BigBadMick Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I started thinking about this yesterday. Survivor Series has provided plenty of solid shows over the years, but were any of the Survivors elimination tags really must-see, or just great for only happening once a year and the fresh matches it provided? Even if you think think the answer to the title question is 'no', what are the best Survivors matches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 The ones that spring to mind are the massive 20-man tag-team eliminations from the first two, and the one featuring the Jumping Bomb Angels. Then ... probably Million Dollar Team vs. Dreamteam from SS 90, which is notable for the DiBiase vs. Bret Hart mini-match at the end. From that same show, The Visionaries vs. The Vipers is fun too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I'm going through all the Survivor Series now, and so far (I'm up to 2000) my top three traditional Survivor Series tags are The Underdogs Vs The Body Donnas (1995), Razor Ramon's team Vs IRS's team (1993) and Hogan and Savage's team Vs The Twin Towers' team (1988) in that order. Generally speaking, I've found the format not conducive to having good matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted June 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I'm going through all the Survivor Series now, and so far (I'm up to 2000) my top three traditional Survivor Series tags are The Underdogs Vs The Body Donnas (1995), Razor Ramon's team Vs IRS's team (1993) and Hogan and Savage's team Vs The Twin Towers' team (1988) in that order. Generally speaking, I've found the format not conducive to having good matches. That's the thing that struck me too - good, enjoyable-while-you're-watching but not classics. I did think of two exceptions - 2001 and 2003. To be fair, they both had the advantage of great backstory - the end of ECWCW in one (and they say NOTHING in that angle worked?) and Austin v Bischoff for GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I love love love the main event of '89. Heenan's family is the greatest heel team ever. From Arn & Haku being workhorses to Heenan being the perfect chicken shit heel in the corner. Then you have The Rockers and Warrior and even Niedhart as a great babyface team. Just an amazing story through out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankensteiner Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I love love love the main event of '89. Heenan's family is the greatest heel team ever. From Arn & Haku being workhorses to Heenan being the perfect chicken shit heel in the corner. Then you have The Rockers and Warrior and even Niedhart as a great babyface team. Just an amazing story through out. I'll second this match. I think it's also my favorite commentary between Gorilla and Jesse. Otherwise, I sort of agree that the format wasn't very conducive to having great matches. Can't think of any other notable ones that weren't already mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I dont know if its nostalgia but I dont look more fondly on those 87-89 Survivor Series matches than anything which came after. The spectacle of those 20 man matches was something else. Cant say, however, that there is any Survivor Series match I could rate as above 'good'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 The appeal is definitely in seeing guys interact with each other that usually wouldn't. Despite being disappointed with most of the matches I've watched so far, I still would like to see a return to that format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 Watched some of 90's Series earlier...something definitely missing from the previous 3. But the star power was still crazy & the blend of teams was still impressive. Teams were full of people you could reasonably consider giving some kind of a toss about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted June 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I'm going through all the Survivor Series now, and so far (I'm up to 2000) my top three traditional Survivor Series tags are The Underdogs Vs The Body Donnas (1995), Razor Ramon's team Vs IRS's team (1993) and Hogan and Savage's team Vs The Twin Towers' team (1988) in that order. Generally speaking, I've found the format not conducive to having good matches. I can't quite get my head around why the matches aren't great - any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bierschwale Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I think that the biggest problem would be that you have to force some eliminations just because of time constraints, especially when the shows were almost entirely the tag matches. It's not that exciting when you lose guys from the match because of countouts/DQs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slabinski611 Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I always liked the Survivor Series tags. It was something different. As noted already, the 20 man tags with all of those tag teams the first two years are my favorite. I also want to throw a shoutout to the Hogan/Andre match from 87. Whether you watch the clipped version or the full version it is so much better than you would expect. Bigelow was the star of the match but there was some good performances in that match that would surprise you. Only other one not mentioned that I liked a bunch was the Piper/Flair teams from 91. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo's Roomie Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I think it's largely a pacing issue. You'd often get eliminations that feel too rushed, but sometimes it would go the other way and things would get dragged out too much. When you have 8 or 10 guys (or 20) who all want to do a little something in the match, it can become a little tedious. I think it's also harder to work traditional tag team sequences (face in peril, being the main example) into a match with that many people, which can leave things feeling a bit unsatisfying. I guess all this means that the workers involved either couldn't, or weren't motivated to, find a way to put together an exciting or interesting match within the format, with a few exceptions. I think it says something that my top two matches so far are more "workrate-y", more action-packed than what you might normally find. But they don't really feel rushed, I guess is the key. They got the balance right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 The 20-man tags are my favorites too, especially the one in '88. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 Triple H, Edge, Batista and Snitsky vs Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven at Survivor Series 2004 was actually pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDRMatt Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I always enjoyed the HBK comeback in the Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff match at Survivor Series 03. Probably wouldn't call it "the best" Survivor Series tag, but it was a fun one you might not think about. Another favorite that has been unmentioned is Team Piper vs. Team Flair match at Survivor Series 91. Really the highlights of both shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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