The Survivor Series is one of WWE’s cornerstone events, recognized alongside Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Money in the Bank as part of the “Big Five” pay-per-views. Launched in 1987, it has undergone dramatic transformations over nearly four decades while maintaining its reputation as the home of massive multi-team battles, heated rivalries, and career-defining moments.
The debut: 1987 – Thanksgiving night tradition begins
The inaugural Survivor Series took place on November 26, 1987, at the Richfield Coliseum in Ohio. Vince McMahon created the event as direct counter-programming against the NWA’s Starrcade. The signature match type was the Survivor Series Elimination Match: 5-on-5 (or sometimes 4-on-4) tag team elimination bouts where competitors are eliminated via pinfall, submission, disqualification, or count-out until one team has no members left. The winning team members are called “survivors.”
For the first 16 years (1987–2002, with a brief hiatus in 1998), the card was built almost entirely around these traditional elimination matches.
The brand split era and shifting identity (2002–2016)
With the introduction of the Raw vs. SmackDown brand split in 2002, Survivor Series became the annual battleground for brand supremacy. Traditional elimination matches continued to headline, but the event gradually incorporated more championship matches and marquee singles encounters while still featuring multiple 5-on-5 (and occasionally 10-on-10) elimination bouts.
The return of WarGames and the full rebranding (2017–present)
WarGames, originally created by Dusty Rhodes in 1987 for NWA/WCW, returned to prominence at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in 2017. Five years later, in 2022, Triple H brought the match type to the main roster and permanently transformed Survivor Series into Survivor Series WarGames.
Current WWE WarGames rules (as used on the main roster since 2022)
- Two rings are placed side-by-side and completely surrounded by a massive steel cage that connects both rings (no escape, no roof from 2022–2023; the classic roof returned for the 2024 women’s match).
- Typically two teams of four or five competitors each (4-on-4 or 5-on-5). Three-team WarGames have been used in NXT but not yet on the main-roster Survivor Series.
- The match officially begins with one member from each team (a 1-on-1 period for 5 minutes).
- After 5 minutes, the team that won a pre-match coin toss (or earned the advantage) gets the numbers advantage: their second member enters, making it 2-on-1 for a 2-minute period.
- Entrants then alternate between teams at regular timed intervals (standardized to 2 minutes on the main roster).
- Foreign objects can legally be used as weapons and are usually placed around or under the rings before the match starts.
- Once all participants have entered, “The Match Beyond” officially begins — the only way to win is by pinfall or submission inside the cage. No disqualifications, no count-outs, no rope breaks once everyone is in.
- The first team to score a pinfall or submission after every competitor has entered is declared the winner.
Key main-roster WarGames moments
- 2022 (Boston): The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn & The Usos) defeated The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre & Kevin Owens; Bianca Belair’s team won the women’s match.
- 2023 (Chicago): Judgment Day & Drew McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins & Randy Orton (Orton’s return match).
- 2024 (Vancouver): Featured the first main-roster WarGames with the original roof reinstated in the women’s match; both WarGames bouts again served as the co-main events.
Timeline summary
- 1987–2001: Pure traditional Survivor Series elimination matches
- 2002–2016: Brand supremacy era; still centered on traditional elimination matches
- 2017–2021: WarGames exclusive to NXT TakeOver
- 2022–present: Traditional elimination matches retired from the Survivor Series card; the event is now fully built around two massive WarGames matches
From Hulk Hogan surviving with his team in 1987 to entire factions waging war inside a roofed or roofless steel prison nearly 40 years later, Survivor Series has evolved into WWE’s annual showcase of chaos, strategy, and outright brutality — with WarGames now the undisputed centerpiece of the entire show.
