Pay-per-views are often the most exciting events of wrestling promotions, as they are home to some of the top matches in and around the industry. Every prominent wrestling promotion works their hardest to build up storylines and feuds to blow off at the big PPV. While WWE is spearheading things with the most number of PPVs every year, the likes of New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor have also come up with terrific events in the past few years.
With each passing year, the number of PPVs around the wrestling industry seems to be increasing. There are certain events from top promotions which feature the best matches. The thrill factor of these prominent PPVs, in turn, create some thrilling matches that just cannot be missed.
However, some disappointing PPVs have also been produced. These are relatively lower-grade events which have showcased some poor matches due to the disappointing building towards the event. At the same time, there are some major events which aren’t intriguing enough to watch in its entirety, but aren’t exactly horrible either.
A numberof wrestling PPVs are set to take place in 2019, with some ensured to be great. With so many PPVs coming up, we will take a look at 7 we should watch, 7 that should be skipped and 7 we don’t really care about either way.
21 Watch: PWG Battle Of Los Angeles
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is the underrated goldmine of professional wrestling in the United States, as it has continued to produce amazing talents over the past few years. PWG focuses on pure wrestling over anything else, and allows freedom to the wrestlers to blow off the roof during matches. Their Battle of Los Angeles annual PPV is infamous, mostly because how terrific the matches are eah year. They have a tournament take place in which the Best in PWG is announced after the finals. Most matches re amazing, unique and hard-hitting at the same time.
20 Skip: NJPW Power Struggle
Now, if you are a real wrestling fan, you should check out the New Japan Pro Wrestling PPVs. They produce some of the best matches, but not all of them are equally as good. While a chunk of NJPW PPV’s are great, Power Struggle falls into the category of those which aren’t up to the mark. It’s mostly due to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (the main title), not being defended. While the matches are still pretty good, not having the main title defended turns people off from it. The last few Power Struggle events have therefore been the weakest of NJPW’s major events and is one which can probably be skipped.
19 Don’t Care About: WWE Hell In A Cell
Since they’ve created a whole PPV around the Hell in a Cell match, WWE is yet to produce a single event which brings out the true nature of the caged structure. All Hell in a Cell PPVs have been predictable and meek in the past few years, with WWE making wrestlers work carefully not to hurt themselves. This means that there are limited risks being taken and not the kind of wild wrestling which used to thrill fans many years ago. This has turned the fans off from the event. While not all Hell in a Cell events have been bad, they’ve become disinteresting because of WWE’s very “PG” restrictions over the matches.
18 Watch: NJPW Dominion
One of New Japan Pro Wrestling biggest PPV events, NJPW Dominion is almost like the “SummerSlam” of Japan, but just so much better. The PPV has been producing some great matches in recent years and been consistently good because of the quality of the product. NJPW book their storylines to perfection heading into the event, which makes it so good. The last Dominion event, which attracted a record audience, earned praises all around. The Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada main event, which saw Omega capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, earned an unprecedented seven-stars from Dave Meltzer. Dominion is one PPV which produces incredible matches and should not be missed by wrestling fanatics.
17 Skip: WWE TLC
The event might be given an extravagant name, but Tables, Ladders and Chairs has been neither that exciting or as hard-hitting as fans would expect in recent years. The watered-down product of WWE has taken away the charm from the PPV, which is based on a gimmick match all about thrilling segments. The last TLC event only had one TLC match, which itself was underwhelming apart from Kurt Angle’s triumphant return to WWE. The poor booking of matches and stupid antics have not helped the PPV at all from gaining the audience’s attention. It’s become a meek representation of the awesome gimmick the PPV is based on and after disappointing for years, it should be skipped in 2019.
16 Don’t Care About: AAA Heroes Immortales
AAA, better known as Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion, is among Mexico’s top wrestling promotions and has been producing some quality matches for many years now. They book some amazing matches on their own PPVs, but not all of them are entirely interesting to a neutral wrestling fan. Heroes Immortales is one of them. It’s not that the event is bad, but it’s not interesting enough to hook a random fan. The PPV honors many traditions and books matches accordingly, which can get confusing for those who don’t follow it regularly. The last Heroes Immortales event, which featured Rey Wagner vs. Jeff Jarrett in a Hair vs. Hair match, wasn’t that good and failed to attract many fans’ attention.
15 Watch: Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble event is just a few weeks away, and regardless of how tired fans might be of WWE’s questionable product, it will always be an event nobody wants to miss. The Royal Rumble match has to be among the most anticipated matches in the calendar year, and with the Women’s match now taking place, fans will be even more eager. The Rumble matches have actually been really impressive in recent years, while the rest of the matches on the PPVs have also been solid. With a unique winner ensured in this year’s Rumble, nobody would want to miss watching the talented men and women battle it out to earn an opportunity to headline WrestleMania 35.
14 Skip: Verano de Escandalo
The Mexican promotion AAA definitely produces some terrific PPVs over the course of the year, but Verano de Escandalo earned a bad name due to some questionable booking last year. While the event involved its regular high-flying, exciting Lucha Libre style of wrestling, the way the main event was handled ticked off many fans. Jeff Jarrett, out of nowhere and won the AAA Mega Championship in a Triple Threat match against Rey Wagner and Rey Mysterio. This was definitely unpopular among fans, who disliked the PPV as a result. So, if a wrestling fan is looking at following AAA more, Verano de Escandalo might be one to skip.
13 Don’t Care About: Impact Homecoming
After regaining some popularity recently, Impact Wrestling is going back to its roots early next year with their “Homecoming” PPV. So. this new PPV, which is basically a return to the “TNA Asylum” in Nashville, Tenessee is going to be a nostalgic PPV of sorts. We might see many “TNA Originals” feature in it as well as exciting match-ups. However, Impact Wrestling just isn’t interesting anymore for many to care about this. Also “TNA’s Originals” are mostly all in WWE, so the weaker of the pack will appear and that doesn’t interest anybody. Despite pleasing some diehards, Impact’s Homecoming isn’t really a must-watch and will need something special to regain the interest of their lost fans.
12 Watch: G1 Supercard
WrestleMania might dominate the wrestling scene during its high-octane week of “sports-entertainment,” but WWE will find stiff competition next year thanks to the G1 Supercard. The Ring of Honor PPV is meant to be a competition to WrestleMania and the fact that it’s taking place at Madison Square Garden itself makes it must-see. G1 Supercard will only feature ROH’s best, but also some wrestlers from New Japan Pro wrestling. With it taking place at MSG, the event is sure to be booked with “dream matches” and intricate feuds heading into it. Despite it clashing with 'Mania weekend, not many would want to miss G1 Supercard which is going to be a slobber-knocker in 2019.
11 Skip: WWE Backlash
To think that Backlash was actually an entertaining PPV during the mid-2000s, when it was home to some memorable matches. After being brought back in 2016, Backlash hasn’t really been impressive at all, mostly due to WWE’s own faults. The most recent event earlier this year was especially poor because of how badly WWE had built the card. Filled with predictable results, the matches were not interesting. Barring Seth Rollins and The Miz’s encounter, the rest of the matches were filled with questionable booking and predictable outcomes. This resulted in a “backlash” from fans and poor reviews from critics, which proves how 2019’s edition should rightfully be skipped.
10 Don’t Care About: NJPW Sakura Genesis
It’s not that Sakura Genesis doesn’t produce memorable matches, but it’s the wrong scheduling of the event which doesn’t garner many eyes to the PPV. Sakura Genesis is New Japan’s prominent PPV, after their huge Wrestling Kingdom event. However, often clashes with WrestleMania weekend and hinders a lot of its popularity. While the diehards aren’t going to miss it for anything, Sakura Genesis’ poor scheduling is going to be its bane in 2019 as well. Despite being a PPV with some great matches involving New Japan’s biggest talents, Sakura Genesis will remain underrated next year as well. Clashing with 'Mania does it no favors and will result in many fans ignoring the event again.
9 Watch: NXT TakeOver: New York
NXT TakeOver: New York is confirmed to take place the night before WrestleMania. If reports are to be believed, then WWE will pull out all the stops to make it the biggest NXT TakeOver ever, due to ROH’s super-show clashing with the event. This means WWE will book some of NXT biggest names to to battle against each other on the show and will blow off long-time feuds in the process. Considering how amazing the recent TakeOver events have been, the fact that WWE is planning to do one at that level sounds thrilling. Fans will be waiting in anticipation for the NXT TakeOver: New York, which will be bigger and better than ever.
8 Skip: Bound For Glory
While Bound For Glory was a really entertaining PPV during the golden days of Impact Wrestling, it’s now being riddled with ridiculous booking that has taken away the PPV’s charm. Bound for Glory was a terrific PPV when the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle were still in TNA, but has now been reduced to a PPV which draws relatively low numbers. The most recent one earlier this year was marred with controversy, especially after Austin Aries no-sold Johnny Impact’s win and left in angry fashion. The event itself was very average, with some underwhelming matches and foolish surprises (like James Ellsworth facing Eli Drake). It proved why it would be wise to skip it again in 2019.
7 Don’t Care About: SummerSlam
SummerSlam has lost some of its charms over the years, as it doesn’t feel as important or exciting as it was many years ago. Main event-wise, Brock Lesnar has been dominating the show for the better part of the decade and the matches in recent years haven’t been up to par either. Last year’s SummerSlam only had one or two memorable matches and the others were just rushed, predictable and meek. WWE’s poor booking when it came to certain top championship matches at SummerSlam made the show feel very ordinary. It didn’t seem any different from a regular episode of Raw or SmackDown, which is why fans won’t be that excited for SummerSlam next year.
6 Watch: Wrestle Kingdom 13
Wrestle Kingdom is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s version of WrestleMania. They book the biggest matches of the year for that show. The event takes place immediately after the new year, which is almost like the promotion’s holiday gift to wrestling fans. It’s quite a wonderful way to start off the wrestling calendar, as Wrestle Kingdom has produced some of the industry’s best matches in recent years. Almost all of their main matches earlier this year attained a four-plus star-rating from Dave Meltzer, which itself proved how excellent the show was. For fans looking to get into NJPW’s product, Wrestle Kingdom is THE PPV to watch in January because of the utterly brilliant matches it produces.
5 Skip: Greatest Royal Rumble II?
With WWE having signed a 10-year deal S.A. to have big events in the country every year, it’s almost guaranteed that they will return for another PPV next year. There have been rumors of a second version of the Greatest Royal Rumble taking place next year, or there could be another event like Crown Jewel. Regardless of what it is, it should not be viewed by fans because of how utterly pointless and disappointing the other two were. Both events were strictly for casual fans and, in turn, disrespected many talented individuals. Crown Jewel proved how bad WWE’s booking sense has become, and next year’s PPV should be rightfully skipped.
4 Don’t Care About: Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber event has definitely lost the intensity it had during the Ruthless Aggression Era. The PG Era has taken away the essence which made it great. Despite multiple Elimination Chamber matches involving the men and women taking place last year, the PPV itself was extremely disappointing. No matches were memorable or as hard-hitting as Chamber matches should be. As a matter of fact, none of the major championships were defended and it was filled with unnecessary, predictable matches. Fans of the gimmick match were really let down by WWE’s shallow booking of the PPV last year. It’s because of how underwhelming the Elimination Chamber PPV has been in recent years that fans have grown tired of caring about it.
3 Watch: WrestleMania 35
Regardless of how good or bad the WWE product is at the time, WrestleMania is an event nobody can resist, with almost every wrestling fan reserving their time to watch the PPV. While the feuds or storylines for next year’s WrestleMania are still up in the air, it will be a blockbuster event because of the grand scale on which WWE produces it. We can expect some “dream matches” to take place at WrestleMania 35, while WWE will also call some popular old-timers to ignite a higher interest. Despite whatever one thinks about WWE, Vince always makes WrestleMania must-see, and it will be a similar case for the "Grandest Stage of Them All" next year.
2 Skip: Extreme Rules
PPV Extreme Rules was influenced by the ECW One Night Stand events which took place in WWE over a decade ago, but the gimmick PPV has been anything but extreme. It’s due to WWE’s PG programming that they have turned the event into a weak representation of the “extreme” style of wrestling in WWE. The last Extreme Rules PPV earlier this year was quite bad. It included Asuka losing to Carmella in embarrassing fashion, while Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Jeff Hardy in six seconds. WWE’s poor booking of the event and timid “hard-hitting” matches has ruined the uniqueness of the PPV. Considering how disappointing the last few Extreme Rules events have been, it would be wise to skip it next year.