3 elements needed for a WWE PPV to be a classic

Even when they aren't having the best of years, WWE still manages to put on some pretty good PPV events. They simply have too much amazing talent on their roster to put on a dud every time. As the saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day - and this is just a worse case scenario, anyway.

However, there's a stark difference between a "good" - or even "great" - PPV event, and a "classic".

There are the wrestling events that you remember because they had a few great moments or one amazing standout match, and that's about it. Quick, without looking it up, other than John Cena vs CM Punk, what other matches from Money in the Bank 2011 do you remember?

That's not a knock on the other performers who were on that show, as that was a great PPV. But, it really wasn't a classic.

(Just on a side note - isn't it weird how we still call them 'PPV" events, even though Pay Per View is hardly the preferred format anymore? It's funny how some things just stick in our lexicon and refuse to budge.)

So, what makes a "classic" PPV? Well, that's obviously what we're here to discuss. Now, your own opinions on this subject might vary, and I invite any and all respectful discussion in the comments section below.

To me, a classic PPV needs three things:

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#3 The matches

Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III

While this is actually the least important item on the list, it's the one the rest of the list hangs on. Plus, it's only a list of three, so it's still pretty important. It's not like it's "3 things needed for a WWE PPV to be a classic" and number three is, like, "hats" or something. Matches are still important.

In the world of Pro Wrestling, matches are what every story revolves around. They're how conflicts are resolved. It's pro wrestling, so sometimes the conflicts are a bit stupid - remember when Booker T and Edge had a match over a Japanese shampoo commercial? No, really, that actually happened.

Not every match needs an epic story behind it. Sometimes a great match can come out of a match between two guys fighting over a girl. Or a bag of money. Or an urn. Those all happened.

But a classic PPV will have great matches of all types, and for all different reasons.

I'll give you an example. WrestleMania III. Already, you're thinking of two matches right off the bat. Hogan vs Andre, and Savage vs Steamboat. Both are great matches, and both are great matches for vastly different reasons.

But, they both held up the rest of the event, and set the table for the one thing pro wrestling is better at than any other form of entertainment...

#2 The moments

And the worst part is, he totally landed on his keys

Every now and then, you'll read something on wrestling, written by a pretentious jerk, trying to tell you that "In the end, pro wrestling is all about moments." Well, that pretentious jerk is me, and I'm totally right. And who are you calling a jerk, pal?

Notice I said "in the end". They're the parts we remember, and the parts we keep going back to and watching again and again. A good PPV will have maybe one of these - again, CM Punk leaving Allstate Arena with the WWE title or The Undertaker throwing Mankind off Hell In a Cell. A classic PPV will have a number of these.

You really want me to quantify it? Fine... a classic PPV will have... I don't know... how does three sound? Yes, a classic PPV has at least three incredible moments.

Let's go back to WrestleMania III again, since I still have that Wikipedia page up. The Hogan/Andre match gave us the "Bodyslam Heard Around The World" (until that cliche was used when Lex Luger slammed Yokozuna, and then again whenever somebody slams a big, fat guy) - which, at the time was a big deal.

And there was more.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts coming to the ring with Alice Cooper. Or King Kong Bundy squashing Little Beaver in the Mixed Tag Team Match (except this time it was wrestlers and "midgets" - hey, their words, not mine). Steamboat pinning Savage. Brutus Beefcake helping Roddy Piper win his "retirement" match and shaving Adrian Adonis's hair, becoming "The Barber" for the first time.

Moments like these don't just stick in our memory - they change wrestling history and move it forward. And a classic PPV will have plenty of these, all in one night.

And, if it does, it gives that event emphatic...

#1 Rewatchability

That's a pretty good way to kick off a show...

I don't know if I'd call WrestleMania 35 a "classic" yet - these things also need the benefit of time to determine (an element I would have added to this list but three is a pretty nice number so, I'll just shove it into this entry) - but I can tell you one thing: I love to rewatch the crud out of that show.

Not every match was a barnburner, of course. In fact, if you were a barn, you were probably pretty safe if you were in attendance in New Jersey that day. But, the entertainment level was off the charts and there were more than a handful of amazing moments.

Starting the show off with the Brock Lesnar/Seth Rollins Universal Title match, and Seth's astounding win. It was the rush of adrenaline the show needed. Kofi Kingston's historic WWE Championship win over Daniel Bryan will be replayed on WWE Network for years. John Cena bringing back his "Doctor of Thuganomics" schtick for one night was also an unexpected treat.

My point is that if a PPV event is going to be considered a classic, it has to be one that you can throw on TV and watch from beginning to end, and be just as entertained as the first time you saw it.

It's why the Royal Rumble is one of the few shows a year that has more potential to be a classic than the others. The Rumble match itself has so many opportunities for surprises, moments, and making history, that you really just need to make sure the rest of the card is up to snuff.

Now, I turn it over to you guys. Based on this criteria, what do you consider a classic PPV? It doesn't necessarily have to be a WWE PPV, either. WCW, ECW, Impact, even AEW - Double or Nothing is actually looking more and more like a classic to me the more I watch it. Share it in the comments below and let's go and watch them.