War Games 2092-3 Overview: By Aaron 'Chewey' Chiu

[LWPD]

What follows is an overview of the final two sets in the War Games trilogy. This covers game editions 2092 and 2093. The author is Aaron Chiu better known as stand out board member Chewey. Aaron was the very first person to submit a write up to the CotG HOF Project...and his contribution is exemplary.

This is an excellent reference to a very important period in the GWF's development...and easily one of my all time favorites. Going forward there is no better place to direct those curious about the 2092 and 2093 sets to than Aaron's overview.
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Wargames 2092

Credit Aaron 'Chewey' Chiu

2091 was a star-studded year which not only featured an influx of talent that directly banished many stars of previous years into midcard status, but also featured stacked feuds involving an all-star feud that included the GWF promotion’s hottest stars in its main event. Unfortunately, 2092 and 2093 did not live up to the sizzle of the first installment of the Wargames Trilogy, and only introduced one star that made an impact in each of its respective years.

2092 will easily be remembered as the Year of Chaos, as the debuting superstar from Dimension X whose immediate explosion into the main event scene shook up the entire promotion in a way that no individual had managed before in the eighteen-year history of the GWF. Every pre-hyped superstar that has entered the GWF in subsequent years has billed himself as “the next Chaos,” which is a legacy that will likely engrave his name as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His stunning supporting cast included the likes of one of the previous year’s outbreaking stars in the Matador of M83, as well as the formidable tag team of the Keepers of the Stone.

Following the dissolution of both the Defenders of the Galaxy and the Unholy Alliance super-stables, the GWF moved on to lower class feuds as Star Warrior allied himself with the rapidly declining Supreme Gods, while Thantos formed his pact with the Galactic Rebels. Comrade Terror’s career took a major turn when he was transesolved into Dreadnaught, and it is the form of this sympathetic monster that Dreadnaught will be best remembered, rather than the cosmic terrorist who battled Commander Sam in the aftermath of the Earth vs. Cygnus war.

Meanwhile, the fledging team of the Federation Defense Fighters received an injection of fresh recruits, as the GalactiCops replaced Pulsar Prime and the aging Commander Sam. However, the feud between the FDF and the Royal Court could do little but bask in the glory of their previous status as the top feud of the promotion, which would linger until the Royal Court imploded from within.

The Gladiators of Aethra, at full strength after the repatriation of Spike, resumed their feud with the AniMen of Andromeda. Brute and Massacre faced a challenge from their third AniMen pairing as the Incredible Badger continued his Beasts of Burden team with Iron Mane, while Battering Ram rekindled his 2089 feud with Spike. Wolf, agreed to return to the side of Amazonia and the Animen, having excelled in his previous feuds with Executioner, Spike, Bounty Hunter, and Mayhem.

However, despite Wolf’s reputation of being a loner, it was Invincible Krakan and Bounty Hunter who would prove to be the true “lone wolves” in the year 2093.

Magnus Colby made his first public appearance in professional wrestling as the man who ruled behind the curtain of the Masked Assassins. This allowed Darkos to begin what would be a continuous cycle of reshuffling the Assassins into various tag team combinations. Meanwhile, the Fighting Titans would be ready to meet the challenge as Trainer Jim solidified his group with the teams of TitanPower and the Titan Express – the two teams that would be the staples of the Titans for years to come.

The Wild Things, Space Croppers, Young Allies, and Eastern Dynasty would continue to round out the undercard, but at least they could virtually guarantee themselves a win against resident Undercard Bum, Ursa Major. Commissioner Carter also arrived in 2092 to become a largely bland executive that would later be forgotten as more colorful personalities assumed his role in future years.

In sum, with the continuation of most feuds and the rekindling of a couple of others, 2092 was a rather uneventful year in which the entire roster collectively went into hibernation mode, except for the appearance of the Third Force.

[LWPD]

Wargames 2093

Credit Aaron 'Chewey' Chiu

If 2092 was known as the Year of Chaos, perhaps 2093 could be known as the Year of Sectarian. Yeah, right. Even Tom has admitted to hating Sectarian. Instead, the “star” of the set was Alpha Force. But despite the influence that Alpha Force later left in the GWF, the arrival of Alpha Force compared to the prior year’s arrival of Chaos was roughly analogous to the 2092 installment of Wargames following the 2091 Wargames. Blame it on Alpha Force having a tough act to follow after Chaos. Blame it on the fact that Chuck Carter no longer lived in the same city as Tom Filsinger. Blame it on Alpha Force’s two-page attention-hogging manifesto on why he disappeared and then reappeared; but the concluding chapter of the GWF’s first story arc did not have the magic that Tom originally envisioned. However, the saving grace of this year was that rather than limping to the finish line, it did set up the fast-paced Sudden Death tournament that Commissioner Carter would introduce the following year.

To be fair, Alpha Force vastly improved the credibility of the year’s headlining feud between the promotion’s top three teams. Star Warrior and the Supreme Gods renamed themselves the Champions of the Galaxy, which would continue to maintain its spot as the top team for years to come. Take out the Norse Gods, and Omega was suddenly left with Star Warrior, Alpha Force, and Lance At-Las as his three top stars and the reliable Greek Gods as his tag team. Chaos and the Third Force continued to be the main talk of the promotion as they remained unchanged. Thantos, not content to fade into oblivion, added Bounty Hunter and the Serpent Unman to his own roster, but retained Tendron the Destroyer for reasons unknown to anyone except for Thantos.

Dreadnaught and Tongsoon sparked a year-long feud, and while it would have been nice to see what Dreadnaught looked like in human form, Tongsoon was locked into a feud that he was doomed to lose. (Though in retrospect, Tongsoon probably benefited from losing, as his career took off more than Dreadnaught’s ever would). One question that this angle leaves unanswered: Are all Cygnusians really humans who have been transesolved into their ghastly appearances, or were Tongsoon and Dreadnaught the only ones?

The AniMen of Andromeda continued to feud with the Gladiators of Aethra, although at this point they were little more than placeholders for the Gladiators’ next challengers. Wolf continued his classic feud with Mayhem for the third year in a row – a first for a wrestler who got easily bored with long-lasting alliances and feuds. Meanwhile, the remaining members of this feud would somehow stumble into a time warp that brought them back to 2090. Spike faced Iron Mane, and Brute & Massacre faced the Animal Pack. Incredible Badger would never make the mistake of finding a new tag team partner for the rest of his career. Battering Ram would.

The Collector entered the GWF with an entirely novel concept: he would repackage lackluster mid/undercarders and turn them into cool characters. Other than the fact that he never repackaged Commissioner Carter, Chopper Mattock and Cannibal would certainly push for the Collector to receive Hall of Fame votes.

In an attempt to break their reputation as a “tag team” stable, Trainer Jim and the Fighting Titans would recruit Quasar from the Gravity Ball league. As for the Masked Assassins, one could conceivably make a case for some of these men to make the Hall of Fame (most notably Krakan and Splatter), but does anybody actually remember the names of the tag teams that Darkos used for his teams? If Nightmare, Shocker, and Assassin Empire don’t ring a bell – don’t worry, you’re not alone.

The FDF and Royal Court would continue to draw out their feud in slow motion, in which the only slight difference was that Exo-King and Earthquake were out of the picture. Apparently none of these men involved received the memo that their feud was so five years ago.The Savage Kingdom, Young Allies, Wild Things, and Eastern Dynasty would continue to exist. So did Ursa Major. No one liked Beast-Rider in 2087. Public opinion polls seem to indicate that Sectarian was even less popular.

Overall, 2093 set the pieces in place for the headliners to shine in the coming years, while everybody else was locked into suspended animation. The GWF was growing too big, as the top tier became overcrowded, and many of 2087’s signature stars that became sentimental favorites sadly faded into oblivion. Up next: Sudden Death, just what the doctor ordered.

[steefposton]

nice write-up, loved the insights.