History LoopholeAbuse / ProfessionalWrestling

** Since 2018 the women have their own Rumble, held the same night. It's unknown if this trope works both ways, as of 2022 no male wrestler has tried to enter the women's Rumble[[note]]Santino Marella was in the 2020 women's Rumble as "Santina" in an obvious comedy spot, as a callback to "her" winning a women's battle royal at ''Wrestlemania XXV'', but no male has entered with the intention of actually winning[[/note]].

** Since 2018 the women have their own Rumble, held the same night. It's unknown if this trope works both ways, as of 2022 no male wrestler has tried to enter the women's Rumble.

** Turns out that although the Rumble winner ''may'' challenge any champion they choose, there ain't no rule saying they ''must'' challenge a title holder. When [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] emerged as the victor of the first ever Women's Royal Rumble, she was given her choice of: [[Wrestling/CharlotteFlair Charlotte Flair]] (RAW Women's Champ at the time), [[Wrestling/AlexaBliss Alexa Bliss]] (the SDL Women's Champ) and as a surprising [[TakeAThirdOption alternate choice]], the debuting-in-WWE [[Creator/RondaRousey Ronda Rousey]].

* There ain't no rule saying that whoever wins the Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank briefcase can't cash it in during the same pay-per-view in which they won it -- Wrestling/{{Kane}}, Wrestling/DeanAmbrose, Wrestling/AlexaBliss, and Wrestling/{{Bayley}} have all done this successfully.

* At the 2014 Royal Rumble, The Authority promised Wrestling/JohnCena that there wasn’t going to be any outside interference or added stipulations, except that the match was only going to be won by pinfall or submission. Unfortunately for Cena, he wasn't aware that that rule was implied to only apply ''to'' the Authority including Wrestling/TheShield, which they did [[CannotTellALie live up to their word]], because they didn’t mention anything about someone ''else'' interfering. [[spoiler: This cost Cena the match when the Wrestling/TheWyattFamily showed up.]] The next time, Wrestling/TripleH promised Cena and two others, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], a chance to take part in the Elimination Chamber Match via 6-man tag team match against. [[spoiler: However, Cena, Sheamus, Bryan got the [[WhosLaughingNow last laugh]] after the Wyatt Family did it again, costing the Shield the match via disqualification.]]

* In any match except for a No-DQ Match, the referee has the power to disqualify a competitor who 1) hits an opponent with a low blow or a "foreign object"; 2) benefits from a third party hitting the opponent on his or her behalf, even if he or she didn't want this to happen or never intended it; 3) refuses to release a submission hold on an opponent who has grabbed the ropes after a count of 10 (or 5 nowadays); or 4) hits the referee. However, precisely because the referee is granted the power to enforce these rules, then technically he or she has final word on the subject; simply put, the ''referee'' can violate the rules and simply not count it as a disqualification. (Well, not quite: a referee's decision can theoretically be overturned by the higher-ups; and, as Wrestling/BretHart proved at WCW's 1997 ''Starrcade'' technically speaking, the match does not end ''until the timekeeper rings the bell'', a fact that can be exploited to devastating effect; but in reality neither of these scenarios comes to pass for the most part.) Thus, there is no rule preventing a referee from knocking out a competitor he/she doesn't like, letting the other competitor cover him/her, and counting it as a victory. Strangely enough, this is a loophole [[MoralDissonance exploited by the faces more than the heels]].

* When Wrestling/BraunStrowman entered and won all by himself a tag team battle royal for the right to challenge Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]] for the [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] Tag Team Championship at Wrestling/WrestleMania 34, he was told he had to find a tag team partner for the title match. But nobody said his partner actually had to be a wrestler, so he simply picked out a 10-year-old boy from the crowd[[note]]actually the son of referee John Cone[[/note]] and proceeded to demolish the champions and win the titles on his own while the kid stood on the ring apron[[note]]Nicholas was tagged in at one point, but didn't actually do anything except tag Strowman back in[[/note]].

** As an addendum to this rule, the Money in the Bank holder must be the one to officially cash-in, or else the entire cash-in is invalidated. This rule actually helped Wrestling/TheMiz, as he had his friend Wrestling/JohnMorrison cash-in for him during the TLC PPV match between Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre and Wrestling/AJStyles, but failed to win the WWE Championship. When he pointed out that he didn't cash, he was given back his Money in the Bank opportunity the next week.

* When it comes to the Wrestling/EliminationChamber match, there is no rule that forbids one for a chance at any other Championship matches. Considering, this type of match is offered for those who failed to win a chance for a match up at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' via the ''Royal Rumble'' for a chance at another title match and the World and Heavyweight have been unified, there’s a chance to allow Intercontinental Championship or United States Championship to be offered this way, same goes with Divas.
* At the 2014 Royal Rumble, Wrestling/JohnCena learned there wasn’t going to be any outside interference or added stipulations but the match was only going to be won by pinfall or submission, which The Authority promised. Unfortunately for Cena, he wasn't aware that rule was implied for the Authority including Wrestling/TheShield, which they did [[CannotTellALie live up to their word]], because they didn’t mention “who” would be that interference. [[spoiler: This cost Cena the match when the Wrestling/TheWyattFamily showed up.]] The next time, Wrestling/TripleH promised Cena and two others, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], a chance to take part in the Elimination Chamber Match via 6-man tag team match against. [[spoiler: However, Cena, Sheamus, Bryan got the [[WhosLaughingNow last laugh]] after the Wyatt Family did it again, costing the Shield the match via disqualification.]]
* At ''Extreme Rules 2012'', there was a Table Match between Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/CodyRhodes in which the winning stipulation was to have someone thrown through a table to win. However, They didn't specify ''how'' the table could be broken, which is why Cody won when he kicked Big Show as he attempted to get back into the ring, ''stepping on'' and breaking the table. Show's OhCrap look when he broke it and the ring announcers' total disbelief over it is priceless.

* Rollins also invoked (he never actually mentioned it, but the commentators did) a particularly sneaky one in his WWE Championship match with Wrestling/RandyOrton, where he was granted a stipulation and he chose to set the rule that "the RKO is banned." The beauty of this rule (which Rollins may or may not have been aware of when he made it, but he was certainly aware of it when the time came), is that signature moves are often just standard, classic moves named after the Superstar using them; in this case, the RKO is merely Orton's term for the "jumping cutter" move. Therefore, an RKO is only an RKO if ''Randy Orton'' performs it - or, at its broadest, if someone whose first name begins with the letter R performs it. "Seth" does ''not'' begin with an R; therefore, he was able to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard use a jumping cutter on Orton and call it an "SKO."]] (Of course, Rollins had the backing of Wrestling/TheAuthority anyway, which meant that [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he could just have them invalidate the rule]] even if someone had found a way to close the loophole.)

* This is the main reason why Wrestling/ReyMysterio was allowed to keep his mask in WWE in spite of the fact that he was unmasked in WCW. He was unmasked as Rey Misterio ''Jr.''[[note]]The "i" is the correct Spanish spelling; it was changed to be spelled with a "y" in WWE to make the connection to the English word mystery more apparent[[/note]], and by dropping the "Jr." In his ring name, he was representing his uncle's image on TV [[note]]His uncle, the original Rey Misterio, was unmasked in 1988 and had never re-masked. Enough time had passed, however, so he was allowed to re-mask if he ever so chose, which he did as part of the plan.[[/note]]. At least, that's the ''official'' ruling -- the reality is because Wrestling/EricBischoff's handling of his unmasking was extremely disrespectful, especially when his reasoning for doing so was that masked wrestlers weren't "marketable" (which, as the thousands of Rey Mysterio masks amongst legions of WWE fans can tell you, is the ''farthest'' from the truth). This angered the commission enough to allow Rey to re-mask without any repercussions. (Even then- Mysterio would wrestle under the mask in the United States and in most countries, but wrestled unmasked in events in Mexico, either past WCW's closing or in WWE, until 2006, passing the time period given before a unmasked wrestler is allowed to re-mask.)

*** Wrestling/KofiKingston has made a RunningGag out of avoiding elimination this way: He landed on his hands and ''handstand-walked'' back to the ring in 2012 (winning a Slammy for it). Then, in 2013, he was thrown from the ring to the announcer's table, stole JBL's chair and ''bunny-hopped'' back. In 2014, he landed on the barricade and did a running jump to the ring apron. In 2015 and 2016 he received unexpected help first from the Rosebuds, who caught him instead of Wrestling/AdamRose, and the following year from his teammates in Wrestling/TheNewDay, who paraded him around on their shoulders outside the ring.

* On the 2/5/01 edition of Raw Is War, Vince [=McMahon=] announced a Three Stages of Hell match between Steve Austin and Triple H at ''Wtestling/NoWayOut'' to settle their differences. [=McMahon=] then instituted a "zero tolerance" decree and said that if either man attacked the other before No Way Out, Austin would lose his Wrestling/WrestleMania match and Triple H would be suspended for six months. After Austin signed his name on paper, Triple H struck him in the back of the head with the clipboard and assaulted him. He then pointed out to an irate [=McMahon=] that ''he'' still had to sign the contract (which he then did) before it became effective.

* Subverted in a 1997 angle where Eric Bischoff got a "restraining order" against the Giant banning the latter from getting within 50 feet of Bischoff. When the Giant breaks it, he is arrested. The next week, Bischoff storms out to ringside, then demands the giant be arrested for being within 50 feet. Barely able to keep a straight face, the head cop dryly tells Bischoff that a restraining order violation doesn't count when it's the ''restrainee'' breaking it.

*** Look closely during the 1997 Rumble and you can catch Austin diving under the ropes after Ahmed Johnson chases Faarooq away from the ring.

*** Also allowed were trading numbers, though naturally someone at 30 very likely wouldn't unless they were offered a ''very'' large sum of money...now, [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase add a gimmick]] that revolved around being wealthy enough to throw around Benjamins like confetti, and you have the plot of the original Royal Rumble PPV's match.

* The Rumble is also open to any human being on the planet Earth. So in 2001, actor Drew Carey was able to be entered despite not even being a WWE employee!
* One of the main rules of the Royal Rumble Match, for an entrant to be eliminated both feet have to touch the ground after being toss over the top rope. However, many wrestlers got around some loopholes:

*** Those who aren't entrants can do this too, just as long as the referees don't see them. At the 1999, The Undertaker simply had the room darken in order to have [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield The]] [[Wrestling/RonSimmons Acolytes]] and [[Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness Mideon]] to go get Mabel [[spoiler: in order to turn him into Viscera]].
** Two: ''Both'' feet have to be on the ground in order to count. At the 1995 Royal Rumble, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels had one foot after being tossed over the top ropes by [[Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith The British Bulldog]] but not the other one, which was still in the ring.
** Three: The feet have to be on the mat to count as an elimination, but there are no rules against any method to avoid elimination, including:

*** A famous example of this was in the 1999 Royal Rumble when both Steve Austin and Wrestling/VinceMcMahon went through the ropes and returned later on, though the latter had help in hopes of keeping the former from returning (which can also get you eliminated). [[spoiler: It didn’t work, as Austin was able to return by driving an ambulance while The Undertaker was taking Mabel]].

* At ''Extreme Rules 2012'', there was a Table Match between Wrestling/TheBigShow and Wrestling/CodyRhodes in which the winning stipulation was to have someone thrown through a table to win. However, They didn't specify ''how'' the table could be broken, which is why Cody won when he kicked Big Show as he attempted to get back into the ring, ''stepping on'' and breaking the table. Show's OhCrap look when he broke it and the ring announcers' total disbelief over it is priceless.

* At the 2014 Royal Rumble, Wrestling/JohnCena learned there wasn’t going to be any outside interference or added stipulations but the match was going only to win by pinfall or submission, which The Authority promised. Unfortunately for Cena, he wasn't aware that rule was implied for the Authority including Wrestling/TheShield, which they did [[CannotTellALie live up to their word]], because they didn’t mention “who” would be that interference. [[spoiler: This cost Cena the match when the Wrestling/TheWyattFamily showed up.]] The next, Wrestling/TripleH promised Cena and two others, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], a chance to take part in the Elimination Chamber Match via 6-man tag team match against. [[spoiler: However, Cena, Sheamus, Bryan got the [[WhosLaughingNow last laugh]] after the Wyatt Family did it again, costing the Shield the match via disqualification.]]
* At ''Extreme Rules 2012'', there was a Table Match between Wrestling/TheBigShow and Wrestling/CodyRhodes in which the winning stipulation was to have someone thrown through a table to win. However, They didn't specify ''how'' the table cold be broken, which is why Cody won when he kicked Big Show as he attempted to get back into the ring, stepping on and ''breaking'' the table. Show's OhCrap look when he broke it and the ring announcers' total disbelief over it is priceless.
* In two different Last Man Standing matches, one between John Cena and Batista at Extreme Rules 2010, and another between Alberto Del Rio and Big Show at Royal Rumble 2013, Cena and Del Rio won their respective matches [[DuctTapeForEverything by using duct tape]] on their legs inside the ring post to keep their opponents from being able to stand up by the count of 10. There is no rule against doing this, and other than the losers whining about their losses, nothing was done to make this illegal.

* In any match except for a No-DQ Match, the referee has the power to disqualify a competitor who 1) hits an opponent with a low blow or a "foreign object"; 2) benefits from a third party hitting the opponent on his or her behalf, even if he or she didn't want this to happen or never intended it; 3) refuses to release a submission hold on an opponent who has grabbed the ropes after a count of 10; or 4) hits the referee. However, precisely because the referee is granted the power to enforce these rules, then technically he or she has final word on the subject; simply put, the ''referee'' can violate the rules and simply not count it as a disqualification. (Well, not quite: a referee's decision can theoretically be overturned by the higher-ups; and, as Wrestling/BretHart proved at WCW's 1997 ''Starrcade'' technically speaking, the match does not end ''until the timekeeper rings the bell'', a fact that can be exploited to devastating effect; but in reality neither of these scenarios comes to pass for the most part.) Thus, there is no rule preventing a referee from knocking out a competitor he/she doesn't like, letting the other competitor cover him/her, and counting it as a victory. Strangely enough, this is a loophole [[MoralDissonance exploited by the faces more than the heels]].

* ''Wrestling/LuchaUnderground'' wrestler Pentagon Jr. gets around his contract's television/PPV exclusivity clause to promote himself by having a friend or fellow wrestler film a fan cam version of his matches and then live streams them onto Facebook.

* When Wrestling/BraunStrowman entered and won all by himself a tag team battle royal for the right to challenge Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]] for the [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] Tag Team Championship at Wrestling/WrestleMania 34, he was told he had to find a tag team partner for the title match. But nobody said his partner actually had to be a wrestler, so he simply picked out a 10-year-old boy from the crowd and proceeded to demolish the champions and win the titles on his own while the kid stood on the ring apron.

* On the 2/5/01 edition of Raw Is War, Vince [=McMahon=] announced a Three Stages of Hell match between Steve Austin and Triple H at ''Wtestling/NoWayOut'' to settle their differences. [=McMahon=] then instituted a "zero tolerance" decree and said that if either man attacked the other before No Way Out, Austin would lose his Wrestling/WrestleMania match and Triple H would be suspended for six months. After Austin signed his name on paper, Triple H struck him in the back of the head with the clipboard and assaulted him. He then revealed to an irate [=McMahon=] that he still had to sign the contract, which he then did.