25 Crazy WCW Facts (That Get Progressively More Ridiculous)
8. Somebody Lost A Falls Count Anywhere Match Via Count-Out
The rule of the count-out is simple.
A wrestler cannot spend too long - a count of 10 or in some cases 20 - on the outside. That’s cowardice and bad sportsmanship. Wrestling promoters have taken the piss with this rule over the years, mostly to allow for some crowd-pleasing brawling on the outside, but even then, a competent commentary team will say something like “the referee is being lenient here because these fans paid good money to see a great match”. Nonetheless, the rule is in place for good reason.
The rule is in place to prevent such cheating, but it’s also there to be broken, so that a heel can generate heat. If that seems like a completely redundant, Wikipedia-level explanation of something that you already know, no it isn’t. Some people need to be reminded, and one of them once booked the second biggest wrestling promotion on the entire planet.
The count-out rule does not apply in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The very idea of a Falls Count Anywhere match is to encourage the participants to go wild and have a crazed fight wherever the violence takes them. Definitionally, one cannot be counted out of the ring. It’s the same thing as losing a No Disqualification match by disqualification. It simply cannot happen.
On the December 27, 1999 episode of WCW Nitro, Bam Bam Bigelow was counted out of a Falls Count Anywhere match when Kimberly, terrified of a crowbar-wielding David Flair, asked Bam Bam for his protection.