Chicken sandwiches are the new battlefield for fast-food titans like Popeyes and Chick-fil-A.

McDonald's just released its latest contender in the Chicken Wars: a spicy BBQ chicken sandwich and spicy BBQ glazed tenders.

I tried both the sandwich and the tenders, and neither justified their existence on McDonald's menu.

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On Wednesday, McDonald's entered into the Chicken Wars with a new spicy BBQ chicken sandwich.

McDonald's sent its contestant into battle on the heels of the release of Popeyes' chicken sandwich, which ignited a massive Twitter war and caused no shortage of real-world chaos when it ran out.

Spicy chicken is all the rage these days — Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets returned to a resounding fan welcome — so I went to McDonald's to try its new peppery poultry. But, I wasn't lovin' it.

Read more: Popeyes' new chicken sandwich convinced us that we never need to go back to Chick-fil-A

McDonald's spicy BBQ chicken sandwich should have stayed in the test kitchen where it belongs. Its accompanying spicy BBQ chicken tenders were even more disappointing.

Here's why: