NXT has made WarGames a part of its annual lineup of TakeOver events, with a WarGames match featuring both the men and women on the roster. Of course, WarGames is a match that originated in the NWA and went on to become a WCW tradition in the '80s and '90s.
The rules have changed somewhat over time. Originally, the WarGames was in a double ring cage with a roof on the cages. One man went in at a time from each team at timed intervals, and when all the competitors were in the ring, it only ended by submission. Now, pinfalls count and there is no roof, but it is still one of the most brutal matches in wrestling history.
10 NXT 2020 WarGames (Men)
The Undisputed Era has been in every single men's WarGames match since NXT revived the concept, a modern-day Four Horsemen in every way. In 2020, they did the one thing that they have never done before. The Undisputed Era fought in the match as babyfaces. With their enemies Pat McAfee and his cronies, the fans were completely behind them, trying to get revenge. This match was great, and the usually despicable Undisputed Era was fantastic babyfaces. There was a moment where everyone just started punching each other, which is when the match hit hyperdrive. The Undisputed Era won, and it was better than anyone could have expected.
9 1994 WarGames
When looking at the WarGames match's lineup from Fall Brawl 1994, it might be surprising to know that it was a really good match. On one side was Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, and the Nasty Boys. On the other side was Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck, and Col. Robert Parker. The match was all old-school booking, and fans loved it when Dusty came in and started delivering Bionic Elbows. Dusty won the match when Parker tapped to the Figure Four.
8 1997 WarGames
This was the second year in a row the nWo was involved in the WarGames match. The first had better talent, with The Outsiders and Hollywood Hogan involved, but Sting walking out made it more of an angle than a great match. While the second year was not as big when it came to star quality, it was a better match. Buff Bagwell, Kevin Nash, Styxx, and Konna represented the nWo and fought the Four Horsemen. The nWo won when Curt Hennig betrayed the Horsemen. At Fall Brawl 1997, there was no stopping the New World Order.
7 1989 WarGames
In 1989, WarGames was back in one of the year's biggest events, as it was back at The Great American Bash again. This match saw The Road Warriors teaming with The Midnight Express and Dr. Death Steve Williams to battle The Freebirds and The Samoan Swat Team.
The WarGames wasn't even the main event this year, as they were followed by the Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk's NWA World Championship match. However, this WarGames match was good enough to main event any PPV, and it ended up standing up with the best of the best, with the babyfaces winning after Hawk made Jimmy Garvin submit.
6 NXT 2018 WarGames
In 2018, NXT was back with its second WarGames match, and once again, it was The Undisputed Era against the top babyfaces in the company at the time. This included former NXT UK star Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and The War Raiders. Forget about the watered-down Ricochet and the comedy-centric Viking Raiders from Raw. They were at the top of their game in 2018. After winning in 2017, it was time for The Undisputed Era to get what was coming to them in 2018, and they lost in a match with several high-impact moves, popping the crowd.
5 1987 War Games
The first year that WarGames ever took place saw it introduced at The Great American Bash. The entire purpose of creating this match was for the babyfaces to get revenge against The Four Horsemen by putting them all in a steel cage where they couldn't escape and forcing them to fight to submission. This saw Dusty Rhodes lead Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors, and Paul Ellering into action. The match was bloody and violent, and when J.J. Dillon screamed that he quit, it was a huge moment for NWA fans.
4 NXT 2019 WarGames (Women)
In 2019, the NXT women had one of the best WarGames matches in history. The two teams featured some hard-hitting women, and the match itself featured a heel turn that turned things around. The match featured Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, and Kay Lee Ray.
The talent was amazing, and the match was fantastic. It was all about the story here. Dakota Kai turned heel and destroyed Tegan Nox before walking out. Candice LeRae was also hurt. This left Rhea Ripley alone against everyone, and she ended up winning the match and left NXT TakeOver: WarGames as a major star.
3 1991 WarGames
The Four Horsemen were the mainstays in the WarGames matches of early WCW, much like The Undisputed Era are in NXT. However, 1991 was the last year the Horsemen starred in this match until 1996 when the nWo arrived. This match took place at WrestleWar 1991, and the Horsemen took on Sting, Brian Pillman, and The Steiner Brothers. The match actually saw the Horsemen win the match when Sid Vicious powerbombed Brian Pillman twice, injuring his neck, and bringing out friend El Gigante to throw in the towel. The ending was rough to watch, but this was one of the best WCW matches of the '90s.
2 NXT 2017 WarGames
The first NXT attempt at WarGames was a fantastic introduction. There was an alteration to the WarGames this year, and it was never repeated. This had three teams instead of two involved. The Undisputed Era battled Sanity and the team of The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong. The match was different, which is a good thing, but they did the big moves and The Undisputed Era winning over Eric Young was well done. This was just a fantastic re-introduction to the match for new fans.
1 1992 WarGames
The best WarGames match in history came in 1992 when Sting's Squadron took on The Dangerous Alliance. This took place at WrestleWar 1982 and saw Sring leading a team that included Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham against Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin, Larry Zbyszko, and Rick Rude. That is a lot of Hall of Fame talent in one WarGames match.
This ended up as not only the best WarGames match of all-time but one of the best matches in WCW history, period. Sting's team won, and it was a blowoff match to the feud, so it was a perfect battle that paid off in spades.