Once upon a time, the handicap match was designed specifically for the larger than life guys. Andre The Giant, Haystacks Calhoun, King Kong Bundy and other big guys of that stature; they were the ones who would sometimes find themselves in 3-on-1 matches against local, normally unheard of talent, also known as "jobbers."
Fans would go crazy over these matches. The older eras would make a lot of money off of these matches, which at that time, were sort of out of the box, so to speak. It simply wasn't the normal one on one contest and that fact alone was a major selling point at a time when everything was mostly structured towards the everyday, cookie cutter contests.
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Throughout the years as professional wrestling has evolved, the handicap match has turned into more of a tool authority figures can and are using as a disciplinary type of match.
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Essentially, when someone such like Stephanie McMahon doesn't get her way, or they don't get something they want, they'll just throw the babyface into some sort of handicap match.
In this article, we will take a look at 5 handicap matches where the underdog found found a way to defeat multiple opponents in one match. These are the top 5 handicap match victories.
#5 DEMOLITION def. THE POWERS OF PAIN & MR. FUJI
Wrestlemania V April 2, 1989
There had to be at least one pick from The Golden Era.
Wrestlemania V took place at Trump Plaza. Most of the attention centered around Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, but there were several undercard bouts worth mentioning, including this one.
The storyline leading up to this encounter was extremely compelling. Mr. Fuji had turned on Demolition, several months earlier at the 1988 Survivor Series and joined forces with The Powers of Pain, this resulted in a double turn.
Demolition had now become a monstrous babyface duo, while The Powers of Pain turned heel, with Fuji in their corner.
For months, Demolition and The Powers of Pain had an intense rivalry. Finally, everything had reached a boiling point and the score was settled on the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania.
The match itself wasn't a very long match and it didn't feature many memorable spots. It was a basic brawl for respect . It was a classic tale of good versus bad, to show the world who the dominant tag team was and in the end, The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji made one too many errors, costing them the win.
#4 CM PUNK def. RYBACK & PAUL HEYMAN
2013 TLC October 27, 2013
The betrayal felt by CM Punk leading up to this match, is what fed the angle what it needed in order to make it a good story. Punk, the former Paul Heyman Guy, sought revenge against his former advocate for costing him the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
In the weeks leading up to this payoff contest, Heyman played a series of cat and mouse games, trying to get under Punks skin, with the intention of costing Punk the match at TLC. After all, there was no way Heyman was going to let his former client get his hands on him.
Once the bell rang at TLC, Punk took care of business against Ryback and then shifted his attention towards the cowardly Paul Heyman, who awaited Punk like an animal facing his imminent slaughter.
Once Punk made it to the top of the cell structure, there was nowhere for Heyman to go. At last, he had to meet his reward for stabbing his former client in the back. Punk finished the job by whipping Paul Heyman with a Kendo stick for several minutes.
However, I'm certain it seemed like an eternity for Heyman.
#3 NATALYA def. LAY-COOL (Layla & Michelle McCool)
2010 Survivor Series: November 21, 2010
While the match itself wasn't a very long contest, it was exciting and included a surprise return.
Michelle McCool was the official Divas Champion, having won the title at Night of Champions, just a couple of months prior in a unique Lumberjill match. She became the unified champion, since the company merged the women's championship with the newly introduced Divas title.
Together with Layla, they became the inseparable team known as Lay-Cool.
At Survivor Series, Natalya had, at last, got the opportunity to challenge for the Divas Championship. As soon as the bell rang, Nattie went on the offensive and never let up.
When it was all said and done, Natalya captured her first Divas title.
However, Layla and McCool wanted revenge and attempt to ambush the newly crowned champ. Unfortunately for them, Beth Phoenix decided to make a return and Natalya ended up bucking the odds.
#2 THE UNDERTAKER def. BROCK LESNAR & BIG SHOW
Smackdown: October 23, 2003
There are wrestling matches and then there are earth shaking, jaw-jolting battles. I'll let you guess which of those this particular match falls under.
During this time, Smackdown was enjoying some of its better years. Despite the fact that the Attitude Era had come and gone, the Blue Brand remained relevant, because of the quality of powerhouse talent on the roster.
By this time, Taker had been given his fair share of handicap bouts. The American Badass was nearly unbeatable at this point in time, but for whatever reason, the powers that be felt the need to attempt to break him.
This match was undoubtedly the toughest match The Undertaker had faced up to this point and both monsters took him to the limit. Lesnar and Show both tried and quite frankly, nearly succeeded.
But in the end, experience prevailed over brute force, and The Deadman rode his Harley into victory lane.
#1 CM PUNK def. THE SHIELD
2013 TLC: December 15, 2013
CM Punk had just finished an intense feud with The Wyatt Family.
However, The Shield had been laying and waiting for Punk and when he was done with Bray Wyatt and his ruthless henchmen, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins took their opportunity.
Punk wasn’t sure why these ambushes were happening. Finally, he realized this was all a result of his defiance against Triple H and The Authority. Punk refused to cave into their demands and after calling them out, he was awarded with a handicap match against all three members of The Shield at the TLC pay-per-view.
Early in the match, it appeared that The Shield just offered entirely too much for Punk to overcome. However, Punk stuck to his game plan and began picking off the members, one by one.
In the closing minutes of the match, Reigns goes after Punk with a spear, but Punk side-steps, forcing Roman to nail his own partner, Ambrose with the big spear. Punk took advantage of the misdirection, then pinned Ambrose for the huge upset win.
