8 Best WWE Survivor Series Moments (That Had Nothing To Do With Wrestling)

“Witness the Survivor Series” was what Vince McMahon and the WWE asked the fans do over thirty years ago. It started as the Thanksgiving night tradition, and over the years has grown to become part of Thanksgiving week and certainly one of the WWE’s biggest tent pole events of the year.

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Plenty of big moments happened in the ring, but there were also several memorable moments that had nothing to do with the in-ring action. Sit back, grab some cranberry sauce and enjoy some good Survivor Series memories.

8 The Undertaker Debuts - 1990

Something Wicked This Way Comes

• The Undertaker feared he was going debut as The Gobbledy Gooker.
• The 1990 event was the first and only Survivor Series to have "The Ultimate Match Of Survival".
• 'Taker was eliminated by countout, as he was too busy choking out Dusty Rhodes to get back into the ring.

Not only is The Undertaker’s debut one of the most memorable Survivor Series moments, it’s clearly one of the most iconic moments of all time. After being introduced by The Million Dollar Man, the Funeral Dirge rang out through the arena and he appeared. In a world of the colorful eighties and early nineties, a figure dressed all in black caught everyone’s eyes. His appearance was immediately charismatic. All he did was walk to the ring, and the crowd was eating out of the palm of his cold dead hand.

7 What Are The Superstars Thankful For - 1989

Golden Era Silliness To Open Up The Show

• The 1989 show was the first one without a massive 20 person/10 tag team Survivor Series match.
• It was also the last time for years that the superstars would tell us what they're thankful for.
• This was the last Survivor Series to feature Andre The Giant.

If the WWE wrestlers are going to put on a show for us all on Thanksgiving, they might as well tell us what they’re thankful for. The 1989 show opened up with all sorts of silliness in that regard.

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For example, Brutus The Barber Beefcake was thankful for cutting and strutting, Bobby Heenan was thankful for spending Thanksgiving with all the members of The Heenan Family, Ravishing Rick Rude was thankful for his body and Roddy Piper was thankful he wasn’t “Ricky Rude.”

6 What’s In The Egg - 1990

If Hector Was The Eggman, Does That Make Mean Gene The Walrus?

• Underneath the costume was Hector Guerrero.
• While he could perform plenty of the wild and agile moves The Gooker was supposed to, Guerrero couldn't see out of the suit to do them justice.
• The original idea for The Gooker was to be a WWE Mascot of sorts, like the San Diego Chicken.

No, it’s not “best” in the conventional sense. But that is sort of the beauty of wrestling, isn’t it? Even when it’s “wrestlecrap,” the fans often think back fondly about the nonsense of the silly aspects of the business. Which is exactly why the frigging Gobbledy Gooker is here on our list. It’s lame and it's stupid. But it’s also wrestling, and it’s all in good fun. Not to mention trying to watch Mean Gene dance it up with a giant turkey is always good for a laugh.

5 The Return Of Goldberg - 2016

Fantasy Warfare Just Got Real

• As part of the marketing push for the WWE 2K17 game, Goldberg's return was heavily touted.
• It was Brock Lesnar's idea to get destroyed by Goldberg.
• Lesnar was right - the move put Goldberg back on top as the monster fans remembered him to be.

There were plenty of fans who were excited as they all got out when Goldberg announced that he was going to return to battle at the 2016 Survivor Series. After a twelve-year self-imposed exile and getting booed out of MSG, the fans and Goldberg were jonesing for a redemption story. Once his music hit and the legendary entrance started, it was almost like he had never left.

4 The Deadman Exits - 2020

Truly The End Of An Era In The Thunderdome

• The Bone Street Krew reunited for a special episode of WWE's Table For Five in celebration of The Phenom.
• The Deadman announced his retirement officially several months earlier during The Last Ride docu-series.
• The Undertaker's final match was against AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36.

That which rises from the grave must eventually return to rest in peace. In an act of pure coincidence, that time came exactly thirty years after The Phenom first debuted. During the 2020 Survivor Series, several legends came to the Thunderdome to pay their respect to The Lord Of Darkness as he made his final “Shakespeare Pose.”

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From the Godfather to Mick Foley to Shawn Michaels, they all came out. A hologram appeared of Paul Bearer as well, one more time raising the urn.

3 Sid Is Cheered - 1996

New York Loves Its Villains

• Despite being a heel his entire career, much of the fans would still cheer Sid wherever he went.
• At Survivor Series, they didn't just cheer for him and booed Shawn Michaels.
• Sid is the only man to have main evented WrestleMania against Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker.

The 1996 event is a very unique one. While the company was still about two years from the Attitude Era, the Madison Square Garden crowd brought enough attitude for everyone. They booed nearly every babyface out of the building - including the debuting “blue chipper” himself, Rocky Maivia. But one of the more interesting and cool moments was when Sycho Sid came to the ring. The monstrous heel challenger to Shawn Michaels’ WWE title was getting cheered like a conquering hero. He even reveled in it, fist bumping fans on his way to the ring.

2 Austin Attempts Murder - 2000

Don't Ever Try To Kill A Rattlesnake, They Bite Back

• Rikishi was originally revealed as Austin's attacker, but the reveal fell flat.
• Triple H was penciled in to save the whole angle.
• Due to Austin's attack, the match was officially declared a no contest.

At the 1999 show, shortly before his WWE Title challenge against both The Rock and defending champion Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin was run down by a mystery assailant. It would take a year of rehab and research, but The Rattlesnake uncovered that it was The Game all along.

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At the 2000 show, Austin struck and kept striking. The "match" would wind up outside the arena, where all hell broke loose. Austin beat the heck out of Triple H, who tried to drive off an escape. Austin, with a forklift, however, but refused to end things. He hoisted up a begging-for-his-life Triple H before dropping him like a bad habit.

1 The Icon Arrives - 2014

The Vigilante Immediately Helped Take Down The Authority

• Sting had made first ever WWE appearance earlier in the year during a tribute to The Ultimate Warrior.
• Sting's appearance helped the babyfaces win and banish The Authority from WWE for a month.
• The Icon would wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania 31 several months after this appearance.

It had been over 25 years since Sting first appeared on the wrestling stage, wrestling Ric Flair in an instant star-making performance at the first Clash of the Champions. He was the stalwart of WCW and then helped put TNA on the map. Despite having a few conversations with WWE, he never quite felt safe about his legacy in making the jump. But as it looked like The Authority was about to decimate Dolph Ziggler, leaving The Showoff, John Cena, and the rest of their team jobless, The Vigilante arrived. The sound of a crow cawing rang out through the arena and his face appeared on the tron - that was enough to get the crowd to chant “holy sh-t!” Then he walked to the ring and faced down Triple H - Sting finally arrived.