WWE has been the market leader of the professional wrestling business ever since its inception. Creating different megastars in different eras, Vince McMahon has made the company a billion-dollar global brand and, consequently, WWE tops the list of most purchased PPVs in history. In fact, WWE is also on the list of highest-grossing PPVs in combat sports, not just professional wrestling.
Since WCW was the biggest competitor of WWE and even surpassed them in Monday Night Wars at one point, the now-defunct company had the most purchases among non-WWE pay-per-views. TNA's highest-grossing pay-per-view never crossed over 60,000, while AEW's most profitable PPV buy rate was 125,000, which was Revolution this year.
10 WCW Starrcade 1996 (345,000)
With the rising popularity of WCW in 1996, the result also showed in the PPV buy rate. Starrcade, which was the biggest annual pay-per-view of the company, drew 34500 buys. The show was headlined by two legends of the industry, nWo's Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.
Besides Hogan and Piper, The Outsiders also defended the WCW Tag Team Championships against The Faces of Fear. Stars like Diamond Dallas Page, Lex Luger, and The Giant competed in singles matches.
9 WCW Road Wild 1998 (365,000)
Although Road Wild wasn't a huge PPV of WCW, it still drew a good number in 1998 because WCW was at its peak this year. Nitro also had the highest ratings ever this year.
The event had mainstream attention because Jay Leno, the popular host, not only wrestled in a match but also main-evented the show. Teaming up with Diamond Dallas Page, his team beat Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan.
8 WCW Souled Out 1998 (380,000)
Another WCW pay-per-view from 1998 was one of the biggest non-WWE PPVs ever. Due to the impressive momentum of WCW back then, the company managed to gather the big numbers, despite missing some notable names from the card.
The show featured nine matches, with Randy Savage and Lex Luger main-eventing the show. It also hosted a dream match between Ric Flair and Bret Hart, which the latter won. Moreover, young stars like Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and The Giant competed in singles matches.
7 WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 (405,000)
Being one of the biggest pay-per-view of the company, it wasn't surprising seeing the 1997 edition of Halloween Havoc gathering huge numbers. Again the arch-rivals, Roddy Piper and Hollywood Hogan main-evented the show in a brutal steel cage match, and Piper finally managed a singles win over Hogan.
Arguably the best match of the show was the Las Vegas Sudden Death Match between Diamond Dallas Page and Randy Savage. Curt Hennig beat Ric Flair to retain the WCW United States Title, but there was no WCW World Heavyweight Championship match on the card.
6 WCW Uncensored 1998 (415,000)
The fourth edition of Uncensored attracted a massive number with a buy rate of 415,000. The event hosted a steel cage match between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, with Miss Elizabeth in Savage's corner. The match, however, ended in no contest after multiple interventions.
Besides the main event, Sting beat Scott Hall in the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match, while DDP retained the WCW United States Championship against two other opponents.
5 WCW Superbrawl VIII (415,000)
The previous pay-per-view before Uncensored 1998 and the eighth edition of Superbrawl had the same buy rates of 415,000. Hollywood Hogan once gain headlined the show, challenging for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Sting.
The other notable match was the US Championship between Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Benoit. Goldberg also completed in that event, as he squashed Brad Armstrong.
4 WCW Starrcade 1998 (460,000)
WCW's golden run in 1998 continued, and it was shown in the final event of the year, Starrcade. Even though Hollywood Hogan was missing, the show consisted of the likes of Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Diamond Dallas Page, and many more.
It saw the end of Goldberg's historic unbeaten streak, as Kevin Nash pinned him to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title. However, Nash's victory wasn't clean, as Scott Hall played a huge role in the climax.
3 WCW Superbrawl IX (485,000)
Like the previous edition of Superbrawl, the annual pay-per-view once again drew a colossal buy rate and even surpassed the last one. With nine matches, it was a stacked card, and nWo's Hollywood Hogan put the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Ric Flair. As David Flair turned on his father, Ric lost the bout.
Other than the epic main event, the other significant match was between Roddy Piper and Scott Hall, which was for the US Championship. Goldberg also delivered a great performance against Bam Bam Bigelow in a singles match.
2 WCW Bash At The Beach 1998 (580,000)
It should be no surprise to see an iconic WCW pay-per-view from 1998 becoming the second-highest non-WWE pay-per-view in history. Bash at the Beach was the most successful PPV of 1998 while considering the buy rate, and the number crossed over half a million.
For such a big number, the credit must go to two NBA players Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone, who participated in a tag team match in the main event of the night. Moreover, Bill Goldberg picked up an easy win over Curt Hennig to continue the streak. Booker T defeated Bret Hart by disqualification.
1 WCW Starrcade 1997 (700,000)
The highest-grossing non-WWE pay-per-view and obviously the most purchased pay-per-view ever in WCW was the 1997 edition of Starrcade. The event had a buy rate of a whopping 700,000.
The pay-per-view relied heavily on the main event match between Sting and Hollywood Hogan because there weren't many big matches on the show. Crow Sting won the match at the end, but Hogan had pinned Sting earlier, which was overruled after interference from Bret Hart.