An Iron Man Of A Different Kind

[Little Jerry Lawler]

HBK vs. Hart, HHH vs. Rock, and Cena vs. Orton to name a few. We have had some great Iron Man matches in the past and most in the WWE have been for the WWE or WHC title. Going 60 minutes (or more) for the ultimate prize takes a whole lot of resolve and endurance.

What I want to see is an Iron Man match for a midcard title or even the tag titles. I think it could have happened in 2009 with Mysterio and Jericho and their amazing series of matches. It could be done great with the right wrestlers. Kofi and Ziggler has been overdone but an Iron Man match could settle the feud once and for all. Call me crazy but I actually see this happening within the next couple of years and I think it will be a huge success.

So would you like to see Iron Man matches for midcard titles or should they be world title exclusive?

Also, what goes into the success of an Iron Man match and do you think a majority of the current WWE roster has this?

 

[ABMorales787]

Do people in this day and age even think it's possible to work a straight hour? Most PPV matches give length to 15-20 minutes. A mid-card title match with the same rules would never have enough importance to go past 20 minutes with today's focus.

To me, I'd care more about the pair in the match than what they are fighting for. It makes me a bit curious to see the US or IC titles in a 60 minute Iron Man match, but just what superstar pairing could hope to do that who wouldn't be able to use a World title? In my eyes, none really.

 

[This is the return of WTM]

Considering how Kofi and Ziggler's in ring work is their main strength, I wouldn't mind seeing that as their blowoff match.

 

[THE AWESOME MIZFIT]

I really don't think Kofi and Ziggles can pull off a great iron man match. they are both great performers but i really don't care for that match at all. if i had a choice for a great 60 man iron man match i would have to go with, if he chooses to stay or return CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan. both men are great in ring performers and punk has the mic skill to be able to push the envelope for Bryan to build on his character. Daniel Bryan can really benefit from working a long drawn out program with punk since hes established all ready. also they have some chemistry considering they have worked with each other in the past in ROH and other indy organization. these to in my eyes can really pull off one hell of a match. one that could be one of the best in WWE history and match of the year.

 

[Foshinzo]

A tag team Iron Man Match sounds like a great idea, if you had two teams that could pull it off. You might see something like this in Ring of Honor where some of their top talents are their tag teams and they really push tag team wrestling. If Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team and the Kings of Wrestling went and did a match like that, I'd watch. Even the Briscoes and the All-Night Express could do it, and I wouldn't be shocked if Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly could pull it off. I think it's a cool idea for RoH, but for the WWE or even TNA? I doubt that could ever be a possibility. TNA has some good teams, but last I heard they were broken up and TNA does not have the booking skills to build up a match like the one being talked about...or any match that we could be talking about.

Had to get my cheap shot in. Lol.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that the reason why mainly main eventers are put in hour long matches is because they are the only ones who are able to hold the interest of the crowd for over an hour. Let's take the example of the current midcard scene. Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston are two good wrestlers but they hardly recieve a reaction in their matches. The casual fans just do not care about them. The crowd will probably doze off by the time they finish their match if they happen to have an Ironman match.

So NO, it cannot happen because nobody is interested in seeing some random no name dudes wrestle for an hour.

 

[@smarkmouth]

A month or so ago, I'd say yes for Kofi/Ziggler. The thing about these two is they always put on a great match, but I never look forward to it anymore, because it's been done to death.

When this feud came from Smackdown to Raw, I thought it would breath new life into it. It didn't. Again, they had wonderful matches, but we got nothing new. If they were to theoretically do an iron man for, say, Summerslam, it will take alot of work.

But to answer your question, I think the most that WWE would invest in a mid-card Iron Man match would be a half an hour. If the drawing championship isn't on the line, I don't think it would get the exposure.

 

[Achilles4]

To all of you who said nobody wants to see mid-carders fight for an hour.....your crazy! Everyone has been complaining about how WWE has destroyed the prestige of the mid-card titles. And its usually because the matches last 5-10min. i mean the guys dont seem like theyre working very hard to win the titles and therefore make us think theyre meaningless, which they pretty much are now days.
I THINK IRONMAN MATCHES FOR MID-CARDERS ARE JUST THE FIX!!!
You definately need the right guys in the match, but look at all the talen. Kofi, Ziggler, Sheamus, Christian, Barret, Mysterio, Kane, Big Show, ETC...not saying everyone can put on a 60min match but if they can let it happen and let them show us how much the titles mean to them and what theyll do to keep/win them.
before you know it we will have two mid-card titles that mean something and wres.....SUPERSTARS....who would be glad to fight for ands win them!

 

[H33LTurn]

You need people who can entertain a crowd for an Iron Man Match. It doesnt have to be a world champion or even a main eventer but it has to be someone who could keep the pace of the match for an extended period of time. A regular midcard match at a ppv is usually 15 minutes and even that feels like a drag sometimes. To take the risk of doubling that time you need people who have great in ring chemistry and can actually draw. The drawing part isnt so important because people already bought the ppv, and I doubt they bought it to watch a midcard match but they need to be able to keep the pace going. Guys like Ziggler and Kofi or Rhodes and Daniel Bryan could keep the pace going for that long and actually keep the fans interested. Plus, a special situation match like an Iron Man Match could in fact boost the prestige of a midcard title. Its all about whos in it.

 

[Derf]

I would love to see an Iron Man match between two midcarders, or even main eventers without a title on the line. They had a 30 minute match years ago between HBK and Angle, and I think if they went with another 30 minute match, some people on the roster could do it. I just can't imagine who they would pull the trigger on a match like that with, it'd have to be a blowofff to a massive feud, and right now there are no feuds worthy enough.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's something I'd like to see, quite frankly. I do think that there are a few concerns that would have to be looked at.

I think one potential problem is generally keeping the audience interested throughout the match. Even in old school Ric Flair classics, I've never seen a 45-60 minute match that hasn't dragged a little at some point. I don't think it's something that can be gotten around. It doesn't keep fans from enjoying the match but I think a lot could hinge on the guys that are put into the match.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler in an Iron Man Match could work. Both of these men have the goods inside the ring. If WWE turned them loose in such a setting and told them to just go nuts, it'd be a huge boost for both of them. These two have had a pretty long history. They feuded throughout the second half of last year and they're back at it again and I've yet to see them put on a bad match together. Naturally, some have been better than others but none of them have been bad.

As of right now on the SD! side, the mid-card title scene might possibly wind up being Big Zeke vs. Cody Rhodes and I just don't see that happening at all. Jackson's just not ready and, quite honestly, they should just put the title on Rhodes and let him have a meaningful reign with it.

The WWE would have to put a lot of emphasis on a mid-card title and the ones feuding over it. In order to work, I think you'd have ot have a feel of an epic, final sort of encounter between champion & challenger. But yeah, I think it'd be fun if they put the right guys into the match.

 

[El Rev sXe]

I think it's a great idea, however like some posters have already said, the problem is to keep interested casual fans. Kofi/Ziggler could be on hell of a match, but only the "smarks" would really enjoy it.

Nevertheless, I think that to some degree the WWE are testing those waters with having these feuds in 2 out of 3 falls. That being said, with that same logic, I think we should test again those waters having a 30 minutes iron man match. Plus, we will need for example those wrestlers that can be main eventers and at the same time mid carders. Like the OP said, the perfect example was Mysterio/Jericho. It could also work with someone like Christian, Punk, Rhodes, Bryan etc.

I think it's a great idea but like I said before it would need first to be a 30 minutes match and thus knowing if the casual fan is interested enough.

 

[TSG]

So would you like to see Iron Man matches for midcard titles or should they be world title exclusive?

To me, it doesn't really matter. If there are two stars who can wrestle that type of match effectively, and can draw good enough to make the match a financial success in terms of PPV buys or ratings, then I could care less if it's for a World Title, mid-card title, the tag team titles, or even the women's title. It all depends on the success. But one thing I would lke to see is it used as the big blow-off to a feud instead of for a title - required that they two guys can work the match effectively.

Also, what goes into the success of an Iron Man match and do you think a majority of the current WWE roster has this?

The success of an iron man match is pretty simple - it has to have very solid in-ring action, it has to have a story, and it has to have drama. A great match needs all three anyway, but some can get away with not having one. If the drama and story is there in a regular match then most people won't care about the in-ring action that much, and vice versa. For example, Undertaker and Triple H had a great match at Mania this year. It moved slowly and the in-ring action was about a C plus at best, but the drama and story made the match one of the best so far this year.

But not in an iron man match. These matches have a set time limit, either 30 or 60 minutes normally, and most people aren't going to sit down and sit through one of these matches if it has only decent in-ring action. It better be a great in-ring match or I am going to feel ripped off. Rest holds and down time spots aren't going to cover forty minutes of the action and make the match passable, make the other twenty minutes of actual action worth it. It needs some drama too. One of the keys to a good match is to suspend belief, so you don't know who will win. The thing about an iron man match is that it opens so much room and time to use in-ring psychology and develop a dramatic story in ring, and you can use the number of falls and other things to create drama. And it needs to have a story behind it. You can't just toss a match out there and build it for a couple weeks and say, here is 60 minutes of wrestling - enjoy. And then just have them trade holds for the hour. That might work for a 15 minute triple threat match or cruiserweight match, but not in this type of match. I want a nice, long, well built story, and I want a story in the match as well. Those are the three basic components that I feel an iron man match needs.

That being said, the majority of the WWE roster doesn't have it. Cena and Orton can, as they worked a pretty good one at Bragging Rights 2009. I feel that C.M. Punk does as well, as he has the components to do just about anything in pro wrestling and make it work. Daniel Bryan, to a lesser extent, has the components to do that as well, and he definitely has what it takes to work a match of this length. He can tell a good story in the ring when given the chance, and he could probably pull off a good iron man match. Other than that, I am drawing a blank on the rest of the roster, I really don't see anyone else who could pull it off. The rest of the roster lacks one of the components I feel it takes to make a good iron man match.