10 Most Ambitious Wrestling Matches Of All Time

8. The Blacktop Bully Vs. Dustin Rhodes - WCW Uncensored 1995

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WWE Network

WCW Uncensored was a proto-Extreme Rules experiment.

A noble disaster fondly remembered as a so-bad-it’s-good sh*t-show, the first match of the evening barely warrants inclusion here, because the very word “ambitious” suggests something achievable—if the application matches the concept .

This was never going to work as an engaging pro wrestling contest, nor even a bad one. WCW asked two performers to construct a wrestling match while in transit. This was a LOLWCW idea, in that an unworkable, terrible idea was A) conceived, somehow B) discussed, C) not immediately rejected with a Jim Neidhart-sized cackle, D) actually approved and E) actually made it to air…

…in heavily edited form, because the hardway blood inevitable in a match that literally drove skin into metal contravened company policy.

The match drew F ratings, likely because the very first physical exchange—Rhodes, striving to win the match by honking a horn on an 18-wheeler, was met mid-climb with a forearm to the balls—saw the dastardly Bully fall backwards onto his a*se. Generating meaningful heat was impossible; even if a tour bus of fans watched along, they’d have pissed themselves. Wrestling was impossible.

Standing up was impossible.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!