King of the Deathmatch

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The King of the Deathmatch is a professional wrestling tournament where 8 or more professional wrestlers compete to be crowned 'King of the Deathmatch'. King of the Deathmatch tournaments are single-elimination tournaments which are similar to World Wrestling Entertainment's King of the Ring tournaments. Deathmatch tournaments include the typical weapons used in hardcore wrestling such as barbed wire, nails, thumbtacks, fire, and light tubes. They are known for their large amount of blood loss. Usually the match is declared by pinfall.

The promotions who host tournaments annually include Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and IWA Mid South, and the now defunct Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW). The first, and most infamous, King of the Deathmatch Tournament was the 1995 IWA event, highlighted by the brutal final round between Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) and Terry Funk.