June PPVs
By Scott Keith on 23 October 2021
Can it be argued that the WWF should have introduced a June PPV (and gone to five a year) earlier than 1993? With five months between Wrestlemania and Summerslam, serious doldrums often set in on the TV shows with no major show on the horizon to build to (this
was even more pronounced in the years before Summerslam and Survivor Series: I remember the post WM III TV getting stuck in major ruts at multiple points). With that June show in place – it doesn't have to be a concept show like KOTR – you have about 2.5-3
months between each PPV; plenty of time to set up an angle/feud, run the house shows, blow it off on PPV, and then start the process over again. For the really hot feuds, you can find ways to prolong them over 2+ PPV cycles.
was even more pronounced in the years before Summerslam and Survivor Series: I remember the post WM III TV getting stuck in major ruts at multiple points). With that June show in place – it doesn't have to be a concept show like KOTR – you have about 2.5-3
months between each PPV; plenty of time to set up an angle/feud, run the house shows, blow it off on PPV, and then start the process over again. For the really hot feuds, you can find ways to prolong them over 2+ PPV cycles.
What do you think: would it have been to a good idea to go to five PPVs earlier than they did? I get that house shows were still the main engine driving business at the time, but once they'd gone to four PPVs, they arguably should have started the transition
towards organizing the booking around those, and with the regular interval between them it could give the TV a consistently focused direction and lower the chances of lagging momentum.
Yeah I think King of the Ring would have made a good addition back in the day, although two tournament shows in 1988 would have been a bit much. But for example, something like the WrestleFest stadium show in Milwaukee would have filled that gap nicely. And why isn’t that show on the damn Network yet?!?