5 Must-watch traditional survivor series matches
In 1987, when WWE wanted to capitalise on the success of Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania III; they started a ‘Thanksgiving’ tradition known as Survivor Series. This Sunday, Survivor Series returns to Canada for the first time, since the infamous ‘Montreal Screwjob’ incident 19 years ago.
The mainstay of every Survivor Series pay-per-view has been the traditional Survivor Series match.
Andre, the Giant, was the sole survivor in the inaugural Survivor Series after he defeated Hulk Hogan’s teammate, Bam Bam Bigelow. The match does deserve a passing mention, but several other traditional Survivor Series encounters have transpired since then. Only some have lasted the test of time.
Let’s revisit 5 of them to get you hyped for this weekend's PPV.
#5 Team Piper vs. Team Flair (Survivor Series 1991)
In the mid to late 80s, there were two main world champions. Hulk Hogan was the mainstay for the WWE, whereas Ric Flair was the champion for the NWA. When Ric Flair came to WWE as the ‘real world champion’, it opened up possibilities for dream feuds that fans had never seen before.
In line with the same, we saw Team Flair comprising of Ric Flair, The Mountie, Ted DiBiase and The Warlord, face off against the babyface team of Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, The British Bulldog and Virgil.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan on commentary were absolutely stellar, with Heenan introducing The British Bulldog as (the man with) the million dollar body, ten cent brain and a Whoopi Goldberg hairdo. The hot crowd just added to the ambience while the all-star ambience tore the house down with skill. Definitely, a must watch for old school wrestling fans.