WWE Survivor Series: Key facts and figures from event's history
Who has the most wins at WWE's autumn classic?
Last Updated: 21/11/19 6:26am
Survivor Series is all about the numbers.
We’ve had a flick through the record books 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 2019, live on Sky Sports Box Office from midnight on Sunday…
21,179 – The record attendance at a single Survivor Series
Fans packed into the Kiel 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 Games tournament for the vacant WWE Title.
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 in his 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.
1987 – The year Survivor Series was first staged
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 bout's 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 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).
13 – Wins for The Undertaker at Survivor Series
The Undertaker's victory at the 2015 edition of Survivor Series - he teamed with Kane to down Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper - took his tally to 13 in 18 bouts. The Phenom won on his debut in 1990 as part of TedDiBiase's Million Dollar Team and then claimed his maiden WWE Title 12 months later by overcoming Hulk Hogan.
Taker has also managed to dispatch Kamala, Yokozuna, Mankind, Heidenreich, Big Show and Kane in singles action, while he has 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 - The Rock (1998), Kurt Angle (2000), Vince McMahon (2003), Mr Kennedy (2006) and Batista (2007) the men to conquer him.
5 - Number of Survivor Series matches without defeat for Randy Savage
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 officially tasted defeat at the autumn spectacular.
Savage triumphed in traditional tag encounters in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1993 - albeit that he was pinned in 1993 as The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty led his team to victory - while he also beat Ric Flair and Razor Ramon in 1992 while partnering Mr Perfect.
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 their five matches.
11 - Consecutive matches for Bret Hart and Randy Orton
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 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 denied him a 12th straight contest at Survivor Series in 2014 and the Apex Predator was also absent in 2015 due to a dislocated shoulder.
5 – Opening Survivor Series matches JBL competed in
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 1997.
1 – Editions of Survivor Series to take place outside USA
Survivor Series will head to Toronto, Canada on Sunday night but the event has only been held outside America once before, in Montreal in 1997 - a show 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 WWE 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.
