with the if and but, don't makes the History.
But hypothetically speaking, if the war was began in the 1988 after the Commission Case.
We should have seen sides that would have been created, the Genoveses-Luccheses against the Gambinos-Colombos, the Bonnano kick out by the Commission for the Pistone story, would have sided with those who had promised the return in the Comission, the Colombos of Vic Orena perhaps will managed to get permission to kill Carmine Persico and his loyalists.
And how would react the strong families outside of New York, like Chicago, Philadelphia or Boston.
In Mafia Prince Leonetti say that Scarfo was a Genoveses ally,same thing for the Bufalinos.Gotti controll the Decavalcantes,don't know about the Buffalo family.

hypothetically in an alternative past these would have been the sides:

Gambinos/Colombos/Decavalcante vs Genoveses/Luccheses/Scarfos