WWE is bringing back War Games. Crazy, right? Triple H made the official announcement during the last series of NXT tapings, and the old WCW staple is coming to NXT on November 18th for the event formerly known as NXT TakeOver: Houston. WWE has appropriately changed the name to NXT TakeOver: War Games, and Jim Ross wants in.
In an appearance on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Ross detailed how excited he is to see War Games back on WWE’s radar. Ross has been working with WWE since WrestleMania 33, and expressed interest in calling the War Games match if WWE would allow him to. Ross was on the call with Lita for the Mae Young Classic back in July.
“I was happy. It is a neat hook to build around for the NXT Takeover. It is a very marketable tool and that is how I look at it. It’s got name identity with some older wrestling fans and the name has been bandied about some to the younger fans and trickled down. War Games has got a little bit of a legacy, if it and I don’t know exactly the structure of it but I can just tell you that if it is executed correctly it could really be special. I thought over the years and maybe it is just my own bias but I thought in the early going of the War Games we had better matches than they subsequently got and the end of the War Games. But I may be bias and wrong but that is my take on it.
The talent has got to fit the environment but the concept is really unique and it is very nostalgic in a good way (I think) and it is kind of like WWE having a Starrcade event in Greensboro, that is kind of cool and even though I don’t think it is going to be televised it has got people talking about a live event so I kind of think that has served its purpose and it is very nostalgic and the fans in that area should get some enjoyment out of it.
It’s nostalgic, has got some name identity and it is nice to see it back but it is not something I’d want to see every year and the other thing is that the previous War Games some of them have been very violent and that doesn’t seem to be en vogue these days. That is not a bitch from my end, I’m just saying if everybody thinks it is going to be a War Games like it used to be in the old days it is probably not but that doesn’t mean it can’t be better and certainly different so I am open minded. I am glad that the basic canvas is there called the War Games now let us see where they take it and I am curious.”
Ross makes a few good points here. War Games wasn’t always great but it’s something we haven’t seen anywhere in nearly 20-years. It’s an intriguing attraction, because of the mystery behind it. What are they going to do? How do you do WarGames in 2017? The match may or may not deliver, but including it at NXT TakeOver in Houston gives WWE an easy way to promote the event, that’s for sure.
Because Jim Ross has been a part of the wrestling business for over 40-years, he knows that availability is the best ability. If WWE comes a-knocking, Ross is in; “I am certainly sure that even with my busy book signing schedule, if I was needed in Houston for NXT Takeover I’d certainly make myself available (laughing).” While Ross isn’t the announcer he once was, having him call a WCW classic like War Games would be another nice nod to nostalgia that WWE seems really, really into these days.
