11 Most Disappointing WWE PPV Endings
Screwjob finishes, tunnel vision booking and a glorified WrestleMania pre-show.
Safe to say that the ending to this year’s Survivor Series was rather disappointing.
In a five-on-five elimination match absolutely brimming with talent, the biggest story revolved around three part-timers approaching their 50s, as Triple H turned on Kurt Angle before eventually pinning Shane McMahon for the win.
But how does that finale compare with some of the other let-downs in WWE’s pay-per-view back-catalog? Of which, unfortunately, there have been a fair few...
Granted, the disappointment of some PPV finishes have been eased by the fact that they played into other angles that would materialise further down the line. Just a couple of examples that spring to mind include the Daniel Bryan screwjob from SummerSlam 2013, which made his WrestleMania XXX win all the more meaningful, as well as CM Punk’s loss at the end of SummerSlam 2011, which was arguably atoned for by his subsequent 434-day reign as champion.
Often there’s been no such pay-off, though, as we’ll soon see over the course of this list - as we name and shame 11 of the most disappointing PPV finales we’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing…
11. King Of The Ring 1999 — The Mysterious Floating Briefcase
With Billy Gunn beating X-Pac inside of six minutes in an underwhelming 1999 King of the Ring final, it would’ve been nice to see the show end with a bang in the main event.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
The show-closer saw Stone Cold Steve Austin take on Vince and Shane McMahon in a handicap ladder match. Why a ladder match, you ask? Because above the ring was a briefcase containing a contract granting the beholder ownership of the WWF.
So, when Austin stunned both McMahons and began climbing the ladder, it seemed we were looking at our new owner of the company—until someone backstage mysteriously raised the briefcase beyond Austin’s reach, before later returning it to its regular height to allow Shane to seize the contract.
It was half-heartedly hinted the next night on Raw that the returning Big Boss Man might've been our briefcase bandit, but for the most part the incident was quietly forgotten about. Those shenanigans and the wooly explanation only served to mar what was already a rather gimmicky match, providing a flat end to what had been a generally flat PPV top-to-bottom.