10 biggest matches that were given away on free television

Ever since the Monday night ratings battle between WWE Monday Night RAW and WCW Monday Nitro, the calibre of pro-wrestling matches that have taken place on "free television" has grown exponentially greater.

Prior to 1993, it was rare to see a premier superstar (read: non-enhancement talent) wrestle another premier superstar outside of a non-televised house show or a major Pay-Per-View. Sure, in WWE, there was Saturday Night's Main Event and the occasional feature match on Superstars or Wrestling Challenge, but these were not the norm and usually ended indecisively.

Even though not all of WWE's biggest televised matches came during the Monday Night War, this was the period when wrestling's weekly TV presentation changed. Several RAW and Nitro episodes featured legitimate dream matches that could've easily drawn major Pay-Per-View buyrates or, in these days, WWE Network subscriptions.

With a laundry list of matches to choose from, the following 10 bouts are undoubtedly the biggest marquee contests in "free TV" history.

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#10 Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena (April 2007)

This hour-long match took place on the April 23, 2007, episode of Monday Night RAW and came three weeks after their WWE Championship match headlined WrestleMania 23. In one of the longest matches ever on WWE television, Michaels vs. Cena lasted 56 minutes and was considered an instant classic even before it ended.

At WrestleMania 23, John Cena defeated the Heartbreak Kid with his submission-finisher, the STFU. In this RAW from London, England, however, Michaels evened the odds, and despite several one-off matches over the next two years, a conclusive rubber-match was never booked.

Their previous bout headlined WWE's biggest show of the year in 2007. There's no better proof than that, considering this rematch took place only three weeks later, Michaels vs. Cena II was one of the biggest matches ever to be shown on "free TV".

#9 CM Punk vs. John Cena (February 2013)

The chemistry that John Cena and CM Punk had together has led many to call this the greatest rivalry of Cena's illustrious career. Their most famous match took place at 2011's Money in the Bank with Punk walking out victorious (and with the WWE Championship).

The two had several rematches over the next few months, but their final one-on-one contest didn't take place until February 2013 and it was to determine the main event of WrestleMania XXIX.

Punk had only recently ended his 434-day reign as WWE Champion by dropping the title to The Rock at the Royal Rumble. The Voice of the Voiceless also lost his rematch with The Rock at February's Elimination Chamber, thus confirming The Great One's position in the main event of WrestleMania XXIX.

But Punk was not finished; he had one more shot to headline WrestleMania and that was by defeating John Cena on this February 25th episode of RAW.

Considering past challengers for the WWE title at WrestleMania had been determined at the Royal Rumble and/or on numerous February Pay-Per-Views, presenting this stipulation on Monday Night RAW was a big deal.

Add to that the calibre of this match, plus the fact that the winner would meet not just any WWE Champion — but the legendary Rock — and this instantly became one of the biggest "free" matches in WWE history.

#8 Bret Hart vs. Sycho Sid, Steel Cage Match (RAW, March 1997)

Bret Hart and Sycho Sid had two Monday Night RAW encounters for the WWF Championship in early 1997 and both of them went Sid's way. Their match the night after In Your House: Final Four was the first time the WWF Championship changed hands on RAW as Hart lost the title thanks to interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Their second RAW match from '97, however, was an incredibly dramatic affair perhaps most remembered for Bret Hart's post-match tirade after shoving down Vince McMahon.

On the go-home RAW for WrestleMania 13, the WWF title was defended inside a steel cage with Sid entering as champion. Considering how close this match was to WrestleMania, it was a pretty wild scenario that led to enemies becoming allies and allies becoming enemies.

The Hitman's WrestleMania opponent, Steve Austin, tried to help Hart win (so that their upcoming Submission Match would be for the title), but it was The Undertaker who successfully ensured Sid's victory after slamming the cage door on Bret Hart's head.

After the match, a despondent Hitman shoved down his would-be interviewer, Vince McMahon. Immediately after, Bret went on the most seemingly genuine, believable, profanity-laced rant perhaps ever, and it originally aired unedited on the USA Network.

It was a prelude to the Hitman's heel turn that occurred the following week and was the exclamation point on a match that could've easily headlined any Pay-Per-View.

#7 The SmackDown Rumble (January 2004)

It's not very often that WWE presents a Royal Rumble match outside of the January Pay-Per-View but it has happened on occasion. In 1994, WWE presented the New York City Rumble just a week prior to the official Royal Rumble in Providence RI. A few years later, the Corporate Rumble took place on Monday Night RAW, but the Rumble's alternate version in 2004 had the highest stakes.

After the 2004 Royal Rumble winner Chris Benoit defected to RAW to challenge for the World Championship at WrestleMania XX, SmackDown needed a new #1 contender. This led to the SmackDown Rumble that featured 15 of the blue brand's top superstars.

Unlike the traditional Royal Rumble match in which the winner received a world title shot at WrestleMania, the winner of SmackDown's Rumble was promised a title match at the very next Pay-Per-View, No Way Out.

Outlasting Kurt Angle, the Big Show, John Cena, and more, Eddie Guerrero won the SmackDown Rumble and went on to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

#6 Lex Luger vs. Hollywood Hogan (August 1997)

An August '97 match pitting Hollywood Hogan vs. Lex Luger would not be the last time WCW opted to present a major Pay-Per-View-worthy title match live on Nitro, but it may have been the first.

Not only did WCW book this world championship match on "free TV" a week before Road Wild, but they also provided a shocking finish that could've easily closed out Starrcade in stunning fashion.

At this point in '97, Luger was incredibly hot. Not unlike Goldberg's future run, Luger was tearing through the competition, beating everyone in his path for the past several months. Fans were rallying behind the Total Package and his popularity culminated on August 4, 1997.

Shockingly, Hogan submitted to the torture rack, allowing Lex Luger to enter the upcoming Road Wild Pay-Per-View as WCW Champion. Unfortunately for Luger, his reign lasted only six days as he dropped the gold back to the NWO leader in Sturgis, South Dakota. Still, the quick title change did nothing to diminish the historic moment of Luger submitting the Hulkster live on Monday Nitro.

#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Big Show (RAW, March 1999)

When Paul Wight signed with WWE and debuted in February 1999, early plans for WrestleMania XVI (or WrestleMania 2000 as it would be called) were for the newly-named Big Show to headline against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Considering WWE's history of pushing big men to the moon, this seemed like an incredibly intriguing match-up when the former Giant signed with WWE. Although Big Show did make it to WrestleMania 2000's main event, it was not the one-on-one contest that was loosely pencilled in.

Instead, Austin vs. Big Show was given away for free on WrestleMania XV's go-home edition of Monday Night RAW. On March 22, 1999, Austin delivered five chair-shots (including three to the head) and a Stone Cold Stunner to pin "The Big Show" Paul Wight in the middle of the ring.

Surely, Austin vs. Big Show could've headlined any Pay-Per-View in 1999, but WWE opted to give this away at no cost on RAW six days before WrestleMania XV. It's since been rumoured that this was a political demand made by a paranoid Austin who simply wanted to cement his position as the company's top star — future plans be damned.

#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Hulk Hogan (SmackDown, July 2002)

When Big Show joined WWE as the new big thing, Austin pinned him in the middle of the ring in a match with no build, no hype, and no promotion. When the next big thing, Brock Lesnar, came along a few years later, the roles were reversed when Austin was asked to do the honours in a King Of The Ring qualifying match on RAW.

Unlike with Big Show in '99, Austin had a problem with a major match being given away for free on RAW. Austin wasn't wrong, but now that he was on the losing end, long-term planning and promotion suddenly became important and he infamously quit the company.

While fans never did get Austin vs. Brock, they got another marquee match-up when Brock Lesnar vs. Hulk Hogan took place on the August 8, 2002, edition of SmackDown. Another dream match, especially considering the career Lesnar would go on to have, the Hulkster vs. almost anyone in 2002 was worthy of a Pay-Per-View main event, but Hogan vs. Lesnar could've headlined WrestleMania.

Rather than hold it off till then, or even SummerSlam, WWE quickly shoehorned this bout into a free episode of SmackDown as a way to build toward Brock Lesnar's match against The Rock at SummerSlam 2002.

#3 Hollywood Hogan vs. Goldberg (July 1998)

Undoubtedly the biggest match in WCW history took place not on Pay-Per-View, but on Monday Nitro on July 6th, 1998. While an argument can be made for presenting the match on the company's flagship program where it could garner its largest audience, booking it for Nitro with less than a week's build or anticipation was a mistake that cost WCW a major payday.

Wanting to capitalize on Goldberg's momentum, WCW announced, just four days prior on Thunder, that Hollywood Hogan would be defending the world championship against the undefeated superstar live on Nitro in the Georgia Dome.

Instead of saving the highly anticipated match for the company's biggest show, Starrcade in December, or even Bash At The Beach just a week later, WCW impulsively booked the biggest match they could've presented at the time at no cost to their viewers.

#2 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant (February 1988)

Taking place before Monday Nitro or Monday Night RAW was ever even considered, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant from the premiere episode of NBC's The Main Event was the rare '80s TV match that could've headlined WrestleMania. In fact, it actually did headline WWE's signature event the year prior and was also featured the next month at WrestleMania IV.

Although Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase technically closed 1988's WrestleMania IV, the event was sold on the Hogan vs. Andre rematch as part of the WWF Championship tournament.

In their first one-on-one contest since WrestleMania III, what Hogan vs. Andre's NBC rematch lacked in work rate, it made up for in drama and storytelling. After all, this match saw the infamous twin referee scandal, the end of the Hulkster's four-year reign as WWF Champion (albeit in controversial fashion), and the Million Dollar Man buying the WWF Championship.

It was the most-watched show in pro-wrestling history, generating a 15.2 Nielsen rating with 33 million viewers, making it one of the biggest TV matches in WWE history.

#1 Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock (RAW, 2001)

Six days before the white-hot Icon vs. Icon match at WrestleMania X8, Hulk Hogan wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin in the middle of a WWE ring. This fact is often overshadowed by Hogan's match against The Rock that stole the show at WrestleMania, but the ever-elusive Hogan/Austin in-ring showdown actually took place less than a week earlier as part of a gigantic tag-team match.

In a tag match that could've headlined WrestleMania, much less any other Pay-Per-View in 2002, the founding fathers of the NWO battled the two biggest icons of WWE's Attitude Era. And it was given away for free on the March 11, 2002, episode of Monday Night RAW. The combination of major superstars that were in this match felt surreal and, just one year prior, like a match that would never happen.

This match was the closest thing fans would get to ever witnessing Stone Cold vs. Hulk Hogan, not to mention the first in-ring clash between Hogan and The Rock, and it was easily the biggest "free TV" match in WWE history.

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