deathmatch

Celebrity Deathmatch was a beloved stop-motion show that ran from 1998 to 2007 on MTV. The show pitted various celebrities and popular figures against each other in highly stylized wrestling matches until an opponent dies. The series is known for its large amount of bloody violence and pop culture references. This week, Ice Cube announced a reboot of the show slated for weekly broadcast in 2019. To anticipate the return of CDM, let’s look back at the most memorable fights throughout the series.

Spice Girls vs Hanson (1998)

One of the two pilot episodes of the series, “Deathbowl ‘98” featured two celebrity fights; musician Marilyn Manson vs murderer Charles Manson, and then later Spice Girls vs Hanson. The episode pitted the decade’s “most annoying groups” against each other, but in the end it was Marilyn Manson who killed them. He crushed both the Spice Girls and Hanson by cutting the supports of a suspended light rig. His motive? He simply didn’t like both bands.

The Beatles against each other (John Lennon vs Paul McCartney vs George Harrison vs Ringo Starr) (2002)

In this special episode of Celebrity Deathmatch, commentators Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond promised to show the audience “The Missing Beatles Tape” from their Deathmatch Vault, featuring the Beatles’ mythic 1970’s fight.  The match features so may Beatles references as each Beatle take advantage of many of their quirks to kill off each other. In the end, Yoko Ono stopped the Four some from fighting which prompted them to perform an unannounced new song called “Revolution 10”.

Backstreet Boys vs Beastie Boys (1999)

Episode title: “Battle of the Boys with Toys”. Fight: Backstreet Boys vs Beastie Boys to determine which “boys” were the best. So what do they do? They fight to the death using giant robots, naturally.

Hillary Clinton vs Monica Lewinsky (1998)

The biggest scandal of the 90’s was when U.S. President Bill Clinton had an affair with the White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. So Celebrity Deathmatch pitted the two women together for our entertainment. While Hillary has the upper-hand for most of the match-up, the fight stops once Bill is caught on microphone saying, "Excuse me, miss? Would you mind grabbing my nuts?" Both women in the ring then turn on him.

Madonna vs Michael Jackson (1999)

Arguably, the best CDN fight ever, and this one wasn’t even planned. Madonna was performing for the show when Michael Jackson interrupted. When they were about to get it on, a pool of hydrochloric acid then surrounds the ring. The funniest moment of the fight was when MJ gets knocked into the acid only to reemerge with a version of his face from the 70’s. As he conjures up some Moonwalker magic, he mistakenly transforms himself into a hamster, which doesn’t end well for him.