WWE had a little ace up their sleeve for the season premiere of WWE SmackDown. This past week, it was announced that Solo Sikoa will get another shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship on Friday. This time it will take place within the confines of a steel cage.
This is a great way to drum up excitement for Smackdown, and everyone is hopeful that Rhodes and Sikoa will be able to start the season off with a bang. It is not without precedent. There is a great history of world championships being defended in a steel cage on television. Free T.V. has had multiple world title matches that were of PLE quality. Let’s take a look.
JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWE Championship Match; WWE SmackDown 2004)
JBL and Eddie Guerrero had a violent feud over the WWE Championship. Their infamous Texas Bull Rope Match is the one that everyone talks about, but many forget about their great main event on a SmackDown in July of 2004.
Bradshaw works slowly, so this match is hindered by a slower pace, but that’s the only negative. They used the cage well with creative spots off the ropes and on top of it when there was action. The psychology was spot on, but that’s to be expected from two of the greats in a match.
Kurt Angle cost Guerrero the match. Sure, it was telegraphed, but it’s TV, so they needed something to come back with. Not many championship matches on television are going to be clean.
John Cena vs. Edge (WWE Championship Match; WWE Raw 2006)
This was the feud of a generation. John Cena and Edge were opposites in the ring and had tremendous chemistry. They put on great matches in every arena possible, including this match that took place on WWE Monday Night Raw.
Cena’s “injured” arm added a nice ripple to the match. A lot of the action was different from their past matches. It was great to see two professionals bringing something new to the table and not phoning it in for their match, as is sometimes the case for others.
DX, Lance Cade, and Trevor Murdoch getting involved in the finish was a great way to get the fans popping as the match finished. It was also an easy way to make sure the fans went home happy.
Big E vs. Bobby Lashley (WWE Championship; WWE Raw 2021)
Big E cashing in Money in the Bank was one of the best moments in 2021. The fans loved seeing Big E finally get his chance at the top and over a stud like Bobby Lashley.
It was sad to see then that their feud didn’t get a ton of legs. Still, it produced a very entertaining championship cage match on Monday Night Raw.
Lashley and Big E were big hosses known for their power moves, and that is exactly what we got. There was a matching of power throughout, as each man tried everything; he could put the other one down for a three-count.
It was one of the most entertaining matches of the year and a fresh one to boot. It was a disappointment that these two men weren’t able to create with each other more. If this match were any indication, they would have produced something great.
The Undertaker vs. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship; WWE SmackDown 2008)
The Animal and The Deadman competed in every gimmick match imaginable during their World Championship feud. They even got the chance to entertain the crowd on SmackDown in a highly competitive steel cage match.
As expected, this was one of the best-televised matches of the year. The Undertaker and Batista put on a show for the SmackDown crowd. They used the cage well, creating some cool spots hanging off the ropes and cage.
Both brought something to the match that set it apart from the others they had that year. Also, seeing The Undertaker busted open in a big way was a great visual and brought more intensity to the
It was a match that had everyone guessing to the end. The draw ending may get a groan, but in the context of their feud, it worked. There were still more legs in the program and neither man needed to look weak.
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Universal Championship Match; WWE SmackDown 2020)
The COVID era was difficult for WWE. Not having an audience hampered the product, but at least we were given gold in a Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens world title program. A program that spanned many months and had various great matches, with one of the best being on free television.
Considering Roman’s penchant for winning via interference, the cage match stipulation made sense. With the two men in the ring, we were treated to a great contest.
They started with hitting all their classic moves and then moved into some cool spots involving the cage. Owens was the clear underdog here, and Reigns got frustrated with his inability to put the Prizefighter away.
The handcuff spot to end the match was creative. It showed us something new and poured more sympathy onto Owens as his quest to dethrone Reigns continued.
Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch (SmackDown Women’s Championship Match; WWE SmackDown 2017)
Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss had a fantastic feud coming out of the brand split in 2016. Bliss was the perfect mean girl heel for Lynch to work on her “The Man” persona. Not only that, but they were also money when they stepped into the ring.
For example, their cage match on SmackDown Live was a great way to start the New Year.
This was a speedier cage match than with the bigger men on the roster. Lynch and Bliss were able to keep the pace up while working in some perfect escape spots. The crowd was into the match throughout, and it had the feel of a big-time match.
The unveiling of Mickie James as Bliss’s masked assistant was a good surprise. It was a way to get Bliss the win while still protecting the aura of The Man.
Randy Orton vs. Christian (World Heavyweight Championship; WWE SmackDown 2011)
This program had the bad luck of going against the “Summer of Punk.” Randy Orton and Christian had one heck of a summer, putting on banger after banger. T
hese matches go largely unnoticed because of other things in the company. Even more under the radar was their last chance cage match on SmackDown.
Christian got his last chance at the World Heavyweight Championship, and you could feel his desperation. He had gotten the taste of gold, and he wanted more. Too bad The Viper had no intentions of giving up his strap.
It made for a great match and a fantastic finish with the RKO off-the-top rope. It was a great ending to an underrated rivalry.
Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch (Raw Women’s Championship; WWE Raw 2024)
Liv Morgan came into her own this year. When she returned, she was a different performer and became a great heel. She was the woman that you loved to hate, and when she put Rhea Ripley on the shelf the boo’s rained down on her.
This was intensified when she captured the world championship and went on to defend it against Becky Lynch on Raw. Morgan was getting great heat from the crowd, and it made Lynch’s whooping of her all the more satisfying.
It was a match that had everyone thinking Lynch was going to be victorious until a screwy cage-door finish ruined the evening. An interesting finish that planted the seed for Dominik Mysterio and Morgan’s love story.
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (World Heavyweight Championship; WWE SmackDown 2009)
CM Punk and Jeff Hardy lit WWE on fire in 2009. Punk’s heel turn and subsequent attack on Jeff Hardy was perfect. It ignited the WWE Universe and was the catalyst for several amazing matches.
Everyone remembers their SummerSlam main event, but few think about the greatness of their final encounter.
A loser leaves WWE stipulation was attached to the contest, deepening the suspense. Who was going to be leaving the company? Will it be a work, or will it be part of the story? It was an intriguing way to present the match, and it made for the perfect last hurrah.
The action was, of course, going to be great. They had put on classics with every other match they had, so there shouldn’t have been much doubt about their abilities. It was a great way to send Hardy off into the sunset.
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