In professional wrestling, a two out of three falls match, or a best of three falls match, is a series of matches (often between two wrestlers or two teams of wrestlers), in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches. It is often the case that the three individual matches in a best-of-three match are done under different rules so as to maintain audience interest - the three different match types are often referred to as the Three Stages of Hell. The typical "three stages" configuration often begins with a standard one-fall match, followed by a match with a slower pace (eg. a submission match), and ending up with a fast-paced match (eg. a steel cage match). The three matches are often contested one after another, however it is also common for the matches to be played out over a series of wrestling shows, making the match more like a true best-of-three series. Professional wrestling is generally any form of wrestling in which the wrestlers receive payment for participating. ... Ric Flair and Randy Orton in a cage match, showing the current WWE Steel Cage. ...

Longer series matches (eg. best of five falls, best of seven falls) are also used, albeit rarely. Even more rare, however, is a series match involving three or more groups of wrestlers. Series matches are often booked to the final fall to hold the audience in suspense, unless they are squash matches, where a sweep is almost always the norm. This is also the predominant match-up in lucha libre (dos de tres caidas). Before the mid 1970s, the majority of title matches were 2 out of 3 falls. In professional wrestling, a squash is an extremely one-sided match; one performer dominates the other and quickly defeats him with virtually no resistance. ... One of Lucha Libres biggest attractions, El Hijo del Santo. ...

In some two out of three falls matches, a title cannot change hands if one of the victor's falls were determined by countout or disqualification. In other two out of three falls matches, the title in question may change hands provided at least one of the victor's fall is determined by conventional methods.

The vast majority of modern two out of three falls matches are fought to the third fall. Only in a small minority of matches will the eventual winner win the first two matches, precluding a third match.

Popular World Wrestling Entertainment matches of this kind

• July 26, 1998, Fully Loaded in Fresno, California - The Rock vs. Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship. The Rock and Triple H split the first two falls, the match at the 30 minute time limit, ending the match in a draw. The Rock retained the Intercontinental Championship.
• February 25, 2001, No Way Out in Las Vegas, Nevada - Triple H vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin pinned Triple H in the first fall (regular match), Triple H pinned Austin in the second fall (street fight), Triple H pinned Austin in the third fall (steel cage match), to win the match.
• May 20, 2001, Judgment Day in Sacramento, California - Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle for Kurt's Olympic Gold medal. Chris Benoit pinned Kurt Angle in the first fall (regular match), Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit via submission in the second fall (submission match), Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit in the third fall (ladder match) by retaining his medals, to win the match.
• December 15, 2002, Armageddon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H pinned Michaels in the first fall (street fight), Michaels pinned Triple H in the second fall (steel cage match), Triple H defeated Shawn in the third fall (ladder match) by getting the belt, winning the match and becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Although not a single match, Chris Benoit and Booker T have fought two best-of-seven series, one in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and one in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The first was for the WCW Television Championship; the second for the WWE United States Championship. The second one was notable in that Booker was injured (legit) during the series, and was forced to substitute other wrestlers for him to finish the series. Randy Orton defeated Benoit to win the vacant title for Booker in the seventh match, one of the few (if any) times in pro wrestling history one wrestler has won a championship for another. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The video tape cover for WWF Fully Loaded 2000. ... For a quick link, please see the city of Fresno, California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California), better known by his stage name The Rock, is an American actor and sporadic professional wrestler. ... Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969 in Nashua, New Hampshire) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, invariably abbreviated to Triple H or HHH. Triple H is currently working for the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment. ... Originally the second-most important title in WWE, the Intercontinental Championship is now one of the major championships on the RAW brand. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2006 WWE No Way Out poster, featuring Randy Orton. ... This article is about the city of Las Vegas in Nevada. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Carson City Las Vegas Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 7th 110,567 sq mi  286,367 km² 322 miles  519 km 490 miles  788 km 0. ... Steve James Anderson Williams, better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... Ric Flair and Randy Orton in a cage match, showing the current WWE Steel Cage. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... The ominous Judgment Day 2006 promotional poster WWE Judgment Day is a WWE Pay-Per-View event. ... Nickname City of Trees Location Location of Sacramento in California Government County Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo Geographical characteristics Area  - City    - Land    - Water 99. ... Christopher Michael Benoît (born May 21, 1967 in Montréal, Québec), is a French-Canadian professional wrestler currently wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand. ... Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and a professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the ECW brand extension. ... A ladder match is a type of match used in professional wrestling that is used to refer to two distinct concepts: the first is an Extreme Championship Wrestling specialty, in which standard rules apply, except that ladders can be used as legal foreign objects. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... WWE Armageddon is a pay-per-view event that began in December of 1999, and followed the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November. ... Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, is a city located in Broward County, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq. ... Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, (born on July 22, 1965 at Williams Air Force Base, now part of Chandler, Arizona) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Shawn Michaels. ... The World Heavyweight Championship belt The World Heavyweight Championship, a new championship introduced for the WWEs RAW brand in 2002, is one of the top-level championships in World Wrestling Entertainment, exclusive to the SmackDown! brand. ... Street fighting is a term used to denote spontaneous, hand-to-hand fighting in public places. ... Booker T (born Robert Booker Tio Huffman on March 1, 1965 in Houston, Texas) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand. ... World Championship Wrestling or WCW, was a highly successful professional wrestling promotion that was based in Atlanta and existed from 1986 to 2001. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... The World Championship Wrestling [WCW] World Television Championship is one of the unusual belts in the history of wrestling. ... The World Wrestling Entertainment United States Championship was formerly the National Wrestling Alliance and then the World Championship Wrestling United States Championship, but is now a World Wrestling Entertainment title exclusive to the SmackDown! brand. ... Randall Keith Randy Orton (born April 1, 1980 in Knoxville, Tennessee), is an American professional wrestler, currently working for the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment . ...

External link

• WWE.com - Two out of three falls match description