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.[1] 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, [2] or a legal authority can order the match to go into overtime in the case of any championship match if there is a draw.
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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. A Decision is a pinfall, submission, count out or disqualification.
Some Iron Man matches have an interval between falls. An example of this is the 2009 one between John Cena and Randy Orton which had a 30 second rest period after each fall, in part due to that iron man match being "anything goes" (only pinfalls and submissions counted as falls, but not count outs or disqualifications). 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. One note of rejection of the sudden death overtime was when Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle tied 2–2 in a 30-minute iron-man match. Shawn Michaels begged Kurt Angle to go sudden death, but Angle walked off, to the heavy boos of the audience who wanted to see how it would end.
Sudden deaths are especially common in the event of a title match. This is because, in the event of a draw, the champion will always retain the title, meaning that sudden death is the only way to truly determine a winner. Two notable examples of this happening are when the then comissioner Gorilla Monsoon ordered sudden death after the match of Shawn Micheals against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XII, and when Christopher Daniels requested sudden death against AJ Styles at TNA Against All Odds 2005.
Iron man matches are almost always two-sided (that is, no more than two sides, such as 1v1 or tag team, as opposed to triple-threat or fatal-four-way). However, it is possible for there to be a triple threat iron man, with the wrestler scoring the plurality of decisions being the winner.
Because of the fixed time limit, Iron Man matches have a tendency to lose their audience in the middle of a match, with a quick flurry of action near the end. Often, an Iron Man match will have the wrestlers tied or holding a one-point advantage going into the final minutes, with one wrestler attempting to make a tying or winning pin.
WrestleMania XII, Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship; 60 minutes. Neither man scored a fall in the first 60 minutes. Gorilla Monsoon ordered the match into overtime and Shawn Michaels scored a fall 2 minutes in to win the WWF title.
Judgement Day 2000, The Rock vs. Triple H for the WWF Championship; 60 minutes. Shawn Michaels is the Special Guest Referee. With the scores tied at 5–5 with only a minute or so remaining, the McMahon family interferes, but due to Shawn Michaels being with Triple H, Triple H does not get disqualified. The Undertaker makes his in ring return after an eight month absence. He went on to attack the McMahon family,Triple H, X-Pac and Road Dogg but was spotted by Michaels who disqualified The Rock, making the score 6–5 in Triple H's favor. Thus making Triple H the new WWF Champion.
WWE SmackDown!, September 18, 2003, Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship; 60 minutes. First of three Iron Man Matches on broadcast TV. Brock Lesnar had a huge lead 5–2 with 15 minutes remaining but Angle fights back with 2 more falls. Angle applied an Ankle Lock with 20 seconds remaining, but Brock Lesnar didn't tap. Brock Lesnar won the WWE title.
Raw, July 26, 2004, World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit beat Triple H 4–3 in the first 60-minute Iron man match on RAW after gaining help from Eugene Dinsmore in the final minute of the match.
Against All Odds (2005), A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels; 30 minutes. The time limit expired with each wrestler having one fall. Daniels, who knew that a draw would result in A.J. keeping the TNA X Division Championship, demanded sudden death from Dusty Rhodes. A.J. won the sudden death fall to retain the X-division title.
Final Resolution (2007), Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle; 30 minutes. Kurt Angle was up 3–2 near the end. Samoa Joe locked in Kurt's Ankle lock, but could not get Kurt Angle to tap out before the time ran out. As a result, Kurt Angle won the match and became the number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE Bragging Rights (2009), Randy Orton faces John Cena for the WWE Championship; 60 minutes. Final Resolution (2011), Bobby Roode vs A.J. Styles; 30 minutes After securing the draw with under a minute to go on the clock to retain the title, Bobby Roode ran around the ring to avoid AJ Styles until the clock ran down. The following week in TNA Impact, Sting had arranged a 5 minute Overtime period to try break the deadlock, which once again Roode ran down, leaving Sting to order a Result with Sudden Death, which Roode forced a submission on Styles in a Leg lock on Styles' injured Right leg to retain the title
| No | Match (Length) | Score | Event, Date and Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude (30:00) | 4–3 | Beach Blast 1992 June 20, 1992 Mobile, AL |
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| II | Dustin Rhodes and Rick Rude fought to a draw for the vacant WCW United States Championship (30:00) | 1–1 | Beach Blast 1993 July 18, 1993 Biloxi, MS |
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| No. | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart (c) (61:56) Overtime | WWF Championship | 1–0 | WrestleMania XII March 31, 1996, Anaheim, CA |
| II | Triple H defeated The Rock (c) (60:00) | WWF Championship | 6–5 | Judgment Day May 21, 2000, Louisville, KY |
| III | Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle (c) (60:00) | WWE Championship | 5–4 | SmackDown September 18, 2003, Raleigh, NC |
| IV | Chris Benoit (c) defeated Triple H (60:00) | World Heavyweight Championship | 4–3 | Raw July 26, 2004, Pittsburgh, PA |
| V | Kurt Angle drew with Shawn Michaels (30:00) | None | 2–2 | Raw October 03, 2005, Dallas, TX |
| VI | John Cena defeated Randy Orton (c) 60:00 | WWE Championship | 6–5 | Bragging Rights (2009) October 25 2009, Pittsburgh, PA |
| No. | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Bobby Roode (c) defeated A.J. Styles (30:00+ 5:00 Overtime +Sudden Death) | World Heavyweight Championship | 4-3 after Sudden Death | TNA Final Resolution/TNA Impact December 15/18 , Orlando Studios, Florida |