(This is the final Survivor Series to get a write up in the Counterfactual; within the story, there is an understanding that there are changes coming to the WWF product, there's a merger pending, the McMahons are gone, so it's not quite that everyone knows "hey, this is the last one of these" but there is an undercurrent of wrapping up, of big change, of this being a moment)
Survivor Series 2023 the 147th WWF PPV and the 37th Survivor Series comes to you from Chicago
(Dark: Triple Crown (Styles/Nakamura) d. Dunne/Bate
Gargano/Ciampa d. The Culture (Hayes/Williams)
Dark Ride Title: Ilja Dragunov d. Bron Steiner, Dragunov retakes the belt)
Throughout the night there is a video package of Survivor Series history.
1987: The Anvil turns on the Hart Foundation to join the Rougeaus as they take the belts. Savage drops the elbow on Rick Rude, Steamboat gets the fall on Dynamite to retain his title
1988: The formation of the Heenan Family, with the Brainbusters, Hennig, Rude aligning to attack Jake Roberts in the steel cage. Davey Boy submits to his former partner Bret in the sharpshooter, Savage dropping the elbow on Dynamite to win the WWF Title
1989: Chicago, like tonight, a big night for Heenan, he takes DiBiase's money to turn on Rude, allowing Ted to win the IC - and then his fissure with Hennig was shown to be a ruse, he aids Perfect in taking the WWF Title from Savage.
1990: The Road Warriors squash the Orient Express to win the tag titles, Bret submits Shawn in the Sharpshooter to keep the IC, Hennig with the Perfect Plex to beat Kerry Von Eric to retain the WWF Title
1991: Shawn superkicks Marty and gets the fall, Piper hits Bret with the ring bell to take the IC, Flair submits Davey Boy to win the WWF Title
1992: Two IC switches in the same night, Shawn drops the elbow on Savage and takes his title - followed by Owen getting the fall on Shawn to take the strap away. Bret submits Flair to keep the WWF Title
1993: The debut of the WWF fork, Savage attacking Owen; Razor's babyface turn, he saves Waltman from a beating at the hands of Michaels and Diesel, Bret submits Lex to keep the WWF Title
1994: Bret and the Anvil are a heel team now, they take the tag titles from Lex and Bam Bam, Razor keeps the IC in a ladder match over Waltman, Shawn wins his first WWF Title in front of a hometown San Antonio crowd, beating Owen, and then Diesel chokeslams him a million times in a turn.
1995: Diesel and Razor take the tag straps from the Gunns, Shawn superkicks Shane Douglas and keeps the IC - Bret keeps the WWF Title over Davey and Owen makes the babyface save against his brother postmatch.
1996: Survivor Series 10 at MSG (I was there, IRL) Steve Austin with the stunner/pinfall on Owen, a very bloody Cactus Jack takes the IC from Vader in the cage, Bret wins the WWF Title for the third time, beating Shawn.
1997: Rock and DLo win the tag straps in a 3 way over the New Age Outlaws and the Road Warriors, Shamrock takes the IC from Cactus in the Octagon - and its the creation of the Montreal Match, Owen submits Bret in a 4 way that also includes Shawn and Austin, Owen wins the WWF Title, Bret leaves town, fastening the belt around the waist of his little brother as he goes. Many still regard this the most memorable match in WWF history.
1998: Austin keeps the IC with the stunner on Regal, its the First Hell in a Cell Match - its for the WWF Title, Cactus takes the big bump off the cage and winds up keeping his belt over Shamrock.
1999: The Dudley Boys win a tables match to take the tag belts over the Hardys, Chris Jericho debuts, winning the IC from Waltman, Cactus keeps the WWF Title in a 3 way over the Rock and Hunter.
The announcers tonight: Michael Cole (his 6th PPV), Corey Graves (8th) Wade Barrett (8th) Steve Regal (27th) The color announcers work in shifts.
1. SURVIVOR SERIES TOURNAMENT MATCH: SAMI ZAYN (w/Steen) d. SANTOS ESCOBAR (w/Twisted Sun Gods)
-Gargano/Ciampa run down to aid Steen in the battle outside, Zayn goes over and this feud ends, the four babyfaces celebrate postmatch, Zayn remains and grabs a headset to watch the next match as he will face the winner in the semis.
2. SURVIVOR SERIES TOURNAMENT MATCH: WALTER (w/Heyman) d MIZ
-Squash. Zayn comes to the ring postmatch for the nose to nose.
3. SURVIVOR SERIES TOURNAMENT MATCH: DRAGON LEE d. JD McDONAGH
-Dragon Lee's PPV debut, he wins the workrate babyface match
4. SURVIVOR SERIES TOURNAMENT MATCH: JEY USO d. DOMINIC MYSTERIO
-There's no match here, Dom comes to the ring first - Orton flies in to RKO him, Dom's totally laid out when Jey enters, gets the cheap pinfall, he and Dragon Lee will meet in the semis later tonight - Orton stays around ringside as his match is next.
5. No DQ DAMIEN PRIEST (w/Defiance) d. RANDY ORTON
-Orton doesn't leave the ring - waving Priest forward, it's No DQ so Orton battles all of Defiance - the one he doesn't count on is a brand new member - Rhea Ripley, she takes him down from behind, Priest is able to get the fall and all of Defiance hits finishing moves postmatch for a full beatdown.
6. WOMENS TITLE: ASUKA d. IYO SKY (Guest Referee: Kairi Sane)
-One more match in what has probably been the top workrate series in WWF womens history - this one has a screwy finish; Sky attempts a flying strike on Asuka, she moves and Sky inadvertently hits Sane for the ref bump - Sky then has a quick pinfall on Asuka, but Sane is still down, Sky goes to revive her and Sane angrily shoves her away, that allows Asuka to get the fall and keep her belt. Longtime friends Sky and Sane argue postmatch as Asuka dances away, as she gets to the top of the ramp, she's laid out by Jordynne Grace, Grace holding the womens belt high.
2000: Extended chain sequence between Guerrero and Malenko, the Clique exploded, Edge and Christian keeping the tag belts over Hunter and Waltman, when the Kid turned on HHH. Regal gets the submission win on Jericho to take the IC title, and Benoit keeps the WWF Title, beating Steve Austin.
2001: ECW and the NWA have been folded into WWF and this was the interpromotional Survivor Series, RVD wins a 3 way over Chavo and Shane Helms, Jericho beats Justin Credible, DDP beats Austin, the Dudleys keep the tag belts over Raven/Dreamer, Taz takes the IC belt (called the Worldwide belts, as it combines the IC, the US, and the ECW TV Titles) from Tajiri, and in a Lumberjack Match, Kurt Angle keeps the WWF/ECW Titles over Booker T.
2002: Survivor Series returns to MSG, the Hardys turn heel, their mystery manager revealed to be Eric Bischoff, Brock Lesnar is a wild horse, he gets DQd when he F5s HHH multiple times on the ramp, Benoit/Guerrero are part of the Horsemen and they keep the tag belts over Noble/Kidman, RVD wins a Ladder Match to take the Worldwide Titles over Michaels - the WWF Title/NWA Title/ECW Title are now all merged, called the Undisputed Title, Kurt Angle keeps it beating Jericho and Michaels superkicks him dead postmatch.
2003: 20 years ago now, Matt Hardy attacked RVD with that WWF fork, Hunter and Shawn kept the tag belts, beating the Dudleys. Chavo took the Worldwide Titles from Tajiri, and Eddy Guerrero won a 4 way over Benoit/Brock/Angle to keep the WWF Title.
2004: Cleveland, the ancestral home of the Survivor Series, Angle and Benjamin took the tag belts from RVD and Rey. Jericho, in his Lizard King persona, kept the IC over Chavo - and Benoit and Eddy fought to a 30 minute time limit draw for the WWF Title.
2005: A dark cloud over this event given the death of Eddy Guerrero, Flair turns heel, joining Arn Anderson as they turn against Leviathan Batista. Hunter beats Shawn in a violent weapons match, Benoit wins the Triple Crown by taking the vacant Worldwide Titles over Angle, and Rey kept the WWF Title beating Juvie in a tribute match dedicated to Eddy.
2006: Philadelphia. A much discussed angle closed the night 17 years ago. Sabu and RVD won the tag belts in a glass light tube table match over Undertaker and Paul Wight, Shane Helms won the IC, beating Hunter when Bobby Lashley turned face on HHH - and in the main event, CM Punk took the WWF Title from Flair, it was a huge babyface moment that "saved" the promotion from the tyranny of Hunter's 51% Solution stable - and then Punk cut a promo on the WWF - throwing down the WWF Title belt and leaving the promotion in chaos. It's this moment that Roman Reigns references during his rise and title reign as leading to the downfall of WWF, the elevation of GDI and by proxy, AEW.
2007. Hunter and Shawn regain the tag titles and are then attacked postmatch by a returning Edge, Rey keeps the WWF Title over the Undertaker, and in a historically unlikely main event, Johnny Nitro won the NWA Title, beating Fit Finlay.
2008: Randy Orton beats Regal in a parking lot brawl with aid from Malenko, Edge and a man who everyone believed to be Jeff Hardy in a mask (it wound up being Christian) take the tag belts from Cena and Batista, MVP keeps the IC over Rey, Jericho submits Punk with Steamboat as the guest referee to win the WWF Title.
2009: The new version of GDI - Steamboat/Danielson/Low Ki open the show, Division One (Swagger/Nemeth) keep the tag belts over Regal/Finlay, Michaels beats Benjamin to keep the IC, Jericho keeps the WWF Title over Chavo
2010: Kingston and Killings keep the tag belts over Sheamus/McIntyre, Nitro kept the IC over MVP, Danielson beats Low Ki in what remains the greatest match in WWF history, Edge keeps the WWF Title over Swagger
7. SURVIVOR SERIES SEMI: JEY USO d. DRAGON LEE
-Jimmy's big singles run continues here, he beats Ricochet at Summer Slam and now is in the finals of the Survivor Series tournament going over Dragon Lee clean. He stays at the announce position, he's a heel, watching the all babyface semi final on the other side.
8. SURVIVOR SERIES SEMI: WALTER (w/Heyman) d. SAMI ZAYN (w/Steen, Gargano, Ciampa)
-The best match of the night, Walter's biggest main roster win, he goes over the Triple Crown winner Zayn - this is less of a main even style 25 minute match with nearfalls and instead it's a 10 minute sprint - bomb after bomb after bomb after bomb - Walter gets the final bomb and goes over to make the finals. His crew aids him from the ring postmatch, Jey and Walter go nose to nose as the finals are coming up later on tonight.
9. IC TITLE: DREW McINTYRE (w/Dunne/Bate) d. TYLER BLACK
-Speaking of biggest wins ever - McIntyre wins his first singles belt, becoming the 81st IC Champ, he beats Black clean in the middle - he said he knew what he was doing in jumping from Roman's heel stable to create his own. He wins here - the stable poses, McIntyre is at the height of his career.
10. WOMENS TAG: BIANCA BELAIR/BAYLEY d. BECKY LYNCH/CHARLOTTE FLAIR
-All babyface tag title match, Belair/Bayley end the long Lynch/Flair reign and become just the second womens tag champs - Belair and Bayley leave the ring pretty quickly, their celebration is on the ramp - Lynch/Flair have an extended spot in the ring - maybe it's a turn, maybe someone is leaving the promotion - it's an extended spot as they console each other, accepting the applause -- and then, before they can exit - they are surrounded on all sides by Defiance - Priest/Reed/Dom/Ripley - Lynch goes to attack Ripley, they fight on the outside, leaving Flair alone in the ring - and she winds up getting splashed by Reed. Bronson Reed kills Charlotte Flair dead - Priest gathers everyone and exits, it's a stretcher job, Lynch clearly devastated as Flair is stretchered from the ring.
2011: Back at MSG for Survivor Series 25, Sheamus is doing his Clique Killer gimmick and he destroys Nitro in an IC defense, Nick Nemeth is WWF Champ and he keeps the belt over Mistico, the show closes with a huge brawl between the Underground group and GDI
2012: Bryan Danielson keeps the WWF Title over Mysterio
2013: Steve Austin opens the show, he was doing a figurehead authority gimmick with Bret and Shawn, The Shield (Black/Langston) kept the tag belts over Mark Henry and Paul Wight and Dean Ambrose kept the IC over Kingston. Danielson and Punk fought to a 30 minute time limit draw for the WWF Title and then were killed by Lesnar and Swagger.
2014: The Womens Title was first contested at Survivor Series 9 years ago, Natty Neidhart keeping the belt from Paige and AJ in a 3 way. Luke Harper pins Nick Nemeth to take the IC, The Shield wins a trios TLC match over the 3 Usos to keep the tag belts, it's the first TLC match in 11 years. Bret and the Anvil enter postmatch to shake hands with The Shield in a torch passing moment. Claudio keeps the WWF Title over Bray, there's a postmatch brawl featuring the debut of Kevin Steen.
2015: Mauro Ranallo's first PPV. Charlotte wins the Womens Title from Paige, the New Day take the tag belts from Sheamus/Barrett. Ambrose takes the IC from Bray, Steen keeps the WWF Title over Nemeth
2016: Survivor Series goes to Canada. Toronto, specifically. and it contains a tournament, a Survivor Series, just like this year. Styles pins Kalisto, Harper pins Sheamus, Jericho pins Reigns, Langston attacks Black and Ambrose on the outside, leading to a double countout, Harper beats Jericho, and Styles beats Harper to win the tournament.
2017: Steen, under a mask, defeats Claudio, Bullet Club Becky Lynch keeps her Womens Title, defeating Charlotte, Ambrose gets buried under the Bullet Club flag, The Usos keep the tag belts in a trios tornado match over the New Day, Brock keeps the IC, beating Kurt Angle, a 3 way for the WWF Title with Devitt, Styles, Samoa Joe with Danielson as the guest referee ends in a no contest
2018: Ronda Rousey beats Charlotte, the Usos beat the Revival, Asuka keeps the Womens belt over Banks, the Hooligans take the tag belts from the Bullet Club, Prince Devitt keeps the IC or Mascara Dorada, Bryan Danielson beats Samoa Joe, and Shinsuke Nakamura keeps the WWF Title over Claudio.
2019: 4 years ago Survivor Series was in Chicago. Asuka wins a 4 way over Iyo, Sane and Toni Storm, Baszler wins the Womens Title over Bayley, Matt Riddle and Keith Lee beat Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, Danielson beats Pete Dunne, Nigel taking a huge bump on the outside, Styles beats Ciampa, Mysterio and Steen win the tag belts over Nemeth and Gable, Ricochet keeps the IC, beating Adam Cole, Lesnar beats Walter, Tyler Black, with Renee Young in his corner, keeps the WWF Title over Nakamura.
2020: The Covid Survivor Series, from the Bubble. Reigns destroys Jeff Hardy, Mysterio/Kalisto beat Crews and Buddy Murphy, the New Day take the tab belts from the Street Profits, Banks keeps the Womens Title over Asuka, Riddle beats Keith Lee, Styles wins the IC over Garza, Steen beats Zayn after Danielson chairshots Zayn. Ricochet takes the WWF Title from Tyler Black
2021: Two years ago was the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, Lashley, Sheamus and later Gable joining Roman. Steen beat Claudio in a Loser Leaves Town, Lynch/Flair became the first modern womens tag champs over Ripley/Baszler, Nakamura wins the IC over his former Bullet Club stablemates, Styles/Devitt/Black, Zayn beats Riddle, taking the WWF Title.
2022: Iyo beat Asuka last year, Devitt beat Dunne to keep the IC Title, Belair took the Womens Title from Rousey, Roman kept the WWF title, defeating Styles
11. SURVIVOR SERIES FINAL: WALTER (w/Heyman) d. JEY USO
-Walter's a monster, he goes over, wins the Survivor Series, making him the number one contender, Heyman grabs some type of trophy that is on the timekeepers table, hands it to Walter - Walter raises it over his head and then gets wiped out by a Superman punch and a spear. Reigns returns for the first time since the TV battle royal discussed in the build - Reigns tells Chicago to acknowledge him.
12. WWF TITLE: CODY RHODES d. PRINCE DEVITT
-The stip is if Devitt loses he can't ever challenge for the WWF Title again, the same stip Cody had in AEW - Cody wins again, this is the full main event match, Cody should get color - it has to be the very, very best match these two can have in 2023. Devitt is inconsolable postmatch and he exits.
Cody hits the turnbuckles, blood still evident...take a beat...take another beat....here he comes.
Blackout. Cult of Personality. Lights on. Punk. (in his WWF run he used the AFI song from ROH, but AEW is real world AEW, so he is full on Living Colour now)
CM Punk (carrying a sack, we'll find out on TV tomorrow what's in the bag, but if you watched early Collision, you know what's in the sack) returns to WWE - he does the full Punk comes back to Chicago thing. When he gets to the ring he ignores Cody entirely, standing on the turnbuckles as Cody fades into the background as the show ends.
And that's the "final" Survivor Series, concluding with the return of CM Punk.
Back next month for the build to the Rumble.
