The Civil War Match: Rules

[admin]

by: Dexter Russell, Journalist, GCW Hall of Fame

Resurrection season always kicks off with the biggest and most spectacular battle royal in professional wrestling: The Civil War Match. First some history, it dates back to the very beginnings of this company in 2000 when the company's founder Matthew Alan created the match idea. When GCW merged with IDW and rebranded into Global Division of Wrestling (GDW) the Civil War Match came with it. The winner of the Civil War would go on to main event GDW's biggest event of the calendar year: Wrestlecade. The first Civil War Match under the GDW banner was to crown the first ever GDW World Champion under the newly merged/rebranded company and was won by Cuchulain, whose real name is Connor Patrick O'Connor and still today serves as GCW's Talent Relations Director. When GCW returned in 2012, so did the Civil War Match. The first Civil War Match under the new GCW era was won by IDW and GDW alum Andreas Lasiewicz. There have been 19 total Civil War Matches since the match's inception. Only four individuals have won more than one Civil War Match: Andreas Lasiewicz, Charles Kessler, Angela Jameson, and Julia Braddock have won two each. Of those four, two of them have won back to back Civil War Matches: Angela Jameson and Julia Braddock.

Enough of the history lesson, because there are 75 people competing in this year's Civil War Match and I am certain that many of the newcomers want to know the rules.

This IS a battle royal but it is unlike most standard battle royals in that there will actually be three separate battle royals occurring simultaneously. 25 wrestlers in each ring. Wrestlers are randomly assigned to a ring. Eliminations occur under standard battle royal rules; by being thrown over the top rope and both feet must touch the floor. It is imperative that you win your battle royal as quickly as possible. You will see why it is beneficial to you later. As soon as a winner is crowned in each of the three rings new rules are initiated. The three battle royal winners fight it out, still under elimination rules but this time eliminations occur by PIN or SUBMISSIONS ONLY! Yes, that means no disqualifications, no count outs, you can even leave the ring and go to another ring. It doesn't matter what fall the ring takes place in, so long as the pin or submission takes place inside of a ring. Now remember how I said that it was imperative that you win your battle royal early? This is where that comes into play. THERE IS NO REST PERIOD BETWEEN THE BATTLE ROYAL PHASE AND THE TRIPLE THREAT PHASE! So if you are the first to win your ring's battle royal, you get a brief rest period to collect yourself. If you are the LAST person to win your ring, you get no rest period. You have to just keep fighting.

Case in point, last year Anastasia Starling was the last to win her ring. She ended up competing NONSTOP with no rests for nearly an hour. Brittany Kayl was the first to win her ring last year and she got nearly 11 minutes to rest before the beginning of the triple threat phase and came in second place. Julia Braddock, the winner of last year's Civil War, had a seven minute rest period before the triple threat phase began. The rest period can be crucial so winning those battle royals early is a must.

If you do manage to win your ring's battle royal, you are guaranteed a prize of some sort. Third place gets a tag team title shot with a partner of their choosing at Resurrection. The second place (runner up) gets a shot at the Heritage or X Division Title (their choice) at Resurrection. The winner of the Civil War Match will main event Resurrection, challenging for the GCW World Championship.

75 Wrestlers.
25 Wrestlers per ring.
3 rings.

Who will win this year's Civil War Match?