Steel Cage matches are some of the most vicious and brutal in WWE history. They are often matches that are used to resolve a feud or add to it. That’s how it has always been in wrestling history.
You don’t start out a feud with a Steel Cage match. You build up to it. Maybe the heel in the match has some buddies that like to interfere, so they have a Steel Cage match as a way to prevent the interference and have the two rivals settle their differences inside the ring.
A lot of times Steel Cage matches have blood in them. That’s very true about the WWE Steel Cage matches in the 1980s, but they weren’t always great to watch. A lot of them were slow and plodding. The cage does restrict a lot of movement, so sometimes it’s harder to have a great match. There are some great NWA cage matches where blood was heavily involved although this list is about WWE matches only.
Over the years, the Steel Cage match has evolved and turned into things like the Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber. There’s even been Punjabi Prison matches although that’s hardly considered the same thing. This list looks at those matches that took place inside a steel cage whether it was the silver cage that looked like it really hurt or the blue bar cage that looked less painful although it was easier to watch on television. Matches like Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber are their own separate entity.
There will be a Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules as John Cena battles Bray Wyatt. There’s no title on the line and there probably won’t be blood, but it should be a vicious battle between two rivals that involved in a good storyline these days. Could it make a list like this? Perhaps. For now, here are the ten best steel cage matches in WWE history.
10. Ultimate Warrior Vs. Rick Rude @ SummerSlam 1990
It’s a match that is fresh in a lot of people’s minds because The Ultimate Warrior passed away a few weeks ago and this is a match a lot of fans remember from his career. There have probably been better cage matches, but for a match in 1990 and for a little nostalgia, this warrants a mention on this list.
The match only runs about 10 minutes, but that’s okay. Warrior wasn’t known for having the greatest matches or the longest ones. It worked in this case because Warrior was such a popular champion and this was his first major title defense since winning the World Title at WrestleMania 6, so the fans were ready to scream their heads off for him.
Nobody really thought Rude was going to win and he shouldn’t have because they had to build up Warrior as a dominant champion. Warrior was always booked strong, but there were still moments in the match where it looked like Rude had a legit chance to win too. It was a match that was put together really well.
As a side note, I always love that this match main evented SummerSlam 1990 instead of the Hogan match. That made me smile back then because I was so sick of Hogan.
9. Steve Austin Vs. Vince McMahon – St. Valentine’s Day Massacre 1999
There’s something to be said about how sometimes the quality of a match doesn’t really matter because all that really counts is if we’re entertained by what we see. When it comes to Austin vs. McMahon at the February 1999 “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” PPV we got one of the most entertaining cage matches ever.
The match was exactly what it should have been as Austin destroyed McMahon, who was the questionable Royal Rumble winner. McMahon was tremendous at getting his ass kicked. He took a bump off the side of the cage and through a table. He bled. He flipped Austin off when it looked like an easy win for Stone Cold. This was heel McMahon at his absolute best.
This was at a time when Vince wasn’t in matches a whole lot so seeing him bleed and in a main event level match was a really big deal. Austin vs. McMahon was the best rivalry in the business at the time, so it made a lot of sense that they would do this match.
They also had a memorable finish as Paul Wight debuted by entering from under the ring. That’s what they called Big Show when he first started in WWE. They didn’t mention he was a WCW guy, but in 1999 everybody knew who he was. He was there to help McMahon win. Instead, he tossed Austin into the cage, the side of the cage swung open and Austin was able to land on the floor to win the match.
Austin’s win meant he was going to WrestleMania to face off with The Rock, so it ended the night in a way that pleased the fans.
8. John Cena Vs. The Miz Vs. John Morrison – Extreme Rules 2011
This match feels so long ago now, but it was only three years ago. Cena lost to Miz at WrestleMania 27 in a match that was a stinker and it also wasn’t clean thanks to The Rock. Cena still got another title shot as he took on Miz and John Morrison in a Steel Cage.
There were some awesome spots in the match as Morrison hit his Starship Pain move off the top of the cage and there was a great double suplex on Miz that looked really painful too.
The inclusion of John Morrison was very welcome because he’s such a great athlete and was able to show that off during the match. Cena rarely had good matches with Miz at this time, so it was nice to see somebody else in there with them to make it more interesting.
Even the interference from R-Truth wasn’t that bad because he was turning heel at the time and was very entertaining in that role.
7. Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio – Smackdown September 9, 2005
When you think about Guerrero and Mysterio you don’t think of them as the kind of wrestlers that have a lot of steel cage matches. They’re lucha libre legends that are used to wrestling more of a fast paced style. However, their rivalry was so hot in 2005 that they had to settle it once and for all inside of a steel cage.
It’s a historic match because it was the first time that Guerrero beat Mysterio. When they were in WCW, Mysterio always win (check out their classic at Halloween Havoc 1997). During their WWE feud throughout 2005, Guerrero couldn’t beat him. It was this match where Guerrero finally got his win.
Eddie had another cage match with JBL a year earlier where he did a Frog Splash off the cage in a spot that a lot of people remember, but this one is clearly the better match.
Sadly, Eddie passed away a couple of months after this match took place. It’s one of the last great matches of his life.
6. Matt & Jeff Hardy Vs. Edge & Christian – Unforgiven 2000
It’s a match that is underrated in the amazing rivalry between Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boys. E&C left the first TLC match one month earlier as the tag team champions, but the feud wasn’t over. It continued at Unforgiven in a tag team Steel Cage match.
There was an interesting dynamic to the match because it was tag team rules, which meant that both guys had to touch the floor to win. Jeff Hardy ended up going outside the cage, but that meant that his brother Matt had to deal with E&C inside the cage. Jeff had to fight his way to get back in.
Just like in their TLC matches, they had some creative spots. At one point Jeff Hardy hit his Whisper in the Wind dive off the top onto Edge and Matt because Matt had to help break his fall. They even found creative ways to incorporate ladders and chairs into the match as well. Lita hit a hurricanrana on Christian off a ladder near the end too.
The most disturbing bump in the match looking back at it now was when the Hardy Boys hit a Conchairto on Edge while he was on the top of the cage and then Edge took a back bump into the ring. Crazy for him to take a bump like that. At least they were smart enough to make that the finish.
It’s a match that is under the radar compared to their other classics, but you should give it a watch if you get the chance on WWE Network or elsewhere.
5. The Rock Vs. Ken Shamrock Vs. Mick Foley – Breakdown 1998
Sometimes there are matches we like a little more than others because we were able to witness them in person. That’s what this triple threat cage match is for me. I was there in Hamilton, Ontario in September of 1998 to witness this battle as The Rock was gaining steam as a babyface. This was the period right after his classic at SummerSlam with Triple H and before his heel turn as he joined up with Vince McMahon at Survivor Series.
The match was full of action. They didn’t really do a lot of high spots because that’s not the way the kind of wrestlers they were. It was more about having a physical brawl full of some exciting teases for the finish. All three guys were at about the same level of star power, so we really didn’t know who was going to win.
There was a very memorable spot as Mankind climbed the top of cage and went for the top rope elbow. He missed. I can still remember the pop when he hit the mat mainly because we wanted The Rock to win. Another thing I’ll never forget is after Shamrock brought a chair in the ring, Mankind drilled him in the head with a chair. Rock crawled over for the pinfall win as Mankind climbed over the top for some reason. He was booked like an idiot while Rock was put over for being intelligent.
In the end, The Rock found a way to get the win (he even bled a bit) and we were really happy about it even though we weren’t that sure that we were supposed to be cheering. He was the coolest guy in the match. That’s all we cared about at that point.
4. Edge Vs. Kurt Angle – Smackdown May 30, 2002
When WWE did the brand extension following WrestleMania 18 in 2002, one of the main feuds that was started was Kurt Angle taking on Edge. The purpose of the feud was to have Angle, an established top guy, put over Edge to make him a bigger star. They certainly tried their best to move Edge to the top in those days although it took nearly four years for him to get there.
They had several great matches together, which included a match where Angle had to shave his head after he lost. Angle was ashamed of his baldness at first, so for this match he wore a wig as well as headgear to make it look like he still had hair. That was Angle. He would do anything to get heel heat.
Angle was already considered the best in the world by this point while Edge had to keep proving himself. Edge showed he could hang with Angle here. Edge even bled for the majority of the match, which isn’t something he usually did. It added to the story as Edge showed his heart in coming back to win. The match was overbooked a bit. At one point they had a ref bump and Angle climbed out of the cage to win the match. The ref was still down, though, so it wasn’t officially ever. Hulk Hogan ended up tossing Angle back into the ring and the ref woke up as the match continued.
There was a memorable finish with Angle charging at Edge in the corner only for Edge to come at him with a Spear off the top. The timing was perfect. The finish was decisive. Great ending to a really good Steel Cage match that had an interesting story too.
3. Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit – Raw June 11, 2001
There have been quite a few Steel Cage matches in the history of Raw, but this one is definitely the best. The Benoit/Angle rivalry in 2001 produced plenty of memorable matches and moments.
During a June 2001 episode of Raw, Angle met Benoit in a Steel Cage match. They went all out in this matchup that didn’t have anything on the line. All they cared about was putting on an entertaining match with Angle as the heel and Benoit as a babyface that was set to challenge Steve Austin (and Chris Jericho) for the WWE Title soon after this match.
There were two key spots in the match. At one point Angle went to the top of the cage and instead of climbing out, he went for a Moonsault off the top of the cage. Benoit moved and Angle bounced off the mat. What a crazy bump!
Benoit decided to do something huge after he grounded Angle with an incredible nine German Suplexes. He climbed to the top of the cage, but Austin was there to prevent him from going down. Benoit did a headbutt off the top of the cage that connected. Angle ended up winning the match due to Austin slamming the cage door against Benoit’s head.
Obviously this is a match that WWE won’t put over as a classic due to the Benoit involvement, but they went all out and had an exceptional match that fans loved from start to finish. The big moves were pretty damn impressive too.
2. Matt Hardy Vs. Edge – Unforgiven 2005
“I gave Lita everything I am for six years and what did she do in return? She betrayed me, she cheated on me, she slept with my best friend. And you know what it got me? It got me fired from my dream job…working for the WWE.”
That was Matt Hardy’s promo from before his Unforgiven 2005 Steel Cage match against Edge. He finished it off by saying this: “The only thing I care about is making sure that Edge doesn’t walk out of that steel cage tonight.”
Everything that Matt said in that promo was real. His girlfriend Lita did cheat on him, Matt did get fired and he did return to the company to get his revenge on Edge. It was a very hot storyline heading into this Steel Cage match after Edge destroyed Matt at SummerSlam by leaving him in a bloody mess.
They had a really physical battle as Edge controlled the early part of it, but then when Matt made his comeback it was a case of a hero getting his revenge on a villain that deserved it. Matt used the cage to his advantage and Edge was busted open as a result.
Hardy was able to win the match in impressive fashion. He hit a Side Effect off the top rope and then Lita entered the ring to break up a pin. When Matt dropped her with a Twist of Fate, people cheered. Matt could have climbed out to win, but instead he hit a Leg Drop off the top of the cage and covered for the definitive win. Huge spot to end a classic match.
This was a feud that was perfect for a Steel Cage as a fitting end to the story with the babyface getting his revenge. Matt Hardy’s singles career reached its peak at this point while Edge was still an ascending star that had several World Titles in his future.
1. Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart – SummerSlam 1994
The only way to win the match was by escaping the cage. No pinfalls or submissions like they do in most cage matches now including most of the ones already written about. You could win by either climbing out of the cage or escaping through the door. Beat the person up so bad that they can’t stop you from leaving. The purpose of the cage is to keep two guys in the middle of the ring so they can settle their issues. Pinning or submitting shouldn’t be an option.
One of the best moments was a spot that you rarely see in cage matches. Owen was climbing out of the ring when Bret went after him. Instead of simply pulling him back in, Bret did a spectacular superplex off the top of the cage. You might see something like that in today’s wrestling, but this was 20 years ago. It was huge.
There was a dramatic ending to the match with both guys trying to exit at the same time. If you watch it closely you would notice Owen hooking his leg on the inside to make sure he didn’t accidentally fall out first. Bret rammed him into the cage, Owen went upside down, hanging by his leg and Bret dropped down to retain the WWE Title.
Even the post match storyline was fantastic as Owen was joined by brother in law Jim Neidhart as they attacked Bret in the cage while others tried to break into it. Eventually, the British Bulldog helped Bret. It was an incredible story to see a family feuding like that.
This match wasn’t a bloodbath at all. It was a technical wrestling classic that took place within the confines of a steel cage. They were able to have a classic 30 minute battle and both guys came out of it looking as strong as ever.
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