Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal, is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared the winner. Typical battle royals begin with a number of participants in the ring, who are then eliminated by going over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor.
Variations
Battlebowl
In a two-ring variation on a battle royal, the wrestlers start in one ring and try to throw wrestlers into the second ring, after which they can be eliminated by being thrown out of that ring. The last remaining wrestler in the first ring can rest until only one wrestler is left in the second ring, after which they fight in both rings until one is eliminated and a winner is declared, in similar fashion to a double elimination tournament. The two-ring version was held in World Championship Wrestling's 1991 Starrcade event. Subsequent Battlebowl matches occurred under normal battle royal rules.Battle Zone
This format uses any number of wrestlers in a standard one-ring, over-the-top-rope elimination, but includes tables covered with barbed wire, thumbtacks, and light bulbs around the ring's perimeter, onto which losing wrestlers may be thrown.Bunkhouse Stampede
The National Wrestling Alliance's Bunkhouse Stampede involved wrestlers wearing what was described as "bunkhouse gear"—cowboy boots, jeans, T-shirts—instead of their normal wrestling tights, and not only allowed but encouraged the bringing of weapons. In 1988 the NWA named a pay-per-view after the Bunkhouse Stampede, headlined by a Bunkhouse Stampede match in a cage.Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale
The Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale is utilized by All Elite Wrestling and is held once a year as part of their weekly television program, Dynamite, with the ultimate prize being the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. The inaugural match took place in November 2019, and then from 2020 to 2022, it was held in December to coincide with the annual Winter Is Coming television special of Dynamite, but moved up to October in 2023, then returned to coincide with Winter Is Coming in 2024. The original rules featured 12 wrestlers competing in a standard battle royal, but ended when there were two wrestlers remaining, with the co-winners then facing each other in a singles match on the following week's episode for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. The winner of the championship ring holds it until the following year's battle royal. In 2022 and 2023, there was only one winner of the 12-man battle royal, who then went on to face the reigning ring holder from the prior year. In 2024, it returned to having two winners with the co-winners then facing each other for the right to challenge the reigning ring holder from the prior year. MJF is the only wrestler to have won the ring, winning it every year since its inception—since 2022, he has received a bye in the battle royal.Fulfill Your Fantasy battle royal
A WWE women's battle royal with the addition of fetish outfits, such as french maid, lingerie, nurse and schoolgirl. Often the type of outfit is chosen by an audience poll.Hardcore battle royal
A battle royal with hardcore rules involving several competitors in the ring at the same time. The match could last for either 15 or 20 minutes. Participants are not eliminated by being thrown out of the ring and both feet touching the floor. Pinning or forcing to submit the current Hardcore champion made that participant the interim champion. Whoever held the title at end of the time limit was declared the winner and official champion.Last Blood battle royal
A Last Blood battle royal is essentially a multi-competitor First Blood match. The winner is the last wrestler in the match not bleeding.Reverse battle royal
Generally used in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, a reverse battle royal begins with wrestlers surrounding the ring instead of inside it. At the start of the match they battle for half of them to get into the ring, at which point a standard last person standing wins the battle royal.TNA Knockout Makeover Battle Royal
The match begins as a multi-woman over-the-top elimination battle royal. Participants are eliminated as they are thrown over the top rope and both feet land on the floor. When two competitors remain, they face each other in a ladder match, where the winner receives a TNA Knockout Championship match and the loser has her head shaved.Women's battle royal
A women's battle royal may allow women to be eliminated by being thrown through or under the ropes as well as over the top rope, although WWE's first official women's Royal Rumble match in 2018 used the same rules as the men's version.World War 3
Created by World Championship Wrestling in 1995, the World War 3 battle royal had three rings and 60 competitors. 20 wrestlers started in each ring, where they wrestled under regular battle royal rules. When 30 competitors remained, all competitors entered the center ring and continued under regular rules until only one was left standing.Rumble rules battle royals
In this version - unlike traditional battles royal, where all wrestlers begin the match in the ring - only the first two competitors begin the match. The rest enter at timed intervals, according to numbers they draw, until the entire field has entered.Former wrestler and longtime WWE official Pat Patterson is credited with inventing this variation.