Below are Brat Jackson’s Top 10 Survivor Series moments.
10. Bob Backlund Becomes WWF Champion Again (1994):
In a very shocking finish to a “submission match” for the WWF Championship, 45-year-old Bob Backlund defeated Bret “The Hitman” Hart to become WWF Champion once again. After Helen Hart, manipulated by Owen Hart at ringside, threw in the towel to end the match, the title changed hands in a way nobody predicted or wanted. It lands at number 10 as a rare, genuinely shocking WWF Championship moment.
9. Shawn Michaels Wins the Elimination Chamber (2002):
This moment comes in ninth due to a few factors: it was the FIRST ever Elimination Chamber match something we’d never seen before and Shawn Michaels had only returned earlier that summer. His quest to become World Heavyweight Champion came full circle in Madison Square Garden, where he defeated Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam all current or future Hall of Famers.
If only he didn’t have to wear those ugly brown tights.
8. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar (2016):
1 minute and 26 seconds. That’s all it took for Goldberg to shock the world when he faced Brock Lesnar for the first time since WrestleMania XX. This was one of the biggest “WTF moments” in Survivor Series history. Nobody saw it coming especially the Toronto crowd, who erupted after Goldberg pinned the Beast with a Jackhammer.
7. The First Ever Survivor Series (1987):
Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan found themselves on opposite sides again, anchoring one of the most stacked Survivor Series lineups ever. A massive 10-on-10 tag team elimination match featuring the entire tag division, plus a 5-on-5 women’s showdown, delivered exactly the chaos, nostalgia, and peak ’80s energy.
6. The Deadly Games Tournament (1998):
For the first time on Survivor Series theres was no team warfare, just a tournament to crown the next WWF Champion. The finals came down to the Rock and Mankind for the vacant title with the Corporation helping the Rock win his first ever WWF Championship and debuting the Corporate Champion.
5. The Alliance Dies (2001):
We can all agree the Invasion storyline was horribly booked and horribly executed. But the ending was absolute chaos. After the death of WCW and Vince McMahon purchasing the company, wrestlers from WCW (and the recently closed ECW) joined forces to take down WWE. Shane and Stephanie were storyline owners of their respective brands, making the whole thing a family feud. But in the final moments, Kurt Angle who had turned on Team WWF months earlier betrayed The Alliance, allowing The Rock to pin Stone Cold Steve Austin and end the storyline once and for all.
4. Sami Zayn and The Bloodline Stand Tall (2022):
One of the best modern WWE storylines reached its emotional peak here. Sami Zayn went from “Honorary Uce” to a fully accepted member of The Bloodline after turning his back on former best friend Kevin Owens and proving his loyalty to Roman Reigns above all else. The hug from Jey Uso cemented this as one of the best WarGames moments in Survivor Series history.
3. CM Punk Returns (2023):
Hell froze over. After nearly 10 years, CM Punk made a shocking return to his Chicago home crowd a comeback that set the wrestling world buzzing. After his messy breakup with AEW and Tony Khan just months earlier, nobody expected Punk to ever return to a company where it seemed every bridge was burned. After it looked like Survivor Series: War Games 2023 was going off the air, the record scratch hit the Allstate Arena… and “The Best in the World” came home.
2. Debuts (Various):
Okay, I know I said this was a Top 10, but these debuts have to be grouped together. Survivor Series has produced some of the greatest arrivals in WWE history. The Deadman rose in 1990, terrifying the world for the very first time. The Rock debuted in 1996, marking the beginning of one of the biggest careers in wrestling and entertainment history. Our Olympic Hero arrived in 1999 with Kurt Angle introducing us with his wrestling pedigree and in 2012, three men would show up in the main event of Survivor Series and cause havoc with Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns forming the SHIELD. Survivor Series has featured some of the best debuts ever. It’s true… it’s damn true.
1. The Montreal Screwjob (1997):
Of course, number one the great debate. Was the Montreal Screwjob a work? I say everyone was in on it, and everyone profited. There are a million now a million and one articles about what happened that night in Montreal. If you don’t know: Shawn Michaels put WWF Champion Bret Hart in Hart’s own move, the Sharpshooter, before referee Earl Hebner called for the bell without a submission. Vince McMahon came down, Bret spat in his face, and then destroyed the ringside area out of frustration. Michaels, now the WWF Champion, scurried out with D-Generation X. Nearly 30 years later, we still ask: Did Bret screw Bret? Or did Vince screw Bret?
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Randy Orton’s Survivor Series Legacy (Mid-2000s)
Three straight years as the sole survivor — a rare accomplishment.
Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles (2017)
A true “dream match.”
Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown (Various Years)
Classic brand warfare.
Big Show Wins the WWF Championship (1999)
Short reign, huge shock.
📺 FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE:
- 🔗 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/BodyslamNet
- 🔗YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@BodySlamNet
- 🔗 Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/BodyslamNet
- 🔗 Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/BodyslamNet
- 🔗 Website: https://www.Bodyslam.net
- 🔗 Discord: https://discord.gg/pwnexus
- 🔗 Donate: https://www.SlamChats.com
- 🔗 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bodyslam-net-pro-wrestling-and-mma-podcasts/id1597223420
- 🔗 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4e69419f-4edb-4a71-bb1c-135caa275cda/bodyslam-net-pro-wrestling-and-mma-podcasts-interviews-news-and-more
- 🔗 iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-bodyslamnet-pro-wrestling-91327468/
- 🔗 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kJXcW9A1syn9lUpwtqD37
Want to discuss wrestling further? Join our Discord community by clicking here!
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Twitch, Apple, Google, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow us on X: @BodyslamNet
