10 Worst WWE Survivor Series EVER - According To Dave Meltzer

4. Survivor Series 1997 (1.83)

the rock mankind survivor series 1998
WWE.com

There's a very, very, very controversial ending to this show you may have heard about before. But frankly, it's a good job Vince McMahon left the world with arguably the biggest talking point in company history as the show went off the air. The planned 'schmoz' Bret Hart assumed was taking place would have resulted in this card being the most-panned 'Big Four' event ever.

Despite the company being on the verge of incredible, history-making feats, it's astonishing how disparate the 1997 Survivor Series really is.

The elimination matches are uniformly awful. One after another, each eight-man sh*tshow drags along to virtual silence at the sight of illogical teams and recklessly booked battles. Elsewhere, a Kane/Mankind brawl is a passable debut for 'The Big Red Machine' and Steve Austin's four minute decimation of Owen Hart only highlighted how not ready he was to return to action.

The biggest offender is the woeful Team Canada/Team USA clash. Phil Lafon is the only actual Canadian along with two Americans and a Brit, whilst the patriotic opposition is made up of Vader, an antagonistic Marc Mero, newcomer Steve Blackman and a disinterested and injured Goldust. Nobody seemed to give a f*ck, least of all the wrestlers themselves.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett