25 Strangest Places In Which Pro-Wrestling Has Taken Place: Part 2 (15-1)

From backyards to transit stations and nightclubs, pro-wrestling has been found in some peculiar corners of the globe over the years. The reason being professional wrestling, WWE or otherwise, is a dynamic entertainment medium that possesses the unique capacity to adapt to its surroundings, providing a plethora of environments where matches, bouts, clashes and scripted scuffles can take place.

Being unconfined in where it can present itself and entertain an audience, wrestling is potentially unlimited in finding odd yet simultaneously apt settings that act as a backdrop for a particular show's emotional feel.

Here are 15 more of the strangest and weirdest places in which pro-wrestling has taken place. You can find the first ten places here.

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#15 A Saloon

Fest Wrestling is a growing indy promotion in Florida, and apparently, a big part of what they're doing to stand out is promoting shows with a standing-room-only party atmosphere.

Interestingly enough, they've taken this hardcore punk philosophy so seriously that they've booked shows in a saloon in Gainesville called Cowboys. The matches include intergender matches, weapons thrown all over the place and women performers like Su Yung and Veda Scott attacking each other while riding a fully-operational mechanical bull.

#14 A building rooftop

Straight from the horse's mouth via YouTube, "On Sep. 7, 1995, WWE attempted one of its most ambitious productions to date. Shooting a RAW open from atop WWE HQ in Stamford, CT. The concept called for a rooftop party with Superstars battling it out high above the street."

"A crane was enlisted to move ring equipment from the ground level and a helicopter was flown in to capture aerial footage".

Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and Yokozuna were among the stars featured in the episode, and fans in attendance came from the surrounding neighborhoods in Stamford. There were also cheerleaders and a 40-foot inflatable Undertaker. Perhaps the coolest part though was the fact that one of the helicopter shots of the show would go on to be used regularly in the intro to New Generation-era Monday Night Raw.

#13 A biker parking lot

WCW's Hog Wild (1996) and Road Wild (1997-1999) pay-per-views were an odd attempt at breaking with conventional arenas that may have looked interesting to some fans but ended up one of the various bad business decisions that ultimately led to the demise of the company.

WrestleCrap writer Art O'Donnell has publicly criticized the show as a "financial blunder", saying that WCW held "a yearly pay-per-view at a biker rally with zero live gates just because Eric [Bishoff] loves motorcycles". Konnan and Chris Jericho also confirmed on Talk Is Jericho podcast that the shows were totally comped and no money was made at the Sturgis, South Dakota gate since the venue was essentially a public parking lot.

Apparently, the whole point of the event was to allow WCW booker Eric Bischoff to ride around the motorcycle scene in Sturgis flexing in his Harley Davidson. Perhaps Bischoff should have gotten the company to sponsor the event, then it may have made better business sense.

#12 A bar

Austin vs. Funk, nose to nose in a bar in their mutual home state

When the 1997 Royal Rumble took place in San Antonio, WWE ran a special episode of the wild and crazy Shotgun Saturday Night less a day earlier as a prelude. Though the show was heretofore based in New York City, a memorable night was had at local San Antonio bar Denim & Diamonds as Terry Funk debuted, coming down from his ranch in Amarillo, TX trying to get an early start on the Rumble's eve.

Middle-aged and crazy even back then, Funk issued an open challenge which was eventually accepted by fellow Texan Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin, a hot upper midcard prospect in the company at the time, got in a scuffle with Funk as the rowdy crowd roared. By the end of the night, Funk would interrupt Austin's main event match with Goldust and pick another fight, leading to the entire roster of WWF stars coming into the ring from the back for a big barroom brawl before the show went off the air.

Lest we also forget the barroom brawl between the Bossman and Al Snow at Summerslam 1999. Fighting in Minneapolis for the now defunct Hardcore Title (which stipulated a 24 hour, falls call anywhere rule), Snow and the former Ray Trailer took to the streets before entering a bar near the Target Center arena where the match started.

After trying to pin each other right on the sidewalk then making their way through the bar's bathroom, Snow would end up nailing a moonsault onto a pool table and making the Bossman take pool balls straight to where the sun don't shine. Since the match location was perfectly legal under Hardcore Title rules, referee Teddy Long willfully counted the 1-2-3 right on a pool table and Snow was declared the winner.

#11 Outdoors in the snow

Keeping with Al Snow and the Hardcore Title, the battered-looking ECW knockoff belt was once defended on an episode of Monday Night Raw against the Road Dogg. After making their way to the backstage area of a Massachusetts arena in what until then seemed like a routine match, the two Attitude Era stars made a special moment when they took it to streets and literally began fighting in the snow!

The image of an intense fight going down outside in 20-degree weather as large snowflakes made it look like a winter wonderland undoubtedly created some childhood memories for fans in attendance and watching on their televisions at home that night (YouTube comments for the video from older nostalgic fans are pretty much confirmation).

#10 An Airport

Another dominant Hardcore Title champion was Bob Holly mini-me Crash Holly, who once was attacked in the middle of Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey by the preppy Greenwich, Connecticut "street gang" known as the Mean Street Posse; a group of sweater vest-wearing trust fund babies closely associated with Shane McMahon.

After stable member Pete Gas pinned Holly and won the title, he was almost immediately deposed as champion when Crash recovered, nailed Gas with a large weight scale and recovered his title (the Hardcore title was stipulated as having 24 hour rules where as long as a referee was around, impromptu title bouts could happen anywhere at a moment's notice).

After recovering his prized title possession, Holly hilariously grabbed his suitcase and ran atop a conveyor belt through baggage check to make his grand escape.

#9 A storefront

Beyond Wrestling, which boasts the most-viewed YouTube channel of any indy promotion, made the oddball choice to book some of their shows in an unidentified retail storefront. As entertaining as is to watch the promotion, basing your events in a standing-room-only space that's probably better suited for selling fastfood or pharmacy prescriptions is rather peculiar.

At least the promotions subdivision Women's Wrestling Revolution proudly features some of the hottest female talents on the independent scene, but still, seeing the double glass doors in the foreground of what probably used to be a bodega or gift shop (and might one again at some point) is odd.

#8 A public street

In the Massachusetts town of North Attleboro, Showcase Pro Wrestling put on a 5-match card in the middle of the street as part of the North Attleboro DANA Street Party. Though far from the only indy event to take place as part of a street fair, we thought this was the best example of the odd outdoor events staged by local promotions on shoestring budget trying to build crowds by placing their show in the middle of a pedestrian plaza or square. At least the kids in attendance appeared to be entertained and the match itself wasn't half bad (for a local indie show).

#7 A camping site

Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), a Japan-based indy fed perhaps best known for featuring Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi's comedy-style wrestling, has a habit of booking matches in the strangest of places.

Tagged as "Street Wrestling" on the company's DDT Universe streaming service, the comedic anywhere matches have taken place in the wackiest of environments, perhaps most famously at a campsite where several of the company's stars, including Omega, Ibushi and Sami Zayn (as El Generico) staged an epic multi-man match at a campsite.

Who would have thought that several guys who'd go on to be huge stars in the much bigger (and largely serious) New Japan Pro Wrestling and WWE promotions would start off with goofy gimmick matches that included throwing turtles at each other, fighting on kayaks down a river stream, and ramming a piece of lumber into their opponents crotch.

#6 A train

Once again we find ourselves in Japan for the craziest of crazy when it comes to wrestling match locations. This time it's a moving train with real passengers aboard.

During the 2015 edition of the annual Nagai City Iris festival in the Yamagata prefecture, the Yamagata Railway Company decided they wanted to celebrate the festival in a different way for once, and did so by inviting 10 professional wrestlers to come battle on the local Flower Nagai Line, 8 of them representing Michinoku Pro along two special guests. Whoever survived until the train completed its route would be declared the winner.

#5 A Supermarket

In one of the most comically infamous fights in WWE history, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Booker T brawled in the middle of a grocery store for approximately six minutes during a December 2001 episode of Smackdown.

Though not an official match with a referee in tow or 3-count finish, the lengthy fight was a highly amusing and totally memorable moment during the waning portion of the Attitude Era. It was absolutely golden to watch these two top stars being Irish whipped into a display of oranges, dousing each other with Grey Poupon and enriched flour, then taking a beer break mid-fight before resuming in the back warehouse area.

Some have criticized this segment for its one-sidedness and wish Booker had been allowed to get more offense in (and this writer is very much inclined to agree) but that aside, you can't take away from the sheer entertainment value provided by this simulated act of grocery aggression.

#4 A Battleship

The day after Independence Day 1993, WWE (then WWF) aired an episode of Monday Night Raw from the permanently-docked USS Intrepid in New York City in order to celebrate America's belated birthday. By far the most famous segment during the show was the Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge where a number of wrestlers and guest NBA/NFL athletes attempted to be the first to lift then-WWF champion Yokozuna and slam him as a tribute to their country.

Naturally, this role would, of course, be given to the All-American bodybuilder Lex Luger whose thinly-veiled xenophobic promo before slamming the not-so-Japanese Sumo wrestler might seem excessive in 2018, but was perfect for yielding high-fives and nationalistic pride among the ecstatic crowd in attendance in 1993.

#4 A Walmart

Price check near that turnbuckle

One user on Reddit's Squared Circle subforum noted this as the most MURICA thing ever, and it's hard to disagree. This unidentified indie show, which apparently took place in the state of Georgia as part of a charity fund drive, featured a misplaced headlock and an unprofessional-looking referee with blue jeans and an untucked shirt on.

The match still managed to attract a small crowd of local onlookers, as fans got the privilege of watching these spandex-clad athletes slam and pummel each other whilst in the middle of their retail trip, shopping for groceries, clothing, electronics and housewares. The most ironic part of all is that this event went down at Walmart, perhaps best known as the indie killer.

#2 The Smithsonian

Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell once had a match at the Smithsonian's music concert hall for the cultural institutions Lonesome Pine Specials. The two famous Southern wrestlers, neither of them known for having high-brow musical tastes (and Jarrett known specifically for singing low-rent country music), literally had a routine match in a standard-sized ring as musician Walter Mays conducted a percussion orchestra in the background.

Jarrett would go on to win the match with a sunset flip rollup but the orchestra's number ended almost simultaneously, making it unclear whether the cheering audience were rooting for the wrestlers or the musicians. This is hilariously bizarre.

#1 A cave

Ryukyu Dragon Wrestling held a 2015 live event so strange that makes it to the top of our list. The Japanese indy promotion really, seriously put on a wrestling show in a cave. Referring to the show as a "trial" in Japanese on their Twitter page, RDW staged a small, underground show that was quite literally underground in Okinawa Prefecture's Gangala Valley.

Though we aren't aware of the quality of the actual wrestling, I think it's safe to say that the show must have been worth a ticket purchase just for the setting alone. I mean, come on...they did a wrestling show in a freakin' real life cave! One that looks like Bruce Wayne's Batmobile garage. How strangely cool is that?

Imagine how a knife-edged chop sounds in here?