10 Times WWE Gambled On A New Gimmick Match

7. Lion's Den

Kennel From Hell
WWE.com

The Lion's Den was consistent with an era in which the company attempted to get characters over, and not identical scipts.

It was created to further get Ken Shamrock over as a legitimate killer. This was a sports entertainment shoot-style match, the titular structure a hybrid wrestling/MMA cage in material and shape, allowing the customary face-grating to mesh with Shamrock's dangerous submission prowess. It was inspired, as was the original location; held in the Madison Square Garden theatre, the roaring intimacy conveyed something approaching a bloodsport atmosphere.

More painful than entertaining - the canvas had less give than the cage - the worked nature nonetheless allowed Shamrock to sprint up and jump off the walls, crashing into Owen Hart with a spectacular kick with the sort of manoeuvre that is electric, on the rare occasion it happens in the octagon.

The match wasn't blow-away fantastic, and it didn't propel Shamrock further up the card, but it remains a creative, welcome, fun and different midcard diversion, the likes of which made the Attitude Era endlessly fascinating.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!