12 Worst WWE Pay-Per-Views Without A World Title Match

There was no reason for the inaugural SummerSlam not to perform as well as all the other 1980s WWE supercards, but despite doing a healthy number commercially.

In keeping with Randy Savage's excellent numbers as WWE Champion, the show drew just short of half a million buys as WWE persisted with the phenomenal Mega Powers angle, and the Madison Square Garden setting normally lends itself to a frenetic atmosphere.

The company left the crowd cold however, short of the star-laden main event and the epic Intercontinental Title destruction of the Honky Tonk Man by the Ultimate Warrior.

Resembling titanic bore WrestleMania 4, the card dragged mercilessly, with the house show-level singles matches rarely leaving first gear as the bulk of WWE's touring crew appeared exhausted by the increasingly tough schedule.

Tag team matches featuring The Hart Foundation, Demolition, The British Bulldogs and the Fabulous Rougeaus were unusually dull, and protracted singles squashes for The Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown and others did as little for the winners as the losers.

Furthermore, whilst Hogan and Savage's headliner with Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant had bucketfuls of heat, the middle section saw a lengthy beatdown hamstrung by Andre's common limitations of the era.

Thriving nearly 30 years on from the launch, SummerSlam is lucky to still be around after such a moribund debut.