With Extreme Rules on the horizon, it seems kind of strange to have a show title that conjures up ideas and visuals of blood and violence in an age of WWE programming that is so opposed to ethos. So, I wanted to take a look back and talk about some of the best and most extreme matches from the vaults of the WWE, and most of them you can find on You Tube or various DVD box-sets. To be clear, I have excluded many gimmick matches like Cage, Hell in a Cell etc. They can compose a number of different lists all together. But, I have opened this up to include hardcore, falls count anywhere or anything else that involves weapons or outside area spots, as these matches are often very much the same idea. And, the list is drawn from the WWE/WWF product not ECW, WCW etc. If you want ultra violence then CZW is the place for you. So, to whet your appetite for WWE Extreme Rules on May 19th, here are 10 of the most extreme matches of all time. Let's get started...
Honourable Mentions
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The first two are here as they are heavily involved with gimmicks. That said, they are very violent matches and deserve a place on the list in some way. The TLC match featuring CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy from Summerslam 2009. The Tag Tem Tables Match from Royal Rumble 2000 featuring The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz. A very entertaining Hardcore Title match from WWE Unforgiven 2001 with Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho. The final prelude entry to my list is the Fatal Four Way Tag Team Ladder Match from WWE Armageddon 2006, for no other reason than injury to Joey Mercury during the match. He suffered a legitimate nose injury after being hit by a ladder, shattering his nose and orbital bone. Matt Hardy told WWE Magazine:
"I'll always remember for what we did to Joey Mercury's face. After the seesaw, I remember hearing him yell, "I'm bleeding," and it was like someone went to a sink and turned the faucet on. It was gruesome."
10. WWE Hardcore Title Match: Rob Van Dam vs. The Undertaker - WWE Vengeance 2001
http://youtu.be/hq4ldSVBwrk Remember when The Undertaker held the Hardcore Title and dominated the division for months? No? Go look it up, it was fantastic. Taker destroyed a series of jobbers and undercard guys interspersed with some top tier matches with guys like RVD. The semi-forgotten Vengeance PPV was an interesting show; it was the show that held the Undisputed Title tournament but also had a number of trial matches, as it was the first post-Invasion show when the WWE was in crisis mode. Out of that era we got some great moments, non more than this hardcore match. If you enjoyed Taker's last few Wrestlemania matches then this is really for you. But Taker was younger, RVD was on form and both had something to prove. It isn't that bloody but it is extreme with some heavy weapon shots and big spots. This is a nice way to kick off the list.