As any wrestling fan knows, pay-per-views are a big deal in the sport. Every episode of weekly television is put together to advance storylines and feuds, all leading to the big confrontations on (often) monthly PPVs. A storyline might not come to its final conclusion at a given pay-per-view, but fans are guaranteed a major matchup as part of the story.
Despite the importance of the PPV in general, there have been a number of them -- including some seriously major ones like WrestleMania -- that have ended on a disappointing note. Some of these unfortunate endings have been outcomes fans didn’t want, some were the results of strange misfortune, and others have even been overwrought attempts to make fans happy.
10 ECW December to Dismember 2006
The WWE revival of ECW can be considered a mixed bag where corporate directives grated against fan expectations, and 2006’s December To Dismember is a great example of this. Closing out a lackluster card was the main event, an Elimination Chamber match where Bobby Lashley came out as the ECW World Champion over fan favorite ECW stars like Rob Van Dam and the newly debuted CM Punk.
It was one of many instances of WWE over-pushing Lashley during this period, and this show would not only prove to be the final PPV devoted to the ECW brand, but would also go down as one of WWE’s most reviled ever.
9 TNA Destination X 2010
Wrestling promotions should be careful when it comes to the end of their pay-per-views, as an indecisive ending can sink a show, more than some good undercard matches can keep it afloat.
Despite a fun Young Bucks vs. MCMGs match in the middle of this show, Destination X 2010 is more memorable for its main event title match between Abyss and AJ Styles, which ended in a No Contest after Abyss chokeslammed the champion straight through the ring canvas. To add to the absurdity, run-ins by Ric Flair and Desmond Wolfe resulted in both heels falling into the hole.
8 WWE Royal Rumble 2014
Batista’s return to WWE in 2014 after four years away couldn’t be more poorly timed, as the fans were deeply invested in the plight of Daniel Bryan, expecting the “Road to WrestleMania storyline” to be centered around his quest to win back the WWE Championship that was stolen from him. A returning star from the Ruthless Aggression era wasn’t going to placate them.
This was especially clear by the end of Royal Rumble 2014, as fans were clamoring for a Bryan win in the titular match. Instead, Bryan was nowhere to be seen in the bout, while Batista entered at #28 and won the WrestleMania title shot, drawing boos from the crowd.
7 WWE Over the Limit 2012
The order of a pay-per-view card matters. Those events generally last three hours, and should be leading to the most important match on the card. Rather than slot the (ultimately great) Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk WWE Title match for the main event, WWE opted to make the main event a storyline-based No DQ match between John Cena and onscreen authority figure John Laurinaitis.
It was obvious that Cena was going to trounce Johnny Ace only for some bad guy to intervene, so it was no shock when Big Show returned as a heel, helping Laurinaitis get the win. Also, for some reason, this match was 17 minutes long.
6 WWE Hell In A Cell 2019
The main event of 2019’s Hell in a Cell had Bray Wyatt -- recently repackaged as “The Fiend” -- challenge Universal Champion Seth Rollins in the eponymous Cell, and the result proved to be one of the most controversial matches in recent memory.
The combination of red lighting and a red cell made it hard to watch, but worse was the fact that, despite The Fiend being one of the most popular acts in the company, the bout ended via referee stoppage after Seth got too extreme in a match that’s touted as being life-changingly violent. Unfortunately, the whole thing came off as a DQ finish, so fans were even more confused and angry.
5 WCW Starrcade 1997
World Championship Wrestling was really killing it from 1996 to 1997 thanks to the big New World Order storyline. Eighteen months of storytelling was leading to a big Starrcade ‘97 title match between Sting and champion Hollywood Hogan.
The match was booked for Hogan to win via fast three-count, only for Bret Hart to restart the match and Sting to get the win fair and square. But for some reason, the ref made a normal three-count, so Sting and Hart -- the good guys -- were made to look like poor sports. The storyline’s inability to stick the landing at the most crucial point would be considered one of the many missteps that added to WCW’s eventual fall.
4 WWE WrestleMania VIII
Not every WrestleMania has -- or needs to have -- the title match in the main event, with Rock vs. Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII being the best example. WrestleMania VIII is a weird example of that not working, as plans for a main event Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair title match were dumped in favor of a title match between Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair in the middle of the show.
In the main event, was a non-title grudge match between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice based on hurt feelings from the 1992 Royal Rumble, which screamed “midcard feud.” But WWE got its comeuppance for that decision, as a miscue during some interference in the main event resulted in a disappointing DQ finish -- for a WrestleMania.
3 WWE Super Showdown 2020
WWE’s shows in Saudi Arabia are controversial to say the least thanks to real world events making a pro wrestling show a political minefield, and it's made worse by the fact that they’re also some of the most reviled events in the promotion’s history.
Super Showdown 2020 -- the last one before COVID disrupted everything -- gave fans one of the most disappointing endings, as a big title bout between Goldberg and Bray Wyatt ended in less than three minutes with The Fiend taking his first clean loss ever, after some unfortunate botches.
2 WWE WrestleMania IX
WrestleMania IX is a great example of how a promotion can disappoint fans while trying to send them home happy. The announced main event had good guy Bret Hart losing the WWE Championship to the villainous Yokozuna.
But to give fans a happy ending, Hulk Hogan came out to issue a challenge. After Hart gave Hogan his blessing to avenge him, the Hulkster trounced Yoko in 20 seconds, becoming the new champ. While “Hogan beats a monster heel at WrestleMania” had been a formula for success in the past, its execution here left a lot to be desired.
1 TNA Victory Road 2011
No matter how bad a main event finishes, it can’t be worse than what happened at Victory Road in 2011. Being a fan who spent their hard earned money to come see Sting vs. Jeff Hardy in the main event, only for Hardy to show up too intoxicated to wrestle would have been terrible.
The bout was unsalvageable, so Sting quickly improved a finish, forcing a pin on Hardy to put the match to bed. The fans were mad, Sting was mad, and TNA was embarrassed.