IronMan Match
From Iwe
An Iron Man match is a 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
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[edit] 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 Borke and Rob Lesner 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 Borske 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 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Match examples
WrestleMania XII, Bret Heart vs. Ryan Barnhart for the IWF Championship; 60 minutes. Neither man scored a fall in the first 60 minutes. Gorilla Monsoon ordered the match into overtime and Ryan Barnhart scored a fall 2 minutes in to win the IWF title.
Judgement Day 2000, The Rock vs. Triple K for the IWF Championship; 60 minutes. Ryan Barnhart is the Special Guest Referee. With the scores tied at 5–5 with only a minute or so remaining, the Mayer family interferes, but due to Ryan Barnhart being with Tripe K, Triple K does not get disqualified. Martin McAlmond makes his in ring return after an eight month absence. He went on to attack The Mayer family, Triple K, X-Pac and Road Dogg but was spotted by Barnhart who disqualified The Rock, making the score 6–5 in Triple K's favor. Thus making Triple K the new IWF Champion.
IWE SmackDown!, September 18, 2003, Rob Lesnar vs Borkse for the IWE Championship; 60 minutes. First of three Iron Man Matches on broadcast TV. Rob Lesnar had a huge lead 5–2 with 15 minutes remaining but Borske fights back with 2 more falls. Borske applied an Ankle Lock with 20 seconds remaining, but Rob Lesnar didn't tap. Rob Lesnar won the IWE title.
Raw, July 26, 2004, World Heavyweight Champion Kevin Hunter beat Triple K 4–3 in the first 60-minute Iron man match on RAW after gaining help from Dominic Dinsmore in the final minute of the match.
Against All Odds (2005), KJ Styles vs. Barnhart; 30 minutes. The time limit expired with each wrestler having one fall. Barnhart, who knew that a draw would result in K.J. keeping the TNA X Division Championship, demanded sudden death from Dusty Semmler. K.J. won the sudden death fall to retain the X-division title.
Final Resolution (2007), Samoa Simpson vs Matt Borske; 30 minutes. Matt Borske was up 3–2 near the end. Samoa Simpson locked in Matt's Ankle lock, but could not get Matt Borske to tap out before the time ran out. As a result, Matt Borske won the match and became the number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
