"Cage matches? Yeah, they work. How could they not work? If they didn't work, everybody would still be in the cage." This lovable line from Michael Scott of the sitcom The Office brings joy to fans of cage matches. The concept is simple: a cage surrounds the ring and the fight ends by escape, pin, or submission. The very first steel cage match in professional wrestling is documented to have taken place on June 25, 1937.
Then, the ring was surrounded by chicken wire. The steel cage evolved significantly in its near hundred years of existence, especially in WWE. Not to be confused with Hell In A Cell or the Elimination Chamber, which allow for fighting outside the ring, the steel cage lines up with the edge of the ring enclosing all competition to within the ropes.
10 Steel Mesh
The "steel mesh" cage may not be its official name but years before many of today's wrestling fans were born, steel cage matches in the WWWF days saw steel mesh-like walls enclose the ring. Oddly, WWE does not acknowledge this version of the steel cage. The company acknowledges champions of this era but not recognized the old cage.
The most common photos showing this version of the cage features the 1960s rivalry between Bruno Sammartino and The Sheik. As fans do not know much about this cage, it receives the lowest rating.
9 Barbed Wire Steel Cage
No Way Out 2005 was main-evented by the first and only Barbed Wire Steel Cage match with WWE Champion JBL defending against The Big Show. Barbed wire was wrapped along the top of the cage was to keep JBL's Cabinet stable out, in addition to the locked door. During the buildup to the match, JBL expressed his fear in the possibility of being torn to shreds by the barbed wire.
Even though JBL climbed up to be stopped by the wire, the barbed wire ultimately played no part in the match. After being Chokeslammed through the ring off the top rope, JBL crawled out from under the ring while Show was walking down the ring steps, thus escaping the cage first to win the match.
8 Black-Bar Steel Cage
Many lifelong wrestling fans fondly remember the classic blue-bar steel cage of the Hulkamania and New Generation Eras but may feel lesser towards the uncommonly used black-bar steel cage during the Attitude Era. Although the chain-link cage was also used during the Attitude Era, the classic bar design was painted over and used for an iconic rivalry.
The first use of this cage was at St. Valentine's Day Massacre in February 1999 locking up Vince McMahon and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. WWE would retire the black-bar cage at Rebellion in November 2001 after Edge defeated Christian in the structure.
7 Ambrose Asylum
Before winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley in AEW) feuded with Chris Jericho. At Extreme Rules 2016, the two met in an Ambrose Asylum match, which was just a steel cage with weapons attached around the cage. Some of these weapons included a mop, a straitjacket, and a potted plant.
The saving grace of the match was Ambrose dumping Jericho onto a pile of thumbtacks where 69 of them ended up in "Le Champion." The fight slowly dragged along, did not come off as an "asylum" in any way and it became evidently clear shortly after the bell rang that it was going to be stale.
6 Lion's Den
Three Lion's Den matches took place in the WWF in the late '90s with most fans remembering two of them. The first took place at SummerSlam 1998 where Ken Shamrock defeated Owen Hart. The second (and forgotten) was on the June 7, 1999, Raw where Vince McMahon defeated Ken Shamrock.
The third took place at SummerSlam 1999 with Ken Shamrock defeating Steve Blackman. The Lion's Den match took place in a specially constructed ring, similar to MMA's octagon, giving the professional wrestling audience a hint of cage-fighting which Shamrock came from.
5 "Barbed Wire-Ambrose Asylum/William Regal's NXT Cage"
No official name has been given to this variant of the cage but the first description that can be given is that it is a hybrid of the Barbed Wire Steel Cage and the Ambrose Asylum. This cage was introduced by William Regal at NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2019 to be used in the Johnny Gargano-Adam Cole main event.
The cage had barbed wire affixed to the top of the cage and had weapons attached to the walls. The cage was introduced as a surprise on the event's pre-show. During the fight, a table, ladder, chairs, kendo sticks are more were used. The one-time usage of this cage was a success for ending the Gargano-Cole rivalry.
4 NXT Fight Pit
The May 27, 2020, edition of NXT featured the very first Fight Pit match between Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher with Kurt Angle as special guest referee. The ring ropes were removed and a newly designed cage, with no door surrounded the ring. The cage walls were surrounded by raised platforms that the competitors could access.
The Fight Pit match is not like standard cage matches because the only ways to win are submission or knock out. The platforms make it obvious that dives and tosses are going to happen, eliminating the element of surprise, but it is a unique re-imagining of a cage match. Thatcher won the inaugural Fight Pit match, submitting Riddle.
3 War Games
The first War Games match took place under the banners of the National Wrestling Alliance and Jim Crockett Promotions in July 1987. The match was inherited by WWE and the NXT brand in November 2017. The War Games match in WWE has been a great showcase for strength, creativity, brutality, and courageous dives.
The War Games cage is a very unique sight as the double rings and cage are used once a year. This cage ultimately bears no significant difference to the standard cage other than size but the top of this cage has been a launching pad magnet for dives.
2 Blue-Bar Steel Cage
Some of the most beloved steel cage matches in the WWF took place when the ring was surrounded by blue steel bars. Collectors may also remember or may even still have the old toy blue-bar steel cage but more sentimental value may come through the viewing of the matches.
Hulk Hogan famously fought numerous times within the blue steel bars against the likes of Paul Orndorff, Big Boss Man, Andre The Giant, and King Kong Buddy. Fans also may remember the cage matches between Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior, Owen and Bret Hart, and Mankind and HHH. Just forget that this cage was used in the horrendous Kennel From Hell match.
1 Standard
WWE began to regularly use the current-day design of the chain-link steel cage in the late '90s and since then fans have seen many classic moments, which mostly have been dives off the top from superstars like Kurt Angle, Kane, Rikishi, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Jeff Hardy.
The chain-link design was used in the infamous Don Muraco vs. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka in October 1983 where Snuka jumped off the cage post-fight to deliver a splash to Muraco. That moment inspired many future wrestlers to take to the air, especially off the top of the cage. The standard design has also hosted many championship fights and rivalry finales.