“Mad Max” is among the most memorable action franchises in film history, but it is the third installment of the franchise, “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” that was particularly notable, as it starred the late great Tina Turner and featured a dome-like structure where two people entered and only one left after a fight to the death.
Although “Beyond Thunderdome” isn’t necessarily seen as the peak of the “Mad Max” franchise, its look at a gritty, post-apocalyptic dystopian future undoubtedly left an impression on its viewers.
One of the viewers that were particularly inspired by what they saw was a man by the name of Virgil Runnels, better known to professional wrestling fans as the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
There have been a number of pieces written over the years about the verbal prowess of Rhodes. But as much as he was a force in front of the camera, Rhodes was arguably even more influential behind the scenes.
He was the primary booker for multiple territories during his career and while he could map out a week-to-week story, Rhodes’ true creative genius shined when it came to creating spectacles.
When Rhodes laid eyes on the Thunderdome, he saw his next project.
Rhodes added a few wrinkles to make the concept pro wrestling-friendly, but the violence and excitement remained. The result is one of the most anticipated matches in professional wrestling, one that has provided countless fond memories during its near 40 years of existence.
But which WarGames match is the best of all time? Conversely, which one is the worst? I am here to answer that question once and for all. Well, in my opinion, at least.
Before we dig into the rankings, some ground rules: First, this ranking will only feature WarGames matches from the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and NXT/WWE. Yes, I know, AEW has its own version of WarGames called Blood and Guts, but for the sake of this list, I’m only including matches that actually carries the match’s namesake.
Secondly, this list does not include WarGames matches that were not televised. Televised WarGames matches only!
Lastly, remember that this is merely my opinion, so don’t kill me too much if you disagree. Please feel free to disagree and give your thoughts. But again, these are just my thoughts after recently watching all of the matches that qualified for this list.
With that said, let the WarGames ranking begin!