1. Team Austin (Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T & The Dudley Boyz) vs Team Bischoff (Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Christian, Scott Steiner & Mark Henry) - Survivor Series 2003
This match possesses all the ingredients of a great traditional Survivor Series contest in spades: a meaningful stipulation, a host of in-ring talent, and well-paced, dramatic action. Slightly unique for the fact that the leaders of either team weren't present in the match itself, only watching on from ringside, the bout played a major role in the power struggle for the Raw brand. Bischoff and Austin were co-GMs in the months leading up to the event, a position Stone Cold was unable to effectively fill due to his inability to stop hitting everybody with the Stunner. A win for his team would allow him to exercise whatever force necessary as GM, whereas a loss would lose him his job - leaving Bischoff as the sole General Manager once more. The emerging story of the match was one of Shawn Michaels fighting to save Stone Cold's job, facing 3-on-1 odds and suffering a particularly nasty bladejob. In typical HBK fashion, he sold the incredible beating he took perfectly, eliminating Christian and Jericho to set up a climactic confrontation with Randy Orton. Bischoff interfered to enrage the partisan Dallas crowd, allowing Austin an excuse to involve himself and blast Orton with a Stunner. Just when a happy ending seemed on the horizon, Batista ran-in out of nowhere to destroy Michaels with a huge powerbomb and allow the Legend Killer to make the pinfall and cost Stone Cold his place in the company. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1auzvt_survivor-series-2003-team-austin-vs-team-bischoff_sport Of course, with professional wrestling being professional wrestling, Austin's forced "retirement" lasted a matter of months before he was back in the WWE, but that shouldn't diminish from the quality and emotion of this match. The image of Stone Cold accompanying an exhausted and bloodied Michaels down the ramp, quietly appreciative of his efforts, is one which is brought up curiously little in wrestling discussions - it's certainly one of the most poignant moments in Survivor Series history, as well as a brilliant ending to a fantastic traditional elimination match.
