WCW was on fire during the height of the Monday Night Wars, with record breaking ratings and huge PPV buy rates. Many of the Nitro episodes upset fans since they ended on cliff hangers or had big matches end without a real finish. This was done for the business model of PPVs providing the big pay off with fans each paying $30 to watch them.
We will look at the biggest PPV success stories for WCW. The buy rates for these shows stand out as the most successful in WCW history. Fans cared about these shows for the main event and a few other attractions on the card, and each show had its own reason for the fan interest reaching such a level. The following WCW PPVs delivered the highest buy rates for the company.
10 Starrcade 1996: 345,000 (Roddy Piper vs Hulk Hogan)
WCW did a good job setting up the interest for the Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper dream match. WWE found success with the rivalry in the 80s, but most of their matches came in tag team action since Piper reportedly refused to lose to Hogan.
Both wrestlers wanted to make the money they left off the table by facing off at WCW’s biggest event, Starrcade in 1996. Piper won the non-title match over Hogan with a then-record 345,000 buys. Other fun matches on the card included Rey Mysterio vs Jushin Liger, Dean Malenko vs Ultimo Dragon and Eddie Guerrero vs Diamond Dallas Page.
9 Road Wild 1998: 365,000 (DDP and Jay Leno vs Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff)
The use of celebrities helped WCW find PPV success in the summer of 1998. Legendary talk show host Jay Leno was at his peak as the host of The Tonight Show, and agreed to make an appearance for WCW’s Road Wild show.
Eric Bischoff ran the annual event at Sturgis for motorcycle enthusiasts and that appealed to Leno. The tag match saw Diamond Dallas Page and Leno vs Hulk Hogan and Bischoff bringing in 345,000 buys. Goldberg retaining the WCW Championship over the nWo Wolfpac and Hollywood factions in a battle royal was a strong semi-main event.
8 Souled Out 1998: 380,000 (Lex Luger vs Randy Savage)
Souled Out 1998 was one of the stranger PPVs to receive such a huge buy rate. There was not a WCW Championship on this card, and names like Hulk Hogan, Goldberg and Sting didn’t get booked. WCW had a solid card of big matches and more depth than usual.
Lex Luger vs Randy Savage was the main event with attractions of Bret Hart vs Ric Flair and Kevin Nash vs The Giant. WCW received 380,000 buy rates despite not having the same appeal of some of the other shows on this list.
7 Halloween Havoc 1997: 405,000 (Roddy Piper vs Hulk Hogan)
The Roddy Piper vs Hulk Hogan rivalry continued to find success for WCW. Halloween Havoc 1997 specifically had two main event matches that sold the fans on buying the event. Hogan vs Piper had their last big match in the steel cage main event, and Diamond Dallas Page vs Randy Savage was the semi-main event.
Both matches had strong builds with major appeal to receive such a huge buy rate. 405,000 people paid to see the major event. Eric Bischoff revealed on his 83 Weeks podcast that WCW treated Halloween Havoc as big as Starrcade from this year moving forward.
6 Uncensored 1998: 415,000 (Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage)
Another show with two main event level matches to find success was Uncensored 1998. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage was the main event to close the show, featuring the implosion of the New World Order. The aftermath of this started the faction splitting into two separate factions.
Sting defended the WCW Championship against Scott Hall for one of his few successful defenses. The show received 415,000 buys, as WCW continued to make huge profits in 1998. WWE may have passed them, but both companies were thriving.
5 Superbrawl 1998: 415,000 (Sting vs Hulk Hogan)
Superbrawl 1998 featured the rematch of Sting vs Hulk Hogan for the vacated WCW Championship after the controversial Starrcade finish. Fans were given the resolution of Sting beating Hogan cleanly finally start his title reign after stopping Hogan.
The Outsiders vs the Steiner Brothers and Lex Luger vs Randy Savage rounded out the upper card with a few other major matches. WCW was on fire around this time and brought in another 415,000 buys as an all-time success PPV in company history.
4 Starrcade 1998: 460,000 (Kevin Nash vs Goldberg)
There was a lot of controversy about Kevin Nash ending Goldberg’s undefeated streak, but it certainly created huge box office success. Nash vs Goldberg for the WCW Championship brought in 460,000 buys of viewers wanting to see the two faces square off.
The popularity of Nash with the Wolfpac version of the New World Order made him a hot commodity to challenge Goldberg. Starrcade 1998 was a huge success even with Nash winning in controversial fashion. The aftermath was a mess, but Nash vs Goldberg was great for PPV buys.
3 Superbrawl 1999: 485,000 (Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair)
The final WCW PPV to thrive in 1999 was the Superbrawl event with Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair in the main event. Both legends were trying to figure out their next move with each character having heel character traits. It didn’t take away from the PPV success.
Superbrawl 1999 received 485,000 buy rates, with fans still wanting to give WCW a chance. Secondary upper card matches saw Goldberg vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Roddy Piper vs Scott Hall and Scott Steiner vs Diamond Dallas Page adding more star power.
2 Bash at the Beach 1998: 580,000 (Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman vs DDP and Karl Malone)
WCW found a huge selling point when getting NBA stars Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone agreed to face off. The two players faced off in the NBA Finals and even sold the match with a minor scuffle. Rodman teamed with Hogan to face Diamond Dallas Page and Malone in a huge match at Bash at the Beach 1998.
The show received an incredible 580,000 buys, with casual fans tuning in to see the NBA stars. Goldberg defended the WCW Championship for the first time in a fun match with Curt Hennig as a semi-main event. Other fun matches included Booker T vs Bret Hart, Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero vs Eddie Guerrero.
1 Starrcade 1997: 700,000 (Sting vs Hulk Hogan)
Starrcade 1997 was easily the most financially successful PPV in WCW history. Sting’s chase of Hulk Hogan and the New World Order lasted almost a year and a half before the match finally happened. The main event brought in 700,000 buys from fans fascinated with the story.
WCW knew the match should be saved for the biggest show of the year. Other fun matches on the card featured Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero and Diamond Dallas Page vs Curt Hennig. The finish of Sting vs Hogan upset many viewers, but they still all paid to watch the show.