The history of pro wrestling is full of gimmick matches, where a traditional match isn’t enough to determine a feud and wrestlers must settle the score via a ridiculous stipulation and -- usually -- lots of weapons. These can range from the violent, like fighting in a big steel cage, to the ridiculous, like throwing your opponent into a vat of mimosa.
But there are a number of gimmick matches that have strong associations with specific wrestlers. Some of these relations are because they invented it -- either in kayfabe or behind the scenes -- while others are because they took part in one of the most famous ones.
10 Casket Match - The Undertaker
Dusty Rhodes and Ivan Koloff had the first “coffin match”, but the Casket Match gimmick really took off in the 1990s thanks to the rise of The Undertaker in WWE. ‘Taker wrestled several Casket Matches in his career (18 were televised), with the first being against The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleFest in 1991.
In the years since, he had some legendary ones against foes like Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, Vader, Goldust, and many more. While the heir to the throne is Mil Muertes with his classic “Grave Consequences” matches on Lucha Underground, they were really just replicating what Undertaker made famous.
9 Exploding Barbed Wire Match - Atsushi Onita
Atsushi Onita isn’t just the man who wrestled countless matches involving barbed wire and explosions -- he invented the Exploding Barbed Wire match as well. After founding the indie promotion, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in 1989, Onita gradually turned it into a deathmatch promotion.
There, his feud with Tarzan Goto led to the first Exploding Barbed Wire Match ever in August of 1990, a gimmick that’s been replicated repeatedly over the years -- most recently on AEW’s Revolution PPV in the now-infamous bout between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley.
8 Cinematic Match - Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt
While the Rock/Mankind Halftime Heat empty arena bout is considered the first cinematic match, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are best associated with the format. Hardy can be considered responsible for really popularizing it with his Broken Matt Hardy gimmick, which resulted in the cult classic segment called The Final Deletion in TNA.
He brought the gimmick over to WWE, doing one with Bray Wyatt called The Ultimate Deletion, after which Wyatt did several cinematic matches including a similar gonzo classic, the Firefly Funhouse match at WrestleMania 36.
7 Submission Match - Bret Hart
While not as much of a spectacle as some of the other matches on this list, the Submission Match -- where competitors can only win via submission -- is a simple, straightforward stipulation that anyone can replicate in a wrestling video game. It’s a great match for submission specialists, of course, and Bret Hart is considered one of the best submission guys of all time.
Hart only took part in two Submission bouts, and they’re both classics. His first was a 35-minute affair against Bob Backlund in 1994, but the more famous example is his one against Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13, which featured an infamous double-turn that made Austin a star and Hart a hated villain.
6 I Quit Match - Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A.
There have been many classic I Quit matches in wrestling history like JBL vs. John Cena, Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, and Mankind vs. The Rock. But Starrcade ‘85 gave fans the apex of the gimmick, an I Quit match for the NWA US Heavyweight Title between babyface Magnum T.A. and Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard -- in a steel cage.
It’s one of the most brutal matches of all time -- intense, bloody, and violent, with legendary performances from both men.
5 TLC - The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, and Edge & Christian
By SummerSlam 2000, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian had already had an acclaimed ladder match and the Dudley Boyz were known for putting dudes through tables, so it only made sense for them to combine the two. With that, the TLC match was born, and resulted in some of the craziest, spot-heavy gimmick matches of all time.
The trio of tag teams all took part in the first three -- only some were in the fourth -- all of which were highly acclaimed by fans and critics. In the years since, the TLC match has become the centerpiece of an annual event for WWE.
4 Ultimate X - Chris Sabin
One of TNA’s most enduring original ideas, the Ultimate X match was the signature bout of the X Division. It was basically a ladder match but with no ladder, forcing competitors to climb across cables over the ring to grab the belt from the center.
While the bout has featured TNA stars like AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin is the MVP of the match, having made 17 appearances and also winning the most Ultimate X matches, at eight total.
3 Elimination Chamber - Triple H
Triple H is the godfather of the Three Stages of Hell match, but that’s really just a glorified 2/3 Falls Match, whereas the Elimination Chamber is far more distinguished. Established in 2002 -- just in time for Trips’ infamous “Reign of Terror,” the Elimination Chamber is a great concept: a six-way steel cage match with staggered entrances and its own special cage.
Triple H has a total of six outings in the Chamber, and has won four of them to date.
2 War Games - Dusty Rhodes
WarGames was such a great idea for pro wrestling violence: a team-based match held in a cage with no escape, staggered entrances, and no possibility of winning until everyone was in the cage. This match came from the mind of babyface star/WCW booker Dusty Rhodes, who wanted to have a big climax to his feud with the Four Horsemen.
Taking inspiration from the Mad Max film Beyond Thunderdome, Rhodes not only devised the idea, but also took part in 16 WarGames matches over the course of his career.
1 Hell in a Cell - Mick Foley
While The Undertaker took part in the very first Hell in a Cell match and wrestled the most of them as well, Mick Foley is more closely associated with it despite only wrestling in four.
It helps that he fought in two beloved ones -- King of the Ring 1998 and No Way Out 2000 -- with the former including his legendary fall off the top of the cell. In recent years, Foley has become the guy WWE brings out on TV to warn younger competitors of just how dangerous the HIAC match is.
10 Great Gimmick Matches & The Wrestlers Related With Them - TheSportster
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