10 Strange WWE Gimmick Matches

9. Sumo Match

Big Show Sumo
WWE.com

While this match type did not end up with a wrestler kissing another wrestler’s butt, the rear end of a wrestler did factor into this bout, due to the match garb.

At WrestleMania 21, Big Show moved into the “special attraction” phase of his WWE career, competing in a sumo match against Sumo Grand Champion Akebono. For the bout, the ring ropes were removed and a traditional round sumo ring was set up inside the squared circle. To their credit, the announcers attempted to explain a lot of the pre-match traditions and the strategy and rules behind the bout.

But when Big Show removed his robe to reveal his sumo mawashi, which showed off a lot of his derriere, all pretense of this being a serious competition melted away. And in a matter of seconds, the match was over, with Akebono defeating Show in the first – and only – sumo match in WWE PPV history.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.