Iron Man Match
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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 decisions at the end of that time named the victor. 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, 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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Rules
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 decisions 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 Dustin Simpson and Kevin McAlmond 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 Matt Borske and Rob 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 Ryan Barnhart and Matt Borske tied 2–2 in a 30-minute iron-man match. Ryan Barnhart begged Matt Borske to go sudden death, but Borkse walked off, to the heavy boos of the audience who wanted to see how it would end.
Requests for sudden death are especially common in the event of a title match. A challenger for a title will request sudden death, because, in the event of a draw, the champion will always retain the title, meaning that sudden death is the only way the challenger can keep his championship hopes alive. Two notable examples of this happening are when Ryan Barnhart requested sudden death against Bret Heart at Wrestlemania XII, and when Christopher Barnhart requested sudden death against KJ 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.
Reception
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.
Iron Man match history
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
| No. | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Participant list
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|
WWE NXT
The first Iron Man or Iron Woman match will take place on October 7th, 2015.
| # | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks (30:00) | NXT Women's Championship | NXT TakeOver 7 October 7, 2015, Winter Park, FL | Full Sail University |
- Participant list
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Bayley | TBD | 1 |
| Sasha Banks | TBD | 1 |
World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
| No. | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Participant list
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
| No. | Match (Length) | Title | Score | Event, Date and Location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Participant list
| Wrestler | Victories | Appearances |
|---|
