Fall Brawl '97: War Games

Fall Brawl '97: War Games
Promotional poster featuring The Giant and Scott Hall
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	September 14, 1997
City	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Venue	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Attendance	11,939
Buy rate	195,000 [1]
Tagline	The Rage in the Cage
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous Road Wild Next → Halloween Havoc
Fall Brawl chronology
← Previous 1996 Next → 1998

Fall Brawl '97: War Games was the fifth Fall Brawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on September 14, 1997, from the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As of 2014 the event is available on the WWE Network. ^[2]

Production

Background

The WarGames match was created when Dusty Rhodes was inspired by a viewing of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome . ^[3] It was originally used as a specialty match for the Four Horsemen. The first WarGames match took place at The Omni in Atlanta during the NWA's Great American Bash '87 tour, where it was known as War Games: The Match Beyond. It became a traditional Fall Brawl event from 1993 to 1998.

Storylines

The event featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Professional wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. ^[4]

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
Commentators	Tony Schiavone
	Bobby Heenan
	Mike Tenay
	Larry Zbyszko
Interviewer	Gene Okerlund
Ring announcers	Michael Buffer
	David Penzer
Referees	Randy Anderson
	Mark Curtis
	Scott Dickinson
	Mickie Jay
	Nick Patrick

During the WarGames Match, Curt Hennig entered the match for the Horsemen last due to an apparent shoulder injury. Moments later Hennig revealed his injury to be a ruse and that he was on the nWo's side all along. The New World Order then handcuffed Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael to the cage and began assaulting Ric Flair. Kevin Nash took the microphone and repeatedly asked the helpless Horsemen if they wanted to give up, but McMichael refused and Benoit repeatedly spat in Nash's face. The Horsemen finally surrendered after Nash threatened to slam Flair's head into the cage structure with the door. McMichael, not wanting to see Flair beat up any worse than he already was, made the call for his team. After the surrender, Hennig slammed the door onto Flair's head anyways.

A Steve McMichael vs. Konnan match had been advertised on WCW.com and in the event program, though never on television. Both participated in the War Games main event, but a singles match between the two did not take place.

Results

No.	Results [5]	Stipulations	Times
1	Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho (c)	Singles match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship	17:19
2	The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) (with Ted DiBiase) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) (with Miss Jacqueline)	Tag Team match	11:44
3	Alex Wright (c) defeated Último Dragón	Singles match for the WCW World Television Championship	18:43
4	Jeff Jarrett (with Debra) defeated Dean Malenko	Singles match	14:53
5	Wrath and Mortis (with James Vandenberg) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian)	Tag team match	12:22
6	The Giant defeated Scott Norton	Singles match	05:27
7	Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger defeated nWo (Randy Savage and Scott Hall) (with Miss Elizabeth)	No Disqualification match	10:19
8	The nWo (Buff Bagwell, Kevin Nash, Konnan and Syxx) defeated The Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit, Curt Hennig, Ric Flair and Steve McMichael)	WarGames match	19:38
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match

References

1. "WCW Pay-Per-View Buys (1987-2001)". Wrestlenomics. March 25, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
2. "Every pay-per-view available on WWE Network". WWE. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
3. WCW War Games: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches 2013. WWE.
4. Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications . Retrieved November 15, 2015.
5. "Fall Brawl". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.