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

9. WrestleMania 1

MVP Kane Inferno Match Armageddon 2006
WWE.com

It's somewhat unfair to lump WrestleMania 1 into this list considering that the historical significance of the show was destined to outweigh any in-ring action, but without meaning to be caustic, it isn't half a slog.

Vince McMahon's vision of professional wrestling was still taking shape as his product attempted to add manufactured glitz to a North East model that had served Vince Snr for the decades that preceded his son's hostile takeover.

The national expansion was still a work in progress, but the relationships fostered with MTV, mainstream America and the New York bourgeoisie required Junior to present all things to all fans in order to deliver on hefty promises made in the dramatic television build-up.

A prototypical 1980s supercard, it exposed the world to virtually every worthwhile talent the company had, and loaded the main events with stars. The reason people reminisce on main events featuring the likes of Hulk Hogan, Mr T, Roddy Piper, Wendi Richter, Andre the Giant and others is because those were the draws.

History has shown how well the strategy worked, but with multiple documentaries and WWE Network projects highlighting all that elsewhere in the era of content on demand, sifting through snoozers featuring David Sammartino, Greg Valentine et al is truthfully not worth the work.

In this post: 
Kane MVP
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett