Weekly Watchlist 025 - December 1 2024

Whats up counterfeit combat enthusiasts?

The watchlist is back for another week of exciting matches, insightful commentary, and biting critiques that you've come to expect from your dear old wrestling fan. The weeks just seem to keep getting busier and busier so the amount I'm actually able to watch seems to be dwindling as the weeks go by, but I won't let that stop me! I had a couple matches already in mind this week and was thrilled to get to add them to the archives this week.

Let's dive right in!

 

 

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

I swear I'll finish that DPW show before the year is over

WarGames 2024

 Survivor Series WarGames was this past weekend and I made sure to watch it live, well, an hour late actually, but I skipped some entrances so it was live after a while! A real hit or miss card but a pretty good show overall.

The womens WarGames kicked off the show and man... this match really stunk. I'm sorry guys, this was not good. Bayley and Nia were not a good pair to start the match, and I feel bad because I really enjoy Bayley. Nia was putting on a masterclass performance in "take the belt off this person right fucking now" and it must be commended. IYO was the star of the show and did her signature trash can spot. Hooray.  Every single entrant went under the ring to dig for plunder instead of helping their friends from being murdered. There was a toilet seat in the ring for some reason. It turned into a weapon clusterfuck that really only served to further the Liv/Rhea feud. Thumbs down.

Knight and Nakamura were pretty good in a quick little US title match. Big fan of Knight (yeah) and this new edge to Nakamura has me interested. This being his, what, fourth repackage? I'm remaining optimistic but not getting my hopes up in any way, never been a guy I've ever seen much in. Nothing incredible or offensive was done in this match, just a decent little midcard title match. I sensed a bit of pouty face on Knight as he came to the ring but he could just be really selling how much Nakamura is getting in his head, even if him literally dropping the title before the match made it all the better. Let's see what Nakamura does next as the US champ.

The Intercontinental 3 way was everything you could have asked for in a match between Breakker and Sheamus. Kaiser was the wildcard for me, having seen very little of his work as a singles guy but he delivered and shone in this brutal 3 way. They keep making it look like Sheamus is finally, mercifully, win the IC title and complete the bingo card of his career but they keep taking it from us. I'm not sad that Breakker retained, I fuckin love that dude, but I really, really, love Sheamus and want him to win that IC title like you wouldn't believe. I'll probably cry when it happens.

GUNTHER and Priest had a really nice rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship, with GUNThER showing some fear before he was able to gain control of the match. Priest may be the most improved wrestler for the year, going on an absolute tear as champ and improving leaps and bounds every time he's in the ring. It's pretty easy to have a good match with GUNTHER, but to stand on your own in matches and promos where you are the one leading the dance, that's something else. Priest will have that gold back around his waist a few more times before he hangs up the boots.  

The mens WarGames was an improvement over the womens, by a good margin. I was ready to check out with this being a Bloodline match but they were able to do some good stuff with having to wait for more members to file in and lay waste to the OG Bloodline's team. Bronson continued to be a beast (take all the time you need big guy, rest up), the tongan twins were... fine, Jacob is a crazy dude and Solo is starting to get more comfortable in his role. The Uso's being back together was nice and having Sami by their side felt right after all this time. The distrust between Roman and Punk getting wrapped up at the end of the match was a nice touch, even if Punk barely broke a sweat during the entire match. What a worker. Looking forward to seeing where this "Paul Heyman owes me a favour" leads to.

 

WarGames, In General 

I've made it no secret that I didn't grow up with wrestling, I was born in the 90's and didn't watch until the late 2000's, and my obsession only started about 10 years ago. Evens still, I've made an effort to go back and learn and watch as much as I can. WarGames was a match concept I was introduced to when NXT brought the stipulation back in 2017 and I wasn't really a fan of it, if I can be honest. There were too many rules and it all seemed so convoluted and crazy. Why two rings? Why the intervals? What's the deal here.

Once again, I must credit the Lapsed co-chairs for educating me on the brilliance of WarGames in their "The Art of WarGames" journey. After listening to that and finally going back to watch some classic WarGames matches, I got it. It's brilliant. The formula is simple at its core and is done so, so well when its done right. 

While I don't want to be some "old man yells at clouds" because "it used to be better! The news stuff is bad because its different!" I do want to get some of my gripes out of the way before we delve into 2 of my favourite WarGames matches here. Let me lay it all out for you.

1. The cage itself. Why do we need a big cage? I don't want the cage to be as confined as the classic cage, I think WWE has a pretty good sized cage (please put a fucking roof on it) but AEW's Blood and Guts cage is hilariously huge. I mean seriously, where's the threat when you're inside a cage you could do donuts with a F150 in? Put a roof on it so it feels enclosed, keep the size WWE uses now, and the cage it perfect. Part of the threat in WarGames is looking around you and seeing the walls so close to you at all times. I don't like that you could almost forget that they're inside a cage when they do Blood and Guts.
   
2. The weapons. Now, I know this one will get me some flak, and I get it. It's basically a double hell in a cell/cage match, why can't we use weapons? I don't mind if we use some weapons, given that the entire point of WarGames is getting the guys you want to do everything short of murder trapped in a cage, but these weapon fest matches are getting absurd. Take the womens WarGames from this year, I can't bring myself to watch it again but I'd put good money on every single woman that entered that cage went under the ring before getting in the cage. Get in the cage! You're friend is getting mauled! Who cares about the 6 tables you want to bring in! Punch them in the face!
3. No surrender. Or should I say, no pin falls, only submission or surrender. I know it seems like such a small gripe but go back and watch these classic matches. To me, they're so much better when they're wailing on a guy or trying to break a limb in a submission hold and the only way they can win is by forcing them to give in. It's not just about beating a guy so he can't get up from a pin, it's about beating him within an inch of his life, forcing him to look you in the eyes and say "you've bested me, I can't go on." That's powerful, there's infinite stories to be told with that kind of finish alone.  
4. Call it "The Match Beyond" guys, WarGames is the whole match itself, The Match Beyond is when everyone is inside. That's just my preference talking. Not a huge deal.  
   

All that said, the modern iterations of WarGames aren't all bad! One of  my favourites goes against all those complaints I have! All I'm trying to say is, I feel like WarGames would feel a lot better if they at least tried to bring these concepts back from the original matches. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sting's Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance - WarGames - WCW WrestleWar 1992 - 05/17/1992

 

The cage has been lowered. The end is near. WCW

 Taking it back 32 years ago now, we're inside the Jacksonville Coliseum as the mighty WarGames cage is lowered down onto the pair of rings. It wasn't until I watched these old WarGames matches after watching the modern ones that I realized they were just copying these classic pyro and lighting effects. It's the little details that I really like, such a cool entrance for an insane structure.

Another thing that the modern WarGames does better than this one in particular is laying out the rules. Ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta was either told these rules 5 minutes before he was set to announce or took some really rough noted because he stumbles through the word salad of rules. I can't do them proper justice in writing, you just need to hear his delivery on the rules. 

After the cage is lowered (it was a bit of a struggle and you could see the crew working on it in the background) the teams make their way to ringside. 

First, the team of the Dangerous Alliance, led to the ring by Madusa and Paul E. Dangerously, before he got extreme.

Arn Anderson, Beautiful Bobby, Larry Zbyszko, Rick Rude & Steve Austin. WCW

I'd say this team has 3 real heavy hitters. Rude, Austin and Anderson are fantastic (even if we are still dealing with blonde hair Austin) and stand out in this match. Zbyszko and Bobby Eaton kinda just feel like they're part of the team. I mean, Zbyszko had already been in the business for 20 years but I can't really remember anything he did in the cage.  It should also be noted that Madusa is flanking the Dangerous Alliance to the ring along with Paul E, some extra backup for this match. 

Next, is Sting's Squadron. 

Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat & Sting. WCW

Sting leads the team as the WCW World Champion, a few months shy of his incredible title defence with Vader that I talked about in Watchlist 05. Sting is joined by Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and Ricky Steamboat, a pretty solid team all things considered. 

With both teams at ringside, they each decide as a unit who will start the match off. Paul E is going over tactics and plans with his team like a hockey or football coach would go over plays with his team. They cut to this view of Paul E and the Alliance looking at this battle plan throughout the match and you can hear snippets of what he says. They've got plans in mind not only for if their team gets the advantage, but if they aren't able to have the extra man in the cage. They've got a plan, they've come prepared, they're dangerous because they're a unit that works together. 

Ultimately, Austin stars things off for the Alliance.

A last minute tactics talk. WCW

On Sting's side, it's clearly less formal as we don't even get a shot of the team discussing tactics or anything. When Austin gets in the cage, Barry Windham is quick to follow him in, starting off the first 5 minute period. 

Austin is quickly trying to get the advantage, tossing Windham into the cage wall when he rebounds off the ropes but Windham catches himself, turning to Austin as he begs off, realizing he may have just made a critical error mere seconds into this match. It's evenly matched as Windham and Austin trade shots back and forth, until Windham tosses Austin to the far ring (screen left, far relative to the entry way) and plants him with a DDT. Ventura is on commentary with Jim Ross and he keeps harping on the taped fist of Windham, saying it could be loaded and should have been inspected before the match. i get playing devils advocate Jess, but it's no DQ, c'mon man. 

With Windham standing up in the no mans land between the two rings, Austin flies with a clothesline, dropping both of them in the close ring, with Windham flipping head over heels. Austin climbs to the middle rope and grabs onto the ceiling of the cage, swinging out as Windham stands in an attempted dropkick but misses. Windham gets under Austin as he's still holding onto the ceiling and pushes him up in the air, waiting until Austin loosens his grip so he can let him fall face first onto the ring.

Austin gets caught! WCW

The 1 minute countdown is on as Windham rakes Austin's face against the cage, busting him wide open. The taped white fist is dyed crimson from the right hands that drill the stunning one. The coin toss happens at ringside, as opposed to having a match for advantage like they do in the modern matches. The coin comes up tails and the Alliance wins the toss, with Rude charging in the ring to save Austin. 

The magic of WarGames is this match structure. Always having one team be at an advantage. Things even out for a stretch, but eventually one team has the edge and dominates. For my money, the heel's should always get the advantage. They get the heat of braking up the babyface's offence when the time runs out, and the babyface team gets the pop when their guy comes in to even the odds. It's the perfect pendulum of pacing and energy that can build to a fever pitch by the end, if done correctly.

Rude takes Windham into the corner as the crowd starts to chant "Barry! Barry!" and as they do, Rude starts to crush Windham with shoulder barges that match the pace of the chant perfectly. I can't imagine it was done on purpose, that's not what shocks me, it's the speed and intensity he hits them with. Nobody else hits those corner shoulders like Rude does here, it's amazing. 

The timer ticks close to 0 as Windham is being double teamed by the fresh Rude and a crimson Austin. They hold him down in the corner to try and wear him out as the countdown finishes and the Squadrom's door opens, with Steamboat fucking flying in the ring to make the save as the crowd comes alive. Steamboat is overflowing with adrenaline and energy, taking it to Rude in the corner and Austin with the dropkick from the ceiling that he attempted and failed earlier in the match. 

Just in case you wanted to know what it feels like, Steve. WCW

The timer ticks down again and we get to see the Alliance preparing at ringside, with Arm poised to regain his team's advantage. He's laser focused and ready to go. This spry 34 year old, who barely looks a day over 48, takes Windham down with a DDT in seconds. He climbs through the ropes to the other ring and shoots Steamboat off into the ropes, planting him with a signature spinebuster, eturning the tide completely with just 2 moves.

Anderson and Rude get Steamboat in a double boston crab and Steamboat is tapping the mat instantly, we're still a few years shy of tap out being a thing in submission grappling, but it's the idea of using the WarGames portion of the match to destroy a limb and wear the guy down, especially if you have the advantage. Once The Match Beyond begins, lock that fucker in the figure four and he gives in in seconds. Avoid dragging it out, you aren't paid by the hour. 

With 10 seconds left and Dustin Rhodes coiled like a spring outside the door, Rude and Steamboat are laid out in the far ring with Anderson, Austin, and Windham in the closer ring. The timer reaches zero and the door flies open, with Dustin launching himself inside and taking it to Anderson, blocking a charge with a knee and then a boot, dropping him with a Dusty elbow and punch. Austin climbs through the ropes and finds himself near Dustin and gets caught by the firey offence of the fresh grandson of a plumber. He rebounds off the ropes and gets caught with an atomic drop, the top of Austin's head bouncing off the cage as he goes up for the ride!

Watch your head! WCW

Dustin getting in feels like a real big moment and the crowd is alive the entire time. Staying on Austin, he gets under his legs as he tries to climb the turnbuckles after a corner whip. He takes a step back and drops Austin with an atomic drop in the ring with huge impact. In the background of the shot, you can see Windham and Anderson in the no mans land between the two rings. There's no covering between the rings, so you need to watch your step or risk breaking your ankle in the gap. Windham uses it to his advantage as he holds Anderson upside down by his feet and bounces his head between the gap in the rings. This is nuts.

The timer reaches zero and The Alliance sends in Zbyszko but he gets decimated by a flurry of punches from Dustin, the Alliance's plan has backfired and the Squadron holds their ground! Outside the ring, Madusa climbs the cage with Paul E's portable phone in her mouth, keep in mind, these are phone's the size of a keyboard. When she's on the roof, she slips it in the gap between the roof and the cage to give the Alliance an advantage. In a flash, Sting is on the roof of the cage and Madusa climbs down to get away from him, but the Alliance got what they wanted, with Anderson using the phone to brain Steamboat. 

Climbing back down just in time, Sting is next for his team and the crowd, already at a fever pitch, is set to turn the building to dust. It's unbelievably loud! It gets even worse (better, I guess?) when Sting fucking military press' Rude above his head and drives him into the cage ceiling over and over again. It's the craziest visual ever. How is this shit possible?! 

What a freak. WCW

Sting holds ground for his team, dropping Anderson with a punch after he starts to leak crimson. Zbyszko sends a bloody Windham into the cage as the Alliance gains the advantage again, with "Beautiful" (their words, not mine) Bobby Eaton joins the carnage. The focus shifts from Eaton sending Steamboat into the cage to Dustin booting Austin and wearing a literal crimson mask. He ran the razor like you wouldn't fucking believe here. 

It's bedlam in both rings as both teams fight for advantage, with Zbyszko off in the corner doing god knows what. The camera is able to pick up what he's doing and it looks like he's unscrewing the top turnbuckle?! Zbyszko working with the ring crew tonight I guess. Rude take a turn twisting the turnbuckle, trying to unhook the top rope from the post. 

The final countdown draws to zero as Koloff climbs in the ring for the Squadron, with The Match Beyond officially beginning! Submit or surrender! There's some tension between Sting and Koloff, with Sting unsure if he should trust Koloff even as he extends a hand to help the Stinger out of the corner. Sting accepts but keeps his eyes on Koloff, trying to measure the sincerity in his action. Koloff tries to make his case, putting words into action as he shoves Sting out of the way before he's blindsided by Austin and Anderson, taking the hit himself. 

Brothers in arms. WCW

A bond forged by combat, Sting and Koloff hug it out and the foundation of the building fucking shakes. This shit meant something to these people, man! They hold dominion over the far ring, wailing on Anderson and Austin together, but Rude joins in to even the odds. 

Finally, the top turnbuckle has been removed, the top rope laying slack in the far ring as the 10 man tornado swirls about inside the cage. With Zbyszko and Eaton in the far ring, they have Sting alone and are set to crown him with the turnbuckle piece. Eaton holds the Stinger on his knees as Zbyszko lines up the shot, swinging for the fences as Sting shifts position, forcing Eaton to eat the shot on his left shoulder! Sting springs to life and drops Zbyszko, seizing on Eaton as he stumbles and crumbles to the mat in pain. Sting grabs the arm and starts to wrench back with an armbar, with Eaton screaming in pain beneath him until it's too much to bear and he submits to the pain. 

Sting's Squadron wins WarGames!

The bad arm is caught and being stretched! WCW

My god, what an incredible match. The pacing, the story, the violence, the action. It's all so, so perfect. Sometimes a match type that gets redone in modern times makes it difficult for the previous versions of the match to be watched without thinking how it could be done better or how the current version is superior in so many ways but honestly? This match holds up incredibly well. They don't need 10 table spots, 5 chair shots and a cage dive to build to a fever pitch of action. Not only was the crowd wanting it, but the Squadron wanted these guys to get absolutely obliterated. They were set to do whatever was necessary inside that cage to get the job done and that's exactly what they did. The gold standard for WarGames. An incredible match.

Team Ciampa vs. The Undisputed ERA - WarGames - NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019 - 11/23/2019

Time to go to war. WWE

Let me start this off by addressing an elephant that just walked into the room during the drafting of that last review. I know I said that WarGames '92 was an incredible match and could even be considered perfect. It nails the formula and does everything just right. So why, you may ask, does a modern WarGames that strays so far in many ways from the classic format measure up to a match that is timeless?

I'm glad you asked, dear reader. Wrestling has evolved so much in such a short amount of time. Just look at what was considered violent or exciting 25 years ago and compare it to today. Just because something has taken the classic formula, flipped it on its head and done it 15 times crazier than anyone could have imagined, doesn't mean what came before it is inferior. Sure, I argue for WarGames to bring back a lot of the elements the classic matches had, and maybe it would turn out to be a bad move gicven the success of the current format! I just feel like the modern iteration of this match could fall somewhere in between the '92 classic and this 2019 war that I hold so dear.

So, with that out of the way, let's get to it, shall we?

Alright, I lied, another elephant has just walked in and I need to deal with this one too. 

Tommaso Ciampa is my favourite wrestler. Period. He's my guy. I won't go crazy in depth as to why, that may be a feature post somewhere down the line or I'll break down why when I do a match of his at some point in the future, but if you start to clock that "this guy seems to really like this Ciampa guy" you're right. I'm looking at a hand drawn print of Ciampa in a gold frame sitting above my desk right now. I don't fuck around.

Team Ciampa (remember, rhymes with Tampa) consists of 3 members, with a fourth mystery opponent that gets revealed during the matchup. Some of you may already know who this is, but I'll keep the mystery alive if you don't. Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic (I'll just refer to him as Dijak) and Tommaso Ciampa comprise that team, with all 3 of them having some major beef with the opposing team.

The Undisputed Era are running NXT at this point in time. Fish and O'Reilly won the tag titles in August and Roderick Strong beat Velveteen Dream on an episode of NXT in September. Adam Cole was the reigning NXT Champion after beating Johnny Gargano for it at TakeOver 36. He had a chance at the title at TakeOver New York when Ciampa had to give up the title to get neck surgery but Gargano had his moment in the spotlight, winning the vacant title in a match that made both my fiance and I cry like babies when watching it live. We always called Gargano and Ciampa "our boys," with the #DIY story being the reason she fell in love with wrestling. 

The battle lines are drawn with the UE trying to lord over NXT as the most dominant group in the brands history, but the man who never lost Goldie and two of the heaviest hitters in the entire company are ready to do everything they can to cut down the monster that is the Undisputed Era.

Both teams come out and wait outside the shark cages they keep at the top of the ramp. Ciampa makes his entrance with an insane looking mask, dragging a crutch behind him. The signature weapon of the Blackheart. 

Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est? WWE

He takes off the mask to reveal camo war paint and a braided beard. He looks to the gold-laden foursome and stares a hole through Adam Cole, holding the NXT Championship. His Goldie. He beckons for Cole to join him, ignoring the cat calls from the rest of the team as he marches down the ramp. The captain will lead his troops to war from the front lines.

Roddy is chosen to start WarGames for the UE, but is cautious to enter the cage with Ciampa brandishing a crutch in the centre of the ring. As confident as ever, Ciampa tosses the crutch to the cage door as an offering, with Roddy accepting quite happily as he enters the battlefield. The door closes behind him and the countdown starts, but not before Roddy tosses the crutch up and over the cage wall, not wanting to run the risk of letting Ciampa get his weapon back.

The start of this is pretty evenly contested, with two seasoned workhorses leading the charge in a match that benefits those with a deep gas tank. Ciampa traps Roddy in the corner and rains down punches on the dome, finishing a seated Roddy with a running knee in the corner. Strong starts to fight back, forcing Ciampa in a corner this time to drill him with corner punches of his own. Ciampa is able to evade a punch and slip out, pulling Roddy's head down and pinning it against the top turnbuckle. He steps back and drives his knee through the skull of the North American champion, dropping him limp in the corner. 

An educated knee to the gums. WWE

Moving from the far ring to the close ring (the close ring if now the left ring for this show. The entrance ramp is on the left), Ciampa and Roddy are trading shots as the countdown hits zero. Adam Cole beat Dijak in a ladder match to gain the advantage for his team, and Kyle O'Reilly is the next man to enter the cell. He gets in and takes Ciampa down quickly, utilizing his BJJ training to out manoeuvre and out strike Ciampa. O'Reilly was, and still is, the only man to hold those titles 3 times, once with each member of the UE, and he puts that tag team expertise to deadly use with Roddy to keep Ciampa on the backfoot. O'Reilly stands on the metal plate between the 2 rings and holds back the arms of Ciampa against the ropes, as Roddy charges from rope to rope, lacing Ciampa with a forearm shot to the face every time he runs by.

With Ciampa trapped in the far ring, the timer reaches zero and Dijak is released, charging to the ring and climbing inside the cell as Roddy and O'Reilly abandon their assault to try and take Dijak down quickly. Before Roddy can make his way across no mans land, Dijak drills his teeth down his throat with a discus boot. He stops himself on the ropes and gets caight with a boot from O'Reilly but brushes it off like its nothing, catching O'Reilly as he rebounds off the ropes with a boot to stun him. A heavy handed combo of strikes is punctuated with a superkick and a Hansen like lariat.

The odds have been evened in record time, with O'Reilly and Strong trying to do whatever they can to get up. For his part, Dijak helps O'Reilly to his feet, only to send him across the ring with a massive biel, crushing Roddy on impact.

Time to fly! WWE

Dijak is nearly unstoppable, holding complete dominion over the close ring as Ciampa makes it back to his feet, finding Roddy in the space between the cage wall and the ropes as the clock reaches zero. This time, the other half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, Bobby Fish, enters the ring. He takes off the second he clears the ropes and crushes Ciampa against the cell wall. He dodges a shot from Dijak and starts to chop the redwood down to size, with kicks bringing Dijak to his knees and body shots forcing him to find respite against the ropes. 

Ciampa's team may be comprised of 2 absolute monsters and one of the best NXT Champions of all time (slight personal bias, but c'mon guys, he was great!), but The Undisputed Era is a well oiled unit that almost exists as a singular entity. Once they start to roll, they are nearly impossible to stop. Fish proved to be the difference maker, giving Strong and O'Reilly a chance to breathe as they isolate the Ciampa and Dijak in separate rings to pick them apart like a pack of hyena's.

The clock reaches zero again and Keith Lee barrels his way into the cell, seemingly the final member of his team. He drops Strong, Fish and O'Reilly with forearms, lariats, and shoulder blocks in seconds, turning around to deliver a disgusting Grizzly Magnum (an overhand double chop. Twice the pain, half the price!) through the chest of Strong.

How is this even possible. WWE

Using athleticism that should not exist in a man of his size, he does a split legged double leapfrog, a perfect dropdown, and a crushing double crossbody to Fish and O'Reilly to turn the tides of war. It really is a shame that Lee didn't get more time as NXT Champion, or even on the main roster with a significant push, not to mention AEW! Health problems take prescient, obviously, I just wish Lee would have gotten a bigger spotlight on his unreal abilities. Hope you're felling better, big guy.

With the timer reaching zero once again, Adam Cole is released from the cell and he sprints down to join his brothers in the UE, making easy work of Dijak and Lee in the far ring. Before getting in the ring, Cole digs for plunder under the ring as Strong brings the dining room's worth of tables in the ring while O'Reilly and Fish make sure nobody interferes. 

Cole is able to feed 5 tables in the ring, with a sixth table leaned against the barricade outside the cage for whatever reason. Maybe he forgot that one? Either way! Cole starts to climb in the cage but Ciampa meets him at the door with a boot to the skull! Without so much as a second thought, Ciampa shoves Cole off the stairs and he flies through the table set up outside! Bad start, Cole. 

Bye bye, bay bay! WWE

With the entire Undisputed Era now in the cage, they find themselves on the losing end of the fight, begging off in the far ring as Team Ciampa follows them through the ropes. The melee is a flurry of offence, with UE coming out on top as the final countdown reaches zero. Even though we don't know if Team Ciampa has a fourth member, they respect the rules of the match and act like another man is waiting to enter. The area is silent for a few seconds, and then the crowd starts to get restless, the low and unmistakable murmur of boo's and disapproval rising like the tide as the Undisputed Era celebrates their sure fire victory. 

Suddenly, a familiar riff rumbles through the arena. The building explodes as a graphic overtakes the titantron.

Kevin Owens is here!

WarGanmes is now KOGames! WWE

Keep in mind folks, this was a huge moment at the time. This was before the lines between NXT, SmackDown, and RAW were as blurred as they are today. Sure, Finn Balor was back in NXT but he hadn't been a big player on RAW in a long time. Owens was a former Universal Champion! He was a featured name on the main roster so this was a massive return! One I absolutely did not see coming.

Cole's face is twisted in horror and shock as Owens gets his little sniff of courage on the ramp and roars down the ramp, matching the fever pitch that has been reached inside the arena. Once inside, he fends off Strong, Fish and O'Reilly with ease. Drilling Fish with a popup powerbomb, O'Reilly with a pumphandle neckbreaker, and Strong with a sleeper suplex. 

Mauro Ranallo (miss you too) says on commentary to "let the WarGames begin!" and, I know this is a n insane nitpick, but it's "The Match Beyond," guys. That sounds so fucking cool. 

Cole is finally in the ring with Owens and they lock eyes, two guys that have run the roads together for many years. Cole tries to leverage this connection, offering KO a spot in the Undisputed Era without hesitation, ignoring the fact that he just killed the rest of the UE in seconds. Owens tries to make the hand gesture himself but bungles it as only he can, opting for one much simpler in the DX crotch chop. Horrified, Cole tries to fend off the Stunner attempt but just gets caught with one anyways. 

An all-time stunner sell. WWE

With the end now possible at any time, the tables are being set up in both rings. Lee sees an opportunity to wipe out the UE as they gang up on Dijak, climbing to the top rope and flying with an enormous crossbody! Srtrong, Fish, Cole and even Dijak are flattened by the impact, but O'Reilly wasn't involved in the crash. Sneaking to the top rope himself and flying down with a knee drop to the leg of Lee! He catches him in a knee bar intermediately to try and force Lee to tap out. At the very least, he'll slow the monster down. 

It's absolute bedlam in the ring, with Dijak hitting a springboard moonsault, Owens landing a swanton bomb, and Strong bringing Lee back to earth with a top rope Olympic Slam. Owens and Cole are in no mans land, with KO stunned by a superkick as Cole climbs to the middle turnbuckle. He lines Owens up in his crosshairs, jumping off for a Panama Sunrise but Owens holds fast! He's able to block it at first but can;t hold on for long, eventually going up and over as his head is spiked into the metal plate. 

UE sets two tables in side-by-side in the corner and they try to lay a dazed Ciampa across it, but he frantically fights back. Fending the three wolves off with renewed vigour. He sends Strong and Figh into the cell wall and catches O'Reilly with a knee strike to the jaw, dropping him like a corpse. Seizing on the opportunity, Ciampa gets O'Reilly up on his shoulders and kills him with the single greatest move on the planet. Project Ciampa.

Looks like they're making 10 hour gif's now. Who knew. WWE

Ciampa is fending off the UE all by himself in the close ring, eventually singling out Cole and working him to the corner (the one where the tables are set up, keep that in mind please). They start to fight their way up the corner, both guys trying to use the tables set up to their advantage. A physical, vertical game of chess is taking place before our very eyes. The Panama Sunrise is turned into an attempted Air Raid Crash, but Cole fights out and runs Ciampa's face into the cage to knock him down. 

Back in the far ring, Lee is seated on the top rope as Fish and Strong try to send him into a table. Dijak gets his wits about him and comes to his long time rival's aid, grabbing Strong by the throat and planting him into a table set up in the close ring. 1 down.

He gets in the far ring and tries to do the same to O'Reilly but he counters with a standing triangle choke, weakening the giant Dijak with each second the hold is locked on. Dijak tries to fight the hold, but starts to fade, laying O'Reilly on the table, allowing him to rain down elbow strikes on the crown of Dijak. With insane quickness, Owens climbs to the top rope and flies with a frog splash, crushing O'Reilly through the table as the hold is broken. 2 down.

 Fish stands above Lee, raining down punches to try and weaken him, but it's no use. Lee grips Fish and lifts him high, drilling him through the table with a disgusting powerbomb. 3 down.

1 remains. 

Now on the top of the cage, Ciampa and Cole are fighting what may as well be a mile above the crowd. If one of these guys falls to the floor, their team forfeits the match, but something tells me that will come secondary to the hospital bill. Ciampa rains down punch after punch on the seated Cole, eventually working his way to his feet as he picks Cole up and holds him across his back. Using the chains that brought the cell down around the rings as support, Ciampa stands on the top bars of the cell. He takes one last look back, measuring the distance, and falls.

This moment will live in my head until the day I die. WWE

The tables explode from the Air Raid Crash, the impact flattening Cole beneath Ciampa as he lays across the prone body of the NXT Champion. The referee slides in, seeing Cole's shoulders on the canvas and counts the 3. Neither man moves. Ciampa doesn't rise to celebrate, Cole barely registers the hands hitting the ring, but it doesn't matter. The Undisputed Era has fallen. Team Ciampa have won WarGames. 

My fucking god, what a match. It's the perfect blend of the old and new, in my opinion. There's minimal weapon usage, so lets get that gripe out of the way. The combat is strictly between these 4 men and their desire to get their hands on someone they hate. It's an arena for a group of dudes to square up and lay into each other with everything they've got. The pacing of teams was immaculate, UE worked with the brilliance they always show and Ciampa's team was a perfect blend of brute strength and babyface resiliency that keeps the excitement going. KO's return was a beautiful touch, too. A monster pop for a real WWE workhorse. No further notes, your honour. I believe I've made my case pretty clear. This is the best modern day WarGames match. Fight me.

Another exciting week of wrestling. I really spoiled myself by watching two of my favourite matches ever but hey, my blog, my rules! Want to tell me how I'm doing something wrong? cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com I'll be waiting at my empty inbox to hear from the haters. I can't promise every week will follow a theme like this one has... or last week's. But its fun to do from time to time when things line up just perfect. 

Until next time folks, take it easy.

Cliff Morgan