A Monster's Ball match is a professional wrestling, hardcore match type that originated in and is primarily staged by Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA). The key premise of the Monster's Ball is that all contenders are (kayfabe) sequestered alone in a locked room without light, food, or water for 24 hours before the match. This stipulation is meant to induce extreme feelings of aggression in the competitors. Once released, the wrestlers fight one another in a no disqualification 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 (there is no elimination format).
There have been 56 Monster's Ball matches conducted by Impact Wrestling, with several unaffiliated independent promotions hosting the match type as well. It was the signature match stipulation of Abyss. Before his retirement in 2019, he had appeared in 48 of the 50 Monster's Ball matches held by Impact to that point and managed in another. Due to the hardcore nature of the match, the Monster's Ball typically features numerous high spots. Frequently used weapons include thumb tacks, "Janice" (a board filled with nails, Abyss's signature weapon), and barbed wire.
In Impact Wrestling, 51 wrestlers have taken part in Monster's Ball matches. Abyss holds the record for most participations, having competed in 48 such matches, and the record for most victories with 19.
Superstar | Victories | Appearances |
---|---|---|
Abyss/Joseph Park* | 19 | 48 |
Jeff Hardy/Willow* | 9 | 11 |
Tommy Dreamer | 4 | 6 |
Bram | 3 | 3 |
Samoa Joe | 2 | 2 |
Taylor Wilde | 2 | 2 |
PCO | 2 | 2 |
Eric Young | 2 | 3 |
Rhino | 2 | 5 |
A.J. Styles | 1 | 1 |
Davey Richards | 1 | 1 |
Eddie Edwards | 1 | 1 |
Eli Drake | 1 | 1 |
James Storm | 1 | 1 |
Kongo Kong | 1 | 1 |
Magnus | 1 | 1 |
Masha Slamovich | 1 | 1 |
Matt Hardy | 1 | 1 |
Monty Brown | 1 | 1 |
Robert Roode | 1 | 1 |
Savannah Evans | 1 | 1 |
Taya Valkyrie | 1 | 1 |
Trey Miguel | 1 | 1 |
Crazzy Steve | 1 | 3 |
Rosemary | 1 | 2 |
Allie Katch | 0 | 1 |
Alisha Edwards | 0 | 1 |
Black Reign | 0 | 1 |
Brother Devon | 0 | 1 |
Brother Runt | 0 | 1 |
Christopher Daniels | 0 | 1 |
Desmond Wolfe | 0 | 1 |
Havok | 0 | 1 |
Hernandez | 0 | 1 |
Homicide | 0 | 1 |
Jade | 0 | 1 |
Jessie Godderz | 0 | 1 |
Jonah | 0 | 1 |
Jordynne Grace | 0 | 1 |
Judas Mesias | 0 | 1 |
Kazarian | 0 | 1 |
Kimber Lee | 0 | 1 |
Matt Morgan | 0 | 1 |
Mick Foley | 0 | 1 |
Moose | 0 | 2 |
Steve Maclin | 0 | 1 |
Robbie E | 0 | 1 |
Su Yung | 0 | 1 |
Brother Ray/Bully Ray* | 0 | 2 |
Daffney | 0 | 2 |
Grado | 0 | 2 |
Raven | 0 | 4 |
Sabu | 0 | 4 |
A Monster's Ball match was announced by John Cena Sr. (father of John Cena), president of the Massachusetts-based Millennium Wrestling Federation on its MWF Xtra online show to take place at their Night of Champions show on June 21, 2008. Todd Hanson defeated Abyss, Rick Fuller and Brian Milonas to win the match and retain his MWF Heavyweight Championship. [55] [56] Through TNA's working relationship with Mexican promotion AAA, Verano de Escándalo on July 31, 2011, hosted a Monster's Ball match, where Chessman defeated Abyss, Extreme Tiger, and Joe Líder. On June 7, 2014, at House of Hardcore V, Abyss defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Monster's Ball match. On November 14, 2015, Abyss would face off against Sabu in a Monster's Ball match at House of Hardcore 11 in a losing effort. Abyss has brought the Monster's Ball match to several other independent promotions throughout the world. For example, in June 2018, Abyss was scheduled to face Jimmy Havoc in Melbourne, Australia in a Monster's Ball match at a World Series Wrestling event.
Terrance Guido Gerin is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno or Rhino. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). During his career he has worked for several promotions, most notably Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWE.
Matthew Thomas Morgan is an American politician and retired professional wrestler. He was the former mayor of the city of Longwood, Florida and is a former gladiator on American Gladiator. As a wrestler he is known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he performed on the SmackDown brand, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion.
Christopher Joseph Park is an American retired professional wrestler, who is signed to WWE as a producer and onscreen personality. He is best known for his time with TNA Wrestling under the ring name Abyss. He became a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is the heaviest wrestler to hold the X Division Championship and was the longest reigning Television Champion. In the tag team division, he held the NWA World Tag Team Championship once with A.J. Styles, and the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice, once with James Storm as The Revolution, and once with Crazzy Steve as Decay.
Jonathan Figueroa, better known by his ring name Amazing Red, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and promoter. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former three-time X Division Champion and one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion. He has worked on the American independent circuit and appeared for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Figueroa is also the founder of House of Glory wrestling school, where he is also one of the head trainers. He is the cousin of wrestlers Joel and Jose Maximo and Zelina Vega.
Jeremy Fritz, known by his ring name Eric Young, is a Canadian professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he served as the leader of the Sanity stable and was a former NXT Tag Team Champion.
Sacrifice is a professional wrestling event held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It was originally held as a pay-per-view event between 2005 and 2014. The first Sacrifice event took place in August 2005. When event names were shuffled by TNA for 2006, the event was moved to May. Sacrifice has had a tradition of being the final round of tournaments. Sacrifice 2005 saw Samoa Joe defeat A.J. Styles to win the Super X Cup. Sacrifice 2006 was the final round of the World X Cup Tournament. Sacrifice 2008 continued the tradition with the finals of the Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament. Sacrifice 2009 featured Beer Money, Inc. defeating The British Invasion in the finals of the Team 3D Invitational Tag Team Tournament. All events take place inside the Impact! Zone. On January 11, 2013, TNA announced that in 2013 will be only four PPVs, dropping Sacrifice. In 2016, Sacrifice was held as a special edition of Impact Wrestling and the promotion revived it as a monthly special for Impact Plus in 2020.
The Ultimate X match is a type of professional wrestling match created by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), mainly used in their X Division. It is considered the signature match of the X Division.
A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in TNA Wrestling.
Steven Haworth, better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he serves as a color commentator on Collision. He is best known for work with Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah and WWE.
Quinn O. Ojinnaka is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under the ring name Moose, and is the current TNA World Champion in his second reign.
The Motor City Machine Guns are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. They are best known for their time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling. The team name, which has been variably Motor and Murder City, is a play on the nickname of Detroit, the hometown of both Shelley and Sabin. The duo also make appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on the NJPW Strong brand, as well as Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) and Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW). Originally forming a team in Pro Wrestling Zero1 in 2006, Shelley and Sabin have worked together on and off ever since.
Nicholas Aldis is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a producer and the on-screen general manager of the SmackDown brand. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Magnus from 2008 to 2015, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 2017 to 2022.
Suicide is a professional wrestling persona, used by multiple wrestlers in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Suicide first appeared as a character in the 2008 video game TNA Impact!. In December 2008, the Suicide character was introduced on television as a real-life wrestler. Originally portrayed by Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels held the role for a time in early 2009 and went on to win the X Division Championship. In June 2010, Kiyoshi became the third man to use the gimmick.
Eric Maher is an American professional wrestler who is known by the ring name Eddie Edwards. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions with Brian Myers in their first reign.
Michael Hutter is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III. He is currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and is a former NWA National Heavyweight Champion. He also performs on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures with Impact Wrestling and WWE, where he performed both under his EC3 ring name and, earlier, as Derrick Bateman.
Ink Inc. was a professional wrestling stable, consisting of Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, and their valet Toxxin, in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
The 2013 Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, which took place on March 10, 2013, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It was the ninth under the Lockdown chronology and second event in the 2013 TNA PPV schedule. The event broke ground for TNA's largest domestic attendance record of 7,200 fans, beating their previous record from Slammiversary 2012.