Pro wrestling has always gone for some weird stipulations. The old territory days could have bits like a loser getting his head shaved or forced to be the "servant" of the winner. It's increased with WWE putting out some decent stipulation matches but also a lot of duds. Of course, WCW and TNA seemed to go out of their way to present some of the most ludicrous stipulations ever, and even ECW had some wild ones. And there's a whole other separate list to be made of crazy Japanese bouts.
It's easy to look at stuff like "kiss my foot" or blindfold battles. Then there are wacky ones like WCW's giant truck sumo battle. Yet a few still manage to stand head and shoulders above the rest for completely ridiculous and crazy stips that turn what should be good matches into total messes. Here are ten of the most ridiculous stipulation matches wrestling has ever seen and marvel there's at least a few dozen more worthy of being included.
10 Duchess Of Queensbury Rules (WWE)
It's not a good sign when even the wrestlers and the ref don't know what the rules of a match are. At Backlash 2001, Chris Jericho faced William Regal, who came to the ring with a woman on a throne wearing a ludicrous robe and wig. She directed the match as Jericho appeared to win by pinfall, only for her to declare it was only "the first fall."
When Jericho made Regal submit, the Duchess said submissions didn't count. Regal hit Jericho with a chair, and the Duchess said the match was no-DQ. Regal got the win, and thankfully the Duchess retired to her royal estate.
9 The Lockbox Challenge (TNA)
Eagle-eyed fans could tell this had Vince Russo's fingerprints all over it. This 2010 bout had eight TNA Knockouts in a wild battle where the point was to pin an opponent, which granted a key to one of the four lockboxes hanging around the ring.
Tara, the champion, found her pet tarantula. Velvet Sky got a contract for a future title match while Angelina Love found the title belt and was the new champion. This meant poor Daffney had to do a striptease in the ring, which ended in a messy brawl. Even a mud pool match was better than this.
8 Gulf Of Mexico Match (ECW)
WWE wanted their version of ECW to have the same wild flavor of the original. Sadly, they missed the mark a lot and nowhere more than this battle. CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero fought in a match set in Corpus Christi, Texas. Not just in a ring in Texas, mind, but as in the whole of Corpus Christi. The only way to win was to throw your opponent into the Gulf of Mexico.
Yes, the two men brawled all through the arena, out to the parking lot, across a road, to the docks before Punk gave Chavo the GTS to send him into the Gulf. This whole match was all wet.
7 King Of The Road (WCW)
In 1995, WCW tried to emulate ECW with its "Uncensored" PPV. Emphasis on "tried." A "highlight" was the King of the Road match, where Dustin Rhodes and Blacktop Bully fought it out in an actual moving 18-wheel semi-truck on a highway.
The pair threw bales of hay at each other as the truck moved as slowly as possible with cars passing by it. Finally, Bully was able to reach the front of the truck to ring a bell and win the "match." Both men were fired for blading on TV when the only person deserving a pink slip was whoever cooked this up.
6 San Francisco 49ers Box Match (WCW)
Notorious wrestling writer Vince Russo came up with some nutty ideas in WCW, but this one takes the cake. For a "Nitro" match in San Francisco, Booker T and Jeff Jarrett fought with four boxes hanging from the ring post, one containing the belt.
The others had, in order: an inflatable doll, a portrait of Scott Hall, and a loaded glove. Even funnier is when Booker opened the final box, the World title belt fell into the hands of the announcer, which technically made him World champion. Thankfully, even Russo wasn't that nuts and this "win" was eventually rectified.
5 Cry Baby Match (WWE)
WWE star The 1-2-3 Kid had been a popular babyface before turning on old friend Razor Ramon in early 1996, costing Ramon the IC title. Obviously, this was the perfect setup for a wild feud between to former friends, culminating in an epic showdown. Instead, the two fought in a ridiculous match with the stip of the loser having to dress like a baby.
Ramon won and put Kid into a diaper complete with powder over his body and sticking a bottle into his mouth. The only ones crying were the fans watching this, both in pain and laughter.
4 Judy Bagwell On A Pole (WCW)
Let's be honest: any "object on a pole" match is automatically pretty dumb. But nothing can top this. At New Blood Rising, Buff Bagwell and Kanyon fought in a match where Buff's real-life mother Judy was suspended on a forklift by the ring.
Amazingly, the match wasn't half-bad but the sight of Judy screaming while suspended a terrifying ten feet over the floor was hysterical as it was horrifying. Buff won the match for his mother's safety, if not her dignity.
3 Chamber Of Horrors (WCW)
Only WCW could turn a match with Sting, Cactus Jack, the Steiners, Scott Hall, and Vader into a complete joke. First was the ref with a camera on his helmet. Then the steel cage was littered with cheap Halloween decorations. The stipulation was that when one guy got a pin, an "electric chair" would lower into the ring, and the only way to win was to put a guy into it.
The cameras caught the "fatal lever" in the "on" position with nothing happening. Finally, Cactus Jack accidentally "fried" partner Abdullah the Butcher with cheap sounds and lights flashing. This was a horror, all right.
2 The RAW Bowl (WWE)
Since college football bowl games are a big deal on January 1st, WWE decided to do the same in 1996. The RAW Bowl had the Smoking Gunns, Yokozuna and Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Savio Vega, and finally Sycho Sid and the 1-2-3 Kid in a weird Fatal 4-way.
All of them wore football jerseys with the ref dressed like an NFL official. The rules included how anyone could tag in anyone else, and each team given a "time out" complete with flag. It was five utterly confusing minutes with the Gunns victorious, and little wonder WWE never tried it again.
1 Custody Of Domnick (WWE)
WWE superstars Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero were two superb athletes more than capable of putting on a terrific match without any added stipulations. So, of course, WWE had to turn a 2005 dispute into a soap opera. The two partners feuded, with Eddie claiming he was the birth father of Rey's son, Dominick.
This led to a ladder match where they vied for "custody papers." It was an okay match, although Vickie ruined her planned run-in, allowing Rey to win "custody." It's a shame that this was actually Eddie's last major feud before his sudden passing.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmenp7K0wMuipaBnp6yybsPCsGSem6diwa%2BtjLCpnqukobavs4ywnKKqlJrAtXnSraCprZyWwaq7zaxkppmkmLWmv4yerZ6qXw%3D%3D