10 Times WWE Went Too Far With Weapons During a Match

WWE has produced countless matches built around tables, ladders, chairs and other weapons, but there have been nights when the violence went far beyond a normal No Disqualification match. Wrestlers have landed on thousands of thumbtacks, been struck repeatedly with steel chairs, crashed through flaming tables and fought with objects wrapped in barbed wire. Some of these moments became part of WWE history, while others look uncomfortable when watched years later.

The difference is particularly clear when comparing older WWE with today's product. Weapons haven't disappeared, but WWE has changed how certain ones can be used. Intentional steel-chair shots to the head, for example, were later prohibited under WWE's concussion policy. That means several spots from the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras would have to be performed very differently today.

Here are 10 times WWE arguably pushed weapon use to its limit during a match.

10. Triple H vs. Batista — Vengeance 2005

Batista and Triple H entered Hell in a Cell at Vengeance 2005 after months of fighting over the World Heavyweight Championship, and their final encounter was filled with weapons. This wasn't simply a match where somebody grabbed a chair from ringside. WWE's own account lists a steel chain, sledgehammer, steel steps and a chair wrapped in barbed wire among the objects used inside the Cell.

The barbed-wire chair was particularly memorable because WWE took an ordinary wrestling weapon and made it look considerably more dangerous. Triple H's trademark sledgehammer also entered the fight, while Batista eventually delivered a spinebuster onto the steel steps.

Batista finished Triple H with the Batista Bomb to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. It remains one of the clearest examples of Ruthless Aggression-era WWE loading a single match with nearly every dangerous object it could reasonably put inside Hell in a Cell.

9. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H — SummerSlam 2002

Shawn Michaels' first WWE match in more than four years wasn't a normal wrestling match. WWE booked Michaels against Triple H in an Unsanctioned Street Fight at SummerSlam 2002. The stipulation gave them considerable freedom, and they used it.

A steel chair, ladder and even Michaels' leather belt became weapons during the fight. WWE's own history of hardcore matches specifically lists those objects among those used that night. The circumstances made the punishment even more uncomfortable. Michaels had been away from full-time wrestling because of the serious back injury that had seemingly ended his career.

Yet his comeback involved ladders, chairs and hard falls rather than a carefully controlled traditional wrestling match. Michaels survived and defeated Triple H, only for Triple H to attack him afterward with the sledgehammer. Considering Michaels' medical history entering the match, it's remarkable how physical WWE allowed his first match back to become.

8. Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley — SummerSlam 2006

Putting Mick Foley in an “I Quit” Match almost guaranteed that normal wrestling wasn't going to last very long. Against Ric Flair at SummerSlam 2006, things quickly became ugly. WWE's account says the ring became filled with barbed wire and blood, with Flair being struck in the face three times with a board covered in barbed wire. Then Foley introduced his familiar bag of thumbtacks.

Thousands were scattered across the canvas. Flair was eventually sent into them. But even that wasn't the ending. Flair later threatened Melina with Foley's barbed-wire baseball bat, forcing Foley to quit to protect her. WWE's following-night coverage described Flair as bruised and bandaged after going through baseball bats, barbed wire and thumbtacks. Two WWE legends nearing the later stages of their careers had essentially recreated the violence of Foley's younger hardcore days.

7. Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack — Backlash 2004

Randy Orton wanted to prove himself as the “Legend Killer.” Mick Foley decided to find out exactly how far he was willing to go. Their Hardcore Match at Backlash 2004 became one of the most violent matches of Orton's WWE career. Tables and chairs appeared, but the moment everyone remembers came when thousands of thumbtacks were poured across the ring.

Orton attempted an RKO. Foley countered. Orton landed back-first directly onto the thumbtacks. WWE later described the match as introducing Orton to Foley's world of thumbtacks, tables, chairs and other weapons. Somehow, that wasn't even the finish. Orton eventually delivered an RKO onto a barbed-wire baseball bat to defeat Cactus Jack. The match helped change how audiences viewed Orton, but he paid for that credibility by willingly entering one of Foley's most dangerous environments.

6. Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer & Beulah vs. Edge, Mick Foley & Lita — ECW One Night Stand 2006

WWE's revival of ECW occasionally went considerably further than the company's regular Raw and SmackDown presentation. This match at One Night Stand 2006 is a perfect example. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk introduced a board covered in barbed wire, and the match quickly deteriorated from there.

Funk was badly cut by the wire. WWE's match report says Foley raked barbed wire across Funk's face before Funk was helped backstage. Then Funk returned and things became even crazier. A barbed-wire board was set on fire. Foley was knocked from the apron and crashed through another barbed-wire board positioned outside the ring.

After the match, WWE reported that Funk had to be cut out of the barbed wire and later needed five stitches. It was less like a conventional WWE match and much closer to the type of extreme spectacle associated with the original ECW.

5. John Cena vs. JBL — Judgment Day 2005

John Cena and JBL's WWE Championship rivalry reached a completely different level when they met in an “I Quit” Match at Judgment Day 2005. Their WrestleMania 21 encounter had been relatively straightforward. This was anything but. The two fought around ringside and into the entrance area while using whatever was available to continue attacking each other. By the end, both men — particularly Cena — were covered in blood.

It became one of the defining violent matches of Cena's early WWE Championship run. The weapons were only part of what made it uncomfortable. The sheer amount of blood combined with the objects being used made the entire match feel much more dangerous than the Cena matches audiences would become accustomed to seeing later.

Cena eventually threatened JBL with a large piece of equipment, leading JBL to quit. The match is an excellent example of just how different WWE's presentation could be during the middle of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

4. The Undertaker vs. Mankind — King of the Ring 1998

Technically, the most dangerous “weapon” in this match wasn't something Foley pulled from beneath the ring. It was Hell in a Cell itself. Mankind was thrown from the top of the Cell through the announce table and later went through the roof into the ring. Yet somehow, the match continued. Then came the thumbtacks. Foley had brought a bag containing approximately 10,000 thumbtacks and eventually scattered them across the ring.

The Undertaker later drove him into them. Foley's condition tells you everything about how far the match had already gone. Years later, he told WWE that he couldn't even remember whether he had used the thumbtacks until someone pointed out that roughly 100 were stuck in his shoulder.

What happened backstage is even more telling. According to Foley, Vince McMahon thanked him for what he'd done for WWE but told him: “I never want to see anything like that again.” When the promoter himself says he doesn't want a repeat, it's difficult to argue that the match hadn't gone beyond normal limits.

3. Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Ladder Match — Armageddon 2006

The Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Ladder Match at WWE Armageddon 2006 deserves a place on this list because one weapon spot resulted in a frightening legitimate injury to Joey Mercury. With the WWE Tag Team Championship suspended above the ring, ladders were naturally everywhere. The Hardys were already known for turning ladders into weapons, but one sequence went badly wrong.

Matt and Jeff Hardy drove a ladder into another ladder while Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro were positioned on the opposite side. The ladder snapped upward at high speed and struck Mercury directly in the face. WWE reported that the impact immediately caused heavy bleeding, forcing officials to remove Mercury from the match and take him to a nearby medical facility. The damage was extensive. Mercury later said his nose had been shattered around the bridge, with four fractures inside his nose, five stitches internally and 15 stitches on the outside of his nose and cheek. His left eye was swollen shut, and he was dealing with continued internal bleeding.

Mercury described just how violent the ladder impact felt: “I have nothing to compare it to; I've never been hit that hard in the face before.” Despite the severity of the impact, Mercury said he never lost consciousness. The amount of blood, however, meant there was no possibility of him simply continuing the match. Johnny Nitro was forced to continue without his partner while London & Kendrick eventually climbed the ladder and retained their WWE Tag Team Championship.

The injury became more disturbing once the full extent of it was known. WWE later reported that Mercury had received 35 stitches to his face following the accident. Unlike a flaming table or barbed-wire bat, there was nothing unusual about the weapon involved. It was an ordinary wrestling ladder used in a match specifically built around ladders. One mistimed collision turned a familiar WWE weapon into something that shattered Mercury's nose and sent him directly to the hospital.

2. The Rock vs. Mankind — Royal Rumble 1999

Sometimes one weapon is worse than ten. The Rock and Mankind's “I Quit” Match at Royal Rumble 1999 is remembered for one sequence that remains uncomfortable to watch decades later. Mankind was handcuffed. He couldn't protect himself normally. The Rock then repeatedly struck Foley in the head with a steel chair.

WWE's own retrospective says Foley received 11 chair shots to the head, describing the sequence as The Rock repeatedly attacking the handcuffed champion as they moved toward the entrance area. Foley's family was sitting at ringside. His wife and children could be seen reacting emotionally while the attack continued. Even Foley doesn't celebrate this one. Discussing the match years later, he told WWE: “I don't watch it. It's not an enjoyable match.” More tellingly, Foley added: “It should never be duplicated.”

WWE itself has subsequently described the championship match as one that Foley admitted “simply went too far.” Today, WWE explicitly prohibits intentional steel-chair shots to the head. Few matches explain why that change was necessary better than this one.

1. Edge vs. Mick Foley — WrestleMania 22's Flaming Table Finish

There is an argument that Undertaker vs. Mankind deserves the top position because of the overall danger. But if we're specifically talking about weapons, WrestleMania 22 produced perhaps WWE's wildest weapon-assisted finish. By the time Edge and Foley reached the closing minutes, both had already endured barbed wire, thumbtacks and other objects.

Then WWE introduced actual fire. Lita ignited a table at ringside. Foley stood on the apron. Edge ran across the ring and launched himself through the ropes, Spearing Foley down through the burning table. Both wrestlers went into the flames. Edge managed to cover Foley and win. The visual became one of the most famous images of both men's careers. But it also represents an era when WWE was willing to take hardcore matches to places that would be extraordinary on today's weekly programming.

WWE itself later described the match as involving thumbtacks, barbed wire, bats and more before Edge finally Speared Foley through the flaming table. WWE's Approach Is Different Today. Weapons haven't disappeared from WWE. Tables break. Ladders collapse. Kendo sticks appear. Chairs remain central to No Disqualification matches.

What has changed is the level of acceptable risk. The Rock repeatedly hitting a handcuffed Mick Foley directly in the head with a steel chair is perhaps the clearest example. Intentional chair shots to the head were subsequently prohibited, meaning the Royal Rumble 1999 sequence could not be recreated in the same manner under WWE's later rules.