WWE Guide: Rules, Match Types, and Championships in Detail

ESPN platforms, including the new ESPN app, have become the exclusive home of the most prominent WWE events. This includes the two-night cultural phenomenon, WrestleMania.

WWE Rules and Championships Guide

With an eye on the biggest professional wrestling promotion, here’s an introductory guide to the rules of WWE matches and the championship belts at stake.

How is a fight won?

The general rule for winning a professional wrestling match is to pin your opponent to the mat until the referee counts to three, or to force them to submit via a submission hold or maneuver. There are exceptions, which will be detailed later.

Ways to win a combat:

Pinfall: Immobilizing the opponent’s shoulders inside the ring so that the referee counts to three.
Submission: Making the opponent surrender or touch the mat.
Count-out: One of the wrestlers is outside the ring and the referee completes an uninterrupted count of 10.
Double count-out: Both wrestlers are outside the ring and the referee completes an uninterrupted count of 10.
Disqualification: The referee disqualifies one of the wrestlers for breaking the rules.
Double disqualification or No decision: The referee disqualifies both participants for breaking the rules and there is no winner.
Draw: Situations that present a double pin or both participants surrender at the same time, resulting in a draw and no winner.

Types of Standard WWE Matches

One-on-one: One wrestler against another.
Tag team: Two or more wrestlers against two or more wrestlers.
- Standard: One wrestler per team in the ring at a time and tags are required for their teammates to enter.
- Tornado: All wrestlers can be in the ring at the same time.
- Mixed: There are male and female wrestlers on each team. Male versus male and female versus female.
Handicap: One team has more participants than the other (i.e., two-on-one or three-on-two).
Triple threat: One wrestler (or team) against one wrestler (or team) against one wrestler (or team). Can only be won by pinfall or submission in the ring.
Fatal 4-Way: Four wrestlers, each for themselves. Can only be won by pinfall or submission in the ring.

Types of WWE Special Matches

Survivor Series Elimination: Two teams (usually four or five wrestlers each) face off, where each individual is eliminated by pinfall, submission, count-out, or disqualification until only members of one team remain.
Steel Cage: The ring is surrounded by a steel cage. Ways to win include pinfall, submission, or escaping the cage (through the door or over the top).
Tables Match: The objective is to throw your opponent through a table.
Chairs Match: The use of steel chairs is encouraged. Can only be won by pinfall or submission in the ring.
Ladder Match: A championship (or other agreed-upon reward) hangs above the ring. The only way to win is to climb a ladder to obtain it.
TLC Match: The use of tables, ladders, and chairs is encouraged. This is usually won in the same way as a ladder match.
Money in the Bank Match: A briefcase containing a contract for a championship match, which can be cashed in at any time within the year, hangs above the ring. The only way to win is to climb a ladder to obtain it.
Gauntlet Match: Two participants start the match, and when one is eliminated by pinfall, submission, count-out, or DQ, another participant enters. This continues until the final wrestler is victorious.
Iron man/woman Match: The winner is the participant who gets the most wins within a pre-set time period.
“I Quit”/Submission Match: The only way to win is by submission.
No DQ/Extreme Rules/Street Fight: No disqualification: can only be won by pinfall or submission.
Lumberjack/Lumberjill Match: A match where the ring is surrounded by other wrestlers who throw the match participants (or help them) back into the ring when they go out. Can only be won by pinfall or submission in the ring.
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Can only be won by pinfall or submission, but it does not need to take place in the ring.
Last Man Standing Match: Can only be won when an opponent cannot stand before the referee’s count of 10.
Hell in a Cell Match: The ring is surrounded by a steel cage with a roof. The only ways to win are by pinfall or submission.
Elimination Chamber Match: The match features six participants (or teams). The ring and ring area are surrounded/covered by a modified steel structure. Inside the structure are four sealed PODS. Four participants enter and are released into the ring at pre-set intervals. The other two competitors start the match. Eliminations occur by pinfall or submission. The final participant (or team) is the winner.
Three Stages of Hell Match: Features three consecutive matches, one after another. Each of the three matches features agreed-upon stipulations.
War Games: The match features two teams (usually four or five each). Two rings are surrounded by steel cages. One participant per team starts the match and the others are released into the ring at pre-set intervals, one at a time. The match cannot be won until all participants have entered and can only be won by pinfall or submission.
Royal Rumble/Battle Royal: A predetermined number of participants (Royal Rumbles usually feature 30), starting with two, enter the ring, one at a time, at intervals, and eliminations occur when they go over the top rope with both feet touching the outside of the ring. The final performer is the winner.