12 Best WWE Pay-Per-Views That Didn't Have A World Title Match
11. Payback 2014
WWE was on the cusp of great change in June 2014, with Payback showing signs of a new hope for the company after years of a decay and a deeply concerning failure to build new stars.
The refreshed developmental model was beginning to bear fruit, with Paige's recent arrival briefly revitalising a stone dead Divas division, Bray Wyatt still considered enough of a threat to challenge John Cena over three pay-per-views and The Shield rising from ashes of FCW and Seth Rollins' reign as maiden NXT Champion to become beloved babyfaces after eighteen months of dominance on the main roster.
All were integral to the success of Payback, which suffered the loss of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan thanks to an injury that would ultimately see him stripped of the title just a week after the show.
Paige's comfortable victory over Alicia Fox and Wyatt's epic Last Man Standing war with 'The Champ' were highlights, but nothing compared to the ferocious main event pitting The Shield against a reformed Evolution triumvirate of Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista.
An absorbing No Holds Barred war fought under elimination rules, the six men breathlessly hammered one another for over half an hour, climaxing in a clean sweep for the upstarts after decimating all three men in a gripping final five minutes. It would mark the penultimate night for the group, with Seth Rollins 'buying in' to The Authority the very next night.