10 Worst Steel Cage Matches In WWE History

Steel cage matches are one of the first memories that come to mind when fans think of professional wrestling. Long before TLC, Hell In A Cell, and Elimination Chamber, steel cages were the most feared structure. With the combatants locked in the structure, fans can expect a grueling and brutal match.

The steel cage has always been a great way to end a rivalry, eliminate outside interference and even host championship matches. However, like all great things, steel cage matches are not excluded from bad matches. A steel cage can amplify how good a match is, but it can also amplify how poor a match is. While in theory, these matches should have been great, they can be best described as absolute flops.

10 Goldust & Stardust vs The Usos

During 2014 talent in the tag team division within WWE was rather thin and this match is a prime example of that. With the dust brothers (Goldust and Stardust) being the WWE Tag Team Champions they were locked in a feud with the Usos over the titles. The match took place on an episode of Smackdown and let's just say the competitors gave it a fair shot.

The teams were locked in the cage and one would think the style of this match would be a tornado tag with all members duking it at, however, the match was a typical tag team match. With the competitors needing to tag frequently it slowed the pace of the match significantly. Eventually, the Dust brothers would go on to win a forgettable match.

9 Brock Lesnar vs Vince McMahon

On an episode of SmackDown, Brock Lesnar was booked to face Vince McMahon in a steel cage match with WWE Champion Kurt Angle as the special guest referee. The match began with some posturing of the men with the fans anticipating an absolute slugfest. With the match starting electric and everything looking bad for McMahon, Lesnar suddenly collapsed before performing his F5 finisher.

With Angle and McMahon arguing, Brock Lesnar pops to his feet and beats down Kurt Angle. With McMahon and Lesnar in cahoots, fans were left with a bad taste in their mouth. Although the eventual rivalry between Angel and Brock would be great, this match certainly was not.

8 Daniel Bryan Vs Big Show Vs Mark Henry

At the 2012 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan was set with the difficult task of defending his World Heavyweight in a triple threat match against the Big Show and Mark Henry. With the odds stacked against him, Bryan did put up an honorable fight, however, he spent most of the match being used like a rag doll.

The most drama in the match came in the last moments with Bryan literally hanging from the top of the cage. However, the match had little high flying moves and due to the size discrepancy, the match was rather slow-moving. Bryan won the match in a rather unexciting fashion with little reaction from the crowd.

7 John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt and John Cena were locked in a bitter feud leading up to their match at the 2014 Extreme Rules pay-per-view. With fans' high expectations, the two men did their best to live up to the hype and unfortunately, they did not. Bray Wyatt was accompanied to the ring with his two henchmen (Erick Rowan and Luke Harper) while Cena came to the match alone.

The pace of the match was okay, however, Cena was on the back foot from the get-go with Rowan and Harper getting involved. The weirdest moment possibly in WWE history happened at the end of the match with Cena poised to win. Just before Cena is about to win the lights go out and then a child appears talking in what is clearly not his real voice. With this distraction, Bray would go on to win the match and make fans all too uncomfortable at that moment.

6 Braun Strowman vs Big Show

Following a match where the two men collapsed the ring, naturally, a steel cage match was on deck for The Big Show and Braun Strowman. Both men did show impressive feats of strength, but that is pretty much all that this match had going for it. The two did the most that they could with their size, but the match felt too slow to keep fans engaged.

The match ran for over fifteen minutes, however, a quicker match would have benefited the two more. The match came to a merciful end, with the most memorable moment is seeing the Big Show with no hair or beard.

5 Big Show Vs John Cena

At the No Way Out pay-per-view in 2012, John Cena and the Big Show were booked to face off in a steel cage match with the winner deciding the fate for then Raw general manager John Laurinaitis. The match was a typical Big Show steel cage match, with him manhandling Cena around the ring and laboring between moves.

Fans were engaged for some parts of the match, but the odds were never in the Big Show's favor to win this match. With four different superstars coming out to assist Cena, Cena would go on to win the match in a rather unexciting fashion. In the end, the best part of the match was Vince McMahon saying "You're fired".

4 Bret Hart vs Issac Yankem

While Bret Hart can take credit for being apart of one of the greatest steel cage matches in WWE history, unfortunately for the Hitman, this is not one of them. On an episode of Raw, Bret Hart and Issac Yankem was set to face off in a steel cage match.

The match itself was okay, with both men gaining momentum, however, the cage itself made following the men difficult to do. The pace of the match was slow from the start as both men were rather conservative for being in a steel cage. The match took an even weirder turn Jerry Lawler got involved, which led him to be locked in a cage and be suspended over the ring? Fans were left listening to a winning Lawler for the remainder of the match.

3 Dolph Ziggler vs Kane

During an episode of SmackDown, fan-favorite Dolph Ziggler was going to be locked in a steel cage with "Corporate" Kane, although Kane appeared different, fans were reminded his skillset was the same. With such a big size discrepancy, Dolph did what he could, but was quickly overpowered.

This match was the main event of the show and while it was entertaining at times, it definitely was not the main event worthy. The ending saw Dolph awkwardly hanging on top of the door and saw him gingerly drop down for the win.

2 Kane vs Snitsky

For some reason, WWE has always figured that putting two big men in a steel cage would end in an absolute barn burner, but it seldom works out. Kane and Snitsky's match on an episode of Raw is a perfect example of what not to do in a cage match. The men's stature is rather similar, which led to a fairly predictable match.

The height of the drama was when an injured Trish Stratus tried to intervene which led to Sntisky being able to take out Kane. Rather than walking out of the cage for the win Snitsky unconvincingly ripped the door off and attempted to beat down Kane. Obviously, this led to Kane beating down Snitky with the door, the ending was just as predictable as the match itself.

1 Shane McMahon vs The Miz

As the saying normally goes "save the best for last" well this match is something like that. At the 2019 Money In The Bank pay-per-view, the Miz and Shane McMahon were scheduled to face off in a steel cage match. While the match did have its fair share of breath-taking maneuvers, the ending is what fans did not like.

With the Miz catapulting Shane from the top of the cage most assumed Miz would score the victory via pinfall, but Shane somehow kicked out. This took a lot of the air out of the arena and when Shane eventually won fans did not understand why.

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