Every WWE Gimmick Match And The Wrestlers That Defined Them

5. Steel Cage Match - Bret Hart

The Undertaker HIAC
WWE.com

WWE, arguably, has destroyed the old, brutal mystique of the Steel Cage match.

The old premise was as badass as wrestling got: two men enter, one man leaves. WWE has muddied this with the escape element, which necessitates boring climbing and the psychological plot hole that is a babyface escaping from harm, and not brutalising his heel rival.

Wrestling tends to evolve by orders of magnitude. Not so much with WWE's Steel Cage match, the quintessential version of which remains Bret and Owen Hart's masterclass of athleticism and anxiety at SummerSlam 1994. They worked an unworkable stipulation, perfecting the imperfect.

A fitting testament of Bret's timeless genius.

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!