Professional wrestling match types
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. Throughout professional wrestling's decades-long history, some gimmick matches have spawned many variations of the core concept.
Singles match
The singles match is the most common of all professional wrestling matches, which involves only two competitors competing for one fall. A victory is obtained by pinfall, submission, knockout, countout, or disqualification. One of the most common variations on the singles match is to restrict the possible means for victory.Blindfold match
In a blindfold match, the two participants must wear a blindfold over their eyes for the entire duration of the match. A well-known example of this match is the WrestleMania VII match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Rick Martel.Pure wrestling rules match
A type of match contested in Ring of Honor Wrestling, usually for the ROH Pure Championship; each wrestler is allowed only three rope breaks; once they are all used, the wrestler cannot use the ropes to escape pins or submissions. Closed fists are illegal, and the first offense results in a warning. A second offense results in disqualification.Bloodsport/Underground match
This event consists of a unique ruleset compared to a traditional pro wrestling event, in that every match must end in either a knockout or submission. The traditional wrestling ring is replaced by a ring canvas with no ropes or turnbuckles.GCW Bloodsport
This event features worked shoot matches in a style that mimics the early days of MMA and catch wrestling. It is common for Bloodsport competitors to have some knowledge in other combat sports and/or MMA, as well as professional wrestling, as these one on one matches often appear stiff and have a feel of classic Shoot-style wrestling fights.Raw/NXT Underground
In August 2020, Raw introduced a new segment in its third hour known as Raw Underground. Hosted by Shane McMahon, It was a Fight Club inspired concept taking place in the basement of the WWE Performance Center. The matches were held in a ring with no ropes and a black canvas, and were short work shoot style and could end by knockout, submission or McMahon's call. Raw Underground segments aired from August 3 to September 21, 2020, in 8 episodes of Raw.WWE's NXT brand then adopted the concept beginning on the July 4 episode of NXT between Eddy Thorpe and Damon Kemp. Unlike the Raw matches, these took place in the show's main studio, with the ring ropes being taken down and a black canvas covering the ring.
On the December 26, 2023 episode of NXT, Thorpe defeated Dijak in the second NXT Underground match.
The first women's NXT Underground match took place on week 2 of NXT Spring Breakin', where Lola Vice defeated Natalya.
On NXT Battleground, Vice defeated Shayna Baszler in the second NXT Underground match.
On NXT Deadline, Vice defeated Jaida Parker in the third NXT Underground match.
Battle royale-based variations
The battle royale is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until only one is left. Typical battle royales begin with 20 or more participants all in the ring at the same time, who are then eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor.Battlebowl
The Battlebowl is a two-ring variation on a battle royale. In these matches, 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. This was held by World Championship Wrestling at the 1991 Starrcade event, but future Battlebowl matches were contested under normal battle royale rules.Battle Zone
The battle zone features any number of men in a one-ring, over-the-top-rope elimination. A typical battle royale, except this one features tables covered with barbed wire, thumbtacks, and light bulbs on the outside of the ring, which may catch wrestlers as they are thrown out of the ring.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 held inside a [|cage]. Recently, the match has been revitalized by Ricky Morton of the Rock n' Roll Express at his wrestling academy in Chuckey, Tennessee.Last Blood battle royale
A last blood battle royale is essentially a multi-competitor First Blood match. All competitors start at the same time and wrestlers are eliminated when they start bleeding. The winner is the last wrestler in the match not bleeding. This match was held in the Tri-State Wrestling Association, a predecessor to Extreme Championship Wrestling.Reverse battle royale
Generally used in TNA/Impact Wrestling, a reverse battle royale 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 royale.The Cage Reverse Battle Royale is another TNA variation of this match type. This actually has three stages; It begins the first stage as an inside-out battle royale with 15 or more wrestlers involved. The first seven to enter the ring over the top cage will advance to the second stage which is a gauntlet match. When it gets down to the final stage, only two wrestlers will battle in a singles match which is decided by pinfall or submission.
Semi-final battle royale
A semi-final battle royale consists of a battle royale where when a specific number of wrestlers are remaining, the match ends, and those that remain are placed in a standard wrestling match for the prize at stake. An example of this occurred on a January 2024 episode of NXT, where 20 women competed in a battle royal that became a Fatal 4-Way once there were four competitors remaining.In All Elite Wrestling, it is known as a Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, as twelve competitors compete until it is reduced to two, and there is a subsequent episode where the final two compete, in this case, "AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring".
In New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the 2021 New Japan Rumble at Wrestle Kingdom 15 was conducted as a semi-final battle royale. Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Tetsuya Bushi, and Toru Yano were the final four that competed in a championship match the next day.
World War 3
Created by WCW in 1995, the World War 3 battle royale involved a three-ring setup and 60 competitors; 20 wrestlers started in each of the three rings, in which they would wrestle under regular battle royale rules. Once there were 30 competitors remaining, all competitors would enter the center ring and continue under regular rules until only one wrestler was left standing.Cinematic match
A cinematic match is not technically a match type itself, but rather, it is a term used to refer to matches that are produced with various cinematic techniques. The rules vary from match to match, but generally have a basis in hardcore wrestling. Unlike a normal wrestling match, which is done in one take and typically in front of a live audience, cinematic matches are shot over several hours with various scenes filmed, similar to filmmaking, with higher-budget production involved. The final product generally lasts from 20 to 40 minutes and airs at a later time, typically for a pay-per-view event. They are also usually filmed on-location or at a custom built set.On October 4, 1987, Antonio Inoki defeated Masa Saito in a Ganryū-jima Island Death Match in a shoreside ring with no referee which lasted for two hours. Inoki billed the match to pay homage to the island's famous duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirō. The match was captured by a multi camera setup by a ground crew and from the air via helicopter. The action mostly took place in the ring and only occasionally spilling out to the area around it. As the match drew on into the evening, torches were placed in order to illuminate the surrounding area. Inoki would defeat Saito with a sleeper hold. Despite the match title having "deathmatch" in the name, it was more of a submission based match. This match is considered to be the first ever cinematic match.
While not considered a cinematic match at the time, the Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust at WrestleMania XII in 1996 is considered an early cinematic match by the World Wrestling Federation, as it used techniques now featured in cinematic matches. Unlike future cinematic matches, the match aired during several segments in between matches inside the ring, and featured both pre-taped segments outside the Arrowhead Pond of the two fighting as well as Piper "chasing" Goldust's solid gold Cadillac in a white Ford Bronco in an obvious reference to the then-ongoing O. J. Simpson murder case. The match eventually ended in the ring live, when Piper stripped Goldust down to women's lingerie and kissed him as part of "making him a man". WrestleMania XII featured a second cinematic match between "The Huckster" and "Nacho Man".
At SummerSlam 1996, The Undertaker faced Mankind in a "Boiler Room Brawl" that was largely pre-taped, incorporating props and unorthodox camera angles.
In 2016, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling held a match entitled the "Final Deletion" between brothers Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy for the July 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, which was filmed at Matt Hardy's compound. It was a hardcore wrestling match with falls count anywhere. The sequel was a brawl between The Broken Hardys and Decay titled "Delete or Decay". The Broken Hardys and Decay continued their feud at Bound for Glory, where Decay lost their TNA World Tag Team Championship to The Hardys in "The Great War". The Hardys issued an open tag team invitational at their compound on the December 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, titled Total Nonstop Deletion. The main event was the "Tag Team Apocalypto" where The Hardys last defeated Decay.
Although not contested as a match, WWE followed this up shortly after and filmed a cinematic-style brawl between The New Day and The Wyatt Family that was held at The Wyatt Family Compound and shown on the July 11, 2016 episode of WWE Raw. WWE then taped their own cinematic match for their 2017 pay-per-view Payback, called a House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Similar to the "Final Deletion" match in TNA, this one was held at an abandoned house, but instead of falls count anywhere, this match had to end in the ring in the arena that the event was held in. The next cinematic match would occur on the March 19, 2018 episode of Raw, which featured Matt Hardy, who had returned to WWE and became "Woken" Matt Hardy, against Bray Wyatt and was called the "Ultimate Deletion;" this was just like the "Final Deletion," including being held at Matt's compound.
Cinematic matches became more frequent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic began affecting the professional wrestling industry in March that year, forcing promotions to hold events behind closed doors. WWE would hold several cinematic matches at their pay-per-views between March and August, being highly praised for the two that occurred at WrestleMania 36; a Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, which was a Buried Alive match held at a custom built cemetery set in the Orlando area, and a Firefly Fun House match between John Cena and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.. Following this, cinematic matches occurred at Money in the Bank in May, which was the event's eponymous ladder matches that occurred at WWE's headquarters, a Backlot Brawl between Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream in the parking lot of Full Sail University at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in June, a cinematically produced singles match between Edge and Randy Orton at Backlash also in June, and a Wyatt Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July. Following the introduction of the WWE ThunderDome and Capitol Wrestling Center staging arenas in August and October, respectively, the use of cinematic matches was greatly reduced, as these new staging arenas allowed fans to attend the events virtually. To go with the Halloween-theme at NXT: Halloween Havoc in October, a Haunted House of Terrors match was held between Dexter Lumis and Cameron Grimes, which was similar to the House of Horrors match from Payback 2017. Matches involving Randy Orton, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, and Alexa Bliss have also used cinematic techniques, such as the Firefly Inferno match between Orton and The Fiend at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, where Orton set The Fiend's entire body on fire, and an intergender match between Orton and Bliss at Fastlane in March 2021, where Bliss used supernatural powers. Since the resumption of live touring in July 2021, WWE ceased producing cinematic matches.
AEW also incorporated cinematic matches during pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021, most notably the Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing 2020, which was a 5v5 empty arena match in the TIAA Bank Field stadium. During that period, AEW featured at least one cinematic match at each of their PPVs: a "Tooth and Nail match" at All Out 2020 between Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Big Swole at Baker's real-life dental office, a match entitled "The Elite Deletion" at Full Gear 2020, featuring Matt Hardy against Sammy Guevara and similar to the other "Deletion" matches involving Hardy, and a tag team street fight pitting Darby Allin and Sting against Team Taz at Revolution 2021, which was held at an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Atlanta, Georgia. At Double or Nothing 2021 the Stadium Stampede match was a hybrid cinematic match with the first half recorded at TIAA Bank Field, then concluding live at the adjacent Daily's Place. The audience in attendance watched the first half of the match on video screens before the action spilled into the amphitheater. This would be AEW's final cinematic match produced before the company resumed live touring in July that year.
Impact Wrestling would also return to producing cinematic matches in 2021 when Ethan Page wrestled his alter ego "The Karate Man" at Hard to Kill in a Mortal Kombat-style cinematic match that saw The Karate Man "kill" Page in what would be Page's last appearance with Impact before leaving for AEW.