When most of our fans think “specialty match,” they often refer to WWE’s more contemporary contests — the kinds that involve handheld weaponry or home improvement items. However, one of sports-entertainment’s oldest forms of specialized battle — the Steel Cage Match — remains a steadfast staple of agony and suffering for its competitors, and worthy of the No. 10 spot among WWE.com’s Most Extreme Matches.

Though the cage’s definitive origins are unclear, many wrestling historians connect as far back as July 1937; that’s when Jack Bloomfield and Count Petro Rossi took their personal grudge into a squared circle surrounded by chicken wire, to ensure they remained inside while keeping out the possibility of outside interference. Regardless, WWE Legends like “Classie” Freddie Blassie were among the pioneers of pain who revolutionized the Steel Cage Match into what it is today: one of the most grueling ways to resolve some of sports-entertainment’s most malevolent, personal rivalries.

Don’t look for anything fancy once the 15-foot-high steel structure surrounds all four corners of the ring, because you won’t find it. Perhaps it’s the cage’s blatant, unconcealed presence which forces WWE’s Superstars to respect what it can do to them. If the stipulation is made before the match begins, opponents can pin their adversary or force them to submit. Otherwise, the main rule is (pun intended) painfully simple: escape the cage by any means necessary.

Of course, all simplicity disappears when your opponent forcibly reminds you that he’s also trapped in the cage, and plans to batter you around the ring until you’re in no condition to leave of your own accord. The mesh wiring itself can become your greatest ally, or your fiercest enemy. As generations of Superstars can attest, whether it’s Ric Flair, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Mankind or Triple H, once flesh goes face-to-face against the unforgiving steel…the steel always wins.

Provided you wear down your opponent enough, your options are 1) to scale up and over the 15-foot-high structure, or 2) exiting via the one doorway that remains locked until opened by a ring official. Either way, both feet must touch the outside floor before your opponent’s. Batista was reminded of this requirement the hard way during his Steel Cage Match against Edge at this year’s One Night Stand, when The Animal crawled out of the doorway head-first and braced himself on the floor with his hands. That gave the World Heavyweight Champion that extra split-half second to drop down, land feet-first onto the floor, and steal certain victory from the challenger.

Since its inception, the steel cage has remained a brutal main-event match fixture in WWE, linking to such classic confrontations as Bruno Sammartino’s stadium-capacity “Showdown at Shea” against Larry Zbysko in August 1980; Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania 2 in April 1986; and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin being thrown through the cage by Mr. McMahon’s surprise accomplice, Big Show, at February 1999’s St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Over the years, measures have been added to make certain contests even more punishing (as evidenced at No Way Out in February 2005, and WWE’s first-ever Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match between JBL and Big Show), though the steel confines alone have proved the notion that simple is often brutally best.