Survivor Series
VHS flyer featuring the two teams competing in the main event
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	November 26, 1987[1][2][3]
City	Richfield Township, Ohio[1][2][3]
Venue	Richfield Coliseum[1][2][3]
Attendance	21,300[1]
Tagline	The Biggest Event Since WrestleMania III!
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous WrestleMania III Next → WrestleMania IV
Survivor Series chronology
← Previous First Next → 1988

The 1987Survivor Series was the inauguralSurvivor Seriesprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place onThanksgiving Night on November 26, 1987, and was held at theRichfield Coliseum inRichfield Township, Ohio. It was one of the first four annual pay-per-view events produced by the WWF, along withWrestleMania, introduced in 1985, andRoyal Rumble andSummerSlam, introduced in 1988, referred to as the "Big Four".

Themain event was aSurvivor Series match whereAndré the Giant's team defeatedHulk Hogan's team when André eliminated Hogan's team memberBam Bam Bigelow to become the first lone survivor in the history of the Survivor Series. The entireundercard featured Survivor Series matches which includedMacho Man Randy Savage's team defeatingThe Honky Tonk Man's team andThe Fabulous Moolah's team defeatingSensational Sherri's team. The event also featured a 10 tag team elimination match in whichStrike Force and their teammates defeatedThe Hart Foundation's team.

FollowingWrestleMania III, theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) added an event titled Survivor Series to theirpay-per-view (PPV) calendar in November to market the success ofHulk Hogan andAndré the Giant's rivalry. It was scheduled to be held onThanksgiving Night on November 26, 1987, and was held at theRichfield Coliseum inRichfield Township, Ohio. The event was characterized by featuring onlytag team elimination matches that were dubbedSurvivor Series matches. Of the four matches at the event, three pitted teams of five wrestlers against each other, while the other featured five tag teams against each other (totaling 10 wrestlers per team), but with the stipulation being that if one member of a tag team was eliminated, both members of that particular tag team were eliminated.^[4]

WWF Chief Executive Officer and ChairmanVince McMahon threatened cable companies who aired theNational Wrestling Alliance'sStarrcade (which was going head-to-head with Survivor Series on Thanksgiving night, 1987) instead of Survivor Series would not be allowed to broadcastWrestleMania IV. Most cable providers gave into McMahon's threat and only a handful aired Starrcade.^[5]

The mainfeud heading into Survivor Series includedAndré the Giant,One Man Gang,King Kong Bundy,Butch Reed andRick Rude againstHulk Hogan,Paul Orndorff,Don Muraco,Ken Patera andBam Bam Bigelow. In January 1987, Hogan was awarded a trophy for his third year asWWF World Heavyweight Champion while Hogan's best friend André was awarded a smaller trophy than Hogan's, for being undefeated in WWF for 15 years.^[6] Hogan congratulated his friend and said that André was the real champion of superstars all around the world.^[6] André surprisingly left the interview before Hogan could even finish. In February, he came with a newmanagerBobby Heenan.^[6] When Hogan learned of that, he begged André not to keep Heenan as his manager because Heenan was Hogan's longtime enemy.^[6] André said that he had come to challenge Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Title atWrestleMania.^[6] He ripped off Hogan's Hulkamania shirt and golden chain,turningheel.^[6] This culminated in their historic match atWrestleMania III, where Hogan defeated André to retain the title. On August 22, 1987, edition ofPrime Time Wrestling,Paul Orndorff fired Bobby Heenan as his manager when he discovered that Heenan had brought in a new wrestlerRick Rude to replace Orndorff. Orndorff appointedOliver Humperdink as his manager to feud with Rude.^[7]Superstar Billy Graham got involved in a feud withButch Reed, culminating in a match between the duo.One Man Gang interfered in a match where he hit Graham with abig splash on the concrete floor.^[7]Don Muraco came to the rescue of Graham and Graham who was scheduled to participate in the main event of the first-ever Survivor Series retired due to an attack by One Man Gang. Muraco replaced him.^[7]Ken Patera got involved in a feud with Bobby Heenan andThe Heenan Family and turnedbabyface, and was chosen to be the fourth member on Hogan's team.^[7] Many heel managers wanted to manageBam Bam Bigelow, but Bigelow chose Oliver Humperdink as his manager thus making his WWF debut as a babyface. He also became a part of Hogan's team.^[7]

Randy Savage had been aheel since his WWF debut in the summer of 1985. Heturnedbabyface in late 1987, afterWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight ChampionThe Honky Tonk Man claimed to be the greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. This led to a feud between Savage and Honky, leading to Savage's face turn.^[7] On October 3, 1987,Saturday Night's Main Event XII, Savage challenged Honky for the title, winning bydisqualification. The title remained with Honky because a title cannot change hands by a DQ.^[8]Harley Race had won the1986King of the Ring tournament and was so proud about this that he called himself King Harley Race and wore a crown and cape to the ring.Jim Duggan did not agree with the fact and this placed Duggan and Race into a feud, with Duggan winning most of the matches.^[7]Jake Roberts also feuded with Honky Tonk Man after Honky hit Roberts with a guitar on an edition ofSnake Pit, completing Roberts' babyface turn.^[7] A match was booked for Survivor Series featuring Savage, Roberts,Ricky Steamboat (whom Honky Tonk had defeated to win the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title),Brutus Beefcake and Duggan against Honky,Hercules,Danny Davis,Ron Bass and Race.^[7]

The major ongoing tag team feud pitted the faceStrike Force and the villainousHart Foundation.Tito Santana andRick Martel formed Strike Force in the summer of 1987 after Santana rescued Martel from a beating byThe Islanders. Strike Force quickly became a top contender for theWWF Tag Team Championship, held by the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart), and on October 28, 1987, Strike Force won the titles when Neidhart was trapped in Martel's Boston crab.

The first match of the first Survivor Series was the firstSurvivor Series elimination match.Randy Savage,Jake Roberts,Ricky Steamboat,Brutus Beefcake, andJim Duggan facedThe Honky Tonk Man,Hercules,Danny Davis,Ron Bass, andHarley Race. Savage's team was seconded by his wifeMiss Elizabeth while Honky's team was seconded byBobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart. Beefcake and Hercules started off before Duggan and Race were tagged in. Duggan knocked Race out of the ring and followed him out where they brawled and both men were counted out and eliminated, leaving four men on each team. Beefcake hit ahigh knee on Bass, and went on to eliminate him. Team captain Honky himself joined the match and hit hisShake, Rattle and Roll on Beefcake and eliminated him, evening the match at three all. Roberts hit aDDT on Davis and only two men remained in Honky's team, Honky and Hercules. Savage hit theSavage Elbow on Hercules and pinned him, leaving Honky the only member in his team. After being dominated by Savage, Roberts and Steamboat for a couple of minutes, Honky wasatomic dropped over the top rope by Savage and ran from the ring with Jimmy Hart and his IC Belt and was counted out. Honky's self-elimination made Savage, Roberts and Steamboat the survivors of the match.^[2][9]

The next match was a women's match featuring the team ofThe Fabulous Moolah,Rockin' Robin,Velvet McIntyre, andThe Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki andNoriyo Tateno) againstSensational Sherri,The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai andJudy Martin),Donna Christianello, andDawn Marie. McIntyre did the first elimination bypinning Christianello with avictory roll. Robin hit arunning crossbody on Marie and pinned her with the crossbody, leading to three wrestlers on Sherri's team while none of Moolah's team members had been eliminated. Team captain Sherri came into the match and hit Robin with avertical suplex to eliminate her. Glamour Girls hit adouble clothesline on Moolah and Judy Martin, one half of Glamour Girls pinned Moolah to eliminate her. McIntyre pinned Sherri with a victory roll pin. Leilani Kai joined the match and then pinned McIntyre after anelectric chair drop. Yamazaki hit adiving crossbody from the top rope on Kai and pinned her to eliminate her. Tateno hit aflying clothesline on Martin and pinned her to win the match. Jumping Bomb Angels became the survivors for Moolah's team.^[2][9]

The third match was a tag team variation of the Survivor Series match with 10 tag teams. If a person from a tag team was eliminated, their partner was also eliminated. The match featuredStrike Force (Tito Santana andRick Martel),The Young Stallions (Paul Roma andJim Powers),The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques andRaymond Rougeau),The Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell andB. Brian Blair), andThe British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith andDynamite Kid) againstThe Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart),The Islanders (Haku andTama),Demolition (Ax andSmash),The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff andBoris Zhukov), andThe New Dream Team (Greg Valentine andDino Bravo). Santana hit aflying forearm smash on Zhukov and pinned him to eliminate Bolsheviks for the first elimination of the match. Jacques hit adiving crossbody on Ax but missed the move and was pinned by Ax, eliminating Fabulous Rougeaus. Ax's partner Smash wasdisqualified, eliminating Demolition. Neidhartpinned Santana to eliminate Strike Force and Hakupinned Dynamite Kid to eliminate British Bulldogs. Next came Roma and Valentine. Roma hit adiving sunset flip on Valentine to eliminate The New Dream Team. Bret Hart and Jim Brunzell were next. Tamadropkicked Hart and then Brunzell rolled over Hart to eliminate Hart Foundation. Brian Blair put on his Killer Bees mask and pinned Tama with asunset flip to eliminate Islanders. As a results, Young Stallions and Killer Bees won the match and became survivors for their team.^[2][9]

Themain event was a Survivor Series match whereAndré the Giant,One Man Gang,King Kong Bundy,Butch Reed, andRick Rude facedHulk Hogan,Paul Orndorff,Don Muraco,Ken Patera, andBam Bam Bigelow. Muraco was not scheduled to compete in the match but replacedBilly Graham, who was originally scheduled to be Hogan's teammate but retired because of his hip injury suffered during a match against Reed. Hogan eliminated Reed after he hit aleg drop on Reed and pinned him to eliminate him first. Patera was eliminated after falling victim to One Man Gang'sFlying Clothesline. Thereafter, Orndorff (who had recently turned face) and Rude began brawling to advance their feud over who had the better physique; Orndorff gotten the best of Rude until Bundy distracted him, allowing Rude to use aroll up to score the pin. Muraco (who had also recently turned face) joined the match andpowerslammed Rude to eliminate him. One Man Gang entered and then hit Muraco with a747 Splash to eliminate him, giving André's team a three–two advantage. One Mang Gang and Bundy began dominating Bigelow, when André was tagged in to go for the kill. However, Bigelow ducked an André punch and tagged in Hogan. Hogan immediately began getting the better of André and was setting up for a running elbow smash, when he was pulled out of the ring by Bundy; Hogan fought off both heels but was kept out of the ring long enough to be counted out. Hogan re-entered the ring to argue with the referees, but ring announcerHoward Finkel informed the crowd that if Hogan did not leave the ring immediately, Andre's team would win the match automatically. Bigelow—the lone remaining member of Hogan's team—fended for himself, using aSlingshot to eliminate Bundy, then pinning One Man Gang after he missed a747 Splash. Bigelow eventually fell victim to André, who hit abutterfly suplex to win the match. After the match, Hogan returned to the ring and attacked André, hitting him with his title belt and knocking him from the ring.^[2][10]

Hulk Hogan andAndré the Giant engaged in a war of words over theWWF World Heavyweight Championship during the following months, with the feud taking on a new level whenTed DiBiase – who was Hogan's primary challenger at the time – announced he planned to offer Hogan a cash buyout in exchange for the title, which Hogan emphatically refused. With fan anticipation of a Hogan-André rematch, André sneak attacked Hogan onSaturday Night's Main Event XIII, choking the champion until he was virtually unconscious, and shortly thereafter, DiBiase announced his alignment with André to help him win the championship. At the firstRoyal Rumblesupercard on January 24, 1988, Hogan and André signed a contract for aWrestleMania III rematch.^[11] Their WWF title rematch took place onThe Main Event I on February 5, 1988, where André controversially defeated Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.^[12][13] However, his reign was short lived. In fact, he was theshortest reigning WWF World Heavyweight Champion in history as his reign lasted evenless than a minute^[14] as he sold the title to DiBiase.^[13] WWF PresidentJack Tunney immediately vacated the title and it was decided in a 14-man tournament atWrestleMania IV, with the winner winning the vacant title. With help from former champion Hogan,Randy Savage defeated DiBiase in the finals of the tournament to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship.^[15][16][17]

Bigger things lay ahead for several other competitors, including Savage, the Honky Tonk Man and the tag team Demolition:

• Savage continued to battle the Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship, but was unsuccessful. However, Savage would be entered in the championship tournament at WrestleMania IV, defeating DiBiase in the final match to win the title.
• Honky went on to a record-setting Intercontinental Championship reign, holding the title 454 consecutive days untilthe inaugural SummerSlam, when he was pinned byThe Ultimate Warrior.
• Demolition went on to replace the Hart Foundation as the top heel tag team in the WWF, becoming over with fans with their charisma and power brawling. As tag team champions Strike Force finished their feud with Hart and Neidhart—the feud was ultimately blown off in the winter of 1988 with a series of steel cage matches, most of them having Savage join Santana and Martel, and Honky join the Harts—Demolition continued to dominate the tag team ranks before challenging Strike Force for the tag team belts. At WrestleMania IV, Demolition defeated Strike Force to win the tag team belts, and went on to a then-record 478-day reign as champions.

Asecond Survivor Series occurred the following year, establishing the event as an annual November pay-per-view, becoming one of the WWF's original four annual pay-per-views, along withWrestleMania,Royal Rumble, andSummerSlam, which were eventually referred to as the "Big Four". From 1993 to 2002, these four were referred to as the "Big Five" along withKing of the Ring, but that event was discontinued after its 2002 event.^[18] In August 2021,Money in the Bank became recognized as one of the "Big Five".^[19] Survivor Series has since become the second longest running pay-per-view event in history (behind WrestleMania). Since the inaugural event, Survivor Series has been characterized for featuring Survivor Series matches, typically pitting teams of four or five wrestlers against each other. Although there was a women's Survivor Series match in 1987, the second such contest did not occur until the1995 event. Before 2022, there have been only two instances in which a Survivor Series match did not occur at the titular event—the1998 event and2002 event. Those events, however, instead had a different type of elimination match; 1998 had an entire 14-mansingle elimination tournament, while 2002 saw the first-everElimination Chamber match in addition to aneliminationtables match and atriple threat elimination tag team match. From 2016 until 2021, Survivor Series was based on competition between WWE'sbrands, which is the term for WWE's roster division in which the promotion assigns wrestlers to exclusively perform for one of their brands.^[20] From 2022 onwards, Survivor Series carries theWarGames concept.^[21]

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• Official 1987 Survivor Series website

• 1987 in Ohio
• 1987 WWF pay-per-view events
• November 1987 in the United States
• Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio
• Survivor Series
• Professional wrestling shows in Ohio

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