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#1 Survivor Series 2014 — Team Authority vs. Team Cena
For someone who has watched professional wrestling for longer than he would care to admit, it feels strange ranking a match from 2014 so highly. We have seen great eras come and go over the years, and it is generally considered that the New Era from 2013 onwards isn't one of the best the WWE has ever put together.
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That being said, the company did have a very engaging storyline at the time. The Authority, led by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon had spent most of 2013/14 keeping Daniel Bryan away from the WWE Championship. This led to a monster babyface push for Bryan and brought Triple H back into his comfortable position of the most hated heel in the company.
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By the time Survivor Series came along, Bryan was out with an injury and the Authority had chosen new targets to go after, most notably John Cena and Dolph Ziggler. The match had a clear, engaging stipulation that if team Authority lost, the McMahon/Helmsley era would have to end. It was a result we all wanted, both from a kayfabe and a non-kayfabe perspective.
The match wasn't able to boast very much in terms of star power, but the guys in the ring all did their very best to make this match the classic that it is. We had a Big Show heel turn part way through, some impressive stuff by both Luke Harper and Eric Rowan, and most significantly of all, we saw one of the best in-ring performances of the year in the shape of Dolph Ziggler.
When the match boiled down to a 3 on 1 situation, Dolph pulled out all the stops, managing to eliminate two members before being beaten down by Triple H in a desperate attempt to save his job. Then, as it looked like the Authority was on the cusp of victory, the sound of a crow echoed around the arena and out came one of the greatest wrestling icons to have ever laced up a pair of boots.
Sting's debut is one of those moments that will live on in the annals of the industry. For younger fans, it was a way to conclude the match with the kind of result they wanted to see, but for older fans, it was both a trip down memory lane and a truly shocking moment that we thought we'd never experience.
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