If WWE's pay per view events are the most important matches throughout the year, then this list should provide a glimpse into those wrestlers who are moving up the WWE rankings, and those who are are no longer in line for a "push."
After all, PPV matches are the big payoff to cap off a rivalry. They are where the bulk of title matches occur. PPVs are the playoffs in the WWE, with the Royal Rumble being the conference finals and WrestleMania being the Super Bowl. In other words, they are the matches that matter.
This is a long list, so we neglected to include any superstar who failed to register a win on PPV this year. That includes American Alpha (didn't record a win on PPV), low-level tag teams, guys like Curtis Axel, etc. The Big Show and Ryback are the only two names not listed who technically won a PPV match this year, though it was a tag team match with partner Kane (they defeated the Wyatt Family). Neither Show nor Ryback won another match on PPV all year.
Ultimately, we decided to go with a win-ratio percentage as the deciding factor in these rankings. We excluded the results from traditional Survivor Series matches and the Royal Rumble from the win-ratio, except in the case of the Royal Rumble winner.
We thought best to group these superstars together at the beginning of the list, so they don't break up the rankings of the full-time superstars. So we start things off with 8 superstars who may have done well on PPVs but simply didn't wrestle on enough of them in 2016 to qualify for the top spots on this list. Afterwards, we move into the rankings for the full-time stars.
37 Limited Action: Rich Swann
6-Man Tag Team Matches: 1W-0L
Triple Threat Matches: 1W-0L
Total: 2 wins in 2 matches = 100% win ratio
Rich Swann wrestled a tag team pre-show match at Survivor Series, which is going to technically count as his PPV debut. He defeated the team of Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak and Tony Nese.
After winning the Cruiserweight Championship, Swann was able to successfully defend that title against both TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick at Roadblock: End of the Line. After the match, the most significant happening in the new cruiserweight division occurred, when Neville came to the ring and beat up all 3 competitors. A clear heel turn for Neville, and a message sent that he plans on being the new king of the cruiserweight division.
Dealing with Neville will be the most difficult task in Rich Swann's young career.
36 Limited Action: Apollo Crews
Singles Matches: 1W-1L
Total: 1 win in 2 matches = 50% win ratio
Apollo Crews was shot out of NXT faster than any rising talent has been before. That perhaps wasn't the greatest idea. Crews has gotten lost in the shuffle badly on the main roster, so much so that most people would be hard pressed to state which brand he is on.
Crews defeated former WWE champion Sheamus at Money in the Bank back in June, making it appear as though he was on his way to big things. Only he wasn't.
Crews' next match on PPV was at SummerSlam. He would challenge the Miz for the IC championship unsuccessfully. He hasn't been on a PPV since.
It's been awhile since Crews was even included in a storyline, leading many to speculate he has fallen out of management's good graces. You would think they would send him back down to NXT if that is the case, but that does not appear to be happening anytime soon.
35 Limited Action: Goldberg
Singles Matches: 1W-0L
Total: 1 win in 1 match = 100% win ratio
Goldberg's one and only appearance on PPV in 2016, was his victory over Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in Toronto. Though he is scheduled to wrestle in this year's Royal Rumble match.
His comeback is an interesting one to note. Originally he was signed just to make some appearances to promote the WWE 2k17 video game, of which he was the cover star. This was similar to the Ultimate Warrior's deal with the video game that also occurred a few years back.
Further talks between WWE and Goldberg led to them agreeing to do one more match. When ratings for his appearances on Raw sky-rocketed, the decision was made to extend Goldberg's comeback. The next chapter in his feud with Lesnar will be written at the Royal Rumble 2017.
34 Limited Action: Kane
Singles Matches: 2W-0L
6-Man Tag Team Matches: 1W-0L
Andre the Giant Battle Royal: 0W-1L
Royal Rumble: eliminated by Braun Strowman
Total: 3 wins in 4 matches = 75% win ratio
Kane is still going in the WWE, but he is no longer someone actively used at the top of the card. He started the year being eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Braun Strowman, and then would enter a feud with the Wyatt Family. He would team with Ryback and the Big Show to defeat Luke Harper, Eric Rowen and Braun Strowman at Fastlane. Following an unsuccessful attempt at winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Kane defeated Bray Wyatt in a no holds barred match at Backlash, and then defeated Luke Harper in a Survivor Series pre-show match.
As he gets older Kane will no longer be in the main events. Nowadays he is used more as a guy in the middle of the card.
33 Limited Action: The Undertaker
Singles Matches: 1W-0L
Total: 1 win in 1 match = 100% win ratio
He has a perfect record on PPV in 2016, though he has only wrestled one match. The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania.
Most recently Undertaker appeared on Smackdown and let it be known that WrestleMania will no longer define his legacy. That may be an indication that he plans on being on WWE programming more regularly. At 51 years old however, it is doubtful he would ever go back to working a regular schedule.
A hot topic right now is who the Undertaker might face at WrestleMania this year. The number of possible opponents continue to dwindle however. One person the Undertaker has never faced at WrestleMania however, is John Cena. Perhaps we see that mega match-up at this year's event.
32 Limited Action: Finn Balor
Singles Matches: 1W-0L
Total: 1 win in 1 match = 100% win ratio
The good news is that Finn Balor won his first ever WWE PPV match. The bad news is that he hasn't had another one since. WWE decided to push Balor right to the top of the rankings from the get-go. In the main event of SummerSlam 2016, Balor defeated Seth Rollins to become the first ever Universal Champion. Only he was injured during the match.
It was announced the next night on Raw that Balor would have to vacate his title. After waiting so long for his debut on the main roster, WWE fans now get to have another extended wait for his return.
Further evaluation of his shoulder after his injury revealed he needed surgery. He hasn't appeared on WWE television since undergoing the surgery. He is expected to be cleared pretty soon however. It will be interesting to see how WWE re-debuts him when he is ready to return.
31 Limited Action: Braun Strowman
Singles Matches: 0W-1L
6-Man Tag Team Matches: 1W-1L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 0W-1L (eliminated via count out)
Royal Rumble: eliminated by Brock Lesnar
Total: 1 win in 4 matches = 25% win ratio
You don't need much more evidence to support the theory that WWE is protecting Strowman. Looking at his statistics, it is clear management is not going to let Strowman lose anytime soon. His only losses occurred in tag matches, and neither time was he pinned or submitted.
Strowman was counted out of the Raw vs Smackdown Survivor Series match, and was eliminated by Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble.
At the last PPV event of the year, Strowman "lost" to Sami Zayn by failing to beat him within 10 minutes. Technically that counts as a loss, even though he never really lost. That's wrestling sometimes...
30 Limited Action: Baron Corbin
Singles Matches: 3W-0L
Andre the Giant Battle Royal: Winner
Total: 4 wins in 4 matches = 100% win ratio
Corbin has wrestled on PPV 4 times in 2016, and he's won all four times. A fresh NXT call-up, Corbin won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in his first ever PPV match. He then beat former World Champion Dolph Ziggler at Money in the Bank in his second ever PPV match.
He beat Jack Swagger at No Mercy, and most recently defeated Kalisto in a chairs match at TLC. Much like Braun Strowman, the WWE is not going to let Corbin be defeated anytime soon.
A former NFL player with a lot of size to him, Corbin is the type of wrestler Vince McMahon likes to push, which is probably why he is so protected on screen.
29 Full-Time Roster Rankings
29. Dolph Ziggler
Singles matches: 1W-5L
7-Way Ladder matches: 0W-1L
Royal Rumble: eliminated by Triple H
Total: 1 win in 7 matches (not including the Royal Rumble) = 14% win ratio
Ziggler started the year on PPV being eliminated from the Royal Rumble by the eventual winner Triple H. After that he lost an IC title match to Kevin Owens at Fastlane, and then failed to win the 7-way ladder match for the same title at WrestleMania.
At MITB this year he lost a singles match to Baron Corbin. After that he lost a WWE Championship match to Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. Then he lost another IC title match, this time to the Miz at Backlash. It would take all the way until September for Ziggler to register a PPV win in 2016, when he finally beat the Miz for the IC title at No Mercy. He then lost a ladder match to the Miz, again for the IC title, at TLC.
28 28. Becky Lynch
6-Pac Challenge: 1W-0L
Singles Matches: 0W-3L
Traditional Survivor Series matches: 0W-1L (eliminated by Bayley)
Triple threat match: 0W-1L
6-Person tag team: 0W-1L
Tag Team: 1W-1L
Total: 2 wins in 9 matches = 23% win ratio
Despite having been the Smackdown women's champion for months, Becky Lynch has never won a singles match on a WWE PPV. Her first attempt was a Divas title match against Charlotte at the Royal Rumble this year, which she lost. She then won a tag match with Sasha Banks as her partner against Naomi and Tamina.
She lost a triple threat match to Charlotte (Sasha Banks was also involved) at WrestleMania. Her and partner Natalya then lost to Charlotte and Dana Brooke at MITB. She lost a singles match to Natalya at Battleground. Her and partners Carmella and Naomi lost to Alexa Bliss, Natalya and Nikki Bella at SummerSlam.
After the brand split Becky Lynch became the inaugural Smackdown women's champion by winning the 6-pack challenge at Backlash. She was then eliminated by Bayley at Survivor Series in the Raw vs Smackdown traditional elimination match.
Just recently Lynch lost her women's championship, and her third straight PPV singles match, when she lost to Alexa Bliss in a tables match at TLC.
27 27. John Cena
Singles: 0W-2L
Triple Threat: 0W-1L
6-Man Tag: 1W-0L
Total: 1 win in 4 matches = 25% win ratio
It has been a tough year for John Cena. He underwent shoulder surgery early in the year that kept him out of action for 5 months. Cena would make an appearance at WrestleMania this year, but only in an unadvertised segment along with The Rock and the Wyatt Family.
Since he's been back he hasn't done very well at all. Cena has twice lost to AJ Styles in singles matches this year, and failed to win a triple threat against Styles and Ambrose as well.
Injuries and time spent on other projects are what is keeping Cena from being active this year on PPV. He is currently away from action again and missed the Survivor Series.
His only win on PPV this year was over The Club when he teamed with Enzo and Cass.
26 T-25. Seth Rollins
Singles Matches 2W-4L
Triple Threat Matches: 0W-1L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 0W-1L
Total: 2 win in 7 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 29% win ratio
Rollins spent the first half of the year on the shelf. After cashing in the MITB briefcase to close out WrestleMania 31, Rollins was forced to sit out and watch WrestleMania 32.
His 2016 PPV debut was at Money in the Bank, when he defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE Championship. His celebration was short-lived however, as Dean Ambrose cashed in his newly won MITB briefcase moments later and won the title. All 3 members of the Shield held the WWE Championship at one time that night.
Since then Rollins has gone winless on PPV. He lost a 3-way match at Battleground to Dean Ambrose (Reigns was the 3rd superstar), then lost the inaugural Universal Title match to Finn Balor at SummerSlam.
Rollins dropped his last two PPV matches to Kevin Owens, including inside a Hell in a Cell in October. At Survivor Series 2016, Rollins was eliminated by Bray Wyatt.
25 T-25. Sasha Banks
Singles Matches: 0W-3L
Tag Team Matches: 2W-0L
Triple Threat Matches: 0W-2L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 1W-0L (was eliminated from Team Raw by Natalya. Team Raw would win the match however)
Total: 2 wins in 7 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 29% win ratio
Her three singles losses were all title matches to Charlotte. Her two triple threat losses were also title matches and also losses to Charlotte.
Banks lost in the main event of the Hell in a Cell PPV to Charlotte as well. Not only did she lose the first women's main event on PPV in WWE history, she did so in her hometown of Boston. She did defeat Charlotte on Raw to win the women's title however.
The loss at Hell in a Cell is quite a momentum killer for Banks, who also lost to Charlotte in singles action at Clash of Champions. Most recently she lost to Charlotte at Roadblock: End of the Line, in an ironman match.
She started off the year tagging with Becky Lynch and defeating Team BAD (forgot about Team BAD didn't you?) at Fastlane. She lost a triple threat to Charlotte at WrestleMania, before scoring her only PPV victory over Charlotte when she tagged with Bayley and defeated the team of Dana Brooke and Charlotte.
It's going to be tough for Sasha to get back into the title mix considering the amount of times she has lost to Charlotte on PPV.
24 T-23. The Usos
Tag Team Matches: 1W-4
12-Man Tag Matches: 1W-0L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 0W-1L (eliminated by Sheamus and Cesaro)
Total: 2 wins in 6 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 33% win ratio
It's been a down year for the Usos, who must have been expected to dominate the Smackdown tag team division after the brand split.
They started the year losing a title match to the New Day at Royal Rumble, then losing a Texas Tornado match to the Club at Extreme Rules. They were on the winning side of a 12-man tag match on the WrestleMania pre-show event after that.
At Backlash they wrestled twice, first defeating the Hype Bros in the semi-finals of the Smackdown tag team championship tournament, but then losing to Heath Slater and Rhyno in the finals.
23 T-23. Randy Orton
Singles Matches: 0W-2L
Tag Team Matches: 1W-0L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 1W-0L (Survivor of Team Smackdown with Bray Wyatt)
Total: 1 win in 3 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 33% win ratio
Randy Orton didn't wrestle in 2016 until August, when he took on Brock Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam. You might remember that match as the time Lesnar spilt Orton's head open all over the mat, causing the referee stoppage. Rumours are that it was meant to look real, which if true, means they were incredibly successful at what they were attempting.
Orton then entered into a weird feud with the Wyatt family on Smackdown. At No Mercy, Wyatt defeated Orton in a singles match with a little help from Luke Harper. That somehow led to Orton joining the Wyatt family himself, and so far things are looking good for the new alliance. Orton and Wyatt were the two remaining members left for Team Smackdown at the Survivor Series, and then the pair won the tag titles from Heath Slater and Rhyno at TLC.
22 T-21. Sami Zayn
Singles Matches: 2W-3L
Fatal 4-Way: 0W-1L
Tag Team: 1W-0L
Money in the Bank Match: 0W-1L
7-Way Ladder: 0W-1L
2016 Royal Rumble: eliminated by Braun Strowman
Total: 3 wins in 8 matches = 38% win ratio
Zayn took part in a 7-Way Ladder match for the IC belt at WrestleMania, which was won by Zack Ryder. He also didn't win a fatal 4-way for the IC belt at Extreme Rules, nor did he win the Money in the Bank match. He did exchange wins on PPV with his longtime rival/friend Kevin Owens, losing at Payback but getting the win at Battleground.
He had a chance to bring the Intercontinental Championship to Raw at Survivor Series, but ended up losing to the Miz.
In his final PPV appearance of the year Zayn "defeated" Braun Strowman by lasting 10 minutes with him.
21 T-21. Chris Jericho
Singles matches: 2W-4L
Tag Team Matches: 1W-0L
Money in the Bank Matches: 0W-1L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 0W-1L (eliminated by Randy Orton)
Royal Rumble: eliminated by Dean Ambrose
Total: 3 wins in 8 matches (not including Survivor Series or Royal Rumble) = 38% win ratio
2016 has been a crazy year for Jericho. His storyline with Kevin Owens has led to something of a career resurgence for him. While he was never an after thought on WWE programming, his returns had grown somewhat stale over the years. But leave it to Jericho to find a way to re-invent himself all over again.
Jericho started out the year being eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Dean Ambrose. He then split a pair of matches with AJ Styles at Fastlane and WrestleMania, with Jericho picking up the Mania win. He lost twice in a row to Dean Ambrose, first at Payback and then again at Extreme Rules. He was unsuccessful in the Money in the Bank match, but would then move onto his storyline with Owens.
At SummerSlam Team Kevin and Chris, or Team Jeri-KO, defeated Enzo and Cass. Jericho then defeated Owens' ex-best friend Sami Zayn at Clash of Champions. Jericho was eliminated by Randy Orton in the Raw vs Smackdown Survivor Series match for men's singles wrestlers.
On the final PPV of the year, Jericho was defeated by Seth Rollins.
20 20. New Day
2-0n-2 Tag Team Matches: 3W-3L (2xDQ)
3-on-3 Tag Team Matches: 0W-2L
Fatal 4-Way Tag Matches: 1W-0L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 0W-1L (eliminated by the Usos)
Total: 4 wins in 9 matches = 44% win ratio
You'd think their record would be better wouldn't you? They have actually managed to not defend the tag titles on several PPVs simply because they were involved in 3-way matches, or not wrestling at all.
They started the PPV season by defeating the Usos at the Rumble. They then lost in a 6-man match to the League of Nations at WrestleMania. They defended their titles successfully against the Vaudevillians at Extreme Rules, and again in a fatal 4-way the next month against Enzo and Cass, the Club, and Vaudevillians.
At Battleground they lost a 6-man tag match to the Wyatt Family. At SummerSlam they lost to the Club via DQ but kept their titles. The following month they finally did defeat the Club at Clash of Champions.
At Hell in a Cell they lost to Sheamus and Cesaro via DQ but kept their titles. They were then the first team eliminated for Team Raw at Survivor Series.
Finally at Roadblock: End of the Line, they had their title reign ended by Sheamus and Cesaro.
19 T-13. Sheamus and Cesaro
Sheamus and Cesaro have only been a tag team for the last few months, but their careers have been linked since SummerSlam. It took some doing, but basically I combined their records to come up with a win ratio, and it just so happened to equal 50%.
Sheamus:
Singles Matches: 1W-1L-1NC
Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Matches: 1W-0L (Sole Survivor with Cesaro)
6-Man Tag: 1W-0L
Tag Team: 2W-0L
Royal Rumble: eliminated by Roman Reigns
Total: 5 wins in 7 matches (not including Royal Rumble) = 71% win ratio
Sheamus started the year as a member of the League of Nations. The faction scored a big win over the New Day at WrestleMania in a 6-man tag. From there he lost a singles match to Apollo Crews at MITB. After that he moved into his program with Cesaro.
Cesaro:
Singles Matches: 0W-2L-1NC
Tag Team Matches: 2W-0L
MITB Matches: 0W-1L
Fatal 4-Way Matches: 0W-1L
Traditional Survivor Series Matches: 1W-0L (Survivor of Team Raw with Sheamus)
Total: 2 win in 7 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 28% win ratio
Total Team: 50% win ratio
Cesaro started the PPV season by losing to the Miz at Payback in an IC title match. He then was unsuccessful in a fatal 4-way match which was also for the IC title (Miz won again). He was also unsuccessful at winning the Money in the Bank ladder match in June.
Sheamus and Cesaro had two matches on PPV against each other as part of their best-of-seven series. Sheamus beat Cesaro at SummerSlam, and they would wrestle to a no-contest at Clash of Champions.
As a team they would defeat the New Day at Hell in a Cell, but only by DQ so they didn't win the titles. At Survivor Series 2016, they were the sole surviving members of Team Raw.
Finally at Roadblock: End of the Line, after an ingenious fake-tag move, Cesaro and Sheamus won the Raw tag team championships.
18 T-13. Bayley
Singles Matches: 1W-0L
Tag Team: 1W-1L
Triple Threat: 0W-1L
Traditional Survivor Series Match: 1W-0L (Survivor of Team Raw with Charlotte)
Total: 2 wins in 4 matches (not including Survivor Series) = 50% win ratio
Bayley started off her WWE PPV career this year, teaming with Sasha Banks to defeat Charlotte and Dana Brooke at Battleground. She failed to win the Raw women's title at Clash of Champions, when Charlotte won a triple threat match that also involved Sasha Banks.
Bayley defeated Dana Brooke at Hell in a Cell for her first ever singles win on a WWE PPV. She was a surviving member of Team Raw at Survivor Series in Toronto, along with Charlotte.
Now with Charlotte having defeated Sasha Banks in what was billed as the end of their rivalry, Bayley is in a good position to be the next title challenger.