The recent history of the I Quit match can be seen as the opposite of the First Blood stipulation. Whereas a First Blood match in today's WWE would be met with shock and excitement, I Quit has unquestionably lost much of its mystique in the past decade or so. Despite this, there was a time when the I Quit stipulation guaranteed an elevated level of brutality well beyond the usual violence of wrestling. One only has to listen to the revered tones in which Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard is remembered by old school NWA fans, or watch the sickening chairshot-bonanza between The Rock and Mankind, to understand why it has the potential to terrify. It's also a unique match in that a fan can find themselves worrying not only for their favourite wrestler's safety, but also their popularity. The nature of the stipulation means that one man will always be proven inferior to the other (unless a screwy finish is thrown in to protect the loser, as it was in the infamous 1999 Royal Rumble clash). This match-type probably deserves a higher placing, but its legacy has been tarnished greatly by matches such as John Cena vs The Miz - in which the cowardly heel begged for mercy seconds after being placed in Cena's STF.
