How do you like your steel cage match in the morning?
- Thread starter Uncle Sam
- Start date
ÐаÑбоÑа
doesn't know REAL wrestling...
My choice of rules for a steel cage match would vary depending on the nature of the feud.
If a heel has been running away from the face then I would be more tempted to have it with pinfalls as the cage is there more to force an outright winner.
If it is a grudge match, with the cage more of a weapon then escape would be more appropriate as it would include beating your opponent into a position where he cannot stop you.
I do agree on the door and the amount of interference in cage matches though. With the latter, what exactly is the point of the having a cage match to keep people out if it does not keep people out?
If a heel has been running away from the face then I would be more tempted to have it with pinfalls as the cage is there more to force an outright winner.
If it is a grudge match, with the cage more of a weapon then escape would be more appropriate as it would include beating your opponent into a position where he cannot stop you.
I do agree on the door and the amount of interference in cage matches though. With the latter, what exactly is the point of the having a cage match to keep people out if it does not keep people out?
@smarkmouth
Friendly Neighborhood
Just like this. I'm tired of these bastardized steal cage matches. LU had a pretty sweet finish the other week between Johnny Mundo and King Cuerto, but it was still not a cage match.
Dowdsy McDowds
Sally was here
Agreed but what about when someone goes through the ring or a side of the cage to escape?
I think it was JBL/Big Show where JBL won by getting put through the ring then crawling out from underneath and a Lashley spot against some monster goon where he broke a side of the cage and won.
The Lashley spot was good but, even though it was intended, the JBL one was incredibly annoying but neither of them would break the 3 commandments.
klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
Escape only. It fits the idea of two men enter and one escapes.
ÐаÑбоÑа
doesn't know REAL wrestling...
This is the root of my problem with it and why I think that there is plenty of room to shape cage match rules depending on the circumstances of the feud.
The point of the cage is either as an instrument of inflicting more pain or to prevent someone getting in/out.
The cage door should only ever be used by a cowardly heel. Or removed completely.
klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
The door problem makes more sense the more I think about it. I remember the cage match at Showdown at Shea where Bruno beats Zbyszko into a bloody pulp and then just.....leaves. It didn't look right. Either have him climb out or have it be a closer finish, but the door looked lame.
ÐаÑбоÑа
doesn't know REAL wrestling...
I actually did not mind the end of the Showdown at Shea.
Bruno had made his point physically, which was somewhat enhanced by the fact that he could then calmly walk out rather than have to scramble over the cage.
Perhaps in a more modern match up, more would have been made of the complete mess that Bruno had made of Larry - bearhugging him into a puddle - before the exclamation point of being able to walk out completely unhindered.
Bruno had made his point physically, which was somewhat enhanced by the fact that he could then calmly walk out rather than have to scramble over the cage.
Perhaps in a more modern match up, more would have been made of the complete mess that Bruno had made of Larry - bearhugging him into a puddle - before the exclamation point of being able to walk out completely unhindered.
klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
THe lack of commentary (other than Foley and Cole later) is a bit distracting. A good JR voice would have helped sell the idea a bit better. It's a very different time though.
Richard Blonoff
Make America Rassle Again
Beating a guy so badly that you can just calmly walk out the door is pretty badass. Not generally a fan of guys escaping out the door unless it is done in a similar fashion.
klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
It can be done well. I guess it's where I grew up as a Hogan guy and always remember him climbing over the top.
Nate DaMac
Fuck erbody but me
I fucking hate Cage Matches where you can win by escape. Nothing more boring than watching people gingerly climb a fence over and over and over again.
HBKistheHOF
Guest
I totally agree with No opening of the door. If it wasn't for the superstars needing a way to get in the ring without just lowering the cage down on them directly, then I wouldn't even have one. If anything it's just used these days for the obligatory "landing grapefruits 1st" on it spot.
Also while I don't mind interference on the outside at times, I agree that the entirety of the actual match should only involve the 2 guys (or 4 if it's a Tornado Tag) who are actually locked in the cage together.
But when it comes to only escaping the cage, I disagree. I understand escaping the cage is kind of the entire gimmick of the match but it seems like it's just an old cliche wrestling thing that never went away. Between looking like they could just climb out anytime they want a lot of the times, to holding onto the guy by his wrist or a handful of hair, the whole idea of trying to build suspense by fighting over who will escape the cage has just been lost. The struggles usually look super fake, forced or like they're obviously setting up for a high spot & it's pretty obvious that struggling to get out of the cage has just become "that thing you do" when your in a cage match now & days. Also I never liked the idea of beating up your opponent just enough to run away. Why not beat them down to a pulp & pin them or make them submit right there in the center of the ring? That seems a lot more brutal & personal to me.
Also while I don't mind interference on the outside at times, I agree that the entirety of the actual match should only involve the 2 guys (or 4 if it's a Tornado Tag) who are actually locked in the cage together.
But when it comes to only escaping the cage, I disagree. I understand escaping the cage is kind of the entire gimmick of the match but it seems like it's just an old cliche wrestling thing that never went away. Between looking like they could just climb out anytime they want a lot of the times, to holding onto the guy by his wrist or a handful of hair, the whole idea of trying to build suspense by fighting over who will escape the cage has just been lost. The struggles usually look super fake, forced or like they're obviously setting up for a high spot & it's pretty obvious that struggling to get out of the cage has just become "that thing you do" when your in a cage match now & days. Also I never liked the idea of beating up your opponent just enough to run away. Why not beat them down to a pulp & pin them or make them submit right there in the center of the ring? That seems a lot more brutal & personal to me.
Bockwinkel's Class
An Entity Of Existence
That's why I always preferred the NWA cage matches: The cages were there to "prevent" outside interference not to be something that was escaped from, and you won by pinfall or submission only.
Escape rules at it's absolute best.
Mighty NorCal
SHALL WE BEGIN?
Mine is basically the opposite of Sam's.
With a roof
No escape
Pin or submission only.
With a roof
No escape
Pin or submission only.
MrHashasheen
Enjoying Wrestling
Agree with Norcal/Bockwinkel. If you're going into a cage, I expect people to get murdered, not run away like a bunch of bitches in what's meant for a blood feud.
Normal Match --> Lumberjack --> Cage
Normal Match --> Lumberjack --> Cage
ÐаÑбоÑа
doesn't know REAL wrestling...
Meh. Never saw what the hubbub was about that match.
I'm fine with escapes over the top or through the door as a concept; in that they should be available finishes that the performers can work with. In the majority of cases I don't think they should be used for the actual finish, but having it available opens up a lot of spots that aren't an option in other matches. Without the door-in-the-cage finish, we don't get magical moments like Mark Henry spending three minutes trying to pull the door off to get inside the cage. Without escape as an option, it becomes a lot harder to justify the off-the-top-of-the-cage spot that's a feature of almost every steel cage match ever.
It's always about execution. A pinfall in a cage can be less entertaining than an escape, and vice versa; it's all in how the match is worked and sold to the fans.
It's always about execution. A pinfall in a cage can be less entertaining than an escape, and vice versa; it's all in how the match is worked and sold to the fans.
Max Headroom
The Master of Disaster
Wouldn't that just be a Hell in a Cell, minus the little bit of ring space on the outside? Regardless, I agree with most of this. It always drove me mad seeing two people whom hate each other go into a cage match and spend most of the time crawling up a cage/towards a door so slowly it's as if they went 100x Earth's normal gravity. Instead, they should be using the cage to beat the piss out of their opponent.
So yeah: No escape, no doors, pinfall/submission only. Keep having no roof (for high spots if a wrestler so chooses to do one), but have it so that if you climb out before the match is over, it's the same as giving up, and you lose the match.
Mighty NorCal
SHALL WE BEGIN?
Boy, perceptive one, aren't you.
Also, this is the way it was done most times in NWA/old school WCW, as well as the War Games.
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