The Date: 26 November 1987
The Venue: Richfield Coliseum; Richfield Township, Ohio
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Paul Heyman
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stipulation: Ten-man elimination tag team match to decide the fate of both organisations
The Competitors: Team WWF (WCW Champion The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and The Big Show) and Team Alliance (WWF Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, WWF Hardcore Champion Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and WCW Owner Shane McMahon)

The Build-Up:
During its many decades as the dominating force in sports entertainment, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has created some of the industry’s most successful competitors, changed the face of pay-per-view entertainment, and delivered genre-defining match types and wrestling cards. In 1987, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) successfully gambled on WrestleMania then, as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was due to broadcast Starrcade over the 1987 Thanksgiving weekend, WWF chairman Vince McMahon strong-armed many cable companies into airing his showcase of ten-man elimination tag team matches, the Survivor Series, or risk losing out on WrestleMania IV. By 2001, some of the WWE’s biggest events had taken place at the event and, this year, it was chosen as the final battle between the WWF and the alliance of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The WWF and WCW had gone head-to-head in a ratings war since 1996 but, by 2001, WCW faced bankruptcy and, in a shocking moment, the McMahon purchased WCW and the “Monday Night Wars” came to a surprising end. After attempts to keep WCW alive on WWF television fell through, the WWF began a storyline where WCW joined forces with ECW (also now owned by McMahon) and attempted to “invade” the WWF as the “Alliance”. Unfortunately, as many of WCW’s top names sat out their high-paying contracts, the WWF was forced to rely on lesser names and, all too soon, the angle was more about McMahon feuding with his kids, Shane and Stephanie, and the increasingly paranoid Steve Austin holding onto his WWF Championship. More and more WWF guys joined the Alliance, including one-time saviour Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho slowly turned heel in his quest for gold, and even Austin seemed to consider jumping ship as the angle wore on. Eventually, with viewers and audiences turning away from the product, the decision was made to ditch the entire thing with this “Winner Take All” elimination match that would decide which organisation would prevail. Initially, Vince himself was scheduled to compete on Team WWF but he named the Big Show as his replacement and went about sowing the seeds of dissension throughout the Alliance in the lead up to this premature end to what should have been one of the biggest and longest angles in wrestling history.

The Match:
Considering I wasn’t really able to watch much wrestling as a kid, let alone truly be a part of the Monday Night Wars, I was deeply invested in the Invasion storyline at the time. I was pissed when Austin turned heel at Invasion and became a paranoid, self-deluded, cowardly asshole who was obsessed with the WWF Championship. Although the Alliance was missing key figures like the New World Order (nWo), Goldberg, and Sting and had dramatically repackaged top WCW stars like Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T into heels, I was well into their attempts to tear down the WWF. Unfortunately, far too many WWF guys jumped ship for no reason, but I’m not here to re-book this angle, I just wanted to say I was into it, delighted to see these fabled WCW and ECW stars on television, and extremely invested for this match. The build-up was quite good; things weren’t all hunky-dory on Team WWF as Jericho had been feuding with the Rock over the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and, to make matters worse, the Alliance won all but two matches on this Survivor Series card, meaning the stakes were further escalated heading in, something Vince was sure to emphasise backstage when he riled up his competitors with a stirring speech. The match kicked off with its two biggest stars, Austin and the Rock, trading blows; the two went at it in the corner but Austin gained the upper hand with a Lou Thesz Press and an elbow drop for the first near fall. Austin pressed his advantage using his knee braces, but the Rock ducked under a clothesline and hit a Lou Thesz Press and a taunting elbow of his own to rapturous applause and a pin attempt that was broken up by Shane. Thanks to Shane’s interference, the Rock was helpless as Austin tagged in Booker T, who had ridiculously been painted as a poor copy of the Rock during the Invasion storyline when, realistically, the two had barely anything in common!

Booker laid in some chops but got quickly taken down with a big clothesline for a near fall that was again interrupted by Shane, but the Rock was still easily able to tag in Jericho, who lit up Booker with some chops and planted him with a flapjack. Jericho didn’t press his advantage, however, meaning RVD was able to tag in; of all the new faces from this time, RVD was clearly the most dynamic and popular, so much so that even J.R. had to mention it. RVD showcased his athleticism by nipping up, leapfrogging the charging Jericho, and rolling across his back in a beautiful sequence but, not to be outdone, Y2J answered with a lovely spinning heel kick. RVD showed his cunning by holding the ropes and avoiding a dropkick; he followed up with a slick cartwheel moonsault for a two count. However, when RVD backflipped out the corner and went for a hurricanrana, Jericho countered and locked on the Walls of Jericho; once again, Shane put a stop to this, which also allowed Booker T to tag in. However, Booker got cold feet when Kane (sporting a weird alternative version of his bad-ass vest attire) also tagged in and gladly allowed Kurt Angle to take his place. Angle (who had recently made Kane tap out) tried using his speed to avoid Kane’s power but ended up launched into the corner and assaulted by a flurry of strikes; Kane then whipped him to the opposite corner and crashed in with a clothesline and simply sat up after eating a big German Suplex. Stunned, Angle went for the strikes and ended up taking a sidewalk slam and Kane’s huge flying clothesline off the top. Shane again broke up the pin, so Kane tagged in his big brother, the Undertaker, who also manhandled Angle and then switched his attack to Booker when Kurt made a desperate tag.

The Undertaker easily knocked Booker down with a big boot and scored a big leg drop for another pin attempt that was again interrupted by Shane; J.R. was getting as annoyed as the WWF competitors, the crowd, and me by Shane’s constant meddling. The Undertaker worked over Booker T’s arm and hit his trademark “Old School” rope walk strike and an arm take down that ended in an armlock on the mat. Shane’s interference allowed Booker to not only kick out of a pin but also tag Austin back in; Austin went right at his old foe, stomping a mudhole in the corner as the crowd sang “What? What? What?” over and over in what is still one of the most annoying chants in wrestling. The Undertaker avoided Austin’s running rope attack and then hit another Old School, only for Shane to break up the pin once more; Team WWF was so riled up that the referee had to hold them back, allowing Team Alliance to work the Undertaker over in their corner and bringing Kurt Angle back into the ring. Angle weathered the Undertaker’s assault and hit a neckbreaker for a near fall but fell to a DDT after missing out on a German Suplex. The Undertaker then made the hot tag to the Big Show, who went on a rampage somewhat neutered by J.R.’s observation that the Big Show often makes big dumb mistakes! RVD illegally charged the ring and ate a clothesline and a standing military press for his efforts; the Big Show then smacked up Team Alliance and went for the Chokeslam but Angle was able to fight out and hit the Angle Slam! Booker T followed up with the Scissors Kick and the Spin-A-Roonie before tagging in RVD, who came crashing down with a Five-Star Frog Splash. Shane then tagged in to hit his big top-rope elbow drop and, naturally, got the pin fall to eliminate the biggest man from the match.

Thankfully, Shane immediately got his comeuppance as the Rock beat the hell out of him and then tagged Kane back in so he could drill Shane with his trademark One-Arm Chokeslam. The Undertaker followed up with a Tombstone Piledriver, and then Jericho finished Shane off with a Lionsault to finally get him out of the match. Jericho and Angle then went at it; although Y2J won the early advantage with a sick butterfly backbreaker, Austin broke up his pin attempt, allowing Angle to take him down and bring Booker T back into the fold. However, after three consecutive scoop slams and an elaborate knee drop, Booker switched with RVD; RVD landed a kicking combination but his corner shoulder thrusts were countered into a near fall off a roll up. Jericho tagged Kane back in; Kane brought the power and even caught RVD’s fist mid-swing and planted him with a powerslam, fought off Booker T’s interference, and shrugged off the Five-Star Frog Splash. However, as Kane readied a One-Arm Chokeslam, Booker T nailed a Harlem Sidekick; as a brawl broke out, RVD caught Kane with a sidekick off the top rope that was somehow enough to score him the three count. This pissed the Undertaker off so much that he beat up the opposition single-handedly; Snake Eyes and the big boot left Angle primed for the Last Ride but a distraction from Booker T allowed Austin to plant the Undertaker with a Stone Cold Stunner and drape Angle’s lifeless form over him for another elimination! Bolstered by their four-on-two advantage, Booker T attacked the Rock once more, scoring with another Harlem Sidekick but almost being pinned off a desperation DDT and a Samoan Drop, with both pin attempts broken up by Austin. Out of nowhere, the Rock then whipped Booker into Angle and anti-climactically eliminated Booker T with a simple roll-up (your five-time WCW Champion, everybody!) RVD took his place and worked the Rock over with some kicks, before a top rope slam bought the Rock the time to tag in Jericho. A flying forearm, shoulder tackle, and a running neckbreaker scored Y2J a near fall; however, although he managed to land on his feet when RVD countered the Lionsault, Jericho couldn’t avoid a spinning kick. RVD then glanced Jericho with the split-legged moonsault (J.R. postulates that Jericho “got a knee up”) and then ate a pin from the God-awful full-nelson faceplant Jericho was trying to get over as a finisher at this time (I believe it was called the Breakdown…) to even the odds. Things broke down into a brawl again but Angle and Jericho soon paired off in the ring while Austin assaulted the Rock on the outside; after wearing Jericho down with a chin lock and some stomps, Angle tagged in Austin, who planted Y2J with a superplex for a two count.

An awkward miscommunication off an Irish whip eventually saw Austin switch with Angle. However, when Angle went for a German Suplex, Jericho rolled through and briefly applied the Ankle Lock to a massive ovation; although Angle escaped, he was visibly limping when he tagged out. Austin and Angle continuously tagged in and out but Jericho eventually made the hot tag and the match picked up again as the Rock tied Angle in the Sharpshooter; this surprisingly caused an immediate tap out and an aghast Paul Heyman to almost have a coronary! Austin, the last man standing for his team, Austin countered a diving crossbody and traded Walls of Jericho attempts with Y2J. Although he got his knees up to counter a Lionsault, Austin’s top-rope double axehandle didn’t hit and he barely kicked out after Jericho landed a missile dropkick. However, another awkward exchange saw Austin take Jericho out; although Austin and the Rock immediately rekindled their rivalry, Jericho spitefully planted the Rock with the Breakdown, completing his heel turn and earning him the admonishment of the Undertaker. Thankfully, the Rock was still able to kick out; when the Rock tried a comeback, he was launched outside and smashed off the ring post and the steel steps. Back in the ring, Austin’s spinebuster led to the Rock being trapped in a Sharpshooter that had Paul Heyman screaming for a repeat of the Montreal Screwjob; when the Rock reached the ropes, Austin tried to nail him with the WWF Championship and ended up in the Sharpshooter as well! The Rock countered a Stunner with one of his own, but couldn’t capitalise thanks to a low blow and interference from Alliance referee Nick Patrick. Austin took advantage to nail a Rock Bottom and was so incensed when the Rock kicked out that he took it out on Nick Patrick and forced Earl Hebner back into the ring. After the Rock ate a Stone Cold Stunner, the match seemed to be over; however, Kurt Angle suddenly nailed Austin with the WWF Championship! The Rock then hit the Rock Bottom and finally pinned Austin to eliminate him, win the match, and put the Alliance out of business. As the Alliance reacted in anguish and shock, Vince sauntered out to bask in his victory to really hammer home his superiority.

The Aftermath:
Considering how overbooked and chaotic this match was, it’s weird that Angle’s last-minute turn always comes across a little flat to me. Vince had hinted that he had tipped the odds in his favour prior to the match but I always felt like the execution was lacking. The next night on Raw, Vince rechristened the WCW Championship the “World Championship” and prepared to reward Angle by stripping Austin of the WWF Championship and giving it to his mole; however, the status quo of the WWF finally returned to normal by the decree of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, who returned to the WWF as a part owner after buying Shane and Stephanie’s shares in the company, turning Austin face again and Angle heel. The World Championship situation culminated in a tournament at the next month’s event, Vengeance, which saw Chris Jericho defeat both the Rock and Austin to become the first-ever Undisputed Championship and go on a disastrous main event run that ended with him dethroned by a returning Triple H. Every member of the Alliance eventually became part of regular WWF programming; some won their jobs at Survivor Series, others were quietly repackaged, and some were forced to kiss Vince’s ass on national television. Other WCW names, such as Eric Bischoff, the nWo, and Rey Mysterio, soon joined the company and the bloated roster eventually led to a brand split that also saw the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and United States Championship adopted by the company. Despite his emphatic victory, Vince never passed up an opportunity to reshape history in his favour or bury WCW; while ECW had an anniversary show and even a short-lived and catastrophic revival, WCW was rarely given its due unless it suited Vince’s purposes and has mainly been evoked to maintain the trademark on their pay-per-views and unique match types.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to this “Winner Take All” elimination match? Did you ever doubt that the WWF would come out on top? Who would you have preferred to see on Team Alliance? Were you annoyed at Jericho’s actions and how easily some guys were eliminated? Did you see Angle’s turn coming or were you expecting a different end to the match? What did you think to the Invasion storyline and how would you have improved it? Would you like to see WCW get more credibility or do you think it’s better off dead? Who were some of your favourite WCW competitors and what would your dream WWF vs. WCW team be? What are some of your favourite Survivor Series matches and moments? Whatever you think about the Survivor Series 2001 main event, feel free to share your thoughts below or leave a comment on my social media.