WWE Survivor Series 2014: Greatest Title Matches in PPV's History

While many of the great matches from Survivor Series pay-per-views of yesteryear have come from the traditional five-on-five match that gives the event its name, we've also seen a great deal of memorable title matches from the event.

In the 27-year history of WWE's second-longest-running pay-per-view, we've seen titles won and lost in the most dramatic circumstances.

Here are the title bouts against which those of Survivor Series 2014 will be measured.

10: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval, 2010

Credit: WWE.com

Remember Kaval's brief run in WWE? Now wrestling in TNA under the name Low Ki, his sole WWE pay-per-view match was this spirited attempt at snagging the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler.

While probably not remembered too fondly by Ziggler—The Showoff received a huge kick square in the nose partway through the match that looked to have hurt—this was something of a showcase of what we could've expected from The World Warrior if he'd have stayed with the company.

That would be a high-energy, high-intensity performance, albeit with a few sloppy manoeuvres along the way. It's interesting to see just how much Dolph has come along, too; he wasn't bad by any means, but it's clear he's gained a lot of confidence in the ring during the years since.

Overall, this one was a firecracker of an Intercontinental Championship match. It was short but got straight to the point and didn't let up.

9. Molly Holly vs. Lita for the Womens Championship, 2003

Molly Holly is sometimes omitted from the list of names credited with the advances that women's wrestling made during the early 2000s, but she certainly shouldn't be.

Paired here with a returning Lita, Holly portrayed the frustrated champion well, playing off the crowd support for her opponent. This was a robust women's match that demonstrated a sense of pacing that's all too often missed by the Divas of today.

There was a genuine ebb and flow to this physical confrontation, and it was elevated further by a vocal Texan audience. This was a women's match that didn't just seem like a break in the card.

8. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship, 1992

Credit: WWE.com

You would expect a great match from these two names, and quite rightly so. In fact, it might be surprising to see such a pairing so low down on this list, but that's only because later encounters between the two reached far greater heights than this 1992 encounter.

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were widely considered to be two of the very best in the business when they met toward the end of the 1990s, but even earlier in the decade they were obviously heading for great things.

The match was Hart's first pay-per-view as champion and one of Michaels' first shots at the belt. It made for an excellent companion piece with their match five years later, but it was far from a definitive meeting between the two.

7. Kurt Angle vs. the Undertaker for the WWF Championship, 2000

Notable for The Undertaker's bold choice of snakeskin pants as ring gear, this clash of styles produced an entertaining contest that worked well, despite being outside of Kurt Angle's comfort zone.

Angle was new to the roster and still finding his feet as a pro wrestler. However, while more technical bouts have always been his speciality, here we saw him come to grips with a more traditional style for the main event.

Undertaker looked like a beast in this match, having only adopted his biker persona a few months earlier and clearly relishing the opportunity to show a bit more fire than he could as The Deadman.

It won't go down as an all-time classic, if only for the daft finish, but it was an amusing match despite the differences between its competitors. Lesser wrestlers might have been shaken by the sheer gulf in styles, but these two managed to play it to their advantage and produce something memorable.

6. The Rock vs. Mankind for the WWF Championship, 1998

Credit: WWE.com

It wasn't quite as good as some of their other encounters, but the finals of the Deadly Game tournament between The Rock and Mankind certainly made for a worthy end to Survivor Series 1998.

This match was nothing less than brutal, setting a precedent that the two would revisit further down the line. Both men had already wrestled three matches apiece earlier in the night, so the level of physicality that they brought to the finals was even more impressive.

The action soon spilled to the outside, with both men being taken to their absolute limit. Mankind took a sickening tumble through the Spanish announce table but gave as good as he got throughout the match.

Most will remember what happened after the match better than during it, but the bout itself holds up rather well to this day. It was a brawl, but it did what it set out to do with aplomb.

5. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Title, 2009

Credit: WWE.com

The interesting dynamic of Triple H and Shawn Michaels teaming as DX at the time of this encounter was played for all it was worth in this WWE Championship match from 2009.

There was a constant sense of invention and ingenuity that elevated this match above many main events from this period. The Triple Threat match can often devolve into the familiar routine of keeping two men in the ring, but this bout took that assumption and mixed it up a little bit.

Cena held up his end of the bargain, but really it was all about Triple H and Shawn Michaels playing off one another. Every time these two stepped into the ring together, it was clear that they were in their element.  

While it wasn't quite as crisp as some of their singles encounters, this match was a bright spot for the reformed DX.

4. Bret Hart vs. Diesel for the WWF Championship, 1995

Credit: WWE.com

Despite the legendary status of Kevin Nash's career, there aren't all too many standout matches to speak of. However, he always seemed to find some magic when he worked with Bret Hart, as in this 1995 encounter.

Starting out slow, both men ratcheted up the intensity throughout and built a palpable tension throughout the arena. There was a constant sense that the pair each needed to go beyond what they were comfortable with to get the job done, but it was done with restraint so as not to telegraph the post-match follow-up.

If you're looking to see Diesel at his best, look no further than this match. For much of his run as WWF Champion, he was paired with fellow big men to no great success; here he got the most out of his size, and the results were excellent.

3. Triple Threat for the Tag Team Championships, 2002

Credit: WWE.com

Los Guerreros, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, and Rey Mysterio and Edge—the so-called 'SmackDown Six'—were on fire during the latter half of 2002, and this match demonstrated just why they were so highly esteemed.

There was an energy to this match from the very beginning which didn't let up one bit. Once things began to break down and the idea of a "legal man" became less and less important to competitors, we started to see some free-flowing action that used the abilities of all six men perfectly.

Angle and Benoit came off as bruisers, the Guerreros managed to hang in there throughout, and Edge and Mysterio worked very well as a team to get behind. It was very athletic, but it told a clearly defined story at the same time.

It was really a great match on all fronts, a true classic of the tag team division.

2. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship, 1997

Credit: WWE.com

Much of the discussion of this match focused on its historical impact—which, of course, was a huge part of why it went down in pro wrestling history.

However, what happened before its legendary ending was very good. These were two men at the top of their profession, eager to show what they could do.

The relationship between the two has been discussed at length a thousand times over, but watching them in the ring always prompts questions of what could have been if they hadn't been so diametrically opposed.

Today, the Montreal Screwjob is an established part of the world of wrestling for the chain of events that it set in motion—but the match itself is well worth revisiting in its own right.

1. The Elimination Chamber, 2002

Credit: WWE.com

The first time we saw the Elimination Chamber remains the best match that it has ever produced, offering a star-studded sextet of Superstars who went into the structure for a shot at the gold.

Every man got his chance to shine, and when you're talking about a group of wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, Booker T and Kane, that means something.

At the time, this felt like a worthy first chapter for a speciality match, and the fact that the Elimination Chamber endures to this day owes a debt to this first contest.

Of course, the ticker-tape celebration for Michaels' win made the match. It was a really memorable moment and a well-deserved return to the top of the tree for one of the all-time greats. It was a great match back in 2002 and holds up just as well today.

Is another Survivor Series title bout top of the pops for you? Let us know in the comments section below.