The Top 100 Matches in WWF PPV History (Part 1)

Over the past two summers, I posted star ratings for every WWF PPV   Here is the ranking of 100-51.  Feel free to watch them on the Network. You may have some free time.  Only WWF PPV matches included

    

     100. WM18 Unified Tags: TLC3: Chris Jericho/Lance Storm (w/Stacy) d. Hardys, Bubba/Spike (switch) 4 1/4  

      -In front of a Toronto crowd, Jericho and Storm retained the tag titles (WWF/ECW/NWA belts were all active and unified at the time) in the third ever TLC match.  

     99. WM24 WWF/NWA/ECW Titles: TLC CM Punk (w/Maria) d. Johnny Nitro, Shelton Benjamin 4 ¼

      -The catalyzing event of modern WWF history was Punk's winning the title at Survivor Series '06, throwing down the belt, and launching the era of GDI. A year and a half later, this was the match to unify the 3 world titles (Floyd Mayweather brought a new Undisputed Championship belt to the ring) Punk came in with the ECW belt, Nitro the NWA and Benjamin the WWF. Following Punk's win he was attacked by Matt Hardy, who had been gone for a year after beating Edge at the main event at WM23.

98. WM34 Mask v. Mask: El Generico d. Kid Canada (Kevin Steen) (Rey Mysterio, special guest referee) 4 1/4  - Steen was on a quest to rid his longtime friend Generico of his mask (theoretically for Generico's benefit) and created an entire masked man personna in order to do it.  He lost the match, but took Generico's mask anyway.  That's a result Mysterio could not live with and he excised Steen from the locker room and the promotion.  

     97. Survivor Series 2018: WWF Title: Shinsuke Nakamura d. Claudio Castagnoli  4 1/4 - Claudio was once beloved WWF Champion, leader of the "hey movement" Nakamura was once member of the global wrestling heel stable The Bullet Club, but as they came into this one, Nakamura was babyface world champion and Claudio was sneering anti-American heel.  Postmatch, Tyler Black was seemingly poised to cash in his MITB briefcase when he was laid out by his longtime partner Dean Ambrose.

     96. WM4 IC: Bret Hart d. Randy Savage (w/Liz) (switch) 4 ¼

      -An all babyface match; Randy had the IC for two years when he dropped here to Bret.  

     95. Royal Rumble ’06: Shawn Michaels d. Kurt Angle (w/Benjamin) 4 ¼

      -The blowoff to the long Team Angle v. Clique feud; Michaels gets his first ever singles win against Angle when Benjamin turns on his mentor.  Benajmin leaves Angle laying postmatch; also laying is Michaels, taken out by Edge.

     94. Royal Rumble ’04: WWF/NWA/ECW Titles: Kurt Angle d. Eddy Guerrero 4 ¼ (switch)

     -Kurt's two year long babyface reign as WWF Champ ended in his relinquishing the title due to injury - as it turns out, that injury was a little overplayed; the wear and tear of having to defend the belt began Angle's transformation from Your Olympic Hero to the Vic Mackey like leader of Team Angle; that transformation is just starting here, he regains the title with chicanery.  

     93. Survivor Series ’87: WWF Title: Ricky Steamboat d. Dynamite Kid 4 ¼

     -The first Survivor Series; Steamboat/Dynamite was the top of the card feud that drove the early days of the Mania era, Steamboat kept in this one.

     92.  WM3 WWF Title: Ricky Steamboat d. Dynamite Kid (switch) 4 ¼

     -Steamboat lost the belt at WM 2, chased for a year and became the promotion's first 2 time champ since Bob Backlund.  Wrestlemania 2 ended with Bret/Davey Boy/Savage/Dynamite all holding their title belts aloft in the ring.  

     91. WM32: WWF Title: Elimination Chamber: AJ Styles d. Kevin Steen, Nick Nemeth, Dean Ambrose, Kalisto, Brock Lesnar 4 ¼ (switch)

      -The first ever WWF Elimination Chamber match was the main event at WM32 - the belt had been vacated as a consequence of the destruction caused by the arriving Bullet Club at the Rumble, this is the Mania debut of Styles, he came into the night as IC Champ - lost that belt - but left as WWF Champ.  

      90. Survivor Series ’04: WWF/NWA/ECW: Chris Benoit draw Eddy Guerrero  4 1/4 

       -Benoit and Eddy came to the WWF together; left together; returned together as members of the Four Horsemen; then split; then once again reunited and both are babyfaces here, albeit with tension mounting between them, in this time limit draw.

      

      89. Survivor Series ’16: Claudio Castagnoli/TJ Perkins d. Kevin Steen/El Generico 4 ¼
      -What was to be the first PPV meeting of Trash and Steen/Generico (Trash was Neville and Claudio split from Steen/Generico) required Perkins to sub in for a seemingly injured Neville..who turned out to be miraculously healthy when his run in led to the fall.

      88. WM16: Dean Malenko d. Taka Michinoku 4 ¼
      -Benoit/Eddy/Saturn - and Malenko arrived as an invading force from the NWA in the build - and all 4 men won singles matches at WM 16 in 2000; Dean beating Taka in a pure workrate matchup.

87.  Summer Slam ’16: WWF Title: AJ Styles d. Kevin Steen 4 ¼ 
      -Steen didn't really lose his WWF Title; it was vacated at the Rumble when the Bullet Club invaded; AJ pinned Steen to win the belt in the Elimination Chamber, and then the two men squared off at Summer Slam - AJ keeping the strap.  

86. Summer Slam '17: WWF Title: Samoa Joe (w/Horsemen) d. AJ Styles (switch) 4 1/4 
      -Samoa Joe had the longest World Title reign in both ROH and TNA; his feud with AJ was the signature program in TNA history - he came to the WWF, started Dark Ride Wrestling, reformed the Four Horsemen, and took his old rival's belt.  

     85. Royal Rumble '05 Paul London d. Rey Mysterio 4 ½
       -Young London was a member of the Clique; he beat Mysterio in a high flying all babyface match back at Rumble 2005.  
    
     84. Royal Rumble '18: Number One Contenders: 2 of 3 Falls: The Revival (Dash/Dawson with AA) d. American Alpha (Gable/Jordan) 4 1/2 - Two young tag teams who feuded all the way through the WWF developmental system; Revival established themselves as superior here, with a show of respect postmatch.

     83. Royal Rumble '03 Tags Titles: Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin d. Chris Benoit/Eddie Guerrero (w/Horsemen) (switch) 4 ½    -Rookie babyfaces Haas and Benjamin upset the veteran legends Benoit and Guerrero here; postmatch saw Benoit seem to split from the Horsemen.  

82. Royal Rumble '00 IC Title: Cage: Chris Jericho d. HHH 4 ½
      -Jericho arrived in '99, took the IC Title from Waltman, and then kept it here in a bloody MSG war against Hunter in a steel cage.  

81. Royal Rumble '99 WWF Title: Barbed Wire: Owen Hart d. Cactus Jack (switch) 4 ½
      -It's a 90's Cactus Jack death match; it's fire and thumbtacks and barbed wire and total war; heavy color for both men, an appearance by Steve Austin to hit the Stunner on Cactus on the ramp - and it's Owen winning his record tying third WWF Title.

80. Summer Slam '96 WWF Title: Shawn Michaels d. Owen Hart 4 ½
       -HBK and Owen were almost always positioned at exactly the same level; Shawn kept his belt over his rival here, Pillman and Austin brawled on the outside in this one.  

79. Summer Slam '99 WWF Title: Career vs. Career: Cactus Jack d. Steve Austin (Guest referee-HBK)  4 ½
       -Austin and Cactus were rivals throughout their WWF careers but never met in a singles PPV match until one of them had to hand over the power to control his career to the other - with HBK, who had been gone for a year, returning as guest referee - the star power was out of this world; Cactus keeping his title.  

78. Royal Rumble '95 WWF Title: No DQ: Shawn Michaels d. Diesel 4 ½   
      -They were good friends, but they were better enemies - Michaels kept his strap in a pretty wild brawl involving Mad Dog Vachon's prosthetic leg.  

77. Royal Rumble '10 Cage: Christian d. CM Punk (w/Maria) 4 ½
-     -The main event of Bret Hart Appreciation Night; Christian inadvertently shoot punched Maria at Summer Slam, a mysterious third party, believed to be Matt Hardy, sent text messages that further amplified matters; postmatch Edge appeared after a blackout to spear Maria while Punk was handcuffed to the bottom rope. Matt and Edge buried their long feud in celebration. One of my very favorite moments in Counterfactual history.  

76. Royal Rumble '89 IC: Curt Hennig (w/Brain and Rude) d. Bret Hart 4 ½ (switch)
      -Unbeaten Hennig wins his first WWF title at the first Rumble, getting Bobby Heenan his first singles gold.  

 75. Survivor Series '14 Tags: TLC 2 out of 3 : The Shield (Black/Ambrose/Langston) d. The Usos 4 ½
-     -It had been over a decade since the last TLC tag match; this is a 6 man match, 3 tag title belts hang above the ring, the first team to snag two is the winner; The Shield became the longest reigning tag champs in promotion history with this one; Bret and Neidhart, the surviving members of previous record holders the Hart Foundation, shook their hands postmatch.  

74. Survivor Series '95 WWF Title: Bret Hart d. Davey Boy Smith 4 ½
      -Bret keeps his belt over his former Hart Foundation partner. Owen knocks his brother out postmatch as Bret was attempting to break the Bulldog's ankle.  

73.  Summer Slam '05 IC Tournament: Kurt Angle d. Shawn Michaels 4 ½
      -With Benjamin and London brawling on the outside; the war between Team Angle and The Clique continued here; Angle moving a step from an IC win and the Triple Crown.  

72.  Royal Rumble '16 Mask v Mask: Kalisto d. Pac 4 ½
     -Pac and Kalisto had traded hard fought wins; at Steen's urging, Pac put up his mask - and lost it and his identity. The next time we'd see him, he was Neville, forming Trash with Claudio.  

      71. Royal Rumble '19: WWF Title: Shinsuke Nakamura d. Kenta 4 1/2 
-    -Kenta had downshifted to veteran babyface, backbone of Dark Ride Wrestling; he began to support WWF Champion Nakamura, bridging the historic gap separating the Japanese promotions that nurtured them.  Kenta turned on Nakamura, leading to this match, likely the last ever Kenta match on WWF PPV.  

     70, Summer Slam '05 IC Tournament: Chris Benoit d. Chris Jericho 4 ½
      -Jericho was at his most burned out in his Lizard King phase; Benoit felt as if he had let him down - as the de facto leader of the Hart Foundation, Benoit's devotion to his own craft often overwhelmed his ability to manage the well being of others.  Benoit, like Angle, moved one step away from the Triple Crown in this IC Tournament.

    69.  Summer Slam '89 Tags: Rockers d. Brainbusters (switch) 4 ½
      -Blow off to a violent feud based on the veteran Brainbusters taking the young Rockers to the learning tree - the Rockers finally go over here, winning their first tag belts and causing a rift between Arn and Tully that never gets resolved.  

    68. WMXX  Falls Count Anywhere: HBK d. HHH 4 ½
      -Hunter's jealousy over Michaels trainees London and Kendrick led him to break Kendrick's arm, postmatch saw Edge return after a year and a half absence, Christian return after being thrown off the top of the Cell by Jericho earlier in the night, and along with London, they formed a new version of the Clique in an all time electrifying moment.

67. WM25 WWF Title: Chris Jericho d. Shawn Michaels 4 ½
      -Babyface Jericho keeps his belt over "The Messiah" Shawn Michaels in the main at Mania Silver.  

66. WM7  WWF Title: Curt Hennig (w/Bobby) d. Randy Savage 4 ½ 
       -Savage is forced to retire (albeit, not for long) with one more loss to Hennig; Savage and Liz, estranged, made up postmatch.  

65. Summer Slam '89 WWF Title: Randy Savage (w/Liz) d. Bret Hart 4 ½
      -Bret was still unable to leap the hurdle of Savage in '89 in his attempt to capture the WWF Title. Savage was the bar that Bret had to clear to become the ace of the promotion.

64. Royal Rumble '15 WWF Title: Brock Lesnar (w/Heyman and Kenta) d. Claudio Castagnoli 4 ½ (switch) 
-     -Claudio was the most popular babyface in the promotion, the "Hey Movement" sweeping into popular culture - but couldn't withstand Lesnar, who won his 2nd WWF Title.  Postmatch saw a confrontation between Kenta and Danielson which led to their WM main event.

     63. Royal Rumble '19: Loser Leaves Town: Tyler Black d. Dean Ambrose - from their time in developmental through a 2+ year title reign as 2/3 of the Shield, Ambrose and Black were inseparable - until they were separated when Black joined the Bullet Club.  The town wasn't big enough for both of them and it was Ambrose who was forced to leave, his wife Renee Young joining Black and the Bullet Club postmatch.

     62.  Royal Rumble '03 WWF/NWA/ECW Titles: Kurt Angle d. Shawn Michaels 4 ½
      -An exhausted Kurt Angle kept the Undisputed Title in an epic match against Michaels; postmatch, Lesnar/Haas/Benjamin all turned on Kurt.  

     61. Survivor Series '03 WWF/ECW/NWA Titles: Eddy Guerrero d. Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit 4 ½
      -A fun mix of friends and rivals and friends turned rivals and uneasy friends about to be rivals - Eddy came in and left with the belt, getting the fall on Brock.  

      60. Summer Slam '02 WWF/NWA/ECW Titles: Kurt Angle d. Rey Mysterio 4 ½
      -The last ECW Title holder before that promotion closed its doors was RVD; when he came to the WWF, he lost that belt in his first match to WWF Champ Angle.  That same fate happened to the NWA's final champion as well, as Angle took Mysterio's belt (the secondary belts and the tag belts also had lineal continuity).  

59. WMXX   Hell in a Cell: Chris Jericho d. Christian 4 ½
      -Harts/Clique is the Hatfields/McCoys of the promotion; another chapter was written here, Trish turned on Christian to begin her Sid and Nancy relationship with Jericho -  Jericho threw Christian off the top of the Cell (this was the second ever Cell match).  

      58. WM35: WWF Title: AJ Styles d. Shinsuke Nakamura 4 1/2 (switch)
    -Styles and Nakamura feuded in New Japan, aligned when they arrived at WWF together, feuded throughout their mutual time in the Bullet Club and now meet here, both as babyfaces. Styles took from Nakamura, winning his second WWF Title - before immediately relinquishing it to Tyler Black, who cashed in the MITB briefcase to return the belt to the Bullet Club

57. WM12 WWF Title: Iron Man: Shawn Michaels d. Bret Hart (switch) 4 ½
      -Shawn's boyhood dream came true.  

 56. Summer Slam '17 Loser Leaves Town: Kevin Steen (w/Generico) d. Neville (w/Claudio/Gargano) 4 1/2 
      -They once were stablemates, confidants, friends - but after a year at war, one of them had to leave town.  It turned out to be Neville.  

 55 Survivor Series '00 Eddy Guerrero d. Dean Malenko 4 ½
      -They had great matches in ECW and the NWA - and in their only meeting in WWF, Eddy and Dean burned it down.  

      54. Summer Slam '95 IC: Ladder Shawn Michaels d. Razor Ramon (w/Waltman/HHH) (switch) 4 ½
      -Michaels became the first 3 time IC champ, taking the belt from former stablemate Ramon. 


     53. Summer Slam '00 Tags: TLC2: Edge/Christian (w/Trish) d. Hardys (w/Lita) d. Dudleys (w/Stevie) 4 ½ -Edge and Christian win their first tag belts here, aided by Clique stablemates Helmsley and Waltman.

      52.  WM5  WWF Title: Randy Savage (w/Liz) d. Bret Hart 4 ½
     -All babyface match, Savage holding off Bret's attempt to win the WWF title; postmatch the Heenan Family (Hennig, Rude, Arn, Tully) attacked Savage - they were fought off by Bret and the Rockers.

      51. Royal Rumble '05 WWF/NWA/ECW: Chris Benoit d. Shawn Michaels 4 ½ 

-BBenoit keeps the belt with the sharpshooter; postmatch are a couple of wild brawls, Team Angle against the Clique and Eddy against Benoit. 

        Back next month with the top top 50 matches in WWF PPV history.