Last chance for War Games? – By Wrestle G

Hello NoDQ.com readers I am Wrestle G and I am back once again to talk some wrestling. The cray world of pro wrestling keeps turning and we are never short of something to talk about are we?

So here are a few thoughts before we get into the main column:

WrestleDream results

I didn’t do too badly on my predictions last week with 6 out of 9 correct. If those pesky trousers hadn’t have kicked out I’d have been 7 for 9…… But I digress. The PPV was what I was expecting of it an event where you cement some recently crowned champions while also laying up some new feuds to go over the next few months.

As with most AEW PPVs we saw a huge effort bell to bell across the card. I have to say I was disappointed that the FTR tag match started halfway in, that gimmick is starting to run a little thin I also feel with the best of 5 series you want to get everyone invested in that first match to have it essentially halved I didn’t think was a good idea.

Not many complaints with the rest of the card at all. The Young Bucks continue a resurgence in their performances with a classic against Fletcher and Knight. I’m still awaiting the start of the build of Fletcher toward Will Ospreay, for me Fletcher is the guy to eventually dethrone Will. But this diversion of tagging has been good for him, so he doesn’t have to waste time in pointless singles feuds but still be protected on losses.

Elsewhere on the card Jon Moxley retained and I have to say the way in which you can see the pain on Moxley’s face at the moment has me connecting with him more than I have for the entirety of his AEW run. I just wish it wasn’t because that emotion is so genuine and it’s such a shame that it is happening under such horrible circumstances. I’; m so intrigued to see where this emotionally charged and hurt Jon Moxley goes next in AEW. I feel his suffering through the screen, and it hits me each time. Great but upsetting stuff.

The Clockwork Carnage match got its debut, and I thought it brought around an interesting change of pace to the title match with different tactics being deployed. I thought Nigel McGuiness showed why he’s one of the best colour commentators around where he broke down certain decisions that needed to be made in the match. I thought it was fun and it’s good to have the match in the back pocket for the future. I’d say my biggest criticism of it is that I don’t really like the idea of having multiple decisions in a title match. I think sometimes you need to have a decisive feel to your biggest prize. But that’s only a small irk I had with it.

Overall WrestleDream was a solid 8 out of 10 show for me.

Ari- We have a problem

At time of writing the WWE are still readying themselves to go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel amidst Saudi fighting with Houthi Yemen Rebels and potential escalation of conflict between the USA, Isreal and Iran.

The Saudi deal and partnership is something obviously very close to TKO across all of their portfolio, so one of the dominos falling it’s not hard to imagine that having an effect on the other. But If we are talking escalation of War then it is, in my view, a dereliction of duty to put your employees that kind of danger. This is a step further than keeping the wrestlers on the tarmac of an airport while you dispute over the gat money, this is putting people directly in harms way.

Can you imagine the liability if any of the employees end up hurt? What would that do to the relationship going forward. There seems to me to be far more risk in going than there is in rearranging.

We already have WrestleMania locked in for April; we all hope that the geopolitical landscape will have calmed down by then. Is having this event so important? Of course there will be disappointment from the fans, but this isn’t the big one.

I hope cooler heads will prevail but at present it is not looking likely. If the event does go ahead lets just all hope that everything runs smoothly and everyone gets there and back safe. But this decision will I think raise certain questions across WWE/TKO and it will be something to keep an eye on. I also wonder if there are any performers in that local room ready to pull an RVD and flat out refuse to risk going. There’s no murmurs of that yet, but I’d be surprised if everyone is thrilled with the current arrangement.

Ok let’s get stuck into the main portion of today’s column…….

Speaking of War…..

It looks set that the 946 and the Bloodline are going to go head to head in War Games. The WWE have given War Games over to Survivor Series for the last few years. As usual when you have a Gimmick that needs a match rather than a match that needs a gimmick you end up with diminishing returns. Each year the impact of War Games lessens and at present for me it’s very low down on my rankings of gimmick matches.

There’s always been aura around Wargames as it was WCW’s most successful original gimmick match. The Four Horseman being kings of the genre giving us years on years of memorable moments and matches. HHH being quite a bit of a Flair mark has obviously carried his own affection for the match. Vince always against the concept due to two rings taking away ticket sales and never giving WCW credit for anything was always hesitant to go through with the match on the main shows. It was HHH responsible for NXT going with the concept. Those NXT Wargames matches had some really memorable moments to them as well, with the Undisputed era taking over the four horseman mantle. So, it was no surprise to see HHH bring the match to the main roster once he took the reigns from Vince.

The problem though? This main roster version of the games feels far too sanitised. To start with there is no roof on the cage, this is a small but important distinction. The War Games concept was designed to keep people out of the cage; it was a huge story reason for the roof being there. It felt more dangerous and claustrophobic with the roof. Having it open just feels like an extra ring but not much more jeopardy. The top of the cage spots have also led to multiple injuries over recent years so the risk and reward of the roof off concept seem negligible. That visual of the roof just adds some grit to the whole presentation for me. That would be problem number 1.

Problem 2 – a lack of blood. This is meant to be a grudge match, the last resort the arena for one group to assert their dominance over another. Nothing quite puts the exclamation point on a feud with a little colour, especially if you are leaning into a gang war type aesthetic. The last few years there just hasn’t been that feeling at the end of these matches that both teams have given every ounce of themselves towards the end, going back to my point about injuries above, with some colour there is less of a need for guys to be doing splashes from the top rope.

You also don’t need guest stars to boost drama if your story going into the match is good. Watching Brock Lesnar do his 5 minute cameo with 10 minute laboured entrance sucked the entire energy out of the match in recent times. This year it looks like the whole uneasy alliance storyline is being put to one side as well which will benefit proceedings.

After a fair few years this is a test for the War Games concept and for Survivor Series as a staple PLE. Gimmick matches like Hell in a Cell have benefitted greatly from being used more sparingly. If this years War Games isn’t a memorable one then it might be time to revert back to a traditional Survivor Series set of matches for 2027 and let Wargames breathe a little and build back up its mystique. But if we get a knock down drag out brawl for the ages there might be a little life left in cage yet…..

As always I want to know what YOU think, let me know in the comments below or you can find me on X via @Wrestle_G or over on TikTok via @wrestleg

Thanks for reading and supporting as always,

Until next time,

Cheers,

G