Survivor Series


WWE Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is the second longest running pay-per-view event in history and one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, as it is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE.

Origins and changes

The first Survivor Series, held in 1987, came on the heels of the success of WrestleMania III, as the then-WWF began to see the lucrative potential of the pay-per-view market. The first event capitalized on the big time feud between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant, who wrestled each other at WrestleMania III. Survivor Series was originally created to be a "Thanksgiving tradition" as the first eight Survivor Series events took place on either Thanksgiving Day or Thanksgiving Eve. Since 1995, the event has been held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. On February 11, 2010, WWE stated that Survivor Series would be rebranded, but in June, the event was added back onto WWE's pay-per-view schedule.
With the return of the brand split in 2016, the yearly event has focused on direct competition between the brands. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the competition was between the Raw and SmackDown brands, similar to the Bragging Rights events that WWE held for two years during the first brand split. Beginning with the 2017 event, the theme of the present Survivor Series events in particular are brand supremacy; in addition to traditional Survivor Series elimination matches featuring Raw's men and women against SmackDown's, there have been multiple other interpromotional matches on the card as well involving the brands' champions going against each other in non-title matches to determine the superior champion. Raw won the competition in 2016, 2017, and 2018, with a 3–2 victory in 2016, a 4–3 victory in 2017, and a clean sweep 6–0 victory in 2018. In 2019, WWE's developmental territory NXT was promoted to being WWE's third major brand and was added to the brand competition for the 2019 event. That event in turn featured the first triple threat Survivor Series elimination matches for the men and women. NXT subsequently won that year's competition over SmackDown and Raw with a 4–2–1 victory.

Survivor Series matches

The event is traditionally characterized by having tag-team elimination matches, pitting teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. These matches are generally referred to as "Survivor Series matches." The WWF had several elimination tag-team matches earlier in 1987, albeit with three-man teams and the feuds loosely related. In an early break from the norm, the 1992 event had only one tag team elimination match. The 1997 event saw the Montreal Screwjob, while the 1998 event was the first without any elimination tag team matches, instead focusing on an elimination tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The 2002 Survivor Series is notable for the debut of the Elimination Chamber match.

Survivor Series dates and venues

NoEventDateCityVenueMain Event
1Survivor Series November 26, 1987Richfield, OhioRichfield ColiseumAndré the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed, and Rick Rude vs. Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
2Survivor Series November 24, 1988Richfield, OhioRichfield ColiseumHulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim vs. Akeem, Big Boss Man, Ted DiBiase, Haku, and The Red Rooster in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
3Survivor Series November 23, 1989Rosemont, IllinoisRosemont HorizonThe Ultimate Warriors vs. The Heenan Family in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match
4Survivor Series November 22, 1990Hartford, ConnecticutHartford Civic CenterHulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Tito Santana vs. Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Warlord, Hercules, and Paul Roma in a 3-on-5 Grand Finale Survivor Series elimination match
5Survivor Series November 27, 1991Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis ArenaBig Boss Man and The Legion of Doom vs. Irwin R. Schyster and The Natural Disasters in a 3-on-3 Survivor Series elimination match
6Survivor Series November 25, 1992Richfield, OhioRichfield ColiseumBret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
7Survivor Series November 24, 1993Boston, MassachusettsBoston GardenThe All-Americans vs. The Foreign Fanatics in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match
8Survivor Series November 23, 1994San Antonio, TexasFreeman ColiseumThe Undertaker vs. Yokozuna in a Casket match with special guest referee Chuck Norris
9Survivor Series November 19, 1995Landover, MarylandUSAir ArenaDiesel vs. Bret Hart in a No Disqualification match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
10Survivor Series November 17, 1996New York City, New YorkMadison Square GardenShawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
11Survivor Series November 9, 1997Montreal, Quebec, CanadaMolson CentreBret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
12Survivor Series November 15, 1998St. Louis, MissouriKiel CenterMankind vs. The Rock in a tournament final for the vacant WWF Championship
13Survivor Series November 14, 1999Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis ArenaTriple H vs. Big Show vs. The Rock in a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship
14Survivor Series November 19, 2000Tampa, FloridaIce PalaceStone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification match
15Survivor Series November 18, 2001Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro Coliseum ComplexTeam WWF vs. Team Alliance in a Winner Takes All 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
16Survivor Series November 17, 2002New York City, New YorkMadison Square GardenTriple H vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shawn Michaels in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship
17Survivor Series November 16, 2003Dallas, TexasAmerican Airlines CenterGoldberg vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship
18Survivor Series November 14, 2004Cleveland, OhioGund ArenaTeam Orton vs. Team Triple H in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series elimination match
19Survivor Series November 27, 2005Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis ArenaTeam Raw vs. Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
20Survivor Series November 26, 2006Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWachovia CenterKing Booker vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship
21Survivor Series November 18, 2007Miami, FloridaAmerican Airlines ArenaBatista vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match for the World Heavyweight Championship
22Survivor Series November 23, 2008Boston, MassachusettsTD Banknorth GardenChris Jericho vs. John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship
23Survivor Series November 22, 2009Washington, D.C.Verizon CenterJohn Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship
24Survivor Series November 21, 2010Miami, FloridaAmerican Airlines ArenaRandy Orton vs. Wade Barrett for the WWE Championship with special guest referee John Cena
25Survivor Series November 20, 2011New York City, New YorkMadison Square GardenJohn Cena and The Rock vs. Awesome Truth
26Survivor Series November 18, 2012Indianapolis, IndianaBankers Life FieldhouseCM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Ryback in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship
27Survivor Series November 24, 2013Boston, MassachusettsTD GardenRandy Orton vs. Big Show for the WWE Championship
28Survivor Series November 23, 2014St. Louis MissouriScottrade CenterTeam Cena vs. Team Authority in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
29Survivor Series November 22, 2015Atlanta, GeorgiaPhilips ArenaRoman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
30Survivor Series November 20, 2016Toronto, Ontario, CanadaAir Canada CentreGoldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
31Survivor Series November 19, 2017Houston, TexasToyota CenterTeam Raw vs. Team SmackDown in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
32Survivor Series November 18, 2018Los Angeles, CaliforniaStaples CenterBrock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan
33Survivor Series November 24, 2019Rosemont, IllinoisAllstate ArenaBecky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match
34Survivor Series November 22, 2020TBATBATBA

Video box set