List of WWE pay-per-view events
This is a chronological list of pay-per-views promoted by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Each month, WWE holds one or two annual pay-per-view events. One event is usually three hours long and features six to twelve matches. Pay-per-view events are a big part of how the WWE earns money.[1][2]
In the table below, NXT TakeOver: Toronto and NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn are marked with asterixes. This is because this will be the third event in the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn series which is a branch of the NXT TakeOver series. The table also includes WWE Network events.
History
Many people believe wrongly that the first WWE, then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), pay-per-view was November 1985's The Wrestling Classic. This was a tournament held at the Rosemont Horizon near Chicago. The first WrestleMania event, in March of the same year, was on pay-per-view in some areas.[6] The first two WrestleManias earned much money. After WrestleMania III became one of the best events in wrestling history, the WWF then decided to have more pay-per-views.
The first Survivor Series event took place on November 29 1987. It was shown at the same time as NWA's Starrcade which was thought to be the biggest yearly event for NWA. The WWF informed cable companies that if they were showing Starrcade, they would not be allowed to show future WWF events. Most companies showed Survivor Series. Because of this, Starrcade did not make much money that year. This is thought to be the start of many problems for Jim Crockett Promotions.[7]
The first Royal Rumble in January 1988 was shown on the USA Network. It had the highest rating in the network's history up until that time. The event became a pay-per-view the next year.[8]
The first SummerSlam was held in Madison Square Garden in August 1988.[9] These four events - the Royal Rumble in January, WrestleMania in March or April, SummerSlam in August, and Survivor Series in November - were the only annual pay-per-view offerings (other than the King of the Ring) from the WWF until 1995. After World Championship Wrestling (WCW) started showing more pay-per-views, the WWF increased the number of pay-per-views it showed. At first, the WWF used the name In Your House for its new shows. Beginning in 1996, it began using other names along with the In Your House name (such as Bad Blood and No Way Out). This was done to avoid confusion. By the end of February of 1999, the In Your House name was no longer used.
Both companies increased the number of pay-per-views until they each had one pay-per-view event each month. From the late '90s until 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment had a once-a-month pay-per-view schedule. The pay-per-view events in the United States can be bought through iN DEMAND, Dish Network or DirecTV.
Up until 2003, the WWE ran two pay-per-views a year which were only shown in the United Kingdom. After the brand extension, they stopped doing these two events. Instead of the UK events, they did international tours which were taped for television. Currently, WWE has the WrestleMania Revenge tour, after WrestleMania, at the beginning of the year and the Survivor Series tour, at the end of the year, in the UK. Each includes a RAW, SmackDown!, and an ECW taping.
In Australia, WWE's pay-per-views are shown on Main Event. In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, some pay-per-views are shown on Sky Sports 1 and others on Sky Box Office.
Starting with the 2008 Royal Rumble, all WWE pay-per-views were broadcast in High-definition.
Brand extension
In June 2003, WWE decided to only use people from one brand extension for many of its pay-per-views. Only the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series events used people from different brands. WrestleMania and The Royal Rumble were the only events with wrestlers from different brands competing against each other. This allowed WWE to show more pay-per-view events, such as Cyber Sunday and The Great American Bash. From late 2005, they decided to change this and matches with people from different brands were shown more often. In March 2007, it said they would stop only using one brand on each pay-per-view. All of its pay-per-views would have matchs from all three brands.[10] The one-brand-only events were:
Pay-per-view | Brand | Years | Note |
---|---|---|---|
New Year's Revolution | RAW | 2005-2007 | |
Backlash | RAW | 2004-2006 | |
Bad Blood | RAW | 2003-2004 | |
Vengeance[11] | SmackDown! | 2003[12] | |
RAW | 2004-2006 | ||
Unforgiven | RAW | 2003-2006 | |
Cyber Sunday | RAW | 2004-2006 | From 2004-2005, the event was called Taboo Tuesday.[13][14][15] |
Armageddon | RAW | 2003[16] | |
SmackDown! | 2004-2006 | ||
No Way Out | SmackDown! | 2004-2007 | |
Judgment Day | SmackDown! | 2004-2006 | |
The Great American Bash | SmackDown! | 2004-2006 | |
No Mercy | SmackDown! | 2003-2006 | |
December to Dismember | ECW | 2006 | Was the only ECW exclusive pay-per-view.[17] |
Former pay-per-view events
Pay-per-view | Year(s) Active | Note |
---|---|---|
The Wrestling Classic | 1985 only | |
This Tuesday in Texas | 1991 only | |
King of the Ring | 1993-2002, 2015 | Non Pay-Per-View event from 2006 to 2010 |
In Your House | 1995-1999 | |
Bad Blood | 1997, 2003-2004 | |
December to Dismember | 2006 only | Was the only ECW exclusive pay-per-view. |
New Year's Revolution | 2005-2007 |
WWE Backlash WWE Judgment Day WWE The Great American Bash WWE Unforgiven WWE No Mercy WWE Cyber Sunday WWE Armageddon WWE Fatal 4 Way WWE No Way Out
Pay-per-view event name changes
Pay-per-view | Year(s) Active | Note |
---|---|---|
Taboo Tuesday | 2004-2005 | Name changed to WWE Cyber Sunday. |
ECW One Night Stand | 2005-2006 | Name changed to WWE One Night Stand. |
Vengeance | 2001-2007 | Name changed to WWE Night of Champions. |
WWE One Night Stand | 2007-2008 | Name changed to Extreme Rules |
WWE The Great American Bash | 2004-2008 | Name changed to The Bash |
WWE Unforgiven | 1999-2008 | Name changed to Breaking Point |
WWE No Mercy | 1999-2008 | Name changed to Hell in a Cell |
WWE Cyber Sunday | 2006-2008 | Name changed to WWE Bragging Rights |
Armageddon | 1999-2000, 2002-2008 | Name changed to TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs |
WWE Fatal 4-Way | 2010 | Name changed to WWE: Capitol Punishment |
International pay-per-view events
Pay-per-view | Year(s) Active | Note |
---|---|---|
One Night Only | 1997 only | |
Mayhem in Manchester | 1998 only | |
Capital Carnage | 1998 only | |
No Mercy (UK) | 1999 only | Although this event took place in the UK, another PPV called "No Mercy" was held the same year in the US |
Rebellion | 1999-2002 | |
Global Warning | 2002 only | |
Insurrextion | 2000-2003 |
Upcoming pay-per-view schedule
Date | Name | Venue | City | Main Event | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 4, 2014 | Extreme Rules | IZOD Center | East Rutherford, NJ | TBA | [18] |
June 1, 2014 | Payback | Allstate Arena | Rosemont, IL | TBA | [19] |
June 29, 2014 | Money in the Bank | TD Garden | Boston, MA | TBA | [20] |
July 20, 2014 | Battleground | Tampa Bay Times Forum | Tampa, FL | TBA | [21] |
August 17, 2014 | SummerSlam | Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA | TBA | [22] |
September 21, 2014 | Night of Champions | TBA | TBA | TBA | [23] |
October 26, 2014 | Hell in a Cell | TBA | TBA | TBA | [23] |
November 23, 2014 | Survivor Series | TBA | TBA | TBA | [23] |
December 14, 2014 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | TBA | TBA | TBA | [23] |
March 29, 2015 | WrestleMania 31 | Levi's Stadium | Santa Clara, CA | TBA | [24] |
Non-pay-per-view supercards
Supercard | Year(s) Active | Note |
---|---|---|
Saturday Night's Main Event | 1985-1991, 2006-present | The show began being shown again in 2006.[25] |
The Main Event | 1988-1991 | Was a spin-off of Saturday Night's Main Event. |
List Of WWE Pay-per-view EventsInternational Pay-per-view Events Media
WrestleMania is WWE's biggest live event. In 2024, the 40th edition (pictured) took place at Lincoln Financial Field and attracted 60,036 spectators on Night 1 and 60,203 spectators on Night 2 (120,239 spectators in total)
References
- ↑ "WWE Corporate 2003 Quarter 1 Issues". WWE Corporate. 2003-08-13. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "WWE Corporate 2003 Quarter 2". WWE Corporate. 2003-11-17. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "WWE Official Calendar 2010". WWE Magazine. World Wrestling Entertainment.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Caldwell, James (2010-02-27). "WWE releases official 2010 PPV schedule, changes one PPV again". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gerweck, Steve (2010-07-27). "Upcoming dates for WWE PPV events in 2011". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ↑ "Survivor Series 1989 Venue history". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ Cohen, Eric. "The History of Survivor Series". About.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "Royal Rumble History". Bella. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "Summerslam Venue 1988 Venue History". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "WWE Pay-Per-Views to follow WrestleMania formula". WWE Corporate. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "WWE presents Night of Champions - June 29, 2008". Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
- ↑ "Vengeance 2003 Homepage". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "Cyber Sunday All time results". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "Taboo Tuesday 2004 Results". WWE. Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "Taboo Tuesday 2005 Homepage". WWE. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "WWE Armageddon 2003 Homepage". WWE. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ "December to Dismember 2006 Homepage". WWE. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
- ↑ Namako, Jason (5 February 2014). "Official location for the 2014 WWE Extreme Rules PPV". WrestleView. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ Gomez, Luis (2014-01-21). "WWE's Payback returning to Allstate Arena". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ Grant, Aaron. "WWE Money In the Bank Pre-sale, Correction on Rusev's Dark Match Win, Podcast Updates". Ringside News. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ Giri, Raj. "WWE Battleground Location, Mick Foley Hosting Comedy Show (Video), Evan Bourne Note". wrestlinginc.com. Raj Giri. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ Martin, Adam (11 February 2014). "Location announced for 2014 WWE Summerslam PPV". WrestleView. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "WWE: Check out when the big events are being shown on Sky". Skysports. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ Melok, Bobby. "WrestleMania 31 to take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on March 29, 2015". WWE. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
- ↑ "WWE returns to NBC with Saturday Night's Main Event". WWE Corporate. 2006-02-22. Archived from the original on 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
Other websites
- WWE.com
- WWE Corporate.com Archived 2019-12-15 at the Wayback Machine