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Professional wrestling match types

This is a list of match types seen in professional wrestling.

Variations of Non-Tag Matches

One fall 

The standard wrestling match. All normal rules apply.

Best Two of Three falls 

To win you must score two falls on your opponent before he can score two on you. Sometimes each of the falls is fought under different stipulations, such as one straight wrestling fall, one submissions only fall and one no disqualification fall. This type of match is almost always booked to go to the third fall.

Submission Match 

The first man to make his opponent submit wins.

Iron man match 

This match is a contest with a fixed time limit and the wrestler with the most amount of pinfalls, submissions, opponent disqualifications, and opponent countouts is the winner. Another variation is an Iron Man Match where only submissions count. This variation is called an Ultimate Submission Match.

Handicap match 

This match usually pits one individual against a team of two wrestlers. In most such matches, the team competes under normal tag team rules. Occasionally, a handicap match will involve two tag teams that are unequal in numbers or rarely one man against three. Sometimes in the case of a one-on-two or one-on-three match, elimination rules apply.

Cage match 

This match takes place inside a steel cage, usually about fifteen feet high with an open top. There are two types of cage matches. The traditional cage match, known as a shark cage match, is won by being the first wrestler to escape the cage and have both feet touch the floor. The other variation is basically a One fall match inside a cage. Sometimes a cage match incorporates both escape and falls, permitting either to end the match.

Lumberjack match 

A match where the ring is surrounded by a group of "lumberjacks", normally fellow wrestlers. When one participant in the match leaves the ring for any reason, the lumberjacks are supposed to return him to the ring as soon as possible. The lumberjacks are generally a combination of faces and heels, who sometimes fight among themselves outside the ring. Sometimes, as part of a storyline, a face will wrestle a heel with a group of lumberjacks consisting entirely of heels.

Street fight 

This match cannot end in a disqualification. All other normal rules apply.

Hardcore match 

Same as a street fight, except that pin falls count anywhere.

Ladder Match 

A match between two or more wrestlers where the winner is the one who climbs the ladder and grabs a reward (usually a championship belt).

T.L.C. - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match 

Same Rules as a ladder match except that tables and chairs are readily available as weapons. Usually this match features tag teams of wrestlers (but no tag rules apply).

Triple threat match 

(See also: Three Way Dance)This is a one-fall match where three wrestlers fight instead of two. The winner of this match is the first wrestler to get a pin fall or submission. There is usually no disqualfication or count-out. If a championship is on the line, the champion does not have to be involved in the decision for the title to change hands.

Special Referee 

Any match in which the usual referee is replaced with a "guest" filling in as the official. Celebrities, managers and other wrestlers can "guest" as the special referee.

Special Outside Referee 

Same as above 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.

Flag Match 

Each team has a flag that they must retrieve and one that they must defend. They must get their flag from the opponents' corner before the opponents can get their flag.

Hair v. Mask Match 

A wrestler with hair, usually long hair, wrestles a masked wrestler. The loser is either unmasked or their head is shaved. This usually takes place in Mexico, where it is called Caballera contra Mascara.

Hair v. Hair Match 

The loser of the match is shaved. In Mexico, this is called Caballera contra Caballera.

Mask v. Mask Match 

The loser of the match is unmasked. In Mexico, this is called Mascara contra Mascara. In Mexico it is the most important match in a wrestler's career, since almost every wrestler begins their career masked. Only a few of the greatest wrestlers will keep their mask their whole career, such as Mil Mascaras and El Hijo del Santo.

Triangle match 

A three way one fall tag match wherein one of the competitors must remain outside the ring to await a tag from one of the other combatants before replacing him in the ring. Being tagged out is a serious disadvantage as you cannot win from this position.

Three Way Dance 

Same as a Triple Threat Match, this time with the loser of a fall being eliminated from competition. The last wrestler remaining is victorious. This match was a specialty of Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Fatal four way 

Same as a triple threat match, but with four wrestlers instead of three. On occasion, this may be booked as an "elimination match" similar to a Three Way Dance.

Hell in a Cell match 

This is essentially a one fall match inside a steel cage with a top. Pins or submissions only and can count inside or outside the structure. This cage is larger than a traditional cage in that it also contains the immediate floor around the ring. Even though the main hook in this match is that there's "no possible way to escape the cage", in practice, the action always ends up being taken outside, and it is very common to see wrestlers fighting on top of this steel structure. The most famous such match took place in 1998 in the then-WWF (now WWE) between The Undertaker and Mick Foley (wrestling as Mankind).

Scaffold match 

This match takes place on a scaffold above the ring. The two ways to win the match are to push the opponent off of the scaffold so that he/she hits the mat or to grab the flag from the opponent's home base of the scaffold and return it to their own home base.

First blood match 

This match is a no disqualification match. The only way to win is draw blood first from the opponent.

Casket Match 

The winner of this match is the first wrestler to put his/her opponent into a closed casket. This match has been a trademark of the WWE wrestler The Undertaker. Number of variants exist, where the object is to place the other wrestler in other closed containers, for example an ambulance or dumpster. The Casket is often placed on the ringside, but the other variants might have the container on top of the ramp. The casket may be replaced by other containers, such as a dumpster (in which case the match becomes a dumpster match).

Buried Alive match 

The object is to bury the other wrestler alive in amakeshift grave inside the arena. No other rules apply.

Battle Royal 

The winner of this match is the last person in the ring after all other wrestlers have been thrown over the top rope. In some cases, wrestlers can also be pinned or KO'd.

Royal Rumble Match 

Same as a battle royal, except that it starts out with two men featuring a new opponent per timed interval (usually 90 seconds). WWE annually runs a pay-per-view show which features a 30-man Royal Rumble Match as its main event named the Royal Rumble (a WWE trademark).

Gauntlet match 

Similar to a Battle Royal, but when only two entrants remain, the match continues as a standard one-fall match.

Another version of this match pits one initial wrestler against another in a normal rules contest. If said wrestler wins, another opponent takes his place until all set opponents are defeated or the initial wrestler loses. Sometimes this match can be in a series (one different opponent per day until all are defeated). This is called "running the gauntlet", which was done in WCW in the early 90's

Last Man Standing 

A no disqualification, no countout match with no pinfalls. Whenever a wrestler is knocked down, they must regain their feet within a ten count or they will lose the match.

Death Match 

see Hardcore Match.

Texas Death Match 

Cross between a Last Man Standing match and a Hardcore match. When an opponent is pinned he is administered a ten count. If they are able to answer the count, the match continues.

Bra and Panties Match 

A match between two (usually) women in which the winner is the first to strip her opponent down to her bra and panties.

Evening Gown Match 

A match between two women in evening gowns; the winner is the first to remove her opponent's gown. In practice, the end result is usually the same as in a Bra and Panties Match. However, in the Evening Gown Match booked for WrestleMania XX in 2004, all four women in the match stripped to their undergarments before wrestling started; the match then proceeded as a normal tag team match with no further undressing.

Tuxedo Match 

The chronological predecessor to the evening gown match, and contested between two men in outfits resembling men's formal wear. Most such matches have involved non-wrestling performers (announcers or managers).

Inferno match 

The ring is surrounded by flames. The object of the match is to set your opponent on fire.

The NWA:TNA.

Elimination Chamber match 

A six-person elimination match that takes place in a specially constructed cage where four of the six people are initially locked up in a holding cell within the cage, and are released once every 90 seconds. A wrestler who has been eliminated in the usual manner (pin or submission)is forced to leave the cage until one remains.

War Games 

Two rings surrounded by an enclosed steel cage with two teams versus each other. One man from each team starts out with another from either team at random entering the cage via a timed interval. The winning team must get a member of another team to submit after all members of each team are in the cage.

Pole Match 

Similar to a ladder match except the first man to reach the object hanging from a pole in the corner of the ring wins.

Alternately the match is fought under one fall rules with the object on the pole considered a legal foreign object. It may be used as a weapon by the wrestler who retrieves it.

"I Quit" Match 

Similar to a submission match with one exception; you must force your opponent to actually say "I Quit".

Texas Bullrope Match 

Two wrestlers are tied to the opposite ends of a bullrope (usually with a cowbell in the middle). The first man to touch all four turnbuckles consecutively with no offense from the other wins. No disqualifications or count-outs but if either man unties himself from the rope, he is disqualified. Some variations can include a chain or leather strap instead of a bullrope (otherwise called an "Indian Strap Match"). Pinfalls can be permitted depending on the promotion but there's usually no submission.

Dog Collar Match 

Same as above but using two dog collars around each wrestler's neck connected to a chain.

Gorilla/Body Slam Match 

A wrestler must body slam his opponent to win.

Finisher Match 

The first wrestler to use his or her finishing move wins. Other falls do not apply

Pin Only 

You can only pin your opponent to win.

Stretcher Match 

Strap your opponent to a stretcher to win. Some rules state that you must push your opponent a certain distance or into an ambulance.

Blindfold match 

Both competitors wear blindfolds. Otherwise normal rules apply.

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Tag Team Match Variations

Tag team match 

A match in which two teams of two wrestlers face each other. Only one wrestler from each team is allowed in the ring at a time. The other(s) wait on the apron outside the ropes in a specified corner adjacent to the other team. Offensive cooperation from a team member can happen as long as they are within the referee's count of five and after an official tag. A tag team match involving more than two wrestlers per team is often referred to by the total number of people involved (eg. a six-man tag team match involves two teams of three), while a tag team match involving more than two teams is referred to by normal qualifiers (eg. a triple threat tag team match involves three teams of two).

A wrestler must do the following in order to make a legal tag:

• Both feet of the wrestler on the the outside must be flat on the apron.
• The wrestler outside the ring must hold on to the tag rope tied in the corner
• Tags must be done over the top rope.
• Tags are legal as long as the two team members touch.

A referee can be allowed to overlook any of these tag rules at his discretion. All standard match rules apply but the legal man must make a pin or submission on another legal man to win. Only legal men can be counted out but either team can be disqualified regardless if a team member is legal or not.

Elimination Tag Team match 

Same as a tag team match except that the wrestler suffering the loss of a fall is eliminated from participation. The match continues until all members of one team are eliminated. The WWE uses the term Survivor Series match to denote a ten-person match held during the yearly Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Intergender Tag Team match 

This is a tag team match featuring mixed-sex teams. It differs from a Mixed Tag Team match (see below) in that men and women can be in the ring at the same time.

Mixed Tag Team match 

This type of match also features mixed-sex teams, but differs from an Intergender match in that only wrestlers of the same sex may be in the ring at the same time. For example, if a woman tags her male partner, both women leave the ring and both men enter.

Tornado Tag Team match 

This is a team match where all wrestlers involved are allowed in the ring at the same time. All men are legal so any wrestler is vulnerable to a decision. Usually there is no disqualification or count-out. Despite its name, is not a true tag team match, as it involves no tagging.

Parejas Incredibles match 

In this match the teams are composed of enemies or rivals. It is meant to illustrate the tension between the desire to win and the hatred for one's rival. As the name suggests, these pairs matches are used more frequently in Mexico than anywhere else.

Other match types 

These can include Hardcore, Battle royal (if one member of a team is eliminated so is the other), Ladder, Tables (one team wins when a member of another team is forced into and through a table - no tags), Cage, etc. Just about any match type can be converted to tag team rules.

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Extreme Variations

Barb Wire Bat 10,000 Thumbtack Match 

A solid baseball bat with the end wrapped in barb wire hangs off a pole in a corner of the ring as a box filled with 10,000 thumbtacks lays at ringside. The only way to win is to put your opponent in the box of 10,000 Thumbtacks and to make the pin. The bat is just to make the match a little more brutal than it already is.

Beds of Weapons 

It is an anything goes match that has beds of thumbtacks, nails, barb wire, glass, and/or lightbulbs. Up to three of these can be involved in the match. These matches usually occur in Deathmatch Title matches or Deathmatches in general.

Brimstone Match 

A match where the only way to win is to throw your oppenent in burning hot coals laid on the floor next to the ring.

Explosion Match 

Usually accompanied with barb wire ropes, a large barb wire wrapped explosion board is placed in the ring laced with a small amount of C-4. The loser is the man that is blown up.

Rage in a Cage 

A cage that looks like an oval that is typically used as the arena for the "blowoff match" of a feud. It can be used for a tag team or singles match. In this match, wins are usually by pinfall.

Scramble Cage 

A cage match with wooden platforms in each of the corners of the cage for use in "high risk" moves.

Taipei Death Match 

The wrestlers fists are wrapped in tape, dipped in glue, then dipped in glass. The Glass-Glued fists can be used in any manner, including low blows, blows to the face.