Thoughts From The Top Rope 8.20.08: Lost Art of the Gimmick Match
Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 08.20.2008
Over the years, the greatness and importance of gimmick matches have fallen rapidly. From the 2 Out of 3 Falls match to the Ladder Match, where did history go wrong and what can be done, if anything, to repair it?
Long before the days of one Vince Russo, gimmick matches have played a big role in the growth and character of professional wrestling. Be it a stipulation that aims to further test who of two men is the better wrestler or a stipulation added to leave audiences in awe, gimmick matches have been around almost as long as pro wrestling itself has. Somewhere along the road, however, something went wrong and the importance of the gimmick match was lost during an era where gimmicks were over utilized and at the wrong times.
The short answer as to why gimmicks are no longer as big of a deal as they once were I two words: sports entertainment. Just like the movie and music industries, in wrestling, with growth comes demand and that demand eventually resulted in over saturation. Fans weren't happy with a cage match, so we got Hell in a Cell. But soon that got old so the Elimination Chamber was created. And when people got bored of that, they gave us two in one night.
People like gimmicks. While a one-on-one contest is probably the best way to settle a score, an interesting stipulation gives a match more talking points and is thus, supposedly, more intriguing to witness. But there comes a point when it becomes too much, and importance is lost. Back in the day, if you put a cage match on a card, that show was likely to draw much more than if the cage match wasn't there. These days, cage matches are generally used to progress a feud during a throwaway edition of SmackDown.
In today's Thoughts From The Top Rope, I aim to investigate which gimmicks have been done to death, which gimmicks are underused and which gimmicks just make no sense whatsoever. On top of that, I hope to provide a bit of insight on the history of such gimmicks. My goal is more than answering questions about why gimmicks are no longer of such great importance, but also to ask questions about whether or not they can regain that importance that made them so popular in the first place.
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2 Out of 3 Falls: Perhaps the most underutilized gimmick in professional wrestling today, the 2 Out of 3 Falls match pits two wrestlers against each other in an ultimate battle to see who is the better man, with the only way to win being by scoring two falls, be it by pin fall, submission, count out or disqualification. The reason why this match is rarely used in this era is probably to do with the demise of the NWA and the rise of the more entertainment-orientated WWE. Recent 2 Out of 3 Fall matches usually suffer from not being given enough time, or simply not telling a very good story. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, the likes of Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race et al would participate in these kinds of matches that would last up to an hour, many of them being absolute classics. The most recent 2 Out of 3 Falls match that has lived up to the classics of yesteryear occurred in 2002 when Edge and Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The 2 Out of 3 Falls match has also been given a more brutal reputation this decade after Triple H participated in two "3 Stages of Hell" matches, which is effectively 2 Out of 3 Falls match but with each fall having a different stipulation. In the last televised 2 Out of 3 Falls match, Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle 2-0 in a match that saw Michelle suffer an injury that would keep her out of action for many months.
2 Out of 3 Falls is one of the oldest stipulations in wrestling history, dating back to a time when most of the wrestling matches were shoot fights in the 1920s. One fall would be fought in a Greco-Roman style of competition, which prevents attacks below the waist, while the second fall would be fought under catch-as-catch-can rules, which is the foundation upon which professional wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts is based on. The style of the third fall would be decided by a coin toss. Up to the 70s, nearly every contest fought for a championship was contested under 2 Out of 3 Falls rules.
There may no longer be a place for the 2 Out of 3 Falls Match in today's sports entertainment environment, where the focus of the shows is on the larger than life characters and soap opera storylines as opposed to how good an individual was in the ring. But if ever there was a feud fitting of a 2 Out of 3 Falls match, it's Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, a rivalry spawned from jealously and fueled by hatred. Chris Jericho idolized Shawn Michaels and now resents him with every fiber of his body, because in his mind, the fans will never accept him in the same way they do Shawn Michaels. Perhaps if Jericho wanted to show the world that he is truly better than the Heartbreak Kid, this would be the way to do it.
One of the Best: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Part one, Part two and part three)
One for the Future: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
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Scaffold Match: The Scaffold Match has garnered a unique and somewhat undesirable reputation over the years. Not only is the Scaffold Match considered one of the most dangerous in professional wrestling, there is also a developing pattern that shows that very few, if any, Scaffold Matches are of any worth. A history lesson: the first Scaffold Match took place in 1971 and featured Jerry Jarrett taking on Don Greene. Ironically, Jarrett's TNA would see a revival of the Scaffold Match in recent years with their incarnation of the match, Elevation X. After 1971, these matches were not used again until the 80s when the likes of Dutch Mantell (another TNA associate) and Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee and The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors competed in the dangerous Scaffold match. In the 90s, both ECW and WCW utilized the Scaffold match. ECW fared relatively well with it as the inhuman bout fit into the ECW mantra, whereas when WCW went near the Scaffold Match, we got some disastrous results. It's plausible then, to say that Elevation X is perhaps the greatest version of the Scaffold Match, although I say that without having seen any of those from the 70s or 80s. That being said, neither of TNA's Scaffold matches have been that good either, which begs the question, why run such a risky match for such little reward?
A Scaffold Match is as it sounds; a contest fought on an elevated structure above the ring, usually between 15 and 20 feet above the ground. The structure ranges in width but is usually no more than a couple of feet wide. This obviously means that those competing in the match are at high risk, as a misstep could lead to one of them falling and a potential career ending injury. Thankfully, no such incident has occurred in the history of the match, with the exception of Jim Cornette who once took a fall off of such a structure and whose knees have not been the same since. You may wonder why no Scaffold match has had particularly good results, and the answer lies in fear. The wrestlers can't go balls to the wall up there because they feel injuring themselves or worse, injuring their opponent. The fans watching can't get into the match because they fear for the wrestlers. Ultimately, there is simply no way to enjoy a Scaffold match until one sees the loser moving around after their fall, and by then, the match is over.
This was always a concept that was doomed to fail. In theory, the idea of a performer taking a death-defying fall to end a blood rivalry is nice one, but in such an environment, it is simply impractical, which is probably the reason why there have only been a few Scaffold Matches in the history of the business. If there was to ever be another Scaffold Match, one would assume that it would come from TNA as WWE has never gone for such a match. TNA has done a fair job with Elevation X, but it's not something I recommend they do. But let's say they did. Who would make for a good fit? It would have to be participants who are fearless and are used to such a high-risk environment. I think the Motor City Machineguns fit this criteria well, and a tag team Elevation X match against LAX could produce some decent results.
Ladder Match: The concept of the ladder match is a brilliant and metaphorical one. If you don't know the concept of a ladder match, you probably shouldn't be reading this but just in case; the aim of a ladder match is to utilize a ladder to retrieve a prize suspended above the middle of the ring, usually a title. It is designed to test a performer's desire to win which is where the metaphorical aspect comes in, as a wrestler reaching for a title or briefcase or sack of money is symbolic of their desire to be the best. If you weren't a member of the IWC, you'd probably think that Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X was the first ever ladder match, but we all know better. Stampede Wrestling's Dan Kroffat first came up with the concept in 1972 and wrestled Tor Kamata in the first ever ladder match in '72. 20 years later, the concept would be brought to the WWF by Bret Hart who had competed in such a match in '83 and the WWF held their first ladder match at house in 1992, putting Hart against Shawn Michaels. What with this being a house show, the match wasn't considered a big deal until Mania X when Michaels and Razor brought the match to a worldwide audience for the first time. Leave it to HBK to steal Bret's thunder, huh? Overall, 94 ladder matches have been recorded, included ladder variations such as Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Money in the Bank and King of the Mountain.
The ladder match has got to be one of the most over-used gimmicks in wrestling today, and unlike the mid-nineties where they were a rare occurrence, one doesn't get that same vibe of importance any more. The reason for that is simply progression. When the matches began, you wouldn't see the ladders used as weapons often if at all, and more often than not, they were boring bouts featuring a couple of guys trying to climb a ladder. When the WWF began using the match, we would see more amazing things like Shawn Michaels hitting a splash from the very top of the ladder. Nowadays, that kind of thing is comparatively tame. Edge, Christian and The Hardys took things to a whole new level with the things they did using ladders, and then a guy like Shelton Benjamin comes along and starts running up ladders, springboarding onto ladders and falling through ladders. So the ladder match becomes much more popular, so WWE start using it more often, so while they're still a great spectacle and fun to witness, more or less everything that can be done with a ladder in a wrestling ring has been done. Quite simply, the only way to make the ladder match important again is to use it less often, and only use it when there are two guys (or tag teams) who are feuding over a championship and can't seem to settle it in a normal match. But honestly, as fans, would we rather the matches were more important or would we rather see death-defying dives on a more regular basis? The athleticism of guys like John Morrison and Shelton Benjamin doesn't come along every day, so why not make the most of what you have while you still have it.
Ladder matches are fantastic, from the violent, stiff clashes like Benoit vs. Jericho the high-flying spectacles like Money in the Bank to the underdog stories like Hardy vs. Taker to the iconic moments like Mania X. They've helped to make the careers of guys like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, The Hardys, Edge, Christian, and Shelton Benjamin (hell, his ladder match reputation is pretty much all that Shelton has going for him) and I have no doubt the match will help propel future stars like John Morrison and Evan Bourne perhaps. Done to death and contrived they may be, but they're also one of the most consistently entertaining gimmicks in wrestling today.
Intermission
The 5 Greatest Ladder Matches of All Time Click the link, view the match
5. Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE Raw, 7/01/02): There's been something of an Internet backlash against this match of recent years as many people believe that it is very much overrated, but I have to strongly disagree and for one simple reason: it tells a story. Most ladder matches this decade are spotfests and nothing more, but this one is the story of a massive underdog who won't quit and in doing so, earns the respect of his opponent. Jeff Hardy had everyone in the arena that night believing and willing him on. Had Hardy won and we'd gotten that big, special moment to go with it, this match would probably be higher.
4. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardys (No Mercy, 10/17/99): This would essentially be the match that made four men's careers possible because without it, the fans would likely not got behind these guys and they'd both go down as two more forgotten tag teams of the Attitude Era. Instead, this match produce not just two great tag teams, but four great singles stars. Some of the action that took place during this match was some of the most creative, exciting, and innovative stuff the WWF audience had seen at the time. The fact that they would go on to top this monumental effort is irrelevent because none of those later ladder or TLC matches would have the significance that this one does.
3. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho (Royal Rumble, 1/21/01): This match was the culmination of a year-long feud between Benoit and Jericho and the ladder match seemed like a weird choice to blow their feud off but it worked, and worked damn well. This was one of the more stiffer and violent ladder matches where the emphasis was on hard strikes with the ladder as opposed to great falls and high-flying aerial assaults. They worked the match in their on way and put on a memorable match, perhaps best remembered for Benoit suicide diving into one of the sickest chairs shots of all time (sad to think about now, of course). This match stands out because there haven't been too many like it.
2. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 21, 4/03/05): I mentioned that I liked Hardy/Taker for its story-telling accumen as opposed to being a spotfest, but this match, the first Money in the Bank, manages to perfectly combine great spots and a great story. The story revolves around Benoit's arm injury and Edge's desperation win the match, and that plays into the ending where Benoit gets knocked off a ladder following a chair shot to the injured arm by Edge. And let's not forget some of those incredible Shelton Benjamin moments that helped to make this one of the greatest ladder matches of all time and the only one to combine breath-taking moments and psychology so well.
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X, 3/20/94): And we come down to this, the match that brought the ladder match to a large audience and the one that paved the way for every ladder match since. Without this one opening Vince McMahon's eyes, the likes of the Hardys, Edge, Christian and others may never have had a career. While this match may not be the most awe-inspiring, and it may not have the best psychology, it is nothing short of iconic and watching it, even fourteen years later, you feel that your watching something special and that is what makes it the greatest of all time. Matches like this go down in history and deservedly so, because Michaels and Ramon were a part of something incredible that night. Michaels would go on to be a part of many more incredible moments; Hall, not so much.
End of Intermission
Steel Cage Match: The Cage match is another gimmick that goes back man decades. The idea of a cage match is generally to keep out interference as the ring is enclosed by walls that prevent people entering. The match's history is fairly sketchy, although it is regarded as fact that the match was born out of the Fence Match, which is pretty self-explanatory. Some people believe that credit for the creation of the cage match goes to promoter Paul Boesch while the late great Freddie Blassie also claimed to have created the cage match in the 50s. However, this isn't true as the earliest cage match on record took place in the 1930s, and thus the theory is that Blassie created the "escape to win" rule. Another theory is that Blassie created the steel cage match, as his hardcore style in the 50s and 60s was that of a mind sick enough to come up with such a thing. According to a study conducted by a number of wrestling historians, the first ever cage match took place on July 2nd 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia and was fought between Jack Bloomfield and Count Petro Rossi, and the cage was supposedly made up of chicken wire. The first cages were said to be just 6 feet high, less than half of what they are now. Dick The Bruiser and The Sheik were the first two men to compete in a cage made of steel bars in 1974 although the exact date is not known. Throughout the years, the cage has evolved with the industry and the most commonly used cage is made up of chain-link fencing. Nowadays, we electrify cages, we put weapons in cage, we put roofs on cage and we break through the cage walls. Needless to say, cage matches are not the same animal as they once were.
Originally, the cage match was only used to settled the most personal of rivalries or to keep out all interference. Fast forward seventy years after the first ever cage match took place and we have bigger and better versions of the Cage match, most notably the Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber and Lethal Lockdown matches. With those being so popular, the cage match doesn't feel as unique or special and as such isn't treated as such. Cage matches rarely end a feud these days and are merely stepping-stones to bigger and better gimmicks. TNA even has a pay-per-view that consists of entirely cage matches, which does absolutely nothing for the cage's legacy. So not only is the cage match rapidly losing its place in the industry, but so are the many, many memorable moments that the cage match has provided wrestling fans over the three quarters of a century it's been in existence. With every Cuffed in a Cage match that TNA puts on, the memory of Ric Flair and Harley Race at Starcade '83 is tarnished a little. And every time some independent wrestler does some thing like this, this iconic moment doesn't seem so impressive.
But can there be a future where the cage match is more than just a tired old gimmick? I think so. The key is simply to not try and past it off as a major match in the main event scene, but to utilize it in the mid card, and make it a blow off match for mid-card feuds. I think they had the right idea with Jeff Hardy/Johnny Nitro. They had a great cage match a few years back to end their feud and they're the kind of performers who can make a cage match fun to watch as opposed to the now lame escape/pull down pattern that has ruined many a cage match.
One of the Best: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (Part one, part two, part three)
One for the Future: Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin
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Iron Man Match: And from one of the more brutal gimmick matches in wrestling history, one that is usually used to settle personal scores, we go to one that isn't as brutal as it grueling and one that is used to find out once and for all who is the better competitor of two participants. The Iron Man match takes place under usual rules with falls being won via pin fall, submission, disqualification or count out, but the difference is the winner is the person who can scores the most falls in an allotted time, either 60 minutes or 30 minutes. These matches don't take place too often due to the fact that not too rivalries are built around simply finding out who the better wrestler is, and when they are there's always a chance that the participants won't be the kind who can keep an audience for as long a time as Iron Man matches take.
Contrary to popular belief, the first Iron Man match was not won by Shawn Michaels and did not take place at WrestleMania 12. WCW first utilized the match in 1992 but they did not last there. The WWE began using the concept the following year but only on the house show circuit. Bret Hart turned out to be quite good at these matches; he wrestled both Ric Flair and Owen Hart numerous times in Iron Man matches at house shows and if you can find a report of them, chances are it'll be singing these matches' praises. But while the WCW and house show matches were just 30 minute affairs, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels did indeed take it a step further when they went for an hour plus over time in the main event of WrestleMania XII, a show that saw a boyhood dream come true. It would be more than four years before another Iron Man match would find its way to the masses, but in arguably the best Iron Man match of all, The Rock and Triple H went the hour mark at Judgment Day 2000. Since then, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit have all excelled in these matches in WWE. TNA also took up the concept in 2005 and happened to half the perfect two men for the job – AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. The pair had not one, but two great 30-minute Iron Man matches in 2005. Most recently, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe wrestled in a 30-minute Iron Man match in 2007, but the concept has not been used since.
A trust test of determination and will, the Iron Man match is one for wrestling purists and generally speaking, only really talented athletes compete in it. You won't see Mark Henry in one any time soon. But who could put on a good Iron Man match these days? I would have suggested it be a great for Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho, but their feud is now personal and thus this match would not fit it. I would love to see CM Punk in an Iron Man match one day, as he has proved on many occasions that he can go the distance and then some. As for his opponent, how about a guy has also proved he can go for an hour and put on a classic match, John Cena? I imagine that those two could tell a great story, but it's a long way before any potential rivalry they have would escalate to that level. I will say that I think the Iron Man match is underused. Going an hour might be unpractical but the 30-minute version works just as well.
One of the Best: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (Part one, part two, part three)
One for the Future: CM Punk vs. John Cena
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The Elimination Chamber: The Elimination Chamber is a concept created just six years ago in 2002. It's creation is attributed to Eric Bischoff (kayfabe) who claimed that the match contained elements of the Royal Rumble match, the Survivor Series Elimination matches and War Games. The Chamber is similar to a steel cage match in that a giant steel structure surrounds the ring, but this structure is rounded and much bigger, and also contains four pods to contain four superstars. 2 wrestlers begin the match in the ring and at set intervals, a pod is opened and another wrestler enters the match. Elimination can occur by pin fall or submission and the last competitor remaining is the winner. The Elimination Chamber is quickly on its way to being over-used and over-exposed. In its short 6-year history, 7 Chamber matches have taken place, and on one occasion, 2 of them took place on the same night (this year's No Way Out). These were also the only 2 Chamber matches that were not fought over a world championship but instead determined who would be fighting for the WWE and World Championships at WrestleMania 24. Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho share the record for most Chamber matches competed in, each with four, although if you count Michaels' appearance as Special Referee in the 2005 Elimination Chamber, he stands alone with that record. Triple H is the only man to have won more than one Elimination Chamber, having one the match on three separate occasions.
The brutality and unpredictability of this match has led to many memorable, if not unforgettable moments. In the first Chamber match in 2002, Shawn Michaels completed his return to wrestling by capturing the World Heavyweight Championship in a 40-minute war. This first Chamber match is widely considered the best, and in 2006 we undoubtedly got the worst with the introduction of the Extreme Elimination Chamber. Not only was this match poor in that it killed the crowd by eliminating their favourite (CM Punk, Rob Van Dam) early, but it also contained such worthy competitors as Hardcore Holly and Test. The dimensions of the Chamber allow for a variety of exciting offense, be it Rob Van Dam going all Spider Man on us in 2002 or Jeff Hardy hitting a Swanton Bomb off the top of a pod or Goldberg spearing Chris Jericho through the bulletproof plexiglass. The Elimination Chamber is renown for being a violent, brutal and chaotic massacre of a match, and for now, its reputation is in tact, but it is at risk of being over-utilized.
With the Elimination Chamber containing 6 men, it is most commonly used when there are several people in line for a potential title shot. The first Chamber was introduced because Triple H had managed to screw a number of challengers out of the World Championship on numerous occasions, and in 2003, the Chamber match contained several different on going feuds. Then in 2005, the title was vacant going into the match and many superstars had a legitimate claim to being the rightful World Champion.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2008 and we find ourselves in a similar situation. CM Punk is World Heavyweight Champion, but there are several potential contenders who feel that they deserve a title shot and many have valid reasons. Furthermore, each contender has issues with other contenders. While we have a Championship Scramble coming up at Unforgiven, I think that a fitting way to put an end to chaotic summer of Raw is to put these men in an Elimination Chamber, the perfect way to settle all of these issues once and for all.
One of the Best: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Kane vs. Booker T (part one, part two, part three, part four and part five)
One for the Future: CM Punk vs. Batista vs. John Cena vs. JBL vs. Kane vs. Chris Jericho
And finally, Csonka has the 4 R's of Summerslam, Impact and SmackDown.
That will do for another edition of Thoughts From The Top Rope. Hopefully I gave you something to think about or perhaps enlightened you with some knowledge, and if not, rest assured I'll try again next week.
Really nice article except for some of your bests. What about an I Quit match? That is a pretty old school stip that isn't around anymore.
1. The best iron match in wrestling is either Brock vs Angle or Rock vs HHH (depending on my day, I usually pick either). These were a lot better than Angle vs HBK from Raw.
2. The best ladder matches and you don't include any tlc matches (which are basically the same thing or didn't include the 4 way tag team ladder match from Armageddon. Undertaker vs Jeff is so way overrated.
3. The best cage matches and Angle vs Benoit is the best? I know they haven't been too good recently but Jericho vs Christian from '04 Raw or HHH vs Flair from Taboo Tuesday is so much better. Why didn't you include the best cage match: Bret vs Owen from Summerslam '94? How about Hogan vs Orndoff or Umaga vs Jeff Hardy? Those were a lot better matches than that one (its just very overrated).
2/3 falls matches and you didn't include Flair vs Steamboat? How dare you. or include Rockers vs Tully & Arn as 2/3.
Posted By: david (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Can you read? it says "One of the best" not "THE best"
Posted By: Jones (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 12:03 AM
"Contrary to popular belief, the first Iron Man match was not won by Shawn Michaels and did not take place at WrestleMania 12. WCW first utilized the match in 1992 but they did not last there."
I think Stampede Wrestling had one on television well before that. Owen Hart vs the 'Toilet Bowl' Mukhan Singh - it was fucking epic.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on August 20, 2008 at 12:05 AM
How do you not include the Ladder War from ROH - Man Up in The 5 Greatest ladder matches of All Time?
Posted By: Guinness (Registered) on August 20, 2008 at 12:33 AM
Eh, not to nitpick, but Ultimate X really is nothing like a scaffold match aside from the fact that people climb and shimmy things to the center of the ring. If anything it's kind of like a horizontal ladder match.
Posted By: Guest#6397 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 12:41 AM
To Mr. 6397:
It's not Ultimate X, it's Elevation X. There's a big freaking X scaffold over the ring, and it has the same rules as a scaffold match.
To Mr. Wilcox (regarding said match):
Having two guys up there is scary and dangerous enough. The scaffolds are very narrow and one slip could turn deadly. A tag team Elevation X is only asking for disaster.
Posted By: SMC (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:02 AM
the Rockers fought the Rougeau Brothers in a series of Iron Man matches on the WWF house show circuit in like 87, 88 or 89 I remember reading about it and thinking that'd be an awesome match to watch.
Posted By: MPJ (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:20 AM
Come on! You gotta mention Blanchard vs. Rhodes from GAB '86 in Charlotte when you talk about ladder matches. They had BARBED WIRE!
Posted By: JMX9199 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:34 AM
I think you should have put Last Man Standing on there, because WWE has had about 50000 of those over the past year and a half.
Posted By: m8 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:48 AM
Good article. Just a quick comment. As for the iron man matches, Bret had at least one hour-long iron man with both Owen and Flair. Fan Cam versions are floating around tape traders and the net, I believe.
Posted By: Sasukespecialman (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:51 AM
Last 2 out of 3 fall match that was awesome is Paul London vs Bryan Danielson from Epic Encounter.
Posted By: Ed (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 02:56 AM
I still prefer Razor and Shawn's Summerslam ladder match.
Posted By: Guest#3821 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 03:38 AM
I have to agree with you about the ladder match losing value but this isnt just because of WWE and TNA. If you look at the majority of indy ladder matches (particularly CZW) they tend to feature numerous bumps through ladders, off ladders and onto them. As entertaining as this is it does make most ladder matches into a "who can top this crazy bump" fiesta.
Posted By: Darcy (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 04:02 AM
Undertaker/Jeff Hardy ladder match... top 5 I found that funny :D
Posted By: Brad (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 04:10 AM
I've always had a fondness for old-school gimmicks... coal miner's glove, dog collar matches, Texas bullrope matches, lumberjacks, etc.
Posted By: C.J. (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 08:20 AM
I think you should have put Last Man Standing on there, because WWE has had about 50000 of those over the past year and a half.
Posted By: m8 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:48 AM
Or 2... but you were close though!
Posted By: Duh (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:12 AM
Great article Daniel, you could expand this to include the I Quit match, First Blood, Bullrope, and Barbed Wire matches. I'm sure I forgot some as well but props for showing some love to the old NWA classics.
Posted By: Ryder (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:16 AM
What can I say? Wrestling just sucks anymore. It's horrible. Sucks for us.
Posted By: Joe Mastronardo (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:30 AM
Good list, and definitely off to a good start.
Some others are strap matches, lumberjack matches, I quit matches....
Finally someone who agrees with me on Taker vs. Hardy. I thought it was a great match. One of my favorites for sure.
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:32 AM
I agree with the author about the Hardy-Undertaker ladder match. It may not be a perfect spotfest for the geeks, but it was the culmination of weeks of Hardy getting destroyed by the Undertaker but refusing to stay down. The ladder match was his chance to prove that he could beat the big man, and everyone in the room with me and everyone in that arena was screaming their heads off for Hardy to win. It was the final chapter of a fantastic story, and I think it deserves accolades for that fact alone.
Posted By: Rob (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:41 AM
Or 2... but you were close though!
Posted By: Duh (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:12 AM
Undertaker vs Batista from Backlash '07, Orton vs Triple H from No Mercy, Kane vs Batista from some episode of Smackdown in like... december I believe, Triple H vs Orton from One Night Stand, and there's more I'm forgetting. Plus they intended for one between Orton and Cena
Posted By: m8 (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 12:00 PM
I find it interesting that two out of three falls is now considered a gimmick. When I grew up watching wrestling in the UK, two out of three was the default type of wrestling match.
In my opinion, it added more of a story to each bout.
Posted By: eugenespeed (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 12:05 PM
"Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE Raw, 7/01/02): There's been something of an Internet backlash against this match of recent years as many people believe that it is very much overrated"
Just another example why everyone should detest the holier-than-thou IWC members. (And no, if you post on a message board or read wrestling web sites, it doesn't mean you're a member).
The IWC loved this match when it happened and spoke fondly of it for years. Then, someone in the IWC (probably Fat Scott Keith) found holes in it and all of the sudden, it wasn't cool to appreciate the match for what it was anymore.
Now, feelings have gone the opposite way as the IWC takes to insulting the match and calling it "overrated."
Why is that? As always, it's the "too cool for the room" factor. It's always great to be the first to enjoy something - be it a type of music, an underground movie, or in this case, a certain match. But once people jump on board and something becomes mainstream or is more known by a wider range of people, it's no longer cool and you have to start insulting it and anybody that supports it. It's as if once something gets popular, you have to disassociate yourself from it because it's no longer unique and personal. More importantly, these tools don't get "credit" for being the first to notice or appreciate something. It's actually more pathetic than I'm making it sound.
So many examples over the years that it's not even funny: ECW, Cena, Foley-Taker Hell in a Cell, Owen Hart as a legit future champion, shitting on Vince Russo, original Doink. The list goes on and on.
It's wrestling. You'll never be cool watching or following it, whether you're the first or last to notice something. And yes, that goes for IWC and non-IWC members alike, but IWC members seem to take it to new, pathetic heights!
Posted By: IWC=Douches (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 12:46 PM
The reason scaffold matches aren't used much anymore is because frankly...they suck. You could have two guys each with the skills of 10 Chris Benoits up there with the charisma of just as many John Cenas and it would still stink up the show. Why?
Because the wrestlers are more concerned with not falling than they are selling or working moves and rightfully so.
The audience on the other hand is more interested in watching somebody take a spill. Who cares how good of a match those guys put on they just wanna see somebody impersonate Wyle E. Coyote.
Posted By: The Adamantium Elbow (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 01:27 PM
Hey, if you want to see a good 2 out of 3 falls match you should check out the Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries 90-minute classic. Also as someone else mentioned Paul London/Bryan Danielson was great.
Also, HOW DARE YOU not mention the Samoa Joe/CM Punk Iron Man Matches. Those are the matches the got those two noticed by WWE and TNA. I've also heard that CM Punk/Chris Hero have gone for 90 minutes but I havn't actually seem the matches so I can't tell you if they're good.
As far as ladder matches go look no further then The Briscoes vs. Steenerico from "Man Up". That match should be ranked right up there with the classic TLC matches. Call me an ROH mark if you want, i'm just here to inform you that companies besides TNA and WWE put on good matches in the US.
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 02:12 PM
IWC=Douches,
My mommy still thinks i'm cool.
Posted By: The entire IWC (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 02:28 PM
I'm glad I got to see the Angle/Benoit Cage Match live!
Posted By: Twitch (Registered) on August 20, 2008 at 02:29 PM
Joe vs Punk weren't Iron man matches, they were just matches that went long.
Posted By: Samer (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 03:39 PM
"Joe vs Punk weren't Iron man matches, they were just matches that went long."
Really? I coulda swore they were...... oh well.
Also, the CM Punk/Chris Hero match I mentioned is actually 2 out of 3 falls, lol.
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 05:26 PM
I've never been a big fan of Iron Man matches for the simple reason you only really need to watch he last 10 minutes of one. Even the good ones are kinda of an endurance test for the audience. I'd rather just have a long, unannounced match, like the Cena/Michaels one from that London episode of RAW last year.
Scaffold matches suck for the reasons stated. Especially when you can more impressive, scarier-looking (and slightly safer???)bumps in cage and ladder matches.
Posted By: JLAJRC (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 05:49 PM
nice little article. Honestly if the jericho/michaels feud ever ends, I would love to see cena and michaels go at it one more time. I mean look at the matches they were in, Wrestlemania (i know, cena messed up selling, but had an amazing finish), 56 minute match on raw (my fav match of the last few years hands down, to bad i can't find a full video of it anywhere), backlash 4 corners (never saw it but heard it was quite good), and honorable mention, their match earlier this year at wrestlemania rewind-Raw (quite entertaining, for as little time they had). bottom line if michaels has it in him, they need to have one more match between them. (ironman or 2/3 falls come to mind)
Posted By: nick (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 07:45 PM
"Or 2... but you were close though!
Posted By: Duh (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:12 AM
Undertaker vs Batista from Backlash '07, Orton vs Triple H from No Mercy, Kane vs Batista from some episode of Smackdown in like... december I believe, Triple H vs Orton from One Night Stand, and there's more I'm forgetting. Plus they intended for one between Orton and Cena
Posted By: m8"
Even though it wasn't exactly a year & a half ago u could throw Cena vs Umaga on that list 2. So yea m8 was right. Please people don't talk if u don't know what ur talking about... It stops u from looking dumb & don't correct people without doing ur own research... U LOOK LIKE A JACKASS!
IWC=Douches, I couldn't agree more but that's not just the IWC! The world's like that. Everybody's got 2 get their ears pierced. That's not cool everyone's done it so now u get ur nose pierced. Now everyone's done that... belly button piercing now. On & on & on! It's the same crap over & over again. I hate when people do things 2 be different & I hate people lacking their own opinion. U don't have 2 go with the popular thing because it's popular & u shouldn't but u also shouldn't do it just because it's not the popular thing either. BE YOUR OWN MAN OR WOMAN or tweener... whatever! Just be it! The problem with both groups is they put 2 much emphasis on everybody else. BE U!
PEACE!
Posted By: THE BOMB! (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Fun article, and very insightful. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel (or several) covering more gimmick matches, including lesser-used types of matches, like Battle Royals, the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, the Inferno Match, Buried Alive, the Tuxedo Match and it's sister, the Bra and Panties match. Or the Beat-the-Clock Challenges, Submission Matches, I Quit, Last Man Standing, Intergender Matches, Texas Bull Rope matches, Special Guest Referee matches, King of the Ring, and I'm sure the list could go on if I spent more time thinking about it.
And then there are the one-shot/failed gimmick matches. The Empty Arena Match, the Raw Bowl, Kennel in a Cell, the Barbed-Wire Cage Match, Punjabi Prison, and here, too, I'm certain that there are many more fitting this category that I'm failing to recall.
I feel like you contradicted yourself a little by throwing out almost random pairings of wrestlers who would be good in gimmick matches, when you yourself said it shouldn't be about the gimmick but about the story leading into the gimmick. You ended up making it sound like having two wrestlers who would "fit" in a gimmick environment is reason enough to have the match, and I don't think that was your intent. Especially when it comes to the Scaffold Match. I've never seen one, but from every account I've read of them, including yours, I have no interest in ever seeing one. So I see no purpose in thinking about who would be good or bad in such a match.
The other thing I've always wanted to see explored was the shift away from escape-only Cage Match rules to the much more bland pinfall/submission/"or heck, just use the door to leave" rules. I think that's a major factor in why Cage Matches no longer feel important. Escape-over-the-top-only is the only thing that separates cages from cells and chambers, so why it's so downplayed is a mystery to me.
Posted By: DXSSI (Guest) on August 20, 2008 at 09:26 PM
2 Out of 3 Falls: Perhaps the most underutilized gimmick in professional wrestling today, the 2 Out of 3 Falls match pits two wrestlers against each other in an ultimate battle to see who is the better man, with the only way to win being by scoring two falls, be it by pin fall, submission, count out or disqualification. The reason why this match is rarely used in this era is probably to do with the demise of the NWA and the rise of the more entertainment-orientated WWE. Recent 2 Out of 3 Fall matches usually suffer from not being given enough time, or simply not telling a very good story. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, the likes of Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race et al would participate in these kinds of matches that would last up to an hour, many of them being absolute classics. The most recent 2 Out of 3 Falls match that has lived up to the classics of yesteryear occurred in 2002 when Edge and Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The 2 Out of 3 Falls match has also been given a more brutal reputation this decade after Triple H participated in two "3 Stages of Hell" matches, which is effectively 2 Out of 3 Falls match but with each fall having a different stipulation. In the last televised 2 Out of 3 Falls match, Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle 2-0 in a match that saw Michelle suffer an injury that would keep her out of action for many months. 
Scaffold Match: The Scaffold Match has garnered a unique and somewhat undesirable reputation over the years. Not only is the Scaffold Match considered one of the most dangerous in professional wrestling, there is also a developing pattern that shows that very few, if any, Scaffold Matches are of any worth. A history lesson: the first Scaffold Match took place in 1971 and featured Jerry Jarrett taking on Don Greene. Ironically, Jarrett's TNA would see a revival of the Scaffold Match in recent years with their incarnation of the match, Elevation X. After 1971, these matches were not used again until the 80s when the likes of Dutch Mantell (another TNA associate) and Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee and The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors competed in the dangerous Scaffold match. In the 90s, both ECW and WCW utilized the Scaffold match. ECW fared relatively well with it as the inhuman bout fit into the ECW mantra, whereas when WCW went near the Scaffold Match, we got some disastrous results. It's plausible then, to say that Elevation X is perhaps the greatest version of the Scaffold Match, although I say that without having seen any of those from the 70s or 80s. That being said, neither of TNA's Scaffold matches have been that good either, which begs the question, why run such a risky match for such little reward?
Ladder Match: The concept of the ladder match is a brilliant and metaphorical one. If you don't know the concept of a ladder match, you probably shouldn't be reading this but just in case; the aim of a ladder match is to utilize a ladder to retrieve a prize suspended above the middle of the ring, usually a title. It is designed to test a performer's desire to win which is where the metaphorical aspect comes in, as a wrestler reaching for a title or briefcase or sack of money is symbolic of their desire to be the best. If you weren't a member of the IWC, you'd probably think that Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X was the first ever ladder match, but we all know better. Stampede Wrestling's Dan Kroffat first came up with the concept in 1972 and wrestled Tor Kamata in the first ever ladder match in '72. 20 years later, the concept would be brought to the WWF by Bret Hart who had competed in such a match in '83 and the WWF held their first ladder match at house in 1992, putting Hart against Shawn Michaels. What with this being a house show, the match wasn't considered a big deal until Mania X when Michaels and Razor brought the match to a worldwide audience for the first time. Leave it to HBK to steal Bret's thunder, huh? Overall, 94 ladder matches have been recorded, included ladder variations such as Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Money in the Bank and King of the Mountain. 
Steel Cage Match: The Cage match is another gimmick that goes back man decades. The idea of a cage match is generally to keep out interference as the ring is enclosed by walls that prevent people entering. The match's history is fairly sketchy, although it is regarded as fact that the match was born out of the Fence Match, which is pretty self-explanatory. Some people believe that credit for the creation of the cage match goes to promoter Paul Boesch while the late great Freddie Blassie also claimed to have created the cage match in the 50s. However, this isn't true as the earliest cage match on record took place in the 1930s, and thus the theory is that Blassie created the "escape to win" rule. Another theory is that Blassie created the steel cage match, as his hardcore style in the 50s and 60s was that of a mind sick enough to come up with such a thing. According to a study conducted by a number of wrestling historians, the first ever cage match took place on July 2nd 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia and was fought between Jack Bloomfield and Count Petro Rossi, and the cage was supposedly made up of chicken wire. The first cages were said to be just 6 feet high, less than half of what they are now. Dick The Bruiser and The Sheik were the first two men to compete in a cage made of steel bars in 1974 although the exact date is not known. Throughout the years, the cage has evolved with the industry and the most commonly used cage is made up of chain-link fencing. Nowadays, we electrify cages, we put weapons in cage, we put roofs on cage and we break through the cage walls. Needless to say, cage matches are not the same animal as they once were.
Iron Man Match: And from one of the more brutal gimmick matches in wrestling history, one that is usually used to settle personal scores, we go to one that isn't as brutal as it grueling and one that is used to find out once and for all who is the better competitor of two participants. The Iron Man match takes place under usual rules with falls being won via pin fall, submission, disqualification or count out, but the difference is the winner is the person who can scores the most falls in an allotted time, either 60 minutes or 30 minutes. These matches don't take place too often due to the fact that not too rivalries are built around simply finding out who the better wrestler is, and when they are there's always a chance that the participants won't be the kind who can keep an audience for as long a time as Iron Man matches take. 
The Elimination Chamber: The Elimination Chamber is a concept created just six years ago in 2002. It's creation is attributed to Eric Bischoff (kayfabe) who claimed that the match contained elements of the Royal Rumble match, the Survivor Series Elimination matches and War Games. The Chamber is similar to a steel cage match in that a giant steel structure surrounds the ring, but this structure is rounded and much bigger, and also contains four pods to contain four superstars. 2 wrestlers begin the match in the ring and at set intervals, a pod is opened and another wrestler enters the match. Elimination can occur by pin fall or submission and the last competitor remaining is the winner. The Elimination Chamber is quickly on its way to being over-used and over-exposed. In its short 6-year history, 7 Chamber matches have taken place, and on one occasion, 2 of them took place on the same night (this year's No Way Out). These were also the only 2 Chamber matches that were not fought over a world championship but instead determined who would be fighting for the WWE and World Championships at WrestleMania 24. Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho share the record for most Chamber matches competed in, each with four, although if you count Michaels' appearance as Special Referee in the 2005 Elimination Chamber, he stands alone with that record. Triple H is the only man to have won more than one Elimination Chamber, having one the match on three separate occasions. 
