10 Fascinating WWE Survivor Series 1987 Facts

6. There Were Three Notable Non-Wrestling PPV Debuts That Night

Survivor Series 87
WWE

In addition to the aforementioned twenty wrestlers getting their first crack at pay-per-view wrestling, a few familiar faces also popped up on the Survivor Series 1987 telecast, though some wouldn't become recognizable until later.

During downtime between matches, Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura threw to a video package of newcomer Ted Dibiase, rhapsodizing about his money and what Thanksgiving meant to him. It was Dibiase's first pay-per-view appearance, as well as the first for two other future WWE notables.

In the video, Dibiase recalled recent instances of him humiliating "common fans" by having them do menial and degrading acts for money, all of which were shown during the montage. One was a teenaged Rob Van Dam, who at a live event kissed Dibiase's feet for cash. Another time at a TV taping, Linda McMahon (not referred to by name) appeared as a planted shill, barking like a dog to try and earn some of Dibiase's dough. For the latter two, it was their first on-camera brush with wrestling "greatness".

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.