10 Best Gimmick PPVs In Pro Wrestling History

When you're loading up an annual pay-per-view calendar with as many events as you can possibly hold, variety is important. I mean, there's really no difference between a No Mercy, an Unforgiven, a No Way Out, and a Rock Bottom, is there? That's why you need to insert a few events that boast specific match types, or have unique meanings. That's where themed pay-per-views come in.

It must be said that WWE has gone berserk with the concept over the past decade, instituting events dedicated to specific gimmick matches, whether the stories call said matches or not. Hell in a Cell, TLC, Fatal Four Way, Judybagwellonapolemania, you name it - they've done everything to spur interest in the monthly shows. Some have worked, and others...well, let's just say the Cell should probably be used only for emergencies, not because it's October.

But enough bellyaching - let's get into the events that do work. Listed ahead are the best themed WWE event concepts ever, with a few from outside the WWE confines thrown in. You know, for variety's sake. See? Variety is important, just like I said.

When you're loading up an annual pay-per-view calendar with as many events as you can possibly hold, variety is important. I mean, there's really no difference between a No Mercy, an Unforgiven, a No Way Out, and a Rock Bottom, is there? That's why you need to insert a few events that boast specific match types, or have unique meanings. That's where themed pay-per-views come in.

It must be said that WWE has gone berserk with the concept over the past decade, instituting events dedicated to specific gimmick matches, whether the stories call said matches or not. Hell in a Cell, TLC, Fatal Four Way, Judybagwellonapolemania, you name it - they've done everything to spur interest in the monthly shows. Some have worked, and others...well, let's just say the Cell should probably be used only for emergencies, not because it's October.

But enough bellyaching - let's get into the events that do work. Listed ahead are the best themed WWE event concepts ever, with a few from outside the WWE confines thrown in. You know, for variety's sake. See? Variety is important, just like I said.

10. Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday

Admittedly, there have been flaws in the execution of the event, no matter which day it's been presented on. When the concept was first introduced in 2004, the fans were told that they had virtual control of the entire event, which made it sound like one lucky spectator would get to put on a headset and tell Jim Ross to stop using goddamn pronouns. In actuality, fans got to vote on things like gimmick match types, opponents for specific wrestlers, and, probably most regrettably, which fetish-based outfit the Divas would wear in their battle royal.

While that all seems very basic, the idea of an interactive pay-per-view is still an intriguing one, and could be quite fun with a little more outside-the-box thinking. Ideally, you want to set it up so that the heels all get humiliated to the nth degree, while letting the fans feel like they had a hand in it. In short, Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday was an interesting idea that WWE could've improved upon with a little more tinkering, and could well work better today in the Twitter age.

9. Bragging Rights

Before Survivor Series (and the Royal Rumble and the Draft and the Saudi shows and other international house shows and whatever else), Bragging Rights was the one night per year in which Raw and SmackDown superstars went head-to-head in direct competition. While it came along far too late in the first brand split to really be worth a damn, the idea was sound - Raw and SmackDown are as natural of enemies as cats and dogs, so let's pit them against each other.

Ideally, you wanted something like Bragging Rights back around 2004 or 2005, when tension between red and blue was at its most fervent. You want Eric Bischoff trading barbs with Paul Heyman or Theodore Long between matches, as they create a theoretical supercard of their best guys, all in the name of winning a glorified bowling trophy. Annual re-drafts and shake-ups kinda killed the allure of the brand split by about 2007, and it was hard to get behind somebody suddenly hating Raw, despite spending the prior three years on the show. But the concept itself is sound, and in a different era, could've been a lot of fun.

8. Slamboree

Those of you who became wrestling fans after the demise of WCW (Christ, it's been 19 years already?) may have heard the name Slamboree, but may not be familiar with the event's original concept. From 1996 onward, Slamboree was simply "the May pay-per-view" on WCW's schedule, but its first three incarnations were a little more special. Subtitled "A Legends' Reunion", WCW honoured the history of wrestling years before WWE's Hall of Fame was rivet-gunned to WrestleMania.

WCW had their own Hall of Fame, and this was the event in which stars of yesteryear were inducted into its theoretical halls. The cards also featured legends matches, including Dory Funk Jr vs. Nick Bockwinkel, Terry Funk vs. Tully Blanchard, and Dick Murdoch vs. Wahoo McDaniel, interspersed with bouts that featured the modern roster. Today's WrestleManias and bi-annual Saudi events kinda follow the same path, as ageing former champions get prime spots on the card, while a collection of legends are honoured via a ceremony. But before WWE crystallized that formula, WCW had their own unique take on what that would entail.

7. Elimination Chamber

When it comes to assigning a gimmick match to a specific month or season and then anchoring it there as part of the annual rotation, it's hard to argue with the placement of the Elimination Chamber. This is especially true when WWE has two World titles - if the Royal Rumble winner is facing one champion at WrestleMania, how do you determine who faces the other champ? A televised battle royal? One potato two potato? Blindfolded paintball battle? No sir, you bust out the steel dome of devastation, that's what you do.

This is actually a gimmick match that improves upon its original use. Whereas we complain when a Ladder Match or a Cell match gets shoehorned in because of calendar placement, this is a better use of the Chamber than, say, the cowardly champion has five men who wanna throttle him, but gosh darn it, we can't figure out who should get that shot! That older way feels far too convenient, but as a second chance for those who didn't win the Rumble? If the road to WrestleMania is Fury Road, the Chamber is its ideal Thunderdome.

6. Extreme Rules

Here's another seemingly-arbitrary event that we can abide by, entirely because of its flexibility. In the event's lifetime, various gimmick matches have been put into use, and that's fine. A Ladder Match may be appropriate for one, a cage for another, a hog pen match for one, a concrete crypt match for another. Though to be fair, that last one's contingent on somebody being kidnapped and the police refusing to get involved.

But yes, Extreme Rules is a good place to delve into the box o' gimmicks. And the perfect place for Extreme Rules was right after WrestleMania, since it's the perfect spot to 1) deliver sequels to scintillating WrestleMania bouts, and 2) blow them off with a big gimmick match. The heel champion may have gotten his comeuppance at WrestleMania, but he's due a rematch, isn't he? Guess what: he's going through a stack of tables the size of Buckingham Palace four weeks later. Extreme Rules has been good for tying up some WrestleMania loose ends, while cracking a window into what lay ahead for WWE's summer. That, plus, you know, violence. Violence is fun.

5. King of the Ring

To this day, people keep demanding the return of King of the Ring. During a Bo Dallas vs. Titus O'Neil match in November: when's King of the Ring coming back? While listening to Vic Joseph attempt an actual human emotion in February: when's King of the Ring coming back? During the King of the Ring semifinals: when's King of the Ring coming back? That last one just shows how reflexive people are: they want King of the Ring back, even when it's back!

But yes, the event is fondly remembered by longtime fans. Its June placement between 1993 and 2002 was the perfect bridge from WrestleMania to SummerSlam, anointing a new star through the props of kingly splendour, but more importantly, positioning them as a true contender. It was a great way to get the next big deal ready, whether it was Owen Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, or Brock Lesnar. Some Kings have been notorious flops, of course, but the tournament itself, complete with its royal theme, was something you used to nail down a year. Who won the 1996 Royal Rumble? Who won the 1998 King of the Ring? It sticks with you.

4. Halloween Havoc

When WWE dusted off the Great American Bash name for their own use in 2004, there were fans clamouring for other WCW event names to be restored. When it comes to mining precious cargo from the sunken WCW ship, one sacred treasure coveted by many is the Halloween Havoc name. Just as the name suggests, the ghoulish-sounding Halloween Havoc took place in late October, and did well in capturing the spirit of the spooky holiday.

Aside from a couple "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" matches, as well as a regrettable Chamber of Horrors fiasco, there weren't many specific gimmick matches tailored for the event. Instead, Halloween Havoc relied on an elaborate set design, usually depicting a haunted house and/or cemetery. Announcers and even a few wrestlers would don costumes, adding to the festive mood. When it comes to co-opting holiday flavour for a wrestling event, it's extremely hard to beat the macabre stylings of Halloween. Wrestling boasts casket matches, masked maniacs, and some occasional bloodshed, so marrying it with Halloween is hardly a leap of faith.

3. Survivor Series

Please note, this isn't to pay homage to the modern Survivor Series format, which is to act like Raw and SmackDown superstars are sequestered from each other the rest of the year, before wearing the same t-shirts to signify loyalty to the brand they were just drafted to, like, five minutes earlier, and then ripping into each other because it's almost Thanksgiving, because that's the ideal time to beat up somebody wearing a different colour shirt.

No, this goes back a few decades, to the *classic* Survivor Series. In the days before the Monday Night Wars, you seldom saw everyone from the top two or three tiers of the roster on the same card, unless it was one of the four annual pay-per-views of the time. In a time where less was more, Survivor Series was a superstar buffet, squeezing a metric ton of star power into just a handful of elimination matches, giving us unique combinations for both teammates and opponents. And the best part - teammates didn't have to wear the same t-shirts in order to remember who they were friends with. I do miss a good Thanksgiving night Survivor Series. Or as we call them in my country, "a good Thursday Survivor Series."

2. Money in the Bank

As we all poured a forty ounce YJ Stinger onto the curb every June in remembrance of our fallen King of the Ring tournament, WWE developed something of a respectable stand-in for the tournament - Money in the Bank as a standalone event. Spun off from its success as a WrestleMania staple of six years, Money in the Bank stood on its own four ladder legs as a way to position somebody (who knows who?) as the next World title challenger, lurking in the shadows, briefcase in hand.

Not only does Money in the Bank provide some truly thrilling stunts for the audience, but it acts as kind of a Royal Rumble/King of the Ring hybrid: the winner gets a World title match like with the Rumble, and they also earn a title of sorts, the briefcase acting as a kind-of sceptre. Seeing as most of the ladder matches took place in early summer, the winner was basically that year's King: Rollins in 2014, Sheamus in 2015, Ambrose in 2016, doom metal Caillou in 2017, etc. And best of all, the gimmick doesn't require any pre-existing feuds to make the match work. So chew on *that*, watered-down Hell in a Cell.

1. Royal Rumble

You weren't seriously expecting anything else, were you? Pat Patterson's vision of a trumped-up battle royal that paid homage to big San Francisco battle royals of his wrestling heyday came to life as a televised event in 1988. WWE has done very little to tinker with its specifics in the three decades since, aside from bump up the entrant list to 30 in its second incarnation (bloated 2011 monstrosity notwithstanding), and eventually offer a World title match for WrestleMania as the winner's prize.

The Royal Rumble has not aged even in the slightest over its life span, still one of the most highly-anticipated nights of the WWE year, perhaps behind WrestleMania alone. The simple brilliance of a battle royal that begins with only two entrants before expanding at timed intervals, knowing that the mystery of the next entrant was its own little thrill. Enemies collide, friendships fall apart, surprises manifest, gladiators persist for gruelling durations, and it all builds to one grand winner who stands tall over the heap. The Royal Rumble may vary in quality depending on the year, but even a lapsed fan can get up for the next one. WWE broke the mold with the Rumble, and it's likely to remain unchallenged as the best gimmick pay-per-view of all time.