#1 Contender's Matches are crucial in wrestling as they determine who will earn a shot at a championship. In most cases title opportunities are earned rather than given, and these matches are designed to determine the next challenger for a title.
Common Formats
The most common format for a #1 Contender's Match involves two or more wrestlers (or teams, for tag team titles) who compete to earn the right to challenge the current champion. The winner of such a match will typically earn a title shot at the next pay-per-view (PPV), a future PPV, a future weekly show, or occasionally immediately following the match itself.
Sometimes, a wrestler can earn the status of #1 Contender by defeating the champion in a non-title match, which can function similarly to a #1 Contender's Match.
- In AEW, the Eliminator match is a non-title match between a title-holder and a potential challenger: if the challenger wins, he gets a title match; if he loses, he can't no more challenge for that title as long as the other remains champion.
- A variant of the Eliminator match is the Proving Ground match, used in ROH, a non-title match that usually features an up-and-coming star against a title-holder: if the potential challenger can defeat the champion, or at least last 10 minutes, he gets a future title shot.
It is also not rare to see the status of the #1 Contender being put on the line between a large number of participants in a Battle Royal format.
The WWE Royal Rumble Match is one of the most famous #1 Contender's Matches. It is used to determine a challenger for one of WWE’s top titles (WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship) at WWE's biggest annual event, WrestleMania.
#1 Contender's Match: Info
- Match Category Stipulation
- Variant of Singles Match Tag Team Match Multi-Competitor Match (3-Way / 4-Way / 5-Way / 6-Way) Battle Royal (Over The Top Rope)
- N. of Competitors 2 - 8