10 Worst WWE Pay-Per-Views Ever

June 27 has the distinction of being the day that not one, but two, of the worst WWE pay-per-views ever took place.

The first was the 1999 King of the Ring, a show that arrived during the promotion's Attitude Era peak, with the Monday Night War having fully swung in their favour as they set ratings records, sold out arenas and made untold amounts of cash as fans ate up their spandex-clad brand of crash TV.

The '99 King of the Ring tournament was, simply put, a very bad one.

The tournament matches were all rushed, many of them overbooked for the short time they existed and the winner, Billy Gunn, widely derided as the wrong choice and one of the worst kings ever.

King Ass. Says it all, doesn't it?

In non-tournament matches, The Rock and The Undertaker had a predictably chaotic but ultimately hollow WWE Title match, while Steve Austin met Vince and Shane McMahon in a barmy Handicap Ladder Match with storyline control of the company on the line.

Exactly five years later, a depleted SmackDown crew presented The Great American Bash.

Outside of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio having compelling WWE and Cruiserweight Title defences (against JBL and Chavo Guerrero respectively), there was absolutely nothing worth paying for on the card.

The likes of Luther Reigns, Mordecai and Kenzo Suzuki highlighted how desperate the talent situation was, but the main event was another level of insulting nonsense, as The Undertaker saw off the Dudleys in the disastrous Concrete Crypt headliner, after which he buried Paul Bearer in cement.

You know. Murdering him.

So, with those two abysmal shows in mind, here are ten of the other worst WWE pay-per-views ever.

I can just practically hear you firing up the WWE Network as you read this...

10. In Your House IV: Great White North

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The In Your House pay-per-view concept, where WWE would offer a cheaper, two-hour order only event in months where there wasn't one of the established longer and more expensive pay-per-views, yielded a few gems between 1995 and 1999.

The fourth In Your House event, retroactively titled Great White North, is not one of them.

Exposing WWE's roster depth and creative issues at the time, the show offered zilch to celebrate outside of a decent Tag Team Title match between the Smoking Gunns and the team of Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid.

Speaking of the Kliq, watching Great White North it was apparent just how much they were pulling the strings behind the scenes, particularly with the Intercontinental Title situation.

Shawn Michaels was due to defend the championship against Dean Douglas, but got beaten up by some marines on a night out in Syracuse not too long before and was, apparently, in no condition to perform and put over ECW's former Franchise.

So he forfeited it instead, with Ramon coming out and pulling double duty in order to put the title back in the Kliq camp immediately. Not only did the switch leave a bad taste in the mouth, the match was rotten, too.

In the show's main event, the British Bulldog beat WWE Champion Diesel by disqualification in a match so bad that Davey Boy and his manager Jim Cornette apologised to Vince McMahon afterwards for simply being involved in it.

In other lowlights, Goldust made his much anticipated WWE debut after an age of vignettes hyping his arrival and, regrettably, proceeded to bore everyone to tears in his lifeless bout with Marty Jannetty.

Yokozuna's super-heavyweight clash with King Mabel was designed to be an 'attraction', but it was painful for the five minutes it lasted and ended in an unsatisfactory double countout. Even Vince McMahon, calling the action on commentary, made reference to it's less-than-stellar quality.

And in the opener, Hunter Hearts Helmsley beat Fatu in an alright match, I guess.

Small mercies.

9. Backlash 2018

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Backlash 2018 started off promisingly enough and then completely fell off a cliff, never to recover.

Kicking things off was Seth Rollins retaining his Intercontinental Title over The Miz in a twenty-minute, false finish filled blinder that nothing else on the show came close to touching.

Nia Jax then retained the Raw Women's Title over Alexa Bliss in a match that cooled things down, though it was OK.

Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton didn't have much of a reason to be fighting over the United States Championship on pay-per-view, and the Viper showed just how little he could be bothered with the whole thing by putting in a half-arsed performance and helping produce a dull match.

Things obviously didn't get better with a pointless segment featuring Elias, Aiden English, Rusev, New Day, Breezango, Titus Worldwide, No Way Jose and Bobby Roode.

I get that you want to give the lads stuck in catering half the time something to do, but really?

Daniel Bryan tried to get something out of Big Cass in the next match, but no dice. It was about as weak a D-Bry pay-per-view match as you will ever see (his first singles one in several years no less), as it was clear the Big Cass experiment wasn't working.

Carmella retained her SmackDown Women's Title over Charlotte Flair in a boring match with a weak finish.

Speaking of weak finishes, how about AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura's No Disqualification WWE Title scrap going to a draw? The action was good (not as great as you'd expect) and had crowd heat, but the ending really put a dampener on things.

The less said about the then red-hot Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley's victory over Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, the better. Just a total mess on almost every level.

And in the supposed main event, Roman Reigns beat Samoa Joe in an interminable match that had no business headlining and literally bored the crowd out of the building, as many fans chose to exit the arena while the bout was in progress.

8. Survivor Series 1999

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WWE were on a real hot streak in late 1999 but, unfortunately, their pay-per-view output didn't always measure up to standards.

That year's Survivor Series was certainly a noteworthy show, featuring historic debuts and major title changes, but it was far from good.

One of the things that really rankled was the company's insistence on advertising Steve Austin for a WWE Title triple threat match with Triple H and The Rock, despite knowing far in advance that he was due to undergo neck surgery and wouldn't be able to perform as scheduled.

So they shot the angle that had him getting run over by an unseen assailant in the parking lot, giving WWE a kayfabe reason to remove him from the main event, replacing him in it with Big Show, who went on to win the belt in a lame match.

It was a disappointing end to a disappointing show, the best match of which was, somewhat amazingly, Chyna and Chris Jericho's Intercontinental Title affair.

Elsewhere, squeaky-clean Kurt Angle had his first proper WWE match, beating Shawn Stasiak in short order while fighting the 'boring' chants that his pure wrestling style attracted.

Kane beat X-Pac in a rushed match which could have been good, given time.

The New Age Outlaws downed Mankind and Al Snow to retain their Tag Team Titles in a sluggish match.

And there were a bunch of traditional Survivor Series elimination tag bouts, none of which stood out or were remembered by the time the show went off the air.

One of them, an eight-woman match (not under elimination rules), was actively terrible.

7. In Your House: D-Generation X

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Less than a month after the infamous Montreal Screwjob went down at the 1997 Survivor Series, WWE decided they were all-in with D-Generation X, presenting an In Your House pay-per-view named after the nefarious ne'er-do-wells.

Naturally, the group's leader Shawn Michaels received top billing, defending his WWE Title against Ken Shamrock.

A unique styles clash on paper, in practice it was a bit of a mess. The Heartbreak Kid may have been one of the best workers in the world at that point and capable of carrying less experience opponents, but they never gelled and there were a few very noticeable awkward moments.

The DQ finish also sullied things somewhat and, while Owen Hart's shocking post-match return was intriguing, it ultimately didn't lead to the expected programme between him and HBK, so felt flat in retrospect.

Michaels' DX buddy Triple H was in the second-longest match on the show, a never-ending Boot Camp slog with Sergeant Slaughter, which just dragged on and on and on.

And on.

Sarge is great, obviously, but he was some years past his best by this point, and it showed.

The Undertaker beat the tar out of a returning Jeff Jarrett, their match ending when Kane ran in.

Steve Austin and The Rock's Intercontinental Title bout was good for the five or so minutes it lasted, and you could tell they had chemistry even then, but it was a far cry from the Rock/Austin epics of later years.

The Legion of Doom versus New Age Outlaws Tag Team Title match showed how weak the doubles scene was at this point. The work was shoddy and it had another bad finish, too.

Elsewhere, Marc Mero and freakshow boxer Butterbean had a worked (and unentertaining) Toughman Contest, Los Boriquas and the Disciples of Apocalypse met for seemingly the hundredth time and Taka Michinoku captured the vacant Light Heavyweight Title by beating Brian Christopher in the opener.

6. Battleground 2013

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You can usually count on Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan to have a good match together.

Booked as the main event of a pay-per-view with a vacant World Title on the line, you may even expect them to have a classic. Battleground 2013 wasn't their day, because they had an unusually drab bout that chugged along rather aimlessly until Big Show waddled out for the no contest finish.

Yes, a no contest finish. In the main event of a pay-per-view. With a vacant World Title up for grabs.

It was a suitably pants ending to what had been a dreadful show with few positives.

One of the highlights was the World Heavyweight Championship Hardcore Match between Alberto Del Rio and a resurgent Rob Van Dam, but the show couldn't maintain that pace, save for a blistering tag match in the midcard.

The Shield versus Cody Rhodes and Goldust, with the Rhodes boys' jobs and Dusty's NXT gig on the line, was an exceptional piece of sports entertainment drama that ended up being one of WWE's best matches of the year.

If there was anything else of that ilk at Battleground, it would save it from taking a place on this list but, alas.

The main problem was too much purposeless filler, like the Real Americans clash with Great Khali and Santino and Bray Wyatt versus Kofi Kingston.

The other title matches - Curtis Axel/R-Truth (IC) and AJ Lee/Brie Bell (Diva's) - were both bad and heatless, while CM Punk's win over Ryback dragged and also suffered from an uninterested crowd.

5. WrestleMania IX

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WrestleMania is supposed to be the biggest and best event on WWE's calendar, the culmination of months of work where feuds are ended, moments made and, you know, all that other good stuff we expect from the Showcase of the Immortals.

It's not always an occasion to celebrate, however, as a few 'Manias past have really underwhelmed, while others been downright wastes of time.

WrestleManias XI, 13 and XXVII immediately spring to mind, but the ninth WrestleMania still takes the cake as possibly the worsts, for multiple reasons.

The biggest reason is the closing scene, with Hulk Hogan lumbering out to pathetically beat new WWE Champion Yokozuna in a matter of seconds, after the faux sumo had defeated Bret Hart to win the title himself.

One of the most egregious examples of Hogan's ego running wild (as well as Vince's hesitance to properly go forth with his New Generation of stars), it put a bitter bow on what had been a show that ranged from mildly disappointing to unacceptably sub-standard.

Hogan had already helped stink up the joint earlier in the night, teaming up with Mega Maniacs partner Brutus Beefcake to take on Money Inc. in a total non-event that could be a chore to sit through.

In other weird matches, Razor Ramon beat Bob Backlund in an odd clash of styles, Mr. Perfect lost to Lex 'The Narcissist' Luger in a clunky contest that never got going, Undertaker beat Giant Gonzalez (by DQ) in 'Taker's worst 'Mania match ever and evil Doink the Clown beat Crush in a humdrum match that at least had an inventive finish.

Shawn Michaels and Tatanka's IC Title bout and The Steiner Brother's victory over the Headshrinkers were both good for what they were, but not classics or anything and certainly not enough to save this show.

Some of you might find value in the sight of Jim Ross wearing a toga, mind.

4. Rock Bottom

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Rock Bottom. What an apt title for a pay-per-view that frequently plumbed the depths.

The show had a lot working against it, since it took place in Canada, home of some of WWE's biggest pay-per-view stinkers, while also taking place in the month of December, a time where WWE typically didn't try as hard to produce shows of real quality and the buyrates reflected that fact.

Rock Bottom was named after new Corporate WWE Champion The Rock, fast on his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the business. On the card he went up against Mankind, the man who the People's Champion had conspired to screw over at the previous month's Survivor Series.

Foley and Dwayne have had some belters together over the years, but this wasn't one of them. The action was average and the finish one of the worst imaginable, as Mankind got the win via technical submission after making the Great One pass out while in the Mandible Claw, but Rock retained the title because he didn't actually submit.

Dumb.

The main event Buried Alive match between Steve Austin and The Undertaker was also stupid, powered by a naff storyline and, on the night, comprising of little more than mindless brawling. And digging.

Another bad finish, too, as it took FOREVER for Stone Cold to bury his foe due to a malfunctioning backhoe.

The rest of the card was pretty ugly, from the Headbangers taking on the Oddities to the New Age Outlaws wrestling members of the Corporation and everything in-between.

For balance, the Steve Blackman/Owen Hart meeting wasn't without its charms (terrible finish aside) and Jeff Jarrett versus Goldust was good for what it was, despite its reason for existing being over whether or not Debra would have to strip.

SPOILER: It's the Attitude Era. Of course she strips.

3. No Mercy (UK) 1999

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This may be cheating slightly, since this version of No Mercy was a UK-exclusive event, but these days it's all on the WWE Network and, as someone who was personally bitterly disappointed by (my VHS copy of) this show, I felt compelled to include it.

WWE's PPV forays in Blighty were never exceptional and it was obvious that management saw them as little more than televised house shows for an audience who would be rabid regardless of the quality they were given.

Where your Rebellions, Insurrextions and Capital Carnages could be subpar, No Mercy in the UK was the absolute pits.

The main event certainly had star power, with Steve Austin defending his WWE Title against The Undertaker and Triple H, but the match itself was the usual meandering brawl which took too long and doesn't hold up on repeat viewings.

The best match of the night actually came courtesy of Shane McMahon and X-Pac fighting over the European Title, which was practically a replay of their surprisingly good WrestleMania XV bout.

It was a UK show so Tiger Ali Singh showed up, wrestling Gilberg in a mercifully short opener. It's still Tiger Ali Singh versus Gilberg, mind, so short though it may have been, it was still absolutely Dot Cotton.

As for the other matches on the bill, The Brood versus The Acolytes and Viscera, Steve Blackman taking on Droz, Kane slugging with Mideon and Billy Gunn tangling with a clearly knackered Mankind were all varying degrees of not good.

2. King Of The Ring 1995

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The 1999 King of the Ring may have been poor, but it looked like WrestleMania X-Seven compared with the namesake event from four years prior.

The 1995 version of the tournament was a pay-per-view with, essentially, zero redeeming qualities.

The company's decision to make Mabel, previously a member of the cartoonish Men on a Mission stable, the King, resulted in widespread condemnation.

His path to the crown saw him get past The Undertaker and then Savio Vega in a pair of horrible matches. The rest of the tournament wasn't anything to crow about, either, with Bob Holly and The Roadie's quarterfinal effort proving to be the best of a bad bunch and the unlikely match of the night (which isn't saying much) despite having a bungled finish itself.

Outside of the tournament, Bret Hart finally got a victory over Jerry Lawler in a Kiss My Foot match. More about the moment than the actual match, it accomplished what it set out to do.

And the main event, a long and listless tag match pitting Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow against Sid and Tatanka, had no business going on last on any night, much less at a major pay-per-view that was traditionally one of the most anticipated of the year.

WWE had a talented enough roster at the time but the booking and presentation of the product left a lot to be desired and King of the Ring '95 represents a nadir.

On the plus side, the DVD of the show makes a great gift for somebody you passionately hate.

1. ECW December To Dismember

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Before ECW December to Dismember went on the air, only two matches had been announced.

A tag team match between MNM and the Hardys (none of whom were ECW wrestlers), which turned out to be a decent, if not overly long opener.

And the Extreme Elimination Chamber for the ECW Title, which started out well, got worse as it went on and ended on a sour note as handpicked hero Bobby Lashley overcame crowd favourites like CM Punk and Rob Van Dam, as well as Big Show, Test and Hardcore Holly, to claim the gold.

Not only that, but ECW original Sabu, who was advertised for the match beforehand, was taken out of it during the show (replaced by Holly), reportedly due to backstage behaviourial issues.

Everything between the curtain-raiser and the show-closer was of a standard frankly unacceptable on a show that people were paying their hard-earned money to witness.

Each of Matt Striker versus Balls Mahoney, Tommy Dreamer versus Daivari, the FBI versus Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke and Mike Knox & Kelly Kelly versus Ariel & Kevin Thorn were the sort of matches you'd either fast forward or go grab a beer during if you were watching them on free TV.

The booking was so bad and the show was so negatively received by the 90,000 or so that bothered to order it (a record low), that Paul Heyman left the company immediately after, while Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards handed in their notices and made clear that they didn't want to be a part of whatever this version of ECW was (their requests were denied).

Paling in comparison to the lively One Night Stand shows of the previous two summers, December to Dismember - the first standalone ECW pay-per-view since the reboot - essentially killed off the brand as a viable product.