Up until a few years ago, Survivor Series has been seen as the runt of the litter compared to its brothers of the Big Four. Only recently has Survivor Series somewhat regained it’s allure, and that’s after WWE nearly cut the event from the WWE calendar. There is no denying it may not draw attention the same as a Royal Rumble or WrestleMania would, but the November event not treated with the respect it rightfully deserves.

Debuts

Okay, the Gobbledygooker aside Survivor Series has housed an abundance of legendary debuts. Sting, the Shield, the Rock, and even Kurt Angle share the commonality of having their first WWE appearance at the event. Of course, who could forget the first time the bell was tolled as the Undertaker was reviled to be Ted DiBiase’s mystery partner at the 1990 Survivor Series. That’s something the other Big Four PPVs can’t claim. Not only that, but Survivor Series is also the place where the Elimination Chamber was born.

Moments

I could just state the obvious one and be done with it, but there are far more noteworthy moments than just that. In one of, if not the, best tournaments in wrestling history took place at the event in 1998. Deadly Games provided a plethora of moments, topped by the Rock’s defeat of Mankind with the help of Vince. There’s also Brock Lesnar’s first loss, Undertaker grabbing his first championship from Hulk Hogan, Austin gets ran over, the Alliance vs. WWF match in 2001. Heck, last years brand split match was great, although many fans will also point out the 2005 Smackdown vs. Raw traditional 5 on 5 match. And yes, there was also some sort of incident in 1997 within the Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels match.

From being a second home to the Undertaker, to being a main building block constructing Wrestlemania, to being the battlefield for brand supremacy, Survivor Series has been a staple of the WWE more often than not. Wrestlemania will always be number one, and the Rumble is second to nothing in terms of popularity, but maybe it’s time SummerSlam takes the burden of least meaningful Big Four PPV.