WWE Pay Per View (1985)
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has been broadcasting pay-per-view (PPV) events since the 1980s, when its classic "Big Four" events (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) were first established—the company's very first PPV was WrestleMania in 1985. The company's PPV lineup expanded to a monthly basis in the mid-1990s following the introduction of the In Your House series of pay-per views before expanding even further in the mid-2000s during the first WWE brand extension. Following WWE's original brand extension in 2002, the company promoted two touring rosters, Raw and SmackDown, representing its television programs, Raw and SmackDown. The traditional "Big Four" continued to showcase the entire roster, while the remaining PPV events alternated between Raw and SmackDown cards. In March 2007, WWE announced that all subsequent PPV events would feature performers from all brands. In 2008, all WWE PPV events began broadcasting in high-definition.
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Episode 1 - Royal Rumble
Release Date: 2002-01-20Royal Rumble (2002) was the fifteenth annual Royal Rumble PPV. It was presented by Square's Final Fantasy X. It took place on January 20, 2002 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The main event was the Royal Rumble match. The other matches were Chris Jericho versus The Rock for the Undisputed WWF Championship, Ric Flair versus Vince McMahon in a Street Fight, Edge versus William Regal for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, the team of Spike Dudley and Tazz versus the Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship, and Trish Stratus versus Jazz for the WWF Women's Championship.
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Episode 2 - No Way Out
Release Date: 2002-02-17No Way Out (2002) was a professional wrestling PPV that took place on February 17, 2002 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The biggest angle for No Way Out was when Vince McMahon revealed that he would unleash the New World Order (nWo) upon the World Wrestling Federation in an attempt to "kill (his) creation". The Main Event saw Chris Jericho defend the Undisputed Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Triple H faced Kurt Angle in a number one contender's match, The Rock competed against The Undertaker, Edge fought William Regal in a Brass Knuckles on a Pole match, and the Tag Team Championships were one the line between Tazz & Spike Dudley versus Booker T & Test.
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Episode 3 - Wrestlemania X8
Release Date: 2002-03-17WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania PPV and was presented by Sour Skittles. It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. As the nWo continues their crusade against the WWF, wrestling's past meets wrestling's future when the People's Champion, the Rock, meets Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Meanwhile, Tripe H faces the greatest challenge of his career when he challenges Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship, with his vengeful ex-wife Stephanie McMahon in Jericho's corner.
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Episode 4 - Backlash
Release Date: 2002-04-21Backlash (2002) was a PPV which took place on April 21, 2002 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. It was presented by Castrol GTX and the final U.S.-produced pay-per-view to use the WWF name. This was the first WWF pay-per-view event after the Brand Extension/Split. The main match from the SmackDown! brand featured Hollywood Hulk Hogan challenging Triple H for the Undisputed WWF Championship and the featured match from the Raw brand was an encounter between The Undertaker and Steve Austin with Ric Flair as special guest referee. The other main match from Raw was a Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship between Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero, which Guerrero won by pinfall to win the championship.
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Episode 5 - Insurrextion
Release Date: 2002-05-04Insurrextion (2002) took place on May 4, 2002 at the Wembley Arena in London, England, and was thePPV promoted under the RAW brand. It was also the last televised show to run under the WWF name. The main event was a singles match between Triple H and The Undertaker. Another headline macth featured Ric Flair as the Special Guest referee between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Big Show. The Undercard had Rob Van Dam vs. Eddie Guerrero for the Intercontinental Championship, Spike Dudley vs. William Regal for the European Championship, Steven Richards vs. Booker T for the Hardcore Championship, X-Pac vs Bradshaw, and The Hardy Boyz vs Brock Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak.
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Episode 6 - Judgment Day
Release Date: 2002-05-19Judgment Day (2002) was the fourth annual Judgment Day PPV. It was presented by 1-800-CALL-ATT, and took place on May 19, 2002, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main match from SmackDown was a Singles match for the WWE Undisputed Championship featuring The Undertaker challenging Hollywood Hulk Hogan. The main match from Raw was a Handicap match featuring Steve Austin versus Ric Flair and The Big Show. The predominant match from SmackDown on the undercard was a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Chris Jericho. The other predominant from Raw was a Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship featuring Eddie Guerrero defending the belt against Rob Van Dam. The other primary match on the undercard was a Hair vs. Hair match featuring Edge against Kurt Angle.
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Episode 7 - King of the Ring
Release Date: 2002-06-23King of the Ring (2002) was the tenth annual King of the Ring PPV. It was presented by Snickers and took place on June 23, 2002 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It was the final King of the Ring pay-per-view event. The main match from SmackDown was a singles match for the WWE Undisputed Championship whichThe Undertaker defended from Triple H. The main match from Raw was a singles match which Brock Lesnar competed aganst Rob Van Dam in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. The predominant match on the undercard was Kurt Angle versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and the other matches on the undercard were Ric Flair versus Eddie Guerrero, a WWE Women's Championship match between champion Trish Stratus and challenger Molly Holly and a WWE Cruiserweight Championship match between champion The Hurricane and challenger Jamie Noble.
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Episode 8 - Vengeance
Release Date: 2002-07-21Vengeance (2002) was a PPV which took place on July 21, 2002 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The main event from SmackDown saw the WWE Undisputed Championship in a Triple Threat featuring The Rock, Kurt Angle and the defending champion The Undertaker. The main event from Raw was between the champion Rob Van Dam and challenger Brock Lesnar for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The undercard featured The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian) versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Edge for the WWE Tag Team Championship and John Cena's first ever WWE Pay-Per-View match against Chris Jericho.
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Episode 9 - Global Warning
Release Date: 2002-08-10Global Warning is a World Wrestling Entertainment Tour of Australia that took place on August 10, 2002 at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The main event was a Triple Threat match in which The Rock defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Brock Lesnar. Other matches include a Bra and panties match between Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler, Edge vs Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle vs. Test, Rikishi vs Rico in a Kiss My Ass match, Jamie Noble vs Hurricane Helms for the Cruiserweight Championship, and Lance Storm 7 Christian defending the Tag team Championships against Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio.
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Episode 10 - SummerSlam
Release Date: 2002-08-25SummerSlam (2002) was the fifteenth annual SummerSlam PPV. It was presented by Foot Locker and took place on August 25, 2002 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The main match on the SmackDown! brand was for the WWE Undisputed Championship between The Rock and Brock Lesnar. The main match on the Raw brand featured an Unsanctioned Street Fight between Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The main match from both brands was an interpromotional match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship between Rob Van Dam and Chris Benoit.The other matches on the undercard were The Undertaker versus Test and Kurt Angle versus Rey Mysterio.
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Episode 11 - Unforgiven
Release Date: 2002-09-22Unforgiven (2002) was a PPV presented by Castrol GTX that took place on September 22, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the fifth annual WWE Unforgiven event. The main event from the SmackDown! brand featured WWE Champion Brock Lesnar fighting The Undertaker to defend the title. The main event from the Raw brand featured World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defending against Rob Van Dam for the title. Four matches were featured on the undercard. The first was a singles match between Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. The next was Trish Stratus challenging Molly Holly for the WWE Women's Champion. Eddie Guerrero fought Edge and WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defended his title from Ric Flair.
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Episode 12 - No Mercy
Release Date: 2002-10-20No Mercy (2002) was a PPV presented by Subway that took place on October 20, 2002, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the fifth annual WWE No Mercy PPV and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand. The main event from the SmackDown! brand featured WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defend against The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell. The main event from the Raw brand was a title unification match, where World Heavyweight Champion Triple H fought WWE Intercontinental Champion Kane . The undercard featured Trish Stratus versus Victoria for the WWE Women's Championship, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit versus Edge and Rey Mysterio for the new WWE Tag Team Championship, Jamie Noble versus Tajiri for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Rob Van Dam versus Ric Flair, Torrie Wilson versus Dawn Marie and Chris Jericho and Christian versus Booker T and Goldust for the World Tag Team Championship.
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Episode 13 - Rebellion
Release Date: 2002-10-22Rebellion (2002) took place on October 26, 2002 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main event featured Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman defending Lesnar's WWF Championship in a Handicap match against Edge. Los Guerreros challenged Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the Tag Team Championship belts, Rikishi fought Albert, Reverend Devon and Ron Simmons fought Val Venis and Chuck Palumbo , and several other matches filled out the undercard.
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Episode 14 - Survivor Series
Release Date: 2002-11-17Survivor Series (2002) was the sixteenth annual Survivor Series PPV. It took place on November 17, 2002 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and featured talent from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main event was from the Raw brand the first ever Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship involving reigning champion Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Rob Van Dam and Kane. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Brock Lesnar versus The Big Show for the WWE Championship. The featured matches on the undercard were a Triple Threat Elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Championship involving Edge and Rey Mysterio, Los Guerreros, and Kurt Angle with Chris Benoit.
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Episode 15 - Armageddon
Release Date: 2002-12-15Armageddon (2002) was the third Armageddon PPV. It was presented by Lugz and took place on December 15, 2002 at the Office Depot Center in the Ft. Lauderdale suburb of Sunrise, Florida and featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main match on the Raw brand was a Three Stages of Hell match for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The first match was a Street Fight, the second match was a Steel cage match, and the third and final match (if necessary) was a Ladder match. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was The Big Show versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Other matches on the undercard were Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero, Batista vs. Kane, Edge vs. A-train, and a Tag Team Elimination match for the belts.