The Rock returns to the same event where he made his debut, the 2011 Survivor Series. Part of the big four along with WWE Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble and the Summerslam, the historical Survivor Series has been a survival of the fittest among WWE’s elite.
Throughout the long Survivor Series history, fans have witnessed Andre the Giant, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart battle in multi-man elimination matches. The main events have varied from WWE title matches, elimination spectaculars and even a Hell in the Cell match.
Look back at all the past Survivor Series main events and relive WWE history.
1987
1987 was the year of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. The two continued their battle at the first ever WWE Survivor Series. Both men helmed five man teams that included Bam Bam Bigelow and Ken Patera on Hogan’s side. Andre had two other giants in his corner, King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang.
After Hogan got eliminated by disqualification, Andre ended up one on one with Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow couldn’t hold off the giant and Andre became the sole survivor at the first Survivor Series main event.
1988
1988’s event was a huge lead up to the Wrestlemania V clash between Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. On this night, they remained a team as the Mega-Powers and eliminated The Twin Towers, Ted DiBiase, The Red Rooster and Haku to win the main event.
1989
Hogan was left out of the main event as he won a match earlier in the night and was brutally attacked by both the Macho King Randy Savage and the Human Wrecking Machine Zeus. The Ultimate Warrior captained his four man team in the main event and was the sole survivor after he pinned both Arn Anderson and Bobby Heenan to win the match.
1990
The 1990 Survivor Series event was the first and only to feature the “Ultimate Survivor’s Match” where all the previous survivors teamed together. Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana and The Ultimate Warrior took on The Million Dollar Team and prevailed even though it was three against five. This Survivor Series is also noted for The Undertaker’s WWE debut.
1991
The 1991 Survivor Series featured the first ever singles match main event. The WWE Champion Hulk Hogan took on The Undertaker. As the two wrestlers battled, Ric Flair slid a chair into the ring and the Undertaker landed his tombstone finisher. He pinned Hogan for the victory and won his first WWE championship.
1992
In the first of many WWE Championship matches against each other, Shawn Michaels took on Bret “The Hitman” Hart. These two battled back and forth, but it was Hart who retained his title in the low-key main event. Most of the Survivor Series focus was placed on Macho Man and The Ultimate Warrior against Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. Ultimate Warrior backed out at the last minute and was replaced by Mr. Perfect.
1993
The big feud heading into the 1993 Survivor Series was between Lex Luger and Yokozuna. The two met at the 1993 Summerslam and continue their feud for the 1993 Survivor Series main event. Luger’s “All-American” got the win after The Undertaker and Yokozuna got a double countout and Luger made quick work of Ludvig Borga.
1994
In a rematch from the 1994 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker took on Yokozuna in a casket match. Chuck Norris was the special enforcer used to keep wrestlers out of the way and Undertaker finally got revenge on Yokozuna by placing him in the casket and shutting the lid.
1995
Bret Hart was apart of the Survivor Series main event scene again when he challenged Diesel for the WWE title. The match was a no disqualification bout and the two went back and forth inside the ring. Hart eventually got a roll-up and won the WWE Championship once again.
1996
Psycho Sid came into the 1996 Survivor Series with a rage and he proved it as he defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship in the back and forth main event.
1997
Simply known as the Montreal Screwjob, the 1997 Survivor Series pitted Shawn Michaels against Bret Hart five years after their first Survivor Series encounter. Shawn Michaels would get the win this time, but it was only because Vince McMahon ordered the bell to be rung in one of the most controversial WWE endings ever.