title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Rage in a Cage match is held in an oval-shaped steel cage. It is typically used as the arena for the blowoff match of a feud and can be used for a tag team or singles match. In this match, wins are usually by pinfall or submission. Alternatively, Rage in a Cage may refer to the match that held in an Florida independent organization such as NWA Florida in which 20 or more wrestlers take part in a battle royale inside the oval-shaped steel cage. Each wrestler is encouraged to bring different weapons to the match, and a wrestler is eliminated by being thrown through the cage door. The last man standing wins.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Scramble Cage match was contested exclusively in Ring of Honor (ROH), in which the ring is surrounded by a steel cage with four wooden platforms at the corners of the cage to make the "high risk" wrestling moves. All participants are allowed to be inside and outside the cage at any time. The Scramble Cage Melee is 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 only match took place in Ring of Honor (ROH) on August 24, 2004. The competitors in this match were Jack Evans, Trent Acid, Loc, Devito, Dan Maff, B. J. Whitmer, Oman Turtuga, Diablo Santiago, Fast Eddie, Altar Boy Luke, Dunn and Marcos.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: World Championship Wrestling's Thundercage, based on the film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", is a large domed structure of steel bars engulfing the ring. Although it does not have a top, the sides curve in to prevent escape.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Mexico's AAA promotion tweaked the concept with the "Domo de la Muerte" ("Dome of Death"), which uses a similar cage but only allows victory by escaping through a hole at the top center. This variation is also used in TNA, where it was called the TerrorDome, or more recently the Steel Asylum. In AAA it is typically used for multi-man "luchas de apuestas" (bet matches), with the last man standing in the cage losing his mask or hair.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Thunderdome is a variation on the Thundercage, with the area near the top of the cage electrified. The only way for a wrestler to win the Thunderdome match is to have their opponents' "terminator" (usually a manager who stands outside of the ring) throw in the towel to stop the match. In another variation of this match, each pinned competitor in the match is handcuffed to the cage. The last man left is given a key to unlock his teammates to attack the other team, who are still handcuffed. Ironically, the ThunderDome name was used for WWE's bio-secure bubble during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Triple cage matches have been held by WCW and its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions, in which two smaller cages are stacked on top of the cage enclosing the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: At The Great American Bash in 1988, a "Tower of Doom" match was held, in which two teams attempted to make their way from the uppermost cage to the bottom, with victory achieved when all five members of a team escaped a door there. The cages were cut off from each other, with doors controlled from outside by referees, who only opened them for two-minute intervals.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: At Uncensored in 1996, a "Doomsday Cage Match" was held where Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage faced off against the Alliance to End Hulkamania, which consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, The Taskmaster, Lex Luger, Meng, The Barbarian, The Ultimate Solution and Z-Gangsta. Hogan and Savage had to start at the top of the three tiered structure, and on each level there were members of the Alliance waiting for them. The structure featured scaffolding with steps on it to enable the wrestlers to traverse it, with the object being to make it to the bottom cage where the ring was and score a fall to win.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A triple cage match at WCW's Slamboree in 2000 was held between David Arquette, Diamond Dallas Page, and Jeff Jarrett; it was conducted similarly to a ladder match, with the objective being for the competitors to make their way to the roof of the third cage, and retrieve the championship belt. The roof of the first cage—which extended beyond the apron–had a trapdoor leading to the second cage, which contained weapons. The competitors then had to exit through a side door in the second cage, and climb the structure to reach the belt above the third cage. The third cage contained guitars, used for Jarrett's signature move.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The same year, WCW conducted another match using the same structure, "WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge", on an episode of "WCW Monday Nitro." Despite sharing its name with WCW's well-known WarGames match, its only similarity was its use of teams. A belt was placed inside the uppermost cage, with the first team to have a member escape from the bottom cage with the belt being declared the winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Sometimes suffixed with the tagline "The Match Beyond", the WarGames match features two rings surrounded by an enclosed steel cage (usually with a roof), with two teams (or sometimes three) of four or five wrestlers facing one another. After a portion of the match fought one-on-one, members of the two teams begin to alternate entering the other ring at staggered intervals (with the order decided by a coin toss); once both teams' members have all entered the ring, the first team to score submission or surrender over a member of the opposing team is declared the winner. Depending on the rules used, a team may also win by scoring a knockout or pinfall.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: This match was made famous by Jim Crockett Promotions' annual Great American Bash, and later WCW's Wrestle War, before becoming a tradition at their annual Fall Brawl pay-per-view event from 1993 to 1998. At Fall Brawl 1998, a three-team WarGames match was held, with pinfalls counting. An in name only revamp of WarGames, "WarGames 2000", was held on an episode of "WCW Monday Nitro".


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: ECW held its own version of WarGames known as an "Ultimate Jeopardy steel cage match" (typically as part of an eponymous event), with weapons available, pinfalls counting, and the losing team receiving a stipulation as a penalty. In 2017, WWE's NXT brand began to hold a live event known as , which feature a version of the WarGames match as their signature event. The NXT version of WarGames does not use a roofed cage, and pinfalls count. In 2021, AEW held a WarGames match between The Pinnacle and The Inner Circle as a "Blood and Guts match", during an eponymous special episode of its weekly series "Dynamite". AEW adopted the WarGames rules that were used by WCW, with a roofed cage and no pinfalls.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Xscape match has been held by TNA/Impact Wrestling as one of the signature matches of its Lockdown pay-per-view, which exclusively features cage matches. The match begins with four to eight competitors, who are eliminated by either pinfall or submission; eliminated wrestlers leave the cage through a door. When only two competitors remain, the first to escape the cage by climbing out and reaching the floor is declared the winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The flag match is essentially the professional wrestling version of capture the flag. For the match two flags are placed on opposite turnbuckles, each representing a specific wrestler or team of wrestlers and the objective of the match is to retrieve the opponent's flag and raise it while defending the flag in the wrestler's corner. If the referee is knocked down and cannot acknowledge the win, the defender can put the flag back in its place, thus resetting the match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Anthem match is a variation of a flag match with the added stipulation that the national anthem of the winning wrestler's or team's home country will be played in the arena after the match, similarly to a medal ceremony. This can be used to promote patriotism for the face wrestler or heat for the heel wrestler. Another variation of the Anthem catch can be a regular Interpromotion match between two wrestlers, each usually representing a different wrestling promotion, fighting for the right to raise the flag of their respected promotion. This variation was only used at ECW's November to Remember 1997 in a match between Rob Van Dam (representing WWE) vs. Tommy Dreamer (representing ECW) which ended in a no-contest.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A handicap match is any match pitting one wrestler or team of wrestlers against a team of wrestlers with numerical superiority such as (two against one) or (three against two) for quick examples. Normally the babyfaces are outnumbered with the heels having more members on their team to provide an unfair advantage. In some two-on-one handicap matches, the team with superior numbers act under tag team rules, with one person in the ring at a time. In others, such as tornado tag team handicap matches, all competitors are in the ring at the same time. In the 1980s and 1990s, handicap matches were used in preliminary matches involving large star wrestlers (usually heels), such as King Kong Bundy, Big Van Vader or Yokozuna, who – as a way to get a monster heel persona/gimmick over with the crowd – would completely dominate their opponents despite the latter's superiority in numbers.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Hardcore wrestling, the most violent and bloody type of professional wrestling is a subset in which some or all of the traditional rules do not apply. Most often this simply means there are no-disqualifications, which itself eliminates countouts, sometimes allowing decisions to take place anywhere. Most hardcore matches or deathmatches often have a combination of match types within one, and elaborate titles are often used, particularly in Japanese wrestling promotions. (example: "Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards and Exploding Ring Time Bomb Deathmatch")


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Some promotions, such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, the International Wrestling Association of Japan, International Wrestling Syndicate, Extreme Championship Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, and Combat Zone Wrestling, have specialized in hardcore matches, with "standard" non-hardcore matches being the exception.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A standard hardcore match, also known as a Devil's Playground match, a Belfast Brawl match or a Guerrilla Warfare match is a no-disqualification, no-countout, falls count anywhere, one-fall match where the only rule (unless specifically noted) is to achieve a fall by pinning the opponent for a 3-count or making them submit. Otherwise, anything goes: any weapon can be used, any amount of wrestlers who are not booked in the match can be involved, either wrestler booked in the match can be pinned anywhere and any move can be used (except moves banned by the promotion booking the match before-hand). Hardcore matches came to prominence in Japan in the 1970s, and then in the United States in the 1990s in promotions like ECW and later WWE. Blunt objects such as steel chairs, wooden event tables, ladders, wrestling ring stairs, kendo sticks, baseball bats, flour, metal cylindrical trashcans, trashcan lids and road signs are often featured in hardcore matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Other common euphemisms for hardcore matches are the No Holds Barred match (which suggests wrestlers uses any illegal moves are allowed), Street Fight (which suggests wrestlers are to dress in normal street clothes), and World Championship Wrestling used the term Raven's rules for hardcore matches involving the wrestler Raven. They also created their own specific brand of hardcore match, for which bouts were to begin backstage rather than in the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A variant of a hardcore match is a non-sanctioned match or unsanctioned match, also called a Lights Out match. In addition to the match not having any rules and the objective being achieving a pinfall or submission anywhere, the match is not officially recognized by the promotion (such as in All Elite Wrestling, where the match does not count towards a wrestler's win–loss record). In kayfabe, the match is sometimes used when a wrestler is "injured" (at the hands of another wrestler) and wants revenge but cannot be "medically cleared," thus he agrees to a non-sanctioned match where "the promotion is not held liable" for any injuries incurred during the match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A more extreme version of a hardcore match, a deathmatch is effectively the same as a hardcore match only even more violent and bloody, hence why the match is called a "deathmatch". In addition to blunt objects, deathmatches often include sharp objects and even more dangerous objects and elements, such as bricks, nails, staple guns, explosives, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, standard glass, cactus plants, gardening tools (such as weed wackers) and even fire mixed with lighter fluid or gasoline. Although hardcore matches do on occasion feature sharp objects- particularly hardcore matches with Mick Foley, they are not used in such a gratuitous manner as they are in deathmatches. Other common euphemisms for deathmatches are extreme rules match, ultraviolent rules match (hardcore rules matches exclusively in CZW) and HardKore X-Treme match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A barbed wire ring rope match or no rope barbed wire match is a match where the ring ropes are replaced with barbed wire. There are four known ways to prop up barbed wire in place of ring ropes: with three strands of barbed wire run from turnbuckle to turnbuckle; with five strands of wire tied to form an "X"; "spider net", where the ring ropes are not replaced and barbed wire is wrapped up and down the ropes to create a wall of barbed wire, and finally barbed wire wrapped in the "X" fashion- that has been electrified or rigged with explosives. These types of matches were made popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s by American territory wrestling promotions, as well as Japanese promotions during the 1990s. These types of matches often included other stipulations and weapons in them.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Barbed Wire Massacre is a type of barbed wire rope match where the barbed wire ropes are set up in the "X" fashion and the use of additional items that have barbed wire attached to or wrapped around them are made available, such as plywood, baseball bats, steel folding chairs and other weapons. This match originated in TNA (now Impact Wrestling) in 2005. Since then, there have been four such matches, the most recent in 2021. However the fourth Barbed Wire Massacre match, unlike the first three did not remove the ring ropes and replace them with barbed wire. The "Japanese Barbed Wire Massacre" is a variation of the barbed wire match differs from a normal barbed wire match in the fact that there are wooden boards covered with barbed wire and have a small charge goes off when someone lands on it.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Bath House Deathmatch was believed to have been started by IWA Japan in 1995, The wrestlers compete in the pool of a public bathhouse, with even naked or toweled women in this bath house during this match. Besides regular wrestling rules, if they leave the pool, they are disqualified. The pool is heated by a fire that is regularly fed more logs, making staying in it harder and harder.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Caribbean Barbed Wire Deathmatch is a match where barbed wire is wrapped around the ring ropes in "spidernet" fashion on two sides, and on the other two sides are barricaded traps on ground level situated right next to the ring. These elaborate traps are wooden structures featuring multiple strands of barbed wire strung from short adjacent wooden poles covered by panes of glass, with a thick wooden board below as foundation for the entire trap. The wooden poles stand 18 inches high on one side, and two feet on the other side. This match was featured in the W*ING hardcore wrestling promotion in Japan and was first done in 1993.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Circus Deathmatch is a type of scaffold match where in the ring is a scaffold and under that scaffold, there is a type of spider net made of barbed wire six feet below. The first wrestler to fall off of the scaffold into the barbed wire spider net loses. The first match was between Mad Man Pondo and Ryuji Ito in Japan.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Clockwork House of Fun match, known as "Raven's House of Fun" or simply "House of Fun", was created by professional wrestler Raven (legitimately, as Raven pitched the idea himself to TNA's creative team). It is a singles match for which poles attached to the ring posts measured about five to six feet above the turnbuckles, with single chains wrapped from and hanging on the poles to various points on the ring itself with many weapons hanging from and attached to steel chains above the ring, sometimes with sides of a steel cage attached to and erected on the ring. In the first match the use of weapons is legal, and the only way to win was to put an opponent through two tables after throwing them off "Raven's perch" (a small scaffold), but afterwards it was changed to falls-count-anywhere rules.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Crocodile Deathmatch is a match with the added stipulation that the loser must wrestle a crocodile after the match occurred. An example of this match would be between Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Shadow WX.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Desert Deathmatch is a match where there is a tank full of scorpions is placed in the center of the ring, and the first wrestler placed in this tank for 10 seconds loses. There are also barbed wire boards in the ring, and also two cactus plants in the ring on two opposing corners.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Electric Pool match was a very dangerous type of match which has only been held once. The ring was placed in a large pool of water, with no ropes on two sides of the ring, and exploding barbed wire on the other two sides of the ring. Wrestlers were transported to the ring via a dinghy, and the ring was put on a floating device, then it was surrounded by four metal barricades. There was a current running through these four barricades (which were essentially small sections of the pool enclosed off from the rest of the pool), enabling the water to "explode" when a wrestler was thrown into one of these barricaded areas. Considering the danger involved in allowing a current to run through water, this match was only used once in FMW in 1994, which was known for its extreme hardcore matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Explosion/Bomb Deathmatch is usually accompanied with barbed wire ropes, a large barbed wire wrapped explosion board is placed in the ring laced with a small amount of C-4. The loser is the wrestler that is blown up. The match can be won by either a pinfall or a submission. In some versions of the C-4 match is to finish the match before the timer runs out and detonates the ring (although this does not necessarily end the match) while in others the explosives are concentrated in a specific area, with the wrestlers struggling not to get pushed onto it.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Anus Explosion Deathmatch is a match where the only way to win is to stick a firecracker up an opponent's buttocks and light it. Once the firecracker goes off while lodged inside an incapacitated wrestler's buttocks, the match ends. This match was only done once, by Japanese hardcore wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in October 1999, where Mr. Gannosuke faced off against Hayabusa.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Double Hell Deathmatch is a match where exploding (or non-exploding) barbed wire is put up at two sides of the ring in place of ropes, and the other two are left with nothing. However, at ringside on the empty sides, there are huge boards laden with barbed wire and landmines/explosives (and sometimes glass). This makes it a lot easier for a participant to fall out of the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: All Elite Wrestling's variation is an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch which is a combination of an Explosion Deathmatch, Barbed Wire Ring Rope match, Double Hell Deathmatch, and Time Bomb Deathmatch. There was three sides of barbed wire ring ropes with explosives triggered upon contact, three zones around the ringside floor wired to explosives (Triple Hell), and a 30-minute countdown timer until all explosives in and around the ring detonate. The match was contested between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Revolution, which Omega won.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The concept was planned to be used in the WWE but according to Court Bauer in November 2022, Vince McMahon had once accepted an idea for a Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. This stipulation did not appear at all but it would later appear in a form of a Punjabi Prison Match which debuted at The Great American Bash in 2006.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Landmine Deathmatch is a match where explosives are set up at ringside, usually laced with barbed wire. This match was first done with FMW in Japan in the mid-1990's.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Time Bomb Deathmatch is a type of deathmatch where explosives or fireworks set up around the ring are set off after an allotted time. This match originated in Japan and was done various times in the 1990s. Mick Foley and Terry Funk participated in a "Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards and Exploding Ring Time Bomb Deathmatch" as the final match of the 1995 Kawasaki Dream King of the Deathmatch tournament, where there were multiple plywood boards with barbed wire and explosives attached to them strewn around the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Time Bomb Exploding Cage Deathmatch is a mixture of a Steel Cage match and a Time Bomb Deathmatch, where every square foot of a steel cage is wrapped in barbed wire and explosives set up around the ring go off after a set time, and five minutes before the explosion a loud siren is activated. The match, unlike a traditional steel cage match is a one-fall match and victory cannot be achieved via escaping the cage, which, if attempted would be very painful and difficult. This match also originated in Japan in the early 1990s.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Eye for an Eye match is a hardcore match that could only be won when one competitor "extracts" an eyeball out of the socket of their opponent. This match only occurred once between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules where Rollins shoved Mysterio’s eye into the corner of the steel steps causing the eyeball to pop out giving Rollins the victory.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A falls count anywhere match allows pinfalls to take place in any location, negating the standard rule that they must take place inside the ring and between the ropes, and these matches largely take place outside of the ring. Submissions may or may not also be covered by this rule. This also eliminates the usual "countout" rule. A variation of the rules states that once a pinfall takes place, the pinned wrestler loses the match if they are unable to return to the ring within a specific amount of time – usually a referee's count of 10 or 30. If the pinned wrestler makes it to the ring in this time, the match continues. Occasionally, this stipulation is listed as having a specific territory in which falls count (e.g. the state, county, or general location the match is in). As the match may take place in various parts of the arena, the "falls count anywhere" provision is almost always accompanied with a "no-disqualification" stipulation to make the match a hardcore match, so as to allow wrestlers the convenience to use any objects they may find wherever they wrestle.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: In a first blood match is a no-disqualification, no-submission, no-fall, no-countout match in which the first wrestler to bleed anywhere loses the match. Depending on the nuance of the stipulation, this might include bleeding noses. Although there are no-disqualifications, outside interference cannot be seen causing the participant to bleed. The first televised First Blood match was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane at King of the Ring 1998, which was the main event match that came after the famous The Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell in a Cell match. This type of match became rare in the WWE since 2008 in which blood is rarely shown in its programming to adhere with the TV-PG standards. The most recent first blood match was John Cena vs. JBL at One Night Stand in 2008.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, created by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a First Blood match that takes place inside of a barbed wire topped cage.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Sadistic Madness match, created by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is another variation of the First Blood match, the main difference being that the opponent must be bleeding before a wrestler can legally pin them.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Four Corners of Pain match is a match where in each corner of the ring, there is a container that has a weapon or another type of harmful item. This match originated at the 2003 Combat Zone Wrestling Tournament of Death II, and at the 2006 IWA-MS Queen of the Deathmatch, Amy Lee took on Sexxxy Eddy in this match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Pools of Fuckery Deathmatch is similar to a Four Corners of Pain match, only the harmful items in each corner are in small plastic pools. This match originated in the independent wrestling promotion Asylum Wrestling Revolution (AMR), where Mickie Knuckles faced Akira in this match in March 2021.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match is a no disqualification match where large wood barrels of Irish brandy and canes are made available at ringside. The first match of its kind was on the July 29, 2022 episode of WWE SmackDown between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, which McIntyre won. A tag team version later took place during WWE’s 2022 edition of its Extreme Rules pay-per-view between The Brawling Brutes and Imperium, which was won by The Brawling Brutes. This is Sheamus’s signature match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Hard Ten match is a match was created by TNA/Impact Wrestling. It is contested on a points system, where the points are earned for the use of weapons. The first wrestler to earn ten points and be at least two points ahead is the winner. Regular strikes with a weapon are worth one point while putting an opponent through a table is worth five points. This match type happens only once in TNA history.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A last man standing match (or last woman standing) is a hardcore-style match in which the only way to win is by count out via standing, and a wrestler can be counted out anywhere. A wrestler will lose the match if they are unable to answer a ten-count after being downed, similar to the knockout rules of a boxing match. To avoid losing, the downed wrestler must be on their feet by the count of 10, but they can not lose by leaving the ring for 10-count (ring out) if they are still on his feet while recovering.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Baseball Brawl match or Brawl Game match is variant of a Last Man Standing match where baseball bats are initially banned, but if a wrestler is counted out by 10, then baseball bats for the wrestler or team that got the count-out automatically become legal, and the match converts over to a standard hardcore match where victory is achieved by either pinfalls, submissions or count outs. This match was first done at ECW's Hardcore Heaven in August 1994, and was known as the signature match of The Public Enemy tag team.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A variant of the Last Man Standing match is the Texas Deathmatch (a.k.a. Mexican Deathmatch, or Armageddon Rules match), in which a wrestler must be pinned to a 3-count or made to submit/rendered unconscious before the referee will begin the ten-count. Some of these matches have been known to last for hours, including one that Dory Funk Jr. participated in that went on for more than four hours. This match was often done by Dory and his brother Terry Funk in the 1960s in their father Dory Sr.'s promotion Western States Sports.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A light tube match is a match where hundreds (usually 200) of long, cylindrical, glass fluorescent light tubes are attached to the ring ropes (usually via tape), and mock shaped weapons and mock large objects made of light tubes are made available. These matches often end with most or all of the light tubes broken or shattered; these matches are some of the bloodiest, most gruesome and most dangerous types of wrestling matches because the glass in a light tube contains poisonous and carcinogenic chemicals, and when broken, the poisonous and carcinogenic dust from the shattered glass gets into the air and allows audience members, the referee and the wrestlers to breathe it in. Another hazard of this match is shards of broken glass still rife with dangerous chemicals laying around the ring mat and sticking in the wrestlers' bodies (when they are slammed onto the wrestling mat), but with more organized wrestling promotions there are attendants that briefly enter the ring and quickly clean the broken glass off of the mat. This type of match originated in Japan in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, and some independent promotions in the United States feature this type of match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A 2/3 Light Tube Log Cabins Deathmatch is a match where the only way to win is to break two shaped light tube weapons over and/or on an opponent. Combat Zone Wrestling has used this match in their Tournament of Death series.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Monster's Ball match is a match invented and staged by TNA Impact Wrestling. The key premise of the match was that all contenders are sequestered alone in a locked room without light, food or water for twenty-four hours before the match. This stipulation is intended to induce extreme feelings of aggression in the competitors. Once released, the wrestlers fight one another in a hardcore match, with the usage of weapons encouraged. Victory can be achieved by pinfall or submission, with the match ending as soon as one wrestler is pinned or submits.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Monster's Ball match typically features numerous high spots. There have been 54 matches taking place under TNA, as well as several unaffiliated independent promotions hosting the match. The match has almost always featured Abyss in some capacity, wrestling in 48 and managing in one, as it is his signature match. There are various weapons frequently used in the match, including Thumb tacks, "Janice" (A board filled with nails, Abyss's signature weapon) and a bed of barbed wire.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A No Disqualification match, also known as a No Holds Barred match, or sometimes as an Anything Goes match, a Raven's Rules match, (in WWE before 2006) or an Extreme Rules match (in WWE 2006 and after), is a match in which neither wrestler can be disqualified, allowing for weapons and outside interference. However, unlike a hardcore match pinfalls and submissions must be made inside the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: No-disqualification matches may be used in feuds in which a challenger may have won matches against the champion, but did not claim the championship because the champion was disqualified (championships usually only change hands via pinfall or submission). Unless stipulated, a no-disqualification match can end in a countout. Those that cannot are no-disqualification, no-countout matches, therefore they're called no holds barred matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Piranha Deathmatch or Amazon River Piranha Deathmatch, similar to a Desert Deathmatch is a type of highly dangerous match where a fish tank containing dangerous and flesh-eating Piranha fish is placed in the center of the ring, and the first wrestler who gets put into the tank for 10 seconds loses. There was only one match ever done, and it was at Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Summer Night Dream event in Yokohama, Japan in September 1996, where in the main event Kendo Nagasaki put Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in the tank, defeating him.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Razor Deathmatch is an often extremely bloody match where boards full of razor blades are made available as weapons. This match is known for Japanese hardcore wrestler Jun Kasai's 5-time participation in this kind of match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Spike Nail Deathmatch is a match where a large bed of six-inch spiked nails sticking out of a rectangular piece of plywood is made available. The most famous example of this kind of match was at the IWA Kawasaki Dream King of the Deathmatch, where Cactus Jack faced Shoji Nakamaki in August 1995. Another type of Spike Nail match was rather than achieving a fall to win, the first wrestler to take a bump on the huge planks of wood infested with six-inch nails at ringside loses.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Nail Hell Deathmatch is a match where some boards with nails were hung on the ring ropes all the way across, and onto opposing sides of the ring there was a board, on one side there was nails and on the other side was barbed wire. Only one match like this was done, in December 1994 by IWA Japan.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Street Fight is a type of hardcore match with no disqualifications, in which falls count anywhere, and weapons are legal. The main difference between a hardcore match and a street fight is that while wrestlers wear tights in hardcore matches, wrestlers (particularly in modern times) almost always wear their own street clothes in street fights, and weapons typically used in street fights are items typically found on or are often used on city streets, such as trash cans, road signs, broomsticks, dumpsters and sometimes vehicles, among other items. Sometimes street fights have the name of the host arena's city in the name, such as "Chicago Street Fight" or "New York Street Fight".


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Miracle on a 34th Street Fight is a Christmas-themed variant of a Street Fight, named after the movie Miracle on 34th Street, involving Christmas-themed weapons including fire extinguishers, pumpkin pies, presents, Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, candy cane themed kendo sticks, bowling balls, and teddy bears, plus common wrestling weapons such as tables and chairs.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Trick or Street Fight is a Halloween-themed variant of a Street Fight, named after the Halloween tradition "trick or treating", involving Halloween-themed weapons including pumpkins, buckets of candy, bowls full of water and apples, skeletons, witches' brooms, gravestones, candy corn themed kendo sticks, plus common wrestling weapons such as tables and chairs.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Taipei Deathmatch, (also known as an Ancient Way Deathmatch) is a match where the wrestlers' fists are taped and dipped into glue or honey, and then into broken and crushed glass, allowing shards to stick to their fists. Win by pinfall, submission or escape. It is unknown why this match is named after the seat of government of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan; the first time this match was ever held was at ECW's Hardcore Heaven in July 1995 where the Rotten brothers, Axl and Ian faced off in this match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Thumbtack Deathmatch is a match where one or more trays containing thousands (usually 10,000) of thumbtacks is/are made available and usually placed in either the center or apron of the ring. The most well known version of this match was at the IWA Kawasaki Dream King of the Deathmatch, where Terry Gordy faced Cactus Jack in August 1995. Variants of the thumbtack deathmatch staged by TNA/Impact Wrestling have been done where the objective is modified to simply slam an opponent into the pile of thumbtacks on the mat.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: 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. A variant of the 10,000 thumbtacks deathmatch is the East Coast Thumbtack match, this match has 177,000 thumbtacks placed in the ring. The first match was introduced between Ian Rotten and The Messiah.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Barefoot Thumbtack match is where both wrestlers have bare feet, and there is a large container containing thousands of thumbtacks in the middle of the ring that are legal to use it. Originated in Big Japan Pro Wrestling.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Big Japan Pro Wrestling staged a ‘Thumbtacks In Balloons’ match on 5/22/96. The match, which saw Axl Rotten and Shoji Nakamaki lock up with Kendo Nagasaki and Seiji Yamakawa, had six black balloons suspended above the ring. At a certain point in the match, the balloons exploded and released 30,000 thumbtacks onto the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Unlucky 13 Deathmatch is a match was invented by Ian Rotten. In order to win the match, a wrestler must staple seven out of thirteen one dollar bills to their opponent's mouth.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Though most matches take place in and around the ring, some are designed specifically for more exotic locales. The majority of these matches take on the name of their setting, often appending "brawl" to the end, and all of them are hardcore by definition. The following is a list of locale-based variations that supplant or replace the standard rules. The following is a list of locale-based variations that supplant or replace the standard rules.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Bar Room Brawl is a multi-competitor no disqualification match held in a bar. During the match wrestlers are encouraged to drink while fighting, and the "last man standing" is declared winner. Wrestlers can be eliminated from the match both by the standard pinfall, submission, or by simply becoming too (kayfabe) drunk to continue the match. An known example of this match is the APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance 2003 which Bradshaw won after knocking down Brother Love. Another example, a Bar Fight was done in 2020, with Jeff Hardy facing off against Sheamus.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A variation of Bar Room Brawl, Pub Rules match takes place inside the ring rather than in a bar, but there are items made available at ringside that are typically found in a bar, like beer glasses, high top tables and trash cans. An example was introduced during the September 27, 2022 edition of "NXT" (taped September 14) that featured Gallus against Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen with the latter emerging victorious.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Boiler Room Brawl or Boiler Room match starts in a boiler room, with the winner being the first wrestler to successfully get out. This match is a no-disqualification, no-falls, no-countout match, so anything goes, so long as someone escapes first. The rather hazardous environment of this match featured some of the arena's internal infrastructure, such as all sorts of large, exposed metal piping with large bolts, concrete flooring and solid electrical equipment everywhere, among other features. Mick Foley participated in all of the WWF-run Boiler Room Brawls under his persona Mankind, because this persona dwelled in boiler rooms, hence this being Mankind's signature match. The first Boiler Room Brawl happened at SummerSlam 1996 with Mankind vs. The Undertaker, where in addition to escaping the boiler room the combatant had to make his way to the ring and grab Paul Bearer's urn; but when the next Boiler Room Brawl was contested at Backlash 1999 with Mankind against The Big Show, the objective was simplified to just escaping the boiler room first. World Championship Wrestling used a match with similar rules, naming their match and its location the Block.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Body of Water match is a match where the sole objective is to get your opponent into the waters of a body of water, which is often named, for example, a Gulf of Mexico match requires a wrestler to put their opponent into The Gulf of Mexico. This match was only done once, where CM Punk faced Chavo Guerrero during an ECW show in Corpus Christi, Texas (which is located right on the Gulf of Mexico) in February 2008.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Dungeon match is a match that took place in the legendary Hart Family Dungeon in Calgary, where Owen Hart challenged Ken Shamrock to come to the Dungeon (referred to as Hart's "basement") for a fight.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An empty arena match is a hardcore (no disqualification, falls count anywhere) "anything goes" match between two or more wrestlers that takes place in an arena or stadium that although is fully set up for a wrestling event, is devoid of fans. The only people present are the competitors, referee, commentators, and cameramen. The match is broadcast, or videotaped and played later. An example of this is the WWF championship match between The Rock and Mankind that took place in Tucson, Arizona, at the Tucson Convention Center, which aired as part of a special Halftime Heat edition of "Sunday Night Heat" aired against the Super Bowl halftime show of Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999. One of the earliest and best known empty arena matches occurred in 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Mid-South Coliseum between Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A lack of audience that is a legitimate aspect of the production and not a kayfabe stipulation of the match (i.e. the match is conducted normally, except a live audience is not present) is not necessarily considered an empty arena match. For example, audiences were barred from attending televised AEW, and later WWE, shows in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Parking Lot Brawl is a Falls Count Anywhere match that is usually fought in an interior location or in an outside parking lot around a tightly parked circle of cars. The first wrestler to score a pinfall, submission, or knockout in a Parking Lot Brawl is the winner. Both wrestlers are allowed to use everything around them as weapons, including the cars. The first Parking Lot Brawl was between Jerry Lawler and Eddie Gilbert in Memphis, Tennessee in 1988, which was fought all over the arena and its outside parking lot. More well known examples of a Parking Lot Brawl both involved John Cena, where he faced Eddie Guerrero in 2003 and JBL in 2008. A renamed Parking Lot Brawl, an Iron Circle match was a match where Ken Shamrock fought Steve Blackman at WWF Fully Loaded 1999.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Hollywood Backlot Brawl was a no-disqualification match that started in a Hollywood studio backlot, and it was fought between Goldust and Roddy Piper. This match also involved the two performers actually driving cars for a long period of time, and then ended with the two arriving in the Honda Center in Anaheim 30 miles away to finish their match in the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Tooth and Nail match is a Falls Count Anywhere-stipulation match that is fought in and around a dental office, and any weapon is legal. This is Britt Baker's speciality match, based on her role as a dentist in both kayfabe and off-screen reality, and the objective of this match is to achieve a pinfall, submission or countout.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A lumberjack match is a standard match with the exception that the ring is surrounded by a group of wrestlers not directly involved in it. These wrestlers, known collectively as lumberjacks (female wrestlers serving in this manner are sometimes called lumberjills; lumberjack matches between female wrestlers are called lumberjill matches, a play on the famous Nursery Rhyme, "Jack and Jill"), are there to prevent the wrestlers in the match from getting out of the ring. The groups of lumberjacks are typically split up into groups of faces and heels who occupy opposing sides around the ring. Usually, the "opposing" lumberjacks (that is, face lumberjacks if the wrestler is a heel, and vice versa) swarm the wrestlers if they leave the ring and force them back in it. Occasional interference from the lumberjacks is common, as is an all-out brawl on the outside involving most of the lumberjacks. Early lumberjack matches even featured the lumberjacks wearing stereotypical lumberjack clothing in keeping with the lumberjack theme, though this is generally no longer done. A common theme is for the lumberjacks to consist entirely of heel wrestlers to stack the odds against the face competitor. The "Lumberjill Snowbunny match" is another variation of the Lumberjill match with female lumberjacks, held in a pit of snow.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A "Canadian" lumberjack match is a variation of a lumberjack match in which the lumberjacks are equipped with leather straps. TNA's "fan's revenge" lumberjack match did their own version of a Canadian lumberjack match where fans equipped with straps act as lumberjacks and were encouraged to whip wrestlers.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Extreme Lumberjack match is a lumberjack match competed under hardcore rules, where there are no disqualifications, no countouts, and falls count anywhere.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: On some occasions, a match may be held between more than two individual wrestlers or teams. Multi-competitor matches are often broken down to eliminations and non-eliminations.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The most common example of a non-elimination match is the three-way match (also known as a Triple Threat match in WWE, Triangle match in WCW and Three-Way Dance in ECW), in which three wrestlers compete under standard rules with the first competitor to achieve a pinfall or submission being declared the winner. Triple Threat matches are fought under no-disqualification and no-countout stipulations. Triangle matches are often contested like a tag match where only two can be in the match at one time while the third waits on the ring apron and the only elimination factor is if a competitor is disqualified.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: In many promotions, there are typically no distinctions between the two terms. Non-elimination variations are the four-way match (known as a Fatal Four-Way in WWE, Four Corners match in WCW and Four-Way Dance in ECW), the five-way match (known as a Fatal Five-Way in WWE) or the six-way match (known as the Six-Pack Challenge in WWE), involving four, five, or six wrestlers, respectively.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: On some occasions, multi-competitor matches are contested under similar rules as a tag team match. Two competitors start the match in the ring while the other wrestler(s) wait outside the ring for a tag from another wrestler, often achieved by touching an unsuspecting competitor in the ring. Variations of this include a Four Corners Survival match or Six-Man Mayhem match in Ring of Honor. Competitors are permitted to leave their position and attack wrestlers outside of the ring, such as when one or both wrestlers have been thrown over the top rope.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Matches involving a larger number of competitors are typically elimination matches. These matches may begin with all of the competitors in the ring at the same time. The standard match rules apply as wrestlers may leave the position and attack other wrestlers outside the ring with a twist that the wrestler be pinned or forced to submit is eliminated from the match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The most common example of an elimination match is the Three-Way Dance, where the first fall would eliminate one wrestler, reducing the match to a standard one-fall singles match. The Three-Way Dance was a specialty of Extreme Championship Wrestling.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Four-Way Dance is similar except it involves four wrestlers in Extreme Championship Wrestling and some promotions use a tag format for the match instead of having all the wrestlers in the ring at the same time. Elimination variations are the four-way match (known as a Fatal Four-Way in WWE), the five-way match (known as a Fatal Five-Way in WWE) or the six-way match (known as the Six-Pack Challenge in WWE), involving four, five, or six wrestlers inside the ring, respectively.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Deadly Draw match is a TNA variation where four competitors wrestle. The match begins with two competitors in the ring. After five minutes pass, the third competitor enters the ring, then after another five minutes pass, the final competitor enters the ring. Any wrestler who gets pinned or submitted is eliminated, and any wrestler in the ring not involved in the fall is also eliminated. The last man standing wins.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Beat the Clock challenge is a multi-competitor match in which wrestlers must defeat their opponent in a singles match before the clock runs out. Additionally, the next wrestler must beat the winner's set time by defeating their opponent to advance, otherwise that wrestler is eliminated. In doing so, the victorious wrestler usually gets some type of reward in return, such as inclusion in a title match, for instance. In a variation on the November 20, 2013 episode of NXT, two wrestlers completed a match, with the match duration being used as the marker for two other wrestlers to complete their match. The first ever Divas Beat the Clock challenge occurred on the August 31, 2015 episode of Raw when Paige, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair faced a different competitor to earn a WWE Divas Championship match against Nikki Bella at Night of Champions.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: WWE features a match called the Championship Scramble in which none of the wrestlers are eliminated. Two wrestlers start the match and every five minutes another wrestler enters until all five participants are present. After the last wrestler enters, there is a predetermined time limit. Each time a wrestler scores a pinfall or submission, he becomes the interim champion. Such reigns are not recorded as title reigns. The winner is the wrestler who scores the last pinfall or submission before the time limit expires. The Unforgiven pay-per view of 2008 is arguably the most prominent showcase of this match type, as all three world titles were contested under a Championship Scramble match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Elimination Chase, first used in WWE's version of ECW brand in 2007, is a series of multi-competitor, one fall matches, with the loser of the fall being eliminated from future matches until one competitor remains.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: WWE's NXT features a match called the Iron Survivor Challenge in which none of the wrestlers are eliminated. Two wrestlers start the match and every five minutes another wrestler enters until all five participants are present. After the last wrestler enters, there is a predetermined time limit. Each time a wrestler scores a pinfall, submission, or is the victim of a disqualification, they gain a point and the wrestler they pin, submit, or who is disqualified then goes into a penalty box for 90 seconds. The winner of the match is the wrestler who scores the most falls at the end of the time limit. It combines elements of the Championship Scramble, Iron Man, and Impact Wrestling's King of the Mountain matches. It was used for the first time at NXT Deadline.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Special Guest Referee is any match in which the usual referee is replaced with a "guest" filling in as the official. Celebrities (such as Muhammad Ali in the main event of WrestleMania I), 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. The special referee will often be biased towards or against one of the competitors or will be assigned as the Special Referee to ensure the match is called down the line. Special Outside Referee


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: 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, who served as the Special Guest Enforcer for the WWF title match between Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, and Chuck Norris who served as Special Guest Enforcer at Survivor Series 1994 in a match between The Undertaker and Yokozuna. Another example of this is Triple H vs The Undertaker in a Hell in a cell match at WrestleMania 28 with Shawn Michaels being the Special Guest Referee.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Occasionally, a match would take place under the rules of a different type of contest. Like professional wrestling matches, the matches would be worked, with the participants not being in the perceived danger and the winner being predetermined.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An arm wrestling match, in the context of professional wrestling, is a basic arm wrestling contest. It can be contested between two females, two males or between one male and one female. Often the male in the latter will be a manager going against the wrestler of a competitor.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The professional wrestling version of a boxing match has standard boxing rules applied to it. Wrestlers wear boxing gloves and the match is contested in rounds with fouls given out, though the matches are generally worked and end with one wrestler cheating and using wrestling maneuvers.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The professional wrestling version of a mixed martial arts (MMA) match under standard MMA. As in MMA, pinfalls are not a valid method of victory. Matches can typically only be won by knockout, submission, disqualification, forfeit or by going to a referee's decision.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: For a sumo match, the ropes are removed from the ring and standard sumo rules apply. The first person to step outside of the ring or touch the mat with any part of the body except the soles of the feet is the loser. The most infamous match of this kind in WWE happened at WrestleMania 21 between The Big Show and Sumo legend, Akebono.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Sumo Monster Truck match is a regular tug-o-war contest where two wrestlers are driving monster trucks, pushing and shoving each other. An example of this match type is at the Halloween Havoc (1995) pay-per-view between Hulk Hogan and The Giant.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: In this version – unlike traditional battle royales where all the wrestlers begin the match in the ring – the competitors (after numbers 1 and 2 begin the match) enter at timed intervals in accordance with the number that they have drawn until the entire field has entered.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Aztec Warfare is the Lucha Underground version of the "Rumble Rules" battle royale. Upwards to 20 participants enter every 90 seconds and elimination occurs by either pinfall or submission and has to take place inside the ring. There are no count-outs and no disqualifications. , four Aztec Warfare matches have occurred—one in each season of Lucha Underground.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Battle Riot is Major League Wrestling's "Rumble" style battle royale. This match isn't that much different from other Pin, Submission & Over the top rope elimination rumble rules, however is different from the WWE Royal Rumble, of which you can only get eliminated via going over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Casino Battle Royale is used by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a modified rumble rules battle royale that features 21 entrants. It begins with a group of five wrestlers, and every three minutes, another group of five wrestlers enter, while the 21st and final entrant enters alone. The wrestlers are grouped based on the suit they drew from a deck of cards – spades, diamonds, clubs, or hearts – and the order of when each group enters is based on a random draw of the cards. The 21st and final entrant is the wrestler who drew the joker. The winner receives a world championship match of their respective gender's division—either the AEW World Championship or the AEW Women's World Championship.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The first Casino Battle Royale occurred during the pre-show of AEW's inaugural event, Double or Nothing in 2019, and was a men's match. The winner of the inaugural match was entered into the match to determine the inaugural AEW World Champion at All Out that year. The second Casino Battle Royale was an all-female version and was held during the pre-show of the aforementioned All Out event. Like the first, the winner of this second iteration was entered into the match to determine the inaugural AEW Women's World Champion on the debut episode of AEW's weekly television show, "Dynamite". The third Casino Battle Royale—a men's match—took place at All Out in 2020 and the winner received a future AEW World Championship match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Ring of Honor (ROH) also periodically features the "Rumble" style of battle royale on their shows, billing it as the Honor Rumble. This battle royal differs from a standard version of the match in that the contestants do not all begin in the ring at the same time, but instead enter the match at timed intervals in order of their assigned entry numbers (comparable in style to WWE's Royal Rumble match). Numbers are usually drawn through a lottery that is typically staged right before the event begins, although participants can also win desirable spots via a number of other means, the most common being winning a match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: New Japan Pro-Wrestling's annual "Rumble" battle royale, takes place on the pre-show of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. Participants enter at one minute intervals and are eliminated via pinfall, submission or by being thrown over the top rope. Typically leaning towards light comedy, the match includes past stars as surprise entrants.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Used by All Elite Wrestling on its program Rampage. The Royal Rampage is a two ring rumble style battle royale. It is a 20 man 2 ring battle royale simultaneously, 10 man on each ring, it begins with two wrestlers on each ring separately then other wrestlers enters in an alternating rings at time intervals such as the red ring or the blue ring, eliminations by over the top rope. There will be winners on each rings, then the two winners then face off and collide under battle royal rules to declare a winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: WWE's Royal Rumble is the original battle royale to use this format. It begins with two wrestlers in the ring, with the remaining participants introduced one by one at a set time period, usually 90 seconds or two minutes. Elimination occurs in the normal way with the last person standing as the winner, after all participants (traditionally 30) have entered the ring


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor. (referred to as the "Shawn Michaels rule" in Royal Rumble 1995) There is both a men's and women's Royal Rumble match, although WWE's first official women's Royal Rumble match debuted in 2018 used the same rules as the men's version, with the winners getting a world championship match (in their respective divisions) at that year's WrestleMania, which is WWE's biggest annual show. At the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, 50 participants entered the match. Stone Cold Steve Austin is the only 3-time Royal Rumble winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Dragon Gate's version takes place exclusively at touring shows at the Kobe Sambo Hall venue, as the promotion's home location is Kobe, Japan. Royal Sambo matches typically consist of 10-16 participants entering two at a time at 60 second intervals, with both wrestlers' entrance themes crossfading back and forth over the speakers. If an odd number of wrestlers are booked in the match, the final participant enters solo. Participants can be eliminated via over-the-top rope elimination, pinfall, or submission, and multiple wrestlers may pin or submit someone simultaneously. Typically booked as a comedy match, or with one high-profile wrestler as the obvious winner among others with much lower status on the roster.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Square Go! is Insane Championship Wrestling's (ICW) very own hybrid of WWE's Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank matches, and named for the Glaswegian term for a street fight. The competitors will compete in a 30-man over-the-top-rope "rumble rules" battle royale, the Square Go!, with the winner earning the Square Go Briefcase. It has mostly the same rules apply as Royal Rumble, two competitors who draw the numbers 1 and 2. The remaining participants which will enter the ring one-by-one at every two-minute intervals.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Five people have drawn entry numbers that allow them to carry a weapon of their choice into the ring. Participants were eliminated when thrown over the top ropes with both feet landing on the floor. The winner will win a briefcase that will entitle him to a match for the ICW World Championship at any time and anywhere of their choosing for one year (similar to Money in the Bank).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Series matches may involve the same match throughout, or may use different matches for some or all of the series.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A "Best of Series" match is similar to a two out of three falls, though takes place over several nights to extend a feud rather than settle it in one night. One variation is a Best of Five Series where a wrestler must win three matches to win the series. John Cena defeated Booker T 3–2 to win the WWE United States Championship at No Mercy (2004).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Best of Seven Series is another variation, where a wrestler must win four matches to win the series. Chris Benoit and Booker T fought in such a series to determine the #1 contender for the WCW World Television Championship in 1998. The two resumed their Best of Seven series in 2006 for the WWE United States Championship. Sheamus and Cesaro ended in a 3–3 draw when their seventh match at Clash of Champions (2016) ended in a no-contest. Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fénix) wrestled The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)) in a series for the AEW World Trios Championship in 2022.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Gauntlet match, also referred to as a Turmoil match, is a quick series of one-fall one-on-one matches. Two wrestlers begin the match and are replaced whenever one is eliminated (by pinfall or submission). After a predetermined number of wrestlers have competed in the match, the last person standing is named the winner. A Gauntlet match may also be played out in multiple "parts" as part of a storyline (in which a face wrestler must face a series of a heel wrestler's underlings before facing the heel himself, for instance) this was common in World Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s. A participant involved in a Gauntlet match may be said to be "running the gauntlet" but in most cases this designation being reserved for those who are involved for most of the match. Sometimes, It could also be (one-on-three) or (one-on-four) handicap match. Unlike tag matches, the three/four-man team will challenge the person handicapped individually until he is knocked out, at which time the match is over. One example of this was on September 23, 1999, edition of WWE SmackDown where Triple H, being punished by Vince McMahon for his actions against him and his family booked Triple H in five gimmick matches in one night just three days before he was to face each of these opponents in a six-way match at a pay-per-view: A Chokeslam Challenge match (a match where the first to Chokeslam their opponent wins) against The Big Show, a Handicap Casket match against Vicera and Mideon, an Inferno match against Kane, a Boiler Room Brawl against Mankind, and a Brahma Bullrope match against The Rock.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Gauntlet eliminator is a type of match in which two wrestlers start in the ring and every four minutes, another wrestler enters until all the competitors have entered. Eliminations can occur only by pinfall or submission. The last wrestler remaining wins. An example of this match was on between Leon Ruff, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Bronson Reed, Dexter Lumis and L. A. Knight.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) uses the "Gauntlet for the Gold" format, which is named similarly to the Gauntlet match but is actually very different. The wrestlers enter at regular intervals, and elimination occurs when thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor (as in a Royal Rumble match). This continues until only two wrestlers remain, after which the final winner is decided by pinfall or submission. This match type was first featured on the first ever NWA-TNA PPV, with Ken Shamrock defeating Malice in the final two.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Iron Man (or Iron Woman for female matches) match is a multiple-fall match with a set time limit (usually 30 or 60 minutes). The match is won by the wrestler who wins the most falls within the time limit by either pinfall, submission, disqualification, or countout. If there is ever a tie, the match goes to sudden death overtime in which the wrestler who scores one fall on their opponent will immediately be declared the winner. An example of an Iron Man Match is Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules (2018) for the Intercontinental Championship. Other examples are Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar on an episode of SmackDown! in 2003 for the WWE Championship, and Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels at WWE Wrestlemania XII for the WWE Championship. The first Iron Woman match was between Bayley and Sasha Banks at in 2015.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Anything Goes Iron Man match is the hardcore variation of an Iron Man match: there are no disqualifications, no countouts and falls count anywhere. John Cena faced Randy Orton in an Anything Goes Iron Man match at Bragging Rights 2009.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Thunder Queen battle is a hybrid tag team/iron woman match was used in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling where the two teams of four members wrestle each other. The match starts off with individual members will have a five-minute singles Iron Woman match (20 minutes total each), followed by a 40-minute tag team Iron Woman match. The team with the highest total number of points within the time limit wins.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Ultimate Submission match is a variation of an Iron Man match where the only way to score a fall within the allotted time limit is to make your opponent submit. Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle had an Ultimate Submission match at Backlash 2001 for 30 minutes plus one minute and 33 seconds of tie-breaking overtime.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Three Strikes match (often shortened to Three Strikes' You're Out), is a multiple-fall match where wrestlers must achieve three victories of a specific nature in a specific order before the other. The name of the match is taken from baseball, referring to the notion that having three strikes would entail losing the match. The most common arrangement for the three strikes are pinfall, submission and knockout with the entire match being fought under no disqualification and no countout rules. This match made its acclaimed return at AEW Dark between Diamante vs. Big Swole on September 7, 2021.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Two out of Three falls match is a multiple-fall match where a wrestler/team must beat the other opponent/team not once but twice in that same match. (by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or countout). For such examples of this match type are the Extreme Rules 2012 between Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus and Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho at the SummerSlam (2000) pay-per-view. Also, a tag team version of this match type is at the Payback (2015) pay-per-view between The New Day vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Gate of Heaven match is a multiple-fall match that is applied to tag team matches. Started in Dragon Gate, with the first match being a strict tag team match with two referees to make sure tags actually happen. The second match being the Dragon Gate rules. The third match, if necessary; tables, ladders and chairs are now legal. The first team to gain two victories before the other is the winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Three Stages of Hell match is a multiple-fall match in which two wrestlers must wrestle three special types of matches. A wrestler must achieve two victories before the other. , there have only been five occasions in which this match has been contested in WWE history. The first Three Stages of Hell match occurred in 2001 between Triple H and Steve Austin at No Way Out (2001), which Triple H won 2–1. Another match of this type took place at Armageddon (2002) between Shawn Michaels and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. The most recent example of this was at NXT TakeOver 36, when Adam Cole faced Kyle O'Reilly.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Three Degrees of Pain match is a hybrid two out of three falls/steel cage match where a wrestler must achieve a victory in the specific order before the other. The first victory is a pinfall, the second victory is a submission and if necessary, the third victory is to escape from the steel cage. There have only been two of these matches occurred in TNA history and both were feud-enders. For this reason, Kurt Angle is the only wrestler to have competed in both matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: As professional wrestling seeks to also tell a story, some matches are made solely for the purposes of advancing the plot. This typically involves the loser of a match being penalized in some way.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Crybaby match is a singles match with the exception that the loser would have to dress as a baby by wearing a nappy and sucking from a bottle. This match only occurred once between 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon at the In Your House 6 pay-per-view.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Jailhouse match is a singles match with the exception that the loser would have to spend the night in a New York City jail cell. This match featured heavy brawling by both competitors The Mountie and Big Bossman at SummerSlam 1991. At one point the Mountie tried to use his cattle prod, but missed. Bossman got the pin following a double leg slam and NYC police officers came down to handcuff the Mountie and take him to jail.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Kiss My Foot match is a singles match with the exception that the loser must kiss the winner's bare foot. Such matches included Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler during the 1995 King of the Ring and Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole during the 2011 Over the Limit pay-per-view.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Kiss My Ass match is a singles match in which the loser has to kiss the winner's bare buttocks, or sometimes even between the buttocks, in front of the crowd; it became prominent during WWE's Attitude Era. A notable example is The Rock vs. Billy Gunn at SummerSlam 1999, which The Rock won. The match type made a reappearance for Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules 2015, where it was branded a Kiss Me Arse match in reference to Sheamus' Irish accent. Ziggler won, but Sheamus attacked him and forced Ziggler's unconscious self to kiss Sheamus' behind.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A last chance match, also called a do or die match, is a championship match where, if the challenger does not win the title, they are banned from challenging for it again as long as the winner of the same match holds it. Rarely, the loser may even be barred from challenging for that title for as long as he remains employed at the company (an example of this is Slammiversary XI's main event where Sting would be defeated by defending champion Bully Ray in a No Holds Barred variant of this match and be barred from challenging for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship ever again no matter who holds it).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: These matches are usually a way to finish a feud between the champion and a certain challenger, where either the title switches hands or it sets up another storyline for the challenger after losing and being unable to challenge for the title for a certain amount of time. Despite the name, these matches are mainly used as plot devices, and the loser of the match eventually finds a way to challenge for the title again if they lose, such as when another challenger defeats the champion and allows the first one to challenge for the title again (such as when Drew McIntyre was able to challenge Big E for the WWE Championship after Big E defeated Bobby Lashley for the title, who previously defeated McIntyre in a Last Chance match where McIntyre could not challenge for the title again while Lashley was holding the championship) or the ban is lifted in some other way (when Sting was able to challenge Magnus for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a No Disqualification Title vs. Career match at Genesis (2014), though Sting lost).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: "Loser leaves town" is a generic term for any match in which the loser has to leave the current promotion or sub-division. These matches were most often held during the "territorial days", when wrestlers frequently jumped from company to company. It has been held with greater frequency in WWE during the brand split; the losing wrestler typically leaves the brand (usually either Raw or SmackDown), only to go to the other brand. It is also used as a way to write a wrestler off TV to give them some time off.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Loser Wears a Chicken Suit match is a singles match where the loser must wear a chicken suit either following the match or at another event soon after. Col. Robert Parker had to wear a chicken suit on the January 29, 1994 episode of "WCW Saturday Night" following his loss to Flyin’ Brian Pillman at Clash of the Champions XXVI.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Loser Wears Dress match is a singles match with the exception that the loser must wear a woman's dress temporarily. The match is won by pinfall or submission. An example of this type of match is at Souled Out (1999) between Chris Jericho and Perry Saturn which Jericho won.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: "Luchas de apuestas" (in English meaning "gambling fights") are matches in which both wrestlers wager something specific (the mask or hair) on the outcome. The loser of the match then loses the item, being forced to take off their mask or be shaved bald. It is also possible for a wrestler to put someone else's item on the line, with the same stipulation applying in the event of a loss. These matches have a storied history in Mexico. Upon unmasking, it is not unheard of for a wrestler's real name and information to be published. As a form of further humiliation, the loser can be forced to physically hand the mask they just lost to the winner.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The most popular types of wager are the mask of a masked wrestler or the hair of a non-masked wrestler, most commonly put against each other in mask vs. mask (in Spanish: "máscara contra máscara"), mask vs. hair ("máscara contra cabellera"), or hair vs. hair ("cabellera contra cabellera") matches. Throughout Mexico, when masked wrestlers lose their masks, they are not allowed to compete under a mask with that same gimmick. In addition to masks and hair, championships, or careers — as a form of retirement match — can be put up as the wager in any combination.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Similarly the mask can be used in a bounty match, which can be a single match or series of matches where a third party will reward whoever can unmask the targeted competitor. The match can also be used to defeat a targeted individual or take them out of action with a reward. Sometimes the reward is disclosed and sometimes not. An example of the mask bounty was Flyin’ Brian Pillman having a bounty by Barry Windham after making appearances as The Yellow Dog in order to continue wrestling after losing a loser leaves match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Move match is the objective in this match is to perform a specific move first. Usually a signature move of the wrestlers is selected, although on occasion it will be a generic move that is notoriously hard to perform on both wrestlers. The match usually takes the name of the target move if both wrestlers are trying to perform their finisher for the win. The best known of these was ""Yokozuna's Bodyslam Challenge"", which Lex Luger won. Another famous move match was the ""$15,000 Body Slam Challenge"" between Andre The Giant and Big John Studd at the first WrestleMania. Another move match was the ""Masterlock Challenge"" which was created by Chris Masters. A ""Chokeslam Challenge"" match was also done between The Big Show and Triple H on WWE Smackdown in September 1999. A ""Stink Face Challenge"" match is another move match where whoever delivers the Stink Face to their opponent first wins.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Banned Move match is a singles match when one or both of the competitors is not allowed to use their finishing move or else they will be disqualified. One of the competitors cannot be disqualified if that wrestler uses the move to give an unfair disadvantage. Sometimes this stipulation is used in a feud with wrestlers whose finishers are the same or similar, in these cases it is common to see the stipulation added that the losing wrestler is no longer allowed to use that move anymore. This type of match often forces the banned wrestler to get more creative and use moves they don't normally use in an attempt to win. An example of this match took place at Extreme Rules in 2015 between Seth Rollins and Randy Orton, in which the latter's finisher is banned.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The retirement stipulation can be applied to just one wrestler or both wrestlers in a match can be wrestling for their careers. More loosely, the term can refer to the last match of a (usually "legendary") wrestler's career. Such a match is designed to be a last hurrah, showcasing the wrestler's talent one last time for their fans. Some examples of this stipulation of match are Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal was introduced in WCW at the 1992 Halloween Havoc for the Sting versus Jake Roberts match. It was remade in TNA as the "Wheel of Dixie" and in WWE as "Raw Roulette". Not a match type itself, it assigns a type to a match. Before the match, a wheel of fortune featuring a number of match types is spun, with the match landed on being used for the night. WWE usually made use of this when "Raw" was in the Las Vegas area. It was also used at NXT: Halloween Havoc five times.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: In two kinds of matches, a wrestler does not win by pinfall or submission, but only by stripping their opponent of their clothing. Historically, these types of matches were contested between managers or valets, due to their supposed lack of wrestling ability. In the Attitude Era, however, full-time female wrestlers (known formerly as Divas in WWE) began engaging in strip matches for the purpose of titillation.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A bra and panties match is a match consisting of two or more female wrestlers where the only way to win this match is to strip her opponent down to her bra and panties.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An evening gown match is usually contested by two female competitors in evening gowns. The only objective to win this match is the wrestler must remove the evening gown off of her opponent.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A tuxedo match is usually contested by two male competitors in tuxedos. The only objective to win this match is the wrestler must remove their opponent's tuxedo.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A submission match is typically a variation of a singles match in which pinfalls, count-outs, and disqualifications are not legal and the match could only end by making an opponent tap out to a submission hold.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Catch-as-Catch Can match is a match where any submission hold are allowed that is not intended to inflict injury, which contained mostly submission amateur-style wrestling. 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 royale. An example of this type of match is the infamous match between Dean Malenko and Billy Kidman during WCW's Souled Out (2000), where Malenko lost in two minutes by forgetting the rules and escaping to the floor after a barrage of attacks from Kidman.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A "I Quit" match is a match where a wrestler must force the other wrestler to submit in the form of saying the words "I Quit" into a microphone to win. This match is run under hardcore rules - no disqualifications, no countouts and the submission can happen anywhere. The referee follows the action with a microphone in hand during the event.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A "I Respect You" match is also similar to an "I Quit" match, that means, anything goes. In order to win, a wrestler must hurt his opponent brutally that it leaves the other wrestler no other choice but force to say, "I Respect You" into the microphone. This match type took place at WCW's SuperBrawl VI in 1996 which marked Brian Pillman's final match in WCW in his "I Respect You" Strap Match against The Taskmaster, before Pillman shouted "I Respect You", Bookerman!", breaking kayfabe, before leaving the ring.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Submission Count Anywhere match is a variation of a Submission and Falls Count Anywhere match, and was debuted at Breaking Point 2009 between D-Generation X and The Legacy. This is a match where a wrestler can be submitted anywhere to win, and there are no pinfalls, no disqualifications and no countouts. This match occurred only once in WWE history.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The match is contested in a large container filled with various substances, typically between two female individuals who may or may not have experience with wrestling. Substances can include anything from mud to chocolate milk. Sometimes, specialty substances are used for certain occasions like gravy for Thanksgiving and egg nog for Christmas.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A notable example of this match type was the Mimosa Mayhem Match, which was contested between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy at All Elite Wrestling's All Out pay-per-view in September 2020, where the only ways to gain victory were by pinfall, submission or by knocking the opponent into a large vat of mimosa. Unlike the traditional reasoning, the theme fit with both parties' gimmicks: Jericho was promoting his own line of champagne, and Cassidy is billed as "Freshly Squeezed" as part of his gimmick.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Another example of this match was the Chocolate Pudding match when Candice Michelle defeated Melina in one of these matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Blood Bath match is a no-disqualification match where the first to be covered in a vat of blood dispensed from a bucket loses. The Brood members Edge and Gangrel had a Blood Bath match on WWE Raw in August 1999.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Perhaps the most notable substance match was a mud match, where wrestlers would wrestle in an area or container full of mud, usually away from the ring. Usually women would participate in these matches with some occasional male involvement.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A variation of a Mud Match is the Hog Pen match, which is a Mud Match held in a pig pen on a farm, often filled with mud and pig excrement. Triple H and Henry O. Godwinn participated in a Hog Pen match at WWE's In Your House 5 in December 1995. The only objective to win is to be the first wrestler to throw his opponent into a pig pen.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Matches are often contested between two or more teams, most often consisting of two members each. Tag team matches can range from two teams of two fighting, to multiple man teams challenging each other.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: On most occasions, one member of the team competes in the ring with one or more of his or her teammates standing behind the ropes. Wrestlers switch positions by "tagging" one another, usually similar to a high five and, as a result, these teams are referred to as tag teams. This can create tension during the match as an injured wrestler in the middle of the ring attempts to reach his or her teammates, often with the heel team preventing them from doing so. In typical tag team matches, standard wrestling rules apply with a match ending by pinfall, submission, countout, or disqualification.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Promotions usually have a tag team championship for a team of two wrestlers, and on rare occasion allies of the reigning tag team will be allowed to defend the title in the place of one of the reigning wrestlers under the Freebird rule. Though common in Mexican "lucha libre", at one point, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had a championship for teams of three. WWE also can have three (triple threat) or four (fatal four-way) tag teams going against each other as well. The Tag Team Triple Threat match (known as Tag Team Triangle match in WCW) involves three teams where a member of two teams are in the ring and can tag their partner or a member of the third team. The first team with an active competitor to win by pinfall or submission wins the match for the team.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The Tag Team Four Corners match (also known as Tag Team Fatal Four-Way match) is another variation that starts off with four teams positioned as in a tag team match and two wrestlers active in the ring. The two wrestlers in the ring can tag their partner or members of a team not already represented in the match. It is an advantage to have a team member tagged into the match as you can only win by being a legal competitor in the match and the one who scores the fall wins the match for the team. One example was a four team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at Starrcade (2019).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Another variation of the four-way tag team match is to have a member of each of the four teams in competition while their partners are on the apron and the active member who scores a pinfall or submission wins the match for the team. One example of this variation was contested for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Clash of Champions (2017).


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Sometimes a team will have members of three, four or five in non-elimination tag matches. They are often named based on the number of participants and gender involved. Six-Man (Six-Woman) Tag Team match (known as Trios match in AEW) is one variation. The Wyatt Family defeated The Shield at Elimination Chamber (2014) in a six-man tag team match.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: The tornado tag team match (Originally known as the Texas Tornado) is a hardcore-rules match where all wrestlers involved are allowed to be in and wrestle in the ring and elsewhere at the same time, and thus all wrestlers are vulnerable to having a fall scored against them. Whether or not it is truly a tag team match is debatable, as it involves no tagging, but it is contested between tag teams. The first match of this kind was held on October 2, 1937, in Houston between Milo Steinborn and Whiskers Savage against Tiger Daula and Fazul Mohammed. It was the brainchild of promoter Morris Sigel. Another well known example of this match is when The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) challenged Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Extreme Rules (2013). Another example of this match is the renamed Anarchy in the Arena match at the 2022 All Elite Wrestling Double or Nothing pay-per-view event, where in a 5 vs 5 event Jericho Appreciation Society faced off against the Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, and Santana & Ortiz. This particularly chaotic match has the bell ring the moment the 2nd team to go down the entrance stage appears.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Tag team matches are occasionally held under elimination rules; that is, the losing wrestler is eliminated from the match, but their team is allowed to continue with their remaining members until all members of one team are eliminated. WWE and other promotions also has three or four tag teams going against each other as well. Anyone can be tagged in by anyone else and can be subject to immediate disqualification for failure to accept a tag. When a wrestler is pinned or submitted, the entire team is eliminated and the last team remaining wins.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: In WWE, these matches are primarily featured during its Survivor Series pay-per-views, where they are billed as a "Survivor Series match". Teams of four or five, though on some occasions as many as seven, compete under elimination rules. All other standard rules apply, and team members may tag in and out in any order. While some teams are already established stables, others may need to recruit members for their team. In "lucha libre" promotions, a "torneo cibernetico" is a similar type of match between teams of up to eight wrestlers who enter in a predetermined order.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A captain's fall match is a match where two teams of four competitors to compete in an elimination match and captains are assigned to both teams. The purpose of the match is to score a fall over the captain to get the win. Eliminations may occur until the captain is pinned or submitted, the team loses if a captain is pinned. This match type only occurred at WWE 205 Live on August 20, 2019 between Team Gulak and Team Lorcan.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A tag team turmoil is another version of an elimination tag team match. The match has a team in each of the four corners to start the match, but as each team is eliminated another team takes its place, similar to a gauntlet match. Another variation of tag team turmoil took place at SummerSlam in 1999, Night of Champions in 2010, Night of Champions Kickoff Show in 2013, and Elimination Chamber in 2017. Two teams start, when one is eliminated a new team comes to the ring until all teams have competed, the remaining team is the winner. This was used on the May 31, 2011 episode of "NXT", with a team consisting of a WWE pro and an NXT rookie. The winning team earned three redemption points for the rookie in this version. This was also used on the May 8, 2017 episode of "Raw", where the winning team earned a number one contender's spot for Matt and Jeff Hardy's WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Primarily associated with Ring of Honor (ROH), an Ultimate Endurance match is a tag team elimination match that typically includes three to four tag teams with the members of two. The match starts off with a particular set of special stipulations, with the stipulation changing every time a team is eliminated. These stipulations are predetermined and are not limited to any specific type.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A mixed tag team match features mixed-sex teams that only wrestlers of the same sex may be in the ring at the same time will wrestle each other under the standard rules. For example, if a woman tags her male partner, both women leave the ring and both men enter. The Mixed Match Challenge tournament was debuted on January 16, 2018, which both team winners The Miz and Asuka won season one while R-Truth and Carmella won season two, earning themselves the No. 30 spots in the 2019 Royal Rumble matches and an all-expenses-paid vacation, respectively.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Intergender tag team match features mixed-sex teams but it differs from the Mixed Tag Team match in which that both men and women can be in the ring at the same time to wrestle each other under the tornado tag team rules. This match was popularized in the early 2000s by Team Xtreme during the Attitude Era.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Stadium Stampede match is a type of hybrid tag team, location and cinematic match that originated in All Elite Wrestling, and has been run twice at their Double or Nothing pay-per-view event. This match typically involves 10 wrestlers in a 5v5 match, and all five wrestlers of the two teams are each part of an established faction in AEW. This often violent and brutal match is contested under hardcore rules, and it starts in a ring in the middle of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, and progresses through various environments, such as bars, cargo loading areas and offices. The 2020 edition of this match stayed within the empty Jaguars Stadium and featured the teams brawling around the stadium, while the 2021 edition of this match had the combatants exit the empty stadium and then finally end up in the audience-present central event space at the adjacent Daily's Place outdoor amphitheatre, where the match was finished in the Daily's Place ring. The Inner Circle have participated in both Stadium Stampede matches.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Strange Bedfellows match is a match where a member of one tag team has to team up with a member of another tag team they are feuding with. One example of this was when Matt Hardy had to team up with Christian against his brother/tag team partner Jeff Hardy and Christian's tag team partner Edge.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: Through the use of foreign objects, the matches generally take the name of the weapon being used ("Singapore cane match", "Chairs match"). In the following list of weapon-based matches additional rules have supplanted or replaced the standard rules.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: An Arcade Anarchy match is a tag-team hardcore match that originated in AEW where various items found in arcades like air hockey tables, mallet hammers (for Mogura Taiji (Whac-a-Mole)), various video game stalls, a claw crane and even Teddy bears filled with Lego bricks are made available and placed around the ring. There is also a "prize wall" made available with traditional hardcore professional wrestling weapons hanging on this wall. This match was first done on AEW Dynamite on March 31, 2021.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Bricks match is a match where concrete bricks are made available as weapons. Bricks were often integrated into no-rope barbed wire deathmatches, and bricks first made their appearance in Japanese deathmatches in 1993.


title: Professional wrestling match types

text: A Chairs match is a standard weapons match with any number of steel chairs being the only legal weapon to be used. This match can be won by pinfall or submission.