10 Years Where Survivor Series Was The Best PPV
Survivor Series is one of the “big four” WWE pay-per-view events alongside Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and, of course, WrestleMania, setting itself apart from the rest with its unique team-based elimination tag matches.
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It’s not necessarily the biggest PPV of the “big four,” but for some fans, it’s certainly one of the big pro wrestling highlights of the year and has sometimes gone down as WWE’s best show. With that in mind, let’s take a look at 10 years when Survivor Series actually put the rest of the year’s pay-per-views to shame.
10 1988
There were only three WWE pay-per-views in 1988, including the underwhelming SummerSlam and the tournament-centric WrestleMania IV. That said, Survivor Series was easily the best of the three, as the show boasted four elimination tag matches including a really fun match featuring 10 tag teams. The main event here was The Mega Powers and some less important babyfaces versus a cadre of heels including The Twin Towers, Big Bossman, and Ted DiBiase, which would end up creating some tension that would lead to The Mega Powers’ infamous explosion at WrestleMania V.
9 2016
The 2016 edition of Survivor Series is notable for being the first modern entry in the Raw vs. SmackDown era of the PPV, with a pretty awesome build to the event as each respective rosters invaded the other’s show with ridiculously chaotic results. Even taking into account the 90 second Goldberg/Brock Lesnar main event, the show did not disappoint, as the elimination matches were all a blast, with the Men’s singles Survivor Series bout going nearly an hour.
8 2002
While the 2002 Survivor Series had some elimination matches including a three-on-three tables bout, the main event of this show was the real star. This PPV would debut a WWE staple in the form of the very first Elimination Chamber match as Triple H defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Kane, and Rob Van Dam.
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More than just historically significant, the first Elimination Chamber is also regarded by fans as a great match, full of brutal spots and awesome violence.
7 1996
WWE’s 1996 started setting the stage for the legendary Attitude Era, including the classic “Austin 3:16” promo at King of the Ring, but the best PPV of the year was Survivor Series. While the Survivor Series matches themselves were strong, the singles matches threatened to steal the show, with a surprisingly good main event between Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid as well as a classic #1 Contender’s match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin. This was also the show where The Rock made his infamous debut as “Rocky Maivia.”
6 2017
While the 2017 men’s Survivor Series match was, unfortunately, bogged down with Raw general manager drama, the rest of the show was really great, opening with a modern WWE faction dream match between The Shield and The New Day. The women’s elimination match ended as it should, with Asuka standing tall, and there were solid Raw vs. SmackDown matches like Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss and The Usos vs. The Bar. But the match of the night here was AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar, a last-minute matchup that exceeded expectations.
5 1998
The 1998 Survivor Series PPV is the first in the show’s history to not have any elimination tag matches on it in favor of “The Deadly Game,” a tournament to determine a new WWE Champion after the title was vacated at Breakdown: In Your House. While not every bout was anywhere in the vicinity of good, the overall tournament is held together by not only great storytelling but also the result: The Rock’s very first run with the WWE Championship.
4 2018
The 2018 Survivor Series season turned Becky Lynch into an icon via a bloody nose, unfortunately resulting in her removal from the card. That said, her replacement, Charlotte Flair, did an amazing job taking on Ronda Rousey and totally brutalizing the ex-MMA fighter in the post-match.
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The main event of this Survivor Series was Daniel Bryan taking on Brock Lesnar, a dream match that worked up the crowd beautifully, as Lesnar’s beatdown results in one of the most doomed but hopeful comebacks in wrestling history.
3 1995
The year 1995 was a low point for WWE, as the “New Generation” initiative floundered and Diesel struggled to generate a ton of interest as WWE Champion. But Survivor Series 1995 was a highlight of the year, as it signaled a new direction for the company after a rough patch. In addition to some great Survivor Series matches, including a joshi-heavy women’s match, Bret Hart regained the WWE Championship from Diesel in a strong main event.
2 2019
After a couple of years, the “Raw vs. SmackDown” theme of Survivor Series lost its novelty, especially after various Drafts and “Superstar Shakeups” mean that everyone has been on one show at least once. The 2019 edition of Survivor Series, however, offered a new wrinkle that refreshed the concept, as NXT became involved in the show, establishing itself as a true “third brand” through some pretty great three-way matches with Raw and SmackDown, including a star-making performance by Keith Lee in the men’s Survivor Series bout.
1 1987
The first Survivor Series, like many of the early ones, didn’t have much competition, as there were only two PPVs in 1987. The only competition, then, was WrestleMania III, which some fans consider overrated, so Survivor Series was pretty much the best show of that year by default. Even on its own, it’s a great show, with a card consisting of four lengthy elimination tag matches -- even the women’s Survivor Series match lasts 20 minutes -- featuring every WWE star you’d want to see in 1987.
