Best WWE Attitude Era PPVs

Nostalgia is funny sometimes. Most wrestling fans look back on The Attitude Era fondly. It’s mostly for good reason. The WWE was caught white-hot in this era. Not one, but four different guys took off during this time to earn their legendary status. The Rock, Triple H. Mankind, and of course, Stone Cold all caught a big wave of popularity.

The legend of The Phenom grew as well as guys like Kurt Angle, Kane, and the Big Show more than held their end up of history. All of these guys and the entire roster worked their butts off to entertain during the WWE’s big boom period and the PPVs were all trying to outdo each other. Here are the best PPVs from The Attitude Era.

UPDATE: 2025/03/08 20:00 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

The Attitude Era had a knack of creating the impression that shows were good even if the matches themselves weren’t. This was due to hot crowd, a whole load of star power, and over characters in even the undercard. In this latest look at the best Attitude Era shows, we’ll assess a WrestleMania that had zero singles matches across the show, an enjoyable SummerSlam 1999 card that was very solid, and an up and down show at Unforgiven 2000. Even some of the weaker cards in the Attitude Era were fun, so it makes sense to take another assessment at every show from that era.

34

WrestleMania 16

A Weird Show With A Few Highlights

The grandeur of WrestleMania can help salvage even the weakest of cards, and that was the case in the year 2000 as a WrestleMania show with zero singles matches still had plenty of fun moments. For instance, Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz was magnificent, the main event was star-studded and fun, and the triple threat for both European and Intercontinental Titles was very well wrestled.

This show did have a lot of negatives and poor matches, but as noted, the spectacle of WrestleMania did elevate the whole card, making even some of the bad stuff worth watching.

33

Unforgiven 2000

A Solid Watch But Far From Perfect

This show had plenty of ups and downs, but like many shows of this era, there were so many big stars involved to keep the fans invested. The main event fatal four way had a lot of star power, Triple H vs. Kurt Angle in a No DQ match was entertaining, and the Steel Cage match between The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian added yet another great match to their series.

There were several poor bouts on the card, but it was balanced out with the more notable stars.

32

SummerSlam 1999

This PPV Was Consistent All The Way Through

SummerSlam 1999 didn’t have anything that was absolutely amazing on the card, but the show was consistent the entire way through, with nothing to really complain about (aside from perhaps the ‘Kiss My Ass’ match).

Some matches did stand out, including a fan-pleasing main event that saw Mankind win the WWE Title, and fun Street Fight involving Shane McMahon and Test.

31

Rebellion 2001

Meaningless Results But A Fun Show

WWE headed to Manchester, England for the 2001 Rebellion event, offering up a solid show for the UK fans. The results didn’t matter with no title changes and an air of predictability, but this didn’t matter for the hot crowd who were delighted at seeing several of WWE’s biggest names of the Attitude Era.

The Rock and Steve Austin had yet another great main event, Edge & Christian battled inside a Steel Cage, and Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho had a beautifully wrestled match for the WCW Title.

30

Judgment Day 2001

A Hot Crowd And Big Names

Things kicked off in a strong way with a technically strong Three Stages Of Hell match, and this was followed up by several solid bouts such as Rhyno vs. Test vs. Big Show for the Hardcore Title, Kane vs. Triple H, Tag Team Turmoil, and a decent main event between Steve Austin and The Undertaker.

The star power certainly carried this show, bringing with it a hot audience who elevated even the more average bouts across the show.

29

WrestleMania 14

Austin Arrived, Making This WrestleMania Memorable

The full card of WrestleMania 14 didn’t set the world alight, but the main event was a very notable one. The match had potential to be better, but a hot crowd, the involvement of Mike Tyson, and Steve Austin’s brilliant win to become WWE Champion helped to make this show special.

Other strong points included the big clash between The Undertaker and Kane, which is an underrated match by some. The Dumpster Match pitting the New Age Outlaws against Chainsaw Charlie & Cactus Jack was a whole load of silly fun too. The undercard was pretty middling but there was nothing too bad outside of the battle royal opener.

28

No Mercy 1999

A Standard Attitude Era PPV

Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz began their iconic ladder match journey here, battling in the first tag team ladder match and putting on a spectacle in the process, which was no doubt the match of the night. The main event between Triple H and Steve Austin for the WWE Championship was a pretty decent closer, though it did follow the typical and repetitive brawling Attitude Era formula of main event. Chyna winning the Intercontinental Title was a nice moment too.

The PPV was let down by some terrible and forgettable matches including The Godfather vs. Mideon, The Fabulous Moolah winning another world title, and The Rock vs. The British Bulldog.

27

WrestleMania 18

Hogan Vs. The Rock Stole The Show

When two larger than life entities locked eyes in the middle of the ring, every underwhelming match across the WrestleMania 18 card now felt worth it. Hogan and The Rock put together a classic of sports entertainment and storytelling, allowing the crowd to come unglued in a dramatic matchup.

The rest of the card left a lot to be desired, such as the boring main event between Triple H and Chris Jericho, the utter waste of Steve Austin in a match with a tired Scott Hall, and several other singles matches that failed to live up to the WrestleMania hype. The only other real highlight involved The Undertaker and Ric Flair.

26

Survivor Series 2001

A Good Show Amidst The Poor Invasion Era

The main event of Survivor Series 2001 saw The Rock, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Kane & Big Show battle Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, RVD & Shane McMahon in a fantastic main event clash which brought the invasion angle to a very welcome end. At nearly 45 minutes it was a whirlwind of a match which had the crowd on their feet throughout the whole thing.

The rest of the show was up and down, with the only other real piece of quality being the steel cage match between The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz. Everything else was pretty standard and nothing more than TV quality.

25

No Mercy 2000

This Wasn’t Perfect, But It Was Still Fun

No Mercy 2000 was a fun night of action with Triple H wrestling a brilliant match, Kurt Angle and The Rock delivering in the main event, and Chris Jericho battling X-Pac in a solid Steel Cage bout.

Admittedly, there was a fair bit of overbooking, non-finishes, and underwhelming matches throughout the card which did affect things slightly, but with a typically hot Attitude Era audience and the big stars on display, there was enough to make for it.

24

Armageddon 2000

The Infamous “Armageddon Hell In A Cell” Took Place

This show is mostly remembered for one of the most star-studded main events ever, as Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, The Rock, The Undertaker, Rikishi, and Triple H went to battle in the only six-man Hell in a Cell match in history.

The rest of the card was pretty basic and uninspiring with matches like Chris Jericho vs. Kane and William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly, but the main event alone was enough to make this PPV a memorable one.

23

Unforgiven 2001

A Decent Showing During The Invasion Angle

Every “Invasion” era PPV had its pitfalls, and on this night the pitfalls included a dreadful match between The Brothers of Destruction and KroniK, and a bland clash in Perry Saturn vs. Raven. The rest of the card was solid to good, with two matches in particular standing out.

RVD vs. Chris Jericho for the Hardcore Championship was the match of the night, and the main event between Kurt Angle and Steve Austin once again showcased their top class chemistry. Angle & Austin, despite their differing styles, hardly ever failed to not have a great match together, and this was no exception.

22

Royal Rumble 2002

A Strong World Title Match And Memorable Rumble

Although this event was mostly carried with a very strong Royal Rumble match that was won by Triple H, it still had a decent undercard. For instance, Chris Jericho vs. The Rock proved to be a great Undisputed WWE World Title match, and Ric Flair’s return to the ring against Vince McMahon was fun too.

The Rumble match saw some great moments like Maven eliminating The Undertaker and the participation of Mr. Perfect. It was a star-studded match that also featured Kurt Angle, Kane, Steve Austin, and Booker T. At the time, it also set the record for the longest Royal Rumble match at 69 minutes and 23 seconds.

21

King Of The Ring 2001

A Strong Card Along With WWE’s Iconic Tournament

Show-long tournaments sometimes run the risk of feeling rushed and lacking storytelling, and whilst matches on this show were indeed short, they were all strong in their own right. Edge would win the tournament in what was another step towards singles success for the young star.

This show would also feature the infamously brutal Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon Street Fight, and also a strong main event triple threat in which Steve Austin successfully defended the WWE World Title in a triple threat match.

20

No Way Out 2000

The Road To WrestleMania Was Better Than WrestleMania

This event is remembered for an iconic main event Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Cactus Jack which is among the very best of all time. It was brutal, had crazy spots, and was a defining match for Triple H’s WWE career.

The rest of the card didn’t live up to this, but it didn’t need to with such a legendary show-closer. There were some bright points on the undercard either way, as Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho, and Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz were both good matches.

19

Backlash 2001

WWE Continued Their Momentum From WrestleMania

On the heels of the greatest WrestleMania of all time, WWE had a lot to live up to at Backlash 2001, and whilst it wasn’t on the level of the show prior, it was still a very solid show throughout, capped off with the Two-Man Power Trip getting their hands on all the gold.

There was a strong European Title triple threat, a thrilling Ultimate Submission match, a fun Hardcore Title bout, and a surprisingly fun Duchess Of Queensbury match, providing some variety to the card.

18

SummerSlam 2001

WWE’s World Class Roster Was On Full Show

Although it wouldn’t quite live up to the following year’s SummerSlam, the 2001 edition of the show is among the very best for sure. Aside from an awful tag team match between the Brothers and Destruction and DDP and Kanyon, every match was good to great.

Steve Austin and Kurt Angle, despite a DQ finish, had a fantastic WWE Title match which used the often maligned disqualification finish to great storytelling effect. The main event between The Rock and Booker T was pretty good too and was the Rock’s return match to WWE after leaving to film The Scorpion King movie. RVD and Jeff Hardy had a ladder match full of big spots, providing some variety to the show.

17

SummerSlam 1998

WWE Was Building Something Special At SummerSlam

The first SummerSlam of the Attitude Era was a decent one, mostly due to the two show-closing bouts. The main event between Steve Austin and The Undertaker was a big time encounter, and the Intercontinental Title ladder match between Triple H and The Rock stole the show, propelling both to even bigger heights in WWE.

Sure, there were a few low points such as the big comedy multi-man tag match, but other undercard bouts such as the Lion’s Den match between Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart were strong.

16

Vengeance 2001

The First Undisputed Champion Was Crowned

The moment of Chris Jericho beating both Steve Austin and The Rock in one night has been spoken about for decades since it happened, as Jericho became the Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion in what is one of the best nights of his career. All three show-closing world title matches were good in their own right, but collectively the occasion felt huge.

The Hardcore Title match between The Undertaker and RVD was a unique clash of styles and very fun, and Edge and William Regal also fought in a decent little match too.

15

No Mercy 2001

No Mercy Featured All Of WWE’s Big Stars

No Mercy 2001 was such a well-rounded card and one of the most consistent of the Invasion era. The main event between Steve Austin, RVD and Kurt Angle had a lot to love, and The Rock vs. Chris Jericho was among the best of either man’s career, with Jericho winning the World Heavyweight Championship.

Edge and Christian began climbing the ranks as singles stars in a great ladder match between each other, and other bouts such as The Hardys vs. Lance Storm & The Hurricane, Test vs. Kane, and The Undertaker vs. Booker T helped to make up a solid to good show all around.