The Importance of... 4.20.08: Steel Cage Matches

Posted by Mike Chin on 04.20.2008

With Lockdown a week behind us, let's wax philosophical on the steel cage match and its many variants, in a discussion of why this is one of the most important gimmick matches in pro wrestling.

Despite having been around for the better part of a century, steel cage matches remain among wrestling's most famous, popular and generally important gimmick matches.

A part of what makes the cage so important is the spectacle it provides. Indeed, a steel cage main event can set the tone for not only the match, but often the card leading up to it. You see the cage hanging up in the rafters, and it is a constant reminder that, before the night is through, that cage will drop, and you're going to see an epic battle. Comparably, there's the more old school way of putting a cage around a ring--assembling it that very night. While this takes some time, and can be a bit of a bore for the crowd, it's also a unique way of building suspense, as you know that every minute of preparation is a step toward something really important.

The cage itself serves a number of functions, mostly built around the prospect of blowing off a big feud.. One of the classic functions is to keep interference out of the ring. In an ordinary match, a manger or interfering wrestler need only climb in the ring, or reach a hand under the ropes to affect the outcome of a match. A cage, in theory, takes interlopers out of the equation (though, in the last decade or so, this function has fallen into serious question).

In addition to keeping interference out, a cage means competitors have nowhere to run. The heel is going to get his comeuppance without having any place to hightail it to. The winner, face or heel, is going to lay a righteous beat down when his opponent can't so much as roll out of the ring for a brief reprieve.

Cage matches are traditionally no disqualification, no count out as well. The guys can't leave the ring, and ring is surrounded by one big weapon, so that means neither of these rules would make sense. Hence, the matches are designed to have a decisive finish.

Another part of the appeal of cage matches is that they are inherently violent. Cages are made of cold, hard, unforgiving steel, which in most cases promises some bloodshed. Furthermore, the sheer height of the structures gives a match a dramatic feel, given how often throughout history we have seen the highest of high spots come from all the way up top.

A part of cage matches' longevity has been their ability to adapt and evolve. For one, there's the concept of an escape match. This variation meant that you didn't necessarily need to beat your opponent in the cage, so much as find a way to survive and get the hell out. Such matches were the overwhelming norm in the 1980s WWF, specifically with the advent of the more family friendly big blue cage. Contrary to the WWF style, the NWA popularized War Games. Rather than allowing escape, this match was all about confinement, with a cage encompassing two rings, under its low-hanging roof. With this match, the cage became not just a way for two men to settle their differences, but for two warring factions to stage a final battle.

Further variations have come about over time. The Thundercage, and later Hell In a Cell presented enormous cages, truly barring interference and, in the case of Hell in a Cell, providing some of the most dramatic high spots of all time (the destruction of Mick Foley, Rikishi taking the bump off the cage onto the truck). More recently, though, WWE has grown even more innovative. There's the Elimination Chamber--a sort of hybrid of War Games, a gauntlet match and a traditional steel cage contest. Most recently, the WWE has replaced the steel with bamboo, and used the savings to buy a second cage for their Punjabi Prison matches. Talk about a neat concept for a gimmick match, thought it's a bit restricted by being The Great Khali's signature contest.

Critics of the steel cage match will say that it's being over-exposed, and is going to get boring. Of course, those same critics have probably been saying the same thing for about twenty years. True, a steel cage match, in and of itself, isn't quite the guaranteed thrill it once was, when you have TNA hosting a full PPV of them, and giving away such matches on free TV, and WWE breaking out at least some variation on the cage every couple months. Regardless, these matches still provide a heightened sense of drama, and the promise of something special.

A truer threat to the future of cage matches is the overexposure of the same finishes. How many times now have we seen two men's feet hit the floor at the same time, or close enough to it to either make the match a draw, or lead to a controversial winner? And then you have what was, at one time incredibly innovative--having a wrestler escape a cage by getting thrown through it. The first time I know of this occurring was when Big Show did it to Steve Austin in February of 1999. Since then, Rhino's been the fool to do it to Christian Cage, and I guess Big Show didn't learn his lesson, because six years later, he chokeslammed JBL through a ring, so he too would hit the floor. Unfortunately, I don't have suggestions for a more innovative finish, but would suggest that a more traditional, decisive close is better than trying to pass off something unoriginal as a shocker.

Regardless of these failings, steel cage matches still are, and still should continue to be one of wrestling's most important gimmick matches. From the Snuka-Backlund contest in days of yore, to gory War Games battles, to the bloodless Hart brothers duel in '94, to the bone-breaking Undertaker-Mankind cell match, to Elix Skipper's death-defying hurricurrana off the top of the six sides of steel in TNA, cage matches are something truly special. They have a legacy, and I'd wager they still have quite a future.