Professional wrestling match types
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This is a list of match types seen in professional wrestling.
Variations of singles matches
One Fall
The standard wrestling match. All normal rules apply.
Ambulance Match
A no-disqualification match, in which there are no pinfalls or submissions: instead, the object is to injure one's opponent to the point that they must be taken away in an ambulance. A heavily hyped ambulance match was held at the 2003 Survivor Series, between Shane McMahon and Kane .
Arm Wrestling Match
An arm wrestling contest.
Barbed Wire Match
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This match has the ropes replaced with barbed wire. Almost inevitably someone gets thrown against it. In the United States, this match was mainly seen in Extreme Championship Wrestling, but it is also popular in some Japanese promotions. A famous Barbwire match was one between Mick Foley (then known as Cactus Jack) and The Sandman.
Bar Room Brawl
This match is held in a bar, with the last wrestler capable of drinking the winner. Wrestlers can be eliminated by being knocked out or by drinking themselves unconcious. There are no disqualifications.
Battle of Respect
This match has no winners. Two wrestlers wrestle each other for a fixed amount of time without pinfalls or submissions.
Best Two (out) of Three falls
To win, a wrestler must score two falls on his opponent before his opponent can score two on him. Sometimes each of the falls is fought under different stipulations (called Three Stages of Hell), such as one pinfall, one submissions only fall and one no disqualification fall. This type of match is almost always booked to go to the third fall. In the event that one of the three falls ends in a disqualification, the match continues, but any titles at stake will not change hands. see also: 2 out of 3 falls match
Blindfold Match
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Sometimes one, usually both competitors wear blindfolds and wrestle. Otherwise normal rules apply.
Blood Bath Match
Dump a bowl of red liquid over the opponent to win.
Boiler Room Brawl
Main Article: Boiler Room Brawl. The winner is the first man to escape the boiler room. Any weapons found in the room can be used. During Tank Abbott's stint in World Championship Wrestling, this match was known as "The Block."
Boxing Match
Sometimes in professional wrestling, a feud will be settled with a boxing match. Standard boxing rules apply, although nearly every one of these matches ends with somebody breaking the rules and wrestling or fighting in a manner outside of boxing (and typically getting away with it). Perhaps the most famous example of a boxing match held on a wrestling card would be Mr. T defeating "Rowdy" Roddy Piper by disqualification in the fourth round at WrestleMania 2.
Bra and Panties Match
A match between two (usually) women in which the winner is the first to strip her opponent down to her bra and panties.Bunkhouse Brawl
Wrestlers may bring any item and wear any attire they wish (in the past, this has even included full suits of armor). There are no disqualifications and no count outs.
Buried Alive Match
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Considered by many to be the most extreme match World Wrestling Entertainment has ever held, the object of this match is to bury the other wrestler alive in a makeshift grave inside the arena. No other rules apply. In this match type, the wrestler who is buried alive always survives in the storyline. Another variation of this match is a Concrete Crypt Match which had the Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer buried in concrete.
Casket Match
The winner of this match is the first wrestler to put his/her opponent into a closed casket. This match has been a trademark of the WWE wrestler The Undertaker. A number of variants exist, where the object is to place the other wrestler in other closed containers. The Casket is often placed on the ringside, but the other variants might have the container on top of the ramp. The casket may be replaced by other containers, such as a dumpster (in which case the match becomes a Dumpster Match), an ambulance (Ambulance Match), or a hearse (known as a Last Ride Match introduced at No Mercy 2004). See Also: Casket Match.
Catch-as-Catch-Can Match
Typically seen in the early 1900's, catch-as-catch-can matches allowed any hold given that hold is not intended to inflict injury. These matches thus typically contain mostly submission or amateur-style wrestling. Sometimes, this match is altered to stipulate that a wrestler may lose by going to or being forced to the arena floor, like in a battle royal.
Catfight
A match between two women, where the object is to throw one's opponent over the top rope to the floor.
Cry Baby Match
The loser of the match must wear a diaper.
Death Match
See Hardcore Match.
Double Tables Match
This match has a cage where there is a table hooked to each side of the cage. The only way to win is put your opponent through two tables.
Duchess of Queensberry Rules Match
A singles match divided into two time based rounds where there are no submissions allowed and no disqualifications.
Elimination Chamber Match
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A six-person elimination match that takes place in a specially constructed round cage, with a metal floor at ring height between the ring apron and the wall of the cage. Two of the six participants start in the ring, while the other four are initially locked up in holding cells within the cage, and are released at intervals of five minutes (in the match at Survivor Series 2002) or three minutes (in the match at SummerSlam 2003). A wrestler who has been eliminated in the usual manner (pin or submission) is forced to leave the cage until one remains. See Also: Elimination Chamber.
Elimination Match
A match that usually involves 6 to 8 wrestlers. Wrestlers are eliminated by pinfall, submission, countout or disqualification, and the winner is the last man in the ring.
Evening Gown Match
A match between two women in evening gowns; the winner is the first to remove her opponent's gown. In practice, the end result is usually the same as in a Bra and Panties Match. However, in the Evening Gown Match booked for WrestleMania XX in 2004, all four women in the match stripped to their undergarments before wrestling started; the match then proceeded as a normal tag team match with no further undressing.(Sometimes done with Kimonos instead of gowns, then referred to as a Kimono Match)
Falls Count Anywhere Match
This match has pinfalls anywhere in the arena. Otherwise, normal rules apply. 2nd type : You lose if you come back to the ring and your opponent didn't make his way back in the next 60 seconds ( e.g:WM X = Crush vs Macho Man). In the now-defunct Tri-State Wrestling Association, a wrestler won a Falls Count Anywhere match by pinning his opponent against an arena wall.
Fatal Four Way Match
Identical to a Triple Threat Match, but with four wrestlers in the ring at the same time instead of three. On occasion, this may be booked as an "elimination match" similar to a Three Way Dance.
Finisher Match
The first wrestler to perform their finishing manuever wins.
Gorilla/Body Slam Match
A wrestler must body slam his opponent to win. Pinfalls and submissions count in this match. The most famous match of this type was at Wrestlemania when André the Giant defeated Big John Studd for a $15,000 prize
Splash Match
A variation of the Finisher Match or Body Slam Match in which the only way to win is to successfully score some type of splash on your opponent.
Chokeslam Challenge
A version of the Finisher Match where the only way to win is for someone to perform a chokeslam on his/her opponent. One of the only times this match took place was between Triple H and the Big Show on an episode of SmackDown!.
First Blood Match
This match has no disqualifications. The only way to win is to make your opponent bleed
Flag Match
Each wrestler has a flag that they must retrieve and one that they must defend. They must get their flag from the opponents' corner before the opponents can get their flag. There is also a tag-team variation of this match.
Flaming Tables Match
Related to a Tables Match, but because ECW deals only with extremely hardcore rules, the table is set on fire. The only way to win is to plunge your opponent through a flaming table.
Four Corners Match
In this match two wrestlers positioned as in a tag team match and two wrestlers wrestling in the ring. The two wrestlers in the ring can tag any of of the two standing on the apron. It is an advantage to be in the ring as you cannot win on the apron. There is only one winner
Gauntlet Match
This match pits one initial wrestler against another in a normal rules contest. If said wrestler wins, another opponent takes his place until all set opponents are defeated or the initial wrestler loses. Sometimes this match can be in a series (one different opponent per day until all are defeated). This is called Running the Gauntlet or Slobber Knocker, and was popular in WCW in the early 1990s.
Good Housekeeping Match
A singles match in which household appliances and kitchenware can legally be used as weapons.
Handcuff match
Handcuff opponent to win.
Handicap Match
A match in which one wrestler or one team of wrestlers faces another team of wrestlers with numerical superiority.
Hangman's Horror Match
In this match, on every rope there is a dog collar and your goal is to hang your opponent until he cant go on. This match was created by Raven to end his feud with Vampiro.
Hardcore Rules Match
This match has no disqualifications, no count-outs and no holds barred. Pinfalls count anywhere. There was also a championship belt denoting the most hardcore person in the WWF/E. See also Hardcore wrestling
Raven called this match type a "Raven's Rules" match. In WWE, this is sometimes called an "ECW Rules Match", a reference to Extreme Championship Wrestling, where all matches were fought under hardcore rules, but in an ECW Rules Match weapons are littered in the ring
Hardcore Rules Match (WCW)
After WCW established their version of the Hardcore title, they altered the rules of the hardcore match to stipulate that the bout would begin in the backstage area and end in the ring.
Hell in a Cell Match
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This is essentially a one fall match inside a steel cage, which is fully enclosed. Pins or submissions only and can count inside or outside the structure. This cage is larger than a traditional cage in that it also contains the immediate floor around the ring. Even though the main hook in this match is that there's "no possible way to escape the cage", in practice, the action always ends up being taken outside, and it is very common to see wrestlers fighting on top of this steel structure. One of (if not the) most famous such match took place in 1998 in the then-WWF (now WWE) between The Undertaker and Mankind. Another variation, called a Hell in a Cell Ladder Match is when there is a ladder in the ring with the reward hanging at the top of the cell. First wrestler to get the reward wins. See Also: Hell in a Cell.
Hog Pen Match
A match where the loser is the first wrestler to be thrown into a pig pen.
Iron Man Match
This match is a contest with a fixed time limit, usually sixty minutes (or one hour), and the wrestler with the most amount of pinfalls, submissions, opponent disqualifications, and opponent count-outs is the winner. Main Article: Iron man match
"I Quit" Match
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Similar to a submission match with one exception; you must force your opponent to actually say "I Quit" into a microphone in order for this match to end. See Also: "I Quit" Match.
"I Respect You" Match
Related to an "I Quit" match, that means, anything goes. In order to win, you have to hurt your opponent so badly that it leaves him no other choice but to say, "I respect you" into the mic.
Jailhouse Match
The loser of the match is jailed for a night in the local prison. All other usual rules apply.
Junkyard Invitational
This match takes place in a junkyard. First wrestler to escape the junkyard wins the match.Ladder Match
A match between two or more wrestlers where the winner is the one who climbs the ladder and grabs a reward (usually a championship belt).
Stairway to Hell Match
A match with barbed wire hanging above the ring; whoever reaches it first (using a ladder) can use it as a weapon. The winner can defeat their opponent by pinfall or submission. This type of match was common in ECW.
Luchas de Apuestas
Any match where both wrestlers have put something on the line such as a title or mask. They are more popular in Mexico but they do happen from time to time in Japan and the United States. Some variations follow. In any case of a draw, both wrestlers lose what they put up.
Hair v. Mask Match
A wrestler with hair, usually long hair, wrestles a masked wrestler. The loser is either unmasked or their head is shaved. This usually takes place in Mexico, where it is called Máscara contra Cabellera.
Hair v. Hair Match
The loser of the match gets his head shaved. In Mexico, this is called Cabellera contra Cabellera.
Mask v. Mask Match
The loser of the match is unmasked. In Mexico, this is called Mascara contra Mascara. In Mexico it is the most important match in a wrestler's career, since almost every wrestler begins their career masked. Only a few of the greatest wrestlers will keep their mask their whole career, such as Mil Mascaras and El Hijo del Santo. In Mexico, once you are unmasked, you may never wear a mask as that character again. The Box y Lucha commisions fine heavily for infractions and have supsended licenses. However, there are occasional gimmick shows where wrestlers are allowed to wear their masks if they had lost them.
Last Man Standing Match
A no disqualification, no count-out match with no pinfalls. Whenever a wrestler is knocked down, they must regain their feet within a ten count or they will lose the match.
Last Ride Match
Related to the ambulance match, but unlike the ambulance match, a hearse is used instead. The opponent who gets beaten up so severely that there is nothing left for him or her to do, and gets thrown into the back of hearse that will be driven to the funeral home loses the match. As a result, it is also called a Hearse Match.
Lion's Den Match
A match that was used in the WWE between 1998/1999. The aim of the match was to knock out your opponent or to make him submit inside an octagonal cage. The rules are made to mimic mixed martial arts matches, and the octagonal cage is meant to mimic the cage used by the Ultimate Fighting Championship league.
Loser Leaves Town Match
The loser of the match must leave the town the match was held in and not return. This was often held in regional promotions when a wrestler was leaving the company to explain their disappearance.
Lumberjack Match
A match where the ring is surrounded by a group of "lumberjacks", normally fellow wrestlers. When one participant in the match leaves the ring for any reason, the lumberjacks are supposed to return him to the ring as soon as possible. The lumberjacks are generally a combination of faces and heels, who sometimes fight among themselves outside the ring. Sometimes, as part of a storyline, a face will wrestle a heel with a group of lumberjacks consisting entirely of heels. A variation of this match is called a Canadian Lumberjack Match, in which the lumberjacks are equipped with leather straps. Usually a gimmick match.
Lumberjill Snowbunny match
A Lumberjack match with female lumberjacks, held in a pit of snow.
Monster's Ball Match
A 3-way hardcore match held after the wrestlers are locked in darkened rooms for 24 hours without food or water. Debuted at TNA's Victory Road PPV.
Mud Match
A female wrestling match that takes place in a mud pool.
No Disqualification Match
Normal rules apply, except that there are no disqualifications. This can also be called a No Holds Barred Match.
(Object) on a Pole Match
Similar to a ladder match except the first man to reach the object hanging from a pole in the corner of the ring wins. In this variation, the object is often a contract guaranteeing the winner a championship match.
Alternately the match is fought under one fall rules with the object on the pole considered a legal foreign object. It may be used as a weapon by the wrestler who retrieves it. Some examples of this variation include the Guitar on a Pole Match and the Brass Knuckles on a Pole Match.
Coal Miner's Glove Match
A variation of the typical "Object on a Pole Match" in which the object in question is a coal miner's glove, which can be used on one's opponent upon retrieval.
"Over the Top, Off with the Top" Match
A singles match between two wrestlers, where, for every time one wrestler is thrown over the top rope to the floor, the female accompanying that wrestler must remove an item of clothing. Also known as a Holiday Topless Top-Rope Match.
Parking Lot Brawl
This match is a regular match with the exceptions of no disqualification and it takes place in a parking lot. Other variations include a Bar Room Brawl which takes place in a bar.
Pillow Fight
A match between two women in which pillows and a bed are placed in the ring. The pillows may be used as weapons, and standard wrestling rules apply, although this kind of match ordinarily features little to no wrestling.
Lingerie Pillow Fight
A variation on the pillow fight wherein the participants wear lingerie (this is actually more common than the non-lingerie form).
Pin Only
A match in which only pinfalls count as a win. There are no submissions or count-outs, and there may or may not be disqualifications. Also known as a Final Curtain match.
Rage in a Cage
A match held in an oval-shaped cage. It is typically used as the arena for the "blowoff match" of a feud. It can be used for a tag team or singles match. In this match, wins are usually by pinfall.
Retirement Match
The loser of this match must retire from professional wrestling. Often, the loser doesn't actually "retire," but instead leaves to either fulfill another obligation (filming a movie, for example) or simply to take a break from wrestling. Sometimes a retirement match is used to give a wrestler the opportunity to return with a new gimmick.
San Francisco 49er Match
Four boxes are placed in the four corners of the ring, one with the championship belt and the other three with weapons. You must find box with the belt to win the match and the championship. To date, this match is only known to have happened in a major wrestling federation once (Booker T. defeating Jeff Jarrett to become the WCW World Heavyweight champion on October 2, 2000).
Scaffold Match
This match takes place on a scaffold above the ring. The two ways to win the match are to push the opponent off of the scaffold so that he/she hits the mat or to grab the flag from the opponent's home base of the scaffold and return it to one's own home base. Some variations include putting weapons or objects into the ring for when the opponent lands, for example card tables.
Another variation, called a Scaffold Cage Match, is when the wrestlers beat each other until one is knocked off of the scaffold and into the ring. The ring is surrounded by a high steel cage and the only way to win is by pinfall.
Short Leash Match
This match has two wrestlers tied together with a short leash (making the opponents one foot away from each other) and the only way to win is by either submission or knock-out. Another variation is called a Chain Match, a submissions-only match with no disqualifications.
Silver Dollar Match
In this match, rolls of silver dollars are considered legal weapons, and are used as fist loads. Closed fists are also legal. The wrestlers attack each other with punches until one can not answer the ten count.
Six Pack Challenge
A match pitting six singles competitors against one another, with the first pinfall or submission winning the match.
Special Referee
Also known as Special Guest Referee is any match in which the usual referee is replaced with a "guest" filling in as the official. Celebrities, managers and other wrestlers can "guest" as the special referee. In some cases, a special referee is put into a match which is already a different match type or stipulation (for example: Hell in a Cell with a Special Referee). The special referee will often be biased towards or against one of the competitors.
Special Outside Referee
Also known as Special Enforcer or Special Guest Enforcer is same as the Special Referee but the guest referee stays on the outside enforcing what the normal referee doesn't see. These guests are sometimes known as "enforcers", the most famous of which was Mike Tyson.
Steel Cage Match
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Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match
A Steel Cage Match with Barbed Wire around the top of the cage, making it harder to win by escaping. This match was devised at WWE No Way Out 2005, where Big Show faced John Bradshaw Layfield for the WWE championship.
Six Sides of Steel
A Steel Cage match held inside a hexagonal ring.
Asylum Match
A chain link cage in the shape of a circle placed in the middle of the ring. Victory occurs only by submission.
Stinkface Match
The winner is the first wrestler to perform a Stinkface. All other usual rules apply.
Straitjacket Match
The first wrestler to successfully put his or her opponent into a straitjacket is the winner. Generally, there are no disqualifications and no countouts.
Strap Match
See Texas Bullrope Match.
Street Fight
This match cannot end in a disqualification. Otherwise, all of the normal rules apply. A variation of this match is called a Southside Scuffle in which two wrestlers fight in a back alley with either sides blocked off by other wrestlers. Another variation of this match is called a Harbor Brawl in which the wrestlers battle near or on a dock. The first wrestler to either win by knockout or throw their opponent in the water is declared the winner.
Stretcher Match
Strap your opponent to a stretcher to win. Some rules state that you must push your opponent a certain distance or into an ambulance.
Submission Match
The first man to make his opponent submit wins. Often used in Japan under the name (Japanese) UWF Rules. The Japanese UWF and its derived shoot-style promotions only allowed submissions or knockouts to end matches (including tag team matches), so it was an exclusive feature of such promotions.
Ultimate Submission Match
This match is a variation of an Iron Man Match. The variation is that the wrestler with the most submissions at the end of the match is the winner.
Sumo Match
The ropes are removed from the ring and standard sumo wrestling rules apply: the first to step outside of the ring or to touch the mat with any part of their body but the soles of the feet is the loser. As would be expected, these matches are much shorter than standard professional wrestling bouts. One example is The Big Show versus Sumo Grand Champion Akebono at WWE WrestleMania 21.
Table Match
This match has wrestlers against each other with provided tables. First wrestler to put their opponents through a table is declared the winner. There are no disqualifications.
Texas Bullrope Match
Two wrestlers are tied to the opposite ends of a bullrope, usually with a cowbell in the middle. The cowbell is a legal weapon. The first man to touch all four turnbuckles consecutively with no offense from the other wins. No disqualifications or count-outs but if either man unties himself from the rope, he is disqualified. Some variations can include a chain (sometimes called a "Russian Chain Match") or leather strap instead of a bullrope (otherwise called an "Indian Strap Match"). Pinfalls can be permitted depending on the promotion but there's usually no submission. Another variation is a regular strap and fight until one wrestler touches all four corners successfully (called a Strap Match).
Dog Collar Match
Identical to a Texas Bullrope Match but using two dog collars around each wrestler's neck connected to a chain. Normally used when at least one wrestler has a canine-related gimmick; both The British Bulldog and Junkyard Dog were frequently booked in such matches. This was also a common staple used by The Pitbulls in Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Texas Death Match
Cross between a Last Man Standing match and a Hardcore Match. When an opponent is pinned he is administered a ten count. If they are able to answer the count, the match continues.Three Strikes, You're Out!
The idea for this match is to get three victories in a specific order; pinfall, submission and knock out. First wrestler to get all those done, wins. Often combined with Street Fight rules.
Three Way Dance
Identical to a Triple Threat Match, but with the loser of a fall being eliminated from the competition. The last wrestler remaining is victorious. This match was a specialty of Extreme Championship Wrestling. There is also another variation called a Four Way Dance or Collision Course Royal Rumble in which the match starts out as a typical Battle Royal or Royal Rumble but when there are four wrestlers remaining, a referee gets into the ring and the match turns into a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match.
T.L.C. - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
Same rules as a ladder match except that tables and chairs are readily available as weapons. Usually this match features tag-teams of wrestlers (but no tag rules apply).
TLCC Tables, Ladders and Canes
This match is the same as above but with the addition of Singapore Canes.
Full Metal Mayhem
This match is the same as the TLC match but chains are added.
Total Conquest Match
This match has two wrestlers fighting throughout a house until a pinfall is made.
Triangle Match
A three-way, one-fall tag match wherein one of the competitors must remain outside the ring to await a tag from one of the other combatants before replacing him in the ring. Being tagged out is a serious disadvantage as one cannot win from this position.
Triple Cage Match
Also known as the Doomsday Cage. This match, a specialty of the WCW, involved three cages constructed on top of each other. The object is to climb up to the top of the third cage to grab an object, much like a ladder match. In the WCW, the object was the World Title belt. One example is Jeff Jarrett defeating Diamond Dallas Page and WCW World Heavyweight champion David Arquette at WCW Slamboree 2000.
Triple Threat Match
See also: Three Way Dance This is a one fall match where three wrestlers fight instead of two. The winner of this match is the first wrestler to get a pin fall or submission. There is usually no disqualfication or count-out. If a championship is on the line, the champion does not have to be pinned or submit for the title to change hands.
Tuxedo Match
The chronological predecessor to the evening gown match, and contested between two men in outfits resembling men's formal wear. Most such matches have involved non-wrestling performers (announcers or managers).
Ultimate X Match
A triple threat or four way match. An X is formed above the ring with wires from metal poles outside the ring in each corner. It has also been a four man elimination event, starting out as a tag team match. Then, when one man is pinned, it turns into a Triple-Threat match, where the ropes come into play. Similarly to the Ladder match, a championship belt or some other reward is then placed in the center of the X. The winner is the first person to take possession of the object. This match was created for, and is a centerpiece of, the X Division of Total Nonstop Action. So far, the only items held from the ropes has been the X Division Championship and a big red X. Past winners(of the match, not the belt) include: Michael Shane (twice), Chris Sabin (twice), Frankie "The Future" Kazarian (co-holder with Michael Shane), AJ Styles, and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, who is the most recent winner of the match and current X Division champion. This match is also referred to as "The Ultimate X", "X match", "Ultimate X Challenge", "X Challenge", and "X2".Weapons Match
A match where certain weapons may be used legally, with all other usual rules applying.
Chairs Match
This match has steel chairs as legal weapons. No disqualifications but other rules apply.
Singapore Cane Match
This match has two wrestlers carrying kendo sticks or Singapore canes into the ring and using them as legal weapons. Victory is only by pinfall. A version of the match done by Extreme Championship Wrestling was a normal match (winner decided by pinfall and/or submission) where the loser of the match gets caned by the winner.White Castle of Fear Match
Tag-team match variations
See tag team
Multi-Competitor Match Variations
Battle Royal
The winner of this match is the last person in the ring after all other wrestlers have been thrown over the top-rope. In some cases, wrestlers can also be pinned or KO'd. Usually happens with either ten, fifteen or twenty wrestlers and in some cases, the winner gets a chance to face a wrestler for a championship. See also Battle Royal.3-Ring, 60-Man Battle Royal World War 3
Battle royal rules apply, except this match takes place with a total of sixty wrestlers in three different rings. All wrestlers begin the match at the same time (as opposed to entering at intervals). WCW held this match annually at their November "World War III" pay-per-view event from 1995 to 1998. Randy Savage won the first 3-ring, 60-man battle royal, and was thus awarded the vacant WCW World Heavyweight championship. In later years, the match would be used to determine the number one contender to the title.
Gauntlet Match (TNA)
TNA's version of a Gauntlet match is similar to a Royal Rumble match. Two wrestlers start in the ring and other wrestlers enter the ring at set intervals. Elimination occurs when a wrestler is thrown over the top rope and both feet hit the floor. The last two remaining wrestlers then fight in a single match (pinfall or submission only, all other rules apply) to determine a winner. When a championship is on the line, the match is known as a Gauntlet for the Gold Match.
Hardcore Battle Royal
A match with hardcore rules (no disqualifcation, no countouts) between several competitors. Unlike typical battle royals, entrants are not eliminated by touching the arena floor -- indeed, fighting may continue anywhere in the arena. The most famous example is the Hardcore Title Battle Royal from WWF WrestleMania 2000. The match lasted for 15 minutes and upon pinfall, a wrestler wasn't eliminated, but was allowed to continue. Pinning whomever was the current Hardcore champion would result in that person becoming the new champion. Whoever held the title at the end of the 15 minutes would be declared the winner of the match.
Royal Rumble Match
Same as a battle royal, except that it starts out with two men featuring a new opponent per timed interval (usually 90 seconds). WWE annually runs a pay-per-view show which features a 30-man Royal Rumble Match as its main event named the Royal Rumble (a WWE trademark). The winner of the Royal Rumble is guaranteed a shot at the World title in the main event of WrestleMania. In 2004, this rule was extended to allow the winner to choose which belt—RAW's World Heavyweight title or SmackDown!'s WWE title—they wished to compete for.
Final Wars Brawl
This match has two wrestlers in a steel cage for thirty minutes with other wrestlers entering at a timed interval to help out one of the opponents.Football Classic Match
Two cages are placed at ringside, inside each of which is locked a manager with a weapon. The key for each cage is fastened to a football. Two teams of wrestlers must try and gain possession of the football and take it over to their manager's cage, use the key to unlock the cage, then use the manager's weapon to attack the other team. To get the ball to the cage, the wrestlers must pass it between themeselves and attack any opposing wrestlers who have possession of the ball. Mick Foley describes the match as "A fun, fan-inclusive cross between keep away, monkey in the middle, and kill the guy with the ball."
King Of The Mountain Match
Five wrestlers compete in this match for a title belt. This basically is a Ladder Match in reverse with a twist. When one man is pinned or forced to submit, he is sent to a ringside penalty box for 2 minutes, while the wrestler who scored the fall must hang the belt on a hook above the ring. The others try to stop the wrestler from hanging the belt. The first wrestler to successfully hang the belt wins. This is a Total Nonstop Action creation.
Relay Match
The match has two (could have more) teams of between 3 or 12 members to a team and before the match there will be a coin toss to see which team switches out first. Every 3 or 5 minutes the teams will switch.The first team to get a pinfall wins. Sometimes performed with hardcore rules.
Scramble Cage Melee
An elimination cage match held in a cage similar to the one used in the Scramble Cage match, with wooden platforms on the top corners. There are no pinfalls or submissions; wrestlers are eliminated only by aerial moves performed from the platforms.
The first and, as of 2005, only such match took place in Ring of Honor on August 24, 2004 at the show Scramble Cage Melee. Wrestlers were given 10 times their normal pay to participate in this match. The competitors were Jack Evans, Trent Acid, Loc, Devito, Dan Maff, BJ Whitmer, Oman Turtuga, Diablo Santiago, Fast Eddie, Altar Boy Luke, Dunn, and Marcos.
War Games
Two rings surrounded by an enclosed steel cage with two teams versus each other. One man from each team starts out with another from either team at random entering the cage via a timed interval. The winning team must get a member of another team to submit after all members of each team are in the cage.
Extreme variations
10,000 Thumbtacks Death Match
This match has 10,000 thumbtacks placed in the ring. The wrestlers can use the thumbtacks as weapons. Victory by either pinfall, submission or knocking out the opponent. A variation of this match is a cross between a Ladder Match and 10,000 Thumbtacks Match called a Thumbtacks Ladder Match in which a ladder is placed in the ring with a reward at the top. Thumbtacks are also spread out across the ring.200 Light tube Deathmatch
A match type first used in Combat Zone Wrestling at an event called "They Said it Couldn't be Done". The object of this match is to win by pinfall. The use of fluorescent light tubes—officially, two hundred are available for use—as weapons is allowed. [1] (http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/results/czw/000625.html)Barbed-Wire Bat 10,000 Thumbtack Match
A solid baseball bat with the end wrapped in barb wire hangs off a pole in a corner of the ring as a box filled with 10,000 thumbtacks lays at ringside. The only way to win is to put your opponent in the box of 10,000 Thumbtacks and to make the pin. The bat is just to make the match a little more brutal than it already is.Often used by Atsushi Onita and other talent from the Japanese FMW and W*ING promotions.
Barbed-Wire Steel Cage Match
A regular steel cage match, with barbed and razor wire lining the top of the cage. The first Barbed-Wire Steel Cage Match in the WWE was in No Way Out 2005, where John Bradshaw Layfield defeated The Big Show.Beds of (Objects) Death Match
A hardcore match that has beds of thumbtacks, nails, barb wire, glass, and/or lightbulbs. Up to three of these can be involved in the match. These matches usually occur in Deathmatch Title matches or Deathmatches in general.Brimstone Match
A match where the only way to win is to throw your oppenent in burning hot coals laid on the floor which forms a blistering perimeter that encircles the ring.Clockwork Orange / Raven's House Of Fun Match
A singles match with many weapons suspended from steel chains around the ring, sometimes with sides of a steel cage attached to the ring. The use of weapons is legal, and the match ends in pinfall. Pinfalls count anywhere in the ringside area. This match was created by Raven in Total Nonstop Action.
Chamber of Horrors
This match type was used once at WCW Halloween Havoc in 1991, with eight men inside a large Thunder Cage. The object is to put one's opponent inside a "chair of torture", which is in the center of the ring inside a smaller cage, and pull the lever.Explosion Match
Usually accompanied with barb wire ropes, a large barb wire wrapped explosion board is placed in the ring laced with a small amount of C4. The loser is the man that is blown up. In another variation, the match ends with a pin or submission and the explosives serve as weapons.First Blood Steel Cage Match
A steel cage match in which the object is to make your opponent bleed. The cage usually has barbed wire along the top.
Human Torch Match
Similar to the Inferno Match, except that the ring isn't surrounded by flames. You must find other means of setting your opponent ablaze. There are no disqualifications and no countouts.
Inferno Match
The ring is surrounded by flames. The object of the match is to set your opponent on fire. The wrestler who is able to burn their opponent is declared the winner. The first Inferno Match in the then-WWF was Undertaker vs Kane at Unforgiven 1998Last Blood Battle Royal
This was done in the now-defunct Tri-State Wrestling Association. All competitors start at the same time and wrestlers are eliminated when they start bleeding. The last to not bleed wins. This match was mentioned by Mick Foley in his book Have A Nice Day!.
Lucha en Juala Electrificada
A variation of the cage match, in this contest the cage is electrified (explaining the name "fight in an electric cage") and the only way to win is by escape. The cage is turned off in certain intervals, allowing the participants a chance at escape. Used by the AAA promotion in Mexico.External Links
- WWE article on match types (http://www.wwe.com/inside/specialty_matches/)