Best Non-Survivor Series Matches in Survivor Series History

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Have I already written this article? Because I feel like I may have already written this article. Oh well – there’s certainly a lot worse out there in this day and age of clickbait and shit. To be honest, I’m about two weeks late to the ball game because I completely forgot about Survivor Series. Turns out, it is still a thing that the WWE does once a year. And, this weekend happens to be the day on which they’re having this year’s Survivor Series. So, what do you know? Time to take a trip down memory lane.

I always loved Survivor Series. Not just because of the wrestling, but because it always feels like it’s the sort of official unofficial kick off to the holiday season. Plus, some of the biggest moments in wrestling history have happened at Survivor Series – the Montreal Screwjob, the first Elimination Chamber, the Deadly Game tournament, the Gobbledy Gooker, Sting showing up on WWE programming, etc. etc.. You get the point.

It’s known for the traditional five on five (sometimes four on four) tag team elimination matches, but there’s an undertow of awesome non-Survivor Series matches that complement the event’s history. That’s what I’m hear to examine today, so everyone put on your monocles.

Honorable Mentions Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had a couple of memorable title matches there in the 90s – the first, in 1992, was a damn good bout straight up. The second, in 1997, was memorable for a different reason. That was the infamous Montreal Screwjob match. Nonetheless, memorable….so hey – it counts, right?

I’d also like to mention the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship unification match from 2001 between Edge and Test. At the time, it was two young guys trying to break through to the main event at the culmination of the invasion angle. I always found that mid-card bout to be underrated – it was short, but fun.

Top 10 Non-Survivor Series Matches in Survivor Series History

10. Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (2005) – This was the first of the ‘Best of Seven’ between these guys. Might catch some shit for this one, but man – if you don’t consider this among the greatest rivalries of the era, you need to go back and watch it. One of the best models for a United States/Intercontinental type program out there.

9. WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels (2007) – Sometimes, the weird stipulations of banning moves makes a match confusing in convoluted, but banning HBK’s Sweet Chin Music in this one played beautifully into the psychology of it. Michaels went for the superkick, but paused, thinking about the stipulation. BOOM! RKO – Orton wins. Excellent execution.

8. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (1996) – Two legends, right before Austin’s star really began to take off, #1 contender’s spot on the line, went for 24+ minutes. This one checks all the boxes.

7. Last Man Standing: Triple H vs. Ric Flair (2005) – I didn’t love Flair’s run as Intercontinental Champion in late 2005 at the time, but looking back at it, he had a pretty fun little run. The rivalry with Triple H was phenomenal stuff. I distinctly remember the cage match between these two at Taboo Tuesday, but this one was excellent, too.

6. WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (2009) – A lot of shenanigans going on with this one, but it was just good old fashioned wrestling fun. You had the predictable finish with Cena, winning, but man – how they got there was a blast.

5. WWE Championship: Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (1994) – If you need to know one thing about me, it’s that I’m an absolute sucker for 30+ minute world title matches. This classic went 35 fuckin’ minutes, and I loved every second of it.

4. World Heavyweight Championship: Batista vs. Undertaker, Hell in a Cell (2007) – What a rivalry between two of SmackDown’s all-time legends. Edge dressed up as a cameraman and hit ‘Taker with the camera. Batista got the win. CLASSIC wrestling shenanigans.

3. Elimination Chamber (2002) – How could you not have the original Elimination Chamber high on this list? RVD, Kane, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and Booker T. What a cage full of legends. Who could forget that Five Star Frog Splash off the pod? Who could forget the visual of HBK raising the big gold belt with confetti falling to close the show?

2. Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles (2017) – Call me crazy, but this was one of my favorite matches of 2017. At times, I legitimately thought Styles was going to get the win. I dare say this is Lesnar’s best match since 2013.

1. WWE Championship: Bret Hart vs. Diesel (1995) – Maybe it’s just my childhood nostalgia getting the best of me, but this was the first match I thought of when contemplating this article. No disqualification was just the cherry on top of this 20+ minute showdown.

What did I miss, wrestling Twitter? Shit, I know y’all have something to say.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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