In my mind it was and still is one of the most dangerous matches in wrestling history in my mind what's your opinion on the scaffold match?
The Scaffold Match should never have been done. Ever. Not just because of the danger of serious injury and death should something go wrong, but because the environment itself makes it impossible for the boys to DO anything. I occasionally have to use scaffolds at my job. They are rickety, wobbly structures I DON'T want to be on. We have certified, highly-trained professionals constructing them, so they aren't likely to fall or crumble, but the surface you stand on is small, very high off the ground (or floor), and each step you take causes the damn thing to wobble. I couldn't imagine attempting to wrestle anybody on top of the thing. I've seen many Scaffold Matches over the years and every one of them is the same. Two (or four) large men standing on a rickety, wobbly plank ten-fifteen feet above the ring. Each step they take causes the scaffold to sway and wobble and their arms shoot out to balance themselves. They can't wrestle, they can't push each other, they can't hardly even punch each other for fear they will lose their balance and fall off. The whole match is a dull and boring jockeying for position while the guys hang on for dear life. And the point of the match to determine a winner IS to push your opponent off the scaffold, which always means somebody falls down, grabs a hand-hold under the plank and gets his hands stomped on to cause the fall. Outside of the ghoulish spectacle of seeing a wrestler possibly get seriously injured there is no point to the match. Thankfully, outside of a couple of serious knee injuries (Jim Cornette being the most famous), nobody has had their career ended (or been killed) from doing this ridiculous match.
Your right, think of the past injuries in this this type of match makes it one of the most dangerous. It is also one of the most entertaining matches, so I think why its so popular.
It is an incredibly dangerous match, but that's what makes it such a spectacle. It's almost the same as watching a tightrope walker or trapeze artist at the circus, because there's always that danger of suffering a life-threatening fall if just one coordinated move goes wrong. Go back and watch NWA Starrcade '86 and watch the Skywalker's Match between the Road Warriors and the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Still makes me antsy to this day.
