When Wrestling Gets Real: The 15 Most Extreme Moments In WWE History
WWE's Extreme Rules is coming to New Jersey at the Izod Center this Sunday and as the first pay-per-view event since the shocking Wrestlemania 30 in New Orleans, fans can expect some intense action.
There's no denying that the extreme violence that we were used to seeing in the Attitude Era is long gone, but thanks to the WWE Network, we can relive that every damn day of our lives.
It seems like Mick Foley was the recipient of most of these beatings -- from Mankind to Cactus Jack.
However he's not the only one who proved his loyalty to the company with his blood. These are the most extreme moments in wrestling history.
1. Undertaker throws Mankind off the top of the cell:
There were several moments in the infamous Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell In A Cell match that made us sh*t our pants.
But none was more iconic than when Taker catapulted Mankind off the top of the cage, landing him on top of the announcer's table. That really f*cked him up, but wait, there's more!
2. Undertaker chokeslams Mankind through the cell:
The amount of physical stress Mankind took in this match was truly unprecedented, and quite frankly, we'll never see anything like it again.
After recovering from his big fall, Taker punished him with another, this time with a violent choke slam through the cell. Ouch.
3. Edge spears Jeff Hardy off a ladder:
Tables, ladders and chairs... Oh my! When we think of death-defying, high flying stunts, we think about the Hardy Boyz. But it wasn't just them, the entire tag team scene was something serious back then.
When Bubba Dudley moved that ladder from under Jeff during that epic TLC match, and we saw Edge square up for a move, we only knew magic was going to happen.
4. Edge spears Mick Foley through a flaming table:
I can't believe they used to do this sh*t! During his Cactus Jack days, Mick always wanted to push the envelope and take things to the next level, but getting speared through a flaming table is just insane.
This is why Foley is God. We'll see more from him in a moment.
5. Shane McMahon falls off the TitonTron:
Proving that he's one of the guys and not just the CEO's lame son, Shane McMahon proved his value to the company when he went all out in Summerslam, pulling off one of the highest drops when he fell from the Titantron, after getting beat with a kendo stick from Steve Blackman. Stop the damn match!
6. JBL hits Eddie Guerrero with a chair:
First of all, RIP Eddie Guerrero. If he were still alive today, he'd be one of the most prominent fixtures in the WWE and still a big force to be reckoned with in the ring.
The steel chair he took to the head from JBL says everything we need to know about him. The man was a warrior.
7. Swanton Bomb off the TitanTron:
Jeff Hardy was always the better Hardy. Nobody's disputing that.
He proved it with a ridiculous Swanton bomb off the Titantron that made Shane McMahon's fall look like a walk in the park. There's no way that didn't hurt him too!
8. Brock Lesnar and Big Show break the ring:
Let's make one thing clear: It should not even be possible to superplex a 500-pound man, especially off the turnbuckle.
But when your name's Brock Lesnar, and you're clearly disturbed in the head, it's nothing to you. The earth literally quaked after this one landed. My God!
9. Brock Lesnar botches the shooting star press:
If there's one thing Brock Lesnar was, it's fearless. If he was another thing, it's dumb.
Clearly, his visions and perception of distance must be a little off as he completely botched the shooting star press and nearly snapped his neck. But in the end, it was a good thing. Kurt Angle would've probably died after that.
10. Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon don't/do break glass:
After watching this, you'll realize how much of a gangster Shane McMahon is. What other billionaire businessman's son do you know who will take an ass whooping like this for the family business?
Kurt Angle really let him have it and there's no way he didn't have some internal bleeding after this, to go along with a probable concussion.
11. Evan Bourne's shooting star press turned into RKO
This might be the greatest reversal of all time. Evan Bourne was just about to finish off Randy Orton with the shooting star press when he got rocked with the sudden RKO.
Execution in wrestling doesn't get any better than this, and if you look closely, you can clearly see he was in a world of pain.
12. Jeff Hardy's leg drop through a ladder:
Jeff Hardy, where is your damn brother?
Proving once and for all that he is the superior wrestler, Jeff gave Edge the finisher of the decade when he scaled the long ladder to deliver a leg drop, right through another ladder. The pain is real here, folks.
13. Pedigree onto thumbtacks:
Triple H showed absolutely no mercy when he Pedigreed Cactus Jack into a bed of thumbtacks.
Of course, the match was immediately over, but it probably took a few minutes to get those damn tacks out of Foley's head. Rolling him around in the bed made it even worse, but for some sick reason, I think he liked it.
14. Cactus Jack falls through the cell and the ring:
It's no wonder why they have barely have Hell In A Cell matches anymore.
In his last appearance on this list, Cactus Jack took his worst drop from the cage when he got flipped and broke through, not only the steel, but the damn ring. As Jim Ross would say: stop the damn match!
15. Shelton Benjamin leaps off a 20-foot ladder:
If you've ever wanted to see a real life human wrecking ball, then look no further than Shelton Benjamin.
He proved his epicness at Wrestlemania 25 when he flew off the 20-foot ladder to knock down at least half a dozen of his colleagues. Everybody in the frame was injured.
