Truth be told, WWE’s December PPVs are often lacking in quality action, with many events involving non-finishes, slow matches, and questionable booking. Whether it be end of year fatigue, or not wanting a huge show to overshadow the Road to Wrestlemania, December is often a down time for the company.However, some shows have still provided some great action, exciting matches, and historic moments. WWE’s first ever December PPV, No Holds Barred The Match/The Movie isn’t considered for being the best or worst, due to being a one match show, and unlike anything else produced by a WWE PPV. December to Dismember was an ECW PPV event, though under the WWE banner during the ECW revival, and is widely considered one of the worst PPVs of all time. So in the spirit of fairness, this one will be ignored due to being off the scale terrible, and technically an ECW show anyway.
10 WORST: This Tuesday In Texas, 1991
This was WWE’s first attempt at trying to establish Tuesday as a PPV night, and it failed miserably. There was nothing really to shout about in terms of in-ring action. Bret Hart defeated Skinner in an average match for Intercontinental Title, whilst Hulk Hogan won the WWF Championship from the Undertaker in the main event, in another average match, with a finish that saw Hogan throw ashes into the eyes of the Deadman.
The rest of the show was bland, with Randy Savage and Jake Roberts underwhelming in a six-minute whimper, and The British Bulldog being unable to carry The Warlord to anything more than a long, hard-to-watch slog. The show wasn’t appalling, but it was so bare and lifeless that it felt irrelevant.
9 BEST: Armageddon, 2007
This was a fun event, which lived up to the expectations many had. MVP and Rey Mysterio wrestled a decent opener, with a great match between Shawn Michaels and Mr. Kennedy in the middle of the card, which showed just what Kennedy was capable of.
Jeff Hardy shocked Triple H in a big victory to become number one contender to the WWE Title, and the main event featured a surprising sprint between Batista, Edge, and The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship, which signed off a good show.
8 WORST: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, 2014
To get the positive out the way, Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper wrestled a great Ladder match to open the show. Following that, though, the night was dire and full of ‘meh’ finishes. The Tag Championship match ended in a frustrating DQ, Brie Bella sprayed AJ Lee with a liquid (which wasn’t revealed) to allow Nikki Bella to retain the Divas Title, and the main event ended in farcical fashion, when Dean Ambrose was blinded by an explosion caused by his own stupidity, allowing Bray Wyatt to win.
The rest of the show was slow, with Erick Rowen and Big Show wrestling in perhaps the most boring gimmick match in history – a Stairs match. Ryback and Kane had an expectedly plodding Chairs match, whilst John Cena defeated Seth Rollins with the aid of a returning Roman Reigns in a tediously long Tables match.
7 BEST: Vengeance, 2001
The historical context of this event may boost it up in the eyes of some, but despite a questionable finish to the main event, this show was full of solid action. Edge and William Regal wrestled a nice match, whilst The Undertaker battled RVD for the Hardcore Title in a unique clash of styles, in an enjoyable affair.
Steve Austin defended the WWF Title against Kurt Angle which was solid at worst, whilst The Rock and Chris Jericho stole the show in a fantastic match for the World Heavyweight Title. Jericho would go on to defeat Austin in the main event, becoming the Undisputed Champion, making history in a memorable moment and cementing himself in the WWE record books after his time in WCW.
6 WORST: Armageddon, 2004
The WWE Championship main event of this show was fun, but the rest of the card felt like a weekly TV show, and not a good one. Daniel Puder and The Miz ‘wrestled’ in a Toughman match with very unclear rules, which was a mess. John Cena ended the PPV career of Jesús in an average contest, Dawn Marie and Miss Jackie had a godawful women’s match, with the two tag matches on the show being passable, but not at all noteworthy.
Kurt Angle had one of the worst PPV matches of his career, initially battling Santa Claus (yes, Santa Claus), before being on the losing trio in a three-on-one handicap against The Big Show, which helped nobody.
5 BEST: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, 2016
There was quite simply nothing bad about this show, with every match being good and above. The show opened with a quick but fun Tag Title match, followed by a No-DQ contest between Nikki Bella and Carmella. The Miz and Dolph Ziggler completed their enjoyable trilogy in a Ladder match, and Baron Corbin and Kalisto made the most of the Chairs match stipulation with a brutal contest.
Alexa Bliss signalled her coming out party with a Tables match victory over Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Title, and AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose in a hugely enjoyable, spot-filled TLC main event, continuing the trend of fun SmackDown PPVs in 2016.
4 WORST: Armageddon, 1999
This show featured average action at times, and a couple of terrible main event matches. Early in the night, a green Kurt Angle (something which is incredibly rare to see given his knack of professional wrestling) had a sloppy match alongside Steve Blackman, whilst The Hollys wrestled a poor match against the lumbering team of Viscera and Rikishi, alongside a dull European title match.
The Big Show defeated Big Boss Man in a WWE Championship match that lasted three minutes, which had no right representing the WWE Title on a PPV. The event was capped off with a near half-hour match between Triple H and Vince McMahon, in which just the last minute or so of the match even mattered. The event also held a Women’s Title Evening Gown Pool Match. Yep.
3 BEST: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2012
Whilst the show wasn’t fantastic top to bottom, the good outweighed the bad and carried the event. The Tag Team Tables match to open the show was fast-paced and fun, Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett put on a solid Intercontinental Championship match, and Big Show and Sheamus had a decent Chairs match.
The main talking points came from a brilliant Ladder match between Dolph Ziggler and John Cena, which should have really pushed Ziggler to the main event. It also had an incredible TLC match between Ryback, Team Hell No, and The Shield, which cemented the three debutants as stars in a match of the year candidate and one of the best TLC matches in recent memory.
2 WORST: In Your House 26: Rock Bottom
The name of this event perfectly fits its execution. The opening two tag matches on the card were boring, followed by a countout win for Steve Blackman over Owen Hart. The middle of the card saw Jeff Jarrett face Goldust in a Striptease match, in which a victory for Goldust would have seen Debra having to strip. It was another case of blatant objectification of women by WWE.
The show was capped off by two poor gimmick matches. The WWF Title match between The Rock and Mankind was an overbooked mess which made no sense. This was followed by an equally poor Buried Alive match between Steve Austin and The Undertaker.
1 BEST: Armageddon 2008
Sometimes, just one match or moment can define an entire event, and that’s the case with Armageddon 2008. Most of the show was filled with decent action, though nothing mind-blowing. Finlay and Mark Henry had a fun Belfast Brawl, with Henry impressing especially, whilst John Cena defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho in a good match.
The main event was special, with Jeff Hardy finally winning the WWE Championship to a truly thunderous ovation in one of the most memorable championship celebrations of all time. The match itself was intense, and full of good action, and the victory for Hardy sets this event apart from many others.