a part in that, as well, so it makes sense to have them be the core four of the match. Tatanka turning heel on Luger back at SummerSlam and Crush is an easy fit into the match to fill out the heel side. Bulldog had recently returned and had an alliance with Luger. Diesel can also turn face during the match with the same miscommunication superkick by Michaels.

1995: Owen, Yoko, Lawler, Sid vs. Bret, Diesel, Ramon, Taker
Yeah, Owen and Bret had a heated feud in 1994, but they had just had a cage match in August of that year, so I waited a little bit before putting them in a War Games. I put Lawler in this match over someone like Jarrett largely because I’d like to see Lawler in the match and get destroyed. Lawler’s heel work in the WWF may have been annoying, but there was entertainment seeing him get beaten up. Lawler in a cage with a guy like Bret for an extended period of time would be worthwhile for me. 1995 was such a bland year, but this match would be fun, I think.

1996: Shawn, Sid, Taker & Roberts vs. Mankind, Vader, Goldust, Lawler
Shawn and Sid on the same team prevents the title match at MSG, but all these guys have had history and once again there can be some kind of miscommunication to allow a match between the two at Rumble. Obviously Taker and Mankind have had a heated feud for months and is fitting for the War Games. Goldust had played mind games with Taker throughout the year and being trapped in a cage would make for a compelling moment. Lastly, Lawler had tormented Roberts about his substance abuse issues and having nowhere to run in War Games makes too much sense.

1997: Ahmed, Shamrock, LOD vs. Faarooq, Kama, D’Lo, Rock
The issues between Ahmed and Faarooq dating back to the summer of 1996 makes this a worthwhile showdown. It’s fairly easy to piece the teams together since Faarooq can use the rest of the Nation team (including a freshly turned heel Rock) and Ahmed can recruit his friends to go to battle in War Games. I think this is far better idea than doing the Gang Warfare that consumed a lot of 1997.

1998: HHH, Pac, Dogg, Gunn vs. Rock, Kama, D’Lo, Owen
I’m not sure if much needs to be explained here. DX versus the Nation inside a two ring cage to finally settle their year long feud. Probably one of the easier matches to make in this era.

1999: HHH, Pac, Dogg, Gunn vs. Rock, Kane, Mankind, Test
DX continues to dominate TV and this is just a few months into HHH’s run as a top heel champion. Rock leading the charge is a no brainer and having Mankind with him continues their friendship angle. Kane looking for revenge since X-Pac turned on him and Test can be inserted since he’s associated with the McMahon’s who are not pleased with HHH and DX. It works out rather nicely.

What War Games matches would you do in this era? Are they similar to mine? Share them!

Thanks for reading.