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Best Non-WrestleMania PPV Of All Time?


Liam O'Rourke

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If GAB 1989 is the best then surely Spring Stampede 1994 is a close second, because that card is absolutely the bollocks.

 

*DDP/Johnny B. Badd as your fun warm up the crowd opening match.

*Regal/Pillman brings the wrestling plus the gimmick of people trying to beat Regal before the time limit that I love.

*Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne/Nasty Boys have one the ugliest, yet brilliant Street Fights.

*Austin/Muta work a fun US Title match with the only disappointing moment of the show (a count-out finish).

*Sting/Rick Rude have an awesome big time match with great story twists involving run-ins from Harley Race & Vader.

*Dustin Rhodes/Bunkhouse Buck bleed and beat each other all over the ring in a superb Bunkhouse Match.

*Vader/Boss Man have your classic big men bet the bejeesus out of each other, with Vader attempting a tope and hitting the Vadersault.

*Flair/Steamboat main event from the forgotton/unappreciated 1994 series. What a fucking show.

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If GAB 1989 is the best then surely Spring Stampede 1994 is a close second, because that card is absolutely the bollocks.

 

*DDP/Johnny B. Badd as your fun warm up the crowd opening match.

*Regal/Pillman brings the wrestling plus the gimmick of people trying to beat Regal before the time limit that I love.

*Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne/Nasty Boys have one the ugliest, yet brilliant Street Fights.

*Austin/Muta work a fun US Title match with the only disappointing moment of the show (a count-out finish).

*Sting/Rick Rude have an awesome big time match with great story twists involving run-ins from Harley Race & Vader.

*Dustin Rhodes/Bunkhouse Buck bleed and beat each other all over the ring in a superb Bunkhouse Match.

*Vader/Boss Man have your classic big men bet the bejeesus out of each other, with Vader attempting a tope and hitting the Vadersault.

*Flair/Steamboat main event from the forgotton/unappreciated 1994 series. What a fucking show.

Aye, it's a cracker of a show alright. I'm not as high on it as you though, as I thought Regal/Pillman was a bit disappointing considering they were two of my favourites, Austin/Muta was a bit boring, and I also have the probably unpopular opinion that the streetfight was hugely overrated and hasn't aged well, albeit still entertaining for the novelty that it was at the time.

 

I much prefer their straight tag match from Superbrawl with Payne going nuts, throwing the Nasties around everywhere, culminating in that comically painful looking spot. The Slamboree streetfight with Sullivan was miles better than the Stampede one too imo

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It's not a contender for best show (even of that year) but Survivor Series 2002 is great fun. The first elimination chamber match with HBK winning, Big Show beating Brock for the first time in a really good match, fun under card. A great sit back and watch show.

It's not a contender for best show (even of that year) but Survivor Series 2002 is great fun. The first elimination chamber match with HBK winning, Big Show beating Brock for the first time in a really good match, fun under card. A great sit back and watch show.

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Some random ones I liked that have not been mentioned, maybe not the best ever. Just good ones.

 

KotR '93, can't go wrong with three Bret Hart matches. I enjoyed all of the matches when I was young and still do now.

 

SummerSlam '95, barring the main-event, all good matches. Topped off by the amazing ladder rematch.

 

SummerSlam '97- a classic show. Probably my pick for this thread (that or Canadian Stampede.) Mankind/HHH in the cage, Golddust/Pillman, Austin/Owen. Bret and Taker with Shawn. Loaded card that I honestly feel isn't raved over enough. Not a bad match, IMO

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Obligatory nod towards Summerslam 92.

 

Non-obligatory pointing out that it's fucking dire!

 

Wow, really? I may be letting nostalgia cloud my judgment here, but I can go back and watch that show anytime!

 

ECW One Night Stand 2 was a good show from top to bottom.

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1997 was a great year.  I'd say Canadian Stampede is my favourite non WM PPV, but also Summerslam 97, Bad Blood, and One Night Only were all excellent.  Fantastic time to be a fan of WWF, mostly due to the quality of performers on top of the card (Bret Hart, HBK, Undertaker, Austin), but also the cracking Hart Foundation Heel/Face storyline and decent midcard talent (Foley, HHH, Owen Hart etc)

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Royal Rumble 2001 is a favourite of mine... One of my favourite Rumble matchs packed with star power arguably at the height of their game. Not a dull spot on the undercard either... Dudleys V Edge & Christian... Benoit V Jericho ladder match... HHH V Angle was solid... Even Chyna & Ivory did their job alright. 

Money In The Bank 2011 was loads of fun too. Two great ladder matches and an insanely hot main event in Punk V Cena. One of the few shows I made sure to buy on DVD afterwards.

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What about Summerslam 2002? Really highlighted the peak and strength of the brand split.

 

- Michaels returns to face Triple H in an emotionally charged bout.

- Misterio's PPV debut vs. Angle. Angle at his best versus an exciting new addition.

- Brock beats the Rock to become the youngest champ ever.

- RVD vs. Benoit for the IC title. Brand vs brand "dream" match.

 

And the filler matches include Flair, Jericho, The Undertaker, Edge and Eddie Guerrero.

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Challenge recently showed classic TNA PPVs and they made the brilliant choice to show Unbreakable 2005 and the first time I've seen it in full and what a show that was! The main event and easily the best match in TNA history of Styles v Daniels v Joe for the X Division Title. over 20 minutes of perfection. If only I could watch it again without having to watch rubbish quality YouTube clips. Just an absolute cracker!

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What about Summerslam 2002? Really highlighted the peak and strength of the brand split.

 

- Michaels returns to face Triple H in an emotionally charged bout.

- Misterio's PPV debut vs. Angle. Angle at his best versus an exciting new addition.

- Brock beats the Rock to become the youngest champ ever.

- RVD vs. Benoit for the IC title. Brand vs brand "dream" match.

 

And the filler matches include Flair, Jericho, The Undertaker, Edge and Eddie Guerrero.

 

One of my Fav PPVs too

 

My Fav has to be Invasion 2001, forget the crap angle the show itself was class.

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I really enjoyed Survivor Series 1998. It was the first PPV I watched for a couple of years after going off wrestling for a bit and I thought it was awesome. The whole heel turn of The Rock when he had just become the biggest face besides Austin, Mankind being groomed as the McMahon golden boy before being screwed over, fun tag title match and the first PPV match for the legendary Duane Gill.

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Outwith Wrestlemanias, i'd probably be left with Summerslam or Royal Rumble '91, with the earlier mentioned Summerslam 89 and GAB 89 also in mind. But I can't really say any more about them than I already have on here, i'd just be like a broken record. So i'll give a mention to some shows i'm particularly fond of, even if they're maybe not quite up there as absolute faves.

 

Shows like Souled Out 98. The best PPV from 'modern'/latter half WCW imo. Such a fun and varied show at a hot and interesting time for WCW with the huge recent influx of talent, and Thunder premiering. And all that was with no Hogan/Sting focus, like the shows it was sandwiched between

 

Also, another one that's an easy top 10 for me is Survivor Series 96. Amazing show, definitely the best Survivor Series, and felt like a whole new beginning for the WWF. I can't say enough good things about it. Like night and day when you compare it to the pretty grim Summerslam a mere quarter earlier. The previous years Survivor Series deserves a lot of credit for also being great apart from that womens stuff.

 

And from that hot streak of WCW PPVs in 1992, i'm pretty definite that Superbrawl II was the best overall show of the lot. A better main event would probably have elevated that one right up there with my top PPVs, as the rest of it was class. The otherwise awesome Beach Blast was only soured by the lacklustre and odd 'main event' too.

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I want to thank everybody who contributed feedback on this topic - the podcast is now up and ready to listen to, and we read a good bit of the feedback and comments left here. So, if you wish, the link is below, and we have a good discussion on the Best Non-Mania PPV Ever, discussing Great American Bash 89, Summerslam 2002, AAA When Worlds Collide, Canadian Stampede, Money In The Bank 2011, Spring Stampede 94, Royal Rumble 92, ECW One Night Stand, and many many more. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

 

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/hvr4z3/SCGRadio14-TheBestNon-WrestleManiaPPVOfAllTime.mp3

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Money in The Bank 2011

Daniel Bryan defeated Kane, Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Sheamus

D-Bry wins the Smackdown Money in the Bank in an excellent 25 minute opener.

Kelly2 def Brie Bella - Meh

 

Mark Henry defeated Big Show
The start of making Mizark awesome before his WHC run. Plus it was only 6 mins.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Alex Riley, R-Truth, The Miz, Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger
Del Rio wins Raw MITB, back when people cared about him.

Christian defeated Randy Orton ©

Christian beats Randy via DQ to win the WHC. I never thought Christian was going to win the belt again and his 2 day reign and heel turn (in hindsight) was fantastic. This set up an even better blow off match at Summerslam

 

CM Punk defeated John Cena © in 33:44

Punk winning in Chicago, fending off Del Rio and blowing the kiss to Vince is one of the best moments of the last 10 years. I was lucky enough to see this event at the Cinema, maybe it's why I love it so much.

 

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