'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
With the 2018 WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view on the horizon, we can expect plenty of stipulations to be added to the eight matches that have already been announced for this year’s event.
Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news
So far, only two of the scheduled encounters on 15 July have been given a stipulation – Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (Extreme Rules match) and Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins (Ironman match) – but history dictates that roughly 4-5 matches will take place under different rules at the upcoming PPV.
Since the Extreme Rules series began in 2009, fans have been treated to all kinds of crazy match types on the one night of the year where WWE goes ‘extreme’, ranging from a battle between Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho in an ‘Asylum’ in 2016 to a rather forgettable Kendo stick-on-a-pole match between Alexa Bliss and Bayley in 2017.
As the stipulations get more creative, for better or for worse, the number of unorthodox weapons used at Extreme Rules events continue to get more and more dangerous as the years progress.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at five of the most extreme weapons that have been used in the PPV’s nine-year history.
#5 Flaming table
After Daniel Bryan overcame The Authority to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton at WrestleMania 30, he was immediately targeted by former Team Hell No tag partner Kane.
Their heated rivalry, which involved “The Big Red Machine” hitting D-Bry with three tombstones on the same episode of Raw in April 2014, led to an Extreme Rules match between the former Tag Team champions at the Extreme Rules PPV.
The match is probably best remembered for Bryan’s incredible diving headbutt from the top of a forklift truck, but the spot where “The Leader of the Yes Movement” sent his opponent through a flaming table at ringside was just as impressive (02:54 on the video below).
#4 Sledgehammer
As a 14-time world champion and the patriarch of the increasingly successful NXT brand, it’s clear for everyone to see that Triple H is a pretty smart man inside and outside the wrestling ring.
However, he didn’t make such a smart move at the 2013 Extreme Rules PPV when, in a steel cage main event against Brock Lesnar, he sneakily hid a sledgehammer in the corner of the cage and brought it out towards the end of the match, with the full intention of doing some damage to his beastly opponent.
Instead, it was Lesnar who used the weapon to his advantage, landing a heavy blow to the jaw of “The Game” before connecting with an F5 to pick up the win (20:08 on the video below).
#3 Ladder
Unlike a decade or two ago, WWE fans have now seen so many ladder matches in their wrestling-watching lifetime that it’s difficult for a one-on-one ladder match to truly meet expectations these days.
However, Jeff Hardy and Edge succeeded in meeting, and exceeding, expectations when they headlined the inaugural Extreme Rules PPV in 2009, with Jeff emerging with the win before quickly losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Money In The Bank holder CM Punk.
The match featured plenty of exciting moments, but the one extreme use of a weapon that really stood out came relatively early on in the match when Jeff balanced a ladder upside down against the ropes and slammed Edge’s body against it with a front-first suplex (01:14 on the video below).
#2 Thumbtacks
In modern-day WWE, it’s rare that matches involve something as legitimately dangerous as thumbtacks – but that’s exactly what Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho used when they took their Asylum match to a whole new level at Extreme Rules 2016.
Ambrose introduced the tacks towards the end of the match. Then, after several moments where both Superstars were perilously close to falling on them, “The Lunatic Fringe” shoved Y2J back-first against the tacks following a failed attempt at a Codebreaker (06:34 on the video below).
The Shield member went on to pick up the win with a Dirty Deeds, while Jericho spent the rest of the night getting 69 tacks removed from his body.
#1 Steel chain
One of the most memorable matches in Extreme Rules history took place in 2012 when Brock Lesnar made his long-awaited WWE return to face John Cena.
Towards the end of one of the bloodiest WWE matches in recent years, Cena struck Lesnar in the head with a steel chain on the ring apron before connecting with an AA onto the steel steps to pick up the victory.
The whole match is worth a watch, but you can check out the finish, including the steel chain spot, below (06:55).
Send us news tips at [email protected]
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
