List of WWE Match Types

Most World Wrestling Entertainment cards feature traditional one-on-one singles matches and tag team matches. Some cards, however, feature special matches with different stipulations. Some of the these matches pop up in regular cards. Others form the main event of one of the WWE's regular pay-per-views.

  1. Tag Team Matches

    • Tag team matches are common in WWE, but some versions go beyond the two-man type. Some matches have involved up to five wrestlers on each side, with a single pin determining the winning side. Others call for the match to go on until every member of one team has been pinned or disqualified. A mixed tag team match features male and female wrestlers teaming up against another mixed-gender pair.

    Handicap Matches

    • As the name implies, one WWE "superstar" is handicapped by having to take on more than one challenger in a match. In some, all of the wrestlers fight at same time. In others, the single wrestler will face a tag team. For example, The Big Show, billed as the world's biggest athlete, battled three en at the 2010 Summer Slam event.

    Elimination Matches

    • Teams of multiple wrestlers wrestle against each other in this format. A winning team is declared when all the members of the other team have been eliminated through a pin fall, submission or disqualification. This match is featured at the annual WWE Survivor Series pay per view.

    Lumberjack Match

    • A Lumberjack Match prevents either wrestler from "escaping" the ring. The ring is surrounded by other wrestlers. If one competitor is thrown out of the ring, or tries to leave, the wrestlers surrounding the ring will throw him back in. One of the most famous Lumberjack Matches was John Cena against Sabu at the 2006 Vengeance pay per view event. Sabu's friends brought weapons, and at one point all of the "lumberjacks" were fighting each other.

    Ladder Matches

    • The standard ladder match has a title belt or some other prize hanging above the ring, and the first wrestler to set up a ladder and get it wins. Variants on the ladder match include the "Tables, Ladders and Chairs" format where tables and chairs are in the ring too. The "Money in the Bank" ladder match has had up to eight wrestlers fighting for a contract that guaranteed a WWE title shot.

    Cage Matches

    • A steel cage match features a large cage that encloses the ring. Wrestlers have to escape the cage or pin their opponent to win. A "Hell in a Cell' cage match is a larger cage that surrounds the ring and has a roof. An "Elimination Chamber' match is a large raised steel cage with four enclosures that wrestlers are released from every five minutes. The last wrestler remaining is the winner.

    I Quit Match

    • Two wrestlers face each other until the other one says "I Quit" into a microphone. This is a spin-off of the traditional submission match where a wrestler taps out to quit.

    No Holds Barred

    • Anything goes in this type of match. There are no count-outs or disqualifications, and they usually can be fought outside of the ring. In the early 2000s, WWE had a Hardcore Championship that was always defended in this type of match.

    Iron Man Match

    • The Iron Man is the longest scheduled match in the WWE. It's a 60-minute battle between two wrestlers, with the winner determined by who gets the most pin falls or submissions. John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Bret Hart have all wrestled in Iron Man matches.

    Royal Rumble

    • Battle royals have always been a part of wrestling, but the Royal Rumble, which premiered in 1987, added a new wrinkle. Every competitor still has to be thrown over the top rope to get eliminated, and the match goes on until only one man is left. However, the Royal Rumble starts with two wrestlers, and every 90 seconds another man joins in. New fighters come in until as many as 40 wrestlers take part. Part of the "drama" is which wrestler will draw the last number and thus spend the least amount of time in the ring.