Survivor Series is right around the corner, and with it comes a gimmick match that gets everyone excited. A match that is all about survival and is one of the most unique in wrestling history. WarGames has always been a fan favorite.
It is an esthetically pleasing match that involves some of the biggest storylines and brightest stars. The match has become the highlight of the Survivor Series PLE and a highly anticipated event.
Since WWE started putting on the WarGames match, there have been 13 iterations. It began on the Black and Gold brand of NXT but has since moved its way onto the main roster. As with all matches, some of these have been fantastic, and some have been less than that.
Below, we will look at a definitive ranking of the War Games matches in WWE.
12. Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray, Raquel Rodriguez & Cora Jade vs Toxic Attraction & Dakota Kai (NXT WarGames 2021)
Just like the Royal Rumble match, even the worst WarGames contests are still pretty good. Alas, there has to be one that is going to take the lowest spot, and it’s the Women’s War Games match from 2021.
WarGames matches are always going to be a hot mess but this one wasn’t any fun to watch. There weren’t many cool spots and most of the action was disjointed. The fans didn’t respond very well to much that went on.
Shirai was the MVP, as usual, and put on a show but that was all that was worth taking away from the match.
11. Alexa Bliss, Bianca Belair, Asuka, Becky Lynch & Mia Yim vs Damage CTRL, Rhea Ripley & Nikki Cross (Survivor Series 2022)
This was the first women’s WarGames match on the main roster, and WWE put its full weight behind it. This was a star-studded contest that included multiple former world champions. It was a great way to include WarGames on the main card.
The action was great, with some creative spots but there was very little in the way of a connection between the women. There wasn’t much of a story to tell here and that kept the match from being one that would get talked about.
10. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel Rodriguez & Toni Storm vs Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley & Io Shirai (NXT WarGames 2020)
This was another star-studded War Games match. There was some A-plus talent in the contest, but the lack of crowd hurt the overall product.
This was no one’s fault but War Games is a match that needs a live crowd to feed off of. As we will see later a raucous crowd can add so much to the match.
Io Shirai’s trash can spot, and the overall presentation of Raquel Rodriguez as an unstoppable force were great highlights. But they were the only ones in a match that could have been full of them.
9. The Bloodline vs The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre & Kevin Owens (Survivor Series 2022)
The drama between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens was the star of this match. As always, it produced a great story and took us all for the ride. The rest of the men in this match were great in their storytelling but it was a match that relied too heavily on the story.
Any action that took place was slow. The crowd had a hard time getting involved in the proceedings and the booking did little to keep their attention. This match was dripping with drama but not with great spots.
8. Damage CTRL vs Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair & Shotzi (Survivor Series 2023)
Damage CTRL was a new entity by this point, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a ton of connection. Bayley had long-standing issues with most of the opposing team, and WWE leaned heavily on that. It made for a great lead-up to War Games.
Once in the ring, these women put on a show. There weren’t many huge spots, but everything was done with precision. It was a fluid match that was one the best wrestled in match history.
7. The Undisputed Era vs Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT Takeover: WarGames 2020)
The Undisputed Era was the early MVP of WarGames. Their issues with everyone on the roster spurred several of the cage matches, and they were fantastic in all of them. This one was born out of an unlikely rivalry between Pat McAfee and Adam Cole.
Every match involving the Undisputed Era was awesome, and this was no different. The teams showed great chemistry and there were a ton of cool spots.
McAfee showed ring awareness that was beyond his years. Not even the lack of a crowd could take away the excitement from this match.
6. The Judgement Day & Drew McIntyre vs Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso & Randy Orton (Survivor Series 2023)
This match had all the main event players that one would want in WarGames. Cody Rhodes’ issues with Judgement Day led to the contest, and the tease of Randy Orton being the fifth man was a great story to lead into the main event.
There wasn’t much in the way of wild spots, but the match was well wrestled with very few mistakes being made. The return of Orton got a huge pop but the match lacked the drama that others on this list were full of.
5. The Undisputed Era vs The War Raiders, Pete Dunne & Ricochet (NXT Takeover: WarGames 2018)
The Undisputed Era once again found themselves inside the double cage. This time taking on the face-painted team of the War Raiders, Pete Dunne and Ricochet.
It was an odd pairing but one that worked. There was such a mesh of styles in the match that every type of wrestling fan was going to go home happy.
This was exactly what one wants from a War Games match. It was a spot fest with everyone getting their time to shine. The crowd was hot for the duration and while it was longer than some would have liked but the spot-heavy contest made up for it.
4. Bron Breakker, Tony D’Angelo, Carmelo Hayes & Grayson Waller vs Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Kyle O’Reilly & Pete Dunne (NXT WarGames 2021)
This WarGames match was about the old and new eras. The remnants of the Black and Gold NXT were trying to hold onto their spot, while the hungry NXT 2.0 upstarts were looking to break out on their own.
The old and new guard story was perfect for the match. It added to the build and created a ton of anticipation for the showdown. There were some great spots sprinkled throughout the contest and every man got his chance to shine.
3. The Undisputed Era vs Sanity, The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong (NXT Takeover: WarGames 2017)
The inaugural WarGames match is easily one of the best that WWE has ever put on. The bad blood between the teams added a great level of intensity to the match. One could feel the hatred seeping out of every move.
The psychology throughout was fantastic. The Undisputed Era being outnumbered allowed them to lean into their heel roles and the fans lapped it up. The three-team dynamic was an interesting path to go and provided some stunning spots throughout.
2. Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox & Dakota Kai vs Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair & Kay Lee Ray (NXT Takeover: WarGames 2019)
Team Ripley and Team Baszler put on an absolute clinic for the Illinois audience. This War Games match had some of the best character work in company history.
The Dakota Kai heel turn, leaving Ripley and LeRae to fend for themselves was fantastic. It was expertly pulled off and you felt the helplessness from the remaining team members.
This match was more than just the heel turn. Everything done by the women was spot on.
The cage was used well, and the tandem offense was great. Ripley and LeRae looked great for holding the fort, while Baszler looked like the caged animal she was pushed to be.
1. The Undisputed Era vs Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic & Kevin Owens (NXT Takeover: WarGames 2019)
The Undisputed Era was at its peak for this match. They took their reign of terror to every brand in WWE and made every enemy possible along the way.
Both groups were on point for the match. It started with some great wrestling but soon devolved into what everyone came to see. The violence was spot on with some of the more creative spots in the history of the contest.
The drama of who would be the final member of Team Ciampa was the icing on the cake for the match. It could have been a few different men but when Kevin Owen’s music hit the crowd went bonkers. It was a huge deal and a definite exclamation point on the best War Games match in WWE history.
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