5 most successful gimmick matches in wrestling history
The amount of unsuccessful gimmick matches in wrestling history outnumbers the successful ones, considerably. For every entry into this article, there is an equally unsuccessfully gimmick match which came before it.
Triple decker cages, Kennels from Hell, and even Bra and Panties matches have found their way onto WWE programming much to the dismay of fans everywhere. The reason WWE tries so many new gimmick matches, however, is that when they hit on something fans love, they can go back to it for years to come.
Every gimmick match in this article started as an idea and grew into pro-wrestling tradition. Let's take a look at the five most successful gimmick matches in wrestling history.
#5 The Steel Cage Match
It is believed by many that the first gimmick match in wrestling history was a steel cage match. The bout is thought to have taken place in 1937 and used chicken-wire wrapped around the ring in order to keep the wrestlers from exiting.
Earlier uses of steel cage matches were generally for the purposes of preventing the wrestlers from leaving the ring and others from entering it. It would be the match scheduled after a previous match in the rivalry was impacted by outside interference or one wrestler cowardly avoiding the other.
Nowadays steel cage matches are used a little differently. In general, WWE emphasizes how the cage can be used as a weapon more than they emphasize how it keeps others from entering the ring or the wrestlers involved from leaving.