Best PPV that looked like the worst on paper
By Scott Keith on 22 October 2020
Playing off an email from yesterday asking what show was the biggest stinker despite having a strong roster/lineup, how about we switch gears: What PPV looked like total crap on paper, but turned out to be at least a good, enjoyable effort. Doesn't have to be show of the year or anything, just good enough to reach way above projections.
My pick would be In Your House #2 (July '95). It had the unenviable task of recovering from the King of the Ring fiasco, and on paper, didn't promise much. Diesel/Sid on top for the 3rd month in a row, Roadie in a singles spot, Men on a Mission, and boring ass Double J limping along as IC Champion. Diesel/Sid still stunk, but the Kid and Roadie (An unproven commodity) put on a really good opener, MOM vs. Razor/Savio was a solid 2 stars better than it had any right to be (I give it 2 1/2 stars), and Shawn got an all-time classic out of Jarrett (find me Double J vs. ANYONE better than “good, I guess”). Yoko/Owen vs. Allied Powers wasn't much, nor was HOG/Bigelow, but neither bad enough to kill the goodwill of the rest of the show.
There was an early Smackdown-only PPV that seemed like a clunker but just blew everyone out of the water in 2003. Vengeance maybe? I just remember something from that era for whatever reason.