The WWE's 27th annual Survivor Series takes place Sunday Nov. 24 live from the TD Garden in Boston, and while the WWE thus far hasn't booked any traditional elimination tag team matches, many of the 26 other events have led to some very memorable moments and odd pairings throughout the years. The event started off as a card full of elimination tag matches and when it began it took place on Thanksgiving night and then Thanksgiving Eve. While the event has morphed since then, here is a look back at the Top 10 traditional Survivor Series elimination tag matches from over the years...
Like most lists of this nature, there could be many disagreements, so feel free to voice your opinions that differ or agree in the replies. First a look at some runners-up that just missed the list:
Runner Up No.1) 1993: The Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels and The Knights:
While the match was sort of dragged out and Shawn Michaels wasn't originally supposed to be in it (he replaced Jerry "The King' Lawler while he battled some legal troubles), it still set up a prominent feud that would last for years. Michaels teamed up with wrestlers dressed up as The Blue Knight, The Red Knight and the Black Knight against Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Keith Hart and Bruce Hart. Every Hart except for Owen survived the match, and while the match was mostly forgettable, the aftermath of Owen turning on his brother Bret and becoming a heel set up an iconic WrestleMania X match and a historic feud between Owen and Bret.
Runner Up No.2) 1989: The Hulkamaniacs vs. The Million Dollar Team:
This match contained some star-studded teams as the WWE Champion Hulk Hogan joined forces with WWE Tag Team Champions Ax and Smash of Demolition and popular figure Jake "The Snake" Roberts to form the Hulkamaniacs and they took on the Million $ Team captained by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase who brought along the Powers of Pain and Zeus. While Zeus was ridiculous, many feuds were tied into the match and it came down to both captains as Hogan knocked off Dibiase with his infamous leg drop to get the win for his team.
On to the Top 10...
10) 1988: Tag Team Survival Match:
Back in 1988, the WWE's tag team division was booming and the company decided to throw five babyface tag teams against five heel tandems in a 10-on-10 Survivor Series elimination tag match in what has been heralded as a classic encounter with the rules stating if one member of your team is eliminated the whole team has to go. Adding to the drama was the double switch as Demolition came into the match with Mr. Fuji as heels and left as babyfaces, while the Powers of Pain came in as faces and left after aligning themselves with the devious Mr. Fuji. The Powers of Pain were the sole Survivors.
9) 1990: The Million $ Team vs. The Dream Team:
This match is most notable for the debut of the Undertaker who launched his legendary career at this pay-per-view as Ted Dibiase's mystery partner. Dibiase's team also consisted of the Honky Tonk Man and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and they tangled with a team captained by Dusty Rhodes, who was feuding with Dibiase and teamed up with Koko B. Ware and The Hart Foundation. Undertaker was intimidating and impressive in his debut but was ultimately eliminated via count out while Dibiase was the sole survivor.
8) 1994: The Bad Guys vs. The Teamsters:
The WWE's "New Generation" was out in full force with this match as Razor Ramon captained a team consisting of the 1-2-3 Kid, the British Bulldog, Fatu and Sione to take on the Teamsters, a team made up of Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Jeff Jarrett. The match is most notable for Shawn Michaels accidentally kicking Diesel and leading to his elimination, and hinting further at the possible breakup of Diesel and Michaels, leading to Diesel's eventual face turn.
7) 1987: Team Hogan vs. Team Andre:
The main event of the initial Survivor Series saw the epic encounter of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant stemming from their historic WrestleMania III match in the spring of 1987. Many expected it to boil down to Hogan and Andre with Hogan getting the nod, but the WWE played into the unpredictability of the new elimination tag match format, having Hogan get counted out midway through before Andre triumped by defeating Bam Bam Bigelow to become the sole survivor of the first ever Survivor Series main event.
6) 1991: Team Flair vs. Team Piper:
In 1991, the WWE put together an opening contest with some star-studded performers from its midcard and main event scene as Ric Flair teamed up with the Mountie, Ted Dibiase and the Warlord to battle "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Virgil, and "The British Bulldog" Daveyboy Smith. While the match was entertaining, the ending was a bit lackluster when two members from Flair's team and three members of Piper's team were disqualified, leaving Flair as the sole survivor through no work of his own.
5) 2005: Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown:
In 2005, brand supremacy became a focal point of the storylines heading into the November Classic, and unexpected alliances were made in the name of defending either the RAW or SmackDown brand as the two brands feuded throughout the end of 2005. Team SmackDown consisted of World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Rey Mysterio, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton while Team RAW was comprised of Shawn Michaels, Kane, Big Show, Carlito and Chris Masters. The match came down to Michaels finding himself in a 3-on-1 hole but he was able to battle back by eliminating SmackDown's Mysterio and JBL. He ultimately fell to Orton, who won the match for SmackDown and was the sole survivor for the third year in a row. The celebration was short lived however, as a returning Undertaker came back with a vengeance against Orton and the SmackDown roster.
4) 1995: The Wild Card Match:
While most traditional matches in the past leading up to the Survivor Series in 1995 consisted of heel teams vs. face teams, the WWE flipped the script in 1995 by having a "Wild Card" match consisting of teams made of both heels and faces that were feuding with each other, but had to co-exist on the same team as one another. The teams shook out as good guys Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson teaming with bad guys Sid and Davey Boy Smith against babyface Razor Ramon paired wth heels Yokozuna, Owen Hart and Dean Douglas. While there was a lot of in-fighting between the sides, Michaels, Johnson and the Bulldog eventually prevailed as the survivors.
3) 2004: Team Orton vs. Team HHH:
Traditional Survivor Series matches usually work best when there is something at stake, and that was the case when Randy Orton captained a team of Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Maven to take on a Triple H-led team that contained Batista, Edge and Gene Snitzky with the stipulation being that the four members of the winning team would be able to run their own episode of RAW for the next month following the pay-per-view. The match came down fittingly to both captains as Triple H and Randy Orton duked it out, with Orton eventually coming out on top and giving his team the win and the controls to RAW for a month. The match was exciting as it had something up for grabs rather than being a regular traditional match.
2) 2003: Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff:
With "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff butting heads over who should run RAW when they were both co-general managers, a traditional Survivor Series match was made where both men selected their teams and if Austin won he got control of RAW while if Bischoff won Austin would have to leave the WWE. Austin's team consisted of Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and The Dudley Boyz while Team Bischoff had Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Scott Steiner, Mark Henry and Christian on it. The match came down to Shawn Michaels in a perilous situation as he was all alone for Team Austin against Jericho, Christian and Orton. Michaels was able to mount a comeback against Christian and Jericho by eliminating each of them, but after chaos ensued on the outside between Austin and Bischoff and the referee was distracted, Batista came in and powerbombed Michaels, allowing Orton to get the pin and Team Bischoff to reign supreme.
1) 2001: Team WWE vs. Team Alliance:
While the Invasion angle is looked down upon by most fans, the way it finished was very exciting, albeit predictable as the WWE Superstars had a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match against the Alliance's ECW/WCW stars with the stakes at an all-time high.
The company hung in the balance as the winning team would have their company go on while the losing team would either be absorbed into the new company or fired. Team WWE was arguably the best Survivor Series team ever assembled as The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, The Big Show and Chris Jericho teamed up to take on an Alliance Team that consisted of captain "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T and Shane McMahon. The match boiled down fittingly to The Rock and Steve Austin, but Kurt Angle came back after being eliminated by Team WWE and turned on Stone Cold and the Alliance, leading to The Rock winning the match for the WWE in what could go down as the best traditional Survivor Series match of all-time due to the star power and the stakes at hand.
WWE Survivor Series has given great memories and traditional matches heading into the 27th annual Survivor Series Nov. 24 live from the TD Garden in Boston, and many more will be made for years to come.
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