theidealstranger

Specialty or concept matches has been a very important part of pro-wrestling for like the past 4-5 decades and gained immense prominence with the arrival of gimmick based wrestlers like Undertaker, Mankind among others. While like all matches, there would be a result and a winner, the gimmick matches helps in adding variety to the same program with the same wrestlers multiple times. A lot of wrestlers often have their signature matches like Undertaker having buried alive and casket match or Mankind having boiler room brawl or E&C/Hardys/Dudleys have TLC among others at different point of time.

When did the concept of having specialty matches start around and which kind of concept matches do you enjoy the most?

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“My manner of thinking, so you say, cannot be approved. Do you suppose I care? A poor fool indeed is he who adopts a manner of thinking for others!” ~ De Sade

The Gorgeous One

theidealstranger

Well, read somewhere that cage matches were are as old as 1930s and served the purpose of keeping outside interference out before Escape from the cage matches evolved.

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“My manner of thinking, so you say, cannot be approved. Do you suppose I care? A poor fool indeed is he who adopts a manner of thinking for others!” ~ De Sade

TomasThunder619

Today's wrestling really lacks in gimmick matches. They are really entertaining. My favorite are Falls Count Anywhere matches.

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Mascara de la Muerte in PWA

Greenlawler

I am not sure what promotion started the escape the cage for the win clause, but I do remember that was not the case in our area, it was pinfall only.

The birth of the cage match is unusally credited to Atlanta in 1937. Cage matches were very rare which led to their appeal, and mystery. In fact from what I understand only a dozen or so cage matches took place before 1970. That is when the cage match boom began.

Obviously specialty matches can be tools to spark a crowd, but like anything when they happen to often they lose a little mystique. Plus some of them were just flat out dangerous.

The old scaffold match, which began in Memphis with Bill Dundee vs (I think) Koko Ware, was just crazy. We don't see many of them anymore especially since they could have major bad results. There is little dount in my mind they are gone because of the "what if" factor.

The craziest one I ever saw was a New Zeland Death Box match between Lord Jonathon Boyd and a very young Jeff Jarrett. Basically they took a bunch of snakes (advertised as poisonous) and slung them in a casket. The loser was the one who was nailed into the box.

Mike Zybyszko

Battle Royals are my favorite kind of gimmick match. You can get face vs face brief matchups, tag partner vs tag partner, heel vs heel, and even preview huge up coming match ups such as when Hogan and Warrior faced off in the 1990 Royal Rumble. Sometimes a battle royal is the only time two specific wrestlers ever crossed paths in the ring.

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"If anyone asks you if you've paid your dues, you tell 'em the check is in the mail."

Not removing until:

[ ] Hulk Hogan vs Hawk Hogan

THE TEACHER

If you mean stip. matches wasn't the first one Big John Studd vs Andre The Giant in a body-slam challenge (in WWF). As in really cage matches and stuff I can't provide you with an answer.

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Greenlawler

No stipulation matches have been around since the 30's.