TNA/Impact Wrestling loves putting on "On A Pole" matches. What was the story going in for each of them?

The “On a Pole” match is a not-uncommon occurrence in pro wrestling, a match where the competitors fight to grab something off of a pole, either to win a match or to gain advantage in a match. While running the show in late period WCW, Vince Russo did so many of these that it not only became one of his signatures, but also kind of a joke, and one that continued into Russo’s time working for Impact Wrestling, back when it was known as TNA.

RELATED: 5 Best "On A Pole" Matches In Wrestling History (& 5 Worst)

In the entire two-decade history of Impact Wrestling, there have been eighteen “On a Pole” matches, with various items placed on said pole. Let’s take a look at every single one of them, from the old NWA-TNA weekly pay-per-view days all the way to the most recent.

Impact Wrestling’s first “On a Pole” match is absolutely cursed, as it was the final Curt Hennig match before his untimely death a month later.

Despite that significance, it’s not an incredibly compelling or entertaining effort, as it lasted less than three minutes before Hennig got a ringside attendant to grab the axe-handle for him.

During Joe E. Legend’s frustrating Impact Wrestling run, he had a match with Jeff Jarrett where two different weapons were placed on poles.

Over the course of the match, Legend grabbed the bat while Jarrett grabbed the guitar, but it was Jarrett and his signature guitar smash that won the bout.

After Abyss ran off a Kid Kash attack on Sonjay Dutt the previous week, Abyss and Kash have an “On A Pole” match with an additional First Blood stipulation.

RELATED: 8 Backstage Stories About Abyss We Can't Believe

After lots of underhanded tactics by Kid Kash, Abyss lost this match after a Spear attempt sent Abyss face-first through a chair in the corner of the ring.

After the Gathering — CM Punk and Julio Dinero — turned on their leader Raven, Raven found an ally in his old rival, the Sandman. This bout was supposed to be a tag team match, but Raven was nowhere to be found, so Punk and Dinero not only got the Singapore Cane, but also a double-team victory thanks to some distraction from their manager, Father James Mitchell.

The teams of D’Lo Brown and Gran Apolo as well as Kid Kash and Dallas (a.k.a. Lance Archer) spent a couple of weeks trading the NWA World Tag Team Title, so they had a Nightstick on a Pole stipulation for their rubber match. Unfortunately, the Nightstick ended up falling off of the pole at one point, forcing the bout off the rails.

During Dusty Rhodes’ forgotten 2003-2005 run with Impact, he got in on the “On a Pole” fun as well, teaming with 3 Live Kru and Larry Zbyszko against Jeff Jarrett’s crew.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Larry Zbyszko

Dusty ended up winning the bout for his team, taking the Guitar from Jarrett via low blow and smashing it over the head of the Elite Guard’s Onyx.

Weeks before their three-way at Final Resolution, Sting, Christian Cage, and NWA World Champion Abyss had a non-title three-way match with a nightstick placed on a pole.

Despite interference by Tomko on Christian Cage’s behalf, it’s Sting who scored the nightstick and ultimately the win, although Cage won the belt at the pay-per-view.

This Against All Odds bout combines a couple of gimmicks — AJ Styles and Rhino were chained together, with two poles to fight over, one with a nightstick and one with a key to unlock the chain.

AJ ended up getting the key to free himself, while Rhino took the pin after missing a Gore and going straight through a table.

This special Christmas episode was full of festive match stipulations, but the Double North Pole match actually had a purpose: determining what the stipulation would be for Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns at Final Resolution.

Alex Shelley would climb the pole and pull down the stocking that would make the bout an Ultimate X match, avoiding the other option, which was Plate Glass Tables.

Dustin Rhodes’ regrettable Black Reign gimmick in Impact Wrestling involved Rhodes having a pet rat named Misty, so of course it was going to be the subject of a Pole match.

RELATED: Every Version Of Dustin Rhodes, Ranked From Worst To Best

This match had four boxes on poles, one of which held the rat while the others had mousetraps inside of it. Kaz ended up retrieving the rat for the win, but Black Reign stole her back.

The big Knockouts match at Sacrifice featured a battle royal followed by a ladder match between the two finalists, with the loser of the ladder match getting her head shaved.

But before that, the competitors fought in a Barber's Shears on a Pole match for immunity from the shaving. Gail Kim not only won immunity, but also the PPV match, with Roxxi Laveaux getting shaved.

After James Storm smashed a beer bottle over Abyss’ head and successfully defended the tag belts against the monster and Matt Morgan, Storm and Abyss had a match where a beer bottle was the thing to fight for.

Thanks to interference from Bobby Roode, Storm got the pinfall victory here while Morgan got the beer bottle smashed over his head.

Scott Steiner and Petey Williams were aligned as Big Poppa Pump and Little Petey Pump, respectively, but Steiner’s joining up with the Main Event Mafia resulted in Poppa turning on Petey.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About TNA's Main Event Mafia

The item on the pole in their big encounter was Steiner’s signature chainmail headdress, which he was able to retrieve and continue wearing after delivering a thorough beating to his former friend.

The Main Event Mafia angle resulted in a second Pole match. Following Kurt Angle’s winning of the World Title from champion and on-screen authority figure Mick Foley, the two fought in a pole match on the subsequent Impact for the keys to Foley’s office in a bout that ended in a no contest thanks to a run-in from the MEM.

In late 2011, X Division performers Zema Ion (a.k.a. DJ Z or Joaquin Wilde) and Anthony Nese (a.k.a. Tony Nese) had a Best of Three series to become #1 contender to the X Division Championship.

After trading wins, the tie-breaker was a less-than-five-minute Contract on a Pole match, which Ion won only to lose the match at Genesis.

In 2014, James Storm and Gunner had a tag team going on, but rising tensions would lead the two to clash with one another — especially after Gunner scored a Feast or Fired briefcase containing a World Title shot.

Storm and Gunner had several matches for the briefcase, leading to the inevitable Briefcase on a Pole match, which Gunner ultimately won.

On this One Night Only pay-per-view, Drew Galloway took on Kenny King in a Pipe on a Pole match where the MacGuffin never really figured into the finish the way the items have done in the above matches.

Instead, after King retrieved the pipe, he immediately ate a Claymore from Galloway for the pinfall loss.

Drew Galloway and Low Ki were engaged in an intense feud involving pipe-based attacks, so it only made sense for them to have another Steel Pipe on a Pole match at the year’s second Hardcore Justice event.

The most recent On a Pole match to date in Impact was another match where the weapon fell off the pole, but Galloway ended up with the win thanks to a Future Shock DDT into a chair.

Danny Djeljosevic is a writer based in San Diego, CA. His last name is slightly easier to pronounce than it looks.