13 Greatest Moments In WWE Survivor Series History
8. Bob Backlund Defeats Bret Hart - Survivor Series 1994
Another major WWF Championship win to report on here, this time from the 1994 Survivor Series when Bob Backlund challenged Bret Hart in a “Throw in the Towel” submission match.
Bret was enjoying a 248-day reign as champion, having won the belt from Yokozuna at WrestleMania X, while Backlund was in the midst of his second spell with the company and had set his sights on another run as the heavyweight champion of the world.
The match itself was a classic affair, lasting an incredible 35 minutes, but once again it was the finish for which this one sticks in the mind. Deep into the contest, Backlund would lock Bret in the Crossface Chickenwing, and he proceeded to apply the hold for nine and a half minutes before Bret’s mother reached her tether’s end and threw in the towel to halt the match.
Of course, the conclusion wasn’t quite as straightforward as that. Owen Hart, playing the role of bitter brother at ringside, had spent a good 4-5 minutes begging—tears and all—that his mother and father end the match and throw in the towel on Bret’s behalf.
The eventual towel-throw prompted wild celebrations from Owen, while it also marked a victory for Backlund some 16 years after he first won the WWF Title, making for one of the more dramatic title changes in Survivor Series history.