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As we enter the beginning of 2022, I felt it was a good time to take a look back. And by looking back, I wanted to post on an event of a bygone era. And of that event, let’s focus on two match styles in general: the ladder match and the cage match.
Unforgiven 2006
I was not a wrestling fan when the pay-per-view event Unforgiven 2006 came to pass. But through the magic of the Peacock app, I am able to watch all these previous pay-per-views. I feel like there used to be another way to do that…but I cannot recall what that is at the moment. Anyway, two matches from that event stood out to me. One was a very bloody and raw cage match with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and the Big Show facing off against D-Generation X members Triple H and Sean Michaels. The second was a TLC match with a ladder stipulation for the WWE title; John Cena versus Edge (c).
Cage Match
A steel cage match is one in which an enclosure, looking something like chain-link or chicken wire fencing, is placed around the ring. It has 4 sides and a top. Stipulations of this match indicate that the winner is the first challenger to exit the cage and have both feet hit the floor. Another stipulation, as was the case at Unforgiven 2006, is to win by pinfall or submission in the ring.
What was exciting about this match was not only the very physical nature of the cage match, but also the inclusion of Mr. McMahon in the ring. Mr. McMahon is widely considered the greatest villain/heel of all time, and he very much made it known in this match. The ring, weapons, and the cage were used to the fullest in this match, and it is one of the most physical matches I’ve seen. I will not indicate the winner in this post, but the ending is not one to miss.
TLC/Ladder Match
In a TLC (table, ladders, and chairs) match, the wrestlers are allowed to use tables, ladders, and chairs as weapons to disable their opponent throughout the match. The winners are called by pinfall, submission or by count out. At Unforgiven 2006, as it was for the WWE championship, the common ladder match stipulation was added. In a ladder match, the championship belt is lifted high above the ring with the winner called as the one who ascends the ladder and removes the belt first.
Again, this match had a lot of everything. John Cena can be a very physical fighter and Edge is the “rated R superstar,” and has been in some of the most physical and hardcore matches in wrestling history. We didn’t miss out on any of that in this match. Between stacked tables, watching Edge scale a ladder to jump onto Cena outside the ring, and faces getting slammed into chairs, this match used every piece and left little to be desired. Again, no spoilers here (ha 15 years later), but again, one to see.
Looking ahead
From looking back, we will now look ahead. This year, I hope to catch more wrestling than I have over the past 1.5-2 years. The loss of a live crowd had taken the excitement out for me, but I am willing to give both WWE and AEW a real shot in 2022. With that, I’m looking forward to the return of more match styles and feuds we have been missing.
