READ: Top 10 Most Memorable Moments in Survivor Series History

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Survivor Series has been a staple for wrestling fans since 1987, when the WWE decided to expand their pay-per-view programming to include a beloved Thanksgiving tradition. From casket matches, to incredible debuts, to men dressed as turkeys that pop out of giant eggs, the Thanskgiving extravaganza is never short on moments. Speaking of the Gobbledy Gooker, you may or may not be disappointed to find the lovable cousin of the dodo did not make our list. While the Gobbledy Gooker hatching is undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments in Survivor Series history, this list will focus on wrestling specifically. So in the words of the great prophet Hawk Harrelson, "Sit back, relax, and strap it down." The following are the Top 10 Most Memorable Moments in Survivor Series History.

 

 

10. Brothers of Destructions Ride Off Into the Sunset - Survivor Series 2015
Kane and The Undertaker have a long sordid, twisted, beautiful history together. When Kane was first brought onto the scene in the WWE, he had a major bone to pick with his long lost brother, The Undertaker, whom he accused of murdering their parents in a fire. While one would think that the two would never make a good team after such heavy accusations (after all murder is murder), the two wrestlers battled each other more times than one can remember, eventually earning each other's respect and admiration. The Brothers of Destruction were born, causing chaos and hell among the WWE's tag team ranks. By Survivor Series 2015, the Brothers had already cemented their legacy as future WWE Hall of Famers; but, the demented Wyatt Family weren't buying any of it and showed the duo no respect. The WWE's version of the Mansons sealed their fate when they attacked the Undertaker after his match with Brock Lesnar at Hell in a Cell, leaving Taker in need of a tag team partner. Kane and Undertaker teamed for one final time at Survivor Series 2015 and annihilated Bray Wyatt's goons, Erik Rowan and Luke Harper. After their victory, the two Brothers of Destruction took a moment to soak in the magnitude of their last time together as a team, simultaneously raising their arms in victory before the stunned Atlanta, Georgia crowd.

9. The Casket Match is Born - Survivor Series 1992
The great prophet Ozzy Osbourne once sang that death was final for only the living. Death may not be the last stop for us; but, that still doesn't prevent us from trembling at the very thought of being locked away in a casket. The Undertaker's gimmick was perfect for the Casket Match; but, it had never been done before in wrestling history. After Undertaker's feud with the Ugandan Giant, Kamala, began to heat up the two Superstars had to take things to the next level and the next level was a double tall double wide casket made specifically for the 400 pounder. The match would only end when one opponent would place the other inside the casket and close the lid over the...body. To add insult to injury the casket was painted like Kamala's oversized belly with stars and a moon. Vignettes would air prior to the Survivor Series showing the Undertaker working on the casket while a delirious Paul Bearer pontificated about the unspeakable horrors Kamala was about to endure. By the time the match began, Kamala was overcome with fear and had already lost the psychological battle to the Dead Man. While Undertaker would wrestle in many of these matches this was the very first and poor Kamala was his very first victim. While casket matches have now become somewhat commonplace in WWE lore, the Ohio crowd was stunned to see Kamala meet a fate that will one day befall each of us.

8. The Undertaker Becomes WWE Champion - Survivor Series 1991
Many believe the Undertaker made his debut at Survivor Series 1990 and while that is valid, technically the Phenom debuted on a November 19th television taping for WWE's staple Saturday morning television show, Wrestling Superstars. From the moment of his debut, Undertaker struck fear into the hearts of his opponents and millions of fans across the WWE Universe. Still after over a year in the WWE there was one thing that prevented many from taking The Undertaker's macabre gimmick seriously and that was the elusive WWE Championship. There was one major obstacle standing in Taker's way and that was the Babe Ruth of wrestling, The Immortal Hulk Hogan. Hogan held the Title that would bring legitimacy to the dead man's career; but, that didn't slow the Phenom down. With his sights set on WWE immortality, the Undertaker would begin his march as a WWE Hall of Famer by Tombstoning the Title from the Hulkster. With a three count, the Undertaker would go on to win the first of seven world championships in the WWE. Survivor Series 1991 ushered in the era of the Dead Man.

7. The Rock Becomes WWE Champion - Survivor Series 1998
"Die Rocky die! Die Rocky die!" Those were the screams the WWE Universe once chanted at the future WWE Hall of Famer Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. His character, clad in baby blue, was sold as a second generation baby face and as the future of the WWE. As a face, Johnson failed to get over with the fans. Since he was already hated, turning heel was an easy decision and joining the Nation of Domination sped that process up. It was as a heel that Johnson found himself and the character The Rock was born. Oddly enough, it was also as a heel that the WWE Universe came to adore him. After stripping "Stone Cold" Steve Austin of the WWE Championship, the vacant WWE Title would be put up for grabs in a tournament at Survivor Series 1998. With a little help from Vince McMahon, the Rock would work his way through a tournament of 13 other WWE Superstars defeating; Big Bossman, Ken Shamrock, The Undertaker, and Mankind (Mick Foley) on his way to becoming WWE Champion for the very first time.

6. Sheamus Ruins Roman Reigns' Championship Moment - Survivor Series 2015
After suffering a catastrophic knee injury in a match against Kane, Seth Rollins was forced to vacate his WWE Championship. Reigns had already won a Fatal 4-Way match to be named as the number one contender to face off against the Architect; however, with Rollins now out of action, WWE creative were forced to change plans and a tournament would ensue. Since Reigns was already the number one contender, Triple H offered him a direct trip to the finals if and only if Reigns joined the Authority. Reigns refused and although the Authority did their best to prevent him from making it to the finals on his own, Reigns made it there anyway. So did his ex-SHIELD partner Dean Ambrose who stood as the only obstacle to Reigns' very first world championship. The two would battle at Survivor Series 2015 for the vacant WWE Championship, a match which Reigns would ultimately win. As Reigns' victory confetti fell, Triple H came to the ring to congratulate Reigns who, in turn, Speared Triple H. In the chaos, the unsuspecting Reigns turned right into a Sheamus Brogue Kick. Sheamus would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, pin Roman Reigns on his own victory celebration confetti and leave Survivor Series as the new WWE Champion.

5. The Rock and John Cena Team Up - Survivor Series 2011
Once upon a time John Cena and the Rock had a legendary feud that spanned two years and three WrestleManias. The feud's origins can be traced back to WrestleMania 27, when John Cena faced the Miz for his WWE Championship. The Rock was a special guest referee and counted Cena's shoulders for the three and the Miz victory. When Cena took exception to the Rock's three count and refereeing skills, Cena found himself the victim of a Rock Bottom. The very next night on RAW the two Superstars announced that they would face off in a match billed "Once in a Lifetime" at WrestleMania 28. The two would feud in one of wrestling's most entertaining war of words via social media leading up to the big event, the first of two WrestleMania bouts for the rivals. Before the two would square off, they would team up to face the team of The Miz and his troubled tag team partner, R-Truth. Cena's partner was scheduled to be his long-time friend, Zack Ryder; but, when Ryder suffered an injury, Cena was forced to look for a new partner. The WWE Universe was shocked when John Cena named The Rock as his Survivor Series partner. The entire wrestling world watched in amazement as these two rivals squared off against The Miz and R-Truth. The match would end with The Rock hitting the People's Elbow on the Miz for the three count; but, as Cena and the Rock celebrated their victory, Cena found himself the recipient of yet another Rock Bottom.

4. The SHIELD Debut - Survivor Series 2012
CM Punk had something sinister up his sleeve; but, even the true mastermind behind the SHIELD could not have known what successes lay ahead for the group. In his Triple Threat Match against John Cena and Ryback, the heel Punk came prepared and a group of FCW/NXT Superstars (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose) made their way to the ring to aid and preserve Punk's victory. The trio would perform a particularly sinister maneuver on Ryback, a Triple Power Bomb through an announcer's table, a move the group would make famous. The SHIELD would go on to attain six individual world championship reigns between them. Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins would wreak havoc and ensure their style of justice in the WWE for the next half decade.

3. Goldberg Shocks the World - Survivor Series 2016
Goldberg left the WWE in a wave of controversy. After a lackluster WrestleMania XX match against the departing Brock Lesnar, Goldberg left the WWE an unhappy man with unfinished business. Vowing never to return to wrestling, Goldberg settled into retired life as a husband and a father; but, the way in which he left would always privately gnaw at him. Ironically, it was a video game that initially sparked Goldberg into pondering an in-ring return. Goldberg was the cover boy for WWE 2K17 and featured as a playable character in the game. While that got the proverbial juices flowing, Goldberg ultimately decided to return to the WWE for his wife and his son, who had never seen him wrestle live. While Goldberg was pondering a return, Paul Heyman was calling Goldberg out and issuing a challenge on behalf of his client Brock Lesnar, also known as The Beast. Goldberg accepted the challenge among much chatter and much scrutiny. After all what chance did a 49 year old man, more than a decade removed from his last match stand against WWE's most physically imposing force, Brock Lesnar? Goldberg shocked the WWE Universe annihilating Lesnar in a record 1 minute and 26 seconds. After hitting two Spears and a JackHammer, Goldberg pinned the Beast before a dumbfounded Toronto, Ontario audience.

2. Sting Debuts - Survivor Series 2014
Sting was the elusive white buffalo, the one Vince McMahon always wanted; but, could never get. Sting, who had a legendary career in WCW and then in TNA Impact, had somehow eluded Vince's grip and never wrestled a match for the WWE. That all began to change at Survivor Series 2014. Perhaps it was The Authority and the way they manipulated people that triggered Sting, now a born again Christian, to make his WWE debut. The group led by Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Seth Rollins used power and money to manipulate their way to the top of the WWE, often cheating and destroying lives and careers in the process (kayfabe, we think). The Authority would team up to face Team Cena and this time Team Cena had the opportunity to create waves of change throughout the WWE. If Team Cena won the Survivor Series bout then The Authority would be out of power in the WWE. The prospects looked bleak when Team Authority influenced Team Cena member The Big Show to betray his own team. After knocking John Cena out of the match, Big Show abandoned his team and Team Authority gained a 3 on 1 advantage over Team Cena's lone survivor, Dolph Ziggler; but, Ziggler fought his way back eliminating Kane and Luke Harper. This left Ziggler and Seth Rollins to battle it out for WWE supremacy. This is when none other than Triple H got involved hitting a Pedigree on the referee and Dolph Ziggler. Then justice came clad in black and wearing white face paint. The arena darkened and the sound of a cawing crow could be heard throughout. It was Sting. He made his way to the ring to ensure that the Authority would not get away with evil this time. Sting hit Triple H with a Scorpion Death Drop and placed Ziggler on top of Rollins for the win. Sting was finally a WWE Superstar and in his first night of action, he drastically changed the landscape of the company, removing the Authority from power.

1. The Montreal Screwjob - Survivor Series 1997
The Monday Night wars were heating up and the WWE was taking a huge hit economically. Vince McMahon could no longer afford to honor the deal he had with WWE's best and most loyal Superstar, Bret "the Hitman" Hart. Vince told Bret to look elsewhere for employment, so Bret reluctantly did and signed a deal with Vince's arch rivals, Ted Turner and WCW. There was only one problem. Bret Hart was still WWE Champion. Vince McMahon wanted Hart to drop the belt to Bret's own arch rival, Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1997. Although Bret did not want to drop the WWE Championship to Michaels, who had always been a thorn in his side, he agreed to do so; but, not in Montreal. The Calgary, Alberta born and raised Hart was a hero in Canada and he couldn't stomach the thought of dropping the Title to Michaels (who once mocked Canada by inserting a Canadian flag into his nostril) on Canadian soil. Vince agreed and told Bret that he would simply vacate the Title the following night on RAW; but, as Vince has often been known to do, he embellished. Instead there was a secret plan in place between Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon and referee Earl Hebner. When Shawn had Bret locked into Bret's own finisher the Sharpshooter, Vince would call for the bell to be rung and Hebner would declare Michaels the victor. The Montreal crowd would be told that Bret submitted before his home country fans in his own finisher. Shawn would walk out as WWE Champion. This is indeed what happened; but, in its aftermath, was chaos never before seen in wrestling history. After a shocked Bret Hart realized what had happened, he spit in Vince McMahon's face and destroyed WWE television monitors, spelling out the letters WCW with his finger. Hart would make his way to the backstage searching Vince McMahon to punch his lights out. Hart sought out his betrayer and proceeded to knock him out. The event prompted a black eyed Vince McMahon to go on RAW the next night and utter the now famous, "Bret screwed Bret," statement. The entire event led to the creation of the sinister Mr. McMahon character, who would wreak havoc on the WWE for years to come. The Montreal Screwjob is undoubtedly the most memorable moment in Survivor Series history.