"I Quit" match
An "I Quit" Match is a type of professional wrestling match in which the only way to win is to make the opponent say the words "I quit"[1] (usually into a microphone). It is different from a submission match, in that merely tapping out, which is usually sufficient to signify submission, is not enough in this match; the forfeiting opponent must actually state "I quit." Generally, whenever a wrestler knocks down his opponent with a move or inflicts a submission move, he will grab the microphone and ask the opponent to say "I quit." and the opponent (at least early in the match) will make some kind of retort. "I Quit" matches are commonly used to settle kayfabe grudges and embarrass rivals, since saying "I Quit" is usually a sign of admitted inferiority.
History
The first "I Quit" match was in the NWA/JCP at Starrcade on November 28, 1985. Magnum T.A. defeated Tully Blanchard in a very bloody match (with a cage around the ring) in a match for Blanchard's NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Near the end of that match, Magnum used a piece of wood with a nail in it to pierce Blanchard's forehead. At that point, Blanchard screamed "YES! YES!" into the microphone, indicating that he was quitting the match, and Magnum won the U.S. Championship.
One of the most famous "I Quit" matches took place on January 24, 1999 at the Royal Rumble between The Rock and Mick Foley (as Mankind) in the World Wrestling Federation. The match lasted just over 20 minutes and was especially brutal, ending after Foley took eleven unprotected and undeflected chair shots to the head while his hands were handcuffed behind his back. The Rock eventually won the match, but it was later revealed that Foley was completely unconscious and The Rock had played a tape of Foley saying "I quit" over the PA system.[1] During that time the Rock was the heel and Mankind was the face. (The trick did not escape Foley's attention, however, because in the buildup to his "I Quit" match with Ric Flair in 2006, Foley avoided saying the words "I quit" during any on-screen appearances or promo spots—taking to instead spelling out the words—to prevent Flair from taking advantage of his words the same way The Rock did.) The match the following evening between Triple H and The Rock ended in a completely different way – Triple H was extorted into saying "I quit" because Kane was about to chokeslam Chyna.
WWE's only intergender "I Quit" match was held on October 19, 2003 at No Mercy between WWE owner Vince McMahon and his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, with Vince getting the victory when Stephanie's mother, Linda McMahon threw in the towel for her daughter.[1] John Cena retained his WWE Championship by defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield in an "I Quit" Match at Judgment Day on May 22, 2005. At SummerSlam, Ric Flair defeated Mick Foley in an "I Quit" match by threatening Foley's valet (Melina) with a barbed wire bat, forcing Foley to quit. An "I Quit" match on the October 20 edition of SmackDown! between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero saw Mysterio lose when Chavo repetitively hit Mysterio's legitimately injured left leg with a steel chair, forcing him to quit. A second "I Quit" match took place between Mysterio and Chavo on the September 7 edition of SmackDown!, with Mysterio hitting Chavo's left knee repeatedly with a steel chair after Chavo was crotched on the turnbuckle and hung over the apron in a Tree of Woe variation-in a similar manner that forced Rey to quit the first time around-forcing Chavo to quit.
At One Night Stand 2008, for the first time in history, WWE featured an "I Quit" match contested between Divas, when Beth Phoenix defeated Melina. At Backlash 2009, Jeff Hardy defeated his brother Matt Hardy in an "I Quit" match after threatening to jump off a ladder onto Matt, which he did after the match. On the May 14, 2009 edition of TNA Impact, TNA Wrestling put on their first I quit match, where Booker T defeated Jethro Holiday after an axe kick. TNA had another I Quit match on May 24, 2009, where A.J. Styles defeated Booker T to retain the TNA Legends Championship, after Jenna Morasca threw a towel into the ring for Booker. At Breaking Point, John Cena faced Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. Cena won the match after he handcuffed himself to Orton and applied a modified STF, forcing Orton to quit. The next I Quit match would take place at "Over the Limit (2010)", where Cena would face Batista in an "I Quit" match for the WWE championship. Batista would eventually say "I Quit" when Cena threatened to throw him off a car into the entrance ramp. However Cena would still do the latter which led to Batista quitting WWE on the next night on Raw. On the July 12, 2011 edition of TNA Impact, Brian Kendrick defeated X-Division Champion Douglas Williams in a non-title match. The I quit match returned to TNA September 5 at No Surrender, where A.J. Styles defeated Tommy Dreamer.
At Over the Limit, John Cena defeated The Miz to retain the WWE Championship after The Miz quit due to the STF submission hold. John Cena is the only wrestler who has won four I Quit matches and recently three in a row. He is the most successful wrestler in "I Quit" matches.
The most recent "I Quit" match occurred on May 19, 2013 at Extreme Rules, when Jack Swagger submitted in the "I Quit" match to Alberto Del Rio after being put into a Cross-Arm Breaker Submission Move.
At Payback on May 17, 2015, John Cena will defend his WWE United States Championship against Rusev.
Matches
"I Quit" matches in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)
| # | Match | Event, Date and Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Funk defeated Eddie Gilbert (Texas Death match) | ECW Show January 23, 1993 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| 2 | Tommy Dreamer defeated The Sandman | ECW Show October 1, 1994 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| 3 | Shane Douglas defeated Pitbull#1 to retain the ECW World Television Championship | Hostile City Showdown March 15, 1997 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| 4 | Tommy Dreamer defeated C.W. Anderson | ECW Guilty as Charged January 7, 2001 New York, New York | ||
"I Quit" matches in World Wrestling Entertainment/ WWE
| # | Winner | Loser | Title on the line/Stipulation | Event | Date and Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bret Hart | Bob Backlund | none | WrestleMania XI | April 2, 1995 Hartford, Connecticut |
| 2 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | Ken Shamrock | none | WWF Raw Is War | October 26, 1998 Madison, Wisconsin |
| 3 | The Rock | Mankind (c) | WWF Championship | Royal Rumble (1999) | January 24, 1999 Anaheim, California |
| 4 | The Rock (c) | Triple H | WWF Championship | WWF Raw Is War | January 25, 1999 Phoenix, Arizona |
| 5 | Mr. McMahon | Stephanie McMahon | Loser had to leave their position in WWE
(Vince McMahon - Chairman, Stephanie McMahon - GM of SmackDown!) |
No Mercy (2003) | October 19, 2003 Baltimore, Maryland |
| 6 | John Cena (c) | John Bradshaw Layfield | WWE Championship | Judgment Day (2005) | May 22, 2005 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 7 | Ric Flair | Mick Foley | none | SummerSlam (2006) | August 20, 2006 Boston, Massachusetts |
| 8 | Chavo Guerrero, Jr. | Rey Mysterio Jr. | none | Friday Night SmackDown! | October 20, 2006 (taped October 15, 2006) Los Angeles, California |
| 9 | Rey Mysterio Jr. | Chavo Guerrero, Jr. | none | Friday Night SmackDown! | September 7, 2007 (taped September 1, 2007) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 10 | Beth Phoenix | Melina | none | One Night Stand (2008) | June 1, 2008 San Diego, California |
| 11 | Jeff Hardy | Matt Hardy | none | Backlash (2009) | April 26, 2009 Providence, Rhode Island |
| 12 | John Cena | Randy Orton (c) | WWE Championship | Breaking Point | September 13, 2009 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| 13 | John Cena (c) | Batista | WWE Championship | Over the Limit (2010) | May 23, 2010 Detroit, Michigan |
| 14 | John Cena (c) | The Miz | WWE Championship | Over the Limit (2011) | May 22, 2011 Seattle, Washington |
| 15 | Alberto Del Rio | Jack Swagger | #1 contendership to the World Heavyweight Championship | Extreme Rules (2013) | May 19, 2013 St. Louis, Missouri |
Confirmed future WWE "I Quit" matches
| # | Opponents | Title on the line/Stipulation | Event | Date and Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | John Cena vs. Rusev | WWE United States Championship | Payback (2015) | May 17, 2015 Baltimore, Maryland |
- Notes
- At WrestleMania XI, Roddy Piper served as the special guest referee.
- At One Night Stand, the match between Beth Phoenix and Melina was the first ever Divas "I Quit" match.
- The U.S. state that has hosted the most WWE "I Quit" matches is California.
- John Cena has won the most "I Quit" matches, winning all four of his appearances to date. He is scheduled for a fifth "I Quit" match on May 17, 2015.
- Stephanie did not say the words "I Quit"; her mother threw a towel into the ring. Stephanie was also able to win this match via pinfall.
- The Over the Limit PPV has featured the most I "Quit" matches of any PPV.
- In the upcoming Cena–Rusev "I Quit" match, Rusev will be accompanied by his regular valet, Lana.
"I Quit" matches in World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
| # | Match | Event, Date and Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Goldberg defeated Sid Vicious | Mayhem November 21, 1999 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| 2 | Roddy Piper defeated Creative Control (Gerald and Patrick) (Handicap match) | WCW Monday Nitro December 6, 1999 Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||
| 3 | David Flair defeated Terry Funk | WCW Monday Nitro February 7, 2000 Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||
| 4 | Dustin Rhodes defeated Terry Funk (Bullrope Match) | WCW Uncensored March 19, 2000 Miami, Florida | ||
| 5 | Norman Smiley defeated M.I. Smooth to retain the WCW Hardcore Championship | WCW Thunder August 23, 2000 (taped August 22, 2000) Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||
"I Quit" matches in Ring of Honor (ROH)
| # | Match | Event, Date and Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Shelley defeated Jimmy Jacobs | Joe vs. Punk II October 16, 2004 Chicago Ridge, Illinois | ||
| 2 | Jimmy Rave defeated Nigel McGuinness The referee stopped the match after McGuinness refused to say "I Quit" when Rave attempted to break his leg | Battle of the Icons January 27, 2007 Edison, New Jersey | ||
| 3 | Austin Aries defeated Jimmy Jacobs | Rising Above 2008 November 22, 2008 Chicago Ridge, Illinois | ||
| 4 | Colt Cabana defeated Steve Corino | Richards vs. Daniels October 16, 2010 Chicago Ridge, Illinois | ||
"I Quit" matches in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
| # | Winner | Loser | Title | Event, Date and Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booker T | Jethro Holliday | none | TNA Impact! May 14, 2009 (taped) TNA Impact! Zone |
| 2 | A.J. Styles | Booker T | TNA Legends Championship | Sacrifice May 24, 2009 Orlando, Florida |
| 3 | Brian Kendrick | Douglas Williams | none | TNA Impact! July 12, 2010 (taped) TNA Impact! Zone |
| 4 | A.J. Styles | Tommy Dreamer | none | No Surrender September 5, 2010 TNA Impact! Zone |
| 5 | AJ Styles | Christopher Daniels | none | Bound For Glory October 16, 2011 Liacouras Center |
| 6 | Kurt Angle | D'Lo Brown | none | Impact! Wrestling May 2nd, 2013 (taped) |
| 7 | Gunner | James Storm | none | Sacrifice April 27, 2014 TNA Impact! Zone |
- Note: AJ Styles has won the most "I Quit" matches with 3 victories.
"I Respect You" Match
An "I Respect You" Match is similar to an "I Quit" Match – there are no countouts, submissions, disqualifications, or pinfalls; however, to win, the wrestler must have his opponent say the words, "I respect you." The first "I Respect You" Match was made by Brian Pillman, who once wrestled in World Championship Wrestling, as a challenge to WCW booker Kevin Sullivan. This match became infamous when Pillman lost by saying "I respect you bookerman!" thus breaking kayfabe.