11 Times a Superstar Won Multiple Matches on the Same PPV
Superstars have incredibly hard jobs. They put their bodies on the line day in and day out just to put on a good show and entertain us. It's hard enough doing just one match at a time. However, superstars often have to perform multiple matches on the same night. This can be incredibly taxing on them, but sometimes necessity calls for it. Putting on multiple matches on the same night is impressive enough, winning them is even more impressive. In this article, we'll identify seven superstars who won multiple matches on the same night. We'll only be covering PPV matches, which are more impressive than regular matches.
11. Curtis Axel at Night of Champions 2013- Michael McGillicutty became Curtis Axel in June and became managed by Paul Heyman in May of 2013. The WWE seemed ready to push him to the moon. In his first month since his repackaging, Axel beat Triple H, beat John Cena, and won the Intercontinental Champion. By September, it was becoming clear that this push wasn't going to work out. The WWE gave him one last shot at NOC. Punk was feuding with Paul Heyman at the time, so they had a Elimination 2-on-1 Handicap Match with Punk taking on Heyman and Axel.
Originally, this was the only match planned for Axel. At the beginning of the night however, Heyman and Axel had a segment with Triple H. Heyman begged for his match to be called off, but Triple H made the match a No Holds Barred match. Axel then decided to speak up, resulting in Triple H forcing him to defend his title right then and there. Axel managed to retain his title against Kofi Kingston, which many people saw as a surprise. It had been teased for a week that Kingston would win the title (the Night of Champions poster was of him with the IC title, for Pete's sake) but Axel managed to win. Later on in the night, Axel had his second match. He got pinned by Punk, thus eliminating him. It seemed like Punk would win the match, but Ryback interfered and won the match for Heyman and Axel.
10. Booker T at The Great American Bash at 1998- Leading up to this pay-per-view, Booker and Chris Benoit had been engaged in a Best-of-Seven series that was quite well received by critics. The winner of the series would become #1 Contender for the WCW World Television Championship. In the opening match of the PPV, Booker would pin Benoit (after a missile dropkick) to win the series and become #1 Contender to the WCW World Television Championship, which Booker had lost to Fit Finlay the prior month.
Booker received his title shot after a reprieve of only four matches. After a match of 13 minutes (his match against Benoit was 16 minutes long), Booker hit Finlay with a piledriver and pinned him to regain his title. Thus, Booker not only won two matches over the course of the night, but he also walked out as WCW World Television Champion.
9. Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series 2011- At this point. Ziggler was a star on the rise. He already had a World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship reigns and was the current United States Champion. Fans were sure more World titles reigns would soon be coming his way (only one has come so far). By the time Survivor Series came around, Ziggler was United States Champion, a title he won in June from Kofi Kingston. Not only did Ziggler have a title defense against John Morrison (Morrison earned the shot after beating Ziggler in a non-title match on Raw after Mason Ryan interfered), but he also was a member of Team Barrett that was facing off against Team Orton in a traditional five-on-five elimination tag match, replacing an injured Christian.
Ziggler and Morrison opened the PPV with a good match that exceeded ten minutes. Ziggler won the match, but was then attacked by fan-favorite Zack Ryder (remember him?). After only a one match break (a Lumberjill match between Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres), Ziggler was on again. He opened the match with Kingston, but then Kingston tagged in Randy Orton, who immediately hit Ziggler with an RKO and eliminated him. However, Team Barrett would go on to win the match (with Wade Barrett and IC Champ Cody Rhodes being the survivors), giving Ziggler two wins for the night.
8. Christian at Over the Limit 2012- On the pre-show, it was announced that there would be a People Power Battle Royal, with the winner receiving a shot at either the Intercontinental or United States Championship. This came about as a result of some bickering between IC champ Cody Rhodes and US champ Santino Marella. They had been arguing about this for a little while now, so this was Eve's (who was Executive Administrator of Raw and Smackdown) way of solving the problem. She named it a People Power Battle Royal in honor of her boss John Laurinaitis, whose job was in danger that night.
The likes of Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, and JTG were competing in the match. The last entrant however, was the returning Christian, who had not competed since January due to shoulder injuries. Christian won the Battle Royal by last eliminating The Miz and then motioned he would be challenging Marella. Later on however, in a backstage segment, Christian turned face and announced he would be challenging Rhodes. Christian would go on to beat Rhodes in an exciting and interesting match to win the Intercontinental Championship.
7. Triple H at No Mercy 2007- When No Mercy rolled around in October 2007, the WWE Championship was vacant. Randy Orton and John Cena had been feuding for months over the title, but Cena was forced to vacate it due to a torn right pectoral muscle. At the beginning of the PPV, Randy Orton was awarded the vacant title by Vince McMahon. However, Triple H then hit the ring and demanded a match for the title. Though Orton refused, McMahon made the match official. Triple H then pinned Orton and won the title.
Later, in a backstage segment, McMahon told Triple H that his match against Umaga (which had been booked previously) would still happen, and that it would be for the title. HHH managed to beat Umaga and retain his title. Afterwards, in another backstage segment, McMahon told Triple H that Orton was invoking his rematch clause for later on that night. Triple H ended up losing to Orton in a Last Man Standing match in the main event of the PPV. Though The Game did not walk out of No Mercy with the WWE Championship, he still managed to compile a 2-1 record at the event, which is extremely impressive.
6. Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IV- The WWF Championship was vacated when Andre the Giant won it in controversial fashion from Hulk Hogan and then sold it to Ted DiBiase. WWF President Jack Tunney then announced a 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV to crown the new WWF Champion. Among the competitors: Hogan, Andre, Ricky Steamboat, Bam Bam Bigelow, and DiBiase.
DiBiase disposed of Jim Duggan in the first round and then beat Don Muraco in the second round. He received a bye to the finals after the Hogan/Andre match ended in a double disqualification. However, DiBiase lost in the finals to...
5. Randy Savage at WrestleMania IV- The "Macho Man" Randy Savage won this 14-man tournament to become the new WWF Champion. Ever more impressive: the final match was Savage's fourth of the night. He had already had to fight Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, and One Man Gang before he faced DiBiase in the finals.
To reiterate, Savage won four matches on one night, which is absolutely incredible. It serves as a testament to the stamina and fortitude the legendary Savage possessed. It's hard to name another superstar who could have pulled off the same feat as impressively as Savage did.
4. Mankind at Survivor Series 1998- Like with WrestleMania IV, there was a vacant WWF title on the line here. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's title reign ended when he was simultaneously pinned by The Undertaker and Kane. A Deadly Games tournament was then set up for Survivor Series to crown a new champion.
Mankind was seen as the favorite to win the vacant title, as he had the backing of Vince McMahon. After beating Duane Gill and Al Snow, Mankind faced Austin in the semi-finals. Thanks to some interference on behalf of Vince McMahon and company, Mankind won and advanced to the finals, where he faced The Rock. Unfortunately, that's where Mankind's run came to an end.
3. The Rock at Surivor Series 1998- In a stunning turn of events, The Rock became the corporate champion backed by Vince and Shane McMahon. Everyone expected Vince to back Mankind, so this was a shocker, especially since Vince supposedly had it out for Rock.
To get to the finals, Rock had to beat Big Boss Man (who was replacing an injured Triple H), Ken Shamrock (whom Rock beat despite interference from Boss Man), and The Undertaker, who Rock beat by DQ after Kane interfered. Like Savage did ten years earlier, Rock won four matches (an impressive feat, to say the least) to win the vacant WWF Championship.
2. Big Show at Survivor Series 1999- As impressive as Savage's and Rock's performances were, the performance by Big Show at Survivor Series 1999 may have been even more impressive. Show was only supposed to be in one match, a traditional Survivor Series four-on-four elimination match with Show teaming up with Kai En Tai and Blue Meanie against the team of Big Boss Man, Prince Albert, Mideon, and Viscera.
Instead, Show took out all of his teammates backstage and took on all of the opposition single-handedly. Then, he pinned Boss Man, Viscera, and Mideon before Boss Man fled, getting eliminated by count-out. So, in a match that lasted less than 90 seconds, Show won a traditional Survivor Series elimination match by himself. But Show wasn't done yet. After "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was taken out by a mystery driver, he was taken out of the Triple Threat match with Triple H and Rock for the WWF title. Show replaced Austin and ended up winning the WWF Championship. So to recap, Show won a traditional Survivor Series elimination match all by himself and then won a Triple Threat match to become the new WWF Champion. That's impressive.
1. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX- Even if you didn't know about any of the other entries, you HAVE to know this one. After all, it happened about seven months ago at one of the best WrestleManias ever. It featured Bryan first beating Triple H in the opening match to earn a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match in the main event. Bryan would go on to win that match as well and become only the second WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the history of professional wrestling.
Originally, the title match was supposed to only be Randy Orton (the champion) versus Batista (the Royal Rumble winner). However, the WWE Universe was totally behind Bryan and were campaigning tirelessly to get him into the title match. The WWE finally listened, and Bryan/Triple H was booked (the two had been feuding for weeks). Later, the stipulation was added that the winner would then advance to the title match later in the evening. Both of the matches were excellent matches, with the underdog story being told really well by all those involved. It may be the single greatest night for a WWE superstar ever.
Know any other superstar who won multiple matches in one PPV? Comment and let me know.
11. Curtis Axel at Night of Champions 2013- Michael McGillicutty became Curtis Axel in June and became managed by Paul Heyman in May of 2013. The WWE seemed ready to push him to the moon. In his first month since his repackaging, Axel beat Triple H, beat John Cena, and won the Intercontinental Champion. By September, it was becoming clear that this push wasn't going to work out. The WWE gave him one last shot at NOC. Punk was feuding with Paul Heyman at the time, so they had a Elimination 2-on-1 Handicap Match with Punk taking on Heyman and Axel.
Originally, this was the only match planned for Axel. At the beginning of the night however, Heyman and Axel had a segment with Triple H. Heyman begged for his match to be called off, but Triple H made the match a No Holds Barred match. Axel then decided to speak up, resulting in Triple H forcing him to defend his title right then and there. Axel managed to retain his title against Kofi Kingston, which many people saw as a surprise. It had been teased for a week that Kingston would win the title (the Night of Champions poster was of him with the IC title, for Pete's sake) but Axel managed to win. Later on in the night, Axel had his second match. He got pinned by Punk, thus eliminating him. It seemed like Punk would win the match, but Ryback interfered and won the match for Heyman and Axel.
10. Booker T at The Great American Bash at 1998- Leading up to this pay-per-view, Booker and Chris Benoit had been engaged in a Best-of-Seven series that was quite well received by critics. The winner of the series would become #1 Contender for the WCW World Television Championship. In the opening match of the PPV, Booker would pin Benoit (after a missile dropkick) to win the series and become #1 Contender to the WCW World Television Championship, which Booker had lost to Fit Finlay the prior month.
Booker received his title shot after a reprieve of only four matches. After a match of 13 minutes (his match against Benoit was 16 minutes long), Booker hit Finlay with a piledriver and pinned him to regain his title. Thus, Booker not only won two matches over the course of the night, but he also walked out as WCW World Television Champion.
9. Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series 2011- At this point. Ziggler was a star on the rise. He already had a World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship reigns and was the current United States Champion. Fans were sure more World titles reigns would soon be coming his way (only one has come so far). By the time Survivor Series came around, Ziggler was United States Champion, a title he won in June from Kofi Kingston. Not only did Ziggler have a title defense against John Morrison (Morrison earned the shot after beating Ziggler in a non-title match on Raw after Mason Ryan interfered), but he also was a member of Team Barrett that was facing off against Team Orton in a traditional five-on-five elimination tag match, replacing an injured Christian.
Ziggler and Morrison opened the PPV with a good match that exceeded ten minutes. Ziggler won the match, but was then attacked by fan-favorite Zack Ryder (remember him?). After only a one match break (a Lumberjill match between Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres), Ziggler was on again. He opened the match with Kingston, but then Kingston tagged in Randy Orton, who immediately hit Ziggler with an RKO and eliminated him. However, Team Barrett would go on to win the match (with Wade Barrett and IC Champ Cody Rhodes being the survivors), giving Ziggler two wins for the night.
8. Christian at Over the Limit 2012- On the pre-show, it was announced that there would be a People Power Battle Royal, with the winner receiving a shot at either the Intercontinental or United States Championship. This came about as a result of some bickering between IC champ Cody Rhodes and US champ Santino Marella. They had been arguing about this for a little while now, so this was Eve's (who was Executive Administrator of Raw and Smackdown) way of solving the problem. She named it a People Power Battle Royal in honor of her boss John Laurinaitis, whose job was in danger that night.
The likes of Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, and JTG were competing in the match. The last entrant however, was the returning Christian, who had not competed since January due to shoulder injuries. Christian won the Battle Royal by last eliminating The Miz and then motioned he would be challenging Marella. Later on however, in a backstage segment, Christian turned face and announced he would be challenging Rhodes. Christian would go on to beat Rhodes in an exciting and interesting match to win the Intercontinental Championship.
7. Triple H at No Mercy 2007- When No Mercy rolled around in October 2007, the WWE Championship was vacant. Randy Orton and John Cena had been feuding for months over the title, but Cena was forced to vacate it due to a torn right pectoral muscle. At the beginning of the PPV, Randy Orton was awarded the vacant title by Vince McMahon. However, Triple H then hit the ring and demanded a match for the title. Though Orton refused, McMahon made the match official. Triple H then pinned Orton and won the title.
Later, in a backstage segment, McMahon told Triple H that his match against Umaga (which had been booked previously) would still happen, and that it would be for the title. HHH managed to beat Umaga and retain his title. Afterwards, in another backstage segment, McMahon told Triple H that Orton was invoking his rematch clause for later on that night. Triple H ended up losing to Orton in a Last Man Standing match in the main event of the PPV. Though The Game did not walk out of No Mercy with the WWE Championship, he still managed to compile a 2-1 record at the event, which is extremely impressive.
6. Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IV- The WWF Championship was vacated when Andre the Giant won it in controversial fashion from Hulk Hogan and then sold it to Ted DiBiase. WWF President Jack Tunney then announced a 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV to crown the new WWF Champion. Among the competitors: Hogan, Andre, Ricky Steamboat, Bam Bam Bigelow, and DiBiase.
DiBiase disposed of Jim Duggan in the first round and then beat Don Muraco in the second round. He received a bye to the finals after the Hogan/Andre match ended in a double disqualification. However, DiBiase lost in the finals to...
5. Randy Savage at WrestleMania IV- The "Macho Man" Randy Savage won this 14-man tournament to become the new WWF Champion. Ever more impressive: the final match was Savage's fourth of the night. He had already had to fight Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, and One Man Gang before he faced DiBiase in the finals.
To reiterate, Savage won four matches on one night, which is absolutely incredible. It serves as a testament to the stamina and fortitude the legendary Savage possessed. It's hard to name another superstar who could have pulled off the same feat as impressively as Savage did.
4. Mankind at Survivor Series 1998- Like with WrestleMania IV, there was a vacant WWF title on the line here. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's title reign ended when he was simultaneously pinned by The Undertaker and Kane. A Deadly Games tournament was then set up for Survivor Series to crown a new champion.
Mankind was seen as the favorite to win the vacant title, as he had the backing of Vince McMahon. After beating Duane Gill and Al Snow, Mankind faced Austin in the semi-finals. Thanks to some interference on behalf of Vince McMahon and company, Mankind won and advanced to the finals, where he faced The Rock. Unfortunately, that's where Mankind's run came to an end.
3. The Rock at Surivor Series 1998- In a stunning turn of events, The Rock became the corporate champion backed by Vince and Shane McMahon. Everyone expected Vince to back Mankind, so this was a shocker, especially since Vince supposedly had it out for Rock.
To get to the finals, Rock had to beat Big Boss Man (who was replacing an injured Triple H), Ken Shamrock (whom Rock beat despite interference from Boss Man), and The Undertaker, who Rock beat by DQ after Kane interfered. Like Savage did ten years earlier, Rock won four matches (an impressive feat, to say the least) to win the vacant WWF Championship.
2. Big Show at Survivor Series 1999- As impressive as Savage's and Rock's performances were, the performance by Big Show at Survivor Series 1999 may have been even more impressive. Show was only supposed to be in one match, a traditional Survivor Series four-on-four elimination match with Show teaming up with Kai En Tai and Blue Meanie against the team of Big Boss Man, Prince Albert, Mideon, and Viscera.
Instead, Show took out all of his teammates backstage and took on all of the opposition single-handedly. Then, he pinned Boss Man, Viscera, and Mideon before Boss Man fled, getting eliminated by count-out. So, in a match that lasted less than 90 seconds, Show won a traditional Survivor Series elimination match by himself. But Show wasn't done yet. After "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was taken out by a mystery driver, he was taken out of the Triple Threat match with Triple H and Rock for the WWF title. Show replaced Austin and ended up winning the WWF Championship. So to recap, Show won a traditional Survivor Series elimination match all by himself and then won a Triple Threat match to become the new WWF Champion. That's impressive.
1. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX- Even if you didn't know about any of the other entries, you HAVE to know this one. After all, it happened about seven months ago at one of the best WrestleManias ever. It featured Bryan first beating Triple H in the opening match to earn a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match in the main event. Bryan would go on to win that match as well and become only the second WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the history of professional wrestling.
Originally, the title match was supposed to only be Randy Orton (the champion) versus Batista (the Royal Rumble winner). However, the WWE Universe was totally behind Bryan and were campaigning tirelessly to get him into the title match. The WWE finally listened, and Bryan/Triple H was booked (the two had been feuding for weeks). Later, the stipulation was added that the winner would then advance to the title match later in the evening. Both of the matches were excellent matches, with the underdog story being told really well by all those involved. It may be the single greatest night for a WWE superstar ever.
Know any other superstar who won multiple matches in one PPV? Comment and let me know.
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