Survivor Series teams built with WWE Hall of Famers – Part 1

The month of November has started and for a lot of people, November represents the essence of fall. The leaves turn colors and fall from the trees, the weather gets colder and Thanksgiving Day with food, family, and football.  However, for a lot of wrestling fans, November represents the Survivor Series. The event where teams strive to survive.

For thirty-five years the Survivor Series has been a showcase for the superstars of WWE to compete in teams to survive and beat the opposing group. How many teams in Survivor Series history are made up of members that end up in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Eleven teams feature competitors that have all reached the WWE Hall of Fame.  Some teams on the list are teams that didn’t win their respective Survivor Series match and some individuals are on multiple teams.

In this piece, I will be looking at six teams who have Hall of Fame members. Two things to mention, this list is in chronological order. Also, each individual mentioned will have the year they were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next to their name.  With everything set up, grab yourself a plate of your favorite Thanksgiving dessert as we look at these Hall of Fame survivors.

The first team to discuss comes from Survivor Series in 1987: Team Savage.

1987 goes down as one of the biggest years in WWE history and the debut of the Survivor Series is one of the reasons why.  Team Savage took on Team Honky Tonk Man. Macho Man Randy Savage (2015) leads his team of Ricky Steamboat (2009), Jake Roberts (2014), Jim Duggan (2011) & Brutus Beefcake (2019).  Between these five men, you have the eventual first-ever winner of the Royal Rumble in Duggan, two former Intercontinental champions with Savage and Steamboat, a former Tag Team champion with Beefcake, and one of the most popular babyfaces in Roberts, success was right there when this team of five was put together.

The second team comes from Survivor Series in 1989: Roddy’s Rowdies.

Not every team in this article won their Survivor Series match but they did have legendary careers no matter where they came from.  Led by Roddy Piper (2005), his team consisted of Jimmy Snuka (1996) & the Bushwhackers (2015).  Piper was the biggest heel in the WWF for a two-year period before becoming a face towards the end of 1986 and never looking back in popularity.

Snuka never won a title during his tenure in WWE but was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1980s.  Before joining the WWF at the end of 1988, Luke & Butch were the Sheepherders, a violent tag team hell-bent on blood, violence, and destruction, however, when they came to WWF they became this happy-go-lucky, fun-loving tag team that licks the faces of the fans.  Unfortunately, they fell in defeat to Rude’s Brood but Roddy’s Rowdies had quite a showing.

The third team comes from the 1990 Survivor Series: The Warriors.

Of all the years that have the most Survivor Series teams with all members in the WWE Hall of Fame, 1990 is the year that stands above all other years.  An amazing four teams, almost half of the ten teams for that year have a complete team with all members in the Hall of Fame.  Led by then WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior (2014), he led the Texas Tornado (2009) & the Legion of Doom (2011) into battle against the Perfect Team.

The popularity of each team member is incredible.  Warrior had the task of being the top guy after beating Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania VI.  Von Erich was the heartthrob of the team and the Legion of Doom represented the people you wouldn’t want to mess with on an empty street.  While Warrior was the sole survivor of the match it’s the legacy of this team that has stood the test of time.

The fourth team to discuss from Survivor Series 1990: The Million Dollar Team.

In the history of the Survivor Series, 1990 has the honor of having the first and as of right now, the only match in Survivor Series history where every person involved in the match is in the WWE Hall of Fame.  Let’s start by talking about the winning team of this match, the Million Dollar Team.  Led by Ted DiBiase (2010) his team consisted of Honky Tonk Man (2019), Greg Valentine (2004), and a mystery partner that would end up being a debuting Undertaker (2022).

Little did anybody know on that night how important this team would become and leave a mark on history.  At one point the Million Dollar Team had a three-on-one advantage before going down to a one-on-one situation where DiBiase would end up winning the match for his team and being the sole survivor.

The fifth team comes from the 1990 Survivor Series: The Dream Team.

The team that the Million Dollar team fought that year wasn’t a bad team either, the Dream Team.  Led by Dusty Rhodes (2007) he took Koko B. Ware (2009), Bret Hart (2006) & Jim Neidhart (2019) into battle to prove that not every man has a price.  At the time of the Survivor Series, you have the Hart Foundation as the WWF Tag Team Champions.

Along with the legendary career of Rhodes and the electrifying Ware who I feel is overlooked as one of the best speed wrestlers in history.  When Hart was the final member of the team he had the daunting task of going three against one but his tenacity showed and fought back to make it a one-on-one match with DiBiase almost winning the match on two separate occasions before falling in defeat.

The final team to discuss from Survivor Series 1990: The Alliance.

The final team of 1990 to discuss is The Alliance.  With team captain Nikolai Volkoff (2005), the lightning of Tito Santana (2004), and the Bushwhackers (2015) this international dream team were in a battle against The Mercenaries led by Sgt. Slaughter had gone into full Iraqi sympathizer mode.

The team had an early start in the match eliminating three of the four members of the Mercenaries, having a four-on-one advantage on Slaughter.  However, Slaughter would make a comeback eliminating Volkoff, Luke & Butch before coming face to face with Santana.  Eventually, Santana would win the match by disqualification and be the sole survivor of the match.

In part two of this look at Survivor Series teams with Hall of Famers, I’ll look at five more teams and the success each individual had during their career.  When putting a team together for Survivor Series you look for the best wrestlers to be on your team, but how often does an entire team make it to the WWE Hall of Fame?  It’s not that often and is a huge honor to be a part of history, Survivor Series history.