History Main / SquashMatch

* Comics/Film example: Immediately after discovering he has super-powers, [[Franchise/{{SpiderMan}} Peter Parker]] goes up against a pro wrestler (Bonesaw in the movie, "Crusher" Hogan in the comics), whose promoter is offering a cash prize to anyone who can stay in the ring with him for five minutes. Until Parker makes a fool of him, naturally no one can, and in the film his competitors appear to be genuinely badly injured. Because everyone knows that stuff is for real....
** [[LongStory Professional wrestling is real in the Marvel Universe... well it was]]. Besides, Hogan/Bone Crusher was part of a hooking scam. Not a professional wrestling organization but people make that mistake since hooking has largely vanished.

** Although in the Warrior's case, squashes were necessary as he was in such poor condition from steroid abuse that his ring entrance (a sprint to the ring) would leave him breathless and exhausted. There's a reason his generally-considered best match (Against Wrestling/RandySavage at ''[=WrestleMania=] VII'', which went a shade over 20 minutes) had the Warrior WALK to the ring to start it.

This tactic was most in vogue during the late Eighties and early Nineties, where top stars retained their star power by being fed a steady supply of rookies while their upcoming opponents were groomed in the short-term by the same method. A typical episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} WWF/E Monday Night Raw]]'' during that time would consist of four to five short squash matches, and one main event that would usually be either a squash by a top-level star or end in a non-finish. The [[ButtMonkey faceless losers]] that were on the receiving end of these matches were euphemistically referred to as "enhancement talent" (aka {{Jobber}}s, as in "doing the job", 'cuz someone has to lose), with [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/jobbers/jotw/ a handful gaining cult fame or even making entire careers out of it]].[[labelnote:note]]In professional wrestling, the majority of work is usually done by the person ''receiving'' the moves rather than the person performing them: setting up the move, executing the move in a safe fashion for both wrestlers and making it look like the move was effective. Because this skill set is so critically important, this can lead to a strange phenomenon where the perpetual losers are actually ''better'' at their jobs than the winners, and stay losers because they're so good at making others look better.[[/labelnote]]

* Most recently, [[Wrestling/AlexanderRusev Alexander Rusev]] has been like this since his January 2014 main roster debut.

* A type of "squash match" is very frequently seen in sports – most often, the high school and collegiate levels – although these aren't referred to as squash matches, although it is almost always an assured win for the team by a sizable margin. Still, the resemblance is uncanny: A team – often in an early-season exhibition or non-conference or game – will play against an overmatched opponent. These games often allow players to practice plays and skills in actual game situations and gain confidence, plus help coaches to assess talent of both starters and reserves (frequently, a junior varsity player will see quite a bit of action) and determine regular-game rotations, things the team needs to work on and so forth prior to playing the "meat" – i.e., conference portion – of their schedule.

An over-abundance of squash matches were also one of the reasons why Wrestling/{{WWE}} lost their lead in the ratings battle with WCW for over a year, as their predictable and boring squashes were forced to compete with Monday Nitro's packed card of quality, competitive matches every week. Wrestling/{{WWE}} was eventually forced to change their tactics and ditch their reliance on squashes for their main television programs, although their C-level shows (e.g. Superstars, Sunday Night Heat, Velocity) would continue the old ways.

Compare CurbStompBattle and TheWorfEffect. Not to be confused with the racket and ball sport known as squash.

* The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior has had some high-profile squashes. At ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}}'' in 1988, he beat the Honky-Tonk Man in 30 seconds to end Honky's 454-day reign as Intercontinental Champion. On ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', evil Japanese wrestler Mr. Fuji boasted that he had acquired an unbeatable martial arts master named "Super Ninja" and played it up as though it were to be a massive challenge, but the match ended up being a squash that ended in less than 2-1/2 minutes (No explanation was ever offered, but it was possible that the "Super Ninja" was a last minute substitution for a challenger who no-showed). Then, at ''[=WrestleMania=] XII'', he defeated a young Wrestling/TripleH in less than 2 minutes after being hit with a Pedigree and [[NoSell no-selling it]].

** "Bully For Bugs." Although it has nothing to do with wrestling, the "squash" part comes early in the cartoon, where a magnificent bull is able to easily defeat a cowardly matador.

* At [=WrestleMania=] [=XXIV=], Wrestling/{{Kane}} defeated [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ecw/ecw-h.html WWE ECW Heavyweight Champion]] Chavo Guerrero for the title in ''ten seconds''. '''''Ouch.'''''

** The fallout from the squash match, however, proved to have a much more positive impact than the actual match itself had a negative one, as Daniel Bryan and his "Yes!" catchphrase would ride the negative publicity to ever greater popularity. The very next night on Raw, the Miami crowd was chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" all night long, and Bryan even outpopped ''a returning Brock Lesnar''. Bryan was quickly put in a feud with CM Punk for the WWE Title. Wrestling/AJLee's involvement in the feud propelled her into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company. Then Wrestling/{{Kane}} got involved, and that made ''him'' the most over he's been in years and led to the formation of the ultra-popular Wrestling/TeamHellNo. Then AJ got involved with Dolph Ziggler, and her popularity helped his exponentially. As for Bryan? Nothing special; just two reigns as the ''''WWE champion''''.

** The fallout from the squash match, however, proved to have a much more positive impact than the actual match itself had a negative one, as Daniel Bryan and his "Yes!" catchphrase would ride the negative publicity to ever greater popularity. The very next night on Raw, the Miami crowd was chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" all night long, and Bryan even outpopped ''a returning Brock Lesnar''. Bryan was quickly put in a feud with CM Punk for the WWE Title. Wrestling/AJLee's involvement in the feud propelled her into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company. Then Wrestling/{{Kane}} got involved, and that made ''him'' the most over he's been in years and led to the formation of the ultra-popular Wrestling/TeamHellNo. Then AJ got involved with Dolph Ziggler, and her popularity helped his exponentially. As for Bryan? Nothing special; just two reigns as the ''WWE champion''.

** The fallout from the squash match, however, proved to have a much more positive impact than the actual match itself had a negative one, as Daniel Bryan and his "Yes!" catchphrase would ride the negative publicity to ever greater popularity. The very next night on Raw, the Miami crowd was chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" all night long, and Bryan even outpopped ''a returning Brock Lesnar''. Bryan was quickly put in a feud with CM Punk for the WWE Title. Wrestling/AJLee's involvement in the feud propelled her into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company. Then Wrestling/{{Kane}} got involved, and that made ''him'' the most over he's been in years and led to the formation of the ultra-popular Wrestling/TeamHellNo. Then AJ got involved with Dolph Ziggler, and her popularity helped his exponentially. As for Bryan? Nothing special; just two reigns as the '''WWE CHAMPION'''.

** The fallout from the squash match, however, proved to have a much more positive impact than the actual match itself had a negative one, as Daniel Bryan and his "Yes!" catchphrase would ride the negative publicity to ever greater popularity. The very next night on Raw, the Miami crowd was chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" all night long, and Bryan even outpopped ''a returning Brock Lesnar''. Bryan was quickly put in a feud with CM Punk for the WWE Title. Wrestling/AJLee's involvement in the feud propelled her into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company.

* A particularly abhorrent one occurred at [=WrestleMania 28=], when Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} squashed [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html Heavyweight Champion]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] in 18 seconds. The match was so anti-climatic and the result so detestable[[labelnote:*]](At that time, Daniel Bryan was blazing hot as a self-obsessed {{Heel}} whose dorky, over-the-top celebrations sparked the "Yes! Yes! Yes!" phenomenon. Sheamus was less popular by comparison, but still regarded by many as a good worker and an excellent opponent for Bryan. They were expected to have a classic, well-fought match, with the anticipation heightened by the fact that the Bryan/Sheamus title match at the ''last'' Wrestlemania was unfairly bumped to "dark match" status.)[[/labelnote]] that it severely deflated the audience for the next two matches and led to an InternetBackdraft. The worst part was that the Wrestling/{{WWE}} were ''trying'' to create a "Wrestlemania Moment" by having Sheamus break the record for the shortest ever Wrestlemania title match, and ''they failed to beat it'', rendering the entire exercise a complete waste. The only upside is that Daniel Bryan rode the negative publicity to ever greater {{Heel}}dom and popularity, which in turn propelled Wrestling/AJLee into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company.

* LooneyTunes and MerrieMelodies:
** "Bunny Hugged," an early 1950s portrait of professional wrestling starring Bugs Bunny. Here, the short's main villain, the Crusher (a MonsterHeel) pummels Gorgeous George-clone Ravishing Ronald into brutal submission; when Ronald's cries for help go unanswered, Ronald's "mascot" (Bugs) decides to step in. (Bugs, who initially steps in as "The Masked Terror," is knocked around early in the bout, but eventually gets the upper hand.)

* Not uncommon in MixedMartialArts organizations that are trying to push the popularity of a fighter or "season" a rising star. The star is matched against an obviously inferior fighter, sometimes called a "tomato can" or "can," for an easy win. The Japanese promotion PRIDE FC was particularly fond of this trope, often padding out the resumes of its star fighters like Fedor Emelianenko with matches against popular but vastly outmatched Japanese professional wrestlers. The UFC is also not immune to this practice. For example, the 12-0 British rising star Michael Bisping was matched in his third UFC fight against 8-9-2 Elvis Sinosic.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/DennisTheMenace Dennis the Menace]]'': The 1986 animated series had an episode where Dennis discovers a medieval warrior named Thor in a block of ice, thaws him out, becomes friends with him and raises havoc all over town. The segment ends at a pro wrestling match, where a MonsterHeel is making mincemeat out of a hapless challenger in a championship bout, after which he heckles the crowd and demands a real challenge. Thor immediately accepts, makes short work of the monster heel and wins the match … and shockingly the title (even though he was not a wrestler signed to the organization). (Perhaps this was a nod to the hype involving then-WWF newcomer HulkHogan challenging and ultimately beating champion [[Wrestling/TheIronSheik The Iron Sheik]] for the title, just days after arriving in the WWF).

** It's just how WWE gets debuting (or re-debuting) giants over. It's happened with Ezekiel Jackson, Vladimir Kozlov and Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} recently. She'll be built up to goddess-like status, and then have some real matches.

* A particularly abhorrent one occurred at [=WrestleMania 28=], when Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} squashed [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html WWE RAW World Heavyweight Champion]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] in 18 seconds. The match was so anti-climatic and the result so detestable[[labelnote:*]](At that time, Daniel Bryan was blazing hot as a self-obsessed {{Heel}} whose dorky, over-the-top celebrations sparked the "Yes! Yes! Yes!" phenomenon. Sheamus was less popular by comparison, but still regarded by many as a good worker and an excellent opponent for Bryan. They were expected to have a classic, well-fought match, with the anticipation heightened by the fact that the Bryan/Sheamus title match at the ''last'' Wrestlemania was unfairly bumped to "dark match" status.)[[/labelnote]] that it severely deflated the audience for the next two matches and led to an InternetBackdraft. The worst part was that the Wrestling/{{WWE}} were ''trying'' to create a "Wrestlemania Moment" by having Sheamus break the record for the shortest ever Wrestlemania title match, and ''they failed to beat it'', rendering the entire exercise a complete waste. The only upside is that Daniel Bryan rode the negative publicity to ever greater {{Heel}}dom and popularity, which in turn propelled Wrestling/AJLee into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company.

** Mikey Whipwreck was Old-School Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s King of the Squashes. His theme was Music/{{Beck}}'s "Loser". Wrestling/JoeyStyles lost it when Whipwreck ''got in an offensive move''. When he lucked into getting a title, he constantly begged ECW to take the belt off him, even getting a note from his mother about it. He 'won' his title defenses through a combination of run-ins, dumb luck and the occasional disqualification.

* The first big squash match was at the first [=WrestleMania=]. King Kong Bundy defeated SD Jones in an announced 9 seconds (though the match was actually 23 seconds from bell to bell).

* A particularly abhorrent one occurred at [=WrestleMania 28=], when Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} squashed [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-h.html WWE RAW World Heavyweight Champion]] [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] in 18 seconds. The match was so anti-climatic and the result so detestable[[labelnote:*]]At that time, Daniel Bryan was blazing hot as a self-obsessed {{Heel}} whose dorky, over-the-top celebrations sparked the "Yes! Yes! Yes!" phenomenon. Sheamus was less popular by comparison, but still regarded by many as a good worker and an excellent opponent for Bryan. They were expected to have a classic, well-fought match, with the anticipation heightened by the fact that the Bryan/Sheamus title match at the ''last'' Wrestlemania was unfairly bumped to "dark match" status.[[/labelnote]] that it severely deflated the audience for the next two matches and led to an InternetBackdraft. The worst part was that the Wrestling/{{WWE}} were ''trying'' to create a "Wrestlemania Moment" by having Sheamus break the record for the shortest ever Wrestlemania title match, and ''they failed to beat it'', rendering the entire exercise a complete waste. The only upside is that Daniel Bryan rode the negative publicity to ever greater {{Heel}}dom and popularity, which in turn propelled Wrestling/AJLee into becoming the most high-profile female performer in the company.

* The most satisfying squash in recent memory was [[Wrestling/{{LayCool}} Michelle [=McCool=]]] versus [[Characters/WWEDivas Mickie James]] for the Women's Championship at the 2010 ''Royal Rumble''. Resident BitchInSheepsClothing [=McCool=] had been taunting poor Mickie for weeks about being "[[HollywoodPudgy fat]]" (calling her "Piggie James") and had her henchwomen [[BreakTheCutie douse Mickie with punch and smash her face into a heavily frosted cake, causing Mickie to burst into tears and run out of the arena]]. [=McCool=] kept ranting about how she had embarrassed James right out of WWE, and had her best friend Layla mock her by wearing a fat suit and a pig snout. At the ''Royal Rumble'', [=McCool=] came out first and flat-out announced to the crowd that her opponent was too scared to show up. She and Layla were still gloating when a familiar musical theme hit and....MICKIE JAMES made an appearance on WWE programming for the first time in weeks! [=McCool=]'s jaw was still on the floor from shock when James knocked her out and pinned her to win the title in ''less than half a minute''. Michelle and Layla then were humiliated by Mickie and her friends with a big messy cake to the face in a splendid little PayEvilUntoEvil moment ([[MoralDissonance although some fans did not like it]]).

!Real Life

* Many wars throughout history have been examples of these.

The time it would take for a normal person to read this entry is about six times as long as the match HulkHogan had with Yokozuna for the title at [[WrestleMania WrestleMania IX]]. This is what is called a SquashMatch.

* On the other side of the spectrum, squash matches can be used to create a monster Face akin to a superhero who overcomes any and all odds set against him. Several of the most famous Face wrestlers have been created with this method, most notably Hulk Hogan (who was unstoppable once he Hulked Up, and the fans knew it) and Bill Goldberg (who accumulated a 173 match win streak, a number which was slightly inflated by {{WCW}} and consisted mostly of squash matches against low-card performers).

This tactic was most in vogue during the late Eighties and early Nineties, where top stars retained their star power by being fed a steady supply of rookies while their upcoming opponents were groomed in the short-term by the same method. A typical episode of Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s "Monday Night Raw" during that time would consist of four to five short squash matches, and one main event that would usually be either a squash by a top-level star or end in a non-finish. The [[ButtMonkey faceless losers]] that were on the receiving end of these matches were euphemistically referred to as "enhancement talent" (aka {{Jobber}}s, as in "doing the job", 'cuz someone has to lose), with [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/jobbers/jotw/ a handful gaining cult fame or even making entire careers out of it]].[[labelnote:note]]In professional wrestling, the majority of work is usually done by the person ''receiving'' the moves rather than the person performing them: setting up the move, executing the move in a safe fashion for both wrestlers and making it look like the move was effective. Because this skill set is so critically important, this can lead to a strange phenomenon where the perpetual losers are actually ''better'' at their jobs than the winners, and stay losers because they're so good at making others look better.[[/labelnote]]

It's worth pointing out that squash matches ''alone'' are usually a very poor way of getting a wrestler over. While it is true that if a wrestler never loses, he will inevitably get over with the fans, it usually takes either incredible charisma or superior ring ability to make your mark on the average wrestling fan. Contrast Bill Goldberg - whose sheer intensity during his matches was something truly special to behold - with Chris "The Masterpiece" Masters, who boasted a submission hold that was booked to be unbreakable yet was utterly unremarkable in every other area.

* Takeshi Morishima's Wrestling/RingOfHonor debut both plays it straight and averts this, as his in-ring debut consisted of him running into the ring, slugging an unprepared Pelle Primeau (who'd issued an open challenge to start the show), and then dropping him with the Backdrop Driver (a high angle belly-to-back suplex) for the pin in less than ten seconds; this is, however, the exception, making him nowhere near ''certain'' other wrestlers in terms of squashing others, and in the semi-main event of the same show Morishima would be choked out by the outgoing SamoaJoe.

* The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior has had some high-profile squashes. At Summerslam in 1988, he beat the Honky-Tonk Man in 30 seconds to end Honky's 454-day reign as Intercontinental Champion. On ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', evil Japanese wrestler Mr. Fuji boasted that he had acquired an unbeatable martial arts master named "Super Ninja" and played it up as though it were to be a massive challenge, but the match ended up being a squash that ended in less than 2-1/2 minutes (No explanation was ever offered, but it was possible that the "Super Ninja" was a last minute substitution for a challenger who no-showed). Then, at Wrestlemania XII, he defeated a young Wrestling/TripleH in less than 2 minutes after being hit with a Pedigree and [[NoSell no-selling it]].
** Although in the Warrior's case, squashes were necessary as he was in such poor condition from steroid abuse that his ring entrance (a sprint to the ring) would leave him breathless and exhausted. There's a reason his generally-considered best match (Against Wrestling/RandySavage at Wrestlemania 7, which went a shade over 20 minutes) had the Warrior WALK to the ring to start it.

** Mikey Whipwreck was Old-School ECW's King of the Squashes. His theme was Music/{{Beck}}'s "Loser". Wrestling/JoeyStyles lost it when Whipwreck ''got in an offensive move''. When he lucked into getting a title, he constantly begged ECW to take the belt off him, even getting a note from his mother about it. He 'won' his title defenses through a combination of run-ins, dumb luck and the occasional disqualification.

* When Big Daddy V (a.k.a. Mabel, King Mabel and Viscera) was being pushed on [[InNameOnly ECW]] he once won a ''Three-on-One'' SquashMatch. Said one reviewer, [[AC: "Winner -- Big Daddy V, via murder"]].

* The most satisfying squash in recent memory was [[Wrestling/{{LayCool}} Michelle [=McCool=]]] versus Wrestling/MickieJames for the Women's Championship at the 2010 ''Royal Rumble''. Resident BitchInSheepsClothing [=McCool=] had been taunting poor Mickie for weeks about being "[[HollywoodPudgy fat]]" (calling her "Piggie James") and had her henchwomen [[BreakTheCutie douse Mickie with punch and smash her face into a heavily frosted cake, causing Mickie to burst into tears and run out of the arena]]. [=McCool=] kept ranting about how she had embarrassed James right out of WWE, and had her best friend Layla mock her by wearing a fat suit and a pig snout. At the ''Royal Rumble'', [=McCool=] came out first and flat-out announced to the crowd that her opponent was too scared to show up. She and Layla were still gloating when a familiar musical theme hit and....MICKIE JAMES made an appearance on WWE programming for the first time in weeks! [=McCool=]'s jaw was still on the floor from shock when James knocked her out and pinned her to win the title in ''less than half a minute''. Michelle and Layla then were humiliated by Mickie and her friends with a big messy cake to the face in a splendid little PayEvilUntoEvil moment ([[MoralDissonance although some fans did not like it]]).
* Wrestling/{{Chyna}} vs. Ivory at [=WrestleMania XVII=]. Chyna just utterly destroyed Ivory, smiling the entire time like she was throwing around a doll, and then she finished her with a powerbomb. Chyna went for the pin, pulled Ivory up at the count of two, and then opted to gorilla press a defenseless Ivory to a cheering crowd. Then, without turning around to face her again, Chyna sat down and "pinned" Ivory simply by leaning back on her like Ivory was the back of a reclining chair, as the ref counted to 3.

* At Survivor Series 1998, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock's]] first round opponent was supposed to be TripleH (a no-show because of a knee injury), but he instead got Wrestling/BigBossman by surprise. The moment Big Boss Man entered the ring, the bell rang, and The Rock put him in an inside cradle. The referee counted 1, 2, 3 and the match was over. It lasted ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0QbBQGj47M three seconds]]''. This would turn out to all be [[KansasCityShuffle part of the plan]], as The Rock would [[FaceHeelTurn turn heel]] after winning the championship against [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] later that night with [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]]'s help in a parody of the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob; in a reference to how much The Rock was loathed early in his career, the people screwed the people. Needless to say, no one [[DidntSeeThatComing really saw that coming]].
* Wrestling/{{TNA}}, ''Victory Road 2011'': In the main event, Wrestling/{{Sting}} defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy in ''one and a half minutes''. To put this in perspective, the introductions and announcements preceding the match lasted over ''eight'' minutes. Unfortunately, this was due to the worst of reasons: Hardy was "in no condition to perform"[[labelnote:*]]Reports vary on exactly ''when'' TNA officials noticed this. Some reports suggest that it was noticed early but the officials decided that he could "shake it off" before the match; others suggest that it was only when Hardy was (failing to) ascend the entrance rampway that officials realised something was horribly wrong.[[/labelnote]] and Sting was instructed to end it early to minimise the risk of injury to both performers. And Sting was righteously ''pissed'' about it. (You can see it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V6ulxTRSDc here]], but it's not pretty.)

* Comics/Film example: Immediately after discovering he has super-powers, Peter Parker goes up against a pro wrestler (Bonesaw in the movie, "Crusher" Hogan in the comics), whose promoter is offering a cash prize to anyone who can stay in the ring with him for five minutes. Until Parker makes a fool of him, naturally no one can, and in the film his competitors appear to be genuinely badly injured. Because everyone knows that stuff is for real....

** In a "Twisted Web of SpiderMan" comic (written by {{ECW}}'s Raven no less), it was a WorkedShoot by Crusher Hogan to help the struggling company attract more fans.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', the Loch Ness Monster kills Bigfoot in ''six seconds'', before the bell rang. The audience members hated the ending of the match, and commentator StoneColdSteveAustin called that match "a six-second suckfest".

** He also had a very, ''very'' limited moveset (mostly clotheslines, tackles, and simple slams) and often didn't execute them properly. Thus, matches were short to not "stink up the joint" (as [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase Ted [=DiBiase=] stated) and probably to limit the potentiality that he would injure his opponent through a poorly made slam.