Ranking What Was REALLY The Best Wrestling PPV Every Year 1990-2020

23. 1998 - ECW Heat Wave

Shawn Michaels Jon Moxley
WWE.com

Heat Wave 1998 was an amazing show in patches, but certainly higher on match quality across the board than WrestleMania XIV which, while momentous, disappointed in-ring.

Heat Wave '98 was ECW not at its most vital - that was years earlier - but arguably at its best. Raided for its talent since that peak, a resourceful and still connected Paul Heyman imported Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka to work their spellbinding death dance of a trademark match, highlighted by a hardcore/strong style hybrid dynamic and mind-blowing feats of agility from the guy Vince Russo named after a sitcom.

Taz Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow wasn't as iconic as their Living Dangerously '98 match, but it was better: a hard-hitting war worked with far more creativity than the norm ECW had drifted towards, Taz took a wicked head-first bump into a table in a unique, painful-looking spot.

The main event was very much that norm, but it was still fun, and Jerry Lynn and Justin Credible worked a lowkey cracker to open the last great chapter in the company's history.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!