10 Great Matches That Lasted An Hour Or Longer

Putting together a truly great professional wrestling match isn't an easy task at all. Ensuring that the story is told, the fans are connected and the in-ring work is solid isn't easy, and the longer a match goes on, the harder it can actually become to keep a crowd glued into what is happening.

Extra time might seem like a blessing, but when matches reach up to an hour, it is certainly very hard to keep them engaged. However, these 10 incredibly special matches prove that magic can take place when the right components come together for a match lasting an hour or more.

10 Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano vs Finn Balor vs Tommaso Ciampa (NXT, 9/1/20)

Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano vs Finn Balor vs Tommaso Ciampa Cropped

WWE decided to dedicate an entire episode of WWE NXT to one match in 2020, with a 60-minute Iron Man match to determine a new NXT Champion after the title had been vacated.

The match brought together four of the very best and all ex-NXT Champions and it created something very special. All of them brought their all, and even though it ended in a draw between Finn Balor and Adam Cole at two falls each, the match was still absolutely brilliant.

9 Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart (WrestleMania XII)

Of course, when it comes to Iron Man matches, it is impossible to overlook the classic encounter between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. The two major rivals competed together on The Grandest Stage of Them All and they went just over an hour.

While this was certainly a technically sound match, this match could have benefited from having a few more falls along the way. There was only one fall in the entire match, coming after the 60-minutes were over, which did make this quite a long and drawn-out battle.

8 Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness (ROH Epic Encounter II, 2006)

Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness always had very special chemistry together inside of the ring and had no problem putting together some incredibly physical matches. That was certainly the case with this one, which gave them tons of time to tell the story.

It was as hard-hitting as expected, with big slaps and headbutts as they held nothing back. They had fun callbacks to their previous bouts, which old-school fans certainly appreciated, as they worked a really strong match together.

7 Men's Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble, 2020)

The 2020 Royal Rumble match is one of the greatest of all time, with WWE putting this together perfectly. This match had everything, with Brock Lesnar dominating the first half of the match, telling some great stories with the likes of Keith Lee, Shelton Benjamin, and a cluster of his former rivals such as Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio.

Then the match really got going. Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns were key parts of this, with Edge's return being thrown in as well. This match has something for everyone and was a perfectly booked encounter.

6 Austin Aries vs Tyler Black (ROH Final Battle, 2009)

Ring Of Honor is a company that has had plenty of lengthy matches over time and one of those came when Austin Aries and Tyler Black (Seth Rollins) went to battle. Going to a 60-minute time limit draw, this match had everything.

There were near falls, submissions, great body manipulation as both men really did leave everything inside of the ring. It was an epic encounter and one that fans should certainly seek out.

5 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble, 1992)

When it comes to the Royal Rumble match, the 1992 classic is often considered to be the greatest of all time, and rightfully so. This match is an unbelievable one, with Ric Flair at the heart of everything that happens.

This is the Nature Boy at his very best, with everyone in the match targeting him, he has to work incredibly hard to fight the odds. It's perfect storytelling and giving him plenty of time to do that really worked well.

4 CM Punk vs Samoa Joe (ROH's Jow Vs. Punk II, 2004)

The fact that Ring Of Honor built the entire show around a rematch from a 60-minute match showed the pressure that was on this rematch, which went just as long. However, this one felt like a real step up in quality.

The two men went to war once again in what was another time limit draw. However, even though a clearer winner would have been nicer, the in-ring work really was tremendous here.

3 Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion, 2017)

New Japan Pro Wrestling often creates longer wrestling matches, and when two wrestlers as talented as Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada are given a full hour, it is always going to create something special.

They wrestled for an hour in what resulted in a time limit draw, and it really was an amazing example of how to use that time. Both men threw everything they had at each other, with neither having anything left to spare, which led to an incredibly impressive match.

2 Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar (SmackDown, 9/18/03)

This was an incredibly special match that really did deserve to be on some form of PPV. It brought two of the greatest wrestlers in history together, giving them an hour to tell a tremendous story, which is what they did.

Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar went to war here. It was a match that had everything from great physicality to technical mat-based wrestling. The intensity was very high and it led to an unbelievable match.

1 Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion 2018)

Every time Kenny Omega and Kuzhicka Okada lock horns, it typically leads to a very special encounter, and their match at Dominion 2018 was no different. This was rated an unbelievable seven stars by Dave Meltzer, proving just how unforgettable it was.

Kept at a high pace throughout, this match had some unbelievably hard-hitting action and really played on the match they had a year prior. However, instead of a time limit draw, this time Omega got his big victory, which just made this match more special.

NEXT: 10 Wrestlers You May Not Know Kenny Omega Has Wrestled