10 Things WWE Regrets About Survivor Series

4. Cockroach-Brained Booking

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In which the family-friendly WWF was unable to reconcile its send-the-fans-home-happy philosophy with long-term planning.

As aforementioned, Vince McMahon was never really enamoured with the Survivor Series concept. Given his love of alliteration, it's not unreasonable to deduce that he conceived of the name first. He first tweaked it in 1990, the main event of which was the 'Ultimate Survivor' gimmick. The babyfaces-at-the-forefront ethos meant that Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana vanquished the heel squadron - which Sgt. Slaughter, two months away from capturing the WWF Heavyweight Title, wasn't even involved in. He was disqualified from his elimination match, having cheated in a failed attempt to overcome perennial midcarder Tito Santana.

Sgt. Slaughter didn't bomb because Tito eliminated him in a traditional Survivors match. He bombed because he embodied the WWF's desperation to cling onto the mainstream pulse in the most tasteless manner possible.

Still, this cast the Iraqi defector as a transitional champion before he even won the gold. It's no wonder the WWF had to downgrade WrestleMania VII from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!