The first "I quit" match was in the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)/
Jim Crockett Promotions at
Starrcade on November 28, 1985.
Magnum T. A. defeated
Tully Blanchard in a match (with a cage around the ring) for Blanchard's
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Near the end of that match, Magnum used a piece of wood with a nail in it to pierce Blanchard's forehead. At that point, Blanchard screamed "Yes! Yes!" into the microphone, indicating that he was conceding the match, awarding Magnum the championship. One of the most famous "I quit" matches took place on January 24, 1999, at the
Royal Rumble between
The Rock and
Mick Foley (as Mankind) in the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) for the
WWF Championship. The match lasted just over 20 minutes, ending after Foley took eleven unprotected chair shots to the head while his hands were
handcuffed behind his back. The Rock eventually won the match, but it was later revealed that Foley was completely unconscious and The Rock had played a tape of Foley's concession announcement over the
public address system. "I quit" matches involving
women have been rare. At
No Mercy on October 19, 2003, there was an
intergender match between WWE chairman
Vince McMahon and his daughter
Stephanie partly under "I quit" rules. However, the match was decided when Stephanie's mother
Linda threw in the towel for her daughter, giving Vince the victory. On the May 14, 2009 episode of
Impact,
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) put on its first "I quit" match, where
Booker T defeated
Jethro Holiday after an
axe kick. On the May 4, 2016 episode of
Lucha Underground,
Sexy Star defeated
Mariposa in the promotion's first "I quit" match, known in Spanish as a "no mas" ("no more") match. An "I respect you" match is a variation of the "I quit" match where the winning concession was "I respect you". The first "I respect you" match was held in
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at
SuperBrawl VI on February 11, 1996, and pitted
Brian Pillman and
Kevin Sullivan. At the end of the match, Pillman conceded by saying "I respect you, bookerman!". In doing so, Pillman broke
kayfabe as Sullivan was also WCW
booker at the time. One January 17, 2017 episode of
WWE 205 Live,
Jack Gallagher defeated
Ariya Daivari in an "I forfeit" match where that phrase was the conceding phrase. == Matches ==