Iron Man match

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An iron man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most falls at the end of that time named the victor. [1] On the occasions of a draw, a sudden death "final fall" may be requested by either side, with the other able to accept or decline, [2] or an authority can order the match to go into overtime in the case of any championship match.

Professional wrestling entertainment form that mimics contact sports

Professional wrestling is a form of performance art and entertainment that combines athletics with theatrical performance. It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, that mimic a title-match combat sport. The unique form of sport portrayed is fundamentally based on classical and "catch" wrestling, with modern additions of striking attacks, strength-based holds and throws and acrobatic maneuvers. Much of these derive from the influence of various international martial arts. An additional aspect of combat with improvised weaponry is sometimes included to varying degrees.

In a sport or game, sudden death is a form of competition where play ends as soon as one competitor is ahead of the others, with that competitor becoming the winner. Sudden death is typically used as a tiebreaker when a contest is tied at the end of regulation (normal) playing time or the completion of the normal playing task.

Contents

Rules

Iron man matches generally operate under the same rules as any other professional wrestling bout, but instead of the match having to be over before a time limit is up, the iron man match goes the full length of the allotted time, with each wrestler attempting to score as many falls in that time as possible. The wrestler who has the most decisions at the end of the match is then the winner.

Some iron man matches have an interval between falls. In 2009 a match between John Cena and Randy Orton had a 30-second rest period after each fall, in part due to iron man matches being "anything goes" (only pinfalls and submissions counted as falls which can also be done outside the ring, but not count outs or disqualifications). The 2003 match between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar had a 15-second rest period after each fall, regardless of how it occurred.

Should the match result in a tie, sudden death overtime may be requested by either wrestler as a plot device, and it is accepted or rejected by either an opponent or an authority figure. After Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle tied 2–2 in a 30-minute iron man match, Michaels begged Angle to go sudden death, but Angle walked off.

In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or predetermined nature of any kind. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public.

Sudden deaths are especially common in title matches. This is because, in the event of a draw, the champion will always retain the title. Commissioner Gorilla Monsoon ordered sudden death (after onscreen president Rowdy Roddy Piper had stated that there "must be a winner") after Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart failed to score a decision at Wrestlemania XII , and Christopher Daniels requested sudden death against A.J. Styles at TNA Against All Odds 2005 .

Gorilla Monsoon American professional wrestler

Robert James Marella, better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker.

Roddy Piper Canadian professional wrestler and actor

Roderick George Toombs, better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor.

Shawn Michaels American professional wrestler

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television presenter. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid" and "Mr. WrestleMania".


Iron man match history

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Several iron man matches have taken place at house shows. The Rockers faced off against the Rougeau Brothers throughout much of 1989. Bret Hart wrestled two from 1993-1994 against Ric Flair and Hart's brother, Owen. John Cena faced off against Seth Rollins for Cena's WWE United States Championship at house shows in October 2015. Kevin Owens and A.J. Styles faced off in a 30-minute iron man match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at a house show in March 2016. [3]

Owen Hart Canadian professional and amateur wrestler

Owen James Hart was a Canadian–American professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He received his most success in the WWF, where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The Blue Blazer.

Kevin Owens Canadian professional wrestler

Kevin Yanick Steen is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Owens began his career in 2000 at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in late 2014, from 2007 Steen wrestled under his birth name for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he held the ROH World Championship and ROH World Tag Team Championship. Steen also wrestled extensively on the independent circuit for 14 years, most notably in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he held the PWG World Championship a record three times, as well as the PWG World Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Steen also competed for International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS), where he held three times the IWS World Heavyweight Championship, All American Wrestling (AAW), where he held the AAW Heavyweight Championship; and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he held the CZW Iron Man Championship.

A.J. Styles American professional wrestler

Allen Neal Jones is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name AJ Styles.

#Match (length)TitleScoreEvent, date and locationArena
1 Bret Hart (c) defeated Ric Flair (1:00:00) WWF World Heavyweight Championship 3–2WWE live event
January 9, 1993, Boston, Massachusetts 		Boston Garden
2Bret Hart (c) defeated Owen Hart (1:00:00) WWF World Heavyweight Championship 3–2WWE live event
July 8, 1994, East Rutherford, New Jersey 		Brendan Byrne Arena
3 Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart (c) (1:01:56) Overtime WWF World Heavyweight Championship 1–0 WrestleMania XII
March 31, 1996, Anaheim, CA 		Arrowhead Pond
4 Triple H defeated The Rock (c) (1:00:00)WWF Championship6–5 Judgment Day
May 21, 2000, Louisville, KY 		Freedom Hall
5 Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle (31:51) Overtime
"Ultimate Submission match"		None4–3 Backlash
April 29, 2001, Rosemont, IL 		Allstate Arena
6 Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle (c) (1:00:00)WWE Championship5–4 SmackDown
September 18, 2003, Raleigh, NC 		RBC Center
7Chris Benoit (c) defeated Triple H (1:00:00) World Heavyweight Championship 4–3 Raw
July 26, 2004, Pittsburgh, PA 		Mellon Arena
8 MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) (c) defeated Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly (15:00) WWE Tag Team Championship 2-1SmackDown
June 2, 2005, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 		Rexall Place
9Kurt Angle drew with Shawn Michaels (30:00)None2–2Raw
October 3, 2005, Dallas, TX 		American Airlines Center
10John Morrison and The Miz (c) drew with Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore (15:00)
Fifteen minutes of fame match"		WWE Tag Team Championship1–1 ECW
January 8, 2008, Philadelphia, PA 		Wachovia Center
11 John Cena defeated Randy Orton (c) (1:00:00)
"Anything Goes Ironman match"		WWE Championship6–5 Bragging Rights
October 25, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA		Mellon Arena
12 Bayley (c) defeated Sasha Banks (30:00) [4] NXT Women's Championship 3–2 NXT TakeOver: Respect
October 7, 2015, Winter Park, FL 		Full Sail University
13 Kevin Owens (c) defeated AJ Styles (30:00) WWE Intercontinental Championship 2–1WWE live event
March 12, 2016, Atlantic City, New Jersey 		Boardwalk Hall
14 Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks (c) (34:45) Overtime WWE Raw Women's Championship 3–2 Roadblock: End of the Line
December 18, 2016, Pittsburgh, PA		 PPG Paints Arena
15 Cesaro and Sheamus (c) defeated The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) (30:00)WWE Raw Tag Team Championship4–3 Great Balls of Fire
July 9, 2017, Dallas, TX		American Airlines Center
16 Dolph Ziggler (c) defeated Seth Rollins (30:10) OvertimeWWE Intercontinental Championship5–4 Extreme Rules
July, 15, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA		PPG Paints Arena

Participant list

Males

WrestlerVictoriesAppearances
Chris Benoit22
Bret Hart23
Brock Lesnar11
Joey Mercury11
John Cena11
Kevin Owens11
Cesaro11
Sheamus11
Dolph Ziggler11
Triple H12
Shawn Michaels12
Johnny Nitro/John Morrison12
Ric Flair01
Owen Hart01
The Rock01
Charlie Haas01
Hardcore Holly01
The Miz01
Jimmy Wang Yang01
Shannon Moore01
Randy Orton01
AJ Styles01
Jeff Hardy01
Matt Hardy01
Seth Rollins01
Kurt Angle03

Females

WrestlerVictoriesAppearances
Bayley11
Charlotte Flair11
Sasha Banks02

World Championship Wrestling (WCW)

#Match (length)TitleScoreEvent, date and locationArena
1 Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude (30:00)None4–3 Beach Blast 1992
June 20, 1992, Mobile, AL 		Mobile Civic Center
2 Dustin Rhodes and Rick Rude fought to a draw (30:00)Vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1–1 Beach Blast 1993
July 18, 1993, Biloxi, MS 		Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Participant list

WrestlerVictoriesAppearances
Ricky Steamboat11
Dustin Rhodes01
Rick Rude02

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)

#Match (length)TitleScoreEvent, date and locationArena
1 A.J. Styles (c) defeated Christopher Daniels (31:37) overtime TNA X Division Championship 2–1 Against All Odds
February 13, 2005, Orlando, Florida 		TNA Impact! Zone
2A.J. Styles (c) defeated Christopher Daniels (30:00)TNA X Division Championship1–0 Bound for Glory
October 23, 2005, Orlando, Florida		TNA Impact! Zone
3 Kurt Angle defeated Samoa Joe (30:00)To determine the No. 1 contender for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship 		3–2 Final Resolution
January 14, 2007, Orlando, Florida		TNA Impact! Zone
4 Douglas Williams (c) drew with A.J. Styles (15:00 + 5:00 sudden overtime) TNA Television Championship 1–1 TNA Impact!
December 23, 2010, Orlando, Florida		TNA Impact! Zone
5 Bobby Roode (c) drew with A.J. Styles (30:00) TNA World Heavyweight Championship 3–3 Final Resolution
December 11, 2011, Orlando, Florida		Impact Wrestling Zone
6Bobby Roode (c) defeated A.J. Styles (5:00 + sudden death overtime)TNA World Heavyweight Championship1–0TNA Impact Wrestling
December 15, 2011, Orlando, Florida		Impact Wrestling Zone
7 The Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) defeated Dirty Heels (Austin Aries and Bobby Roode) (30:00)Vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship 2–1TNA Impact Wrestling
July 1, 2015, Orlando, Florida		Impact Wrestling Zone
8 Lashley defeated Eddie Edwards (c) (30:00)TNA World Heavyweight Championship3–2TNA Impact Wrestling
January 26, 2017, Orlando, Florida		Impact Wrestling Zone

Participant list

WrestlerVictoriesAppearances
A.J. Styles25
Kurt Angle11
Davey Richards11
Lashley11
Eddie Edwards12
Bobby Roode13
Samoa Joe01
Douglas Williams01
Austin Aries01
Christopher Daniels02

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Inside WWE > Specialty Matches > Iron Man Match". WWE.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  2. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 95.
  3. ↑ "3/12 WWE in Atlantic City – Owens vs. Styles Iron Man match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  4. ↑ "WWE Network: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks - 30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match for NXT Women's Title: WWE NXT TakeOver: Respect" . Retrieved 2 December 2016.
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