via WWE.com
What was the greatest Survivor Series main event ever? Let’s count down and find out!
With Survivor Series just on the horizon, it’s an appropriate time to look back at its amazing 29 year history, as one of WWE’s longest running Pay-Per-Views (PPVs). Starting in 1987, there have been plenty of great, and not-so-great, main events over the past couple decades. There has been everything from the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match, WWE Championship matches, Hell in a Cell, to even the very first, Elimination Chamber. So to celebrate history, let’s rank every single Survivor Series main event!
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Although, this year’s main event is still yet to occur – due to Seth Rollins’ unfortunate injury – a tournament will be held to decide the next WWE Champion. Where that main event fits in this ranking, is still a mystery, but tournaments are awesome (fact!) so it shouldn’t be a surprise if it ends up in the upper half of this list, only time will tell. Until then, let’s get started, and find out which was the worst main event in Survivor Series history.
Next: No. 28: Survivor Series 1990
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1990) – Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana vs. Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Warlord and Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) in a 3-on-5 Grand Finale Survivor Series match.
The teams were comprised of survivors from earlier matches on the card, thus giving the good guys a distinct disadvantage from the start. Given only about ten minutes to work, this match didn’t exact get the time necessary for a proper build. Warlord was immediately pinned by Tito, in what was the fastest elimination in the PPV’s short history. Tito was eliminated not long after by DiBiase, leaving Hogan and Warrior to fend for themselves.
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Ramona was eliminated by a “hulked-up” Hogan, while Martel literally walked out of the match, getting counted out. Going through these early matches, it should be noted how good DiBiase made his opponents look, constantly selling hard for them. Hogan and Warrior made quick work of the remaining guys to get the big win.
This was a short match, with a very predictable finish, it felt like an after-thought, and is easily one of the worst main events, ever.
RATING (1-5 scale): 1
Next: No. 27: Survivor Series 2013
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2013) – Randy Orton (c) vs. Big Show for the WWE Championship
Yep, Big Show was in a main event singles match, in 2013. This was during that terrible storyline where The Authority just bullied him continuously, made him cry, fired him, it was just a mess. Anyways, Big Show considered filing a lawsuit, they settled, he got a title shot, and here we go.
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If you’ve seen one Big Show match, you’ve seen 100 of them, it’s basically the same slow, plodding along type of match that isn’t really worth watching. After a bunch of nothing, Triple H, Stephanie, and Kane came to the stage to distract Show, they literally stood there and talked. Orton hits Show with the RKO, a punt to the head, and wins the match.
As easily one of the worst main events ever, this one is not worth your time, unless you’ve somehow never seen Orton and Big Show ever wrestle a match.
RATING: 1
Next: No. 26: Survivor Series 1991
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1991) – The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) and Big Boss Man defeated The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) and Irwin R. Schyster (with Jimmy Hart)
You’re probably thinking; “wait, isn’t this Hogan vs. Undertaker for the title?” You would be correct, but there were not one, but two matches that came after the championship match. Since we are doing “main events”, we will go by the match that closed the night.
This weird lineup was probably because Hogan was going to lose, and WWE didn’t want to send the fans home on such a sour note. There was so little interest in this match; the announcers were hyping an interview afterwards, because this main event was just weak. There’s one awful moment where Typhoon gets beat up in his opponent’s corner, slowly stumbles all the way across the ring, while Hawk just stood there and watched him tag out.
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Eventually, Boss Man was eliminated via IRS’s briefcase, The Natural Disasters both got eliminated via pinfall and count-out, respectively. IRS was left by himself (although he tried to leave, but is blocked by Boss Man), and The Legion of Doom cleaned up easily, eventually get the big win. A weak main-event that was probably booked to send the crowd home happy, pass.
RATING: 1.5
Next: No. 25: Survivor Series 1993
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1993) – The All-Americans (Lex Luger, The Undertaker, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) vs. The Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Crush, Ludvig Borga and Jacques from the Quebecers) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match.
In one of the most tired pro wrestling stories, it was the good ole U.S.A. vs. a bunch of foreigners, while the Steiner Brothers and Lex were decked out in red, white, and blue, The Undertaker kindly declined changing his attire. In the early moments, Rick Steiner was sent packing first by Ludvig Borga, yes the Ludvig Borga. Randy Savage made a brief appearance to the crowd’s excitement, but was forced to the back; eventually he made his way back out to the ring and got Crush counted-out as the two brawled.
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This match had a really weird mix of main event players and jobbers, with not a whole lot of great wrestling to make up the difference. Although, The Foreign Fanatics had quite the group of managers in Mr. Fuji, Jim Cornette, and Johnny Polo (who was more widely known as Raven).
The crowd started to fizzle out, thanks to the pacing of the match, until the Undertaker was finally hot tagged in to take on Yokozuna, both battled on the outside to a double count-out, leaving Luger against Borga. Lex predictably survived, pretty sleepy match, had some good moments with Taker, Yoko, and Scott Steiner, but otherwise not missing much here.
RATING: 1.5
Next: No. 24: Survivor Series 2006
WWE.com
Survivor Series (2006) – King Booker (c) vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship
There were some added stipulations to this match, if Batista lost, he couldn’t challenge Booker for the title again, if Booker got counted-out or disqualified, he would lose the title. This slight wrinkle to the match forced Booker to fight a straight up match, cheating would have cost him heavily.
The match got off to a fast start as Batista didn’t even let King Booker get to the ring, charging him during the champion’s entrance. Watching this match over it was a nice reminder of how good the King Booker gimmick was as he – and Queen Sharmell – was so incredibly annoying, it was a joy to watch Booker get beat up.
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The ending was weird as Batista teased powerbombing Sharmell, Booker attempted to hit him with the title, missed, and Batista ended up using it on Booker, getting the 1-2-3. Not exactly proper behavior by a face, but oh well, for a main event the match wasn’t the great either, this one can be skipped.
RATING: 1.5
Next: No. 23: Survivor Series 1988
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1988) – The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage), Hercules, Koko B. Ware and Hillbilly Jim vs. The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man), Ted DiBiase, Haku and The Red Rooster in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match.
Although, the lineup was not as strong as the 1987 main event, there were plenty of quality people outside the ring; Bobby Heenan, Miss Elizabeth, Slick and Virgil. The good guys went down early leaving only Hogan and Savage against DiBiase, Boss Man, Akeem, and Haku, and you shouldn’t be too surprised with how this one ended. Savage got in a surprise roll-up on a distracted DiBiase to dispatch him in quick fashion.
After the Hogan and Savage received a whole lot of punishment, Slick attempted to take Miss Elizabeth out of the arena, drawing the attention of Hogan, who was eventually handcuffed to the rope. Somehow during this madness, Big Boss Man was counted out of the match, and decided to beat Hogan and Savage with his nightstick, referee Earl Hebner had lost all control of the match! Akeem was randomly disqualified for being the “illegal man” in the ring, probably the last time that’s even been actually enforced.
While Haku and Savage fought in the ring, Hogan remained handcuffed, both Heenan and Slick got knocked out for their troubles, Miss Elizabeth got the keys, and freed Hogan! Haku had no chance against Hogan and Savage, why he remained the last heel was a confusing choice.
This match became a bit of an overbooked mess, with the ending breaking down in a pretty absurd way, Hogan wins, poses, goodnight everybody!
RATING: 2
Next: No. 22: Survivor Series 1989
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Survivor Series (1989) – The Ultimate Warriors (The Ultimate Warrior, The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) and Jim Neidhart) vs. The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, André the Giant, Haku and Arn Anderson) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match.
Fast start to this one, as the heel team tried to work over the Rockers and Jim Neidhart before the Ultimate Warrior showed up. Warrior ran down to the rescue, huge clothesline to Andre that sent him out of the ring, eventually the big man was counted out, babbling at the Warrior – like the Great Khali – as he backed down the aisle.
If you’re wondering why Heenan was in this one, Tully Blanchard was originally scheduled, but he was fired on the day of the PPV for failing a drug test. At any rate, The Rockers caught fire for a while, capping things off with a nice looking double superkick. After Jannetty received a lot of punishment by Haku and Anderson, Heenan came in for the easy 1-2-3. Both team traded eliminations, until it came down to Ultimate Warrior vs. Bobby Heenan, no, that is not a typo.
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Heenan tried to run out of the match, but Warrior was having none of that, after the shoulder tackle and Warrior splash, it was an easy win for Team Warrior. Pretty average – if unspectacular – match, but here’s a fun fact, Shane McMahon was a referee on the outside.
RATING: 2
Next: No. 21: Survivor Series 1994
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Survivor Series (1994) – The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna in a Casket match with special guest enforcer, Chuck Norris.
Wait, what? Chuck Norris?! With him involved, this match should be rated a 100 without any good reason! Yokozuna sold fearing the casket during this feud, and right off the bat Undertaker gives Yoko the “throat slash” taunt and points to the casket, Yoko literally crumples to the mat in absolute terror, which was actually pretty funny. Honestly, this entire match was just pure comedy, with Paul Bearer holding a giant urn (which had a light in it), the camera catches his reflection as he exclaims “oh yesss!” into it.
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At one point Taker throat punches Jim Cornette who sells like he was struck by lightning, eyes wide and tongue hanging out, did I mention Chuck Norris was hanging on the outside during all of this? Well, it was a good thing because he blocked the path of both King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow from interfering in the match. He literally just stood there and stared at them while IRS slid in to help Yokozuna, Jeff Jarrett also tried minutes later, but received a superkick by Norris, which sent him to the back.
If you want to see some comedy, and don’t mind the interference or sub-par wrestling, this match is for you.
RATING: 2
Next: No. 20: Survivor Series 2000
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2000) – Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification match
This feud dated back to the 1999 Survivor Series, when it was revealed Triple H was the mastermind behind Austin getting run over by a car, just to keep his precious title. Austin wanted to exact some revenge and this being a no DQ match. Tons of weapons, stage props, and announcer table bumps were utilized in this one as the action spilled out of the ring multiple times, including the backstage area, where the Radicalz (Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero, Saturn) laid in wait.
During the backstage brawl, Austin and Triple H ended up outside, where Triple H tried to run down Austin, not one to be a dummy, Austin got in a forklift, lift the car high in the air and let it drop straight on its hood. Triple H let out a “holy s***” as he fell to the ground.
ALSO ON DAILY DDT: Ranking Every Match from WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 The match ended with Austin walking away from the scene of destruction, and the match ended in a No Contest. Yes, a no DQ match, actually ended without a winner, which seems incredibly stupid today. With the help of some props and big spots, the match was watchable, up until the ending, which was funny, but isn’t required viewing.
RATING: 2
Next: No. 19: Survivor Series 2010
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2010) – Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett in a Pinfall-and-submissions-only match for the WWE Championship with special guest referee John Cena. If Orton retained, Cena would be fired from the WWE, if Barrett wins, Cena would be freed from the Nexus.
This is definitely using some hindsight, but it might have been a better idea to give Barrett the win in this match. After being the leader of the Nexus – minus a bunch of mediocre Intercontinental championship runs – his career has trailed downwards. A short run here may have helped him in the long run, and considering the stipulation, Cena didn’t stay fired and was freed from the Nexus anyways, so why not?
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The match itself was pretty average, straight forward, mostly thanks to Cena as ref, keeping it somewhat down the line until the very end. After getting in Cena’s face multiple times, Cena pushed Barrett right into an RKO, and ended up getting the reluctant pinfall. Nothing too special here, if anything, the story behind the match was more interesting than the match itself.
RATING: 2
Next: No. 18: Survivor Series 1996
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1996) – Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship
In back-to-back years, the WWE decided to go with the “David vs. Goliath” approach, hyping how much Shawn needed to rely on his speed to keep the power Sycho Sid at a distance.
Yet again, Michaels worked the knees – yes, both of them – for a good chunk of the opening minutes with chop blocks and drop kicks, he even locked in a figure-four to really put the pressure on. Sid has never been the best wrestler, so this match plodded along fairly slowly, yet the crowd really got behind him throughout the match. It seemed like the guys in the crowd were fully behind Sid, while the woman and younger girls would scream their heads off for “The Heartbreak Kid”.
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After blocking a superkick, Sid landed a massive chokeslam that got probably the loudest mid-match pop of the night. He then used a TV camera on both Jose Lothario (Shawn’s trainer) and Shawn, himself. With one final powerbomb, Sid got the big win, and Shawn crawled after his mentor, not caring too much that he just lost the title. Fairly typical match, not awful, not great though.
RATING: 2.5
Next: No. 17: Survivor Series 2011
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2011) – The Rock and John Cena vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth)
Just looking at the teams now, you’re probably thinking this is the most mismatched main event ever! Well, back then Miz and R-Truth were at the top of the food chain among heels, so at the time, it didn’t seem quite as awful. Anytime The Rock comes back the match instantly becomes bigger, so as you can imagine, the crowd was very much into this match.
After a hot start by Rock, Cena took most of the punishment by Awesome Truth, all while Rock paced on the apron. Part of the problem with this match was it was plainly obvious who was going to win this match, especially with the giant pictures of Cena and Rock near the stage.
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After a long time of getting beat up, Cena finally made the hot tag to Rock who eventually locked in a (terrible looking) Sharpshooter, eventually following it up with the People’s Elbow which got him and Cena the win. If you like the Rock, it’s worth checking out; otherwise the action was fairly average, and a match you can pass on.
RATING: 3
Next: No. 16: Survivor Series 2003
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2003) – Goldberg (c) vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship
Coming into this match, Goldberg had an “injured” ankle, which Triple H focused heavily on during most of the match. I mean it was heavily focused on through chop blocks, use of the ring post, and even a chair shot was used to slow down the champ. The heel stable Evolution was all the rage during this time, so, of course, we saw Flair, Orton, and Batista all get involved during this relatively quick match. Flair is an absolute mad man on the outside, and it’s worth the time just to see what he does.
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Eventually, Triple H’s trademark sledgehammer gets involved, which Goldberg uses to his advantage dispatching every member of Evolution with it. This match had a lot of outside involvement by the heels, but the face was able to overcome injury and Evolution to still win the match. Overall, a relatively fun match with average wrestling, you could take it or leave it.
RATING: 3
Next: No. 15: Survivor Series 2004
WWE.com
Survivor Series (2004) – Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven) vs. Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista and Snitsky) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match
There was an added stipulation to whichever team won this match would be in charge of Raw for an entire month. Looking over the names, it’s funny to see Maven and Snitsky among the other – much better – wrestlers in this match.
Amazingly, Benoit and Batista were eliminated before Snitsky went nuts and got himself disqualified for hitting Maven in the head – who came to the match late, thanks to an earlier attack – with a chair. Maven was quickly pinned by Triple H and later on Jericho speared out of the match by Edge. This left Orton to take on both Edge and Triple H; it didn’t look good for Team Orton. Overall, the crowd seemed fairly bored with the match; the pops didn’t seem as loud as they should have considered most of the talent in the ring. To most fans’ surprise, the crowd woke up when Orton was able to eliminate both Edge and Triple H, continuing his rise as a main event player.
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A solid middle of the pack main event that is only required to be seen for Orton’s younger days, and Snitsky getting a nasty cut above his eyebrow during his melee with Maven.
RATING: 3
Next: No. 14: Survivor Series 1999
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1999) -Triple H (c) vs. Big Show vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship
Initially, this match was supposed to include Austin, but he was “run down” by a car with a mysterious driver (later revealed to be Rikishi), with Austin in the hospital, Big Show was his replacement in this match. The three wrestlers all took turns beat each other up, like most matches of the Attitude Era, this match spilled out towards the stage, with Triple H taking a table bump via a punch from the Rock, yes, it looked kind of goofy. Plenty of weapons were used, even though this wasn’t a “no DQ” match.
One of the better spots came when Rock and Triple H double suplexed The Big Show through a table, looked painful for Show, but a great spot, nonetheless.
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The big end came when Earl Hebner was knocked down, Shane McMahon ran to the ring and took over, and eventually was on the receiving end of a Pedigree. Then, DX ran out to help Triple H retain his title, Vince McMahon came down, hit Triple H with the title, chokeslam by Big Show, and Vince counted the 1-2-3. The match itself was solid enough, ending became a bit overbooked with everyone running down, which made for kind of a lame ending.
RATING: 3
Next: No. 13: Survivor Series 2005
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2005) – Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, Big Show, Carlito and Chris Masters) vs. Team SmackDown (Batista, Rey Mysterio, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match
Remember when SmackDown and Raw were their own entire separate brands? It was an interesting time, that had its pros and cons, but it did allow for more talent to standout on each roster. Case in point, this Survivor Series match had a nice mix of veteran and young talent from both rosters.
Lashley dominated the match early on, but was sent packing thanks to a Kane chokeslam. Eliminations went back and forth until Team Raw lost three in a row: Big Show, Carlito, and Masters. This left Michaels against Mysterio, JBL, and Orton of Team SmackDown, but Michaels was able to superkick both Mysterio (caught mid-air) and JBL out of the match in rapid pinfalls.
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A fairly standard Survivor Series match that had some great eliminations near its closing moments, watching Michaels and Orton fight each other one-on-one was an appropriate ending. In back-to-back years, Orton was the sole survivor.
RATING: 3.5
Next: No. 12: Survivor Series 2008
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2008) – Chris Jericho (c) vs. John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship
Cena returned from a legitimate injury (herniated disc) to take on Jericho, which was the first time the two fought for a major title in over three years.
Taking place in the Boston Garden, Cena was actually well received by the crowd during this time; Jericho received a majority of boos from the fans. Jericho focused squarely on Cena’s neck for much of the match, trying to slow down the challenger right from the start, and not letting up for the entire match. Fair to say, Cena took a lot of punishment in this match including kicks to the neck and of course, the Liontamer, done properly.
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Ring rust and confidence played a big factor in why Jericho was so dominate for the first two-thirds of that match, but Cena eventually got his mojo working, and made a big comeback to win the title via the Attitude Adjustment. One of the better straight-up – no-gimmicks, no interference – Survivor Series main event matches you’ll find.
RATING: 3.5
Next: No. 11: Survivor Series 1987
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1987) – Andre the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed and Rick Rude vs. Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Bam Bam Bigelow in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match.
Initially, Billy Graham was supposed to be on Hogan’s team, but due to a hip injury, he had to retire from pro wrestling, replacing him was Don Muraco. Hogan’s leg drop eliminated Butch Reed first, after that the heel and face teams traded eliminations, until it got down to Bundy, Andre, and One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam and Hogan.
In a twist, Hogan was pulled outside of the ring, where he pulled off body slams to both One Man Gang and Bundy, respectively, but ended up being counted out! This left only Bam Bam against 3 big men, he fought valiantly to pin Bundy via a diving headbutt and One Man Gang via a diving nothing (OMG literally jumped off the turnbuckle and just crumple to the mat). Ultimately, Andre was too much, getting the win, and becoming the sole survivor. Hogan ran out post-match to attack Andre, he really was a sore loser.
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Great lineup on both teams, crowd was hot for nearly the entire match, in particular for Hogan. A random great moment comes when Bam Bam Bigelow does a back flip from a Bundy clothesline, amazing what he could do at his size, solid match as the first ever, Survivor Series main event.
RATING: 3.5
Next: No. 10: Survivor Series 1995
WWE.com
Survivor Series (1995) – Diesel (c) vs. Bret Hart in a No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship.
Interesting start to the match with both guys remove the padding of two turnbuckles, wouldn’t mind seeing that used in a no DQ match today. The match didn’t last long in the ring as Diesel took Hart to the outside where he was able to inflict more punishment on the champion with the use of a chair and by throwing him into the steps and ring post. To counter Diesel’s size, Hart began working on his knee to not only slow the big man down, but keep him from pulling off his finisher, the Jackknife Powerbomb.
This match went almost twenty-five minutes, and thanks mostly to Bret’s performance, this was one of Diesel’s better matches. Hart continued to work the knee even using a steel chair to impose more damage, even trying to keep Diesel down by tying a cord around his ankle to keep him locked into one corner of the ring.
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It took awhile, but the use of the unprotected corners came into play as the match went on. Near the end of the match Bret attempted to climb back in the ring, Diesel pushed him off, right through the announcer’s table; Bret landed it perfectly, causing the crowd to explode! Bret was able to win with a sneaky roll-up pin, which was kind of a lame ending to such a good match. Diesel’s post-match explosion was awesome though as he smoked a bunch of referees and hit Hart with two Jackknife Powerbombs.
RATING: 3.5
Next: No. 9: Survivor Series 1998
Network.WWE.com
Survivor Series (1998) – The Rock vs. Mankind competed in the finals of the “Deadly Games” tournament, for the vacant WWF Championship.
Much like in 2015, a tournament was held for the vacant WWE Championship back in 1998 which included wrestlers such as Steve Austin, Kane, and Undertaker, among others. In the end, it came down to Mankind and The Rock in fan favorite finals. The match didn’t stay in the ring for very long as the action spilled out to the crowd, at ringside was Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon (who was decked out in proper referee attire). Both men battled back and forth, with Mankind turning to using dirty tactics (low blows and biting). Foley’s big bump came when he tried to elbow drop The Rock from the second turnbuckle to the outside, Rock moved and Mankind went through the Spanish announce table!
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Towards the end of that match both men went for their finishers with Mankind kicking out of a Rock Bottom, to which he gave Vince a look, locked in the Sharpshooter, and Vince – much like in 1997 – called for the bell without Mankind actually tapping out. A solid match, with a great ending as Rock turned heel by joining McMahon, and becoming “The Corporate Champion”.
RATING: 4
Next: No. 8: Survivor Series 2012
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2012) – CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena vs. Ryback for the WWE Championship
With one more win, Punk would end up holding the WWE Championship for an entire year, and with the help of the Shield, he was able to do so. Yes, probably more importantly than the match itself, this is the first time WWE fans got a taste of the destruction The Shield would be commonly known for over the next few years.
Most of the match was a back and forth affair between the three participants, each man got in their signature moves. He crowd was fully behind CM Punk, as he and Cena teamed up to double-suplex Ryback perfectly through an announcer table, leaving Cena and Punk to face each other in probably the best part of the contest.
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After delivering a Shellshock to Cena, The Shield (who had no name at the time) rushed the ring and beat Ryback badly, triple-powerbombing him through another announcer table. Props to Ryback for taking some major bumps in this one, Punk was able to take advantage and get the win. A well fought match between the three participants, which, more importantly debuted the future of the WWE in Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns.
RATING: 4
Next: No. 7: Survivor Series 2009
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2009) – John Cena (c) vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship.
Cena came into this match with a huge disadvantage as Michaels and Triple H were together as DX, so most fans expected them to work together to at least take Cena out of the equation. Well, that was immediately dismissed when Michaels superkicked Triple H out of the ring, attempting to win the title on his own merits. The look on Cena’s face was pretty funny, mouth open, absolutely disbelief in his eyes, he charged Michaels, realizing it’s suddenly a one-on-one match.
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Triple H eventually got back in the action, performing a spinebuster on Michaels through a table, returning the favor! The dissension between the two DX members not only fit their respective gimmicks, but it made the match much more interesting. The pacing of this match was great as it ended up being a series of one-on-one match-ups for most of it, with all three coming together near the end of that match. The final few minutes of this match are some of the best you’ll see on this entire list.
RATING: 4
Next: No. 6: Survivor Series 2007
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2007) – Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
At this point in the list, all the matches are must see, and honestly, any of them could be considered number one, depending on your individual taste, but at any rate, let’s keep this train moving at #6.
In one of Batista’s better feuds and matches, he took on the Undertaker in WWE’s most dangerous match, Hell in a Cell. To put this as plainly as possible, Batista got absolutely destroyed by the Undertaker in this match. He was a bloody mess not long into the match, at one point, Taker put his neck against a chair, and slammed it into the ground, blood spewed from Batista’s mouth.
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So many huge spots were done in this match: Batista Bomb through a table, back-body drop and a Tombstone on the steel steps, which should have ended the match, but Edge – dressed as a camera man – pulled the ref out of the ring, and hit Undertaker with a TV camera. Normally, this kind of interference would be a bad thing, but Edge had major beef still with the Undertaker, and his “Con-Chair-To” on the steel steps was all very well done. One of the better Hell in a Cell matches ever, this is worth your time.
RATING: 4.5
Next: No. 5: Survivor Series 2001
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Survivor Series (2001) – Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane and Big Show) vs. Team Alliance (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match for the ownership of both companies. Since Team WWF won, the Alliance disbanded.
The WCW/ECW invasion was more of a miss than a hit, but in what would be the grand finale, this match delivered in fine fashion. With an all-star cast on both sides, the crowd was totally into this match, which ended up lasting almost 45 minutes. The stakes were huge as well, with the losing side would be forced to disband completely. After trading eliminations, both Kane and Undertaker were eliminated, which really put Team WWE down. They were able to recover by eliminating Booker T, Kurt Angle, and RVD, leaving only Austin to go against Jericho and The Rock.
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Austin was able to counter a roll-up pin with his own, to eliminate Jericho, who ended up turning on Team WWF by attempting to take out The Rock. He was unsuccessful, as Rock kicked out and continued to fight on against Austin. Hebner gets knocked down which allowed Angle to run down, turn on Team Alliance by hitting Austin with the title, Rock Bottom, and Team WWF gets the win! Indeed, a classic match, and is one of, if not the, best Survivor Series elimination match, ever.
RATING: 4.5
Next: No. 4: Survivor Series 2002
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Survivor Series (2002) – Triple H (c) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T in the first ever Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
This was a historic night for the WWE, when fans got to see – for the first time – the Elimination Chamber. The match started out with RVD and Triple H, followed by Jericho, Booker T, Kane, and finally, Michaels. With the brand new environment, wrestlers wasted no time using the metal and chains that surrounded the ring to take each other out.
In not so surprising news, RVD was a standout in the early stages of this match taking several hard bumps, including jumping off one of the pods that held each wrestler.
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Jericho caught fire by eliminating both Booker and Kane, while Michaels – who was the most fresh, entering last – was able to pin both Jericho and Triple H after both were on the receiving end of Sweet Chin Music. Even though Michaels had the feel good win (coming back from injury), he took a real beating in this match, including getting catapulted through one of the pod’s glass. The crowd absolutely blew up when Michaels got the big win; it was a great story, great finish, and great Survivor Series main event.
RATING: 4.5
Next: No. 3: Survivor Series 2014
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (2014) – Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan, and Ryback) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Luke Harper) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match. If Team Authority lost, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would be removed from control of the WWE. If Team Cena lose, all members, excluding Cena himself, would be fired.
Hilarious start to the match as Mark Henry talks a ton of smack, to only get KO punched by Big Show, being immediately eliminated. Team Cena has a string of losses as Rowan, Cena (thanks to Big Show turning on the team), and Big Show (count-out), all being eliminated. This left Ziggler against Kane, Harper, and Rollins; did Ziggler really have it in him to overcome the odds? With a whole lot of heart and a little bit of help, Ziggler was able to eliminate Kane and Harper himself. Then out of nowhere Sting showed up to help put down Rollins, and give Team Cena the win!
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It’s unfortunate WWE didn’t stick with Ziggler, because that night, they booked him so incredibly strong, the crowd was totally behind him winning this match. This match really had everything; solid wrestling, a well-told story, mid-match turns, and even a legendary surprise. Really fun match, that had a lot going on in it, but with such high stakes, it made sense for everyone to get involved, watch it!
RATING: 4.5
Next: No. 2: Survivor Series 1992
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1992) – Bret Hart (c) defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship title.
Initially, the main event of this show was Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior vs. Razor Ramon and Ric Flair, but Warrior left the company shortly before the match could take place. Instead Hart and Michaels got the last match of the night, and look back; it was probably for the better as these two delivered quite the performance.
In the opening moments of the match, Hart frustrated Michaels by outsmarting him with counters and clever submissions. A quick paced match that was very much ahead of its time, especially when you compare this main event to the previous five years, they aren’t even close. These two were given over twenty-six minutes to work, and they didn’t disappoint, fans were very much into it, heavily cheering on “The Hitman”.
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Using quality heel tactics, Michaels works Bret on the outside, throwing him into the ring post along with a hard body slam to the floor. Michaels landed a picture perfect superkick, and it was looking like Hart was going to lose his precious title. It’s funny to see back then Michael’s finisher was the Teardrop Suplex, and not the superkick, which Hart kicked out of both. Michaels gets tied up in the ropes and Bret absolutely launched himself like a bullet, missing Michaels, and getting all kinds of tied up in the ropes. Hart eventually locks in the Sharpshooter after catching Michaels mid-air, “The Heartbreak Kid” can only tap out, and end what was a spectacular match between two future Hall of Famers.
This match comes in at #2 mainly because it was just a straight up singles match, no gimmicks, just great wrestling, that was way ahead of its time.
RATING: 4.5
Next: No. 1: Survivor Series 1997
via WWE.com
Survivor Series (1997) – Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship.
In front of an incredibly rowdy Montreal crowd, this match is easily the most known Survivor Series main event, but was the match, itself, the best?
The match starts hot with both men beating the crap out of each other, eventually, the action spills out of the ring. It cannot be understated how insane the atmosphere was, that only added to the chaos between these two. Vince McMahon and his cronies were out early for this match, tons of referees, and basically everyone in the crowd was standing. Michaels must have felt like he was fighting for his life as he used referees as weapons, and even punched Pat Patterson for literally, no reason. The two finally made their way back to the ring, where the fighting stayed just as vicious, with Michaels just kicking a downed Hart straight in the face.
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Michaels continued to bathe in the nuclear heel heat, continuously jawing with fans and snapping the Canadian flag over his knee. Bret eventually began to work Michael’s knees with multiple figure-four leg locks (including one around the ring post), it seemed like Bret had full control until…the screw job. With a Sharpshooter locked, the bell suddenly ring, Earl Hebner runs out of the ring, Bret spits on Vince, Michaels seems legit pissed at the ending, and is escorted to the back.
Even with the controversial ending, it was a beautifully chaotic match that is no doubt, the best Survivor Series main event, ever.
RATING: 5
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Which Survivor Series main event is your favorite? Let us know below.