The WWE PPV List Of Lists~!~!~!

You're Goddamn right.

So, its been a while, you been good? How's the family? Don't answer that, I'm not listening. I've had the sudden urge of inspiration to write about wrestling for the first time in a while, and since I had this delicious state-of-the-art invention called a keyboard, why the hell not? Now, I would write about my thoughts on the current state of the business, but I don't have enough Xanax in my cupboard to keep me from going into a depression, and besides, wrestling fans are all creatures of nostalgia anyway (and I don't want to hear anything about my ironic ringname), so why not take a trip down memory lane?

I wanted to cultivate a list, and after musing over the best wrestling DVDs, books, matches from certain events of period of time, I thought I'd start with something broader. And for wrestling fans, think of this as a list of shows to consider watching on DVD or this YouTube the kids are using today (damn kids) to restore your faith in the business after you've sat through an inane Sheamus promo, a turgid Aces & Eights segment, or an Alberto Del Rio post-PPV Raw rehab squash win. So here it is, after countless seconds of deliberation, here are the top ten Pay-Per-Views the WWE has ever produced in its history, in order. If you disagree, fuck you, you're wrong.

I should note that I originally was going to make this a list of 15, but after 12 or 13 entries, I had a really tough time convincing myself that the remaining candidates for such a prestigious list weren't at the same elite level, so in learning the lesson of the nWo, smaller numbers = greater credibility. Here we go.

#10 - WrestleMania III

I'm curious as to what people think about the order of this list. This potentially could be a hell of a lot higher just on historical value, as a lot of nostalgiamaniacs regard this the peak of the 1980s boom period, which it undoubtedly is. In front of 78,000 fans in the Pontiac Silverdome (if you think it was really 93,193 in attendance, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you), Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant created an iconic moment that won't ever be forgotten. Now, granted, it came after a fucking dreadful match, and the people online that think John Cena can't work only need to take one look at this main event to realise how good they really have it, but regardless, this show was a HUGE deal to wrestling fans in 1987. Historically it is overvalued in terms of mainstream impact, as the original WrestleMania got far more public attention, but to WWF fans, it didn't get any bigger. But this show is not on the list for the spectacle or the main event alone. Obviously the match everybody remembers, Ricky Steamboat Vs. Randy Savage, carries this show, but one match alone will not garner entry on this, the most elite of lists. Hell, WrestleMania 13 featured the best match in Mania history with Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin, but for the rest of that show you could hear a rat piss on cotton. But even still, from an all around perspective, the booking of the key programs going into and coming out of this Pay-Per-View was fantastic. In terms of a smart mark scale, the Intercontinental Title match with Savage and Steamboat is really the only thing of merit, but if you love your angles and storylines, the DVD re-release of this show includes so many of the great moments that remind you of why you fell in love with wrestling - Savage injuring Steamboat's throat with the ring bell and his subsequent return, the incredible Piper's Pit segments building up Hogan and Andre, the six month long back and forth between Roddy Piper and Adrian Adonis. No show from this era encapsulates the times like this one, and it strikes gold in almost any area you can measure success. I know there is a very good chance that, if I lived through this time, this show may be ranked higher, since I can never truly appreciate it the same way, but I stick by the ranking...

#9 - No Way Out 2001

This, my friends, is a hidden gem. See, the problem with 2000 and early 2001 Pay-Per-Views is that the emotion in the crowd and depth in the roster is through the roof to such an extent, that classic events such as this can be forgotten. Backlash 2000 and Fully Loaded 2000 were phenomenal shows in the same vain that I was considering for this spot, but this gets the nod, and I'll tell you why. You see that great man on the poster above? Yes, the man that is currently in TNA and means about as much there as chewed gum. This was the show where everybody clicked at the same time that Kurt Angle was really, really, fucking good. His main event match with the Rock on this show is outstanding, incredible crowd heat, and is so good that even an unnecessary run in by the human albatross known as The Big Show can't tarnish it. On top of that, Steve Austin and Triple H have a Three Stages Of Hell match that goes 40 minutes, has super intensity, and showed that Steve Austin still had a hell of a lot in the tank coming back from neck surgery. This fact Triple H won is baffling, and nitpickers can deduct points since at the time it was absolutely mystifying, but the quality is just too much to deny. And still that's not all. Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac in an underrated four way barnburner, Stephanie McMahon and Trish Stratus somehow have a very entertaining match, and every other match benefits from an audience that eats up absolutely everything. The first three months of 2001 are not particularly regarded as a great time for television by die-hard fans in the same way the "Smackdown Five + Chavo" era in 2002 is, but the main events consisting of Austin, Rock, HHH, Angle, Benoit, Regal and Jericho, was outstanding stuff, and this show lands smack bang in the middle. Want to watch a random show and revel in some wrestling excellence? Throw this in your VHS player.

#8 - ECW One Night Stand 2005

If somebody wanted to say that the matches on the previous shows are better than this, I can agree. If somebody wanted to say that historically other shows meant more, I agree with that too. But there aren't many shows that are much more fun to watch than ECW One Night Stand, and that counts triple if you were an ECW fan when it was alive. For hardcore wrestling fans, there are few shows that conjured up more anticipation and excitement than this, for the simple reason that deep down inside every wrestling fan, despite their outward, and at times annoying, cynicism, when something potential great comes along, they will pour their heart and soul into hoping it reaches their expectations. And if anything surpassed nostalgic hopes, it was this show. Coming off the stellar Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, talks of this show made people nervously excited. Would it be a true throwback? Can they recapture the ECW atmosphere? Can WWE truly do something that's honest to God different? The answer was yes, and like you wouldn't believe. Now, no match on this show touches the best efforts of any Pay-Per-View listed so far, but almost everything present was exactly what you wanted and more. You wanted a rowdy ECW crowd? You got it. You wanted Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka to fucking destroy each other with tables and chairs and tear the house down? It's all yours. Almost everything was perfect - the old ring, Joey Styles, F Bombs. But between good to very good matches up and down the card, excellent promos from RVD and Paul Heyman ("Because Triple H didn't wanna work Tuesdays!!....."), this was the closest thing to a live time capsule as you will ever see. It was the end ECW deserved, and although a true ECW fan could ask for certain personalities to be included, or for certain matches to deliver stronger than they did, the overall vibe of this show was absolutely surreal to witness. The rabid crowd, from chanting "Fuck John Cena" to singing Enter Sandman from start to finish, made this a breathtaking show to experience, and the emotion still holds up today. Now by the nature of this show, it is extremely hard to rank, and I can see the argument for this as #10, but if you're an ECW fan and witnessed this live, you'll never forget how it felt.

#7 - WrestleMania X

This is really about the only show that I can internally make a case against being on this list, and I'll get to that in a moment. I'm not one for star ratings, but if there were ever such a thing as a five star match, this show pulls off the impossible and has two of them. Bret Hart and Owen Hart have one of the best matches you'll ever see with an fantastic story from start to finish to open the show, and of course, the first televised ladder match with Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon that, while it doesn't hold up to modern eyes in terms of danger, in 1994 absolutely blew the mind of everybody that watched it. And therein lies its place on the list. I was becoming a wrestling fan in the second half of 1993, and purchased magazines and videotapes to soak up every bit of wrestling I could get my hands on. But the first show that I ever saw close to the time it occured was this - I got a tape of this the day after it happened, and I distinctly remember watching Bret Vs. Owen and Shawn Vs. Razor again...and again...and again...and again. If you were a fan during this time, you will never forget your reaction the first time Shawn Michaels hit that baseball slide. Or how shocked you were when Bret didn't kick out of Owen's victory roll counter. And those very reactions had a fantastic effect in terms of revolutionizing the business going forward. I watched this show fairly recently, and a lot of the undercard stuff really isn't worth wiping your ass with - Doink & Dink Vs. Bigelow & Luna, Quebecers Vs. Men On A Mission, Earthquake Vs. Adam Bomb and Alundra Blayze Vs. Leilani Kai may sound like a horrible card, but make no mistake - it is. I said earlier that one elite match doesn't get WrestleMania 13 on the list. This has two, a fantastic show long booking theme with Bret losing to his brother, going on to win the WWF Title from the most boring champion in company history, Yokozuna, and getting the triumphant hero celebration in the ring while brother Owen watches from the aisle and mouths "what about me?", and a hell of a personal nostalgia ranking. For that reason, its here. Learn to live with it.

#6 - In Your House 16 - Canadian Stampede

The common thread for me with a lot of these shows is replay value. As much as I love the four shows so far, there is invariably a point when a chapter can be skipped or the fast forward button can be pressed. Not here. The ten man tag team main event of this show has one of the more heated crowd in wrestling history, a great story, fantastic action and a super-memorable post-match with the entire Hart family in the ring, being adorned with cheers, celebrated as conquering national heroes, while Steve Austin wildly swings a steel chair and is carried off in handcuffs, leaning forward and still flipping them the bird. I distinctly remember this being the event that made me realise that the WWF had something special going at a time when every fan in the world, including me, thought the nWo was the hottest thing around, and when I look at it now, I see why. It is only a two hour show, but everything on it is, at least, very good. Mankind and HHH have a hot match to start with a great show long recurring pull-apart brawl, Taka Michinoku and The Great Sasuke have an awesome "Light Heavyweight" match that was so unlike anything the WWF had seen for far too long, and Undertaker and Vader have a red-hot slugfest for the WWF Title. But there is no doubt what the crown jewel of this Pay-Per-View is. Brian Pillman told friends that anything that he could ever want out of wrestling, he got on this night, and while the main event isn't as good as the best matches of Mania 3 or 10, the entire show, start to finish, is better than either.

#5 - Money In The Bank 2011

See! It's not all dwelling on how the past was better...First off, I apologize for this stupid fucking poster, but this was WWE's vision for the show. Thankfully what we got was much, much different. This, of course, was the CM Punk show, set-up by the famous Raw promo that will be talked about forever. For how much that promo captured fans imaginations, and got their attention because Punk's words summed up how they felt, what people don't remember much looking at this show now is, yes, how great the build-up was, but at the same time, people deep-down believed that CM Punk would not end up as champion. The show itself featured two fantastic Money in the Bank ladder matches with tremendous heat, and besides a Big Show/Mark Henry encounter that was more an angle than a match, this bears a striking resemblence to Canadian Stampede in that the show, from start to finish, is phenomenal, headlined by a tremendous match featuring a hometown hero succeeding. I could make a case that Canadian Stampede had a greater effect on business as it helped launch Steve Austin, but the in-ring quality on this show is stronger than its predecessor, hence the higher spot. After a brilliant thirty minute spectacle, in which the Chicago crowd supported Punk with every ounce of energy as the Calgary Saddledome did for the Hart Foundation, CM Punk not only beat John Cena, but the predictions that he would lose the title on the same night proved inaccurate, as Punk high kicked Alberto Del Rio and fled through the crowd. Holy shit. This show actually breaks through the nostalgic blinkers wrestling fans often wear, for a very curious reason. As much as people speculated on what would happen with Punk, whether he'd win the title, maybe win it then lose it, or be stripped, every single scenario suggested was not actually what the fans wanted. The fans wanted the impossible, the renegade to win on his own terms, regardless of the system he's working in. Now, what happened afterwards is what it is, but for three hours on Sunday, July 17th, WWE was at its best.

#4 - Summerslam 2000

From this point forward, we're dealing with what are, realistically, some of the best shows in WWF history, so it may be tough to distinguish what makes #4 better than #5, #3 better than #2, and so on. But when I compare this show to Canadian Stampede and Money In The Bank, the difference is obvious. This show summed up the most successful year in the history of the company, was a blowaway show that featured matches and moments that are still talked about today, had red-hot angles and quality up and down the card. You have the first and best TLC match with three incredibly over tag teams, Shane McMahon almost killing himself on live TV, smack dab in the middle of the HHH/Angle/Steph love triangle storyline, with The Rock as the megastar champion. Mix in Benoit Vs. Jericho for the die-hards and Taker Vs. Kane for the fans into the characters, and you can watch this show from start to finish and be in awe at the variety and quality of the company at this time. The bar had been raised significantly for the past two years in the WWF, and somehow, they still managed to exceed high expectations going in. #6 and #5 on this list are incredible start to finish shows, no question, but this is such a complete showcase, with historically great matches, a super-charged crowd and a WWF that was on fire, and as great as they may be, their charm is almost self-contained. Watch this show, and more than just great wrestling or a fantastic spectacle, you'll be teleported back to a different era.

#3 - Royal Rumble 2000

I fucking love this show. As a standalone show, it is fantastic. One of the best executed debuts in company history to kick off with Tazz looking like he could be WWF champion in a month, killing Kurt Angle, to the Hardyz and Dudleyz tearing it up in a thrilling Tables Match, a fun Royal Rumble and an all-time classic Street Fight with HHH Vs. Cactus Jack, you cannot watch this show and not love the WWF. In truth, the significance of this may be somewhat multiplied by the fact that the day after this show aired, there wasn't a person in my school that wasn't talking about it. But with quality at such a high premium on this list, I give it such a high spot based on its impact. Not just at my school, but the WWF never had a more successful year than 2000, and I truly believe that this PPV was the catalyst. Yeah, the business was already hot thanks to Steve Austin, but the two guys that carried the most successful year were Rock and Triple H. As big as The Rock already was, he went from second fiddle babyface throwing Davey Boy Smith in dog shit and wrestling the New Age Outlaws to THE man by winning the Royal Rumble. Likewise, Triple H went from a struggling-to-get-there top heel with so much heat they had him lose the title to the Big Show, to the biggest, most over heel since Mr. McMahon, as a result of his incredibly brutal and spectacular win over Foley. This show set in motion the renewed success that would take place, and left behind an awe-inspiring Pay-Per-View.

#2 - Summerslam 2002

The best Summerslam of all time, and I'll be honest, for reasons I'll get into later, this very nearly became #1 on this illustrious list. The build-up to the show, with the memorable vignettes promoting Rock Vs. Brock Lesnar ("Get Ready...") led to a fantastic buyrate, and even though the newly-christened WWE was going through a lot of bizarre and frenetic changes to try and win back the audience they had lost since 2001, they hit the jackpot with this show. Brock Lesnar defeating the Rock, clean with the F5, becoming the new top guy in impressive fashion was the perfect end to a show filled with incredible matches. Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio open the show with an amazing match, and though Edge Vs. Eddie Guerrero and RVD Vs. Chris Benoit were very good, they were considered a little shy of expectations. And then Shawn Michaels worked circles around everybody on the planet in his first match in four years. It may well be the best match in Summerslam history, but Shawn Michaels Vs. Triple H in a Street Fight was one of the most emotional roller-coasters of a match you'll ever see, especially at the time when Shawn's status wasn't known. The show is classic after good match after great match after classic, and the electric atmosphere for every match makes you believe that on this night, the WWE didn't have a problem in the world. An amazing roster putting on an almost flawless show, and the consistent level of greatness on the show surpasses almost any in history. Almost...

#1 - WrestleMania X7

No surprise here, right? Well, I will say right now that there was a very, very strong chance this wasn't going to make number one. Seems absurd, but let me explain.

This show is universally considered the best show of all time. It was the absolute peak of the hottest period ever. It defined its time, it had the two hottest stars in the main event, it was the first PPV to break one million buys, and the show is littered with awesome matches. But in formulating this list, the inevitable moments come when you contrast and compare in order to determine what show goes in which spot. When I look at this show, there were likely as many great matches at Summerslam 2002 as there were here. What separates X7 is the spectacle. The grandeur. The surroundings. The context.

Then I began to think - if you're going to judge the context for its positives, don't you have to do so for the negatives? And the one, big giant negative is obvious - the heel turn of Steve Austin to end the show was, by far and away, the most destructive move the company made, and business immediately tanked. Ratings, live attendance, buyrates, they all sank instantly. As much as this show is lauded for being the defining show of its era, it has to be equally maligned for the fact that what took place was extremely damaging. Realistically, the company has never recovered, and in stark contrast to a lot of the Pay-Per-Views listed above, this show, as great as it was, as spectacular as TLC 2 was, as great as Angle Vs. Benoit was, and as compelling as Rock Vs. Austin is as the two biggest babyfaces in company history going one on one, this event ultimately ended with the one thing fans hated so much that they turned off and never came back.

Any list is subjective. It would have been easy controversy not to list this as number one. Any kind of judging criteria, whether it is historical significance, business success, match quality, crowd heat, it ultimately revolves around personal opinion and tweaking that criteria to fit your own ranking. But when I formulated this list, and to the majority of fans who are asked the question, the first show that comes to mind when people think of the best show ever is this. And there's a reason that becomes cliche - it's the truth.

As amazing as 2000 and early 2001 was for the WWF on Pay-Per-View, this event somehow felt bigger. Far bigger than WrestleMania 15 or 16 (or 2000 for detail freaks). The music video to Limp Bizkit's "My Way" is the gold standard that everything else will ever be compared to. No two personalities, before or since, were as hot and at their peak at the same time as Austin and Rock. It's the defining show of the hottest period. Overthinking, debating, call it what you will, there is only one real answer.