Title Match

In wrestling, matches are not always just about glory; often, there are stakes involved.

The Importance of Titles

The most coveted prize in wrestling are Championship Titles, represented by sparkling belts. Within the wrestling world, there are titles of varying importance across weight classes, genders, and divisions.

Common types include heavyweight titles, secondary titles, tag team titles, women's titles, and lightweight titles, among many others.

Titles are contested in almost every match stipulation, with the titleholder—known as the champion—defending against one or more challengers. These challengers have proven their worth, earned the opportunity to challenge the champion, or otherwise received a shot at the title. Occasionally, a challenger may also put something on the line to earn the title match.

Championship Advantage

In stipulations involving count-outs or disqualifications (unless specified otherwise), the concept of "championship advantage" applies. According to this rule, a title cannot change hands due to a count-out or disqualification. If a challenger wins by either of these means, they are declared the match winner, but the champion retains the title.

This principle underscores the idea that to win a title, one must decisively defeat the champion and demonstrate superiority (though this doesn’t prevent titles from changing hands under questionable circumstances). In cases where a title is vacant or is being awarded for the first time, there is no champion defending the title, and thus the "championship advantage" clause does not apply.

Champion vs. Champion & Unification Matches

When two champions holding different titles face off against each other, this is called a "Champion vs. Champion" match. And if they both put their titles on the line, it becomes a Title Unification Match.

The winner will then hold both titles, which are usually unified. However, it has become more common recently for the new multi-champion to continue defending the titles separately; in this case, it is referred to as a Winner Takes All match.