Welcome once again to Tybo’s Talks! I am Tybo, and I’m sure by now you know that I am the ‘Five Star General’ of this operation we call SLTD Wrestling
With WWE’s annual Extreme Rules PPV done and dusted for this year, and it being more extreme than usual I thought I would bring out the classic ‘Tybo Top Five’ format and list the most extreme WWE match stipulations in history. Just in case you need your blood thrust quenching.
Three Stages of Hell
Nothing says an extreme match like three extreme matches in one, the three stages of hell are simple, this it’s a two out of three falls match with a crazy stipulation for each fall. This means that this match is three times more extreme than any other match. Each fall can be any stipulation, so the brutality and length of the matches make these the most extreme matches. Three Stages of Hell is one of the most underused match stipulations in WWE, so much so that there are only actually four of them in WWE history
The One to Watch
WWE Championship (Three Stages of Hell: Street Fight, Cage, Ladder)
Triple H (C) vs Shawn Michaels – Armageddon 2002
First Blood
A first-blood match is exactly what it says on the tin. The first opponent to bleed loses. Simple. Although most of the time the opponent who bleeds doesn’t ‘go the hard way’ and essentially cuts himself open this doesn’t take away from the brutality of the match. The first blood match is now a retired match, as no mainstream promoter would sign off on the number of chair shots to the head it would need to successfully ‘bust someone open’. There is no denying that this is an extreme match, as to my knowledge there have been less than ten of them in WWE history.
The One to Watch
WWE Championship First Blood
John Cena vs JBL – One Night Stand 2008
I Quit
As a bunch, wrestlers are not the humblest of people. So, when you’re going to have to beat one of them pretty bad before they even consider saying ‘I Quit’. This is the basic rule of an I Quit match, to hit your opponent with every move or object you can think of until he can’t take it anymore and begs you to stop. With the current direction of WWE, I Quit matches have essentially become a submission match with a microphone, but back in the attitude era days, this match was the ultimate humiliation for any wrestler.
The One to Watch
WWE Championship I Quit
Mankind (C) vs The Rock – Royal Rumble 1999
Hell in a Cell
I couldn’t have a list of extreme match stipulations without having a Hell in a Cell match in the mix. This is the match that made Mick Foley’s career, so much so it’s still getting talked about 20+ years later. Hell in a Cell was brought in as an alternative to the classic Cage match. Although the Hell in a Cell match doesn’t have rules, you do have to pin your opponent in the ring. Before that, anything can happen. This even includes brawling on the top of the Cell. The craziness of two guys brawling on top of a mesh caged roof, that high up and that unsafe adds a new realm of excitement to this match.
The One to Watch
WWE Championship (Hell in a Cell)
Brock Lesnar (C) vs The Undertaker – No Mercy 2002
(Note: I am fully aware that the most extreme Hell in a Cell match is Mankind vs The Undertaker, but I would be very shocked if you are reading this and have not seen that match. The brutality of Hell in a Cell at No Mercy 2002 is something you rarely see in WWE)
Elimination Chamber
If a Hell in a Cell match is an alternative to the classic cage match, then you would have to call the Elimination Chamber an alternative to Hell in a Cell. If a one-on-one Cell match wasn’t brutal enough, WWE decided to create something completely new where six guys could all get involved, if they were willing to wait their turn in a pod made from bulletproof Plexiglas. The Elimination Chamber match is still around (in a severely diluted state) to this day, but the original few were some of the most intense, brutal and injury-fueled matches of the Ruthless Aggression Era.
The One to Watch
WWE Championship (Elimination Chamber)
Triple H (C) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T vs. Kane – Survivor Series 2002
Honourable Mention Watch List
Here are some more matches that have extreme stipulations that everyone should watch at least once. Enjoy!
Street Fight – WWE Championship: Triple H vs Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble 2002)
Casket – WWE Championship: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (Royal Rumble 1998)
Buried Alive – WWE Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Undertaker (IYH: Rock Bottom 1998)
Inferno – The Undertaker vs Kane (Unforgiven 1998)
TLC – WWE Tag Team Championship: Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz
What’s your favourite Extreme Stipulation? Is it on Tybo’s List? Let us know in the comments below or Tweet us @SLTDWrestling
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