4. Survivor Series ’87
The original Survivor Series was an absolutely colossal extravaganza. The three-hour PPV consisted of only four matches, three of which pitted teams of five against each other.
The show opener kicked things off in style with Randy Savage leading a loaded team (which included his longtime rival Ricky Steamboat) against The Honky Tonk Man’s team of midcard heels. Next was a surprisingly good women’s elimination match where the Jumping Bomb Angels became stars for the night. In the third slot (and this was absolutely genius) was a 20-man match that stacked five tag teams to a side, and when one man from a tag team was eliminated, both members were gone.
This match was glorious, and demonstrated how incredibly deep the tag team division used to be. Finally Hulk Hogan’s team of powerhouses faced Andre the Giant’s squad which included the three largest men in the company (Andre, King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang).
The inaugural Survivor Series is still one of my all-time favorite PPVs. Everything about it felt grand, and the concept proved to be one of the most enjoyable gimmick matches the company has ever pioneered. I’ll still pop this one in from time to time.
