WWE’s 25 Greatest Pay-Per-Views of the Ruthless Aggression Era
10. Backlash 2006
It’s hard for me not to put this PPV in the top 10 after Vince McMahon had the gall to not only book himself in a match with “God,” but win.
Then again, I can also justify its top 10 status thanks to matches like Triple H vs. Edge vs. John Cena, RVD vs. Shelton Benjamin in a Title vs. Money in the Bank case (which stole the show) and Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus II. Plus, Umaga made his debut and proved to be an in-ring gift from the Gods (no pun intended).
9. ECW One Night Stand 2005
On the surface, this is just one of many ECW reunion shows (Lord knows we’ve seen enough of those) filled with a much more than necessary amount of blood and violence, but in totality, this is something of a redemption/comeback story focused on a sea of overlooked underdogs who amassed a cult following that allowed them what they believed to be one last hurrah.
That cult following only grew to legitimize a show revival one year later. Speaking as someone who’s not an old school ECW fan or even a hardcore wrestling fan, that is a beautiful feel good story. It doesn’t get better than this …
8. ECW One Night Stand 2006
… except when it does. You take that aforementioned feel good story, bring back the impassioned and electric crowd, sprinkle some dream matches, raise the stakes with title matches, and cap it all off with one feel good moment that even non-ECW faithfuls would shed a tear at, then you’ve got a sequel that surpasses the original.
7. Survivor Series 2005
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown is legitimately one of the best matches in Survivor Series and, frankly, WWE history. Made even better by a climactic return from The Undertaker to close the show. Then, matches like John Cena vs. Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit vs. Booker T, and Trish Stratus vs. Melina were memorable in their own right.
6. WrestleMania 24
WrestleMania 24 has enough juice in its tank to argue it being a top 10 Mania event of all time. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels alone was splendid enough to make that claim believable. Then, matches like Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Undertaker vs. Edge, and Money in the Bank just sweeten the deal.