10 Best WWE Survivor Series Main Events Ever

Given the alarming rate and volume at which WWE has been hemorrhaging talent from their rosters since April 2020, it can be easy to forget that sometimes they're still capable of capturing the lightning in a bottle.

Case in point, Survivor Series 2012.

An otherwise unremarkable show, the 2012 edition was pushed to another level during the main event which saw WWE Champion CM Punk face down the dual threat of company face/household name John Cena and sentient brick wall Ryback in the biggest threat to his reign to date. 'The Best In The World' may well have surrendered his eventual 434-day run as champion prematurely, were it not for what transpired next.

Somewhere amidst the trio's artillery, Ryback had Shell Shocked both Punk and Cena into another dimension and for all intents and purposes, had the WWE Champion dead to rights. Before he could secure the victory, however, a pack of ravenous 'Hounds of Justice' would jump the barricade, decimate the ringside area and powerbomb the aggressive challenger through an imploding announce table. A groggy Punk would cover Cena to continue his reign and WWE's future was forged.

Over the next nine years, the trio of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley in AEW) would not only snare practically every accolade made available to them (30 title reigns including 12 combined World Championship runs, two Money In The Bank briefcases and two Royal Rumble wins) but would go on to become pillars for both major American wrestling promotions.