What are the rules to an Iron Man match?

AEW returns to pay-per-view on Sunday with Revolution coming live from the Chase Center in San Francisco. The event will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will stream live on Bleacher Report. The main event of this year’s show pay-per-view will feature AEW World Champion MJF defending his title against Bryan Danielson in a 60-minute Iron Man match.

One of the more rarely used match gimmicks in pro wrestling, Iron Man matches are the ultimate test of endurance as both competitors try to outlast each other for an hour. Classic Iron Man bouts in history include Shawn Michaels facing Bret Hart in the main event of Wrestlemania 12 in 1996 and Brock Lesnar facing Kurt Angle on an episode of Smackdown in 2003. Tonight’s main event will mark the first 60-minute Iron Man match in AEW history as the previous 2020 bout between Kenny Omega and Pac was only 30 minutes,

If you’re not familiar, we’ll go over the basics of an Iron Man match and how to win.

Rules

The rules for an Iron Man match are straight forward and simple. The two competitors will face each other in a match with a 60-minute time limit and the person who picks up the most falls in that hour stretch wins the match. Falls can be picked up by pinfall or submission, as well as disqualification and count-out unless the entire match is specified as no holds barred.

In the event of both superstars being tied at the end of the hour, the match *should* end in a draw. However, that is rarely followed when that scenario happens as the match usually goes into a sudden-death overtime.

We’ll see what strategies both MJF and Bryan Danielson will employ to outlast the other in San Francisco tonight.