25 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Ruthless Aggression PPV

12. It’s No Surprise They Nearly Scrapped Survivor Series

Vinnie Mac and company almost waved goodbye to an old favourite in 2010. The boss called Survivor Series “obsolete” in conference calls, but WWE ultimately kept it around anyway. Fan pressure grew and grew once it became clear that McMahon was threatening an old favourite. Viewers effectively said: 'Hey! You're responsible for it being lacklustre, so sort it out and everything will be fine'.

The 2002-2007 versions binged for this piece prove that Survivors was struggling to live up to the billing as one of the ‘Big 4’ by the time the 2000s rolled around. WWE flirted with the elimination match concept on and off, and they even introduced the brand new Elimination Chamber match type, but the show generally felt uninspired next to Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

It's almost shocking that Vince didn't stick to his decision and send Survivor Series to the scrapheap like he had King Of The Ring following the 2002 version of that pay-per-view. Come on now. McMahon literally called the Series "obsolete", so there seemed to be no way back for it once he'd shamed it that way and put a verbal red pen through the concept.

Wait, why is this here though? Survivors 2010 didn't take place during the 'Ruthless Aggression' era. No, it didn't, but the final one during that period in 2007 relied on a Hell In A Cell bout between Batista and The Undertaker to stay relevant. Without that and Edge's return, it would've been one of the more easily skippable PPVs of the era.

You could just tell management were sour on it even back then.