10 Most Shocking WWE Survivor Series Moments
Screwjobs, showdowns, and attempted vehicular homicide.
As WWE's second oldest serial pay-per-view, Survivor Series is one of the most storied events in wrestling history.
It remains a major highlight on the company's annual calendar, even 30 years after its inception, and while sometimes considered the least enticing of WWE's 'Big Four' events, Survivor Series still carries a certain lustre. Its trademark elimination bouts are often action-packed, star-studded affairs, and as the last A-tier PPV of the year, the event usually marks the point where the company start setting the stage for the Royal Rumble.
This year's incarnation takes place on November 19th, and while few are fired up for the pitched Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar main event, there's still a strong sense of excitement. Survivor Series doesn't guarantee surprises in the same way as the Rumble, but it has played host to dozens of game-changing moments over the years, and with any luck, 2017 will continue this theme.
Unexpected returns, unthinkable title changes, earth-shattering debuts, brutal assaults: Survivor Series has hosted them all, and continues to deliver on a near-annual basis. Let's take a look at the event's most surprising moments ahead of its 31st incarnation.
10. The Ultimate Opportunist Strikes (2008)
Edge's most explosive WWE return came during the 2010 Royal Rumble match, but 'The Rated R Superstar's' Survivor Series 2008 comeback isn't far behind it.
Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Vladimir Kozlov were set to fight for the WWE Championship that night, but it wasn't to be. The company concocted a storyline that saw Hardy found unconscious in a hotel room prior to the bout, and it was transformed to a plodding one-on-one between 'The Game' and the Russian bruiser, who bored the crowd to sleep with a series of impossibly long resthold exchanges.
Fortunately, Edge was there to save the day. The Canadian hadn't been seen since The Undertaker Chokeslammed him through the ring at SummerSlam, and the crowd went nuts when he appeared from the back, saving them from the hell Kozlov and Hunter had created. Vickie Guerrero inserted him into the match in Hardy's place, and while Jeff tried to intervene with a steel chair, he couldn't stop 'The Ultimate Opportunist.'
Hardy cracked Kozlov and Triple H with the weapon, but Edge speared him out of his boots, then stole a pinfall on 'The Game,' securing his third World Title. An invigorating moment on an otherwise lacklustre PPV.