10 Best WWE Survivor Series’ EVER - According To Dave Meltzer
6. Survivor Series 1996 (3.07)
Though there were spells in the mid-1990s where WWE as company seemed to be tiptoeing closer to oblivion, the collected works of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker ensured a level of safety until the greater times ahead were finally ushered in.
Never was this more apparent than at Madison Square Garden's 1996 edition of the Thanksgiving classic.
A risible undercard featuring four-on-four elimination battles repeatedly emphasised how far behind the curve Vince McMahon had fallen, but couldn't spoil the loyal crowd's enthusiasm for three blinding singles battles.
The Undertaker and Mankind shared their final pay-per-view brawl of 1996 as 'The Deadman' finally embarked on a post-purple era. Elsewhere, an electric WWE Title main event saw Shawn Michaels perform one of the finest carry jobs in company history, alongside a hyped up Sycho Sid bouncing more off the walls than usual thanks to the reverberations of the the bloodthirsty New York audience.
But the show was stolen by an utterly beautiful battle between a returning Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. 'It's not a church, but it's holy ground for The Hitman', said Hart on their MSG locale. A technical masterpiece with teases of the sort of violence that would become prevalent in their subsequent rivalry, it was a full-bodied opening chapter of the company's most important ever storyline.