Okay, so I wasn't planning on posting anything today, but I've been fooling around on Excel, and have come up with something so cool it had to be shared. I've never mentioned this before, but I keep a spreadsheet on my computer, with the name of each WWE pay-per-view I've reviewed, in addition to it's score. I started with WrestleMania 1 last year, and the document has been updated with each subsequent review I've written since then. I also have documents for my NJPW, AEW, and TNA reviews, though of course, none of them has anywhere near as much information. For over a year, this spreadsheet hasn't done anything useful, but today, that's changing. You see, I never realized that if you highlights specific cells on an Excel spreadsheet, it gives you the average of the numbers you highlighted. That may make it sound like I don't what I'm doing, and that's good, because I don't. I think part of the appeal of this blog is seeing me, Henry Keys, grow up and continue to improve as a writer and as a presenter, in addition to the content I'm actually providing. Today, I'm just so eager to share with you what I've found, and I'm hoping the information below is helpful to at least someone out there. Just a warning, though, as there is a deluge of numbers in this post. If you're not interested in that, I've also put in the work to link to every WWE review that I've written, or at least the ones that actually count towards this project, so you can get more writing as opposed to flat numbers.
1985
Reviews: WrestleMania 1, The Wrestling Classic.
Average Score: 2.5
1986
Review: WrestleMania 2.
Average Score: 1
1987
Reviews: WrestleMania 3, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 6.5
1988
Reviews: WrestleMania 4, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 3.67
1989
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 5, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 4
1980's In Review
Average Score: 3.83
Summary: It took a while for the WWE to start figuring things out in the early days. A lot of the WrestleManias were a chore to get through, and most events tended to fall in that very mediocre range. There's some good stuff in here, particularly in 1987, but in general, this was the weakest decade for monthly events in company history.
1990
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 6, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 4.5
1991
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 7, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, This Tuesday in Texas.
Average Score: 5.4
1992
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 8, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 7.25
1993
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 9, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 4.8
1994
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 10, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 6.6
1995
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 11, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 3.6
1996
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 12, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 6.4
1997
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 13, In Your House: Canadian Stampede, SummerSlam, One Night Only, Badd Blood: In Your House, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 6.28
1998
Reviews: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania 14, King of the Ring, Fully Loaded, SummerSlam, Survivor Series.
Average Score: 6.5
1999
Reviews: Royal Rumble, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, WrestleMania 15, Backlash, SummerSlam, No Mercy.
Average Score: 5.67
1990's In Review
Average Score: 5.73
Summary: The second decades of WWE pay-per-views needs some qualifiers attached to it's overall grade, as I haven't reviewed everything that took place in it. I do plan on getting around to everything eventually, so someday, this post will be updated to reflect a more full picture. From what I have reviewed, you can see a marked step up in quality, outside of 1995, a dismal year for the WWE.
2000
Reviews: Royal Rumble, No Way Out, WrestleMania 2000, Backlash, Judgment Day, King of the Ring, Fully Loaded, SummerSlam, Unforgiven, No Mercy, Survivor Series, Armageddon.
Average Score: 7.17
2001
Reviews: Royal Rumble, No Way Out, WrestleMania X-Seven, Backlash, Judgment Day, King of the Ring, InVasion, SummerSlam, Unforgiven, No Mercy, Survivor Series, Vengeance.
Average Score: 7.67
2002
Reviews: Royal Rumble, No Way Out, WrestleMania 18, Backlash, Judgment Day, King of the Ring, Vengeance, SummerSlam, Unforgiven, No Mercy, Survivor Series, Armageddon.
Average Score: 6.75
2003 (Thus Far)
Reviews: Royal Rumble, No Way Out, WrestleMania 19, Backlash, Judgment Day, Bad Blood, Vengeance, SummerSlam, Unforgiven, No Mercy.
Average Score: 6.4
2000's In Review (Thus Far)
Average Score: 7.02
Summary: While there is a very long way still to go for me in the mid-aughts of the WWE, thus far, things look promising. Even though 2003 has been disappointing, it's still on-average been as good as some of the better years during the 90's, demonstrating the step up in production value and talent for the company through the years. The 2000's did prove to be a largely shifting decade for the company, though, so more reviews will be necessary to truly compare these years to what came before.
Overall Score: 6.06
- Henry
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