Why we may never see a WarGames match on the main roster

A match type which used to be a regular fixture in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) has now been adopted as a regular fixture in WWE NXT as an annual fixture, starting with NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November 2017.

This brainchild of the legendary Dusty Rhodes is seen as a means to culminate highly intense rivalries among different groups of wrestlers and is known for its brutal nature.

In November 2017, in a renaissance of the match, we saw The Undisputed Era vs Sanity vs the team of The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong, wherein The Undisputed Era emerged victoriously.

In November 2018, we saw the team of Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders taking on The Undisputed Era, in which contrary to the previous year, The Undisputed Era ended up being the losing side.

The WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2018

Both the WarGames matches that have taken place since November 2017 have been received extremely well by the NXT Universe. Hence, it is only logical that the fans expect to see WarGames matches on the main roster as well, somewhere down the line.

However, some of the recent decisions made by the WWE may have painted a picture that we may never get to see a WarGames match on the main roster.

Reason: The match's name includes the word 'war'

The War Raiders have been renamed as The Viking Experience for the main roster

In the recently concluded Superstar Shake-up 2019, the WWE Universe was in for a shock when the NXT Tag Team Champions were drafted into Monday Night Raw. The shock, however, wasn't due to their appearance, but rather their name.

The tag team, which made a name for itself in the independent circuit as The War Machine and came into NXT as The War Raiders, had suddenly been renamed as 'The Viking Experience'.

Several reports have suggested that the reason for the renaming of the tag team was that their original name included the word 'war', and upon their entrance, fans usually chanted the word in succession.

The major chunk of the fan base on the main roster comprises of children, such a name and such chants may have adverse effects on the psyche of the children. WWE would not want to be perceived as an organization which promotes war, especially among children.

The children form a major chunk of the fan base for WWE Raw and SmackDown

On the contrary, the fan base of NXT comprises mostly of hardcore wrestling fans and adults, who have an appetite for good quality wrestling matches, intense rivalries, and do not shy away from the usage of words such as 'war'.

Conclusion

Owing to the prudent nature in which the WWE has tended to show content on the RAW and SD, the WarGames may never see the light of day on the main roster. WWE may still rename the entire match type and present a more toned-down version of the match to its audience. However, that would translate into depriving this historic match type of its very essence.