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: 2004-01-26Royal Rumble (2004) was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble PPV. It was presented by Sony's PlayStation 2, took place on January 25, 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. Beginning with this Royal Rumble, the winner could challenge at WrestleMania his choice of either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship. The main event was the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from both brands. The primary match on the Raw brand was a Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Brock Lesnar versus Hardcore Holly for the WWE Championship. The featured match on the undercard was a Tables match for the World Tag Team Championship between Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) and the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von).
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Episode 2 - No Way Out
Release Date: 2004-02-15No Way Out (2004) was a PPV which took place on February 15, 2004 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. It was presented by THQ's MX Unleashed. It was the sixth event produced under the No Way Out name and starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand. During the main event, Eddie Guerrero challenged WWE Champion Brock Lesnar for the title. Two bouts were featured on the undercard; the first was a Triple Threat match, where the winner would earn the right to challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XX; in the match featuring Kurt Angle, The Big Show and John Cena. The second bout was a singles match, in which Chavo Guerrero fought Rey Mysterio.
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Episode 3 - WrestleMania XX
Release Date: 2004-03-14WrestleMania XX was the twentieth annual WrestleMania . It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main match for the Raw brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. The main match for the SmackDown! brand featured Eddie Guerrero versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. The event featured the return of The Undertaker, who challenged Kane. Also on the card was a match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee. WrestleMania XX was the third WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden but the fifth to take place in the New York metropolitan area (following WrestleMania I, WrestleMania 2, WrestleMania X and Wrestlemania 29). The event grossed US$2.4 million in ticket sales, making the Pay-Per-View the highest grossing event ever for WWE at Madison Square Garden. More than 20,000 people attended the event.
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Episode 4 - Backlash
Release Date: 2004-04-18Backlash (2004) was the sixth annual Backlash PPV. It was presented by Square Enix's Drakengard. It took place on April 18, 2004 at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta and was a Raw brand-exclusive event. The main event was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship involving reigning champion Chris Benoit, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels, which Benoit. One of the predominant matches on the card was Randy Orton versus Cactus Jack in a Hardcore match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Orton won the match and retained the title after pinning Cactus following an RKO. Another primary match on the undercard was Edge versus Kane, which Edge won by pinfall after executing a spear.
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Episode 5 - Judgment Day
Release Date: 2004-05-16Judgment Day (2004) was the sixth Judgment Day PPV. This event was presented by PlayStation and took place on May 16, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main event was for the WWE Championship between Eddie Guerrero and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). Featured matches on undercard were The Undertaker versus Booker T, John Cena versus René Duprée for the WWE United States Championship and Chavo Guerrero versus Jacqueline for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
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Episode 6 - Bad Blood
Release Date: 2004-06-13Bad Blood (2004) was a professional wrestling PPV presented by Subway, which took place on June 13, 2004 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It was the third and final annual Bad Blood event. The main event was a Hell in a Cell match, in which Triple H challenged Shawn Michaels in a ring surrounded by a steel structure of metal. Two bouts were featured on the undercard. In respective singles matches, World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit defended his title against Kane and WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton defended his title against Shelton Benjamin. The event marked the third time the Hell in a Cell format was used by WWE in a Bad Blood event. Bad Blood grossed over $494,000 ticket sales from an attendance of 9,000.
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Episode 7 - The Great American Bash
Release Date: 2004-06-27The Great American Bash (2004) was the 15th Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event, and the first produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. The event, presented by Subway, took place on June 27, 2004 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia and was a SmackDown! brand-exclusive event. The main event was a Handicap match between The Dudley Boyz and The Undertaker. One of the featured matches on the undercard was a Texas Bullrope match for the WWE Championship between John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and champion Eddie Guerrero. Another primary match on the undercard was Rey Mysterio versus Chavo Guerrero for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
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Episode 8 - Vengeance
Release Date: 2004-07-11Vengeance (2004) was the fourth annual Vengeance PPV. It was presented by AT&T and took place on July 11, 2004 from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut and featured talent from the Raw brand. The main event was Chris Benoit versus Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. The predominant match on the card was Randy Orton versus Edge for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The primary matches on the undercard included Matt Hardy versus Kane in a No Disqualification match and Batista versus Chris Jericho.
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Episode 9 - SummerSlam
Release Date: 2004-08-15SummerSlam (2004) was the seventeenth annual SummerSlam PPV. It was presented by Stacker 2's YJ Stinger and took place on August 15, 2004 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario and featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main match on the Raw brand was Chris Benoit versus Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) versus The Undertaker for the WWE Championship. The featured matches on the undercard included Kurt Angle versus Eddie Guerrero and Triple H versus Eugene.
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Episode 10 - Unforgiven
Release Date: 2004-09-12Unforgiven (2004) was a PPV presented by Clearasil, which took place on September 12, 2004 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. It was the sixth annual (seventh overall) Unforgiven event. The event starred talent from the Raw brand. The main event was Randy Orton versus Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. One of the predominant matches on the card was Shawn Michaels versus Kane in a No Disqualification match. Another primary match on the undercard was Chris Jericho versus Christian in a Ladder match for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship.
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Episode 11 - No Mercy
Release Date: 2004-10-03No Mercy (2004) was a PPV which took place on October 3, 2004 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the seventh annual No Mercy event. The event starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand. The main event was a Last Ride match, where the objective was to place an opponent in a hearse located on the entrance stage and drive them out of the arena. WWE Champion JBL defended against The Undertaker. Two predominant bouts were featured on the undercard; in respective singles matches, John Cena fought Booker T for the WWE United States Championship, and Kurt Angle fought The Big Show.
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Episode 12 - Taboo Tuesday
Release Date: 2004-10-19Taboo Tuesday (2004) was a PPV presented by AT&T which took place on October 19, 2004 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the first annual Taboo Tuesday event, marking the first time in which the fans were given the chance to vote on stipulations for the matches. The voting for the event started on October 18, 2004 and ended during the event. The event starred wrestlers from the Raw brand. The main event was a Steel cage match, which is fought in a cage with four sheets of mesh metal around, in, or against the edges of the wrestling ring, in which Randy Orton competed against Ric Flair. Two bouts were featured on the undercard. In respective singles matches, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defended against challenger Shawn Michaels and Gene Snitsky fought Kane in a Weapon of Choice match.
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Episode 13 - Survivor Series
Release Date: 2004-11-14Survivor Series (2004) was the eighteenth annual Survivor Series PPV. It was presented by Microsoft's Xbox and took place on November 14, 2004 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio and starred talent from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main match on the Raw brand was a 4 on 4 Survivor Series match, a type of elimination match, between Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven) and Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista, and Snitsky). The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) versus Booker T for the WWE Championship. The primary match was a 4 on 4 Survivor Series elimination match between Team Guerrero (Eddie Guerrero, The Big Show, Rob Van Dam, and John Cena) and Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Carlito, Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak).
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Episode 14 - Armageddon
Release Date: 2004-12-12Armageddon (2004) was the fifth annual Armageddon PPV. It was presented by PlayStation, and took place on December 12, 2004 at the Gwinnett Center in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. The event featured wrestlers and other talent from WWE's SmackDown! brand. The main event was a Fatal-Four Way match for the WWE Championship involving champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Booker T, Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker. One of the predominant matches on the undercard was The Big Show versus Kurt Angle, Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns in a Handicap match. Another primary match on the card was John Cena versus Jesús in a Street Fight for the WWE United States Championship.