The Best WWF PPV Events of the 80s & 90s

We’re starting this list of the best WWF PPV events of the 80s and 90s on the “Highway to Hell” with SummerSlam 98! This event is highlighted by two blockbuster matches. The main event pitted WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin against The Undertaker. When you consider that Austin got legit knocked out early on in this match, it is amazing how well this match went!

However the show stealer here is that epic ladder match between The Rock and Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship, the second time this title would be defended in a ladder match at SummerSlam. The undercard is fun too with a unique Lions Den match, a hair vs. hair match, and a mixed tag team match!

Many will say that the 1992 Royal Rumble is the greatest Royal Rumble in history, while I wouldn’t go that far – this is still an epic Royal Rumble. The match was just packed with star power and is eventually won by Ric Flair in a truly epic performance.

This Royal Rumble also has a really fun undercard which is highlighted by Rowdy Roddy Piper defeating The Mountie for his first – and only – singles title in the WWF. Also, there are three really fun tag team matches on the undercard, with the match between The New Foundation and The Orient Express opening the show, the wacky antics of The Bushwhackers vs. The Beverly Brothers, and the hard-hitting big beefy guys showdown between The Legion of Doom and The Natural Disasters!

The summer of 1997 with Bret Hart vs. America was one for the books. I had to have Canadian Stampede on my best WWF PPVs of the 80s and 90s on this list! I will admit that this is pretty much a one man show with The Hart Foundation taking on Stone Cold Steve Austin and his team of mismatched heroes.

However, this match is epic in every sense of the word. The crowd here has to be one of the hottest in WWF/WWE history and they are a huge reason why this show is such a blast. This was the last of the shorter, two-hour In Your House PPVs so the undercard is a little short, but Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Undertaker defending his WWF Championship against Vader are solid bouts!

Here we have the first WrestleMania on the list, and while many people love to fantasy book WrestleMania VIII so that we get Hogan vs. Flair, I wouldn’t change this card for anything! The “Macho Flair Affair” is wild, and Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair is one of the greatest WWF Championship matches in WrestleMania history!

Add to this a tremendous Intercontinental Championship match between Bret Hart and Roddy Piper and you truly have two of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history. However, WrestleMania VIII also has some other fun moments: Shawn Michaels’ first singles WrestleMania match, and who can forget that incredible return of The Ultimate Warrior and his awesome stare down with Hulk Hogan at the end of the show!

The fact that WrestleMania V from 1989 is the only PPV from the 80s on this best WWF PPV Events of the 80s and 90s list may be a little shocking for some people, but in my defense this was a very hard list to narrow down. While WrestleMania XVII may be classed as the apex of the Attitude Era, I would say WrestleMania V is the apex of The Golden Era.

The Mega Powers exploding is one of the greatest stories the WWF ever told, and the main event match that we got as a result more than met expectations! Of course, let’s add in Rick Rude defeating The Ultimate Warrior to win the Intercontinental Championship and Demolition taking on The Powers of Pain! Plus, we also get RUN DMC performing and a hilarious showdown between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Morton Downey Jr!

We are jumping forward a whole decade with a PPV that I bet more than a few people cannot remember off the top of their heads. But listen: Fully Loaded 99 is one of the most fun shows of The Attitude Era! This is a show that had a ton of the best, craziest Attitude Era stuff going on!

The main event was a First Blood match between Steve Austin and The Undertaker. We also had a Strap Match between Triple H and The Rock as the biggest match on the undercard. Nearly every match had some kind of new gimmick, ranging from Hardcore Holly being a special referee, an Acolyte’s Rules match, an Iron Circle Match, and a Hardcore Match. When a Hardcore Match is one of the most “normal” matches on the show, you know that it is one heck of a wild PPV!

Here we have “The SummerSlam you thought you would never see”: SummerSlam 1992 from Wembley Stadium. I was actually at this show, about 20 rows back on the floor! The Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage had a super fun WWF Championship match, with all kinds of shenanigans like Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect sprinkled on top.

We also get an epic Intercontinental Championship match to close the show between Bret Hart and The British Bulldog. SummerSlam 92 also has a bunch of fun undercard matches, with the likes of The Undertaker vs. Kamala, Shawn Michaels vs. Rick Martel, and The Legion of Doom vs. Money Inc.

Say what you want about The New Generation Era, but I loved it. At least one show had to be on this list of the best WWF PPV events of the 80s and 90s and for me, Survivor Series 1995 is the best this time period of the WWF has to offer.

We get several Survivor Series matches here. The opening match that featured Marty Jannetty doing a top rope powerbomb was so unforgettable. We also had the Wild Card Match which mixed heels and faces on the same team! The main event though, between Bret Hart and Diesel for the WWF Championship, was awesome! Bret Hart and Diesel actually had four PPV matches against each other. They’re all good, but this one here is the best. Bret getting put through the table was a truly groundbreaking spot at the time.

Ok, from a personal point of view, 1991 is my favorite year in WWF history and WrestleMania VII is my favorite event. The story between The Macho King Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior is my favorite of all time, and the match these two have is the greatest match in WrestleMania history in my opinion!

It’s WWF/WWE drama at its very best, from the entrances all the way to Randy Savage’s emotional embrace with Miss Elizabeth at the end. However, WrestleMania VII also had many other fun matches; The Rockers vs. The Barbarian & Haku, The Hart Foundation vs. The Nasty Boys, The Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect, and Ted Dibiase vs. Virgil are all entertaining matches as well. WrestleMania VII was the last WrestleMania to feature a ton of shorter matches to make up the card and as a result, it is a really fun show to watch from start to end.

The 1991 WWF Royal Rumble was always going to be at the top of my best WWF PPV events from the 80s and 90s list! This is my favorite show of all time! It starts with an amazing match between The Rockers and the Orient Express. We get The Big Boss Man defending his momma’s honor against The Barbarian. Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter and the stuff before it with Warrior and Sherri is a blast, and would see the Macho King vs. Ultimate Warrior rivalry kick into high gear.

Virgil standing up to Ted Dibiase at the end of what was Dusty Rhode’s last WWF PPV appearance was amazing. Plus, the actual Royal Rumble match itself is a lot of fun too, won by Hulk Hogan for the second time. This Rumble is notable for being the only Rumble where managers were allowed to cause trouble at the side of the ring as long as their “client” was in the ring.