Getting pinned with your foot under the bottom rope sticking out
 

since when did this rule come into play? Just been seeing it recently on RAW. You know, you're getting pinned but the ref sees your leg is under the bottom rope, past the bottom rope stiking out a bit, and the ref has to break the cover just like if your leg was ON the ropes

I think it's technically always been a rule. Same concept as having your foot on the rope. If part of your body is under the rope/ outside the ring, it doesn't count.

It has been a "rule" for a VERY long time, it just isn't publicized except when needed for the storyline.

Yup. I remember SD games that would have it. Very frustrating.

It's more dramatic for a wrestler to put his foot on the bottom rope than under it. Plus it's easier for a live audience to make sense of why the pin was stopped.

Earliest I saw was when Benoit "won" the title in WCW.

Yeah I was gonna bring that up. I remember the announcers saying about Sid having his foot under the rope, and if I recall they somehow tried to kafabe that into why Benoit was stripped of the title (probably made that up). Of course the real reason was him coming to WWE.

And it was quite a pissoff too because the guy would just be lying near the ropes and the graphics were not up-to-par... so it was "ROPE BREAK" all the fricken time!

At least for the old games.

I'm fairly certain in the Beth Phoenix vs. Candace Michelle match (the one where Candace fell off the top rope and broke her face) the ref had Beth pull Candace just far enough out of the corner that there wasn't need for a rope break call.

It's been a rule for a long time and not just in WWE, I see this on AWA classics a lot where the announcers will point that out. But the funny thing is that the ref never sees it and counts to 3 and the announcers will say, "That's what you get with a rookie ref"