Ranking Every Raw Vs SmackDown WWE Survivor Series Match From Worst To Best

7. Team Raw Vs Team SmackDown (2005)

Bray Wyatt Dean Ambrose Chris Jericho
WWE

A spirited brawl between warring brands all the way back in 2005 highlighted the full potential of the Raw Vs SmackDown gimmick long before the company made it an annual tradition over ten years later.

With no obvious stakes attached but a host of stars in the match itself, the contest did well not just to entertain on the night but to overcome the looming shadow of the recently departed Eddie Guerrero. His tragic passing hung over the entire event (and in the case of several performers, stretched around their biceps), not least in a match he was set to feature prominently in.

As a talismanic figure on SmackDown, he was set to briefly clash with Raw stalwart Shawn Michaels ahead of a planned WrestleMania match between the two the following year. Without that thread, the clash simply pulled a host of loose ones between the mixed faces and heels until Randy Orton showed his Survivor Series skill yet again with a third consecutive elimination match victory.

Lost to much of the of haze around these shows at the time, this is surprisingly worthy of a revisit.

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