10 Greatest Cage Matches On The WWE Network

10. Val Venis vs Rikishi - Fully Loaded 2000

It’s a testament to the sheer star power of the Attitude Era that two perennial midcarders like Rikishi and Val Venis could have a feud for the Intercontinental Title hot enough to necessitate a definitive clash in the steel cage. Their programme is somewhat forgotten amongst the madness of the day, but these are two great hands who understand their characters and put on an underrated gem of a match.

They’re far from the biggest stars on the card, but Venis and Rikishi are given plenty of time and both demonstrate that they really know how to work. Val’s in-ring chops were often hidden by his badly dated character, and Rikishi’s speed and agility remains a truly exciting spectacle.

And then there’s the splash. The big Samoan - whom Jerry Lawler is at pains to tell you will never be able to scale the cage - reaches the top of the structure, turns, and with a look of real doubt on his face, hurls himself off it onto the prone Venis. It’s perfectly executed but looks utterly terrifying, showing incredible trust on the part of Val who can do nothing but lie there and take it.

Worth the price of admission for that alone.