As the Extreme Rules pay-per-view – scheduled for May 22 – draws nearer, today’s WWE superstars will certainly start ramping up their hardcore skill sets to provide the biggest moments for the fans.
The WWE has certainly been home its fair share of these moments, especially in past eras when a higher level of blood and extreme content was acceptable. Here are the top 10 such moments, chosen for their iconic nature in the history of the sport, and not all of them happened during a match.
Shane jumps off the cell
Yes, this just happened in April. Yes, Shane McMahon actually missed the Undertaker, which cost him the match essentially. But McMahon’s leap from the top of the cage during his Hell in a Cell match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 deserves mentioning.
First of all, Shane is 46 years old, much older than most people choosing to throw their bodies from 20 feet in the air onto a table. On top of that, it was truly a shocking moment in an era that has been less extreme despite having multiple extreme events each year.
Broken ring
Sometimes, extreme things happen during normal matches, and that can make them all the more memorable. That’s exactly what happened on an episode of SmackDown in June 2003 during a match between Brock Lesnar and Big Show.
The two big men, whose total weight could be nearly 800 pounds depending on whom you believe in a given year, climbed to the top rope. Once there, Lesnar went for a superplex on Big Show that brought the men and the ring crashing down. Big Show has since admitted the spot was planned, but it’s still a memorable one.
WrestleMania 17 finish
When WrestleMania 17 took place in 2001, the WWE was perhaps at its most extreme, and the main event for that show was a showcase for that. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin squared off in a classic that was as much a bar fight as a wrestling match.
The two men used a variety of finishers, including each other’s, and broke out the weapons in a “no disqualification” match that left both men bloody. Further, Vince McMahon came out to help Austin get some shots in with a chair before winning the belt and joining forces with the boss.
Shane off the stage set
Shane McMahon might seem like an odd choice to get two spots on this list, but really, he deserves it. Even as a part-time wrestler generally seen as more of a sideshow than a main attraction, the chairman’s kid knows how to put on a show.
At SummerSlam in 2000, Shane defended his Hardcore Championship against Steve Blackman. Shane lost his belt, but only after taking a fall from an incredible height off a set piece near the stage area. Shane may actually be a crazy person.
Stephanie kidnapped
One of the many subtle iterations of the Undertaker’s character was a downright devilish dark lord of sorts. At the same time, before she was a scheming Authority figure, Stephanie McMahon was the wholesome teenaged daughter of Vince McMahon.
That led to a storyline where Undertaker sought to kidnap Stephanie, even tying her to his crucifix-like symbol for a dark wedding ceremony that would’ve granted him power over the company. That’s a different breed of extreme programming altogether.
Triple H-Shawn Michaels Bad Blood
Triple H and Shawn Michaels have spent most of their time in WWE as friends, but the two men have also have plenty of feuds. One of them led to a wild match inside a cell at Bad Blood 2004.
The name of the event turned out to be very fitting, as “The Game” and the “Heartbreak Kid” went through an incredibly lengthy, brutal match. In the end, Triple H came out on top, leaving his once and future best friend in a bloody heap in the ring.
Austin beer truck
Stone Cold Steve Austin loves beer. In his prime, Stone Cold Steve Austin also loved terrorizing the McMahons and their associates. So it only made sense that at some point, Austin would find a way to mix those two interests.
In March 1999, he did just that, cornering Vince and Shane McMahon in the ring, along with Corporate WWE Champion The Rock, by driving a beer truck into the arena and dousing the three men with a beer hose, if that’s even something that exists.
Buried Alive
Among his many accomplishments in the WWE, the Undertaker gets at least partial credit for bringing about or popularizing several extreme match variations. That includes Hell in a Cell, Inferno, Casket and Buried Alive matches.
The first Buried Alive match took place in October 1996 at In Your House, with Undertaker squaring off against nemesis Mankind. Undertaker got the eventual victory, but not before the two men beat each other throughout the ring area and grave site.
Spear off the ladder
The tag division often took center stage when it came to extreme programming during the WWE’s Attitude Era, thanks in large part to Edge and Christian, the Hardys and the Dudleys. Those three teams made hardcore tag matches a regular occurrence.
That was, perhaps, never truer than WrestleMania 17, when the six men entered the ring for a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the tag titles held by the Dudley Boyz. Edge and Christian came out on top, but only after Edge leapt off a 20-foot ladder to spear Jeff Hardy, who had been dangling from the belts hanging over the ring.
Foley through the cell
When it comes to extreme moments in the WWE, one match is the gold standard. That match is the Hell in a Cell match between Undertaker and Mankind at King of the Ring in 1998.
The match was full of wild moments, including Mick Foley taking a fall off the side of the cell just to return to the top of the cell to face Undertaker once more. That led to Foley getting choke slammed through the cell to the ring below, which made Undertaker think he may have severely injured his opponent, or worse.
Later, Foley would end up getting slammed on thumbtacks and both men received standing ovations, but it was the drop through the cell that set this match apart.
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