10 Most Controversial Wrestling Match Finishes Ever

With kayfabe as thoroughly decomposed as the last dodo, it's almost impossible in this century to produce an angle which leaves wrestling fans asking: "was that supposed to happen?"

That fact contributed to make the violent conclusion of Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton's SummerSlam marquee match far more controversial than the generally underwhelming bout merited. After ten minutes of standard fare between two performers hare-like in the long-in-the-tooth department, a tiring audience's attention was suddenly alerted to Lesnar bludgeoning 'The Viper's head with the corner of his elbow. A stoppage victory followed, as the conquering 'Beast' stood triumphantly in a pool of his foe's blood.

Such finishes are a rare bird in WWE, and as a result many shocked fans quickly began to speculate that Lesnar had gone into business for himself. Of course, that was exactly what the company hoped - and they'd managed to pull the wool over the eyes like a bandit in a balaclava.

In fact, the outcome was entirely pre-mediated. However, the method itself was equally the cause of controversy: in an era when blading is strictly prohibited on account of its apparent barbarism, how could a man smashing a pointed bone into someone's skull to create the same effect be any safer?

(A cheap, shameless plug: I wrote in depth on the subject of blading safety in Issue 3 of our lovely magazine.)