Top 10 Moments in WWE Survivor Series History

WWE Survivor Series 2011 is nearly upon us. The show is drawing near, and the anticipation is slowly creeping up on us all.

To finish off my series on the November Classic, I am going to count down the top moments in the show's rich history. Of course, I will not be mentioning a certain someone, so all moments about "him" are excluded. Before I begin, here are a few that just missed the cut:

Big Show winning his first WWE title in 1999, Rock winning his first WWE title in 1998, Jericho yelling at a fan in 2009, Edge returning in 2007 and 2008, the first ever show, and Kane burying The Undertaker alive in 2003 all deserve honorable mentions.

10. Brock Lesnar's First Loss

This was a major moment. I had long assumed his first loss would be when he lost the WWE title. However, I never thought The Big Show would be the man he loses to.

The "Paul Heyman factor" in this match was excellent, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was Brock was finally beat, and it was at Madison Square Garden in New York City!

9. The Rock Debuted

Clearly, he was going to be huge star. We could all tell right away, huh?

Of course, nobody could have predicted The Rock's success, but it is fun to look back at his debut. It just adds further fuel to the theory that the next top star is who people least expect when they debut.

8. Undertaker Beats Hogan

The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWE title in 1991 at Survivor Series.

That statement alone is amazing to read. Hogan did not often lose, but when he did, he made sure it counted. This was one of those times.

The thing to notice when Undertaker does pick up the historic win is the crowd. It almost seemed like a "face" reaction to Undertaker's first big title win. It was clear Hogan was losing fans, but this moment was all about Undertaker reaching the top of the mountain in one year's time.

7. Raw vs Smackdown in 2005

I have mentioned this before, but it needs repeating.

This feud was great. The battle between Raw and Smackdown in 2005 was handled perfectly. The build to Survivor Series was amazing to watch each and every week.

It was all going to come to a head at Survivor Series 2005, and I could not wait! Everybody involved in this feud delivered big time, and I applaud WWE for putting on a great main event.

Sadly, there have been tons of Raw vs. Smackdown matches since. None of them have ever mattered as much as this one. The feud peaked at Survivor Series, and it was well worth the PPV purchase.

6. Stone Cold Run over

I did not like the "bait and switch," but this was a huge moment during the Attitude Era.

Stone Cold was finally taking some time off to heal his neck, and WWE needed to write him out. How did they do that? A car ran over Austin backstage at Survivor Series before his main event match.

Of course, we all learned who did it nearly a year later. Even though the pay off was not worth the wait, this moment was still huge and will be remembered forever!

5. Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin

I do not like including matches on a list like this, but I have to give this match credit.

This was a wonderful match. The main event players were there. The long, drawn out, epic story line was there. All the drama was there, and it all delivered perfectly.

There really isn't even one "moment" here that stands out. It was just an amazing match called by Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler and is definitely a highlight in Survivor Series history.

4. Undertaker's Debut

This was the night it all began.

Over 20 years later, he is still one of the top stars in this industry. It is amazing to look back at his career. He is one of the few men to be a main event star from his debut in WWE until the day he retires.

This was a memorable moment in 1990, and it definitely set the stage for the Deadman's run in WWE.

3. First Ever Elimination Chamber Match

This was a great creation. I do not care who thought of this idea; it was brilliant.

I can't remember the last great "match innovation" like this. The mystery was there leading up to the event, but the match itself was even better.

This was exactly the type of match built for the next generation of wrestling fans. Once again, I applaud the creator of this match. Great job!

2. Winner Take All

"It's winner take all!" - Vince McMahon

That quote sums it up nicely. This match was finally going to end the battle between WWE, WCW and ECW. One match. One company survives.

Like I said before, the hype for this main event was top notch. I loved this story line in 2001, but I loved the payoff at Survivor Series 2001. It ended exactly like it should have (with Vince on top), and all the performers involved gave their best effort.

Awesome moment. Awesome match. Only one event tops it...

1. The Montreal Screwjob

Yep! An easy choice for the top spot, but who cares? It has to be the No. 1 moment.

The best part about this incident 14 years later is the fact that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are back on good terms. That just makes this moment mean so much more.

What more can be said? This was the greatest moment in Survivor Series history and maybe even the greatest moment in professional wrestling history...


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