wrestling / Columns

The Magnificent Seven: The 7 Biggest Shows On the WWE Calendar

November 27, 2017 | Posted by Mike Chin
WWE WrestleMania 34 Image Credit: WWE

Since 1985, WWE has based a significant portion of its business around special events. What started with the Wrestling Classic led to the original WrestleMania, which paved the way for Survivor Series, SummerSlam, The Royal Rumble, King of the Ring, and the In Your House series before we arrived at the contemporary schedule of one or more PPVs per month.. Meanwhile, there were Saturday Night’s Main Event TV specials which would give way to Monday Night Raw and SmackDown featuring more than stars squashing jobbers, but also meaningful, competitive TV bouts. Hence, a business that once focused on the house show markets, and using television to get people to their local live shows became a business centered on television, whether it was in syndication, cable, closed circuit, PPV, or streaming on the WWE Network.

But which shows are the biggest today in terms of viewership, quality, and historical importance to WWE? There are some clear-cut answers. It will surprise no one to find WrestleMania in the number one spot of this countdown. But how does one evaluate SummerSlam versus The Royal Rumble or specialty shows like Money in the Bank vs. Hell in a Cell vs. TLC? This column is my stab at it, based on what has happened at each show historically, how WWE treats them, and, as always, a healthy dose of my personal opinion.

#7. Hell in a Cell

Since 2009, each October has seen WWE hold a Hell in a Cell PPV. The show is vaguely Halloween-themed with the Cell featured prominently and an annual talk of how the structure has taken years off of performers careers via falls from great heights and the barbarity that happens within the big cage.

I, for one, was not a fan of Hell in a Cell getting an annual show named for it. Unlike the Royal Rumble or Money in the Bank, it’s not a match type that makes sense as an annual occurrence for stars to pursue a chance at glory. On the contrary, the Cell is designed in the old school sense of a steel cage—to impose an impressive spectacle in which fierce rivals can blow off their feud. For the Cell to work on an annual basis requires WWE to plan feuds to be blown off at the right time, which isn’t always the company’s strong suit.

That said, Hell in a Cell has emerged as an annual show of some importance. It has played host to Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker blowing off their 2015 program and Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan finishing up for 2013. Moreover, one of the underappreciated aspects of the annual show is that WWE has used it as a grounds for experimentation and opportunity. The very first iteration of the PPV saw Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase get a crack at the main event, teaming up against DX. 2014 saw the white hot Dean Ambrose-Seth Rollins program get the main event nod over a John Cena-Randy Orton retread. Finally, in 2016, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair got the first ever women’s PPV main event on the main roster. While you can balk at how excessively WWE sold it as historic, it was nonetheless a special moment for women’s wrestling in WWE and like the aforementioned bouts, did a nice job of diversifying what a main event might look like, and who might appear in it.

#6. Survivor Series

Here we are at the lowest ranked of the “big four.” Survivor Series was just the second annual PPV spectacular for WWE, added to the calendar for the two purposes of milking an extra buy rate out of the Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant program, and to directly conflict with Starrcade. The show’s team elimination match format was emblematic of its times. The show wasn’t really meant to blow off anything, but to extend storylines and entertain fans with the novelty of a special match type.

Rumors persisted for years that Vince McMahon meant to do away with Survivor Series as an outdated concept for which the signature matches aren’t really a draw. Nonetheless, the show persists and has had some very good outings in recent years, including an excellent Team Cena vs. Team Authority main event that set up Sting’s arrival in WWE and the spectacle of featuring Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar just last year, besides Lesnar’s best since at least Wrestlemania opposite AJ Styles earlier this month. Just the same, Survivor Series is also far and away the most likely big four show to feel like a B-PPV, like the year Randy Orton vs. The Big Show got the main event nod.

While I could see an argument for bumping Survivor Series one or two spots higher on this countdown, and if WWE were to stay the course with booking it as specially as they wound up doing so in the homestretch this year, for now it lands just outside the five biggest nights of the year for WWE in my book.

#5. The Raw After WrestleMania

The Raw after WrestleMania is a bit of an anomaly for this list—the one annual event that tends not to have any pre-announced matches and that airs on free TV. Just the same, it has evolved into a staple big show for WWE. When hardcore fans who traveled for WrestleMania weekend pack into an arena for one last hurrah, there’s a special feeling as they often as not go into business for themselves with unusual chants and cheering and booing whomever they darn well please.

The Raw after WrestleMania saw Dolph Ziggler make one of the most memorable Money in the Bank cashins in history. Another year it saw the booking of The Rock vs. John Cena for WrestleMania 28. In two others, it was the show for the original main roster debut of Brock Lesnar, and later his return from the world of MMA. The Raw after WrestleMania saw the original WWE arrival of Goldberg to face off with The Rock. There was the launch of Triple H’s DX army, too. I’m barely scratching the surface, particularly when it pertains to stars moving up from developmental onto the main roster.

In sum, The Raw after WrestleMania combines the momentum of the biggest show of the year with a need to re-boot to an extent, to unofficially launch a new year. Part timers say so long for now. New full timers rise up. And all of this happens with one of the most rabid, smart live audiences of the year for what is annually one of WWE’s best free TV efforts.

#4. Money in the Bank

Money in the Bank is the annual show with the briefest history of any on this list but has quickly emerged as one of the best annual PPVs and one of the most important to each year’s WWE storylines. A lot of those factors centers on the match the show is named for. Even relatively poor iterations of the Money in the Bank ladder match tend to crack three star territory and it’s not out of the ordinary for better ones to glide into four-star-plus range. That’s not least of all including the most recent stunner of a six-man match that’s on my short list for match of the year contenders.

The Money in the Bank briefcase has been compared to the Royal Rumble victory for likely anointing a new world champion. While not necessarily implying a title shot at WrestleMania may make Money in the Bank less of future-Hall-of-Famer credential, the conversion rate of briefcases into world title wins is actually better for MITB than for Rumble winners. It’s also been compared to the King of the Ring—not a guarantee of stardom but a demonstration that the higher-ups in WWE are taking a talent seriously as a potential world champion. However you define it, it’s one of, if not the single, most valuable annual prizes in WWE.

In addition to Money in the Bank ladder matches themselves, the annual PPV has also seen the classic CM Punk-John Cena main event from 2011 (capping an all-time great WWE PPV), not to mention a forgotten gem of a Punk-Daniel Bryan match the following year, the shrewdly booked Alberto Del Rio-Dolph Ziggler double turn in 2013, a solid ladder match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in 2015, and the night all three Shield members held the WWE Championship in 2016.

#3. SummerSlam

Some critics have referred to SummerSlam as the summer’s equivalent to WrestleMania, or, more recently, as the smart fan’s version of WrestleMania with fewer celebrity shenanigans or matches booked for casual fans and more programming geared toward the hardcore fan base. Maybe that’s why, since 2011, it’s the been where John Cena goes to put over rising stars (losing to CM Punk twice, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles) in good-to-great outings.

Yes, SummerSlam has longevity. It also has a catalog of great matches to its history like Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect in 1991, Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith in 1992, Hart vs. The Undertaker in 1997, The Undertaker and Steve Austin’s Highway To Hell in 1998, Shawn Michaels’s return match with Triple H in 2002, and CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar in 2013. The show has also served a crucial role in many a big story like Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels in 2005, the Nexus angle in 2010, the 2011 Summer of Punk, not to mention providing a stage for The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar to go to war in 2015. The event has, in a sense, only been enhanced with the addition of NXT specials the night before it, as each TakeOver to hit Brooklyn has been an exceptional event in its own right.

Since 2010, SummerSlam has also interestingly been a show that returns to the same venue year after year. First it was LA at the Staples Center from 2010 to 2014. It’s been the Barclay Center in Brooklyn ever since. This scheduling oddity, focused on two areas with big venues and a large media presence bespeak the fact that, while SummerSlam isn’t traditionally a stadium show, it is one WWE takes seriously and counts on to draw based on name value, long before the card is set.

#2. The Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble started as a throwaway free TV special that, based around a match concept Pat Patterson came up with, which he claims Vince McMahon had little interest in. Little could anyone have known that the match would become an annual classic, and that after the first few iterations, it would become a traditional vehicle to push the the tip-top stars in the company.

Ric Flair. Yokozuna. Shawn Michaels. Steve Austin. Batista. Rey Mysterio. For each of these men, and a number of others, winning the Rumble would pave the way for their very first world title win in WWE. Meanwhile, guys like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, and John Cena would win the match at different points to shore up their legacies and work their way into world title scenarios come WrestleMania season.

While there’s a fair argument to be made that the quality of the Rumble match has wavered in recent years, the match has more often than not been one of the most fun, entertaining, and often highest quality hours of programming WWE does each year. Moreover, the Rumble PPV has featured no shortage of other great matches, including both The Rock and Triple H proving themselves opposite Mick Foley; arguably the very best iteration of Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit; and a triple threat classic between Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins.

To me, it’s a tossup whether SummerSlam or the Royal Rumble could truly be considered the bigger show, but I’m giving the Rumble the nod for more consistent high quality over a period of decades and appealing to hardcore and casual fans alike.

#1. WrestleMania

I could pull an old school Justin Watry here and say there’s no explanation needed, but I’ll give you a little something here. No, WrestleMania isn’t always the best show WWE puts on. Particularly in recent years, the card tends to feel bloated and test even die-hard fans’ patience. Still, WrestleMania is the closest thing there is to a pro wrestling holiday. It’s WWE’s longest standing and flagship annual event, and one that can draw a stadium audience every year. Moreover, with a million or more viewers watching on PPV or the WWE Network, it’s a show bound to go down in history. Some world championship reigns can be forgotten, and some great matches slip from memory after a year or two. A title reign that starts at WrestleMania is all but certain to be one that sticks with fans throughout time, and a great match at WrestleMania attains a whole other level of notoriety because you know that fans will continue discussing it for decades to follow. On top of all of that, there’s a reason why more and more legit legends of the squared circle have chosen ‘Mania as the site of their final WWE matches, including no lesser names than The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair, not to mention Steve Austin and Edge (albeit in equal parts due to happenstance), and (to date) The Rock.

Sure, WWE does its share of overselling the historic importance of every WrestleMania, but the fact remains that it is a big deal. It’s the biggest thing WWE—and indeed, the pro wrestling world—does each year.

Which shows would you add to the list? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Read more from Mike Chin at his website and follow him on Twitter @miketchin.