WWE In the land of Extreme: Part III

In the previous two articles of this series, we have gone through the men and the matches which have made Hardcore wrestling an integral part of the sport and the prime source of entertainment for the not-so-religious fans of professional wrestling. In the third and concluding part, we look back at a few unforgettable moments, which come to the mind every time ‘extreme rules’ is talked about.

1. Brock Lesnar & Big Show: Too big for the ring!! (SmackDown 2003):

It was Goliath vs Goliath on SmackDown as the largest athlete in the world, The Big Show collided with The Next Big Thing, Brock Lesnar in a No-Disqualification match. These two had a storied rivalry which was going on for more than six months, and included an intense Stretcher Match at SummerSlam that year. But defining moment of their rivalry came on SmackDown, when Lesnar tried a superplex on Show off the top rope. The SmackDown ring could not handle the impact of 800 pounds coming down on it at such a velocity, and for the first (and only) time in the history of professional wrestling, the ring collapsed under the force of a superplex.

2. 20-foot high spear (TLC II: WrestleMania XVII):

Going Down in a Blaze of Glory!!

The reason the TLC matches would forever be remembered by the fans would be due to the moments like this, which wouldn’t have been possible in any other type of wrestling contest. The three greatest tag teams of all time, the Dudleys, the Hardys and Edge & Christian were battling for the coveted WWE tag team championships. Jeff Hardy almost won the title for his team as he caught hold of one of the belts, only to have the ladder removed from under his legs by Bubba Ray Dudley. Edge, the ultimate opportunist that he is, decided to turn the situation into a career-defining moment by fgetting up on a 20-foot ladder himself and spearing Hardy in mid-air. This moment is the first to come to anyone’s mind whenever TLC or Edge is spoken of.

3. 6-man Hell In A Cell (Armageddon 2001):

If the Cell ever lived up to its reputation as the Devil’s Playground, it was on this night as Kurt Angle, Rikishi, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker collided in a battle of epic proportions. The match was an ensemble of real hardcore wrestling manouvres, which spanned all across the arena (even the Cell was not big enough for six warriors of such calibre). But the moment that made this match a part of history came towards the end, when The Undertaker Choke-Slammed Rikishi from the top of the Cell (similar to what he had done to Mick Foley a year earlier). Truly unforgettable.

4. The flaming spear (WrestleMania XXII):

Mick Foley’s great WrestleMania moment, which had eluded him throughout his career, came finally at WrestleMania XXII, but not exactly in the way he wanted it to. At the end of a brutal No Holds Barred match against Edge, he was speared through a burning table by his opponent. It was reported later on that he suffered second degree burns after the incident.

5. Big-Time Attitude Adjustment (One Night Stand 2007):

John Cena has shown several unbelievable feats of strength throughout his career as a pwrestler, but on this particular night, he did the unthinkable. Cena lifted the over 400-pound Punjabi Monester, The Great Khali up on his shoulders and took him down with a huge Attitude Adjustment. What made the whole thing worth mentioning in this articles was the fact that all this happened on the top of a crane (used for the pyro adjustments)!! Not only did Cena retain the WWE Championship, he won the respect of the entire locker room and the WWE Universe.