"I Quit" match
An "I Quit" Match is a type of professional wrestling match in which the only way to win is to make the opponent say the words "I quit"[1] (usually into a microphone). It is a variation of submission match, as it can only be won by submission, but is special in that the submission has to take the form of the forfeiting opponent actually saying "I quit." Generally, whenever a wrestler knocks down his opponent with a move or inflicts a submission move,the opponent will be asked - either by the referee or the opponent - to say the words into a microphone. "I Quit" matches are commonly used to settle kayfabe grudges and embarrass rivals, since saying "I Quit" is usually a sign of admitted inferiority.
History
The first "I Quit" match was in the National Wrestling Alliance/Jim Crockett Promotions at Starrcade on November 28, 1985. Magnum T.A. defeated Tully Blanchard in a match (with a cage around the ring) for Blanchard's NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Near the end of that match, Magnum used a piece of wood with a nail in it to pierce Blanchard's forehead. At that point, Blanchard screamed "YES! YES!" into the microphone, indicating that he was quitting the match, and Magnum won the U.S. Championship.
One of the most famous "I Quit" matches took place on January 24, 1999, at the Royal Rumble between The Rock and Mick Foley (as Mankind) in the World Wrestling Federation. The match lasted just over 20 minutes, ending after Foley took eleven unprotected chair shots to the head while his hands were handcuffed behind his back. The Rock eventually won the match, but it was later revealed that Foley was completely unconscious and The Rock had played a tape of Foley saying "I quit" over the PA system.[1] The match the following evening between Triple H and The Rock ended in a completely different way – Triple H was extorted into saying "I quit" because Kane was about to chokeslam Chyna. John Cena retained his WWE Championship by defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield in an "I Quit" Match at Judgment Day on May 22, 2005.
"I Quit" matches involving women have been rare. At No Mercy 2003 held an intergender match between WWE chairman Mr. McMahon and his daughter Stephanie partly under "I Quit" rules. However, the match was actually decided when Stephanie's mother Linda threw in the towel for her daughter, giving Vince the victory.[1] The first "I Quit" match between WWE Divas was contested at One Night Stand in 2008, when Beth Phoenix defeated Melina.
On the May 14, 2009, edition of TNA Impact, TNA Wrestling put on their first "I Quit" match, where Booker T defeated Jethro Holiday after an axe kick. TNA had another "I Quit" match on May 24, 2009, where A.J. Styles defeated Booker T to retain the TNA Legends Championship, after Jenna Morasca threw a towel into the ring for Booker.
"I Respect You" match
An "I Respect You" match is similar to an "I Quit" match – to win a wrestler must make his opponent say the words, "I respect you". The first "I Respect You" match was held in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at SuperBrawl VI in February 1996 and pitted Brian Pillman and "Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan. At the end of the match, Pillman lost by saying "I respect you, bookerman!" In doing so he Pillman broke kayfabe, as Sullivan was also WCW booker at the time.
Matches in various promotions
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)
| Participants | Title on the line/ Stipulation |
Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Funk defeated Eddie Gilbert | none | ECW Show January 23, 1993 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Billed as a Texas Death match. |
| Tommy Dreamer defeated The Sandman | none | ECW Show October 1, 1994 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|
| Tommy Dreamer defeated C.W. Anderson | none | Guilty as Charged January 7, 2001 New York, New York |
|
Ring of Honor (ROH)
| Participants | Title on the line/ Stipulation |
Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Shelley defeated Jimmy Jacobs | none | Joe vs. Punk II October 16, 2004 Chicago Ridge, Illinois |
|
| Jimmy Rave defeated Nigel McGuinness | none | Battle of the Icons January 27, 2007 Edison, New Jersey |
The referee stopped the match after McGuinness refused to say "I Quit" and Rave attempted to break his leg. |
| Austin Aries defeated Jimmy Jacobs | none | Rising Above 2008 November 22, 2008 Chicago Ridge, Illinois |
|
| Colt Cabana defeated Steve Corino | none | Richards vs. Daniels October 16, 2010 Chicago Ridge, Illinois |
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
| Participants | Title on the line/ Stipulation |
Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booker T defeated Jethro Holliday | none | Impact! May 14, 2009 (taped) Orlando, Florida |
|
| A.J. Styles defeated Booker T | TNA Legends Championship | Sacrifice May 24, 2009 Orlando, Florida |
|
| Brian Kendrick defeated Douglas Williams | TNA Legends Championship | Impact! July 12, 2010 (taped) Orlando, Florida |
|
| A.J. Styles defeated Tommy Dreamer | none | No Surrender September 5, 2010 Orlando, Florida |
|
| A.J. Styles defeated Christopher Daniels | none | Bound For Glory October 16, 2011 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|
| Kurt Angle defeated D'Lo Brown | none | Impact! May 2, 2013 (taped) Orlando, Florida |
|
| Gunner defeated James Storm | none | Sacrifice April 27, 2014 Orlando, Florida |
|
| Mr. Anderson defeated Samuel Shaw | none | Hardcore Justice August 20, 2014 (taped) Orlando, Florida |
|
| Kurt Angle defeated Eric Young | TNA World Heavyweight Championship | Impact! May 29, 2015 (taped) Orlando, Florida |
Participant list
| Superstar | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| A.J. Styles | 3 | 3 |
| Kurt Angle | 2 | 2 |
| Booker T | 1 | 2 |
| Gunner | 1 | 1 |
| Brian Kendrick | 1 | 1 |
| Mr. Anderson | 1 | 1 |
| Tommy Dreamer | 0 | 1 |
| Douglas Williams | 0 | 1 |
| Christopher Daniels | 0 | 1 |
| D'Lo Brown | 0 | 1 |
| James Storm | 0 | 1 |
| Samuel Shaw | 0 | 1 |
| Eric Young | 0 | 1 |
| Jethro Holliday | 0 | 1 |
World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
| Participants | Title on the line/ Stipulation |
Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Taskmaster defeated Brian Pillman | none | SuperBrawl VI February 11, 1996 St. Petersburg, Florida |
This was a "I Respect You" Strap match. |
| Bill Goldberg defeated Sid Vicious | none | Mayhem November 21, 1999 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|
| Roddy Piper defeated Creative Control (Gerald and Patrick) | none | Nitro December 6, 1999 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
This was a Handicap "I Quit" match. |
| David Flair defeated Terry Funk | none | Nitro February 7, 2000 Tulsa, Oklahoma |
|
| Dustin Rhodes defeated Terry Funk | none | WCW Uncensored March 19, 2000 Miami, Florida |
This was a Bullrope Match. |
| Norman Smiley (c) defeated M.I. Smooth | WCW Hardcore Championship | Thunder August 23, 2000 (taped August 22, 2000) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE)
| Participants | Title on the line/ Stipulation |
Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bret Hart defeated Bob Backlund | none | WrestleMania XI April 2, 1995 Hartford, Connecticut |
Guest referee Roddy Piper ended the match though Backlund uttered the words "I Quit" only incompletely. |
| Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Ken Shamrock | none | Raw Is War October 26, 1998 Madison, Wisconsin |
|
| The Rock defeated Mankind (c) | WWF Championship | Royal Rumble (1999) January 24, 1999 Anaheim, California |
Mankind did not actually say "I quit". Rather an earlier recording of Mankind saying the phrase was played over the PA system while Mankind laid unconscious in the entranceway. The Rock was still awarded the victory. |
| The Rock (c) defeated Triple H | WWF Championship | Raw Is War January 25, 1999 Phoenix, Arizona |
|
| Mr. McMahon defeated Stephanie McMahon | Loser had to leave their position
|
No Mercy October 19, 2003 Baltimore, Maryland |
Stephanie did not say the words "I Quit"; her mother threw a towel into the ring. Stephanie was also able to win this match via pinfall. |
| John Cena (c) defeated John Bradshaw Layfield | WWE Championship | Judgment Day May 22, 2005 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
|
| Ric Flair defeated Mick Foley | none | SummerSlam August 20, 2006 Boston, Massachusetts |
|
| Chavo Guerrero, Jr. defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. | none | SmackDown! October 20, 2006 (taped October 15, 2006) Los Angeles, California |
|
| Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr. | none | SmackDown! September 7, 2007 (taped September 1, 2007) Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
| Beth Phoenix defeated Melina | none | One Night Stand June 1, 2008 San Diego, California |
|
| Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy | none | Backlash April 26, 2009 Providence, Rhode Island |
|
| John Cena defeated Randy Orton (c) | WWE Championship | Breaking Point September 13, 2009 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|
| John Cena (c) defeated Batista | WWE Championship | Over The Limit May 23, 2010 Detroit, Michigan |
|
| John Cena (c) defeated The Miz | WWE Championship | Over The Limit May 22, 2011 Seattle, Washington |
|
| Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger | #1 contendership to the World Heavyweight Championship | Extreme Rules May 19, 2013 St. Louis, Missouri |
|
| John Cena (c) defeated Rusev | WWE United States Championship | Payback May 17, 2015 Baltimore, Maryland |
Instead of Rusev, his manager Lana conceded the match, saying "He Quits". |
Participant list
| Superstar | Victories | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| John Cena | 5 | 5 |
| The Rock | 2 | 2 |
| Bret Hart | 1 | 1 |
| Steve Austin | 1 | 1 |
| Vince McMahon | 1 | 1 |
| Ric Flair | 1 | 1 |
| Beth Phoenix | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Hardy | 1 | 1 |
| Alberto Del Rio | 1 | 1 |
| Chavo Guerrero | 1 | 2 |
| Rey Mysterio | 1 | 2 |
| Bob Backlund | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Shamrock | 0 | 1 |
| Triple H | 0 | 1 |
| Stephanie McMahon | 0 | 1 |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | 0 | 1 |
| Melina | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Hardy | 0 | 1 |
| Randy Orton | 0 | 1 |
| Batista | 0 | 1 |
| The Miz | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Swagger | 0 | 1 |
| Rusev | 0 | 1 |
| Mick Foley | 0 | 2 |
| JBL | 0 | 1 |