WWE’s 25 Greatest Pay-Per-Views of All Time
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
7. Wrestlemania 24
Throughout this list it’s become apparent that you need at least one of two things to make a great pay-per-view. The show needs to have at least 2 amazing matches or the majority of the card as a whole, needs to be consistently good with effective pacing. Wrestlemania 24 has the unique distinction of being one of the very few shows of all-time that have both, and then some. Sure, the Chavo Guerrero/Kane ECW title match, Batista versus Umaga, and the women’s division tag matches didn’t exactly tear the roof off of the Citrus Bowl in Orlando that night, but those matches only accounted for about 13 minutes of in-ring time. The rest of show however, solid gold.
Outside of the top matches at Wrestlemania 24, there are also a couple of hidden gems. The JBL/Finlay Belfast Brawl was a lot of fun and although this is absolutely painful to say, The Big Show/Floyd Mayweather spectacle was done surprisingly well. The triple threat match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship was good, although maybe a bit underwhelming. And then what you’re left with was one of the best Money In The Bank matches of all-time and arguably the top 2 matches of 2008 as well as 2 top 25 matches in Wrestlemania history.
The main event of the night pitted The Undertaker and Edge in the midst of their off and on two-year battle. Edge was truly one of Taker’s biggest rivals in his career and this match was the perfect type of main event. It was simply two guys at the top of their game competing in an intense, hard-hitting battle that had the near 75,000 fans in attendance on the edge of their seats.
But it was the Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair match that is the must-see event at this show. In what was billed as Flair’s retirement match, “The Nature Boy” left every thing he had left in the ring against Michaels and the match was as good as any fan could’ve imagined. And the emotions from both men alone was worth the price of admission. Truly a special night.