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The best WWE PPVs of all time: 20 of the greatest PPVs in the history of WWE
Ciku Njuguna
May 14, 2024 at 12:50 PM
WWE Pay-Per-View is a term that refers to televised events produced by WWE that allow global viewers to watch live wrestling matches. For ardent and casual fans, the events epitomise wrestling entertainment, providing a climactic end to long-running feuds and unexpected twists in storylines. Dig in for the best WWE PPVs of all time.
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Table of Сontents:
From their classic names to headline fights and arranged matches, various factors go into making the best WWE PPV matches of all time. Sports Brief has used fan reviews from the Wrestling Observer and Cagematch alongside information from the official WWE website to create this list of the greatest WWE PPVs of all time.
What are the best WWE PPVs of all time?
The fortieth WrestleMania took place at Lincoln Financial Field in April 2024. With over 145,000 fans in attendance, celebrity appearances, and star wrestlers set to fight, WrestleMania XL is undeniably the best WWE PPV of all time. Scroll down and discover what is the best WWE PPV of all time.
Year | PPV event name | Cagematch rating | Wrestling Observer rating |
2009 | Backlash | 8.12 | +4.5 |
1996 | Bash at the Beach | 7.92 | +4.75 |
2012 | Extreme Rules | 8.70 | +4.5 |
1997 | In Your House | 8.53 | +4.25 |
2023 | WrestleMania 39 | 8.73 | +5 |
2001 | No Way Out | 8.55 | +4.25 |
1995 | Survivor Series | 7.24 | +4.25 |
1992 | Royal Rumble | 8.67 | +3.75 |
2013 | SummerSlam | 8.00 | +4.5 |
2005 | Vengeance | 9.06 | +4.5 |
2002 | Survivor Series | 9.13 | +4.25 |
1989 | Great American Bash | 8.24 | +4.5 |
2005 | ECW One Night Stand | 9.12 | +4.25 |
1987 | WrestleMania III | 6.74 | +4.5 |
1994 | Spring Stampede | 8.50 | +4.5 |
2002 | SummerSlam | 9.12 | +4.25 |
2000 | Royal Rumble | 8.18 | +4.5 |
2010 | Money In The Bank | 8.01 | +4 |
2011 | Money In The Bank | 9.47 | +5 |
2001 | WrestleMania X-Seven | 9.55 | +4.75 |
20. Backlash 2009
Source: Twitter
- Date: April 26, 2009
- Venue: Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
- Mainliners: John Cena vs Edge
- Attendance: 8,500
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We begin with the 2009 Backlash, where Randy Orton defeated Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon to win the WWE Champion title. Christian beat Jack Swagger to win the ECW Champion title. Other winners include Edge, Jeff Hardy, Kane, and Chris Jericho.
Source: Twitter
- Date: July 7, 1996
- Venue: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
- Mainliners: Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall vs Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger
- Attendance: 8,300
The 1996 Bash at the Beach brought together WCW World Tag Team Champions Booker T and Stevie Ray (Harlem Heat), who retained their title. Wrestling legend Ric Flair defeated Konnan and won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship title.
18. Extreme Rules 2012
Source: UGC
- Date: April 29, 2012
- Venue: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
- Main liners: John Cena vs Brock Lesnar
- Attendance: 14,817
The fourth annual Extreme Rules PPV saw 19 wrestlers battling out in the main event. Others competed in Falls Count Anywhere, Chicago Street Fight and 2-out-of-3 Falls match.
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Who won the John Cena vs Brock Lesnar Extreme Rules main event? Although he put up a spirited fight, Brock Lesnar lost to John Cena.
17. In Your House: Canadian Stampede 1997
Source: Twitter
- Date: July 6, 1997
- Venue: Canadian Airlines Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
- Main liners: The Hart Foundation vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust and The Legion of Doom
- Attendance: 12,151
The Undertaker defeated Vader in the sixteenth In Your House Pay-Per-View wrestling event and retained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship title.
16. WrestleMania 39 2023
Source: Twitter
- Date: April 1, 2023
- Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Main liners: The Usos vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes
- Attendance: 161,892
According to Corporate, the thirty-ninth WrestleMania is one of the best-selling WWE PPVs of all time. It had the most social media engagement, with over 500 million views and 11 million hours of video watched in the two days. The gate revenue surpassed $21.6 million, breaking the previous year's record by 27 per cent, while sponsorship revenue was more than $20 million.
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WrestleMania 39 title winners include Austin Theory, who defeated John Cena to win the United States Championship belt. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defeated The Uso brothers to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, while Rhea Ripley beat Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Champion title.
15. No Way Out 2001
Source: Twitter
- Date: February 25, 2001
- Venue: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Main liners: The Rock vs Kurt Angle
- Attendance: 15,223
The Rock and Kurt Angle entered the 2001 No Way Out PPV in the heat of a long-running feud. After holding the title for 125 days, The Rock challenged Angle for the WWE title at No Way Out 2001 and won.
In the Fatal Four Way match, Chris Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and X-Pac and retained the Intercontinental Championship title. Other winners include Steven Richards, Triple H, Billy Gunn, and Stephanie McMahon. The Dudley Boys won the World Tag Team title.
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14. WWF Survivor Series 1995
Source: Twitter
- Date: November 19, 1995
- Venue: USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland
- Main liners: Diesel vs Bret Hart
- Attendance: 14,500
Eight years after the inaugural World Wrestling Federation event, the USAir Arena hosted the eighth Survivor Series with 14,500 attendees. Bret 'The Hit Man' Hart stole the show during the WWE Championship No Disqualification match against Diesel to win the title.
13. Royal Rumble 1992
Source: Facebook
- Date: January 19, 1992
- Venue: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
- Main liners: 30-man Royal Rumble match
- Attendance: 17,000
The 1992 Royal Rumble is regarded as the greatest Royal Rumble in WWE history. Ric Flair's performance against Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Sid Justice and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage earned him the WWF World Heavyweight title. According to Cagematch, he eliminated The British Bulldog, The Texas Tornado, The Big Boss Man, Randy Savage, and Sid Justice in the 60-minute match.
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Other big winners at the event were The Natural Disasters, who defeated the Legion of Doom by count-out to win the World Tag Team title. The Mountie's spirited efforts to defend his Intercontinental Championship belt bore no fruit against 'Hot Rod' Roddy Piper.
12. SummerSlam 2013
Source: Twitter
- Date: August 18, 2013
- Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
- Main liners: Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
- Attendance: 17,739
Regarded as the Biggest Party of the Summer, the 2013 SummerSlam was a showdown of greats such as Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, and AJ Lee. John Cena lost his WWE Championship title to Daniel Bryan, who did not have much time to celebrate his win. Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, taking away Bryan's Championship title.
11. Vengeance 2005
Source: UGC
- Date: June 26, 2005
- Venue: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Main liners: Batista vs Triple H
- Attendance: 9,850
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Vengeance 2005 culminated in exciting events such as Hell in a Cell and Sunday Night Heat. The showdown between feuding wrestling giants Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle was one of the most entertaining WWE PPV matches.
Batista defeated Triple H to win the 2005 World Heavyweight Championship. In the Triple Threat match, John Cena got the upper hand against Chris Jericho and Christian to win the WWE Championship belt.
What are the top 10 best WWE PPVs of all time?
Fan favourites rank highly in the top ten best WWE PPVs of all time. Dive into professional wrestling for the complete list of riveting action caught at premium live events.
10. Survivor Series 2002
Source: UGC
- Date: November 17, 2002
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
- Main liners: Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Rob Van Dam vs Kane vs Chris Jericho vs Booker T
- Attendance: 17,930
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The 2002 Survivor Series is among the 10 best WWE PPVs of all time. The main event featured six wrestlers for the World Heavyweight Championship title. Shawn Michaels eliminated Jericho and Triple H, Booker T eliminated Rob Van Dam, and Jericho eliminated Booker and Kane.
The 2002 Survivor Series featured five more matches, including the Tables Elimination, Cruiserweight, Women's Hardcore, WWE Championship, and the WWE Tag Team Triple Threat Elimination match.
9. Great American Bash 1989
Source: Twitter
- Date: July 23, 1989
- Venue: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
- Main liners: Ric Flair vs Terry Funk
- Attendance: 14,500
Dan Spivey and Sid Vicious won the Battle Royal, Jim Cornette won the Tuxedo match, the Steiner Brothers won the Texas Tornado, and Sting won the NWA United States Television Championship belt. Other winners include Lex Lugar, who won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and The Road Warriors, who took home the War Games title.
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8. ECW One Night Stand 2005
Source: Twitter
- Date: June 12, 2005
- Venue: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City
- Main liners: The Dudley Boyz vs Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman
- Attendance: 2,500
The inaugural One Night Stand pay-per-view event saw Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley of The Dudley Boyz defeat Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in the main event.
7. WrestleMania III 1987
Source: Facebook
- Date: March 29, 1987
- Venue: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
- Main liners: Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant / Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan
- Attendance: 93,173
Despite controversial attendance numbers, WrestleMania III remains a fan favourite. Nearly fifty wrestlers fought in various matches, including the Full Nelson Challenge, Loser Bows, Intercontinental Championship, and the ultimate WWE Championship match.
Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant and Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan, retaining his WWE Championship title.
6. Spring Stampede 1994
Source: Twitter
- Date: April 17, 1994
- Venue: Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
- Main liners: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
- Attendance: 12,200
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The 1994 Spring Stampede brought together Rick Rude, Ricky Steam Boat, Ric Flair, Sting, and The Great Muta under the World Championship Wrestling promotion. The 12,000-strong crowd watched Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat wrestle in one of the best feuds ever. Flair defeated Ricky to retain his WCW Champion title.
5. SummerSlam 2002
Source: Twitter
- Date: August 25, 2000
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
- Main liners: The Rock vs Brock Lesnar
- Attendance: 14,797
The 2002 SummerSlam remains one of the best WWE PPV events ever, with three championship titles up for grabs. Lance Stoorm teamed up with Christian to defeat Booker T and Goldust to retain their title, while Rob Van Dam outmatched Chris Benoit to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
What was the main event of SummerSlam 2002? The most awaited match brought together Brock Lesnar and the reigning WWE Champion, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Lesnar defeated The Rock and became the new WWE Champion.
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4. Royal Rumble 2000
Source: Twitter
- Date: January 23, 2000
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
- Main liners: 30-man Royal Rumble match
- Attendance: 19,231
The 2000 Royal Rumble was one of the best Royal Rumble events ever in WWE. Big event winners included Mae Young, who won the Miss Royal Rumble, and the New Age Outlaws, who defeated the Acolytes to become the World Tag Team Champions.
Chris Jericho won the Undisputed Intercontinental Champion title, while Triple H won the WWE Champion title in a match against Cactus Jack.
3. Money in the Bank 2010
Source: UGC
- Date: June 18, 2010
- Venue: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
- Main liners: Sheamus vs John Cena
- Attendance: 8,000
Who won the Money in the Bank in 2010? In its main event, Sheamus defeated John Cena in a Steel Cage match to win the WWE Championship belt. Other event winners include Kane and the Miz, who won SmackDown and Raw Money in the Bank Ladder matches. Layla beat Kelly Kelly to win the Women's Champion, and the Hart Dynasty overpowered the Uso brothers to begin their Unified Tag Team Championship reign.
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2. Money In The Bank 2011
Source: UGC
- Date: July 17, 2024
- Venue: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
- Main liners: John Cena vs CM Punk
- Attendance: 15,000
The second-ever Money In The Bank PPV event was held at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, in front of a 15,000-person crowd. Two threats loomed over the charged Chicago Arena ahead of the main event. The crowd threatened to riot if CM Punk lost, while WWE CEO Vince McMahon had promised to fire Cena if he lost to Punk, a promise he kept after Cena lost by a pin.
1. WrestleMania X-Seven
Source: Twitter
- Date: April 1, 2001
- Venue: Reliant Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Main liners: Stone Cold vs The Rock
- Attendance: 67,925
WrestleMania X-Seven is hands down the best WWE PPV of all time. It brought together a star-studded match card that included Triple H, the Hardy Boyz, Big Show, and the McMahon father-son duo.
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What were the matches at WrestleMania 17? The Rock lost his third consecutive WrestleMania main event to Stone Cold Steve Austin, losing the WWE Championship title.
The Iron Sheikh won the nineteen-man Gimmick Battle Royal fight, while Shane McMahon defeated his father, Vince McMahon, in the street fight. The title winners of the event included Edge, Christian, Kane, Chyna, Guerrero, and Jericho.
Frequently asked questions
Premium live events allow fans to enjoy wrestling matches in real time. Here are some interesting facts about some of the best WWE PPVs of all time.
1. What was the first WWE women's PPV main event?
In 2019, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch fought in WrestleMania's first-ever women's main event match. Becky Lynch defeated Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair to become the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion titles.
2. What was the most important WWE PPV for female wrestlers?
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October 28, 2016, marked one of the most important dates in women's wrestling. WWE held the inaugural all-women's pay-per-view event featuring heavyweights such as Rousey, Nikki Bella, Lynch, Flair, and Baszler.
Final word
Periodically, wrestling fans converge with friends and family to watch premium live events. With thousands in attendance and millions recorded in global viewership, the best WWE PPVs leave fans with lasting memories.
READ ALSO: Ranking the 15 worst finishers in WWE history: All the facts and details
Sports Brief has published an article on some of the worst finishing moves in the WWE based on their danger level, execution, effectiveness and impact. Finishers are unique signatures used by wrestlers to take down their opponents. Click on the link above and discover the top fifteen worst finishers ever.
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