Pro wrestling is full of iconic gimmick matches from annual ones like the Royal Rumble to ones that materialize when the circumstances demand it like Ladder Matches, Strap Matches, Street Fights, and so on. For many old school gimmick matches, it’s nearly impossible to credibly trace their origins, but for newer ones or ones that had a particularly legendary first iteration, it’s easier to know how things got started. Moreover, there are those times when it was the quality of the first go-round that facilitated the match becoming a fixture in pro wrestling lore. Only a handful of original gimmick matches remain, to this day the greatest version of all time.
Elimination Chamber, Survivor Series 2002
In 2002, WWE introduced the Elimination Chamber. The impressive structure merged elements of Hell in a Cell for its impressive structure, War Games for its staggered entries, and an old school Survivor Series sensibility for eliminations en route to a true finish.
The first go-round happened in no less mythic setting than Madison Square Garden with a star-studded field of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Kane, and Rob Van Dam. It’s telling that all of them but RVD had already been a world champion, whereas Van Dam himself was arguably at the peak of his abilities, if still a few years from winning his first world title.
The action was predictably excellent, culminating in an ultra-satisfying conclusion as Shawn Michaels beat the odds, winning his first and only world title of the final act of his career, after returning from his back injury. While most Chamber matches have been at least good, none has eclipsed this original classic.
War Games 1987
WWE rejuvenated the War Games concept, with Triple H first bringing it to NXT, and since making it a Survivor Series staple three years running on the main roster. Each WWE edition has been at least good, if not great, in ways that erase how many lackluster variations on the match WCW staged in its later years.
The original War Games occurred in 1987, an organic development that came out of The Four Horsemen terrorizing babyfaces, before the top babyfaces of the day banded together to go to war against them. During the Great American Bash 1987 tour, the face squad of Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering went on to defeat Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger, and JJ Dillon inside the double cage. The inclusion of managers feels a bit lackluster in hindsight, but offered a clear way of protecting the regular wrestlers from taking the submission loss.
WWE has staged some excellent editions of this match, and there’s a case in favor of WCW’s 1992 edition featuring The Dangerous Alliance as the best ever. The original 1987 one quite arguably ekes out the GOAT title though for novelty, brutality, and the satisfaction of seeing the good guys finally get one over on the villainous Horsemen and seeing Dillon get some comeuppance was, in and of itself, a pleasure for fans.
Hell In A Cell: Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker
Hell in a Cell has, in many ways, become the definitive blow-off gimmick match for WWE. The enormous steel cage structure is undeniably impressive and moments like Mick Foley taking not one, but two bumps from the top of the Cell in a single match cemented the gimmick’s place in WWE iconography.
While The Undertaker vs. Mankind is the most famous Hell in a Cell Match, and there have been quite a few excellent bouts inside the Cell over its twenty-five-plus year history to follow, the original match still takes the cake as its very best version. The storyline around the Cell’s construction was that it would be a structure to keep DX from helping Shawn Michaels as he tried to survive The Undertaker’s bid for revenge against him and earn a world title shot.
The match was every bit the classic one would expect from these two all-time great wrestlers who had all-time great chemistry between them. Even the finish was unique and satisfying as it saw the much-anticipated debut of Kane who arrived on the scene and cost his brother the match in truly epic fashion.
Blind Fold Match: Jake Roberts Vs. Rick Martel
The Blind Fold Match is one of pro wrestling’s more inherently silly gimmick matches, as the idea of two performers wearing hoods over their heads to wrestle is borderline comical and doesn’t exactly invite exciting bell-to-bell action.
When Jake Roberts faced off with Rick Martel at WrestleMania 7, however, a truly unique spectacle was at hand. The blind fold gimmick fit their feud perfectly, as The Model had previously blinded Roberts with his Arrogance cologne. From there, The Snake demonstrated his absolute mastery of pro wrestling psychology as he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, pointing around the ring to let their cheers help him find his rival. For his part, Martel more than played his part, trying the pointing gimmick too, while also playing the cowardly heel.
The match itself had a low ceiling, but the men involved made it incredibly entertaining at its time. Blind Fold Matches to follow thoroughly exposed the gimmick, though, including Triple H vs. D-Lo Brown, Drew McIntyre vs. Santino Marella, and James Storm facing Chris Harris in TNA. Each of these matches was poor, highlighting that the gimmick really demanded the right story and right performers, not to mention that it was probably best left in the WWE Golden Era that was a little hokier on the whole.
Empty Arena Match: Terry Funk Vs. Jerry Lawler
Pro wrestling feeds off live audiences with fan participation often adding a palpable sense of excitement and way for wrestlers to read what is and isn’t working in the ring. So it is that Empty Arena Matches are a bit counterintuitive, but can work in the right circumstances.
When Jerry Lawler blew off his Memphis feud with Terry Funk, the storyline at hand was Funk blaming all the biased fans and personnel in the arena for his previous failures against The King. What followed was a wildly entertaining novelty match with these two legends engaging in a brutal battle that was impossible for fans to look away from (through their TVs, of course—not in the arena).
WWE did a reasonable follow up with a Mankind vs. The Rock Empty Arena Match nearly two decades later. From there, WWE and other promotions that persevered through the pandemic were forced into other Empty Arena Matches—even an empty arena WrestleMania—during the pandemic. The unfortunate circumstances were no one’s fault, but highlighted that it took the right wrestlers and angle to get them into the vacated arena for this gimmick to really succeed.