6 concept matches from Extreme Rules that didn't work

#3 Tag Team Country Whipping Match

Introducing a new concept match with people that weren't wrestlers was never going to work

If there is one rule about introducing a new concept match, it's that the people competing in it should be reputable wrestlers. The first ever Hell in a Cell match was between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match was contested by The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian.

In the case of the first ever Tag Team Country Whipping match at Extreme Rules 2011, the WWE went in a complete different direction as it was between the tag teams of Jack Swagger and Michael Cole against Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.

If you take into consideration that two of the participants in this match (Cole and Ross) weren’t wrestlers, and Lawler was over sixty years old and his heyday was well and truly behind him, this match was set out to be a disaster from the start.

Whilst this match also involves a strap, there are fundamental differences between a tag team country whipping match and a strap match. This includes the fact that each wrestler has their own strap and they have to win by pinfall or submission rather than touching all four corners of the ring.

Unsurprisingly, this match has only appeared once at Extreme Rules and considering the match was hardly a memorable one, it would be a shock to the WWE Universe if it ever comes back again.