Hey Scott,
So after a shockingly fun NXT show, I think it bears consideration that maybe the Iron Survivor gimmick is not quite as stupid as we feared and maybe an actually tolerable addition into the gimmick roration. And yes, it was only the first one, but that hasn't stopped speculation before.
Furthermore, if I might be so bold, that considering the relative experience and ability of the wrestlers involved in both the Iron Survivor matches and the recent WarGames matches…is it possible that the Iron Survivor gimmick is in fact better than WarGames? The potential storylines available in an Ironman format far outweigh what you can do with a WarGames match. Are we just too stuck in nostalgia to admit that maybe somebody today came up with something clever?
P.S. Before people get all mad and talk about the awesome WarGames matches that happened 30+ years, remember the talent involved in those matches. I'm pretty sure Ric Flair, Sting, WIndham, Pillman, Tully, and Luger could have gotten a pillow-fight to 4+ stars.
Thanks,
The “Wargames” matches today are a completely different animal and format than the ones we're nostalgic for 30 years ago. AEW's Blood and Guts is more closely resembling Dusty's original vision for the gimmick, and even then TK books them to go too long. I'd be fine with retiring the idea for good at this point.
And I didn't watch NXT, but I'm glad the new idea worked, because wrestling needs new ideas. The Elimination Chamber sure didn't seem like it would be an annual tradition when they first tried it out, for example, and the Royal Rumble was famously a flop in its initial presentation in St. Louis.