Fall Brawl '96: War Games

Fall Brawl '96: War Games was the fourth Fall Brawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on September 15, 1996 from the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[1]

Fall Brawl '96: War Games
VHS cover featuring Ric Flair and Hollywood Hogan
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateSeptember 15, 1996
CityWinston-Salem, North Carolina
VenueLawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Attendance11,300
Tagline(s)Wanna Play with the Big Boys?... In a Cage?...
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Hog Wild
Next →
Halloween Havoc
Fall Brawl chronology
← Previous
1995
Next →
1997

This was Mean Gene Okerlund's last WCW appearance until November 1996 due to his contract expiring and took time off.

Production

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Background

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The WarGames match was created when Dusty Rhodes was inspired by a viewing of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.[2] 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

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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.[3]

Event

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Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Tony Schiavone
Bobby Heenan
Dusty Rhodes
Mike Tenay
Interviewer Mike Tenay
Ring announcers David Penzer
Michael Buffer
Referees Randy Anderson
Mark Curtis
Nick Patrick

Hollywood Hogan came to ringside late in the match between Randy Savage and the Giant, right after Savage had hit a flying elbow on Giant. Savage left the ring to chase Hogan, then was attacked by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who knocked Savage out with a chair. Referee Nick Patrick was arguing with Giant while this all was going on and didn't see anything, and Giant pinned the fallen Savage after the rest of the nWo carried him back to the ring. Due to the tension caused by the nWo's presence in WCW, a modification to the traditional WarGames Match rules was made. Instead of both teams coming to ringside before the match, each side stayed backstage and the participants entered from there one at a time. nWo Sting and Hogan forced Lex Luger to submit as nWo Sting had the Scorpion Deathlock locked in and Hogan held him down with a front facelock. Due to Team WCW doubting his allegiance, Sting abandoned Luger, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson shortly after entering and the match became a 4-on-3 handicap match. After the match Randy Savage came out to attack Hogan, only to be beaten down by the entire nWo. Miss Elizabeth was also attacked after she came down to plead with Hogan to stop.

Results

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No.Results[4]StipulationsTimes
1Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr.Singles match13:07
2Ice Train (with Teddy Long) defeated Scott NortonSubmission match07:08
3Konnan (c) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Juventud GuerreraSingles match for the AAA Heavyweight Championship13:45
4Chris Benoit defeated Chris JerichoSingles match14:36
5Rey Misterio Jr. (c) defeated Super CalóSingles match for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship15:47
6Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) (c) (with Sister Sherri and Col. Robert Parker) defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags)Tag team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championship15:31
7The Giant defeated Randy SavageSingles match07:47
8nWo (Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and nWo Sting) (with Ted DiBiase) defeated Team WCW (Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Sting)WarGames match18:15
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

References

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  1. ^ "Every pay-per-view available on WWE Network". WWE. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  2. ^ WCW War Games: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches 2013. WWE.
  3. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  4. ^ "Fall Brawl". thehistoryofwwe.com. 16 January 2023.