10 Awesome WWE Survivor Series Matches You Totally Forgot About

9. Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid (WWE Championship Match, 1996)

The WWE Championship match at the 1996 Survivor Series was very much the predecessor to CM Punk vs. John Cena some 15 years later in that the fan base had grown tired of the babyfaced Michaels and his spot atop the WWE mountain and were much more into the edgier, cooler Sycho Sid character that had dominated since his return in July. Fans rolled into the historic Madison Square Garden with the idea that they would be rabid in their support of Sid and, in the process, make their displeasure with the cookie cutter hero in Michaels readily apparent. They did, blasting the reigning and defending champion with a chorus of boos and welcoming his much larger opponent with huge ovation. As the two locked up to start the match, it became clear to all that the so-called New Generation era of World Wrestling Entertainment was dead and the future, a future where shades of grey trumped clear cut "good guys" and "bad guys" and attitude was the name of the game, was dawning. Sid dominated the match, for the most part, but found himself in desperation mode as Michaels mounted a comeback to a swarm of boos. Sid grabbed a camera from ringside and blasted Michaels' manager, and trainer, Jose Lothario, in the chest. Lothario crumpled to the arena floor, clutching his chest in an apparent heart-related emergency. Michaels checked on his trainer and wound up on the receiving end of the same camera before a powerbomb by Sid (to a huge pop) ended his championship reign. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xryvoo_shawn-michaels-vs-sycho-sid_sport The storyline failed to garner the desired response as the fans cheered Lothario's health scare and reacted even more favorably to Sid's title win but the action that preceded the closing angle was quite excellent and easily Sid's best match in WWE to date. More importantly, it continued Michaels' streak of outstanding in-ring performances in '96 as he pulled some truly phenomenal matches out of guys who were not necessarily associated with solid ring work. The performances of both men were extraordinary and the match, though overshadowed by the Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin instant classic earlier in the evening, was a great way to cap off one of the best and most historically significant Survivor Series events of all-time.