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 falls 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 falls in that time as possible. The wrestler who has the most decisions at the end of the match is then the winner.
Some Iron Man matches have an interval between falls. In 2009 a match between John Cena and Randy Orton 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 which can also be done outside the ring, but not count outs or disqualifications). The 2003 match between Kurt Angle and Brock 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. After Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle tied 2–2 in a 30-minute iron-man match, Michaels begged Angle to go sudden death, but Angle walked off, to the heavy boos of the audience who wanted to see how it would end.
Sudden deaths are especially common in the event of a title match. This is because, in the event of a draw, the champion will always retain the title, meaning that sudden death is the only way to truly determine a winner. Commissioner Gorilla Monsoon ordered sudden death (after onscreen President Rowdy Roddy Piper had stated that there "must be a winner") after Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart failed to score a decision at Wrestlemania XII, and Christopher Daniels requested sudden death against AJ 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.
The "Ultimate Submission" match is a variation of the Iron Man match where only submissions are counted for scoring.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Several Iron Man matches have taken place at house shows. The Rockers faced off against The Rougeau Brothers throughout much of 1989. Bret Hart wrestled two from 1993-1994 against Ric Flair and his brother Owen. John Cena faced off against Seth Rollins for Cena's WWE United States Championship at house shows in October 2015. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles faced off in a 30-minute Iron Man match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at a house show in March 2016.