The 10 Worst PPV Main Events
Emily Bell In June 2002, Vince McMahon appeared on Raw and demanded that his roster show him "ruthless aggression." Nobody could've expected that those words would spark the beginning of a new era for the company. The Attitude Era was followed by the Invasion of WCW and ECW but since that ended in late 2001, the company was without an identity.
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Ruthless Aggression ended up being the name of WWE's newest era. It would see the rise of stars like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista, as well put a focus on Raw and Smackdown being separate entities. While most of this period was a good time, a handful of PPV main events were pretty lackluster.
10 John Bradshaw Layfield vs. The Undertaker - No Mercy 2004
John Bradshaw Layfield had a lengthy reign as WWE Champion on Smackdown throughout most of 2004. Sadly, that didn't mean he was putting on great matches. His rivalry with The Undertaker showcased that. Fans wanted to see the Deadman as champion but it wasn't to be.
After retaining the title through a cheap finish at SummerSlam, JBL had to defend it again against Taker at No Mercy. This was a "Last Ride Match," where the loser had to be placed in a hearse. With help from Heidenreich, JBL was able to retain once more.
9 Goldberg vs. Triple H - Unforgiven 2003
The feud between Goldberg and Triple H could've been something special. Instead, it felt like a huge waste of time. What made Goldberg special in WCW was him running through opponents and being an absolute beast. WWE got that right in his appearances in the 2010s.
During his first stint, they did everything wrong. That included booking him in overly long matches like this one. His career was on the line but nobody bought into that drama. Goldberg eventually won but by this point, the crowd didn't care much.
8 Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield - The Great American Bash 2005
One of the biggest shocks of the Ruthless Aggression era was seeing John Cena and Batista swap brands while holding the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles, respectively. Batista's first challenger on the blue brand was the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the Smackdown era, JBL.
They met at The Great American Bash 2005 in a main event that was pretty boring. These were two guys who never quite clicked together. It was made worse by a cheap DQ ending after nearly 20 minutes, rendering the whole thing moot.
7 The Great Khali vs. John Cena - Judgment Day 2007
Fans weren't interested at all when The Great Khali was announced as John Cena's next WWE Title contender. The audience were heavily booing Cena at the height of his hate and Khali was someone who they wanted no part of. Still, the two clashed on two straight pay-per-views.
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Both were in the main event slot. To be fair, their second outing, at One Night Stand, was actually solid. This first one was a total mess, though. Khali lumbered around, Cena couldn't do much with him, and the finish wasn't definitive so a rematch was announced.
6 Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H - Bad Blood 2004
Not two guys you expected to see together on this list, right? Shawn Michaels and Triple H are two of the greatest to ever compete in a WWE ring. They've had classics against each other, including one on Raw in 2003 and their Street Fight when Michaels returned at SummerSlam 2002.
At Bad Blood 2004, they met in a Hell in a Cell that was billed as their final encounter. What followed was two men trying too hard to have an epic. This ended up being 47 minutes long and never fully engaging audiences the way their best work did. An argument could be made that this is their worst meeting.
5 D-Generation X vs. The Spirit Squad - Vengeance 2006
With the recent inclusion of ECW, there was potential for some notable matches at Vengeance 2006. The show could've been headlined by John Cena vs. Sabu or the WWE Title match pitting Rob Van Dam against Edge. Instead, that honor went to The Spirit Squad vs. DX.
That's right. A group of male cheerleaders who were played for jokes took on two legends in Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a PPV main event. To make it worse, it lasted nearly 20 minutes. While the guys involved did their best to make it entertaining, it was a match that didn't belong in its slot.
4 Goldberg vs. Kane vs. Triple H - Armageddon 2003
The Triple H vs. Goldberg rivalry strikes again. It couldn't have simply ended when Goldberg beat HHH at Unforgiven. It extended out until the end of the year, with Kane thrown into the mix for no real reason.
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He didn't freshen things up. Fans were unfortunately given 21 minutes of three guys plodding around and hitting bad looking offense. It all led to Batista interfering to give Triple H back the title he spent most of the past year hogging anyway. The only positive was that it led to the iconic shot of every Evolution member holding a title to end the show.
3 Mark Henry vs. The Undertaker - Unforgiven 2007
The Undertaker returning is always a big deal. He was gone for a big chunk of 2007, leaving in May following an attack from Mark Henry and Edge cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. His comeback saw him target Henry and lead to a match at Unforgiven.
As important as The Undertaker is, he didn't need this main event spot. He and Henry never had great matches together and this was another case of them mostly boring the audience. The Undertaker kind of dominated at points and the outcome was never in doubt.
2 Batista & John Cena vs. Finlay & King Booker - Armageddon 2006
On paper, this match screams Smackdown main event. It's a case where two top babyfaces took on two heels in a tag match. That's usually the formula for WWE television. Somehow, this was actually a pay-per-view headliner.
At the end of 2006, Batista was feuding with King Booker. He enlisted the help of Raw's top star and WWE Champion John Cena to take on King Booker and Finlay. Basically, it was a dream team against two guys who had no chance to beat them in a high-profile contest. It didn't belong on a PPV, let alone to close it out.
1 The Dudley Boyz vs. The Undertaker - The Great American Bash 2004
This PPV should've been headlined by the bloodbath between JBL and Eddie Guerrero where JBL was crowned WWE Champion. Instead, it was given to The Dudley Boyz taking on The Undertaker in a "Concrete Crypt Match."
Basically, it was a regular handicap match but if The Undertaker lost, his manager Paul Bearer would be buried in a cement crypt. The Undertaker won a dull match only to bury Bearer anyway, which meant the whole thing didn't matter in the first place. Fans were happy to have The Deadman character back but the first few months were pretty rough.
