Casket Match

The Casket Match is one of the most macabre stipulations in wrestling.

In this match, an open casket is placed near one side of the ring. There are no pinfalls or submissions—the only way to win is by throwing your opponent into the casket and closing the lid. The victory is only confirmed once the lid is fully closed. Count-outs and disqualifications are also not part of the match.

Initially, this match was called the Coffin match, and it followed the rules of a regular Single match, with the added condition that the winner, after securing the victory through traditional means, had to place their rival in the casket and close the lid. After the introduction of the rule that victory could only be achieved by closing the opponent inside the casket, both versions of the match alternated until 1994, when it was decided that the Casket match would be won solely under the modern rules (throwing the opponent into the casket and closing the lid).

This stipulation is usually contested in a 1 vs 1 format, though there has been an Handicap version, where to win, all members of the opposing team had to be thrown into a larger-than-usual casket and, of course, have the lid closed.

The Casket match is typically associated with The Undertaker, given his “deadman” gimmick.

A less macabre variant is the Dumpster match, where instead of a casket, the opponent must be thrown into a trash bin, which is placed outside the ring.

Casket Match: Info