Best SmackDown-Exclusive WWE PPVs

Brand-exclusive pay-per-view events are certainly controversial among wrestling fans. Some say that they are best for the viewer and performer, giving more of each roster a chance to shine.

Others say that the brand exclusive pay-per-view crowds the events calendar, oftentimes creating 15-plus events in one year. It's something WWE has tried twice, following its two brand splits. Whether or not these brand-exclusive pay-per-view events return remains to be seen, but ke them or not, SmackDown had some underrated classics come from the brand split era.

10 Fastlane 2018

WWE Championship Six-Pack challenge at Fastlane 2018

After years of multi-brand events, in September of 2016, the first brand-exclusive pay-per-view since No Way Out 2007 took place. Looking back, the split brand events from the 2016-18 era are certainly divisive.

SmackDown’s last brand-exclusive pay-per-view to this day was Fastlane 2018, and it turned out to be a fun, if relatively inconsequential outing. Matches like Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev and Charlotte Flair vs, Ruby Riott were solid enough but were clearly just stopgaps on the road to WrestleMania 34.

The real strong point of the show came from two title matches. Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode for the United States Championship was a well-done match, making Orton a Grand Slam Champion, and the WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge, which saw AJ Styles successfully defend the brand’s top title.

9 TLC 2016

A strong main event can carry an average show, and that certainly was the case for the last pay-per-view of 2016 for SmackDown. Along with the classic main event, a TLC match for the WWE Championship between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose, there was another great match that ended a feud between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz. This installation, a Ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship.

Those two incredible matches carried a show that would otherwise be nowhere near this list, although there was a fun moment to kick off the event that saw Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt capture the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, as well as Alexa Bliss's first Women's Championship win.

8 No Mercy 2016

The second SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view in nine years came in the form of No Mercy 2016. Once again, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz stole the show. In an Intercontinental Championship vs. Career match, each man may have put on the best performance of their careers in front of a crowd dying to see who would come out on top.

Career matches can seem gimmicky and unbelievable, but with rumors going around of Ziggler leaving the company, fans genuinely didn’t know which way the match would go. Along with this amazing match, AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship was a fun extension of the three superstars' interwoven feuds.

The rest of the show was so-so, although it did feature Heath Slater and Rhyno winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a heartwarming moment and the return of the late, great Luke Harper in the main event.

7 Judgment Day 2006

Judgment Day 2006 may not have featured any all-time great matches, but it was a fast-paced outing that featured a plethora of good, if not excellent matches.

The best match of the night may have been the show’s opener, a WWE Tag Team Championship match that saw Brian Kendrick and Paul London take on MNM. This match saw the beginning of London and Kendrick’s 331-day reign with the belts.

A bruising match between Chris Benoit and Finlay followed, a fun King of the Ring final crowning Booker T over Bobby Lashley in the middle, and JBL vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship was a good David vs. Goliath story to end the show.

6 No Way Out 2004

Eddie Guerrero WWE Champion No Way Out 2004

A PPV that got off to a very poor start, but is elevated by two solid matches, and one all-time great moment to cap off a good match. The first good match of the show didn’t come until the fifth match on the card, but one between two competitors who could always be depended on to deliver at the time, Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio.

Related: 10 Loudest Crowd Reactions To A Title Change In The WWE The second, a Triple Threat match between Kurt Angle, Big Show, and John Cena that never let up for a second. The main event featured a truly special moment, Eddie Guerrero slaying The Beast, Brock Lesnar, to become WWE Champion in front of a San Francisco crowd that truly adored Guerrero. While the match was great, the closing moments are the stuff of legend.

5 No Way Out 2006

The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2006

Another show that got off to an incredibly slow start, but the last three matches of the event make this a good pay-per-view. The first, a solid United States Championship match between Chris Benoit and Booker T, which saw their months-long feud finally end on a high note.

To follow, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio put together a very exciting match given how disgusting the basis of the story truly was. To close the show was one of the best matches of 2006, and arguably one of the best of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Kurt Angle and The Undertaker put on a 25-minute clinic for the World Heavyweight Championship that proved just how great both competitors were.

4 Armageddon 2006

The SmackDown-exclusive event that closed out 2006 is a show that may not technically be anywhere near this list, but it’s a show that delivers tenfold on fun. Full of gimmick matches before Extreme Rules was on the pay-per-view calendar, Armageddon shows WWE at their best and worst.

Inferno match, Ladder match, Last Ride match, and a split brand tag team match were the consistency of these gimmick matches, with only one really delivering on in-ring quality. The Fatal-4 Way Ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship stole the show, which saw Joey Mercury’s face explode and Brian Kendrick and Paul London holding on to their titles.

Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit put on the second-best match of the night for the United States Championship, unsurprisingly. All the other matches, while not technically great, helped make the show fun and fast-paced.

3 Hell in a Cell 2017

With titular matches bookending the show, almost everything on this SmackDown-exclusive event delivered. Randy Orton and Rusev finally had an actual match after months of teasing fans, which turned out to be fun. Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship was another fast-paced triple threat, a theme of sorts throughout this list.

The first Hell in a Cell match featured The Usos vs. The New Day, one of the best Hell in a Cell matches of the decade between two tag teams that are likely to go at it forever. The main event was a ridiculous Falls Count Anywhere Hell in a Cell match between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon, which was a very entertaining mess with a twist.

2 No Mercy 2006

No Mercy 2006 may be the most well-rounded show on this list, featuring five of its seven matches rated 3 ¼ stars or above by Dave Meltzer. The crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina were treated to an opening match between two hometown boys in Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms, which is as good as the viewer would expect.

After this, Brian Kendrick and Paul London defended their titles in a surprisingly good match against K.C. James and Idol Stevens (Damien Sandow). Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero yet again had a great match, this time Falls Count Anywhere. Chris Benoit and William Regal worked a great, stiff match, and the main event of the evening was a fun Fatal-4 Way for the World Heavyweight Championship, which saw King Booker victorious.

1 Vengeance 2003

John Cena v The Undertaker Vengeance 2003

One of the most underrated pay-per-view events in WWE history, Vengeance 2003, is without a doubt SmackDown’s greatest brand-exclusive show. Starting off hot with a match between Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero for the United States Championship, this event showed strong promise from the very beginning.

After that, a very fun tag team match between The World’s Greatest Tag Team and Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman. To close out the show, John Cena and The Undertaker put together a very fun match in a young career for Cena. The main event was yet another triple threat between SmackDown’s best, Kurt Angle, Big Show, and Brock Lesnar, for the WWE Championship.