The history of the unsanctioned match sees wrestling promotions using it to add to a storyline. Companies will use that stipulation to pretend that they are not liable for the violence that goes down due to the bad blood established between the two. Fans can expect a lot of dangerous action to culminate a blood feud.
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WWE is the company most known for using this specific stipulation, but most other companies have experimented with them. The audience typically knows that the match is just another version of a No DQ match. Certain wrestlers are able to just have a great bout in the scenario. The following unsanctioned matches were the most compelling in wrestling history.
10 Seth Rollins Vs Triple H (WrestleMania 34)
A forgotten part of the Triple H vs Seth Rollins match at WrestleMania 34 was WWE making it an unsanctioned bout for the storyline. Rollins suffered an injury a few weeks before the match, but he was cleared in time to compete.
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WWE made it an unsanctioned match to play into Rollins not being 100% and having the odds stacked in Triple H's favor. The match was solid and helped add to the career of Rollins by defeating a legendary name on the biggest stage.
9 Jon Moxley Vs Joey Janela (AEW Fyter Fest 2019)
AEW has made the unsanctioned match a huge part of their promotion with the term 'Lights Out' match. The matches don’t even count in the win/loss records for the performers since Tony Khan wants to truly portray it as outside of company loopholes.
Jon Moxley and Joey Janela had the first Lights Out match in AEW to play into their backgrounds in hardcore wrestling. The match helped cement the new version of Moxley was going to be more captivating than his Dean Ambrose days.
8 Drake Maverick Vs Mike Bennett (205 Live)
The failed project of 205 Live unfortunately saw quite a few great matches being overlooked. WWE not putting much effort into making the weekly cruiserweight show work led to names like Drake Maverick and Mike Bennett trying to get their own feuds over on the fly.
Maverick stepped away from the authority figure role on the show and wrestled Bennett in an unsanctioned match to pay off their feud. Both men delivered arguably their best performance in WWE for an underrated violent brawl.
7 Kyle O'Reilly Vs Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver)
One of the final great feuds from the black and gold era of NXT featured Adam Cole betraying Undisputed Era and feuding with Kyle O’Reilly. The rivalry from Ring of Honor and PWG came to NXT when having a few major matches.
Cole and O’Reilly had a big unsanctioned match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver with the match being viewed as too dangerous to book officially. The big win for Kyle helped him get over as a singles star in a very good match.
6 Johnny Gargano Vs Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans)
The feud between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa saw their first match coming with the unsanctioned stipulation. Ciampa returned after a long stint out with an injury right after he turned on Gargano to end the DIY tag team.
NXT would not approve the match at TakeOver: New Orleans unless both men agreed to the unsanctioned match stipulation. Gargano defeated Ciampa in a war that lasted nearly 40 minutes and showed the story paying off in grand fashion.
5 Jon Moxley Vs Kenny Omega (AEW Full Gear 2019)
The debut of Jon Moxley in AEW set him on a collision course to feud with Kenny Omega multiple times over the first few years. Full Gear 2019 was their first match utilizing the Lights Out stipulation to main event the PPV over all the title matches.
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Moxley and Omega delivered a classic with Omega entering Moxley’s world of hardcore wrestling violence. The win was massive for Moxley, as it started his push to feud with Chris Jericho and win the AEW World Championship at the following PPV.
4 Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Jericho (Unforgiven 2008)
WWE witnessed one of the best rivalries in company history when Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels spent most of 2008 working against each other. Unforgiven 2008 felt like a blow off match when Michaels and Jericho bloodied each other in an unsanctioned match.
The match saw them showing the best-case scenario for a story based on personal animosity and violence. Michaels scoring the win was a great moment, but the feud continued since WWE had Jericho win the World Championship later that night in another match.
3 Thunder Rosa Vs Britt Baker (AEW Dynamite)
The historic Lights Out match between Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa on Dynamite helped both ladies get to the next step as singles stars. AEW gave them the main event spot and unsanctioned match stipulation to have a bloody brawl.
Rosa scored the huge victory to show she was a top face, but the performance of Baker helped her become the next AEW Women’s Champion based off the momentum. Fans are still discussing the hope for a rematch one year after such a special bout.
2 El Generico Vs Kevin Steen (ROH Final Battle 2010)
The long-time rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had its first major feud starting back in Ring of Honor. Previous names of Kevin Steen and El Generico saw the former betraying the latter to end their tremendous tag team run.
A full year of back and forth torment culminated in an unsanctioned match at Final Battle 2010. Steen put his ROH career on the line against Generico’s mask to make it even more important. The violent masterpiece is viewed as an all-time great ROH match won by Generico for the feel-good moment.
1 Shawn Michaels Vs Triple H (SummerSlam 2002)
Shawn Michaels returning to the ring in 2002 after over four years of retirement led to him feuding with Triple H. The long history of friendship was used in the angle for Michaels to face Triple H for the first time since he became a top star.
A great storyline to set up the SummerSlam 2002 bout led to the unsanctioned match stipulation to play into Michaels’ health. Triple H and Michaels each delivered among the best performances of their respective careers. The match was an instant classic won by Michaels, who showed he was still an elite performer in the squared circle.
