List of WWE pay-per-view events

This is a chronological list of pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming events made by American professional wrestling company WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Each month, WWE holds one or two yearly pay-per-view/livestreaming events. Since 2022, WWE calls these kind of events Premium Live Events. One event is usually three hours long and features six to twelve matches. The events are a big part of how the WWE earns money.

WrestleMania is WWE's biggest yearly live event.

Starting in 1985, WWE made Premium Live Events that can be watched live via pay-per-view outlets. Since February 2014, with the start of the WWE Network, events are also legally streamed live on the internet.

History

Many people believe wrongly that the first WWE, then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), pay-per-view was November 1985's The Wrestling Classic. This was a tournament held at the Rosemont Horizon near Chicago. The first WrestleMania event, in March of the same year, was on pay-per-view in some areas. The first two WrestleManias earned much money. After WrestleMania III became one of the best events in wrestling history, the WWF then decided to have more pay-per-views.

The first Survivor Series event took place on November 29, 1987. It was shown at the same time as NWA's Starrcade which was thought to be the biggest yearly event for NWA. The WWF informed cable companies that if they were showing Starrcade, they would not be allowed to show future WWF events. Most companies showed Survivor Series. Because of this, Starrcade did not make much money that year. This is thought to be the start of many problems for Jim Crockett Promotions.

The first Royal Rumble in January 1988 was shown on the USA Network. It had the highest rating in the network's history up until that time. The event became a pay-per-view the next year.

The first SummerSlam was held in Madison Square Garden in August 1988. These four events - the Royal Rumble in January, WrestleMania in March or April, SummerSlam in August, and Survivor Series in November - were the only yearly pay-per-view offerings (other than the King of the Ring) from the WWF until 1995. After World Championship Wrestling (WCW) started showing more pay-per-views, the WWF increased the number of pay-per-views it made. At first, the WWF used the name In Your House for its new shows. Beginning in 1996, it began using other names along with the In Your House name (such as Badd Blood and No Way Out of Texas). This was done to avoid confusion. By the end of February of 1999, the In Your House name was no longer used.

Both companies increased the number of pay-per-views until they each had one pay-per-view event each month. From the late '90s until 2003, WWE had a once-a-month pay-per-view schedule. The pay-per-view events in the United States can be bought through iN DEMAND, Dish Network or DirecTV.

Up until 2003, WWE ran two pay-per-views a year which were only shown in the United Kingdom. After the brand extension started, they stopped doing these two events. Instead of the UK events, they did international tours which were taped for television.

In Australia, WWE's pay-per-views were shown on Main Event. In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, some pay-per-views were shown on Sky Sports 1 and others on Sky Box Office. Starting with the 2008 Royal Rumble, all WWE pay-per-views were broadcast in high definition.

In February 2014, WWE introduced the WWE Network. a subscription service, where PPV events were streamed live and more WWE content, including every previous PPV event, were available for a lower monthly price. In 2021, events began airing on NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, in the United States, ending the WWE Network there. Over the following years, the service was also ended in other countries when different streaming platforms took over its content: Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, Disney+ in the Philippines, Binge in Australia, and Abema in Japan. On 1 January 2025, the WWE Network will end completely in most countries, as WWE content will move to Netflix in the rest of the world.

Brand extension

In June 2003, WWE decided to only use people from one brand for many of its pay-per-views. Only the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series events used people from different brands. WrestleMania and The Royal Rumble were the only events with wrestlers from different brands competing against each other. This allowed WWE to show more pay-per-view events, such as Cyber Sunday and The Great American Bash. From late 2005, they decided to change this and matches with people from different brands were shown more often. In March 2007, WWE said they would stop only using one brand on each pay-per-view. All of its pay-per-views would have matches from all three brands. When the brand extension was reintroduced in 2016, WWE started making their pay-per-view and livestreaming events single-branded again, except for the "big four" events. This stopped again following WrestleMania 34 in 2018.

Current events

Regular events

Name	Month(s)	Years Active	Brand-exclusive to	Note
Royal Rumble	January/February	1988–present		Features the Royal Rumble match
NXT Vengeance Day	February	2001–2007 2011 2021–present	SmackDown! (2003) Raw (2004–2006) NXT (2021–present)	Previously known as WWE Vengeance
Elimination Chamber	February/March	2009–2015 2017–present	SmackDown (2017) Raw (2018)	Features the Elimination Chamber match Also known as No Escape in Germany
NXT Stand & Deliver	March/April	2021–present	NXT
WrestleMania		1985–present		WWE's biggest event of the year
Backlash	May	1999–2009 2016–2018 2020–present	Raw (2004–2006) SmackDown (2017–2018)	Also known as WrestleMania Backlash
NXT Battleground	June	2013–2017 2023–present	SmackDown (2017) NXT (2023–present)	Previously known as WWE Battleground
Money in the Bank	June/July	2010–present	SmackDown (2017)	Features the Money in the Bank ladder match
NXT Heatwave		2022–present	NXT	Previously held by ECW
The Great American Bash	July/August	2004–2009 2020–present	SmackDown! (2004-2007) NXT (2020–present)	Previously held by NWA/JCP (1985–1988) and by WCW (1989–2000) Also known as The Bash
SummerSlam		1988–present
NXT No Mercy	September	1999–2008 2016–2017 2023–present	SmackDown (2002–2006, 2016) Raw (2017) NXT (2023–present)	Previously known as WWE No Mercy
NXT Halloween Havoc	October	2020–present	NXT	Previously held by WCW
Crown Jewel	October/November	2018–2019, 2021–present		Takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of a deal between WWE and the country's Ministry of Sport
Survivor Series	November	1988–present		Also known as Survivor Series: WarGames
NXT Deadline	December	2022–present	NXT	Features the Iron Survivor Challenge

Recurring events

Name	Month(s)	Years Active	Brand-exclusive to	Note
King and Queen of the Ring	April–June	1993–2002 2015 2024–present		Previously known as King of the Ring Features the King of the Ring tounament
Clash at the Castle	September (2022) June (2024)	2022 2024
Bad Blood	October (1997, 2024) June (2003–2024)	1997 2003–2004 2024–present	Raw (2003–2004)	Previously known as Badd Blood: In Your House
Bash in Berlin	August	2024–present

Former events

Name	Month	Years Active	Brand-exclusive to	Note
The Wrestling Classic	November	1985
This Tuesday in Texas	December	1991
In Your House	Various	1995–1999 2020–2022	NXT (2020–2022)
Over the Edge	May	1998–1999		Also known as Over the Edge: In Your House
Fully Loaded	July	1998–2000		Also known as Fully Loaded: In Your House
Invasion		2001
Rebellion	October–December	1999–2002	SmackDown! (2002)	All events took place in the United Kingdom
Insurrextion	May/June	2000–2003	Raw (2002–2003)
One Night Stand	June	2005–2008		Also known as ECW One Night Stand and One Night Stand: Extreme Rules
December To Dismember	December	2006	ECW	Previously held by ECW
Armageddon		1999–2000 2002–2008	Raw (2003) SmackDown! (2004–2006)
New Year's Revolution	January	2005–2007	Raw
No Way Out	February June (2012)	1998 2000–2009 2012	SmackDown! (2004–2007)	Also known as No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
Unforgiven	April (1998) September	1998–2008	Raw (2003–2006)	Also known as Unforgiven: In Your House
Cyber Sunday	October/November	2004–2008	Raw (2004–2006)	Also known as Taboo Tuesday
Judgment Day	October (1998) May	1998 2000–2009	SmackDown! (2004–2006)	Also known as Judgment Day: In Your House
Night of Champions	Various	2007–2015 2023
Extreme Rules		2009–2022	Raw (2017)
Breaking Point	September	2009
Hell in a Cell	September/October June (2021–2022)	2009–2022	Raw (2016) SmackDown (2017)	Featured the Hell in a Cell match
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs	December October (2017)	2009–2020	SmackDown (2016) Raw (2017)
Bragging Rights	October	2009–2010
Fatal 4-Way	June	2010
Over The Limit	May	2010–2012
Capitol Punishment	June	2011
Payback	Various	2013–2017 2020 2023	Raw (2017)
NXT TakeOver		2014–2021	NXT
Fastlane	February/March October (2023)	2015–2019 2021 2023	Raw (2017) SmackDown (2018)
Roadblock	March December	2016	Raw (December 2016)	Also known as Roadblock: End of the Line Held as an NXT TV special since 2022
Clash of Champions	September December (2017)	2016–2017 2019–2020	Raw (2016) SmackDown (2017)
NXT WarGames	November/December	2017–2021	NXT
Super ShowDown	Various	2018–2020
NXT UK TakeOver		2019–2020	NXT UK

International pay-per-view events

Pay-per-view	Year(s) Active	Note
One Night Only	1997 only
Mayhem in Manchester	1998 only
Capital Carnage	1998 only
No Mercy (UK)	1999 only	Although this event took place in the UK, another PPV called "No Mercy" was held the same year in the US
Global Warning	2002 only

Non-pay-per-view supercards

Supercard	Year(s) Active	Note
Saturday Night's Main Event	1985-1992 2006–2008 2024–present
The Main Event	1988-1991	Was a spin-off of Saturday Night's Main Event.

Other websites

• WWE.com
• WWE Corporate.com Archived 2019-12-15 at the Wayback Machine