10 Best WWE PPV/PLE Endings

When a WWE fan purchases a pay-per-view, they want the broadcast to end with them feeling good about their decision to spend some hard-earned cash on the graps.

A good ending can go some way to making punters feel like they got their money’s worth, while a really great ending can linger long in the memory and have fans wanting to revisit the supercard time and time again.

These ones are definitely worth revisiting. These are the 10 best WWE pay-per-view endings.

10. Royal Rumble 1992

The 1992 Royal Rumble match had a lot going for it.

It was one of the most star-studded in history, with a handful of potential winners in the mix. It was also being contested over the vacant WWE Title, giving it extra high stakes.

Most importantly, it had an incredible central performance by Ric Flair. The 60-minute man entered at number three and was basically the glue that held the match together, eliminating five people over the course of the hour he was in there, before last bundling out Sid Justice to claim the gold.

While Hogan and Sid bickered in the ring, The Nature Boy headed backstage to give his first interview as champion.

Flanked by a jubilant Bobby Heenan and Mr Perfect and WITH A TEAR IN HIS EYE, Flair cut a brilliant promo where he proclaimed himself the ‘real’ world champion and the king of the wrestling world on what he called the greatest night of his life.

It was a hell of a way to cap off a pay-per-view and is another reason the ’92 Rumble is considered one of, if not the greatest, ever.

9. Badd Blood: In Your House

The main event of Badd Blood 1997 (an In Your House presentation) was one of the best in WWE history.

In it, Shawn Michaels battled The Undertaker in the very first Hell in a Cell match. It was compelling, it was brutal, and it set the bar high for every Cell match that followed, thanks to the blood, the drama and the big bumps.

At the end of an exhausting brawl, The Phenom looked to have The Heartbreak Kid exactly where he wanted him. And then the lights went out. When they came back on, a certain big red machine in Kane made his debut.

The Undertaker’s brother proceeded to rip the cage door off its hinges, make fire shoot out of the turnbuckles on command and hit his kayfabe brother with his very own Tombstone Piledriver, costing him the match and ending Badd Blood on the greatest of cliffhangers.

8. WrestleMania X

In an alternate universe, Lex Luger finally manages to properly beat WWE Champion Yokozuna in the main event of WrestleMania X and walks out of Madison Square Garden with the title belt as red, white and blue balloons descend from the ceiling and the babyface portion of the roster parade him around the World’s Most Famous Arena on their shoulders.

We’re really glad WWE decided to go with the other, better option. Whereas the Lex Express crashed into the Japanese Samoan earlier in the show, Bret Hart managed to topple the superheavyweight in the show’s last outing.

The Hitman had rebounded after losing the title to Yoko in the main event the year before and, with a certain Hulk Hogan fully out of the picture, was now perfectly poised to carry the company as the leader of its New Generation.

The ‘everyone in the ring to celebrate with the new champion’ deal can seem forced at times, but as The Hitman held the winged eagle above his head with pride, you got the sense that every single person in there with him sincerely wanted to be.

7. Backlash 2000

The ending of WrestleMania 2000 was a bit of a downer, as Vince McMahon turned on The Rock at the close of the four-way elimination match for the WWE Title, allowing Triple H to retain the WWE Championship – the first time a heel had retained their title in a WrestleMania main event to that point.

WWE righted this wrong in some style at the following month’s Backlash where The Brahma Bull and Cerebral Assassin clashed in a one-on-one bout with plenty more McMahon shenanigans.

A rip-roaring sports entertainment spectacle looked set to finish with The Rock succumbing to the odds, as Triple H, Vince, Shane and stooges Patterson and Brisco conspired against him.

Just as The Game was about to seal it with the Pedigree, however, glass shattered and everyone lost their goddam minds.

Then the McMahons and the stooges lost their heads courtesy of a chair-swinging Steve Austin, making his first in-person appearance since undergoing major neck surgery four months prior.

Austin’s intervention set the table for The Rock to then hit the People’s Elbow and regain the title.

6. ECW One Night Stand 2005

While the main event of the first One Night Stand pay-per-view was The Dudley Boys taking on The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer, that was merely a lead-in for the anarchy that followed.

After the match was over, Steve Austin made a surprise appearance, brought out the rest of the locker room and set up a big ol’ scrap between ECW and the invading WWE stars in their lovely little Raw and SmackDown t-shirts.

Among the memorable scenes were JBL shooting on and busting open The Blue Meanie and Taz choking out Kurt Angle in the aisleway.

After the extremists had cleared the ring, Mick Foley marched the reviled Eric Bischoff down to the ring for a cathartic drubbing that saw the former SVP of WCW take a 3D, diving headbutt, 619 and a Stone Cold Stunner before being carried out of the Hammerstein Ballroom and dumped in a New York City street.

Cue plenty of high-fiving and beer drinking to put a bow on what had been a nostalgia-fuelled feel-good celebration of everything fans loved and missed about ECW.

5. New Year's Revolution 2006

New Year’s Revolution 2006 had been a so-so pay-per-view – not particularly great, yet not outright terrible or anything – and looked set to end with John Cena retaining his WWE Title inside the Elimination Chamber, before history unfolded in front of our very eyes.

As a knackered and bloodied Cena sat on the mat, Vince McMahon came out and informed him that Edge was taking the opportunity to cash in the guaranteed title shot he had earned due to winning the inaugural Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania some nine months prior.

The Rated-R Superstar proceeded to take advantage of the champion’s wounded state, hitting him with two spears to clinch his first world title.

It was a moment for the ages, not only because it pretty much put Adam Copeland in the Main Eventers Club for good, but because it established a trope that WWE have continued to use in the almost two decades since.

People might not remember much of anything that happened at New Year’s Revolution 2006, but they certainly won’t forget how it ended.

4. No Way Out 2004

No Way Out 2004 was not a banner presentation from the SmackDown crew, with a weak undercard only elevated thanks to a decent Cruiserweight Title match and an intriguing triple threat number one contender match for the WWE Title.

The winner of that match – Kurt Angle – would face the winner of the night’s main event at WrestleMania, with Brock Lesnar defending the strap against Eddie Guerrero.

Most had assumed The Next Big Thing would walk out of San Francisco’s Cow Palace with the belt around his waist but, following a draining and engrossing David versus Goliath battle, it was Latino Heat who improbably emerged as champion.

It was a tremendous match and a great moment, with the emotion pouring out of Eddie as he celebrated passionately with the fans and his family at ringside.

It was a moment of real redemption for Guerrero, a man who just two years earlier was working independent shows after being fired by WWE due to his issues with addiction.

As No Way Out 2004 went off the air, you couldn’t help but feel happy for him and glad you had bothered to sit through the show.

3. WrestleMania 31

In the near-decade after Edge opened Pandora’s briefcase by cashing in on John Cena at New Year’s Revolution 2006, the cash-in routine had become a little tired.

Money in the Bank now had its own pay-per-view and there were two briefcases to be won, one for each brand. Cash-ins could be exciting depending on the variation, yes, but they were also somewhat predictable and had lost their uniqueness.

Leave it up to the ending of WrestleMania 31 to remedy this.

As Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns were in the closing stretch of their surly slugfest, Seth Rollins – who had lost to Randy Orton’s spectacular RKO much earlier in the evening – decided now was the time to shoot his shot.

Sprinting down to the ring, The Architect somehow pulled off what Michael Cole dubbed ‘the heist of the century’, turning the match into a triple threat and hitting The Big Dog with a big stomp to snatch the WWE World Heavyweight Title.

Nobody considered this scenario beforehand and it was a genuine surprise of the best kind, providing a conclusion fit for the Grandest Stage.

2. WrestleMania XXX

While the ending of WrestleMania 31 set pulses racing, the final scenes of ‘Mania 30 were a euphoric release of pure heartfelt emotion.

Had Vince McMahon’s original vision come to fruition, WrestleMania 30 would have likely ended with returning Hollywood hero Dave Batista conquering Randy Orton to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title for the umpteenth time.

Fans outright rejected that possibility, instead using the power of the YES Movement to propel the beloved Daniel Bryan into title contention.

Even after defeating Triple H in the show’s opener and earning his way into the match, it still seemed like a long shot that The American Dragon would overcome The Viper and The Animal.

But, following an excellent rollercoaster of a contest, Bryan made Batista tap out, much to the delight of the tens of thousands of fans inside the Superdome.

Michael Cole was once again on hand to hammer home the gravitas of the moment he called the ‘Miracle on Bourbon Street’, while Bryan celebrated with his sister and niece amid a sea of confetti and people shouting YES! YES! YES!

1. Money in the Bank 2011

A hot crowd can make a decent match seem good, a good match seem great and a great match seem like a classic.

The crowd inside Chicago’s Allstate Arena during the main event of Money in the Bank 2011 was another beast altogether.

Second City Saint CM Punk had the full, feverish support of the 15,000 in attendance, as he took on WWE Champion John Cena.

Punk may have been the overwhelming hometown favourite, but questions about the outcome remained throughout the duration of this 33-minute barnburner.

In the end, the Straight-Edge Superstar managed to shrug off the meddling of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, hit Big Match John with the GTS and become WWE Champion to a thunderous ovation.

The fun didn’t stop there, as Punk also thwarted an Alberto Del Rio cash-in attempt before blowing a kiss to his boss and walking out of the building – and, per the storyline, out of WWE – with the WWE Title belt in his possession.

For excitement, unpredictability and delivering exactly what the audience wanted, the ending of Money in the Bank 2011 remains the best in the world.