Compiling the Greatest Survivor Series Teams Using Pre-Hulkamania Superstars

We never got to see Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales team up at Survivor Series, as the two Hall of Fame babyfaces' primes predated the pay-per-view. 

Survivor Series began too late to include greats like those men. It wasn't until Hulkamania got rolling that WWE birthed the idea of Elimination bouts loaded with the company's biggest names. 

Fans of wrestling history and fans old enough to remember when the company was still called the WWWF have to wonder what Survivor Series would look like if it had been around to showcase the grapplers of yesteryear. World champions, legends and behemoths could all join forces. 

A team composed of Sammartino, Morales and the other marquee names from the time before Hulk Hogan's reign would rival Team WWF and The Warriors from Survivor Series 1990 in terms of star power.

The following is a look at the best Survivor Series squads one could construct if all of WWE's wrestlers from the '60s, '70s and early '80s were available. Name value, popularity and how well the team would fit together are considered.

Team Albano

• Afa
• Sika
• Moondog Rex
• Moondog Spot
• Moondog King

It's hard to think of a more intimidating sight in wrestling than both The Wild Samoans and The Moondogs standing on the apron, salivating at the prospect of a fight. 

Afa and Sika terrorized WWE's babyfaces in the early '80s. They were portrayed as savages, teeth-baring brutes with wild hair and a hunger for hurting people.

The Wild Samoans were the world tag champs three times and are now one of only eight teams in the Hall of Fame. They remain one of the company's most famous duos, making it easy to find a spot for them on this Survivor Series team. 

Even with Capt. Lou Albano controlling them as much as humanly possible, Afa and Sika would have a terrible time working with other teammates, though. That's where The Moondogs come in.

Rex, Spot and King had just as many animalistic tendencies as the Samoans. They chewed on animal bones on their way to the ring and preferred clawing, headbutts and right hands over actual wrestling holds.

As tag team champs themselves (Rex and King defeating Tony Garea and Rick Martel in 1981), they would provide added championship pedigree to the The Wild Samoans' Survivor Series team.

Whoever faced this quintet would have a hell of a fight ahead of them. These men are some of the most unstable brawlers WWE has ever seen.

Team Bruno

• Bruno Sammartino
• Antonino Rocca
• Pedro Morales
• Bob Backlund
• Bobo Brazil

At the close of the 1990 Survivor Series, Tito Santana, Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior made up the face side of the Grand Finale Match of Survival. That Hall of Fame trio was an impressive collection of star power.

Were Sammartino's team to band together, it would be even greater, even more star-studded.

The WWE Mt. Rushmore's first face belongs to Sammartino. The Italian Superman was WWE's cornerstone for the majority of both the '60s and '70s, holding on to the company's top title for a near-eight-year stretch. He headlined and sold out Madison Square Garden on a regular basis, as Dave Crawley of Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate writes.

Pair him with Morales and Backlund and you have three WWE world champs on the same team and three men who were each the company's top face for significant stretches. 

Rocca was one of WWE's biggest fan favorites in the company's very earliest days. His popularity was such that DC Comics pasted him on the cover of Superman No. 155. The Man of Steel is seen hurtling over the ropes.

Brazil joins the team as well. Few man inspired the kind of passionate reactions from fans that Brazil did.

He was a key babyface for WWE throughout the '60s and '70s, wrestling men like Ernie Ladd, Luke Graham and Baron Mikel Scicluna. His seven reigns as United States heavyweight champ add to the stockpile of gold these men all acquired.

Each member of this superteam of babyfaces is in the Hall of Fame and a formidable fivesome for any group of heels from any era.

Team Giant

• Killer Kowalski
• Haystacks Calhoun
• Andre the Giant
• Ernie Ladd
• Gorilla Monsoon

Gather the big men of the past together and you end up with a massive team that may collapse the ring upon entering it.

Andre the Giant was of course around for Survivor Series' early years. That Andre, though, was a broken-down version. Andre's prime was much earlier, when he was more mobile, healthier, far more of an athlete.

Heading the team with a man that legendary is a good start.

Add Calhoun, a circus-like attraction himself. A leviathan of a man, Calhoun was billed at being close to 700 pounds. The novelty of seeing him side-by-side with Andre on the same team is enough to include him.

The rest of the squad is comprised of Hall of Famers.

Monsoon, before he became an announcer and worked behind the scenes, was an intimidating big man, one of WWE's first monster heels. He was a main-event attraction in the '60s, often tangling with Sammartino.

Two of Sammartino's other foils earn a spot as well.

Kowalski twice won tag titles with the company, but his legacy is more about his aura. He was intimidating, a prowling colossus looking to rip his foes' flesh off with his famous claw hold.

Credit: WWE.com, courtesy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Ladd's NFL background made him a star as much as his charisma and trash-talking skills did. So many of his battles were with WWE's best, from Morales to Backlund.

This team would align some of wrestling's greatest big men and heels on a single team. It would be at least 2,000 pounds of villainy combined. 

Team Sheik 

• The Sheik
• Ivan Koloff
• The Iron Sheik 
• Professor Tanaka
• Mr. Fuji 

In 1993, a team dubbed "The Foreign Fanatics" battled a squadron of spandex-adorned patriots. Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Quebecer Jacques and Crush don't compare to this team, though.

This gathering of evil invaders boasts 10 tag team titles between them and two WWE title runs. The Iron Sheik ended Backlund's four-year run with the crown in 1983. Koloff is most famous for dethroning Sammartino after his unbreakable stretch as champion.

The Original Sheik's wars with Sammartino left blood on the mat and dropped jaws in the crowd. He was a major star and key pioneer of hardcore wrestling. 

He would be a dream partner for the vicious, unrelenting Koloff. The Russian Bear was just as unsettling to look at as The Sheik. A scarred brow, thick chains around his neck and a nasty scowl made sure of that. 

Get the crowd riled up by teaming with The Iron Sheik. The former WWE champ's habit of spitting after he mentioned the United States angered crowds across the country. He was a top-tier heel through much of the '80s, leaving the company just as Survivor Series began its tag team tradition.

Fuji is more known by some for his days as a manager, but he and Tanaka were one of the most hated teams of the '70s.

Pitting these dastardly fellows against Sammartino's squad is a dream match. It would be a clash brimming with marquee names and men who mastered the art of controlling the crowd.

Morales and Backlund being on the same team or Kowalski and Ladd joining forces at Survivor Series, these are the things a wrestling history nut daydreams about.

All Hall of Fame information and championship history courtesy of WWE.com.