30 facts from 30 years of WWE Survivor Series
With Survivor Series taking place Sunday, theScore is celebrating the WWE's annual fall classic throughout the week with an in-depth look. Here, we take a look at 30 essential facts you need to know about the history of the pay-per-view - one from every year its taken place.
Related - Q-and-A with Jim Ross (Part 1): Talks Goldberg-Lesnar, 1-man show, Kurt Angle
Related - Q-and-A with Jim Ross (Part 2): Talks Survivor Series card, WWE's commentary team
1987 - The inaugural edition of Survivor Series took place at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio, on Nov. 26, 1987. The event was headlined by a 5-on-5 elimination match, with Andre the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed, and Rick Rude defeating Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow.
1988 - The record for the most consecutive opening-match appearances at Survivor Series is held by five different superstars, two of which are Brutus Beefcake and The Honky Tonk Man. They were eliminated simultaneously in 1988, when Beefcake applied a sleeper to The Honky Tonk Man outside of the ring, resulting in a double count-out.
1989 - Survivor Series teams began using four-member units instead of five, all bearing trademark names like The Dream Team, Hulkamaniacs, Rude Brood, and Roddy's Rowdies.
1990 - Arguably the worst gimmick in company history emerged by hatching out of a giant egg, with The Gobbledy Gooker (Hector Guerrero in disguise) dancing around the ring with announcer Mean Gene Okerlund. The character received resounding boos, and wasn't seen again until WrestleMania X-7.
1991 - It wasn't until the fifth annual Survivor Series that a singles match was finally booked on the card. The Undertaker defeated Hogan to become WWF Champion for the first time in his career.
1992 - The first of 18 Casket matches in WWE history was won by The Undertaker, who shut the lid on Kamala.
1993 - Only once in Survivor Series history have championships recognized by another existing promotion (excluding WWE's invasion storyline with WCW) been defended at the event. The Heavenly Bodies of Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express to become the new SMV Tag Team Champions.
1994 - The Teamsters of Shawn Michaels, Jim Neidhart, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart, and Diesel hold the distinction of being the only five-man Survivor Series unit to be eliminated at the exact same time.
1995 - Aja Kong put forth one of the most dominant displays ever seen at a Survivor Series by eliminating every single member of the opposing team by herself (Alundra Blayze, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, and Chaparita Asari).
1996 - The eventual "People's Champion," The Rock, made his WWF debut under the moniker Rocky Maivia. In a winning effort, Maivia aligned with Marc Mero, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and The Stalker to defeat Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Crush.
1997 - The infamous "Montreal Screwjob" changed the course of wrestling forever.
1998 - The Deadly Games tournament comprised a majority of the card, with 14 superstars vying to capture the vacant WWF Championship. The event culminated with Vince and Shane McMahon turning their backs on Mankind, thus helping The Rock take home the gold and become the new face of the Corporation faction.
1999 - Kurt Angle, the only Olympic gold medalist in company history, made his debut by defeating Shawn Stasiak with an Olympic slam. The Pittsburgh native would go on to win the WWF/WWE Championship on four occasions.
2000 - The WWF Championship changed hands at six consecutive Survivor Series shows from 1994-1999, with that streak ending in 2000, when Kurt Angle retained against The Undertaker.
2001 - This was the last Survivor Series to use the World Wrestling Federation branding. Due to a lawsuit filed by the World Wildlife Fund, the company was forced to change its name to World Wrestling Entertainment several months later.
2002 - The barbaric Elimination Chamber made its debut at Madison Square Garden. Michaels beat Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam to win his first World Heavyweight Championship, last eliminating Triple H with his sweet chin music finisher.
2003 - The "American Badass" iteration of The Undertaker was last seen losing a Buried Alive match to McMahon, who had some much-needed assistance from the demonic Kane.
2004 - The Undertaker's 13 wins at Survivor Series are four more than anyone else. Heidenreich was his latest victim at the Gund Arena, where he won with a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver combination.
2005 - For the third year in a row, Randy Orton was deemed the sole survivor of the traditional elimination tag team match, helping Team SmackDown overcome Team Raw in the main event.
2006 - WWE Hall of Famer Lita's retirement match came at the Wachovia Center, where she dropped her Women's Championship to Mickie James. It was Lita's fifth loss at a Survivor Series - the most by any superstar without a victory.
2007 - The ECW Championship was defended for the first and only time at Survivor Series, when CM Punk retained against John Morrison and The Miz.
2008 - John "Bradshaw" Layfield holds the record for most opening matches at Survivor Series with five. His brigade came out on the losing end to begin this show, with Team JBL (Layfield, Morrison, Kane, MVP, and The Miz) falling to Team HBK (Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Tyme, and The Great Khali).
2009 - One record Michaels probably wishes he didn't have is his 10 losses at Survivor Series. At his final appearance, HBK came up short in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship against Triple H and John Cena.
2010 - There wasn't actually supposed to be a Survivor Series in 2010, with McMahon announcing in February that the event would be rebranded. Public outcry ultimately changed that decision.
2011 - CM Punk's historic 434-day reign - the longest of the modern era - as WWE Champion began at the Survivor Series, when he made Alberto Del Rio submit to his signature anaconda vice in the middle of the squared circle.
2012 - Thirteen is the magic number for the most total eliminations in traditional elimination matches, held by "The Viper" Randy Orton. His record-setting elimination came when he pinned Del Rio following a vicious RKO, as Team Orton and Team Ziggler collided at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
2013 - This event marked the last time the World Heavyweight Championship was defended at Survivor Series before it was merged with the WWE Championship. It was also the fifth straight Survivor Series where the belt was successfully defended, as Cena defeated Del Rio to keep the strap.
2014 - Making his first appearance in a WWE ring after establishing his reputation in WCW, "The Vigilante" Sting emerged from the back to cost Triple H and Team Authority the main event, laying out the COO with a Scorpion Deathdrop.
2015 - The Money in the Bank briefcase was cashed in for the 16th time in company history and 14th time successfully, when Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns following his victory over Dean Ambrose to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
2016 - Sunday's Survivor Series at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto will feature former WCW Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg's first match in 12 years. He'll take on Brock Lesnar in one of the night's main events. Coincidentally, Lesnar was Goldberg's opponent in his final appearance at WrestleMania 20 at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2004.