It’s officially WrestleMania season for fans, as we’re less than a month away from the annual season. WWE show. Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes are set to clash while Bloodline is in shambles, and the pay-per-view looks set to be the destination for the climax of the nearly three-year angle.
However, while WrestleMania 38 is likely to be amazing, it likely won’t be perfect. That’s usually the case when looking at WWE’s pay-per-view history as well. While there have been some amazing pay-per-view events over the years, there is almost always something holding the event back from being perfect.
10 The beast in the east: Nikki Bella vs. paige vs tamina
The Beast in the East was a rare non-American WWE pay-per-view event that took place in 2015. The card took place in Tokyo, Japan, and featured some incredible matches, including Neville vs. Chris Jericho, and Finn Balor finishing with Kevin. Owens’ NXT title run.
The card wasn’t entirely perfect, though, and the triple threat Divas Championship match stood out like a sore thumb. Although they didn’t have much time, since this only lasted 8 minutes, they didn’t have chemistry either and the game itself was poor.
9 WrestleMania Backlash 2021: Damien Priest vs. the miz
WrestleMania Backlash is a fun, relatively forgotten pay-per-view event that took place in the Thunderdome. Roman Reigns headlined the show in a banger with Cesaro, The Mysterios won tag team gold, and Bianca Belair put together a fun match with Bayley to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Overall, the event was solid, but the worst part is the most remembered. Damien Priest and The Miz had a zombie lumberjack fight that coincided with Army of the Dead, starring Batista. Overall this match was terrible. To make matters worse, Miz tore his ACL and was out for months.
8 Royal Rumble 2003: Triple H vs. scott steiner
The 2003 edition of the Royal Rumble was an incredible show from top to bottom. Brock Lesnar continued his reign of dominance, winning the Royal Rumble and also defeating Big Show in a singles match on the undercard.
However, not only was there something wrong, but there was one of the worst matches in WWE history on the card. Triple H and Scott Steiner did little more than sit and stare at each other for nearly 20 minutes as the two had negative chemistry.
7 Tables, ladders and chairs 2015: Rusev vs. ryback
TLC 2015 was a show that somehow exceeded expectations. The card wasn’t hype, but Roman Reigns and Sheamus put together a fun TLC match, and other highlights included Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, and The Wyatt Family vs. ECW Originals in a tables match.
With that being said, TLC 2015 had a tough fight in the form of Rusev vs. ryback. The two men did not capture the attention of the crowd, and this was hard work during the eight minutes that it lasted.
6 Fully Loaded 2000: The APA Vs. edge and christian
Fully Loaded 2000 was the third and final pay-per-view edition and it was stacked. Triple H faced Chris Jericho, The Undertaker faced Kurt Angle, and there was an explosive opening tag team match featuring The Hardy Boyz and Lita against T&A and Trish Stratus.
However, while the first tag team match was amazing, there was also a bad one on the show. The APA faced Edge and Christian in a short and bizarre match that ended by disqualification after five minutes.
5 Clash at the castle: Tyson Fury’s performance
In terms of matches, Clash at the Castle was actually a great show from start to finish. There is nothing that stands out as bad, and instead, it is the opposite. Guenther vs. Sheamus was a Match of the Year contender, and Roman Reigns’ epic clash with Drew McIntyre was a spectacle.
With that being said, there was still a bad moment on the show and it features heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury. ‘The Gypsy King’ has appeared on WWE television in the past and made a cameo appearance after the main event. Instead of doing an angle with Reigns or McIntyre, Fury just sang American Pie until the show went off the air.
4 SummerSlam 2002: Undertaker vs. Proof
SummerSlam 2002 is primarily known for the main event, which saw Brock Lesnar become the youngest WWE Champion by defeating The Rock. That being said, there were other big matches on the card outside of that one, including the epic clash between Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
Just one match before Michaels and Triple H nearly killed each other in a street fight, The Undertaker and Test engaged in a tough match. The two men had no chemistry and completely killed the vibe of the crowd.
3 Crown Jewel 2021: Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop
For whatever reason, the WWE shows in Saudi Arabia have been mostly terrible and felt completely disconnected from all the other events of the year. Crown Jewel’s 2021 edition felt like a departure from that, as the card was really fun. It wasn’t perfect, but when Goldberg, 50, strikes an electric match, you know it’s a good sign for the night.
However, one match stood out as a sore thumb and that was the final of the Queen’s Crown tournament. Zelina Vega and Doudrop only had a few minutes to work, but it wouldn’t have mattered either. The crowd didn’t like him, and these two didn’t work well together.
2 Extreme Rules 2009: Handicap Hog Pen Match
The first edition of Extreme Rules was a great show. The highlight of the show was Jeff Hardy defeating Edge in an escalator match, followed by CM Punk cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
While the card was great, the hog pen handicap match was one of the worst matches in WWE history. Santina Marella defeated Chavo and Vickie Guerrero, and everything forgotten about this match is for the better.
1 WrestleMania 21: Akebono vs. Big show
18 years after WrestleMania 21, WWE is preparing to return to Hollywood for this year’s event. If the fans are lucky, they will be able to avoid bad games, because last time they weren’t so lucky. At WrestleMania 21, Akebono faced Big Show in a Sumo match.
Unsurprisingly, the former Sumo champion won within a minute of the competition. The only saving grace about this match is that it was very short, but it still stood out compared to the rest of the event.