Unforgiven was a WWE pay-per-view event which had been first held at April 1998 as an In Your House event, and later had been annually held in September since 1999. During the brand-extension from 2003-2006, Unforgiven was exclusive to the Raw brand. In 2007, the brand-exclusive events ended, and Unforgiven became tri-branded.
In 2009, the event's slot was replaced by Breaking Point.
Unforgiven contains examples of:
- Ass Shove: The 2006 event had D-Generation X shove Vince McMahon's head up The Big Show's ass.
- The Bad Guy Wins:
- 1999: Triple H won the six-pack challenge to capture his second World Title.
- 2001: Christian defeated Edge to capture his first Intercontinental title.
- 2002: Triple H defeated Rob Van Dam with help of Ric Flair to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
- 2003: Most of the heels have won their matches. Test defeated Scott Steiner to win Stacy Keibler's services as well as Steiner's services. Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels. Kane defeated Shane McMahon in a Last Man Standing match. Christian defeated Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam to retain the Intercontinental Title. Al Snow and Jonathan Coachman defeated Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler to win the right to be commentators for RAW.
- 2004: Triple H defeated Randy Orton to become a 9th time champion, ending Orton's title reign in no more than a month. Trish Stratus also defeated Victoria to retain the Women's title.
- 2005: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated The Hurricane and Rosey to become the new World Tag Team Champions. Kurt Angle defeats John Cena, though it was by disqualification.
- 2006: Johnny Nitro defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the Intercontinental Title. The Spirit Squad defeated The Highlanders to retain the Tag Team Championships. Randy Orton defeated Carlito.
- 2008: Despite the brutal beatdown he received from Shawn Michaels earlier, Chris Jericho took CM Punk's place to compete for the Championship Scramble match and won the World Heavyweight Title.
- Broken Win/Loss Streak: The 2006 event saw John Cena ending Edge's undefeated streak in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Matches.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory:
- 1998: Dude Love defeated Steve Austin by DQ after Gerald Brisco announced that Austin lost the match despite Austin making his own three-count.
- 1999: X-Pac defeated Chris Jericho (w/ Mr. Hughes) by disqualification after Mr. Hughes attacked the referee.
- 2000: Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero defeated Rikishi via DQ after Rikishi attacked Chyna for interfering on Eddie's behalf.
- Averted in the 2002 event. The match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker ended in a double disqualification after Lesnar attacked the referee.
- 2005: John Cena lost to Kurt Angle by disqualification after he hit him with the title belt.
- 2007: Randy Orton defeated John Cena by disqualification after Cena wouldn't stop punching Orton continuously.
- Face–Heel Turn:
- In 2002, Ric Flair attacked Rob Van Dam with the sledgehammer, allowing Triple H to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
- In 2008, The Big Show turned heel by attacking The Undertaker and freeing Vickie Guerrero from his grasp.
- Final Battle: The Hell in a Cell match between D-Generation X and the McMahons and The Big Show, which was the final battle of the DX/McMahons feud.
- Foregone Conclusion: It was pretty easy to guess who would win the first-ever Inferno Match between Kane and The Undertaker, given that Kane's (then) full-body costume could be padded and insulated to protect him from the flames (whereas the Undertaker's comparably skimpy ring gear would have left him seriously injured had he tried the same stunt).
- Gimmick Matches: The 2006 event is famous for being the only PPV in WWE history to feature both a Hell in a Cell match and a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
- Heroic BSoD: Shawn Michaels experienced one at '08, where he challenged Chris Jericho to an Unsanctioned Match after Jericho punched his wife in the face. He whipped his enemy with a belt, injuring him so grievously that Jericho went into shock. The bell was rung, and an announcer declared Michaels the winner of the fight. By this point, however, Michaels was so consumed with rage that his face had gone completely blank and he was continuing to mindlessly whale away on the unconscious Jericho as if he didn't understand what he was doing. He finally snapped out of his stupor after a referee tried to stop him and he kicked the official in the face; he then had a My God, What Have I Done?? moment and finally agreed to leave the ring.
- History Repeats:
- Triple H was in the World Heavyweight title match in this event from 2002-2004 and was the defending champion in the first two times, losing in the latter.
- Kurt Angle was the number one contender for the WWE title in this event in 2001 and 2005.
- John Cena was the defending champion in this event in 2005 and 2007, and had lost via disqualification.
- Loophole Abuse: In the 1998 event, Stone Cold stunned Dude Love, and with the referee down, he counted his own three-count, making himself the winner of the match. Subverted when Gerald Brisco announced that Austin had lost by disqualification.
- Loser Leaves Town:
- Mêlée à Trois:
- 1999: The first ever 6-pack challenge for the WWF Title which featured Triple H, The Rock, Mankind, Kane, The Big Show, and The British Bulldog (Steve Austin was the Special guest referee).
- 2000: The fatal-4-way match for the WWF Title which featured The Rock, The Undertaker, Kane, and Chris Benoit.
- 2003: The triple threat match between Christian, Chris Jericho, and Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship.
- 2007: The triple threat match between Batista, Rey Mysterio Jr., and The Great Khali for the World Heavyweight Championship.
- 2008: There were three Championship Scramble matches where each title (Raw, Smackdown, and ECW) were on the line and 5 superstars competed.
- The ECW Championship Scramble featured Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, and Finlay.
- The Smackdown Championship Scramble featured Triple H, The Brian Kendrick, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Jeff Hardy.
- The Raw Championship Scramble featured Chris Jerichonote , Batista, Kane, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and Rey Mysterio.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
- In the 2007 event, Cena gave one to Orton, which ended him getting disqualified. Then he put Orton in the STFU while Cena's father kicked Orton in the head the same way Orton had kicked in his head on a previous episode of Raw.
- HBK gives one to Chris Jericho in their Unsanctioned Match in the 2008 event.
- Out of the Inferno: Happened with The Undertaker in their Inferno Match when he jumped out of the ring as it was surrounded by flames and clotheslined Kane.
- Series Mascot: The Undertaker was on the poster for this event four times (1998, 1999note , 2000, 2007). Kane and John Cena were on the poster twice; 2003 and 2004 for the former and 2005note and 2006 for the latter.
