Every WWE Survivor Series Ranked - From Worst To Best
2. 1996
The night of a thousand debuts. Well, the night of four debuts to be exact. Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon were the first newcomers, surviving an elimination match that saw them team with The Godwinns to go up against Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and The New Rockers. Furnas and LaFon were a breath of fresh air in the tag division at the time, and the fact that their WWF run came to nothing will always rankle somewhat.
Some guy called Rocky Maivia also made his debut, overcoming Goldust and Crush at the last to be his team's sole survivor. He would go on to do some other stuff and be in movies, but nothing of any real note... Flash Funk also made his debut, his elimination match ending in a no contest when all the wrestlers wouldn't stop wrestling.
Bret Hart and Steve Austin had a #1 Contender match that was every bit as good as their WrestleMania 13 match, albeit minus the era-defining double turn. The Undertaker continued having 1996's most cartoonish feud with Mankind, defeating Foley whilst Paul Bearer was suspended above the ring in a cafe.
The main event saw Sycho Sid defeat Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship after lightly pressing a camera into the chest of Shawn's elderly manager and mentor Jose Lothario, a memorable result played out in front of a famously hostile audience who cheered heel Sid's every move.
1. 2002
The last six months of 2002 are so very, very overlooked when fans discuss the great eras in WWE. The 2002 SummerSlam is up there as one of the best shows of all time, and the 2002 Survivor Series may well be the finest. It saw the debut of the Elimination Chamber, a monumental enough occasion topped only by Shawn Michaels improbably climbing to the top of the mountain once more to win the thing and the World Championship.
The SmackDown Six took part in a triple threat for the WWE Tag Team Championships, Los Guerreros surviving against the teams of Edge & Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit. Billy Kidman defeated Jamie Noble in a fun match for the Cruiserweight Championship, and Paul Heyman shockingly turned on Brock Lesnar to side with Big Show and hand his new charge the WWE Championship.
In 2002 the WWE roster was stacked, and this show saw all of that talent put to great use. The new year promised much, with new acquisitions gaining steam and the company creating competition within itself to make up for the lack of WCW. It wouldn't last, but 2002 still stands tall as the finest Survivor Series in history.
Will 2016 top it?