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Vince McMahon ventured into closed circuit Pay Per Views after announcing the very first Wrestlemania in 1985. Since then, WWE has produced a grand total of 361 Pay Per View events.
Several Superstars have been a mainstay of such events over different eras. Many have main evented consecutive shows over a few years while some have appeared in just a handful. To put things in perspective, Roman Reigns has had 66 PPV matches over the course of his 6 years on the main roster. That is surprisingly high once you get to see the numbers on the list.
Here I will be taking a look at 10 Superstars who have had the most PPV matches for WWE. Only Main Roster shows have been accounted for and the wrestler in question must have had a match on the show. If he had appeared and not wrestled, it doesn't count. Also, pre-shows don't count.
*A big thanks to The Internet Wrestling Database and Wikipedia for the information*
10. The Miz - 103 PPV Matches
Starting off the list is WWE's perennial heel, The Miz. Miz made his WWE PPV debut at Armageddon 2004. He fought fellow Tough Enough participant Daniel Puder (The one that almost broke Kurt Angle's arm live on TV) in a Dixie Dog Fight for the Tough Enough Championship. Puder won the 3-minute match and the inaugural season of Tough Enough in the process. Fun Fact - The Miz was then known as Mike Mizanin, his real name, not as The Miz.
He continued his career as he slowly rose up the card. He won 6 Tag Team Championships, 2 time US Championships, 8 Intercontinental Championships and 1 WWE Championship over the years. He even won the Money in the Bank briefcase once in 2010.
He main evented WrestleMania 27 against John Cena and retained his WWE Championship in the match. This is his biggest achievement to date. His most recent PPV appearance came at Survivor Series 2018 where he was part of the Team Raw vs Team Smackdown Men's Elimination match.
9. Shawn Michaels - 116 PPV Matches
From here on, the list will entirely consist of all time greats. Not undermining The Miz in any way, but these people are just a level above him.
At 9th is Shawn Michaels. Michaels made his PPV debut in 1988. The year had just 3 PPV events: WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Michaels, then part of The Rockers with Marty Jannetty, was part of the second annual Survivor Series event. He was part of a 10 on 10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match. The Rockers teamed with The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord), The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid), The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and The Young Stallions (Jim Powers and Paul Roma) to defeat Demolition (Ax and Smash), The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), The Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov and Nikolai Volkoff), The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) and The Conquistadors (Dos and Uno).
Since then Michaels went on to become a legend, as he became WWE's poster boy in the mid-'90s. He has main-evented a staggering 39 PPVs for WWE, not including Royal Rumble matches. He has won 4 WWE World Championships, 6 Tag Team Championships, 3 Intercontinental Championships and 1 European Championship throughout his career.
His most recent PPV appearance surprisingly came at the recent Crown Jewel, where he was part of the main event. Michaels has also main evented 4 WrestleManias over 3 decades, thus cementing himself as Mr. WrestleMania.
8. Edge - 126 PPV Matches
The Rated R Superstar is the next man on the list. He would have been much higher up on the list, maybe even at #1, if his career hadn't been cut short. He had a massive total of 126 PPV matches under his belt when he retired in 2011.
His first PPV appearance was in 1998 at the SummerSlam PPV. He was revealed to be Sable's mystery partner in her match against Jacqueline and Marc Mero. Edge and Sable won the match after Edge threw Sable on top of Marc Mero and got the 3 count.
Edge went on to become one of the most accomplished superstars in WWE history. He is an 11-time World Champion, 14-time Tag Team Champion, 5-time Intercontinental Champion, and 1-time United States Champion. He also won the very first Money in the Bank ladder match, the 2001 King of the Ring tournament and the 2010 Royal Rumble.
He was rightfully inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. His last PPV match was at WrestleMania 27 where he retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. He main evented a total of 20 PPVs throughout his career.
7. Chris Jericho - 141 PPV Matches
Coming up next is someone who will be a lot higher up on the list by the time he finishes his career, Chris Jericho. Jericho might just be #1 if all his WCW and his recent NJPW matches were taken into account, but as far as WWE goes, Jericho has had 141 PPV matches to his name. His PPV debut came at the Unforgiven PPV in 1999. He faced X-Pac and lost via disqualification after his then-manager Mr. Hughes attacked the referee.
He has amassed a total of 141 PPV matches since then. Throughout his celebrated career, he has won 6 World Championships, 1 Harcore and European Championships, 2 United States Championships, 7 Tag Team Championships and a record 9 Intercontinental Championships.
He has main evented 21 PPV events, excluding Royal Rumbles, and also main evented WrestleMania X8. His last PPV match came at The Greatest Royal Rumble earlier this year where he was the 50th entrant in the Rumble match. The G.O.A.T, as he likes to call himself, has truly cemented his position as one of the Greatest of All Time.
6. Big Show - 142 PPV Matches
We all knew he would be somewhere on this list, so here he is. Big Show has been WWE's go-to man if they need someone to eat a loss to any up and coming star. As a result, he has amassed 142 matches on PPV.
Big Show debuted on PPV at 1999's Backlash: In Your House PPV. He fought Mankind in a Boiler Room Brawl in a losing effort. He was referred to as Paul Wight, his real name, during that time before being repackaged as The Big Show.
Out of his 142 matches, he has had 16 main events to his name, including the main event of WrestleMania 2000. He is a 5 time World Champion (7 if you count his WCW days), 3-time Hardcore Champion, 1 time US and Intercontinental Champion and an 8 time Tag Team Champion.
He also won the 2015 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal although it was on WrestleMania 31's pre-show. His last PPV match came at Summerslam 2017 where he lost to Big Cass in a match where Enzo Amore was suspended in a Shark Cage.
5. Randy Orton - 151 PPV Matches
Another person one would expect to be on the list, Randy Orton has the most matches in the shortest period on this list. He made his PPV debut in 2003 and has got over 150 matches in just over 15 years averaging almost 10 PPV matches a year.
His first PPV match was at SummerSlam 2003, despite appearing at several events prior to that. He participated in the main event which was an Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship. Orton was the 3rd to enter the match and the 2nd to be eliminated by Goldberg.
Out of Orton's 151 matches on WWE PPV, he was part of the main event a staggering 41 times. He is a 13 time World Champion, 2 time Tag Team Champion and 1 time US and Intercontinental Champion. He even won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2013 and won two Royal Rumble matches in 2009 and 2017.
He is one of the all-time greats and only three men have won more World Titles than him. His last PPV match was at Crown Jewel where he lost to Rey Mysterio, in the first round of the WWE World Cup. He also has 2 WrestleMania Main events to his name - WrestleMania 25 and WrestleMania 30.
4. John Cena - 160 PPV Matches
WWE's face that runs the place, John Cena, is the next man on the list. Cena is an obvious entry on this list but a few might have expected him higher up.
He made his PPV debut at 2002's Vengeance PPV. He defeated Chris Jericho in his first ever PPV match after feuding with him for about a month. His rise to the top has been meteoric, and he has always been a key part of the main event scene. It is only in recent times that he has taken up a more part-time status and doesn't appear on every single PPV.
Cena has a total of 160 PPV matches to his name. These 160 matches have a huge total of 65 main events. His PPV appearance to main event ratio is second to none on this list. The only man who has a better ratio is Roman Reigns.
Cena has a record 16 World Championships, 5 United States Championships and 4 Tag Team Championships. Cena has also won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2012 and two Royal Rumble matches in 2008 and 2013.
He also has a staggering 5 WrestleMania main events to his name. He main evented WrestleMania 22 and 23 in a row, then again main evented WrestleMania 27, 28 and 29 in a row. He is truly one of the all-time greats. His last PPV match was at WWE Super Show-Down in a tag team match with Bobby Lashley against Kevin Owens and Elias.
3. Triple H - 168 PPV Matches
Starting the top 3 off is The Game himself, Triple H. The Game made his PPV debut in 1995, defeating Bob Holly at SummerSlam. Triple H was then billed as Hunter Hearst Helmsley and it wouldn't be until 2 years later that he was repackaged as Triple H.
Once he got his momentum and his first main event push, Triple H has rarely been out of the main event. He has been a key element in almost every era since then and is one of the most accomplished superstars in history.
He has a total of 168 PPV appearances. He is a 14 time World Champion, 5-time Intercontinental Champion, 2-time European Champion, and 3-time Tag Team Champion. He has main evented 7 WrestleManias (16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 32), less than only Hulk Hogan. He won the 2002 and 2016 Royal Rumbles and 1997 King of the Ring tournament.
His last PPV match was at Crown Jewel where he main evented the show in a tag team bout partnering with Shawn Michaels against the Brothers of Destruction. He has main evented a massive 64 events as well.
2. The Undertaker - 170 PPV Matches
Everyone expected Undertaker to be on this list. Most of you might have expected him to top the list even, but he comes in at #2.
The Undertaker made his PPV debut back in 1990. Ever since then, Taker has been with the WWE for 28 long years. He debuted at Survivor Series 1990 as part of the Million Dollar Team. Undertaker was accompanied by Brother Love to the ring and Taker eliminated Koko B. Ware and Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. His team eventually won the match against The Dream Team.
Ever since Taker has stacked up 170 appearances on PPV including 62 main events. He is a 7 time World and Tag Team Champion, and has won The Hardcore Championship once as well. He won the 2007 Royal Rumble to add to his collection as well.
His PPV matches also include the legendary WrestleMania Undefeated Streak as well. From Wrestlemania VII until Wrestlemania 29, Undertaker won 21 matches at WrestleMania without losing once. He lost his first Mania match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 and has since then won 3 more matches at Mania and lost 1. His last PPV match was at Crown Jewel where he faced D-Generation X in a losing effort.
1. Kane - 174 PPV Matches
Topping off the list is The Undertaker's storyline brother Kane. The Big Red Machine is one of the greatest of all time. He has also been one of WWE's most trusted superstars and perhaps that is the reason why he is on top of this list.
Kane made his PPV debut at 1995's SummerSlam against Bret Hart. He was known as Isaac Yankem, DDS back then and was Jerry Lawler's personal dentist. He lost the match via disqualification.
Kane then was given the gimmick of 'Fake Diesel' where he pretended to be Diesel after he left for WCW. After that was over, Kane finally made his final character change and was reintroduced as Kane.
He wrestled 174 PPV matches since then including just 25 main events. He never main evented a WrestleMania despite his mammoth PPV appearance record. He has won 3 World Championships, 12 Tag Team Championships, 2 Intercontinental Championships and 1 Hardcore Championship throughout his career.
His last PPV match was at Crown Jewel where he and The Undertaker, as The Brothers of Destruction, lost to D-Generation X in the main event.
