10 Weirdest WWE Matches Ever
1. Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Henry O. Godwinn - Arkansas Hog Pen Match (In Your House: Seasons Beatings)
The Arkansas Hog Pen Match was the WWF's attempt at winning the hearts of the common man, by giving snooty blue blood Hunter Hearst Helmsley his overdue comeuppance. Helmsley had reigned undefeated, and used it to project a sense of arrogance.
The reasoning was sound. Everybody - and wrestling fans, long scorned for their hobby of choice, are certainly no exception - hates the elite. Except perhaps the elite themselves. Regardless, this was the WWF's new way of tapping into the classic theme it had use to enrich the legendary Jake Roberts Vs. Ted DiBiase feud five years prior. But where that was cerebral - Roberts had promised to make DiBiase wallow in the muck of his own avarice - this was depressingly on-the-nose. Helmsley was to literally wallow in the muck.
The action before the inevitable slopping was basic, filler lacking the intended suspense. The future Triple H tried his best, landing an elbow drop from the hog fence, but it was in vain. He could have smashed Henry O. Godwinn with a 630 splash, and it still wouldn't have elevated the match beyond lowbrow comedy.
With both competitors finishing the match smeared in cr*p, it was a fitting visual metaphor the state in which the WWF found itself at the time.