5 things you should know about WWE Survivor Series

The Survivor Series, often regarded as one of the “Big Four” events along with SummerSlam, Royal Rumble and the WrestleMania is the second longest running pay-per-view in the WWE, after WrestleMania.Although it was mainly started with tag-team in its concept, championship matches were later included, too.With the 28th annual Survivor Series around the corner, here are 5 things that you should know relating to the pay-per-view.

#5 The Traditional Tag-Team elimination match

The eight man or the ten man tag team match is the first thing that comes to our mind whenever we have the Survivor Series around. The concentration of the name, Survivor Series is basically based, keeping in mind, the tag team matches.

The pay-per-view consisted of all tag team matches since its inception until the year, 1991.

Although the importance of these tag team matches has decreased over the years, an excitement, involving these tag team matches, where the top calibre from both Raw and Smackdown generally combine into teams, still remains.

These matches are provided with a minimum time limit of 20 minutes.

#4 Debuts of The Undertaker and The Rock

The Survivor Series till date has seen the debut of two most successful WWE superstars.

The Undertaker made his official on-screen camera debut on the 22nd of November, 1990 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view as a mystery partner of Ted DiBiases Million Dollar team. With just one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver.

The Rock made his debut in November, 1996 in Survivor Series in an eight-man tag team elimination match. He was the sole survivor in that match.

#3 Steve Austin vs Triple H ending in a No Contest: Worst ending

The Survivor Series (2000) was settled for a No Disqualification match as its main event between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H.

Both, being the match, a no disqualification one took the full advantage and hit each other with every possible object. Stone Cold dominated most of the match but Triple H countered a Stone Cold Stunner into a neck breaker. Same with Steve Austin who converted an outside the ring Pedigree into a back drop.

This went on even in the back stage and then, it was Chris Benoit, from Radicalz who interfered. Triple H escaped in a car but Austin suddenly appeared in a forklift, lifted Triple Hs car 30 feets above in the air. The car landed on its top with Triple H trapped inside. The match resulted in a no contest as Austin celebrated.

This match, till now is regarded as the worst ending match in the history of Survivor Series.

#2 First championship match in Survivor Series in 1991

The first ever championship match for any division in Survivor Series occurred in 1991 between the champion, Hulk Hogan and the challenger, The Undertaker.

The match between the two was coined as “The Gravest Challenge” with The Undertaker, delivering a Tombstone Piledriver on Hogan onto a steel chair and pinning him for the win. The Undertaker, who debuted a year ago in the same pay-per-view, won his first WWF Championship.

This win sent shock waves through the WWE universe, children specially, as Hulk Hogan had lost the WWF Championship in such a high-profile match in such dastardly fashion.

#1 The Montreal Incident

Commonly referred to as the Montreal incident, the “Montreal Screwjob” was one of the most controversial and real-life professional incident in the history of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

The owner, Vince McMahon and the other employees of the company manipulated the pre-determined outcome of the main event match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, held on November 9, 1997 at the Molson Centre, Montreal, Canada.

The "Screwjob" is generally believed to be an off-screen betrayal of Hart, who was one of the WWF's longest-tenured and most popular performers at the time. The manipulation occurred without Hart’s knowledge, resulting in a WWF Championship loss for him to Shawn Michaels.

This remained as Hart’s last performance for WWF before departing for rival promotion, World Championship Wrestling, WCW.