To fully understand why WWE Survivor Series: WarGames is instrumental in the storyline of Cody Rhodes, you must start with the person whose name is tattooed across his chest: his late father.
WWE Hall of Famer, the ‘American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes, is a beloved figure in professional wrestling history. Despite his legacy, he never won a world championship with WWE. However, one of his inventions has left a far bigger impact that is still being appreciated by wrestling fans to this day: WarGames.
In 1987, the “Son of a Plumber” sat down and created the idea for the stipulation after watching ’Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome’. The movie showcases a cage fight, similar to one that you’d see in a wrestling match, except there was a roof on it so that competitors couldn’t escape.
Rhodes immediately took this idea and thought about how it could be translated into a new, fresh stipulation in a wrestling match. He came up with the idea of a two-ring cage match, where two teams of five would take turns entering the roofed cage.
The idea of a cage match having a roof was unheard of at the time. Most cage matches were constructed during the event, yet this version had the cage pre-assembled and hanging above the ring during the card.
The first-ever WarGames match took place on July 4, 1987 by NWA’s Jim Crocket Promotions, a match that Dusty was a part of. He competed in 11 WarGames matches in total — all victories — and still holds a spot on the list of Top 5 wrestlers with the most appearances in a WarGames match.
Once Jim Crocket Promotions was sold to Turner Broadcasting and rebranded to WCW, the match continued to be held annually until the WWE purchased the rights to the wrestling promotion in 2001.
After Dusty passed away in 2015, WWE brought back the WarGames match, and since 2017, have been using it annually in honour of Rhodes’ legacy.
WarGames gave wrestling promotions a unique way to tell a storyline. It can either be used as an ending point of a feud, or a new chapter in a story, which is the direction WWE seems to be headed. Last year’s WarGames match focused on the storyline progression between The Bloodline and Sami Zayn.
Now, Cody Rhodes has a chance to leave his mark in the same match his father created. He has a chance to write a new chapter; an opportunity to achieve what he promised to do when he returned to WWE after a near six-year absence in 2022.
Finish the story.
It’s the three words that brought Rhodes back to the promotion he was previously released by. It’s those three words that keep him motivated to conquer the wrestling world; to hold a world championship, something he has never done at any level in a major wrestling promotion.
Many thought that last year, in the main event of WrestleMania 39, the “American Nightmare” would have his moment to dethrone Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns — the longest reigning world champion in decades — in front of millions of fans.
Instead, he’s still searching for that world championship, and the finish to his story.
Now, Rhodes is about to begin the next chapter in his story with his first-ever WarGames match on Saturday. Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins and Rhodes will battle against Drew McIntyre and The Judgment Day members Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio.
Rhodes recently appeared on SiriusXM’s “Busted Open” radio show and it was clear just how much appearing in his first-ever WarGames match means to him.
“I really want to almost wax poetic about it in terms of how it’s Dusty’s and it was his creation,” said Rhodes. “But everything is coming up Dusty these days. I’ve told people this before. I thought as time went on and I got older, they would know less, but he’s just everything.
“He touched everything, especially on the way out. So, to be able to do this is great.”
While it may be Rhodes’ destiny to hold a world championship, the first step is to walk into the match his father envisioned and made famous.
Only then can he finish his story.
Survivor Series: WarGames takes place in Chicago, Ili. this Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PT. Watch the event live on Sportsnet+.