Last 12 WWE Survivor Series main events ranked from worst to best
WWE Survivor Series has been home to some of the most unforgettable moments in the company's storied history, most notably the Montreal Screwjob that happened in the 1997 edition.
Traditional tag team elimination matches between four or five wrestlers against each other have been a staple of the show since its inception in 1987. There has been a twist since WWE rebranded the event as Survivor Series: WarGames this year, featuring WarGames matches for both men and women, marking WWE's first main roster event to feature the match.
We are three years into the new decade, with Survivor Series being only a week away. Let's look at the main events from the 2010 to 2021 editions ranked from worst to best in terms of match quality and overall importance in the grand scheme of things.
#12. Survivor Series 2013 - Randy Orton vs The Big Show for the WWE Championship
Easily the worst match on this list. The World's Largest Athlete challenged The Viper for his WWE Championship while The Yes Movement was at its peak. WWE considered the "Yes" chant to be more popular than the wrestler itself, so they removed Bryan from the title picture and replaced him with The Big Show.
This idea had to be scrapped from its initial thought itself. Even the closing moments that foreshadowed a Title Unification match between Randy Orton and John Cena weren't enough to salvage the main event of this edition.
#11. Survivor Series 2017: Team Raw (Braun Strowman, Finn Bálor, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, and Triple H) vs. Team SmackDown (Bobby Roode, John Cena, Randy Orton, Shane McMahon, and Shinsuke Nakamura) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
The main event of the 2017 edition was decent as a stand-alone match, featuring some potential feuds for the future, like Samoa Joe vs. John Cena, Finn Bálor vs. Randy Orton and Braun Strowman vs. Triple H. But, the fact that the match did not have anything at stake, and all of the potential feuds teased in it went nowhere, deemed the whole thing unimportant.
With AJ Styles vs Brock Lesnar for the first-time ever on the card, WWE decided to go with this match instead as the show-closing bout.
#10. Survivor Series 2015: Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose/Sheamus cash-in for the WWE Championship
At the time, Roman Reigns was not as well-received as he is today. A heel turn would have worked for the better, but instead WWE booked a rehash of the Daniel Bryan-Authority storyline. The Big Dog pins former Shield brother Dean Ambrose in a lackluster match, followed by which Sheamus cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract to immediately end Reigns' first World Championship run. It was a dull dud.
#9. Survivor Series 2019: Bayley vs Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match
The only time WWE incorporated the NXT brand into the main roster PLE. The men's and women's traditional survivor series tag team elimination matches, AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Roderick Strong, The Fiend vs Daniel Bryan for the Universal Title, and booking a motivated Brock Lesnar in a match against Rey Mysterio along with it, the Survivor Series 2019 edition was a whole lot of fun.
The main event saw Bayley, Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler wrestle for a good 18-minutes. The NXT Women's Champion has never booked this well ever since, as she came off the match a star.
#8. Survivor Series 2021: Big E vs Roman Reigns
So much can change in a year. Just last year, Big E was the WWE Champion in the main event of the Survivor Series against Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Objectively, it was a fun match but it ultimately didn't amount to much. Also, it was common knowledge that Big E didn't stand a chance in Vince McMahon's company to defeat The Tribal Chief on the particular night.
#7. Survivor Series 2010: Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett for the WWE Championship with John Cena as special guest referee
This one was not memorable by any stretch of imagination, but the match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett at Survivor Series 2010 was pretty good. A worthy main event for a show that was hit-and-miss for the most part.
In retrospect, the stipulation of the match was pointless as Cena stayed with the company, defeating Wade Barrett in a Chairs match a few weeks later at TLC. But that doesn't take anything away from the overall quality of this match.
#6. Survivor Series 2012: CM Punk vs John Cena vs Ryback
This was arguably the most important night of the Survivor Series in the last decade, and thus earns its rank on this list, considering three of the top guys in both WWE and AEW debuted on this night. Sadly, it happened during a lackluster match. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose) completely overshadowed CM Punk's victory over Ryback and John Cena, and the result of the match extended Punk's WWE Championship reign to a full year.
#5. Survivor Series 2011: The Rock & John Cena vs The Miz & R-Truth
The 2011 edition was overall a great show. The main event saw the return of The Rock after seven years, to team up with Cena against the most popular heel act at the time - The Awesome Truth.
Whilst the match itself was a build-up to the main-event of WrestleMania 28, the crowd was in a frenzy to witness The Rock in action, which added to the quality of the bout. In the closing moments of the show, The Rock hit Cena with a trademark Rock Bottom.
#4. Survivor Series 2016: Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg
From a long-term booking standpoint, the main event of Survivor Series 2016 was pitch perfect. A noteworthy ending for a show that will forever be remembered for two significant matches and an entertaining showing from Sheamus and Cesaro (dubbed The Bar).
Survivor Series 2016's true main event was a five-on-five tag match - a masterclass in professional wrestling storytelling.
Perhaps it was the length and quality of this match, along with the shock of the main event, that evoked a positive reception overall for the show.
#3. Survivor Series 2020: Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns /The Undertaker's Retirement
Technically, the main event of the 2020 edition was The Undertaker's retirement segment. The Phenom deserved an arena full of cheers, but sadly that was not the case. While not much of note happened, it was nevertheless a decent segment.
The last match on the card was a stellar match between two of the top names in the industry today. Reigns and McIntyre tore the house down in a hard-hitting match worth a revisit.
#2. Survivor Series 2018: Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan dethroned AJ Styles on November the 13th, 2018 in a go-home episode of SmackDown, replacing the latter in this match, which was originally booked as a sequel to Styles' and Lesnar's spectacular match the previous year.
In similar style, Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan tore the house down with a cleverly booked match from start to finish.
#1. Survivor Series 2014: Team Cena (John Cena, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback) vs. Team Authority (Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Seth Rollins) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match
At no. 1, the main event of Survivor Series 2014 claims its spot, owing to a fantastic match and a remarkable debut.
The booking was a tad convoluted, with The Big Show switching between babyface and heel, turning into a joke at this point. But nothing could have prepared us for the last few minutes of this match, which saw Dolph Ziggler almost single-handedly take out members of The Authority. As the numbers advantage seemed to end Ziggler's night, Sting appeared for the first time in WWE. After a brief face-off with Triple H foreshadowing their WrestleMania 31 clash, he cost The Authority the match.