Who has the most wins at WWE's autumn classic?
Saturday 14 November 2015 14:34, UK
Survivor Series is all about the numbers.
We’ve had a flick through the annuls to find out some killer stats, discovering which Superstar has the most Survivor Series wins, who has been charged with kicking off the show most often and much, much more.
So read below for the all-important facts and figures and then watch WWE Survivor Series 2015, live and exclusive on Sky Sports Box Office from 1am on Sunday (Monday morning)…
Fans packed into the Kiel Center/Scottrade Center in St Louis, Missouri in 1998 and saw a whopping 14 matches. There were no traditional Survivor Series elimination bouts, with the pay-per-view instead housing the Deadly Game tournament for the vacant WWE Championship. A host of grapplers competed but Mankind and The Rock made the final; the former profiting from interference by The McMahons to edge “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in his last-four encounter and the latter beating The Undertaker via DQ after Kane entered the fray. Mankind was screwed in the final, however, with Vince McMahon ringing for the bell when Rock administered a Sharpshooter, despite The Hardcore Legend not tapping out. Austin had the last word, though, hurling Rock out of the ring and hitting a Stunner on Mankind.
Richfield, Ohio was chosen to stage the maiden edition of Survivor Series, an event at which every match was an elimination contest. The team of Andre the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed and Rick Rude conquered Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Bam Bam Bigelow, with Giant emerging as the sole survivor. In the evening’s other dustups, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Brutus Beefcake and Ricky Steamboat bested The Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, Danny Davis, Ron Bass and Harley Race, while The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno) were the final women standing in a Divas encounter, and The Killer Bees and The Young Stallions emerged victorious from a 20-man tag-team duel that also featured The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) and The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart).
The Undertaker got the better of Michaels at WrestleMania 25 and 26 but there is no separating the two when it comes to Survivor Series matches - at least until Sunday night when The Phenom will wrestle his 18th bout at the Fall Classic. The Phenom made his debut in 1990 before winning his maiden WWE Title exactly 12 months later by overcoming Hulk Hogan. Michaels, meanwhile, tasted Survivor Series for the first time in 1988, banding with Rockers partner Marty Jannetty as well as Powers of Pain, The British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation and The Young Stallions in a traditional elimination match, and went on to feature at the autumn extravaganza on and off for the next 21 years, with his greatest moment possibly when he bested Triple H and Chris Jericho, among others, in the inaugural Elimination Chamber Match in 2002 to become World Heavyweight Champion.
Other than his success over Hogan at the aforementioned 1991 show, Taker has also managed to dispatch Kamala, Yokozuna, Mankind, Heidenreich, Big Show and Kane in singles action, while he reigned supreme in many tag tussles, too, with partners including Lex Luger and Scott and Rick Steiner. It hasn't always been plain sailing for the legend, though; with The Phenom on the losing end at Survivor Series five times, with The Rock (1998), Kurt Angle (2000), Vince McMahon (2003), Mr Kennedy (2006) and Batista (2007) the men fortunate enough to conquer him. The Superstar with the most losses in Survivor Series history, however, is Michaels, who was humbled 10 times in his 17 bouts. The Icon was edged in a multitude of tag encounters but was also on the receiving end of singles beatings against Bret Hart (1992), Sycho Sid (1996) and Randy Orton (2007).
You couldn’t keep Hart away from Survivor Series between 1987 and 1997, with the Excellence of Execution competing at every event in that time period. The Canadian is perhaps best remembered for what happened in Montreal in 1997, when Vince McMahon screwed him out of the WWE Championship in his match with Shawn Michaels (more on that later). Hart’s unbroken Survivor Series run was matched in 2013 when Orton faced Big Show. The Viper has regularly appeared in elimination matches – he is a three-time sole survivor (2003, 2004, 2005) – but also recorded singles triumphs over Michaels and Bad News Barrett. However, an attack from Seth Rollins last year denied him a 12th straight contest at Survivor Series and the Apex Predator will be absent in 2015 with a dislocated shoulder.
The late, great "Macho Man", who passed away from a heart attack in 2011, cannot match The Undertaker for Survivor Series wins but unlike The Deadman, he never tasted defeat at the autumn spectacular. Savage triumphed in traditional tag encounters in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1993, as well as when partnering Mr Perfect to tackle Ric Flair and Razor Ramon in 1992. Was that a record to be proud of? As the man himself would say: ‘Ooooooh, yeah!’ The Ultimate Warrior and Mickie James (both 4-0) and Kelly Kelly and Brutus Beefcake (both 3-0) also took to Survivor Series like a duck to water but it was a different story for Albert/A-Train and Lita, who lost each of the five matches in which they competed. Lita won the Women’s Championship four times but never quite found her mojo at Survivor Series, defeated by Ivory, Trish Stratus (twice), Molly Holly and Mickie James.
JBL’s bulging vocabulary and witty turn of phrase has seen him slot into life as a commentator with ease but the Texan’s substantial in-ring acumen meant he was often asked to get Survivor Series off to a bang. The 17-time (yes, 17-time!) Hardcore Champion figured in the first match of the night on five occasions, in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2008. All of JBL’s outings were high-octane elimination tag matches and even though he never made it to the end of his bouts unscathed, he always left his mark. So, if JBL was the early bird, who closed out the most Survivor Series? Step forward Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid main-evented the programme six times, doing so in 1989, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2005 and most famously in 1997, when he benefited from The Montreal Screwjob to walk out of Canada with the WWE Championship, which bring us on to…
The only time Survivor Series has ventured from America was when it hit Montreal in 1997, an event still talked about to this day. The fans were treated to a bevy of elimination matches, as well as an Intercontinental Title tussle between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Owen Hart, but the drama, intrigue and controversy was provided by Hart and Michaels’ main event. When Michaels captured Hart in his own Sharpshooter manoeuvre, Vince McMahon ordered that the bell be rung to hand the Heartbreak Kid the win – and the WWF Title – despite the fact Hart had yet to submit. An irate Hart spat at McMahon, left to join WCW, and had nothing to do with WWE until 2005. The Hitman made a longer return in 2009, resolving his issues with Michaels and going on to face McMahon at WrestleMania 26, winning via help from members of his famed wrestling family.
SURVIVOR SERIES BOOKING DETAILS
WWE Survivor Series will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) and Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) at 1am on Sunday, November 22 (Monday morning).
WWE Survivor Series will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) but NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) between 9am, Monday, November 23 and 9pm, Tuesday, October 24.
Repeat showings will last for three hours, with the final showing STARTING at 9pm on Tuesday, October 24.
The event is priced at £19.95 for UK customers, €24.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
Viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Survivor Series from Tuesday, November 10. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
You can also book WWE Survivor Series online from Tuesday, November 10 by visiting this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/
Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus.
Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
