10 Most Death-Defying Matches In Wrestling History
9. The Junkyard Invitational Match (WCW Bash At The Beach 1999)
WCW served-up more than their fair share of daft gimmick matches throughout their existence, but this one might be the most dangerous. Bash At The Beach 1999 saw the bulk of the company’s hardcore division fight in an unprepared junkyard for the sake of winning a trophy. Finlay, William Regal, et al had to scale the yard’s chain link fence and escape to win, but not before beating the tar out of each other first.
This was no sanitized WWE hardcore match, and there wasn’t a single easy-break table or kendo stick to be found. Instead, the competitors spent the best part of 15 minutes denting car hoods, whacking each other with steel parts, and taking countless unprotected headshots.
The worst moment came just a few minutes in, when Public Enemy’s Johnny Grunge decided it’d be a great idea to push a car from its 10ft perch. The tumbling vehicle narrowly missed a handful of gathered wrestlers who’d have been squashed had they not fled in time, but it didn’t end there.
Countless wrestlers left this match with concussions and worse, and it almost ended in disaster. The yard was peppered with flaming bins, and inevitably, a number were tipped over. Finlay knocked one down to prevent others chasing him while he left the junkyard, but it exploded seconds later. Finlay’s reward for winning the match almost included a trip to the burn ward...