#6 – Strap Match
Two guys tied together, nowhere to go, where the only way to win is to beat your opponent so badly they can’t stop you from walking a complete circle around the ring. It’s simple, incredibly entertaining if executed well, and has ended some of the biggest and best rivalries in wrestling history.
#5 – Dog Collar Match
This is technically still a Strap Match, but with an added restriction that the two wrestlers be connected by the neck via a set of modified dog collars. It’s the kind of match that would never fly in today’s product, especially after Daniel Bryan got fired for choking out Justin Roberts with his own necktie. I still remember the first Dog Collar Match I ever watched on VHS – NWA Starrcade ’83 at the Greensboro Coliseum, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. That was the match Piper legitimately lost 50% of his hearing.
The Dog Collar is made for rivals like Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. It’s twice as violent as the traditional Strap Match, and strips both competitors of their dignity, putting them in an all-or-nothing situation. You can’t escape, which accomplishes everything a Lumberjack Match does, but with a lot more efficiency and 95% less manpower. I’m partial to the pinfall-only ruling for this stipulation, if only because it separates it from the rest of the traditional Strap Match family, and focusing on the violence over a silly gimmick.
#4 – Money in the Bank Match
So you’ve just won a match that entitles you to make ANY match you want against your biggest rival. And by the way, your biggest rival just so happens to have a briefcase that lets him potentially become a World Heavyweight Champion on a whim. Why on earth would you EVER in a million years NOT put yourself in a scenario to take that briefcase from him?
This also solves the Rollins running away problem. He’s not going anywhere if the Money in the Bank briefcase is hanging above the ring. It keeps him firmly rooted in the ring at all times. This is really a no-brainer… It doesn’t have to be a ladder match, I suppose. It could be a Money in the Bank arm-wrestling contest. This actually could have been a fun way to branch out the MITB concept, without breaking from the traditional PPV format. MITB Tables match? MITB Cage match? With a good enough imagination, the possibilities are almost endless…
