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.
-
Episode 1 - Royal Rumble
Release Date: 1992-01-19The 1992 WWE Royal Rumble was the fifth annual Royal Rumble. It took place on January 19, 1992 at The Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. The main event, as in past Royal Rumble events, was the event's namesake match. The 1992 Royal Rumble match was historic because for the first time in the history of WWE, the last man standing in the match would win the WWE Championship, which had been vacated in December 1991. The match was won by Ric Flair, who last eliminated Sid Justice to win the match and the WWE Championship. Featured matches on the undercard were The Natural Disasters vs. The Legion of Doom for the WWE World Tag Team Championship, The Beverly Brothers vs. The Bushwhackers & Roddy Piper versus The Mountie for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
-
Episode 2 - WrestleMania VIII
Release Date: 1992-04-05WWE WrestleMania VIII was the eighth annual WrestleMania. It took place on April 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The only WrestleMania officially recognized by WWE.com to have featured more than one headlining match, its card included two equally-promoted main events. In the first, WWF Champion Ric Flair defended his title against Randy Savage, and in the second, Hulk Hogan faced Sid Justice. As a consequence of the double main event, WrestleMania VIII carried two taglines: "The Macho/Flair Affair!" and "Friendship Torn Apart!" Notable matches on the undercard included WWF Intercontinental Champion Roddy Piper defending against Bret Hart, and WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. defending against The Natural Disasters.
-
Episode 3 - SummerSlam
Release Date: 1992-08-29SummerSlam (1992) was the fifth annual SummerSlam. It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31. The pay-per-view featured two main event matches. In the first, The Ultimate Warrior challenged Randy Savage for the WWF Championship. The Warrior won the match by count-out but did not win the title. In the other main event, The "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith pinned Bret Hart to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The WWF Tag Team Championship was also defended, as The Natural Disasters retained the championship belts in their match against the Beverly Brothers. One of the heavily promoted matches on the undercard was between Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel. The match, which had a special stipulation that the wrestlers could not hit each other in the face, ended in a double count-out. The WWF considers the crowd to be the third largest live audience ever to attend a WWF/E event, with 80,355 in attendance.
-
Episode 4 - Survivor Series
Release Date: 1992-11-25The 1992 WWE Survivor Series was the sixth annual Survivor Series. It took place on November 25, 1992 at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. Unlike previous Survivor Series events, Survivor Series 1992 placed a strong emphasis on one-on-one wrestling matches rather than tag team elimination matches. In the main event, Bret Hart defends his WWF Championship in a match against Shawn Michaels. The event also featured a highly-promoted match between the team of Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect and the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. Two specialty matches also took place, with The Big Boss Man vs. Nailz in a nightstick on a pole match, and The Undertaker vs. Kamala in a Casket Match. Some of the matches were changed after they were first announced, as several wrestlers left the WWF shortly before the event.