10 Best Survivor Series Elimination Matches EVER - According To Dave Meltzer
6. Ten Team Elimination Match (1987, ****)
Almost inseparable from its 1988 counterpart, the maiden pay-per-view's multi-team elimination match was a relentless thrill-ride benefitting from the raft of talent willing to go full tilt ahead of getting a rest on the apron before rocketing back into the battle.
Fed the right mix of technical tandems (The Hart Foundation, Strike Force, The Rougeau Brothers, The Killer Bees) and power combos (Demolition, The British Bulldogs, The Islanders), the varied flow of action with every tag keeps every exchange exciting. A masterclass in booking 20 diverse talents, the timing and pacing reflects the glorious palette of prominent tandems the company took nearly 30 years to top.
Aesthetically too, the match is f*cking gorgeous. There are robustly defined and well drawn bad guys and good guys, kept tribal with matching attire and philosophies that dictate the periods of offence for each side. The ring, especially in the early stages, is awash with colour and charisma lightyears beyond today's crop donning blue and red shirts and calling it a storyline.
Vince McMahon's rationale for the futility of tag team wrestling was boiled down into a callous rhetorical question - why pay four guys for a match when you only need two? Matches like this express exactly why. Because done right, tag team wrestling is absolutely extraordinary.