I'm going to be grading each year's pay per view programming that the WWE provided us, and I invite you to join in. I am going to use 1995 as a starting point, seeing as that was when the company moved to its current monthly PPV format.
1995 - The first year of monthly PPVs in the WWE was not a good one. We got perhaps the worst Royal Rumble and SummerSlam events ever, as well as the infamous King of the Ring show that most likely the worst PPV event of all-time. The early In Your House shows were underwhelming. While WrestleMania was fun and Survivor Series was downright good, they aren't enough to save 1995 from getting a poor grade.
Overall Grade: D
1996 - While WWE television during this year left much to be desired, it was a very solid year for the pay per view shows. The In Your House series began to become worth watching, and The Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam all improved from the year before. What held 1996 back was how thin the roster was; many shows were two-match shows (SummerSlam '96 is a good example of this).
Overall Grade: B-
1997 - A fantastic year. Bret Hart and HBK in their primes having one of the best rivalries of all-time; Stone Cold, Triple H, The Rock and Mick Foley representing the mid-card and of course the epic USA vs. Canada storyline. This was the year where the In Your House shows were on par with "the big four."
Overall Grade: A-
1998 - The first year of the attitude era provided us with some great PPV programming, although I'd say it was a step down from 1997. This year gave us some excellent shows (WrestleMania, King Of The Ring, SummerSlam) and some shows not worth your time (Survivor Series, anyone?).
Overall Grade: B
1999 - In 1999, even WrestleMania felt like it was an episode of Raw. While WWE television was at its most exciting and extreme during '99, the company just wasn't delivering on Sundays.
Overall Grade: D+
2000 - An excellent year for the WWE as a whole, and PPV was no exception. The mid-card and tag team divisions being at arguably their all-time peak combined with a star-studded main event cast (Rock, HHH, Austin, Taker, Angle) combined to make for great shows month in and month out.
Overall Grade: A-
2001 - The year where WWE PPVs were rolling on all cylinders. We had perhaps the best Royal Rumble ever, the best February PPV ever and the best WrestleMania of all-time after that. And while the Invasion angle was underwhelming from a storyline point of view, it delivered in the ring big time.
Overall Grade: A+
2002 - Just a shade below 2001 is this year. With the most star-studded roster in wrestling history, there was no way the WWE was going to fail to deliver. We were given arguably the best SummerSlam and Survivor Series events of all-time.
Overall Grade: A
2003 - After three years of great PPV programming, things began to fall apart in '03. We were treated to one of the most boring Royal Rumbles of all-time, an awful SummerSlam and some seriously boring Raw-only PPVs. The saving grace for this year were WrestleMania and Survivor Series, which were both awesome.
Overall Grade: C
2004: A solid year overall, but not much to note. I have a tough time remembering anything that happened on B-level PPV in 2004.
Overall Grade: B-
2005: A strong year for the WWE in general saw the company delivering on Sunday nights. A controversial Royal Rumble, very good WrestleMania and ECW One Night Stand were the highlights of this very strong year.
Overall Grade: B+
2006: This was a weird year for WWE PPVs because the B-level shows really out shined the big four. The best shows of the year were One Night Stand and Unforgiven, while shows like SummerSlam and Survivor Series proved to be highly forgettable. It wasn't a bad year by any means; it just felt weird the way it turned out.
Overall Grade: B
2007: A year of ups and downs for WWE. The SmackDown PPVs in '07 were downright brutal, but the big four proved to be solid. I'd say this year was a mixed bag, and rank it somewhere between '03 and '04.
Overall Grade: C+
2008: A great year for wrestling via pay per view. Edge, John Cena, HBK, Undertaker, Jericho and others made 2008's main event scene one for the ages. WrestleMania, One Night Stand, SummerSlam, Cyber Sunday and Armageddon were all highlights.
Overall Grade: A-
2009: The year where gimmick PPVs began replacing standard ones. It was a shame too, seeing as how the year was putting on some great shows up until we got crap like "Breaking Point" and "Hell in a Cell."
Overall Grade: C+
2010: A weak year for the WWE overall. This was the year where SummerSlam was given almost no buildup whatsoever, and where we had to continually put up with The Nexus after they had buried by Cena at SummerSlam. Good God. Not to mention crap like "Fatal 4 Way." Give me a break.
Overall Grade: D+
2011: A very good year for PPVs in the WWE. Money in the Bank and SummerSlam was one of the best one-two punches in WWE history, and Elimination Chamber, Extreme Rules and Night Of Champions are all also worth checking out.
Overall Grade: B+
1995 - The first year of monthly PPVs in the WWE was not a good one. We got perhaps the worst Royal Rumble and SummerSlam events ever, as well as the infamous King of the Ring show that most likely the worst PPV event of all-time. The early In Your House shows were underwhelming. While WrestleMania was fun and Survivor Series was downright good, they aren't enough to save 1995 from getting a poor grade.
Overall Grade: D
1996 - While WWE television during this year left much to be desired, it was a very solid year for the pay per view shows. The In Your House series began to become worth watching, and The Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam all improved from the year before. What held 1996 back was how thin the roster was; many shows were two-match shows (SummerSlam '96 is a good example of this).
Overall Grade: B-
1997 - A fantastic year. Bret Hart and HBK in their primes having one of the best rivalries of all-time; Stone Cold, Triple H, The Rock and Mick Foley representing the mid-card and of course the epic USA vs. Canada storyline. This was the year where the In Your House shows were on par with "the big four."
Overall Grade: A-
1998 - The first year of the attitude era provided us with some great PPV programming, although I'd say it was a step down from 1997. This year gave us some excellent shows (WrestleMania, King Of The Ring, SummerSlam) and some shows not worth your time (Survivor Series, anyone?).
Overall Grade: B
1999 - In 1999, even WrestleMania felt like it was an episode of Raw. While WWE television was at its most exciting and extreme during '99, the company just wasn't delivering on Sundays.
Overall Grade: D+
2000 - An excellent year for the WWE as a whole, and PPV was no exception. The mid-card and tag team divisions being at arguably their all-time peak combined with a star-studded main event cast (Rock, HHH, Austin, Taker, Angle) combined to make for great shows month in and month out.
Overall Grade: A-
2001 - The year where WWE PPVs were rolling on all cylinders. We had perhaps the best Royal Rumble ever, the best February PPV ever and the best WrestleMania of all-time after that. And while the Invasion angle was underwhelming from a storyline point of view, it delivered in the ring big time.
Overall Grade: A+
2002 - Just a shade below 2001 is this year. With the most star-studded roster in wrestling history, there was no way the WWE was going to fail to deliver. We were given arguably the best SummerSlam and Survivor Series events of all-time.
Overall Grade: A
2003 - After three years of great PPV programming, things began to fall apart in '03. We were treated to one of the most boring Royal Rumbles of all-time, an awful SummerSlam and some seriously boring Raw-only PPVs. The saving grace for this year were WrestleMania and Survivor Series, which were both awesome.
Overall Grade: C
2004: A solid year overall, but not much to note. I have a tough time remembering anything that happened on B-level PPV in 2004.
Overall Grade: B-
2005: A strong year for the WWE in general saw the company delivering on Sunday nights. A controversial Royal Rumble, very good WrestleMania and ECW One Night Stand were the highlights of this very strong year.
Overall Grade: B+
2006: This was a weird year for WWE PPVs because the B-level shows really out shined the big four. The best shows of the year were One Night Stand and Unforgiven, while shows like SummerSlam and Survivor Series proved to be highly forgettable. It wasn't a bad year by any means; it just felt weird the way it turned out.
Overall Grade: B
2007: A year of ups and downs for WWE. The SmackDown PPVs in '07 were downright brutal, but the big four proved to be solid. I'd say this year was a mixed bag, and rank it somewhere between '03 and '04.
Overall Grade: C+
2008: A great year for wrestling via pay per view. Edge, John Cena, HBK, Undertaker, Jericho and others made 2008's main event scene one for the ages. WrestleMania, One Night Stand, SummerSlam, Cyber Sunday and Armageddon were all highlights.
Overall Grade: A-
2009: The year where gimmick PPVs began replacing standard ones. It was a shame too, seeing as how the year was putting on some great shows up until we got crap like "Breaking Point" and "Hell in a Cell."
Overall Grade: C+
2010: A weak year for the WWE overall. This was the year where SummerSlam was given almost no buildup whatsoever, and where we had to continually put up with The Nexus after they had buried by Cena at SummerSlam. Good God. Not to mention crap like "Fatal 4 Way." Give me a break.
Overall Grade: D+
2011: A very good year for PPVs in the WWE. Money in the Bank and SummerSlam was one of the best one-two punches in WWE history, and Elimination Chamber, Extreme Rules and Night Of Champions are all also worth checking out.
Overall Grade: B+