Monster's Ball is a hardcore match staged by IMPACT Wrestling. Originally, the key premise of the match was that all contenders were sequestered alone in a locked room without light, food or water for twenty-four hours before the match. This stipulation is intended to induce extreme feelings of aggression in the competitors. Once released, the wrestlers fight one another in a no disqualification match, with the usage of weapons encouraged. Victory can be achieved by pinfall or submission, with the match ending as soon as one wrestler is pinned or submits (there is no elimination format). The locked away stipulation was simply forgotten about, however, and not mentioned since the sixth one. It is now simply a street fight, as the match has to end inside the ring.
Due to the hardcore nature of the match, the Monster's Ball typically features numerous high spots. There have been 51 matches conducted by IMPACT Wrestling, with several unaffiliated independent promotions hosting the match as well. The match has almost always featured Abyss in some capacity. Having wrestled in 49 of 51 matches in IMPACT Wrestling and managing in one, it is his signature match. There are various weapons frequently used in the match, including thumb tacks, "Janice" (A 2x4 covered with nails, Abyss's signature weapon) and beds of barbed wires.
Match history[]
| # | Match | Event | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monty Brown defeated Raven and Abyss | Victory Road | November 7, 2004 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 2 | Rhino defeated Abyss, Sabu and Jeff Hardy | Bound for Glory | October 23, 2005 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 3 | Samoa Joe defeated Abyss and Rhino | House show | June 10, 2006 | Wayne, New Jersey | |
| 4 | Rhino defeated Abyss | House show | September 29, 2006 | Richmond, Virginia | |
| 5 | Samoa Joe defeated Brother Runt, Raven and Abyss | Bound for Glory | October 22, 2006 | Plymouth Township, Michigan | Jake "The Snake" Roberts was the special guest referee |
| 6 | Abyss defeated Raven, Black Reign and Rhino | Bound for Glory | October 14, 2007 | Duluth, Georgia | |
| 7 | Beer Money, Inc. (w/ Jacqueline) (c) defeated Abyss and Matt Morgan, Team 3D and the Latin American Xchange to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship | Bound for Glory IV | October 12, 2008 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois | Steve "Mongo" McMichael was the special guest referee |
| 8 | Taylor Wilde defeated Daffney (w/ Abyss and Dr. Stevie) | Sacrifice | May 24, 2009 | Orlando, Florida | First ever Knockouts Monster's Ball match |
| 9 | Abyss and Taylor Wilde defeated Raven and Daffney (w/ Dr. Stevie) | Slammiversary | June 21, 2009 | Auburn Hills, Michigan | First ever mixed tag team Monster's Ball match |
| 10 | Abyss defeated Mick Foley | Bound for Glory | October 18, 2009 | Irvine, California | Dr. Stevie was the special guest referee for the match |
| 11 | Abyss defeated Rhino | House show | November 9, 2009 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| 12 | A.J. Styles defeated Abyss | TNA iMPACT! | May 3, 2010 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 13 | Abyss defeated Desmond Wolfe | Slammiversary VIII | June 13, 2010 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 14 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | July 2, 2010 | Brooklyn, New York | |
| 15 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | July 23, 2010 | Bloomington, Illinois | |
| 16 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | July 24, 2010 | LaPorte, Indiana | |
| 17 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | August 13, 2010 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | |
| 18 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | August 14, 2010 | Thibodaux, Louisiana | Mick Foley was the special guest referee |
| 19 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | September 16, 2010 | York, Pennsylvania | |
| 20 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | House show | September 17, 2010 | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | |
| 21 | Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss | House show | September 23, 2010 | New York City, New York | Mick Foley was the special guest referee |
| 22 | Abyss defeated Tommy Dreamer | House show | September 25, 2010 | Rahway, New Jersey | |
| 23 | Rob Van Dam defeated Abyss | Bound for Glory | October 10, 2010 | Daytona Beach, Florida | |
| 24 | Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss | House show | October 15, 2010 | Racine, Wisconsin | |
| 25 | Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss | House show | October 16, 2010 | Dubuque, Iowa | |
| 26 | Tommy Dreamer defeated Abyss | House show | October 17, 2010 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois | Mick Foley was the special guest referee |
| 27 | Abyss defeated Sabu | House show | October 21, 2010 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | |
| 28 | Abyss defeated Sabu | House show | October 22, 2010 | Cadillac, Michigan | |
| 29 | Abyss defeated Sabu | House show | October 23, 2010 | Saginaw, Michigan | |
| 30 | Abyss defeated Sabu | House show | October 24, 2010 | Port Huron, Michigan | |
| 31 | Abyss defeated Tommy Dreamer | House show | April 9, 2011 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
| 32 | Abyss defeated Bully Ray | Genesis | January 8, 2012 | Orlando, Florida | As per stipulation of the match, had Abyss lost, he would have had to rejoin Immortal |
| 33 | Joseph Park defeated Judas Mesias (w/ James Mitchell) | One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2 | July 5, 2013 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 34 | Joseph Park defeated Bad Influence | Impact Wrestling | December 26, 2013 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 35 | Abyss defeated Eric Young | Impact Wrestling | February 6, 2014 | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 36 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | One Night Only: #OldSchool | February 7, 2014 | Poughkeepsie, New York | |
| 37 | Eric Young (c) defeated Abyss | Impact Wrestling | April 17, 2014 | Orlando, Florida | Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship |
| 38 | Magnus and Bram defeated Abyss and Willow | Impact Wrestling | June 26, 2014 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | |
| 39 | Bram defeated Abyss | Impact Wrestling | August 7, 2014 | New York, New York | |
| 40 | Bram defeated Abyss | One Night Only: Turning Point | January 9, 2015 | Charlottesville, Virginia | |
| 41 | Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss | Impact Wrestling | January 30, 2015 | New York, New York | |
| 42 | Eric Young defeated Abyss | One Night Only: Rivals | February 6, 2015 | Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina | |
| 43 | Matt Hardy defeated Abyss | One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2015 | February 13, 2015 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 44 | Abyss defeated Grado | One Night Only: Live! | January 8, 2016 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | |
| 45 | The Wolves (c) defeated Decay (w/ Rosemary) | Impact Wrestling | February 16, 2016 | Manchester, England | Match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship |
| 46 | Decay (c) (w/ Rosemary) defeated The BroMans (w/ Raquel) | Impact Wrestling | July 28, 2016 | Orlando, Florida | Match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship |
| 47 | Rosemary (c) defeated Jade | Impact Wrestling: Genesis | January 26, 2017 | Orlando, Florida | Match for the IMPACT Knockouts Championship |
| 48 | Abyss (w/ James Mitchell) defeated Grado | Bound for Glory | November 5, 2017 | Ottawa, Canada | Since Grado lost, his work visa is terminated and must leave the U.S. |
| 49 | Kongo Kong defeated Abyss | Impact Wrestling | March 22, 2018 | Orlando, Florida | |
| 50 | Eli Drake defeated Abyss | Homecoming | January 6, 2019 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| 51 | Taya Valkyrie (c) defeated Havok, Rosemary and Su Yung | Slammiversary XVII | July 7, 2019 | Dallas, Texas | Match for the IMPACT Knockouts Championship |
| 52 | Savannah Evans defeated Alisha Edwards, Jordynne Grace, and Kimber Lee | Knockouts Knockdown | October 9, 2021 | Nashville, Tennessee | Tribute to Shannon "Daffney" Spruill |
| 53 | PCO defeated JONAH | IMPACT! | May 5, 2022 | Poughkeepsie, New York | |
| 54 | Sami Callihan defeated Moose | Slammiversary | June 19, 2022 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| 55 | Masha Slamovich defeated Allie Katch | IMPACT! | September 29, 2022 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| 56 | Trey Migeul (c) defeated Crazzy Steve | IMPACT! | February 23, 2023 | Kissimmee, Florida | Match for the IMPACT X Division Championship |
| 57 | PCO defeated Moose, Steve Maclin and Rhino | Bound for Glory | October 21, 2023 | Chicago, Illnois | |
| 58 | PCO defeated Kon | iMPACT! | April 11, 2024 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |