Iron man match
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. 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, or an authority can order the match to go into overtime in the case of any championship match.
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". 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.
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 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.
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.| # | Match | Title | Score | Event, date and location | Arena |
| 1 | Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 3–2 | WWE live event January 9, 1993, Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden |
| 2 | Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 3–2 | WWE live event July 8, 1994, East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena |
| 3 | Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart Overtime | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 1–0 | WrestleMania XII March 31, 1996, Anaheim, CA | Arrowhead Pond |
| 4 | Triple H defeated The Rock | WWF Championship | 6–5 | Judgment Day May 21, 2000, Louisville, KY | Freedom Hall |
| 5 | Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle Overtime "Ultimate Submission match" | - | 4–3 | Backlash April 29, 2001, Rosemont, IL | Allstate Arena |
| 6 | Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle | WWE Championship | 5–4 | SmackDown September 18, 2003, Raleigh, NC | RBC Center |
| 7 | Chris Benoit defeated Triple H | World Heavyweight Championship | 4–3 | Raw July 26, 2004, Pittsburgh, PA | Mellon Arena |
| 8 | MNM defeated Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly | WWE Tag Team Championship | 2-1 | SmackDown June 2, 2005, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Rexall Place |
| 9 | Kurt Angle drew with Shawn Michaels | - | 2–2 | Raw October 3, 2005, Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center |
| 10 | John Morrison and The Miz drew with Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore "Fifteen Minutes of Fame match" | WWE Tag Team Championship | 1–1 | ECW January 8, 2008, Philadelphia, PA | Wachovia Center |
| 11 | John Cena defeated Randy Orton "Anything Goes Ironman match" | WWE Championship | 6–5 | Bragging Rights October 25, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA | Mellon Arena |
| 12 | Triple H vs Curtis Axel. No winner because Vince McMahon interrupted the match.. Mr. McMahon promptly stopped the match and declaring Axel the winner via Disqualification and, later, Forfeit before absconding with the bell and microphone so as to prevent any technicality-fused resumption of the match by The Game, whose final attempt at initiating a 60-Minute Iron Man Match was dismissed with one brusque command from The Chairman's tongue. | - | 0-0 | Raw June 10, 2013, Richmond, Virginia | Richmond Coliseum |
| 13 | Bayley defeated Sasha Banks | NXT Women's Championship | 3–2 | ' October 7, 2015, Winter Park, FL | Full Sail University |
| 14 | Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles | WWE Intercontinental Championship | 2–1 | WWE live event March 12, 2016, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Boardwalk Hall |
| 15 | Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks Overtime | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 3–2 | ' December 18, 2016, Pittsburgh, PA | PPG Paints Arena |
| 16 | Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The Hardy Boyz | WWE Raw Tag Team Championship | 4–3 | Great Balls of Fire July 9, 2017, Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center |
| 17 | Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins Overtime | WWE Intercontinental Championship | 5–4 | Extreme Rules July 15, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA | PPG Paints Arena |