5 times smaller WWE PPVs have exceeded expectations

If a PPV isn’t one of the big 4, with exception given to Money in the Bank, then many fans can be a little sceptical about what kind of a show that the WWE plans to put on for them.

That being said, many fans have gone into PPVs expecting some of them to be utter garbage, but are shocked by what they see. Sometimes performers go out there and make the most of a bad situation and win everybody over.

This was especially prevalent during the first brand split, as many Smackdown superstars felt as though they were being treated as the B-show and that was also an invitation to work their hardest.

Here we look at 5 PPV’s that exceeded fans expectations.

---

#5 Vengence 2002

Vengence 2002

Many fans went into this Pay Per View with low expectations. Steve Austin had just left the company, and a lot of people were unimpressed with King of the Ring the month prior.

The show as a whole ended up being a pretty decent outing for the most part. The main event was a low-end Match of the Year Candidate having The Undertaker defend the Undisputed Championship against Kurt Angle and The Rock in a triple threat match.

The action was very fast-paced with all three men at the top of their game, and had numerous false finishes that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.

The show also featured the beginning of the face turn of Booker T. His brawl with Big Show was unexpectedly awesome, ending with a rare Harlem Hangover sighting in WWE.

#4 Taboo Tuesday 2004

First interactive WWE PPV, Taboo Tuesday

The booking on this show was pretty much genius, and they made the worst out of a terrible situation. The night before the show, Shawn Michaels had torn his meniscus in his knee. With Michaels not able to compete, many fans were bummed and thought the event could have been a disaster.

Even after his injury and Shawn even pleading with the fans not to vote for him, they did still in fact vote for him to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship anyway.

Despite working the match through the legit injury, which he pulled off pretty well, Shawn actually was about to win the match until Edge interfered and speared Shawn, shouting “it should have been me!”

The fans also voted Shelton Benjamin to face Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship. Which was an interesting pick as many thought Batista was going to get that and they had Randy Orton vs Ric Flair as the main event which helped take the pressure off of Michaels and HHH.

The show was ultimately a gamble to have people voting for matches online but thankfully the gamble did pay off.

#3 ECW One Night Stand 2005

Classic ECW, at it’s best

Okay yes, many people were extremely excited for this event, and rightly so.

The event was a bit of a re-birth for ECW. One thing to note is that this event could have been a complete and utter flop. Many people were unsure if WWE would give much creative control to Paul Heyman to run the event, but thankfully they did.

We got a glimpse of what would have happened if Paul Heyman hadn’t been shackled at the re-launch of the third brand in 2006. This event was true ECW, shown in front of a packed Hammerstein Ballroom.

The show didn’t miss a beat, bringing the true essence of ECW into the WWE’s world.

If you haven’t watched the event to this day, I strongly recommend you go back and watch it in its entirety. You won’t be disappointed.

#2 Vengence 2003

The Smackdown stars would not be outshined

Raw's Bad Blood pay-per-view in June 2003 was considered by many to be terrible, and with names such as Vince McMahon, Zach Gowen, Sable, Big Show and an APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl slated for July's SmackDown-only Vengeance event, there were doubts and concerns surrounding the quality of the show.

All those doubts ended up being slated as soon as the pyro had finished for the opening of the event. The Smackdown superstars pulled out all stops and gave us an entertaining show.

In his first pay-per-view match since undergoing neck surgery, Kurt Angle returned to the ring to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE title in a triple threat match that also involved Big Show. Many were worried about Angles condition but thankfully the match played out very well.

Zach Gowen competed in a match against Vince McMahon that was better than it had any right to be and Stephanie took on her father's latest mistress Sable in a wild catfight. Oh and let’s not forget that The World's Greatest Tag Team defended the WWE tag titles against Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman in a brilliantly put together tag team match.

#1 Judgement Day 2005

Well nobody can say Cena didn’t put his all into his match at Judgment Day

The card for this event, though not flashy, featured solid wrestling.

John Cena had fought JBL at WrestleMania 21 and beat him for the title but, there were still plenty of questions surrounding John Cena and whether or not he was ready to be WWE champion. Cena was entering his next chapter with JBL and he had to deliver.

Cena rose to the occasion, delivering an outstanding, insanely bloody performance against Layfield in an "I Quit" match.

In other contests, Eddie Guerrero took on Rey Mysterio in an excellent one-on-one contest as to be expected from two top athletes and Booker T competed in his best match in nearly a year as he took on Kurt Angle.

The Cruiserweight champion Paul London continued to be one of the most underrated stars on the roster, delivering a fine performance in a match against former champion Chavo Guerrero.

Smackdown was undoubtedly being treated like the "B" show and on this occasion exceed expectation people had held for the event.