5 Most underrated WWE PPV concepts
When you look back over the long and storied history of WWE, there tend to be a few events that stick out above the rest. You have the obvious selections such as WrestleMania and Survivor Series, with some B-show pay-per-views like No Way Out and Unforgiven also holding a special place in the hearts of fans around the world.
But that's not what this list is about. We're here today to run down those PPV concepts that for one reason or another, didn't quite catch on as well as everyone had originally hoped. Whether it was backstage politics or just poor execution, these shows are the abandoned children of WWE and they deserve to see the light of day once again.
Now that's not to say that the entrants on this list should be featured above the likes of SummerSlam or the Royal Rumble, but they deserve a place on the company's calendar nonetheless. It's one thing to admit that an idea wasn't working, but it's another bag of tricks entirely to just give up before you've even given it a chance.
Some people like to refer to these kinds of shows as "gimmicky" or "too different", but the term they should be using is unique. It's not even like all five are no longer around either, because one of the chosen prodigies is actually a current PPV that just hasn't been handled correctly.
So before we get into any spoilers, let's kick this thing into high gear and reveal the five most underrated pay-per-view concepts of all time.
#1 Breaking Point
Breaking Point is one of those special "one and done" shows and it's a shame to see things work out that way. The stipulation behind the concept was that all main event matches were submission based, with the likes of CM Punk vs The Undertaker and John Cena vs Randy Orton main eventing the card back in 2009.
In terms of why it failed, it wasn't necessarily down to the actual idea itself. The staging, marketing, and promotion were all great, but the two premiere matches weren't all that great. The first of the two ended with a screw job-esque victory for The Straight-Edged Superstar, meanwhile, the Super Cena nature of Cena’s victory over Orton was just a bit too much to take for fans of both superstars.
Submission-based wrestling was once a lost art in the modern era, and there isn't nearly enough focus on it. However, with so many incoming independent stars utilising this technique more and more, there's a chance we could see Breaking Point return some day. Just build the high-end matches around what a technical masterpiece the wrestlers can create, and the story will write itself.
Speaking of writing itself, this next PPV sets up the meaning behind the matches before any are even made.