# Type of combat spectacle where many fight until one remains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905 "2013-08-22T20:13:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/1 "2013-08-22T20:13:36Z")
I’m wracking my brain: is there a type of coliseum-style combat spectacle in which a bunch of fighters are thrown into an area and are expected to fight each other until only one remains? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/2 "2013-08-22T20:17:09Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > I’m wracking my brain: is there a type of coliseum-style combat spectacle in which a bunch of fighters are thrown into an area and are expected to fight each other until only one remains? The WWF’s old Royal Rumble (which may still be continued by the WWE, I haven’t watched any pro wrestling for the past 20 years) was along these lines. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/3 "2013-08-22T20:19:21Z")
Battle Royale. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/4 "2013-08-22T20:23:37Z")
Good cites, thanks!. Do you know if there are any precedents from the medieval or antiquity periods? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/5 "2013-08-22T20:26:09Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Battle Royale. This is what I was going to suggest. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/6 "2013-08-22T20:28:16Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > I’m wracking my brain: is there a type of coliseum-style combat spectacle in which a bunch of fighters are thrown into an area and are expected to fight each other until only one remains? Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny > **[The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/TheUltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny?from=Music.UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny)** > > "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" (sometimes shortened to simply "The Ultimate Showdown") is a song by Lemon Demon from his 2006 album Dinosaurchestra, best known for its iconic Web Animation created by Shawn Vulliez for Newgrounds a … ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/7 "2013-08-22T20:42:32Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > Good cites, thanks!. > > Do you know if there are any precedents from the medieval or antiquity periods? Yes there was the melee as part of tournaments for knights which could be conducted as a free-for-all. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/8 "2013-08-22T21:39:09Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > Good cites, thanks!. > > Do you know if there are any precedents from the medieval or antiquity periods? The wrestling format was evidently named for a [form of gladiatorial combat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_royal), battle royal. As **OldGuy** says, the medieval [melee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melee) was similar. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/9 "2013-08-23T08:10:05Z")
In the SCA, we call that kind of last-man-standing mêlée (as opposed to team mêlées) a Bear Pit. ETA: Well, strictly-speaking, a Bear Pit is where one fighter stays in and others attack him until someone beats him, then they’re in the pit, which I guess is not quite the same thing. Never mind… ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/10 "2013-08-23T08:16:09Z")
On a rather darker note, I recently read an article that Mexican drug lords are sometimes hijacking a bus full of innocent people, separating (and executing) any women & children, then taking the men to an isolated spot and basically making them pair up and beat each other to death with baseball bats. The winners then have to become (low-level) members of the gang. Sounds crazy, but when it comes to these guys nothing seems to be. I tried to find the article, but Googling anything about Mexican drug gangs instantly turns up the nastiest stuff… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/11 "2013-08-23T10:59:44Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I tried to find the article, but Googling anything about Mexican drug gangs instantly turns up the nastiest stuff… :eek: Things nastier than [this](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003743/Mexican-drug-cartels-force-kidnap-victims-fight-death-gladiator-style-contests.html)? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/12 "2013-08-23T11:01:23Z")
[2011 San Fernando massacre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_San_Fernando_massacre). It’s a wiki cite, but there are plenty of newspaper reports out there. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/type-of-combat-spectacle-where-many-fight-until-one-remains/666905/13 "2013-08-23T12:15:08Z")
In FPS games it’s known as Death Match.