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 an authority can order the match to go into overtime in the case of any championship match.
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 declared the winner. Iron Man matches can also be contested with specific win conditions. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit competed in a 30-minute Iron Man match at Backlash 2001 where only submissions were counted, which was termed an "Ultimate Submission match".
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 that match being billed as "anything goes" (only pinfalls and submissions counted as falls, which can also be done outside the ring, 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. 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 onscreen president "Rowdy" Roddy Piper had stated that there "must be a winner") 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's Against All Odds in February 2005.
Several iron man matches have taken place at house shows. The Rockers faced off against The Fabulous Rougeaus twice in 1989. Bret Hart wrestled one in 1993 against Ric Flair and four in 1994 against his brother, Owen Hart. John Cena and Seth Rollins faced off in a 30-Minute Iron Man match for the WWE United States Championship at a house show in October 2015. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles faced off in a 30-Minute Iron Man match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at a house show in March 2016.[3]
| # | Match (length) | Title | Score | Event, date and location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) (1:00:00) | None | 3–2 | WWF live event August 4, 1989, Montreal, QB |
Montreal Forum |
| 2 | The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) | None | Unknown | WWF live event August 6, 1989, Rosemont, IL |
Rosemont Horizon |
| 3 | Bret Hart (c) defeated Ric Flair (1:00:00) | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 3–2 | WWF live event January 9, 1993, Boston, MA |
Boston Garden |
| 4 | Bret Hart (c) defeated Owen Hart (1:00:00) | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 3–2 | WWF live event July 8, 1994, East Rutherford, NJ |
Brendan Byrne Arena |
| 5 | Bret Hart (c) defeated Owen Hart (1:08:23) Overtime | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 3–2 | WWF live event July 9, 1994, Uniondale, NY |
Nassau Coliseum |
| 6 | Bret Hart (c) defeated Owen Hart (1:00:00) | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 2–1 | WWF live event July 29, 1994, Los Angeles, CA |
Great Western Forum |
| 7 | Bret Hart (c) defeated Owen Hart (1:00:00) | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 2–1 | WWF live event August 6, 1994, Philadelphia, PA |
Philadelphia Spectrum |
| 8 | Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart (c) (1:01:56) Overtime | WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 1–0 | WrestleMania XII March 31, 1996, Anaheim, CA |
Arrowhead Pond |
| 9 | Triple H defeated The Rock (c) (1:00:00) | WWF Championship | 6–5 | Judgment Day May 21, 2000, Louisville, KY |
Freedom Hall |
| 10 | Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle (31:51) Overtime "Ultimate Submission match" |
None | 4–3 | Backlash April 29, 2001, Rosemont, IL |
Allstate Arena |
| 11 | Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle (c) (1:00:00) | WWE Championship | 5–4 | SmackDown September 18, 2003, Raleigh, NC |
RBC Center |
| 12 | Chris Benoit (c) defeated Triple H (1:00:00) | World Heavyweight Championship | 4–3 | Raw July 26, 2004, Pittsburgh, PA |
Mellon Arena |
| 13 | MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) (c) defeated Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly (15:00) | WWE Tag Team Championship | 2–1 | SmackDown June 2, 2005, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Rexall Place |
| 14 | Kurt Angle drew with Shawn Michaels (30:00) | None | 2–2 | Raw October 3, 2005, Dallas, TX |
American Airlines Center |
| 15 | John Morrison and The Miz (c) drew with Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore (15:00) "Fifteen Minutes of Fame match" |
WWE Tag Team Championship | 1–1 | ECW January 8, 2008, Philadelphia, PA |
Wachovia Center |
| 16 | John Cena defeated Randy Orton (c) (1:00:00) "Anything Goes Ironman match" |
WWE Championship | 6–5 | Bragging Rights October 25, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA |
Mellon Arena |
| 17 | Bayley (c) defeated Sasha Banks (30:00)[4] | NXT Women's Championship | 3–2 | NXT TakeOver: Respect October 7, 2015, Winter Park, FL |
Full Sail University |
| 18 | John Cena (c) defeated Seth Rollins (30:00) | WWE United States Championship | 3–2 | WWE live event October 17, 2015, Lubbock, TX |
United Supermarkets Arena |
| 19 | Kevin Owens (c) defeated AJ Styles (30:00) | WWE Intercontinental Championship | 2–1 | WWE live event March 12, 2016, Atlantic City, NJ |
Boardwalk Hall |
| 20 | Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks (c) (34:45) Overtime | WWE Raw Women's Championship | 3–2 | Roadblock: End of the Line December 18, 2016, Pittsburgh, PA |
PPG Paints Arena |
| 21 | Cesaro and Sheamus (c) defeated The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) (30:00) | WWE Raw Tag Team Championship | 4–3 | Great Balls of Fire July 9, 2017, Dallas, TX |
American Airlines Center |
| 22 | Dolph Ziggler (c) defeated Seth Rollins (30:10) Overtime | WWE Intercontinental Championship | 5–4 | Extreme Rules July 15, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA |
PPG Paints Arena |
| 23 | Finn Bálor vs. Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano ended in a draw between Bálor and Cole (1:00:00)
NXT General Manager William Regal called the match a tie after both Cole and Bálor scored 2 falls, and they both had a match with each other the following Tuesday on NXT Super Tuesday II for the vacant NXT Championship. |
NXT Championship | 2–2–1–1 | NXT Super Tuesday September 1, 2020, Winter Park, FL |
Full Sail University |
| 24 | A-Kid defeated Jordan Devlin (30:00) | None | 2–1 | NXT UK August 5, 2021, London, England |
BT Sports Studios |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Bret Hart | 5 | 6 |
| Shawn Michaels | 3 | 4 |
| Marty Jannetty | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Benoit | 2 | 2 |
| John Cena | 2 | 2 |
| Brock Lesnar | 1 | 1 |
| Joey Mercury | 1 | 1 |
| Kevin Owens | 1 | 1 |
| Cesaro | 1 | 1 |
| Sheamus | 1 | 1 |
| Dolph Ziggler | 1 | 1 |
| A-Kid | 1 | 1 |
| Triple H | 1 | 2 |
| Johnny Nitro/John Morrison | 1 | 2 |
| Ric Flair | 0 | 1 |
| The Rock | 0 | 1 |
| Charlie Haas | 0 | 1 |
| Hardcore Holly | 0 | 1 |
| The Miz | 0 | 1 |
| Jimmy Wang Yang | 0 | 1 |
| Shannon Moore | 0 | 1 |
| Randy Orton | 0 | 1 |
| AJ Styles | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Hardy | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Hardy | 0 | 1 |
| Finn Bálor | 0 | 1 |
| Adam Cole | 0 | 1 |
| Johnny Gargano | 0 | 1 |
| Tommaso Ciampa | 0 | 1 |
| Jordan Devlin | 0 | 1 |
| Jacques Rougeau | 0 | 2 |
| Raymond Rougeau | 0 | 2 |
| Seth Rollins | 0 | 2 |
| Kurt Angle | 0 | 3 |
| Owen Hart | 0 | 4 |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Bayley | 1 | 1 |
| Charlotte Flair | 1 | 1 |
| Sasha Banks | 0 | 2 |
| # | Match (length) | Title | Score | Event, date and location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Omega defeated Pac (31:01) Overtime | None | 2–1 | Dynamite February 26, 2020, Independence, Missouri |
Silverstein Eye Centers Arena |
| 2 | MJF (c) defeated Bryan Danielson (1:05:02) Overtime | AEW World Championship | 4–3 | Revolution March 5, 2023, San Francisco, California |
Chase Center |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Omega | 1 | 1 |
| MJF | 1 | 1 |
| Pac | 0 | 1 |
| Bryan Danielson | 0 | 1 |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| A.J. Styles | 2 | 5 |
| Kurt Angle | 1 | 1 |
| Davey Richards | 1 | 1 |
| Lashley | 1 | 1 |
| Josh Alexander | 1 | 1 |
| Eddie Edwards | 1 | 2 |
| Bobby Roode | 1 | 3 |
| Samoa Joe | 0 | 1 |
| Douglas Williams | 0 | 1 |
| Austin Aries | 0 | 1 |
| TJP | 0 | 1 |
| Christopher Daniels | 0 | 2 |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Deonna Purrazzo | 1 | 1 |
| Jordynne Grace | 0 | 1 |
| # | Match (length) | Title | Score | Event, date and location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude (30:00) | None | 4–3 | Beach Blast (1992) June 20, 1992, Mobile, AL |
Mobile Civic Center |
| 2 | Dustin Rhodes and Rick Rude fought to a draw (30:00) | Vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 1–1 | Beach Blast (1993) July 18, 1993, Biloxi, MS |
Mississippi Coast Coliseum |
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky Steamboat | 1 | 1 |
| Dustin Rhodes | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Rude | 0 | 2 |