When Monday Night Raw returns to Memphis this week for the first time since 2019, WWE champion Big E will be stepping into a steel cage for a non-title showdown with Kevin Owens.
The two will face off again with the title up for grabs as part of a triple threat match at WWE’s new New Year’s Day event, which is not to be confused with New Day. The latter is the faction Big E is a part of and will never be in a triple threat match with according to my conversation with Kofi Kingson, which you can listen to right here.
Usually a rare occurrence in wrestling, cage matches often find their way onto the card when WWE comes to the Bluff City.
As a matter of fact, this is KO’s second time competing in a steel cage on an episode of Raw originating from FedExForum.
Let’s rank all the WWE cage matches in Memphis (so far):
5) Roman Reigns vs. Universal champion Kevin Owens
Raw, September 19, 2016 at FedExForum
While I’ll acknowledge “The Tribal Chief” won, the highlight came after the bell when Seth Rollins ran to the ring and did a splash from the top of the cage.
4) Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
SmackDown LIVE, January 17, 2017 at FedExForum
An historic first-ever cage match for the women’s title on SmackDown lived up to the hype until La Luchadora interfered and revealed her true identity.
3) Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart for the WWF Championship
USWA/WWF House Show, February 17, 1996 at the Mid-South Coliseum
Even though it wasn’t known at the time, this Saturday matinee in Memphis ended up being the final match ever in the almost three-year-long feud between Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler.
Leading up to the show, “The Hitman” falsely claimed in an interview that he had never lost a cage match in his career, despite the fact that “The King” pinned him in the same building (different cage) in 1993 with some unintentional help from Giant Gonzalez.
2) CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship
Raw, September 15, 2008 at FedExForum
“The Best in the World” and “Le Champion” treated fans to a dynamite of a match with a rampaging finish.
1) “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, February 14, 1999 at The Pyramid
The first and only one-on-one match in the epic Austin-McMahon rivalry featured major stakes on the line (a WWF title shot at WrestleMania XV) and a big show-stealing surprise.
Kevin Cerrito has covered pro wrestling in the Memphis media for over a decade and is the host of 901 Wrestling. Follow him on Twitter @cerrito and subscribe to his newsletter at cerrito.substack.com.