What does a non-sanctioned WWE match mean?

The Architect v/s The Game

When the protege is humiliated by the guru, things are bound to get bad.

Does it ring a bell? Yes, it does. Not so long ago, Seth Rollins was one of Triple H’s trusted confederates, when he turned heel at his behest, going against the other members of The Shield.

Rollins was one of The Game’s most prized acquisitions that he poached from the renegade faction and under his tutelage, Rollins won the Money in the Bank competition and cashed in at WrestleMania 31 to become the World Heavyweight Champion (and later lay claim to the Superstar of the Year Slammy Award).

An injury layoff forced Rollins to relinquish his title. His return coincided with the dissolution of The Authority and he returned as merely a shadow of his former self, winning and losing the title in a span of two minutes and failing to win the Universal Championship.

Also read: WWE News: Stephanie McMahon says that Triple H will end Seth Rollins’ career at WrestleMania 33

And you know how things go with Triple H once he loses faith in someone...

Cut to the chase, Rollins aka The Architect got tangled in an uneasy Mexican stand-off with Triple H and the situation escalated to a boiling point.

Despite having an injured knee, Rollins wanted a piece of his former liege at WrestleMania 33 and the only way Triple H was going to acquiesce to it, was if if it was to be a ‘non-sanctioned’ match.

A brutal war of words

So, what exactly is the non-sanctioned stipulation?

It means is that the wrestling organisation claims zero responsibility (kayfabe) for the participants and their safety; in short an “anything goes, No Holds Barred” match. The winner is decided when the referee decides to intervene in the match and break it up, meaning two men enter the ring and only one of them leaves by his own power!

WWE fans might recall a match of similar stipulation when Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho faced off at Unforgiven 2008. The match ended with Jericho laying motionless after the savage beatings that HBK administered on him (what a heel turn that was for the Heartbreak Kid!)

Coming back to the match between The Game and The Architect, Seth signed a “hold harmless” agreement that cleared him for the match. Triple H added fuel to the fire by kicking a conference table to Rollins’ weakened knee.

It’s left to be seen what will transpire when both men put everything on the line, Sunday, at the grandest stage of them all!


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