The UKFF's FAVOURITE Pay Per View

[WeeAl]

I thought it might be a fun idea to try and find out what one event is the UKFF's darling, it's crown jewel, our favourite ever show.

I had thought of a few ideas for the thread, and after asking for some opinions on these, a few fine folks gladly offered their advice. So what I'm asking for is the following:

What are your favourite wrestling PPV's of all time? We want favourite, not your opinion on best or this could be over pretty quickly, with my Granny capable of picking the top ten list in between the breaks on Gardener's World. Some of the best PPV's of all time will likely come in the top spots, but I'm hoping we get one or two terrible shows/surprise packages that manage to sneak in there and give us some interesting reading along the way.

What PPV do you fondly remember, maybe it got you into wrestling, or back into wrestling following a hiatus. It might remind you of a certain point in your life that was as much fun as Bryan Adam's Summer of 69' seemed to be, or else just reminds you of when you could watch a PPV without feeling Jaded as all hell.

Post your top 5, it doesn't need to be in order but you can do so if you like. Please also add in some details as to what it is you love about the show and hopefully we'll get some interesting reading. As long as it was a Pay Per View ("Network Exclusive"), then it can be from any promotion you wish.

I'm going to leave the nomination period open until Saturday 11th August (10PM), then I'll collect the ten most nominated shows and publish a poll on Sunday for everyone to cast their vote. That'll either be in this thread (If I can attach it after publishing the thread) or else I'll create a new thread for the poll.

So, Tiger Rick, what makes WrestleMania 9 Top of The Pops for you?




 

[pitseleh]

1. Wrestlemania X7

I don't think I need to go on about how great this one is.

2. One Night Stand 2006

This event happened just as I started going onto to the internet and discovering non-WWE wrestling. The idea that ECW could come back as a full time brand was exciting. I was tempted to put the first ONS on the list, but with moments like RVD finally winning the WWE Championship and the six person hardcore brawl brings this one just over the edge.

3. In Your House: Canadian Stampede

I've always had a soft-spot for mid-90s WWF, even if most of the shows were drab, so my mind was blown when I finally saw this. Every match here is at least good and the ten man tag match might be the best main event WWE have ever put on.

4. Money In The Bank 2011

I don't think I've been more captivated watching a wrestling match than when I stayed up to 4am to see Punk take on Cena. Some decent ladder matches on the undercard here too.

5. Survivor Series 2002

Just an all-round brilliant card. Every match delivered. Seeing Shawn Michaels finally get another crack at a world title was class.

[Michael_3165]

Good thread though I have a suspicion we will get the usual WM17, IYH16, SS02 etc. 

 

In no particular order...

• Wrestle Mania 8 - The Flair vs Savage match was one of my favourite from the period alongside the always brilliant Hart vs Piper. I loved the Roberts vs Undertaker feud and whilst the match was the shits the build was reasonable me. Sid vs Hogan was also not that great but the build, Hogan possibly having his final match, and the return of Warrior saved it. Younger Shawn Michaels vs Santana was a good little outing too. I adored the stadium atmosphere and found that the production for this was head and shoulders above every other WM previously. 
• NJPW Dominion 2018 - The top of this card was beautifully put together with Omega finally getting his win and the World Heavyweight Title. The story of the match was intricate with multiple call backs of call backs from previous matches in their series. It was the right decision and an emotional ending to a feud (which is rare for wrestling IMO). Takahashi vs Ospreay was brutal with some sickening bumps and Takahashi's recent injury makes it hard watching back. Jericho in an NJPW ring is always fun though didn't measure up to his Omega match at WK12. The novelty of Mysterio in NJPW was something to watch the show for though the match was mediocre whilst the Bucks are coming along nicely in the heavyweight tag division. 
• Survivor Series 95 - Hart vs Diesel was wonderfully booked and allowed for a follow-up defence from the Hitman. The Wild Card Match featuring some legendary talent was fun with some storyline riffs running through. Taker and Mabel continued their feud here with another multi-man match and we get the first PPV encounter featuring Goldust in a crappy looking version of his future attire. I believe this was the first VHS I got and watched it repeatedly for years. 
• Wrestle-Kingdom 9 - Rarely is there a PPV that top to bottom I enjoy but this certainly had a variety of fun, brutal and genius matches. Nakamura vs Ibushi was a classic for the Intercontinental Title and was not to be outdone by the equally fantastic Tanahashi vs Okada. The build to the main event was first class after an epic feud and this really delivered. Naito vs Styles didn't deliver as I would have expected but that isn't to say it was bad and Omega pulled out a blinder opposite Taguchi. The multi-man matches were fun and Ishii had a brutal clash against Makabe. One of my first NJPW events and still a favourite. 
• Summer Slam 1998 - THAT ladder match feat. Rock vs HHH was the first 'live' ladder encounter I had witnessed on PPV having missed the early Michaels vs Ramon epics. The main event was perhaps the greatest storytelling in history and the lead to the match between Austin and Taker was phenomenal. In fact The Kane/Undertaker/Mankind/Austin saga was essential viewing for a teenage me and still remembered fondly today. Other decent matches included Brown vs Venis for the European Title and X-Pac vs Jarrett in a hair vs hair match. The one drawback was the desperate need to put a non-wrestler (Sable) in a featured match and Shamrock vs Hart in the Lions Den was the shits too. 

[Kamaras-Tash]

1 - SUMMERSLAM 1989 

I borrowed this from a family friend when I was young ( taped from Sky One I believe ) and never gave it back, I must have watched it at least once a week for longer than I'd care to remember. It's not just rose tinted specs looking back on this is such a great show with so many big characters and great matches to boot.

2 - Royal Rumble 2000

Starting off with a red hot crowd for the Taz debut onto an amazing for the time table match with the Hardyz/Dudleys, then the highlight for the then 14/15 year old me ( Terri Runnels in a tiny bikini, not Mae Youngs tits 😂) The next two matches were nothing to write home about but nothing terrible from what I can remember but that was followed by the classic Trips/Cactus street fight. I have no memory of the actual Rumble match but no doubt it was the standard fare, was that the one with the Too Cool dance off mid match?

3 - Canadian Stampede 1997

Only a short show with it being IYH but it never missed a beat throughout and is one of the easiest watches ever. The Taka/Sasuke match blew me away at the time and the main event is one of the all time best matches ever

4 - WrestleMania 17

Not much needs saying for this one, would have made my list even just for the My Way promo tbh

5 - ECW Anarchy Rulz 99

I had to include an ECW show on here as at the peak of my fandom the thing I'd look forward to the most was getting in from school to be greeted with my latest VHS I'd ordered from GWI or who ever took over after which I've forgot the name of. With this being about PPV's only there was only 2 for me to pick from really, this one and Heatwave 98 and this just pips it. Fantastic opener with Lance Storm and Jerry Lynn, Tajiri/Crazy/Guido doing their usual thing, a good match with Credible and Sabu and an awesome Taz/Awesome/Tanaka 3 way which passed the torch over. 

 

Just picked the first 5 what came to mind really as I'd be here all night, could have picked a better number 5 but had to get an ECW show in there

[air_raid]

OK. I've been as honest as I can hear and instead of thinking "that was fucking good wasn't it" with my pervert hat on, just thinking about which five shows I keep going back to and watching over and over again. The ones I watch most often, logically, are my favourites.

Royal Rumble 1991

Fucking easy choice. I always reach for this tape when I'm back home. It has a massive array of colourful characters and costumes. It has a fantastic Rockers/Orients match to start the show with a bang. It has (though heavily clipped on Silver Vision) a Boss Man vs Barbar match that's far better than you expect, a couple of nearfalls that to this day might have been the most fooled I've ever been. It has Sherri sleazing all over Warrior in a manner I enjoy probably too much. It has Virgil turning babyface and Roddy Piper losing his mind. It has a stunning performance from Savage even though he isn't in a match. It has a Rumble full of all your favourite names of the era all the way from "co-holder of the World Wrestling Federation tag team championship" Bret Hart coming out first, to Hulk Hogan who was basically all of our dads winning the Rumble so you can rewind the tape in a good mood. And watch it again.

SummerSlam 91

Sod the wedding. This is a payoff show and a half in the ring. Bret wins, LOD win, Hogan wins the Gulf War, Virgil puts his boss in his place and Boss Man sends The Mountie to jail. FANTASTIC stuff.

Royal Rumble 92

Technically this isn't truly a one match show but I only ever end up wanting to talk about one match ;

https://ukff.com/topic/132140-royal-rumble-reviews/?do=findComment&comment=2681745

There's not much I could choose to add about the 92 Rumble that isn't repeating the above and "it's my favourite hour of wrestling telly ever."

Survivor Series 1996

It's just really enjoyable. The eliminators are harmless fun and the three singles matches deliver in different ways. Taker/Mankind is a fun brawl, Bret and Steve Austin was set up brilliantly but then told a fantastic story in front of a hot Garden crowd that left you wanting more, and there's something really satisfying about Shawn getting annihilated in front of a crowd that wants to see him battered. The three "fuck you" moments of the skin the cat, the nip-up and of Sid LITERALLY shouting "Fuck you!" after smashing HBK with the camera.... oh, I feel all warm inside just thinking about it.

Canadian Stampede

Less is more. Four superb but completely different matches. But ultimately this is my favourite because the Harts were my heroes and the main event presentation from Farmer's Daughter to fading to black is just brilliant work all round. The consecutive appearances of the five Hart Foundation men at the top of the ramp sounds shivers down my spine. It's crazy watching that show and revelling in a whole building full of people loving Smithers, Owen and Bret as much as I did. No show ever before or since felt more like "this one's for you lad."

[HarmonicGenerator]

Tried to go for a little bit of time variety in mine, otherwise Summerslam 2000 would have been in there. That show was my Bonestorm or my Itchy & Scratchy Movie; the show I was desperate to see but never got to (though by now I have seen the whole thing I think).

WrestleMania X-Seven: self-explanatory I’d hope. I love it from the bottom to the top. It has everything. Responsible for ruining every Mania since by none of them being as good. Rewind and watch again and again and again.

Royal Rumble 2011: picked this one as the first Rumble I got to see live. It may not be the best but it’s got Ziggler’s best ever match against Edge and a fun Rumble.

Royal Rumble 1992: if I were to go back and pick just one show from this era it’d be this one. It’s got virtually everyone you could hope for. Like raid said, maybe a one match show but when the one match is this good, who cares?

Summerslam 2002: sixteen years later I can still remember the entire card off the top of my head. I can’t even do that for every show in this top 5 which should give an indication of my deep love for this show. Again, no Summerslam since has topped it.

Survivor Series 2002: two from 2002 is lazy but I thought I’d finish the list with another one which is supremely watchable from start to finish. There’s nothing I don’t like on this show.

[AdamTH17]

I'll take 3, again, not in any particular order.

Wrestlemania 30 - Probably the only time I've ever been fully invested with a WWE build. The first and only time I'd download RAW/Smackdown in the mornings and watch them as soon as I was home from school. Bryan/HHH is a criminally underrated opener, Shield look awesome, Cesaro gets his massive moment, the shock of the Undertaker losing culminating in the biggest feelgood wrestling moment I've experienced with Bryan tapping out Batista. 

Dominion 2018 - Headlined by the considerably best match I've ever witnessed in Omega/Okada, which sets it on a massive pedastal alone. Wasn't massive on Naito/Jericho on a second viewing but still a decent plunder match. Takahashi/Ospreay was wild, Bucks/LIJ was a seamless transition to the heavyweight tag belts for the Bucks, and Kanemaru/Despy vs 3K was surprisingly good. This is on here mainly due to the main event though. As perfect a wrestling match possible. The closing shot of Kenny, Ibushi and Bucks posing with their belts remains my laptop wallpaper.

Wrestle Kingdom 11 -  If the two events prior are mainly included due to my love of a singular match, or moment, this is the event to buck the trend. The top 4 matches on this card I'd feel comfortable going **** 1/2 or over on all of them, and they're so varied and different that they each have their own unique identity to set them apart from one another. KUSHIDA and Takahashi with their manic high flying sprint, Shibata and Goto's strong style fight, Naito overcoming his personal demon in Tanahashi and the wrestling classic between Okada and Omega. Just all around quality.

 

[tiger_rick]

SummerSlam 90: Nostalgia all the way here. One of the earliest PPVs I saw and absolutely adored. Harts/Demos might still be my favourite tag match to this day, Dusty Rhodes promo is incredible, thanks to Dylan, the Cage match is very good and the whole thing just has an array of characters and colour that are everything wrestling should be.

WrestleMania 10: There's a nostalgic aspect to this as it was the first PPV I ever saw on it's first airing and it featured my favourite wrestler being cemented as the man. But it's high on the best scale too. To this day, it still has the best two matches I've ever seen on the same show. I'm high on Savage and Crush too. Most of the crap bits are too short to offend. 

King Of The Ring 93: The Bret Hart show is always going to appeal to the Bret Hart mark. His three matches here are outstanding. It's smack in the middle of one of my favourite years. To disappoint @WeeAl, I'm not going to pick WM9 but I do love that show, and the Rumble, and SummerSlam. I can't really explain why other than that with wrestling getting harder to find, disappearing from public view and with fellow fans being non existent, I just really cherished what I still saw.

Royal Rumble 1992: It's so obvious because its so fucking brilliant. The year before has a phenomenal opener but Warrior losing the title and Hogan winning the Rumble sour it for me, despite it being at the absolute peak of my fandom. 92 has a really good opener and a great moment when Piper wins a belt and is capped off by the greatest Rumble ever and Ric Flair's incredible one man show. I still say this is Flair's best performance ever. It differs from incredible matches with Steamboat or Funk, etc. They're 50% of incredible. This is 99% him. Commentary is so good, I sometimes just listen to it.

Canadian Stampede: Tough to pick a last one because WM7 is such a favourite of mine and there are some good "modern" shows but this is about as good as WWE ever got on PPV with a tremendous card of only four matches but all are at least really good. That main event though. Heat I've rarely ever experienced on one side and sheer unabashed love and adoration on the other. It's just such a spectacle ("Will you stop?") that it's hard not to love it. Gives me goosebumps.

I didn't count One Night Stand. If that does count, I'm struggling to get 6 into 5!

[big7thletter]

Royal Rumble 2001.

The matches were incredible, especially the rumble itself. The showdown between a bloodied Austin across the ring from The Rock's beaming eyes was phenomenal. The energy was insane. The Brothers of Destruction waiting for Scotty Too Hotty to come down was fantastic. The hardcore part of the match too was great haha. Kane was in best form ever.

Jericho v Benoit match was incredible. One of the best matches i've ever seen

Kurt Angle v HHH was great. 

[Otto Dem Wanz]

Fully Loaded 2000

This has the twin honour of being significant to me personally as well as a stonking good card. This was the first PPV show I ever saw in full, thanks to my dad buying the VHS at some indeterminate point in the early 2000’s, he wasn’t into wrestling and just got it to keep me off his back, though I do remember him laughing his arse off when he saw the fat Samoan bloke jump off a cage.

I only had Saturday morning Smackdown in those days due to my parents forbidding me from watching Raw and my pocket money couldn’t stretch to both wrestling videos and football stickers, though from 2002 onwards I didn’t even have that, as Dad left Mum and took the Sky with him.

What a show though. The aforementioned cage match is heaps of fun, the opener has tons of heat, the comedy stuff with E&C backstage was ACTUALLY FUNNY and the pre match promos from both teams before the tag title match were ace. Despite one of them being a let-down (Angle/Taker) two of the Triple Main Events blew my mind – the Last Man Standing match was superb and a brilliant illustration of how HHH could elevate people through escalating brutality, and the WWF title match was really gripping and had a clever finish.

The Dallas crowd is hot and the show also features one of my favourite skits ever – which I love so much I have commemorated it in my avatar.

 

*In WWF New York*

*Big Boss Man is there, reads “It doesn’t matter” Rock t shirt worn by random punter*

“It doesn’t matter? Are you old enough to drink in this bar? Show me your ID”

“I showed it to the bar tender already…”

“I ain’t the bar tender I’m the Big Boss Man, show me your ID”

*checks ID*

*Grabs the guy’s mouth and in doing so purses his lips*

“Stay out of trouble”

*Leaves*

*Comes back, takes a swig of punter’s beer*

 

 

Just marvellous.

[Bukamania]

Canadian Stampede 1997 - Wild crowd with the Hart Foundation faction at it's peak with the Canada vs. America story line.

WrestleMania 19 - Super fun show that gets overlooked because of WrestleMania 17 but for me it's on the same level with all four of it's major matches delivering (Hogan/Vince, Rock/Austin, Jericho/HBK and Lesnar/Angle).

WrestleMania 17 - Probably my most watched show of all time. Don't what else you can say about this show except it's one of the best ppvs of all time and still holds up well in 2018.

Survivor Series 1995 - Not a show that will be featured on many people's lists but I am a New Generation fan boy and this was show was unique for it's traditional survivor series match with Heels/Faces being mixed. The main event with Nash/Hart was an epic No DQ match which hadn't really been done before. This show has a special place in my heart.

SummerSlam 2002 - How can you not rate this show? Not a single bad match, Mysterio/Angle have a fun opener, HBK/HHH was excellent and Brock Lesnar became a star after beating The Rock.

[Briefcase]

Add Mania 17 to this list for reasons already explained and also Rumble 2000.

Also Judgement Day 2000 for me just for the main event alone. Those last few minutes just summed up the Attitude Era for me. 

[Onyx2]

Survivor Series 1989: I've watched it more than any other PPV. From the brilliant intros from the talent (recapped to perfection by @HarmonicGenerator) which is such a great idea I don't know why they do it at least once a year, to Vince's testosterone-drenched rundown of the card, through Dusty getting whipped, to Hogan being protected, flawless commentary, turkey jokes, Rude's tights, Warrior bitching out Heenan, plus that bit at the end where it cuts out into a BBC2 taping of Red Dwarf's Better Than Life... oh wait, that's just my VHS copy.

Sometimes when I can't sleep, I try to remember all the teams and order of elimination to keep my brain busy. 

WrestleMania III: I will stand up for Hogan v Andre all day long. Steamboat and Savage is good but there just isn't the epic drama of the battle of the bodyslams. The buildup is unparalleled. The execution is flawless for a WWE-style main event. Plus I love the midget match, OK?

WrestleMania XXX: The best event of the modern era. The catharsis of Daniel Bryan's win is perfect, Cesaro grabs the brass ring (ha ha!), Hulk / Rock / Austin is fanboytastic, The Streak... great story all round.

No Mercy 1999: Attitude Era PPVs are generally average. But this one just blows everything away. This has the infamous Chyna v Jarrett Good Housekeeping match where he held up a ransom and turns in his only good performance, X-Pac wins a great four corners match and Triple H has a decent match on top. But it's all about the ladder match. I had to stop afterwards, rewind and watch it again it was so good. I traded my copy of Fist of the North Star for this, that's how good it was.

NXT Takeover Brooklyn (2015). Liger in WWE! Sasha and Bayley when they were the best wrestlers on the planet! Balor v Owens! NXT ruled the world at this point and their roster was probably at its apex to date. I stayed up overnight to watch this and I've done this about five times total in my wrestling fandom. 

All those people saying WrestleMania X-Seven with no explanation should have their vote discounted. Gotta make it hard for the shoe-in.

[tiger_rick]

WrestleMania 17 doesn't hold up that well in the favourite stakes. The finish ended (killed) the hottest era in wrestling.

TLC is lots of fun, Vince/Shane is remarkably good, gimmick batte royal entrances are enjoyable, Taker/Trips is decent. I like the hardcore match too. Everything else is average or worse. Angle/Benoit might have been wonderful, who knows. Benoit's ruined it like everything else.

Still well in the top 3 Manias for quality but favourite PPV ever? Nah, not for me. How can it be when you know what's coming?

[HarmonicGenerator]

43 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

WrestleMania 17 doesn't hold up that well in the favourite stakes. The finish ended (killed) the hottest era in wrestling.

TLC is lots of fun, Vince/Shane is remarkably good, gimmick batte royal entrances are enjoyable, Taker/Trips is decent. I like the hardcore match too. Everything else is average or worse. Angle/Benoit might have been wonderful, who knows. Benoit's ruined it like everything else.

Still well in the top 3 Manias for quality but favourite PPV ever? Nah, not for me. How can it be when you know what's coming?

Speaking as someone who only saw Stone Cold first-hand in his dreadful autumn 2000 'kill EVERYONE' run, I was perfectly happy with the ending. And as someone who never saw nor gave a toss about WCW, I wasn't thinking about eras of wrestling. My golden era didn't finish until Eddie lost the belt in '04.