Against the grain wrestling opinions

[LaGoosh]

6 minutes ago, thatvinylgeek said:

Stadium Stampedes are an overbooked, complicated mess, which are hard to follow or get invested in and should never have been seen again post 

There's only been three of them!

[thatvinylgeek]

6 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

There's only been three of them!

Two too many 😉

[LaGoosh]

I loved all of them. 

[Supremo]

13 hours ago, thatvinylgeek said:

War Games would be far better and more unpredictable if you could win the match from the moment it starts, and not waiting for everyone to enter the ring, it renders the vast majority of the match boring and pointless

Everyone thinks this, don’t they?

[DavidB6937]

4 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Everyone thinks this, don’t they?

It's the same complaint that gets brought up every single time they run it.

[LaGoosh]

The thing is if they put in the rule that you could win before everyone got in the ring it wouldn't make the match more unpredictable because you know they would probably never actually do it.

That first stretch of the match before anyone can win is all about the babyfaces trying to withstand the brutal onslaught from the dastardly heels who should always have the numbers advantage up until the very last moment possible. Then you get the big moment where the numbers are equal, they do a big stand off to a huge pop and all the babyfaces start their comeback. It's War Games 101 and it works!

Edited November 7, 2025 by LaGoosh

[BomberPat]

War Games doesn't work in WWE because WWE don't book for heat, and they don't want their product to be seen as violent, so there's no cathartic sense of wanting to see the babyfaces fire up and beat up the heels. You're just waiting around for the match to start properly. Blood & Guts is generally closer to a proper War Games, but doesn't always nail it. 

It's a match that only works if you're able to make the audience genuinely want to see a bad guy get their comeuppance, and outside of Dominik Mysterio and maybe Logan Paul, I don't think there's anyone in WWE that fits that role, often by design, and even those two never actually wrestle like heels, and the WWE style isn't conducive to making a heel getting beaten up a satisfying or cathartic moment. 

[Chili]

30 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Everyone thinks this, don’t they?

Nah, I like it in the way @BomberPat and @LaGoosh describes it. It's a match designed for the heels to get a prolonged shit kicking with the heel advantage just prolonging the crowds anger until the sides are even then you get the satisfying finale (War Games 1992 perfectly encapsulates it). One of the best moments, probably the best from the AEW matches that encapsulate that was the one with Jericho's lot against Eddie Kingston and friends with Jericho selling the fuck out of dreading the moment Kingston came in and just beelined for him.

If any promotion did it ok but also absolutely fucked it, step forward TNA, who occasionally gave the face team the advantage in Lethal Lockdown. Idiots.

 

[Carbomb]

I don't think the King of the Mountain format is an intrinsically bad match concept.

[Chili]

5 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

I don't think the King of the Mountain format is an intrinsically bad match concept.

The ONLY issue is hanging the belt up, it's way to reverse battle royal that bollocks. Just have the belt hanging as usual and it's a perfectly OTT gimmick match.

[SoloJones]

A partial solution to Wargames, especially if they've fucked off actual Survivor Series tags, would to make it elimination style. At least then there would be consequences throughout the match, not just at the end. Maybe too similar to the Elimination Chamber then though.  

[Carbomb]

Just now, Chili said:

The ONLY issue is hanging the belt up, it's way to reverse battle royal that bollocks. Just have the belt hanging as usual and it's a perfectly OTT gimmick match.

That's what I'm saying is NOT intrinsically bad. 

Here's the thing: the reason why I think it could work done properly is that it isn't an exact reversal of a ladder match, not in terms of the match dynamics. In a ladder match, you've got opponents trying and fighting each other to reach one, static point. In a KOTM match, the wrestler not only has to reach that static point, he has to have physical possession of the belt to get it up to that point - almost like a wrestling rugby match. 

The whole bit about having to pin/submit an opponent to be "eligible" and the sin-bin are what I would eliminate.

[Chico Torres]

War Games is awesome and created some of the greatest matches of all time. The problem is that wrestling is shit now.

[Supremo]

You grandads need to let it go. Casino Gauntlet War Games is the future.

Roddy Strong never makes it to the ring.

[The King Of Swing]

6 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I loved all of them. 

Love the first two and enjoyed the third one but not as much since it obviously lacked the silly bollocks of the others.