It’s certainly hard to find a WWE calendar in which every PPV show was good. Some years, however, WWE manages to produce a huge number of great PPV events, regardless of good or bad weekly TV is. Throughout different eras, WWE have had both thin and full rosters, with the latter helping massively with putting on strong events, though a thin roster forces WWE into making new stars, which acts as a huge benefit at times too.
Sometimes, certain years can host memorable events, such as 2001’s Royal Rumble and WrestleMania being regarded as some of the best ever, but also experience some of the worst shows of all time, such as Insurrextion, King of the Ring, and Rebellion all taking place during 2001’s infamously bad Invasion angle.
10 2009
This year didn’t boast many shows that would become all-time classics, but its hard to find any dud in the PPV line-up that left fans groaning. Although the Breaking Point show split opinion, the rest of the year was full of great action, strong stories, and a successful entry into the PG Era. This year also debuted the Extreme Rules, Hell in a Cell, and TLC gimmick events, which were new and exciting, before becoming stale in recent times.
Veterans such as Edge, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, and Triple H helped carry the year, propped up by a strong undercard consisting of Kofi Kingston, MVP, and John Morrison helping to boost shows from below.
9 2014
This year saw the rise of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, who would be three of the man to carry the company forwards, giving PPVs a fresh feeling. The shows hosted fun, interweaving stories, leading to one of the more highly regarded Wrestlemania’s of all time, featuring Daniel Bryan’s rise to stardom.
Survivor Series and Summerslam played their role well as two of the big four, producing good events, and other shows such as Elimination Chamber, Extreme Rules, and Hell in a Cell provided entertaining matches.
8 1994
1994 saw the push of New Generation stars to replace the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Ultimate Warrior, and the product benefitted from doing so. WWE’s five PPVs all provided something different. Survivor Series may not have been perfect, but it gave a unique main event in Bret Hart and Bob Backlund at the very least and had a huge buyrate courtesy of Chuck Norris.
The other shows were strong, with King of the Ring producing a strong bracket, and the Rumble set up a well-remembered Wrestlemania, with classic matches such as Bret Hart vs Owen Hart, and Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon. Summerslam featured the notorious Undertaker vs Undertaker match, but that didn’t detract from a good show.
7 2005
This was a transitional year for WWE – in a good way. Younger stars such as Randy Orton, John Cena, and Batista dominated the PPV calendar, mixing it up with veterans such as Triple H, Undertaker, and JBL in multi-PPV feuds to carry the year.
Unforgiven provided some stunning action, Summerslam was full of big names, and Wrestlemania acted as a coming out party for those aforementioned future stars. A revived ECW also added some much-needed variety to the PPV calendar, in a memorable One Night Stand event.
6 2002
The company spent this year recovering from the disaster that was the Invasion from the previous year. This led to the first brand split between Raw and Smackdown, and events benefitted strongly from this. Austin and Rock were on the way out, leading to a focus on newer stars, but also welcoming the returns of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair.
The Ruthless Aggression Era was beginning to take flight, with Smackdown events proving to have Paul Heyman’s hands all over several masterfully booked PPVs. Royal Rumble, No Mercy, and Survivor Series were all great shows, and Summerslam gave one of its best showings in history, marking the rise of a certain Brock Lesnar.
5 2008
This was another period of transition for WWE between the final glimmers of Ruthless Aggression and heading towards the PG Era. The events throughout the year were all very solid, with John Cena, Batista, and Edge all reaching their primes. Other experienced and up and coming main eventers gave a rich roster full of talents, with CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, and The Undertaker all having good years.
Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels had their positively acclaimed violent and personal feud over several shows, which boosted events such as No Mercy. Wrestlemania, One Night Stand, Royal Rumble, and Summerslam were all noteworthy shows, all providing something unique, hard-hitting, and thrilling.
4 2016
WWE’s second major brand split saw a fresh take on a stagnating product, once again introducing brand-exclusive shows which allowed more of a focus on different names, giving more time to deserving talents. Smackdown especially benefitted, putting on great PPVs such as No Mercy, Backlash, and TLC, with a new, brand-supremacy themed Survivor Series which fans enjoyed (although that would eventually become the subject of scorn for many in recent times).
In-ring work was consistently great during shows, with the likes of Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens breaking out as stars in WWE, carrying each brand as the world champions. Women's wrestling was undergoing a boom, with Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch breaking out as some of the faces of WWE.
3 1992
Back in a time where it much easier to have consistent shows, with just four PPV events in the calendar, the company didn’t actually hit consecutive home runs too often. 1992 did showcase a good year of shows, however, starting off with a Rumble event headlined by one of the better Rumble matches of all time, won by Ric Flair. Wrestlemania wasn’t perfect, but being Wrestlemania, it produced classics such as Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper, and Flair vs Randy Savage.
Summerslam was notable for taking place in a packed Wembley Stadium, with one of the great main events in the show’s history in Bret Hart vs British Bulldog. Survivor Series had a solid undercard, once again headlined by Hart, this time taking on Shawn Michaels.
2 2000
2000 was perhaps WWE’s most successful year, with a boom in business, incredible television and good PPVs. An incredible roster was deep with future Hall of Famers, and even in shows that weren’t necessarily booked well, the talent involved elevated every match, with fans fully invested. Shows boasted some great moments, with Backlash, Judgement Day, and the Royal Rumble being memorable.
The tag division experienced a heavy focus, with multiple TLC matches changing the landscape of wrestling. Fully Loaded was also a noteworthy event, with three huge main events rising the stocks of Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho. The year was hectic, and widely regarded as one of the more enjoyable periods of all time.
1 2021 (so far)
WWE had a tough time during the pandemic, with some truly absurd shows in 2020. By the time 2021 came around, despite weekly TV receiving huge criticism, PPVs have calmed down, and instead focused on some fantastic action in the ring, despite sometimes being confined to the Thunderdome, with no fans.
It’s testament to the quality of WWE’s current roster, which has talented individuals up and down the card, that these events have been so strong. The recent return of fans has given PPVs an even bigger boost, making shows that could have been average, even better. Whilst things could still go wrong, especially with some of WWE’s poor booking, PPVs - even those in Saudi Arabia - have been the highlight of this peculiar era.
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