PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE has come to terms with Major League Wrestling (MLW) to acquire all the rights and trademarks associated with the WarGames match.
WWE never renewed the trademark from the WCW days so the name was eventually made available for anyone to trademark. MLW did that after they used the concept for the match in one of their shows in 2003. A few years later, MLW applied for the WarGames trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and since 2007, the company has owned the name.
The WarGames concept never saw the light of day in WWE until November 2017, when WWE reintroduced the match for its November NXT show titled NXT Takeover: WarGames. Another WarGames event was held last year also in November during the Survivor Series weekend and now it looks like it will be a yearly tradition for NXT.
PWInsider.com adds that as part of the agreement, MLW will not be using the match or the name on their shows anymore.
The late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes was the brains behind the WarGames concept which included two rings and a giant steel cage covering the rings. It was part of the Fall Brawl pay-per-views in WCW. WWE’s revival of the concept still includes two rings and a steel cage but there’s no roof for the cage, allowing NXT stars to perform high-flying moves from the top of the cage.
