10 Best Wrestling Match Concepts Since 2000
WWE, AEW, NXT and Impact's most original and exciting new match types of this millennium.
Ever since the ‘30s when the first variations of steel cage matches were presented, promoters have tried to up the ante on feuds in gimmick matches. Especially since the ‘80s professional wrestling boom period when new exciting gimmick matches were created and established frequently for escalating feuds and rivalries.
Exceptional concepts like Hell in a Cell, Royal Rumble, Iron Man, Last Man Standing, WarGames and Ladder matches were all conceived and presented in a relatively short period of time. It’s hard to imagine mainstream wrestling without them at this point. Though with the wrestling business ever evolving, promotions like WWE and TNA and AEW have frequently sought to conceive new match forms for the masses.
But with every passing decade it’s been harder for promotions to create and establish new match gimmicks that found the same success as the aforementioned. It’s safe to say King of the Mountain, Punjabi Prison, Dixieland and Stairs matches didn’t take off like promoters expected them too in the 2000s and 2010s.
Though there are some gimmick matches created in recent times that have had favourable outcomes from fans and critics. Here we’ll look at the top 10 new matches wrestling has given us over the last two decades: