Hardcore Wrestling - Rules

Rules

The main rule behind hardcore can have various connotations. Thus, hardcore wrestling is often separated into distinct "levels" based on the graphic nature of the match:

• A 24/7 Title Match describes a situation where a hardcore wrestler must defend the title at all times. The match (and the title) can be won by pinfall at any time and in any place in the presence of a referee. The match has no fixed location, timeframe or even opponent (in certain cases even nonhuman or inanimate beings can become champions). This is one of the most severe forms of hardcore match given its unpredictability. This was initially a self-imposed stipulation of Crash Holly's WWE Hardcore Championship but afterward became a general rule of the title. During the time Holly defended his title, he did so in such locations as his hotel room, at the airport and even in the supermarket.
• A No disqualification match or a no holds barred match, tends to be less severe, with action taking place mostly inside the ring. Usage of foreign objects is typically minimal, with run-ins (another form of disqualification) being frequently used. The match is often contested between valets (where they may lack wrestling skills), or between a wrestler and a valet (in which a wrestler is expected to run-in and defend their valets). Because of the low-key nature, few consider a no-disqualification match as hardcore, although there is no semantic difference.
• A street fight uses the various elements of "No Holds Barred" and "No Disqualification" and does allow pinfalls and submissions outside of the ring.
• A Deathmatch tends to be the most severe, with a heavy emphasis on the usage of foreign objects to induce bleeding. The types of foreign objects and the nature of the foreign objects are used so as to be extremely graphic and violent in nature. In more recent years, some state athletic commissions in the US have cracked down on the types and frequency of weapons used in these matches.
• A Hardcore match, sometimes referred to as a Raven's Rules match, tends to be somewhere in between, with emphasis on the brutality of the attacks and the extreme physical toll on the wrestlers involved. WWE dubs the Hardcore match as an "Extreme Rules" match (Instead of a name of Hardcore match), and "Belfast Brawl" when the match features the former WWE Superstar, Finlay. While less graphic, in kayfabe terms the "rules" are the same in a hardcore match as in a deathmatch; that is, there are no rules beyond a 3-count pin for victory and/or a submission victory.
• Combat Zone Wrestling's Cage of Death, which is held yearly, implements the use of multiple weapons attached to the cage walls. The usual weapons are there, as are unusual ones, such as weedwhackers.
• A staple gun match may take (and has taken) many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to staple gun matches but the common thread in each one is that wrestlers try and staple something to their opponent. The occurrence of this event is more common on the independent wrestling circuits like the IWA Mid-South King of the Deathmatch or Hardcore wrestling circuits staple matches are commonplace. Rules vary for each tournament or wrestlers association but the underlining concept is stapling something to the body of the other wrestler. In Outcast Xtreme Wrestling (OXW) events the first person to staple seven dollar bills to the their opponent wins. In the Combat Zone Wrestling league the number of bills is 13, they call their staple gun matches the, "Unlucky 13 Staple Gun". International Wrestling Association (IWA) has their own version called the "Unlucky Seven Staple Gun Match." The popular midget wrestling league run by Puppet the Psycho Dwarf and his merry band of Half-Pint Brawlers' main event is called the, "$21 Staple Gun Match". In this version each little person is armed with a stapler and as the match goes on audience members throw bills into the ring. The first person to staple 11 bills to the other wrestler body wins. When asked about the event Puppet said "Getting a dollar bill stapled to your tongue leaves a bad taste in your mouth."