The Contentious Ten 11.16.09: The Top Ten Survivor Series Moments

This week I’m taking a look at some of the most memorable moments in Survivor Series history. The event has provided a lot of special moments, including a very significant number of title changes, and the debuts of several really important wrestlers. It’s also had more than it’s fair share of awful stuff. Some of what you might find on my list might just qualify to some of you as some of that awful stuff, but all of the moments I picked were unforgettable.

X

Edge’s Surprise Return
Survivor Series 2007 & 2008

This is really two moments, but either one could make the list. Edge is what most people would describe as “injury prone,” and in the summer of 2007, while he was World Heavyweight Champion, he tore his pectoral muscle. At that point in time, the SmackDown roster was in shambles as Batista was still a few weeks away from returning from an injury, and the Undertaker was injured as well. However, by the 2007 Survivor Series both Batista (who had regained the World Title) and the Undertaker had returned and were facing off in a Hell in a Cell match. The match was suitably exciting and brutal, and looked to be over when the Undertaker unleashed a devastating Tombstone on to the steps. As the referee started to count to three, the cameraman rushed in and stopped the count, removed some costuming and revealed himself to be Edge. Edge proceeded to beat the hell out of the Undertaker with the camera, the steps and a chair, giving the win to Batista.

Edge’s return at Survivor Series 2007 was quite a surprise, but he would one up him self a year later. After taking some time off following a Hell in the Cell match with the Undertaker, Edge was quickly becoming an afterthought on SmackDown due to the rivalry between WWE Champion Triple H and Jeff Hardy. At the same time, the Russian powerhouse Vladimir Kozlov was “undefeated” and also gunning for Triple H’s title, and the three were set to battle in a Triple Threat Match. However, the day before the Survivor Series WWE announced that Hardy had been found unconscious in the stairwell of his hotel (a story that the mainstream press actually ran with). As a result the match was changed to just Triple H vs. Kozlov. After a little more than ten minutes of fighting, SmackDown General Manager Vicky Guerrero came out and announced that she had promised a triple threat and would deliver one. She then shockingly announced Hardy’s replacement as being her husband Edge. Edge ran down to the ring almost immediately speared and pinned Triple H to win the WWE Title, marking the second time Triple H had been defeated by a replacement opponent in a Triple Threat Match at a Survivor Series. Although these are two separate moments Edge’s habit for surprise returns at Survivor Series is good enough to make one entry on the list. It’s too bad that he’ll be unable to make it back in time to screw Jericho over this year and make it three in a row.

IX

Diesel Finally Runs Out Of Gas
Survivor Series 1995

1995 was not a good year for the WWF, the Royal Rumble was the weakest showing one since the first one, WrestleMania XI was one of the worst Manias ever, King of the Ring may have been the worst wrestling pay per view ever, and SummerSlam (outside of the ladder match) was pretty awful. The man at the top of the card that year was Kevin “Diesel” Nash. Now to be fair Nash wasn’t really calling the shots, after all, how much influence could the Clique have had if Nash was wrestling Mabel in the main event of SummerSlam? Nevertheless, the Diesel experiment was a bust and the WWF needed to change direction, and to do this they called upon their most trusted performer, Bret Hart. Hart and Diesel had met twice before, first at the 1994 King of the Ring, and the 1995 Royal Rumble. Both matches ended inconclusively, so for their third encounter it was decided that their match would be a no disqualifications match. The result was a really good match and, one of Nash’s all time best.

The match really helped the careers of both Nash and Hart. For Hart the benefits were obvious as he became the WWF Champion for a third time (only the second man ever to officially accomplish that feat). For Nash, the benefit was that he got what made him cool in the first place back. For his entire run as WWF Champion he played a smiling, somewhat cocky, baby-face, but the reason he was popular to begin with was because he was a cocky ass-kicking machine. This match allowed him to showcase that side of himself for the first time in nearly a year. There were really two great moments here: Nash popping the Spanish Announce Table’s cherry by sending Hart crashing off the ring apron and through the table, and Hart playing possum long enough to sucker Diesel into a small package for the three count. Diesel going crazy after the match was good too. Regardless of which particular moment from this match was the best, the fact that Diesel’s mediocre title reign had come to an end in such dramatic fashion is surely one of the top Survivor Series moments.

VIII

Owen Hart Turns On The Tears
Survivor Series 1994

By Survivor Series 1994 the feud between the Hart brothers, Bret and Owen had been going on for one year. At the same event in 1993 Owen was the only member of the Hart family eliminated and took his defeat out on Bret. The two would have classic matches with each other at WrestleMania X, which Owen won, and SummerSlam, which Bret won. After his defeat Owen fell down to the midcard and Bret went on defending the WWF Title. One of the individuals he defended the belt against was none other than former WWF Champion Bob Backlund. Backlund and Bret had an excellent contest, but after Backlund lost he was overcome with anger and despair and attacked the champion. Backlund had it in his head that he had never really lost the WWF Title to the Iron Sheik, because his manager threw in the towel, signaling his submission, even though he never actually gave up. Backlund took up his cause like a crusade, and started randomly attacking other wrestlers with his dreaded Cross-face Chicken Wing. At the 1994 Survivor Series the forces working against Bret Hart converged, as Backlund would receive his rematch in a special “Towel Match” where each wrestler would have a corner-man, and the only way the match would end was when one of these corner-men threw in the towel. Backlund chose Owen Hart knowing that his fanatical quest to end his brother’s reign would keep him from ever throwing in the towel. Bret Hart chose his trusted brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith.

The match itself was pretty good, and the new “crazy” Bob Backlund had really managed to connect with the fans in that they really hated him. However, it’s the finish of this match that is the moment that makes my list. After a back and forth match Bret was finally able to lock Backlund into the Sharpshooter. Owen was well aware that Backlund wanted to submit and would not be able to counter his way out, so he simply ran into the ring and attacked his brother. This caused Davey Boy to chase after Owen, but Owen side-stepped a lunge and Smith went crashing head first into the ring steps, knocking himself out. In the mean time Backlund had recovered enough to lock Bret into the Cross-face Chicken Wing. This was the moment he’d been waiting for, but Owen knew he was out of luck, as there was no one to throw in the towel. He quickly looked around and saw the concerned look on the face of his mother Helen, who was seated at ringside. All of sudden Owen saw his brother’s agony and started feeling remorseful. Tears began to well up in his eyes because he finally realized all the pain he had put his family through. He said repeatedly that he never wanted it to come to this and that Bret was his brother. Owen got his parents to come ringside and kept telling them that they had to do something. Finally Helen, grabbed the towel from her husband Stu’s hands and tossed it in the ring ending the match and awarding the WWF Title to Bob Backlund. Owen dove into the ring, grabbed the towel and ran to the back with his hands held in triumph. He’d been faking the whole time.

VII

The McMahons Screw Everybody
Survivor Series 1998

The 1998 Survivor Series featured a massive one-night tournament to crown a new WWF Champion. The title had been declared vacant two months earlier when both the Undertaker and Kane pinned then champion, Steve Austin, simultaneously. One month later Vince McMahon fired Austin after he refused to count either the Undertaker or Kane’s shoulders to the mat. However, Shane McMahon rebelled against his father and rehired Austin and guaranteed him a place in the “Deadly Game” tournament. As a result Vince demoted him all the way down to referee. In the meantime McMahon had singled out The Rock as another wrestler he was unhappy with, and looked to be, once again, grooming Mick Foley to be his hand picked champion. With the tournament set Mankind’s first round opponent was left as surprise. When it turned out to be the old time jobber Duane Gill it seemed obvious that McMahon was going to do everything in his power to make sure Foley would leave as champion. McMahon set Austin against his newest corporation member: Big Boss Man, but Austin managed to defeat him. A few matches later Boss Man was tapped again to challenge The Rock, who thanks to a miscommunication was able to pin Boss Man in a matter of seconds. The Boss Man would make his appearance felt again as he tried to interfere on behalf of The Rock’s second round opponent Ken Shamrock. However, when he tossed in his nightstick The Rock intercepted it and used it on Shamrock for the victory. The first semi-final match pitted Steve Austin against Mankind. At one point Austin essentially had Mankind defeated, but Vince McMahon interfered, pulling the referee out of the ring. At that point Shane McMahon ran down and began to count to three but stopped after two. As Austin looked up at him Shane extended both of his middle fingers, letting Austin know that his rehiring had simply been a plot to further demoralize him. Austin would subsequently lose the match

Shane’s double bird was enough of a moment itself, but the McMahon’s weren’t finished. They sent Boss Man out to interfere in The Rock’s semifinal match against the Undertaker. However, it was interference from Kane that cost the Undertaker the match when Kane chokeslammed The Rock. This meant that The Rock would battle Mankind in the finals of the tournament. While the two finalists were fighting Vince and Shane made their way down to ringside and looked to be supporting their chosen one, Mankind. Near the end of the match Mankind locked in the Mandible Claw, but The Rock countered it with the Rock Bottom. Then to the surprise of the fans The Rock picked up Foley’s legs and locked them in the Sharpshooter. Suddenly Vince McMahon called for the bell, just like the year before, and awarded the WWF Title to The Rock. The Rock and the McMahons had been in cahoots the whole time, explaining the quick victory over Boss Man, and Boss Man’s botched interference attempts. The McMahons had effectively “screwed” Austin, Shamrock, Undertaker, and Mankind all in one night.

VI

Shawn’s Comeback Becomes Official

At SummerSlam 2002 Shawn Michaels made his way to the ring for what he thought was to be his glorious sendoff match. He had been torn away from the ring four years earlier due to a back injury, but had healed enough to put on one more match against his former friend, Triple H. Michaels was victorious in that match, but Triple H would brutally beat him up after the match. A few weeks later Triple H was awarded the World Heavyweight Title and went about the business of being champion. However, inter-brand competition was fierce and Eric Bischoff wanted a match at Survivor Series that would be better than SmackDown’s Hell in the Cell match from the month before. As a result he dreamed up the Elimination Chamber gimmick match and announced that inside the Chamber Triple H would defend his World Title against Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and (to everyone’s surprise) Shawn Michaels.

While the match wasn’t solely focused on the Triple H/Michaels feud it was clear that would be the payoff to the match. One by one the other players were eliminated, first Van Dam (who managed to crush Triple H’s larynx in the match), then Booker T, Kane, and Chris Jericho, until it was finally down to Michaels and Triple H. After kicking out of a Pedigree, Michaels was able to hit Sweet Chin Music and capture his fourth world title. As confetti poured from the rafters, and Michaels clutched the belt, it was clear to fans everywhere that Shawn Michaels was officially back.

V

Austin Gets Run Down
Survivor Series 1999

Instead of going on an extensive leave of absence following the botched piledriver at SummerSlam 1997, Steve Austin quickly returned to take his place as the top wrestler in the company. For two years Austin led the WWF, and thanks to his tremendous popularity the WWF was able to overtake WCW in the ongoing ratings war. However, by 1999 his neck problems had started to really catch up with him, and he learned he would have to have major surgery to alleviate the pain he was experiencing. There were only two impediments keeping him from bowing out. First he was scheduled to participate in a huge Triple Threat Match for the WWF Title featuring himself, WWF Champion Triple H, and The Rock. Second, he rose to main event status by being the “toughest son of a bitch in the WWF.” He did this by refusing to get medical help, so simply leaving to get help would undermine his character. The result was that the WWF decided to write him out of the storyline at the Survivor Series. This would allow them to continue to hype a major main event, and setup a major storyline for his return. The night of the Survivor Series Austin chased Triple H into the parking garage when suddenly, across the lot a black car turned on its lights, drove through a gate and hit Austin head on. This moment makes my list because it was shocking, setup a WWF Title change later in the night, and setup the “Who hit Stone Cold” storyline a year later.

IV

The Boyhood Dream Becomes a Nightmare
Survivor Series 1996

This is unquestionably my personal favorite moment in Survivor Series history. You see I was the perfect WWF fan. I got into wrestling near the tail end of the whole Hulkamania thing, and was a good little boy always cheering the good-guys and booing the bad-guys. Of course, by the time I was hitting my mid-teens I started to turn on all my former heroes, because as we all know, cheering good-guys is totally lame. Anyway, my teenage attitude was developing just ahead of the WWF’s move to the Attitude Era, and by the time Shawn Michaels became WWF Champion I hated him as a character. Michaels was no-longer the arrogant prick, and instead was the resilient boy-hood dreamer, and by the time Survivor Series rolled around, I (and by the sound of the Madison Square Garden crowd, many others) wanted to see Sid Powerbomb him into oblivion. Needless to say we weren’t disappointed.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I think that the Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid match at the 1996 Survivor Series was the official kick off of the Attitude Era. Some of the comments that week suggested that Austin’s King of the Ring speech was, but I was at the 1996 King of the Ring and while we (my friends and I) were cheering Austin, people all around us were looking at us like we were assholes. However, by Survivor Series the Madison Square Garden crowd was ready for a change in attitude. It’s almost fascinating to watch as the crowd viciously turns on Michaels and just starts cheering the badass Sid. You can actually see the hissy fit building in Michaels’s face as he listens to the crowd turn on him. But, the best part was when Sid grabbed the television camera and clobbered Jose Lothario and the crowd exploded in cheers. Lothario was the perfect metaphor for everything that was wrong with Michaels’s 1996 character, so when Sid shattered his ribs he became a hero to the MSG crowd. Then, almost unceremoniously Sid attacked Michaels while he was checking on his mentor, smacked him with the camera, Powerbombed him, and pinned him. The very hot crowd was cheering him the whole time.

III

Undertaker “Kills” Hulkamania
Survivor Series 1991

After his debut at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker quickly rose up the ranks of the WWF, and was in line for a shot at the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, and this match was set to occur at the 1991 Survivor Series. It marked the first time the WWF Title had been defended at the Survivor Series. A lot had changed since the previous year. The WWF had fallen further out of the main-stream, Hogan’s popularity had started to erode a little bit, and Ric Flair had jumped from the NWA to the WWF and looked to be on a collision course with Hulk Hogan. All three of these changes came to a head in the match that was billed as the “Gravest Challenge.”

Part of what makes this such a great Survivor Series moment is that it seemed highly unlikely that the Undertaker would win. As a gimmick, the Undertaker was very cartoon-like, and gimmicks like that didn’t win the WWF Title. As a wrestler, the Undertaker had only been around for a year. He was still practically a rookie, and rookies don’t beat Hulk Hogan. Still, the build up for the match was exciting, the match, however, was pretty dull, and mostly consisted of the Undertaker choking Hogan. Although the crowd was very pro-Hogan, there was still a sizable contingent of Undertaker fans. The match dragged on until the Undertaker landed a Tombstone, but the attack only sent the adrenalin through Hogan’s body as he Hulked-up and took the fight to the Undertaker. During this time Ric Flair made his way down to ringside and walked over to the WWF Title belt, prompting Hogan to get in Flair’s face. Hogan was then set to finish of the Undertaker with the Legdrop, but Paul Bearer grabbed his foot. This caused the referee to be distracted and allowed the Undertaker a chance to hoist Hogan up for another Tombstone. Only this time, Ric Flair slid a chair into the ring and Hogan was driven head first into it. A three count later and the Undertaker was WWF Champion.

Although Undertaker would lose the belt back to Hogan a few days later, this match was a turning point for both the Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. When Undertaker pinned Hogan there was a sizable positive reaction. There were also kids crying, but it was clear the Undertaker had a growing fan base, and a few months later was turned face. Hogan on the other hand was never really the same after the loss. He lost his undefeatable aura, and while he would still be a major player in pro-wrestling for nearly fifteen years, he was no longer the major player, so in that sense, the Undertaker really damaged if not “killed” Hulkamania.

II

The Undertaker Debuts
Survivor Series 1990

It was announced that for their 1990 Survivor Series match The Million Dollar Team, captained by Ted DiBiase, would have a mystery partner. Speculation abounded about who the mystery man would be, but no one in the arena was prepared for whom it would be, and I would guess very few were even remotely aware of the historical significance of this match while they were watching it. Just prior to the match Sean Mooney interviewed DiBiase’s team and asked him about the mystery partner, and DiBiase only said that it would be a big surprise. The Dream Team Dusty Rhodes, The Hart Foundation and Koko B Ware entered first, followed by Rhythm and Blues and Ted DiBiase. DiBiase grabbed the microphone, and for the first time ever announced “weighing in at 320 pounds, from Death Valley, I give you the Undertaker.” The funeral march (sans bell) started playing and out walked the Undertaker with Brother Love, his manager at the time. The announcers, Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper were in awe of the big man and speculated on his expressionless demeanor. Undertaker started the match against Bret Hart and almost immediately landed a variation of a chokeslam. Hart then tagged out to Jim Neidhart who was promptly bodyslammed, so he tagged out to Koko. “The Birdman” leapt at the Undertaker, who sidestepped and drove Koko neck first into the top rope. The Undertaker then lifted Koko, turned him upside-down and brutally drove him headfirst into the mat, delivering his first official Tombstone piledriver. The Undertaker tagged out, but would later enter the match and claim Dusty Rhodes as his second victim after an axe-handle off the top rope. Soon after, the Undertaker would get counted out while brawling with Rhodes. However, the Undertaker made a major impact, and his successful debut established the most indelible wrestling character in WWF history.

I

The Montreal Screwjob
Survivor Series 1997

Could there really be any other choice for the number one Survivor Series moment? I brought up this particular match a few weeks ago citing it as the second most important WWE Title change of all time. I wrote it then, and I’ll write it again here: everything that can be written about this match has already been written. I can contribute nothing new to the conversation on this particular match. Nevertheless, it is a moment that still reverberates to this day and has come to be a defining moment in the careers of everyone involved, from the wrestlers Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, to Vince McMahon, to even referee Earl Hebner. The Montreal Screwjob is unquestionably the most important moment in the history of the Survivor Series, and is one of the most important moments in wrestling history.