10 Best Wrestling Match Concepts Since 2000
5. Stadium Stampede Match
AEW’s Stadium Stampede at Double or Nothing (2020) was outstanding and everything what makes wrestling ridiculously great. Held in the Jacksonville Jaguar’s stadium, Matt Hardy and The Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) went up against The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz) in a 35-minute antic-riddled epic. It was a new concept created out of necessity due to Covid and was AEW’s chance to flourish in cinematic matches. Essentially it’s the most enormous and monumental Empty Arena match you’ll ever see.
Hangman Page searched for Sammy Guevara on a horse, Matt Jackson moonsaulted off the NFL goalposts and Ortiz and Santana continuously threw Hardy into a pool only for him to reappear in different bizarre gimmicks from his past (similar to Hardy’s lake of reincarnation) to a name a few antics. It ended with Omega jumping from 15ft with Guevara using the One Winged Angel from the stadium seats for the victory.
Tony Khan said in the post-Double Or Nothing media scrum on the match:
"To make the Stadium Stampede a signature match of ours, we all put in ideas. We all sat down. The big spots in the match, literally like Chris, Matt and Nick, Kenny, Matt Hardy, myself, we all put multiple ideas and multiple big spots in the match. I hope it's a famous match that people talk about. I think to us, it could be a signature match. I hope Stadium Stampede can be, well a signature match here in AEW. Something people will always remember. You know when a band puts together a song and everybody has a part in putting it together, I think that was this.”
AEW filed to trademark ‘Stadium Stampede’ in August, hinting further at the rumours AEW are looking to make this match an annual event.