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The main event of a show is subjective in that the choice of who closes the show is not based on a specific reason. Some fans may feel the world title match is the one that should send the fans home but decades ago, the world title match was not the final bout.
For WWE, outside of Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, and Survivor Series, fans expect a big prize to be fought for at the end of the night and if it was not for the title, it better have been good.
10 SummerSlam 1994
SummerSlam in 1994 was fondly remembered for featuring a match that ranked highly in several categories. It was one of the best steel cage matches, the best matches of the ’90s, and one of the best matches for the WWE Championship. This was the fantastic clash between Bret and Owen Hart that was won by Bret who defended his world championship.
The main event this night was The Undertaker vs. “The Undertaker”. The real Undertaker returned this night after an absence lasting several months starting with his Casket match loss to Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble. With Hollywood star Leslie Nielsen assisting in the build-up, it took precedence over the more deserving sibling battle.
9 No Way Out 2003
Still within the first year of the inaugural brand extension, No Way Out in 2003 only had one world title match between the two represented brands. This was Triple H vs. Scott Steiner for the Wolrd Heavyweight Champion. WWE Champion Kurt Angle was in a handicap match that might. A marquee match on the night was Eric Bischoff vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in Austin’s first televised appearance since his 2002 company walkout.
The closing match for the night was worth its value on paper, being the second meeting between Hulk Hogan and The Rock. The two met and the prior year’s WrestleMania in what arguably should have been the main event of the show. WWE had the two close their rematch, also in Canada, but did not live up to their first meeting.
8 Armageddon 2005
The rankings and discussions for what is the best Survivor Series match cannot be made without the 2005 variety. The buildup was solid with brand invasions leading up to the PPV. SmackDown‘s World Heavyweight Champion Batista and Rey Mysterio, who would be the WWE Tag Team Champions in late 2005, kept the inter-promotional war going by fighting Raw‘s World Tag Team Champions Kane and Big Show at Armageddon.
Even though there was no world title match on the show there was a reason to purchase the PPV. The main event was the closing chapter in the Undertaker-Randy Orton “legend vs legend killer” feud inside Hell in a Cell. Undertaker won the match which was chronicled in the WWE Network series Untold.
7 Armageddon 2006
Armageddon 2006 was an incredibly loaded card for gimmicks. It featured an Inferno match, Ladder match, and Last Ride match. The Ladder match came about during the show but still had a few spectacles to the event; the Ladder match was for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The United States and Cruiserweight Championship titles were both on the line as well.
The main event was a tag team match with King Booker and Finlay in one corner. Their opponents were the World Heavyweight Champion Batista and a partner of his choice whom he revealed weeks earlier as WWE Champion, John Cena. Following a Batista Bomb, Batista pinned Booker to get the win.
6 No Way Out 2007
The final single-branded PPV in the augural brand split was No Way Out 2007, being a SmackDown event. As it was for many years, No Way Out bridged the gap between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. It was not an event to sleep on as the world title had changed hands at the event years prior.
A tag team match was the last bout of the night that pitted the upcoming WrestleMania 23 main events for Raw and SmackDown against each other. WWE Champion John Cena and his challenger Shawn Michaels faced World Heavyweight Champion Batista and his challenger The Undertaker. Batista turned on Undertaker during the match allowing Cena and Michaels to get the win by pinfall.
5 Unforgiven 2007
John Cena’s early reigns as world champion saw him build intense rivalries against notable names. Triple H and Edge were conquered in 2006 and in 2007, Randy Orton stepped up to face Cena. This was the first time the two members of the OVW Class of 2002 were meeting in a rivalry and it was for the company’s top prize. Cena and Orton closed SummerSlam with Cena winning and had a rematch the next month at Unforgiven.
Orton won the match by disqualification but luckily for the fans that was not the way to go home. The main event was The Undertaker’s return to WWE after an absence of a few months caused in part (in storyline) by Mark Henry. ‘Taker and Henry closed the show in a singles match with Undertaker winning following a jaw-dropping Last Ride.
4 No Way Out 2008
Elimination Chambers have been a fixture of WWE since 2002, starting off as an occasional though annual match but still with mystery as to when it would happen. The match became its own brand and annual event in February 2010 but began to be held regularly in that time frame in 2008. The February 2008 PPV was No Way Out.
2008 Royal Rumble match winner John Cena did not want to wait until WrestleMania and challenged WWE Champion Randy Orton at No Way Out and won! The win being by disqualification did nothing for the title. Instead, what closed the show was a number 1 contender’s Elimination Chamber match for Orton’s WWE Championship, won by Triple H.
3 No Mercy 2016
The scheduling for No Mercy in 2016, unfortunately, became heavily conflicted when it was announced that the 2016 United States presidential debates would occur on the same night. WWE had booked a star-studded WWE Championship Triple Threat main event match with AJ Styles defending against Dean Ambrose and John Cena. WWE avoided viewership loss for this bout by announcing beforehand that it would be opening the show.
The best match and feud of the night was undoubtedly Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz where Ziggler’s career was on the line against Miz’s Intercontinental Championship. WWE knew they could not afford viewership loss with Ziggler and Miz either, so they closed the show with Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt. Wyatt won following interference from a returning Luke Harper.
2 Taboo Tuesday 2004
A good idea in theory, ahead of its time, and a nightmare creatively, the Taboo Tuesday PPVs were unique. Despite fan disputes, WWE agents have said that it was 100% legit where fan voting determined the match contestants and/or stipulations. It had been over a decade since WWE ran a PPV on a Tuesday but attempted to make it worth it.
The World Heavyweight Championship would be on the line that night between Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The main event of the night was a “legend vs legend killer” revenge-based feud blowoff match between Randy Orton and Ric Flair; the two met inside a Steel Cage via fan voting. The rivalry, which had potential, was rushed and had an underwhelming response to the culminating match.
1 Hell In A Cell 2015
A title vs “career” match took place at Hell in a Cell 2015 to underwhelming fanfare. Seth Rollins put his WWE Championship on the line against Kane where if he won, Corporate Kane would lose his position as Director of Operations. Not the most enticing reason to watch the show, Rollins unsurprisingly retained.
WWE wisely booked their main event this night. After several battles, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker put their rivalry to rest with a final war inside Hell in a Cell. Their 2002 cell match set a high standard for brutality but their 2015 clash outdid it. The two put each other through hell in what was named WWE’s best match that year. Lesnar won following an F5 to end “The Beast Incarnate” versus “The Deadman”.
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