5 Best Wrestling Matches of 2006

4. Edge vs. Mick Foley – Hardcore Match – WrestleMania 22

This match is not for the faint of heart. It features incredible violence, tons of blood, and enough carnage that might make some people turn away from wrestling. You’ve been warned.

At this point in time, Edge was furious at Mick Foley, blaming the Hardcore Legend for his recent WWE title loss. Edge wanted to brutalize Foley, and decided to beat him at his own game on the grandest stage of them all.

This match makes the list for the unbelievable lengths to which two men (and one woman) went to tell a story and entertain the audience. Clearly intended to appeal directly to a more mature audience, this match featured some of the most violent things ever seen in a WWE ring.

In the span of fourteen minutes, we got to see, among other things: a cooking sheet get smashed into a wrestler’s head three times; a hip toss into steel stairs; Foley doing his clothesline out of the ring with Lita on his back; a traditional piledriver (which had been banned in WWE since at least 2003); a barbed wire 2x4 being smashed into both Edge’s and Foley’s faces; a Mr. Socko Mandible Claw with barbed wire wrapped around the sock to both Edge and Lita; and the most horrifying wrestling spot of the entire year.

Edge immortalized himself as one of the craziest wrestlers in WWE history by spearing Foley out of the ring and THROUGH A FLAMING TABLE.

Let me repeat that: HE SPEARED A MAN INTO FIRE!!

That takes both dedication and bravery to do. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, then, that Edge became such a top star in WWE afterwards. He proved his willingness to sacrifice himself for his craft, which is nothing short of praiseworthy.