Battlebowl (battle royal)
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The Battlebowl was a match type in World Championship Wrestling.
[edit] Rules
It used the same rules as a battle royal. What made the Battlebowl unique was using two rings standing side-by-side and the way the Battlebowl participants were determined. In order to qualify for the Battlebowl match, a wrestler had to win a special "Lethal Lottery" tag team match.
For the first Battlebowl match, two rings were used side-by-side.
In order for a wrestler to be eliminated from the Battlebowl battle royal, they had to be thrown over the top rope and onto the arena floor.
When the Battlebowl used two rings, any wrestler who was thrown over the top rope only to end up in the other ring was not eliminated. Only when a wrestler was thrown over the top rope and onto the arena floor were they eliminated.
[edit] Lethal Lottery
The Lethal Lottery determined tag team pairings from a series of random drawings. This resulted in most of the determined tag teams being comprised of a face and a heel, with some of these face/heel teams being comprised of a face and a heel in a feud against each other.
[edit] History
The 1991 edition of Starrcade was entirely devoted to the Battlebowl/Lethal Lottery format. There were ten Lethal Lottery matches and 20 Battlebowl competitors. Sting won the first Battlebowl by eliminating Lex Luger. This Battlebowl match was the only Battlebowl match to use two rings. All subsequent Battlebowl matches would use only one ring.
The 1992 edition of Starrcade saw the scaling back of the Battlebowl and Lethal Lottery. Fought in only one ring, only four Lethal Lottery tag team matches were held, and the Battlebowl match had 8 competitors. The Great Muta won the Battlebowl.
In 1993, WCW separated Battlebowl from Starrcade and presented a one-time pay per view event entirely devoted to the Battlebowl and Lethal Lottery matches. WCW Battlebowl had eight Lethal Lottery matches and 16 Battlebowl competitors. Vader won the Battlebowl. After this event, the Battlebowl/Lethal Lottery format would remain dormany until 1996.
In 1996, WCW resurrected the Battlebowl/Lethal Lottery format for one night only at the 1996 edition of Slamboree. Now called the "Lord of the Ring", this version incorporated a tag team tournament format. In addition, the winner of the "Lord of the Ring" championship would also earn a WCW World Heavyweight Championship title shot at the 1996 Great American Bash. In the first round, eight Lethal Lottery tag team matches were held. In the second round, three Lethal Lottery matches were held. (One first round tag team match resulted in a draw, granting another tag team a bye and an automatic berth in the Battlebowl/Lord of the Ring match.) The "Lord of the Ring" match featured eight competitors. Diamond Dallas Page won the Lord of the Ring championship and a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, only for DDP's title shot to be taken away by the WCW Executive Committee and instead awarded to Lex Luger. This was the last time the Battlebowl/Lethal Lottery format was used in WCW.
