Bring back the blue!!

[Jonno]

I just finished watching Owen vs Bret at SummerSlam 94 (for about the 50th time) and starting wondering if the big, blue cage could work in wrestling today. Personally I'd love to see it again and think it would freshen up cage matches. The cage itself is much stiffer than the steel mesh and physically looks a lot more punishing and is also much quicker to climb, possibly making for faster paced and more brutal cage matches.

If the WWE did bring back the old school blue cage, what would people think and could it work in wrestling today?

 

[S prince]

totallly agree. i used to love watching the cage matches as a kid. and the blue cages make wrestlers more susceptible to getting their feet or legs caught in the cage due to the wider openings. the fence type cage should just be used for hell in a cell purposes only. one of my favorite cage matches was hogan vs the big boss man. after hogan won he knocked out bossman's manager Slick, and put his hat on and posed with it. great memory of mine

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I agree they should bring back the old cages. The new cage matches have been watered down too much. They have pin falls now and the cage looks like a garden fence. I also think the cage matches back in the day were better hyped. Nowadays they are just used for TV and PPV fillers.

 

[Slyfox696]

I was a big fan of the blue cage as well...

However, it just wasn't a good construction. It wasn't sturdy, it was heavy as hell, very difficult to put up, hurt like a mother fucker, and just really wasn't a good cage for wrestling. Which is why they did away with it.

There were some storyline advantages, but not enough to overcome the real life disadvantages. So, I have no problem with not ever seeing it again.

 

[huntmaster86]

I loved the big blue cage! If someone is thrown into it, it actually looked like it hurt! Also it looks significantly easier to climb meaning more arial moves. I'm all for it, and love the idea. (I've just read the rest of what Jonno wrote and realised I just repeated it...well nevermind...)

the mesh cage worked for the attitude era i think because it matched the style of the time, but now the elimination chamber walls look a lot harsher, and it just takes away any point in there being a cage match.

Only reasons I can see them not using it are that it'll be quite expensive to make/repair/replace and also it must be a pain in the arse to move, (it didn't look like it could be broken up too much) but then again they do have huge trucks so it all works.

Great suggestion though man!

 

[Flava Flav's PMing Bitch]

I like most people really did love the blue cage. I hated it when they started using that mesh cage, it just didn't look like it would hurt all that much, not compare to the blue steel. though I never really cared for the blue color of it, thought it looked a little too cartoony, but I'd like to see the blue cage return just a different color.

And hey wasn't there a time when the only way to win a cage match was to climb over the top?

 

[markmeout]

For us wrestling fan's who remeber the blue cage it's awesome and we want it back for retro purposes. On the other hand the casual wrestling fan will not understand the importance of the blue cage and just think that it is cheap and tacky. Sad truth..

 

[JJohns]

If I remember correctly, the only reason that the "Big Blue" cage was ever introduced was because they wanted to have a cage that would "believably" support King Kong Bundy's weight at Wrestlemania 2. You look at any of the cage matches prior to that, and it's in the steel mesh.

The selling point with the Chain Link style of cage was the fact that the steel mesh could tear into a wrestler's flesh, plus is more realistic looking. With so many of the other things that were brought into wrestling from MMA, I highly doubt that a return of Big Blue will ever happen.

 

[Sean Valjean]

The blue cage was a bit cooler. It looked easier to do spots on and actually looked like it hurt, unlike the mesh cage now.

I think they should mix to two different cages together. It'd have the walls of the blue cage cage, but have that platform on top that the mesh cage has. Sounds weird, but if they can make the elimination chamber, I'm sure they could build this. Also, paint the whole thing black instead of that bright blue to make it look cooler.

 

[The Brain]

For us wrestling fan's who remeber the blue cage it's awesome and we want it back for retro purposes. On the other hand the casual wrestling fan will not understand the importance of the blue cage and just think that it is cheap and tacky. Sad truth..

You're probably right about this. The first time the blue cage was used was WrestleMania 2. At the time people complained about the blue cage and thought it was cheap and tacky. The blue cage was then used for the next 11 years. A lot of us became fans during that time so the blue cage is all we really knew. I think a lot of people who became fans after 1998 would feel the opposite of those who favor the blue cage.

I personally favor the blue cage. Partially for the retro purpose, but mostly I agree with what many have already said. I also think going back to the blue cage would make Hell in a Cell stand out more since that type of cage wouldn't be seen as much.

I could be mistaken, but I don't think the blue cage was brought in to support Bundy's weight as someone suggested. I believe this was said for storyline purposes, but was not the real reason. I think it was used to get better camera shots. A camerman could get right up against the cage and get a clear shot because of the space the blue cage provided. Another advantage of the blue cage.

I understand why they're not using the blue cage. If all things were equal and it was simply choosing one or the other I'd pick big blue. As sly pointed out that is not the case and WWE is going to go with what makes sense for them.

 

[chief]

I loved the big blue cage, someone earlier said that the blue color of it would look a little tacky today, which is probably true. It could be black though, then it wouldn't be such a distracting color during the matches it was used in.

Unfortunately I doubt it will ever return,
UNLESS.....

A character is made that is still in love with old school wrestling, and demands a match with old school rules, the old school cage, references old storylines and maybe if he wins the IC title, he goes and swaps it for the old school IC title, possible bring back a random old wrestler as a partner once in a while, I would LOVE a character like that, I know that most of the younger fans (kids) may not get it, and since wrestling is trying to aim more towards a younger audience now then I understand, but it would be nice to have a character like that just for people that have been watching for a long time.
It could be a nice way to bring back some classic pieces of wrestling nostalgia once in a while. Including 'old blue'.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Well as far as the blue color looking tacky, yeah, it probably would. You could just have it black or silver instead, though. Maybe even gold to differentiate it.

But as others have mentioned, its most likely not used because of how heavy and hard it was. That thing probably hurt like all hell to be thrown into, in comparison to a light and flexible chain-link cage. Plus, the big, thick bars make it harder to see whereas the little holes all over the place for the cage they use now allow for better viewing.

I'd still like to see it brought back at least once, though, just for nostalgia purposes.

 

[ShepFoLife]

I love this thread. Nice change of pace. As far as I know the old blue cage was given a facelift during the attitude era. Not sure how many matches it lasted for but i believe it was used for two. The cage was painted black to match the color scheme of the ring posts and mats, as it was blue for the blue ring posts and mats. The first match it was used in had the original set up (no rigging to have it lowered to the ring). The 2nd time it was used the WWE crew added the sliver rigging "platform" on top which is now used on the present steel cage (cyclone fencing). Not only is it better for wrestlers to preform spots from it but its easier and more time effiencent for the crew to lower it between matches instead of setting it up from ground up for that particular match, i would assume. If you youtube it; The match I know for sure it was used in was Austin vs. McMahon, PPV St. Valentine's Day Massacare (Feb of '98) I think. This was the match when Big Show debuted, threw Austin against the cage and it popped open allowing Austin the win. The 2nd time it had the Silver steel rigging on top but I'm not too sure of the match. I saw it somewhere on the McMahon DVD or WWE Classics on Demand.

Just to add this in. I also prefer the Black ring posts with the red Raw Ropes. The Silver and blue ropes for Smackdown! does look Pimp though. But the Silver with Red Ropes sucks. Once again, I really enjoy this thread. As much as I care about the matches and promos and things along those lines. The sets and colors and lighting are very important as well. At least for me they are.

Peace out

 

[byrnside]

Personally, I love the idea of bringing back the big blue cage. I think in it's quiet little way, it would be a great way to pay tribute to the legends who worked with it. Ie- Hogan, Bundy, Bret and Owen Hart, etc. I don't think it would work, but I love the idea.

I do have an idea on how to make it work. I think this would go along with a thread someone else posted about new gimmick matches too. Have some sort of structure like the elimination chamber meets Hell in a Cell, that was like the cage from Ready to Rumble [still love that movie by the way.] Almost an Elimination chamber inside the Hell in a Cell, but the Chamber has no roof, obviously the Cell would be the roof, and instead of the chains like in the chamber, you have the "Big Blue" cage. Thoughts?