Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling has used WarGames stipulations the some of their Cage of Death events, the most recent being in Cage of Death XXI (2019). For Cage of Death 5, in that there were two rings; one of them was surrounded by the cage, and the other was filled with "one million" thumbtacks (the actual amount has never been verified). Above the two rings was scaffolding walkway on which the wrestlers could walk on at any time. The match started with two members of each team, and every 90 seconds a wrestler, from either team, entered the match according to the number they drew before the match started. These eliminations which will occurred in that would happen when a wrestler would hit the arena floor; however, Cage of Death 5 also had rules that the wrestlers who were not tossed out of or off the cage, that they could travel a scaffold hanging above another ring filled with thumbtacks to safety, scoring points for the team. For Cage of Death 6 there were eliminations that would happen when a wrestler would hit the arena floor much like Cage of Death 5 the year before, the difference being that the tag team titles were hanging on a scaffold stretched across the length of the top of the cage overlooking the two rings, plus all weapons littered around double caged ring.
Cage of Death 7 just had standard pinfall and submissions after all combatants entered the cage. For 2005's Cage of Death, the large eight-sided cage that surrounds the entire ringside area with a barbwire spidernet setup on one side and glass setup on another side with tables underneath and two scaffold platforms across the ring from each other. All different Hardcore and deathmatch wrestling weapons such as thumbtack turnbuckles, barbed wire bats, staple guns, light tubes, barbed wire, baseball bats, thumbtacks, panes of glass, and all others littered around it for wrestlers to use. The WarGames rules returned with pinfalls and submissions that could be done throughout the match after all combatants of either team entered the cage.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) held a hardcore version of WarGames known as the "Ultimate Jeopardy steel cage match" at Ultimate Jeopardy 1994, between Shane Douglas, Mr. Hughes and The Public Enemy, and a team of Terry Funk, Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac; Its version allowed a victory by submission, pinfall, knockout, or surrender. Weapons were provided, and each participant carried a penalty stipulation that would take effect if they were the one defeated to win the match. Douglas would score a pinfall on Funk to win the match for his team and, per Funk's Ultimate Jeopardy stipulation, become the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion.[16][17]
IWA Mid-South
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South presented "No Blood, No Guts, No Glory 2005" at the National Guard Armory in Valparaiso, Indiana on Saturday night, July 2, 2005. The match pitted "Team Ian" Ian Rotten, Axl Rotten, Chris Hero, Corporal Robinson and Bull Pain against "Team Fannin" B. J. Whitmer, Eddie Kingston, Mark Wolf, J. C. Bailey, and Steve Stone and "Team NWA" Eric Priest, Chandler McClure, Tank and Sal and Vito Thomaselli in a double-ring, double-cage, three-team War Games match, with the winning team taking full control of the IWA-MS. The match was won when JC Bailey caused his own team to be outnumbered, allowing Ian Rotten's Team IWA to capitalize and win the match.
Major League Wrestling
Two WarGames matches would be promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW), who owned the trademark for "WarGames" between 2007 and 2017.
On September 19, 2003, the WarGames TV Taping was held at the Fort Lauderdale, FL War Memorial Auditorium. The Funkin' Army (Terry Funk, The Sandman, Steve Williams, Sabu, and Bill Alfonso) defeated The Extreme Horsemen (Steve Corino, Simon Diamond, C. W. Anderson, PJ Walker, and Barry Windham) when Funk made Corino submit following a fireball to Corino's face.
In 2018, MLW would return to Fort Lauderdale for a second WarGames event, which was a TV taping for MLW Fusion on BeIN Sports.[18][19] It would be MLW's last WarGames event after WWE acquired the rights and trademarks.[20]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
At The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11, 2024, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a ten-man no-DQ "Dog Pound" match between the Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) and United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Henare, Francesco Akira and TJP). The steel cage was essentially a fence situated around the ring. The first period between Ospreay and Finlay was supposedly scheduled for two minutes, but pre-match negotiations between the two wrestlers resulted in a five minute period; the remaining wrestlers entered the match at two-minute intervals (United Empire allowed the War Dogs members to enter first). A recap of the match written for New Japan's English-language web site stated that it was "arguably the most violent... in NJPW's history", as weapons were liberally employed. The match ended when Finlay pinned Ospreay after he was hit by Finlay's Overkill finishing move. This match is also notable for being Coughlin's final match before his retirement on March 23rd.[23]
Pro Wrestling Unplugged
Pro Wrestling Unplugged (PWU) had held a match called "Cuffed and Caged" match on January 20, 2007. It is somewhat similar to a Lethal Lockdown match in TNA, but with a few small differences.
Two teams of five wrestlers take part in this match. Starts with one member of each team, with one new member added to the match at certain time intervals until all ten are in.
The main differences between this match and a Lethal Lockdown and WarGames match, is that in this match wrestlers are eliminated by pin or submit in the cage or getting handcuffed to the outside of the cage. The winner is the one man or team left standing after all members of opposing team are eliminated.
Pro-Wrestling:EVE
Pro-Wrestling: EVE presented the second ever all female War Games match. It had a steel cage surrounding only the one ring, but all other rules were the same as the original concept. It was the opening contest as part of the first WrestleQueendom event in the iconic York Hall, in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 5 May 2018. The teams of "Squad Goals" consisting of Rhia O’Reily, Laura Di Matteo, Addy Starr and Emi Sakura and "The Deserving" made up of Jamie Hayter, Charli Evans, Jayla Dark and Blue Nikita competed in the bout. Highlights include a brawl outside the cage before the match started, O'Reilly entering the cage last and diving onto all the competitors and Squad Goals locking in a submission on each member of The Deserving to win the match.[24][25][26]
Ring of Honor
In December 2005, Ring of Honor held the first Steel Cage Warfare match. It was used to settle the year-long feud between Generation Next and their former leader Alex Shelley, who was now with The Embassy. The match consisted of only one ring but followed the War Games match in that two wrestlers from each team started the match, and after five minutes another wrestler would enter, then every two minutes after another wrestler would enter. The main difference, however, is that the match was an elimination match contested by teams of three, four, or more. Wrestlers can be eliminated at any point by either pin fall or submission.
In July 2006, Ring of Honor held another War Games style match to settle their feud with Combat Zone Wrestling. ROH challenged them to a Steel Cage Warfare match, but CZW said they would only compete if it were their Cage of Death match. This match that could be contested under WarGames rules so the match can only end when all members of both teams have entered the cage. The cage itself is a yellow-steel wired and eight-sided, and surrounds the entire ringside area. All sorts of weapons surround between the ring and the cage walls. The match starts 2 men for 5 minutes, then having a coin flip to see what team would have the advantage with a new man entering every two minutes.
In September 2008, Ring of Honor held a three 'team' Steel Cage Warfare match. This pitted the team of The Briscoe Brothers and Austin Aries, against the team of The Age of the Fall represented by Delirious, Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black, against Necro Butcher who fought alone with no partners. The match was held under the same rules, stating Butcher although alone could be drawn and enter the match at any time regardless of a man advantage held by the other teams.
Tennessee
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (Knoxville)
The Knoxville, Tennessee-based Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) had their own variation of the WarGames match, called Rage in a Cage. In Rage in a Cage, the ring was surrounded by a cage made of the wooden frameworks and regular fence wires. The match began with one member of each team entering the cage. After five minutes, a member from one of the teams (usually determined by a coin toss) would enter the cage, giving his team the temporary handicap advantage. After two minutes, a member from the other team would enter to even the odds. Once all eight or ten men (depending on team size) had entered the cage, the match begins. The object of the match was to eliminate one-by-one by submitting or handcuffing all members of the opposing team to and in the cage. The first Rage in a Cage match was held at the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville on May 9, 1993, with The Rock n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), The Stud Stable (Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden), and Brian Lee defeating The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Stan Lane), Killer Kyle, Kevin Sullivan, and The Tazmaniac.
United States Wrestling Association (Memphis)
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (Knoxville)
The Knoxville, Tennessee-based Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) had their own variation of the WarGames match, called Rage in a Cage. In Rage in a Cage, the ring was surrounded by a cage made of the wooden frameworks and regular fence wires. The match began with one member of each team entering the cage. After five minutes, a member from one of the teams (usually determined by a coin toss) would enter the cage, giving his team the temporary handicap advantage. After two minutes, a member from the other team would enter to even the odds. Once all eight or ten men (depending on team size) had entered the cage, the match begins. The object of the match was to eliminate one-by-one by submitting or handcuffing all members of the opposing team to and in the cage. The first Rage in a Cage match was held at the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville on May 9, 1993, with The Rock n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), The Stud Stable (Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden), and Brian Lee defeating The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Stan Lane), Killer Kyle, Kevin Sullivan, and The Tazmaniac.
United States Wrestling Association (Memphis)
In the summer of 1995, an inter-promotional feud between Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association saw the match move across the state. On August 7, 1995, the Rage in a Cage match was held at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, which saw Team USWA (Bill Dundee, Billy Jack Haynes, Tommy Rich, Doug Gilbert, Brian Lee, Steven Dunn, & PG-13 (J. C. Ice and Wolfie D)) defeat Team SMW (Tracy Smothers, Robert Gibson, Brad Armstrong, Buddy Landell, The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray), Terry Gordy, Pat Tanaka & D-Lo Brown).
TNA Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) first introduced their own variation of the WarGames match with the "Wednesday Bloody Wednesday" steel cage match on September 3, 2003. While it only used a single ring surrounded by a steel cage, poles attached to the ring posts above the turnbuckles had chains running to various points in the ring with many weapons hanging from the chains. Similarly to a War Games match, two wrestlers from both teams started the match, and after ninety seconds another wrestler would enter. The only way to win was by pinfall or submission.
Later, TNA introduced the Lethal Lockdown match for their annual Lockdown pay-per-view. Although again featuring only one ring enclosed by a steel cage, the match otherwise followed the format of the original War Games match, with two teams and a staggered entry system. Like the original NWA/WCW version, when all competitors have entered the ring, a roof is lowered onto the top of the cage, with the addition of various weapons hanging from it. Victory can be attained only by pinfall or submission. As TNA used a six-sided ring from June 2004 to January 2010, and again from June 2014 to January 2018, the cage used for the Lethal Lockdown matches during those periods was also six-sided, branded as the "Six Sides of Steel". The last Lethal Lockdown match was in 2016, as plans to revive it in 2020 were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar match was done in 2025 at Sacrifice without the weapons roof. A five-on-five "TNA vs NXT" cage match took place in a single caged ring on the December 18, 2025 episode of TNA Impact!. Though it was called simply a "steel cage match," the bout had the same stipulations as a WarGames match like in Sacrifice.
United Wrestling Federation
On September 21, 2007, United Wrestling Federation held a WarGame match in Richmond Va. Team Sgt. Slaughter (Rick and Scott Steiner; Dustin Rhodes and Kirby and TJ Mack) def. Team JBL (Homicide and Hernandez; Steve Corino; CW Anderson and Elix Skipper) in a double ring double cage WarGames match, dubbed as and entitled "Uncivil War", when Scott Steiner submitted Corino with the Steiner Recliner as Slaughter simultaneously submitted JBL with the cobra clutch.
Women Superstars Uncensored
Women Superstars Uncensored presented the first ever War Games match with female wrestlers on November 19, 2011, as part of their Breaking Barriers II iPPV. The match featured two trios - Team WSU of Mercedes Martinez, Alicia and Brittney Savage, and the Midwest Militia of Jessicka Havok, Allysin Kay and Sassy Stephie. The match was contested in a steel cage surrounding only one ring, but all other rules were the same as the original concept. The Midwest Militia won the match when Havok threatened to murder an injured Martinez with a machete, and Savage surrendered on Martinez's behalf.
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
In June 2013, WWE released a DVD anthology set, War Games: WCW's Most Notorious Matches.
During the November 2017 tapings for WWE NXT, it was announced that at NXT TakeOver: Houston, the main event would be a WarGames match. The event was subsequently renamed to NXT TakeOver: WarGames. This would be the first official WarGames match in nearly 20 years. The match was quite different from standard WarGames- including the cage having no roof (although escaping the cage forfeited the match for that person's team), pinfalls being allowed, and all remaining members of a team entering at the same time. The match involved three teams, with The Undisputed Era defeating Sanity and Roderick Strong/The Authors of Pain.
NXT TakeOver events preceding WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view have since continued to be headlined by WarGames, with NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2019) featuring two WarGames matches, one of which was WWE's first-ever women's WarGames match.
In 2022, WWE moved the WarGames from NXT onto their main roster with both Men's & Women's matches taking place at Survivor Series (2022). The Women's match featured Team Belair (Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch) defeating Team Bayley (Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky), Nikki Cross, and
Xtreme Pro Wrestling
Rob Black's Xtreme Pro Wrestling promotion also capitalized on the popularity of the WarGames match by holding one of their own, called "Genocide", with the same rules. However, in the XPW version of the WarGames match, an 18-feet-high steel cage that encompassed two rings with weapons are in two rings but the three-sided cage top that covers over, around and on the top of only one of the two rings, which surrounded by large steel cage, permitting wrestlers to (hypothetically) brawl each other at a top the cage and do table spots off the top of the cage, plus all weapons permitted and provided; the cage, however, was extremely poorly constructed, and started to fall apart during the match, preventing most of the promised action.
