The Montreal Screwjob completely changed the wrestling industry and defined the history of what fans would remember at the annual Survivor Series event. WWE didn’t want to have such a polarizing moment, but they certainly did their best to benefit from it moving forward. The Survivor Series PPV has become a place for quite a few controversial moments from booking decisions to real life moments.
WWE has always wanted it to be one of the big four events since it debuted in the late ‘80s. The event has seen many changes from the elimination team matches to the brand split rivalry. Fans were left confused or debating quite a few moments. Find out what made the following memories the most controversial in Survivor Series history.
10 The Montreal Screwjob
WWE fans will always discuss the Montreal Screwjob given how much the industry changed after it. Vince McMahon proved that he would alter the script without informing a wrestler when he did it to Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1997.
Various wrestlers had differing opinions of the Montreal Screwjob with the polarizing views continuing with fan reaction. Many felt Vince was the villain for lying to Bret, but others believed that Hart should have just dropped the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels.
9 The Undertaker Winning WWE Championship
The Undertaker made Survivor Series one of the biggest events in his career with a debut, title win, and other memorable moments. Survivor Series 1991 featured Undertaker winning his first WWE Championship with a shocking victory over Hulk Hogan.
WWE rarely had Hogan lose, but there was interference to help Undertaker. Hogan won the title back a week later with more controversy forcing the title to be vacated. Undertaker beating Hogan at all was polarizing so early in his career since bigger names like Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, and Ted DiBiase couldn’t pin the Hulkster.
8 Raw Sweeping Smackdown in 2018
The brand split has seen Survivor Series becoming a Raw vs Smackdown event since 2016. WWE went the controversial route in 2018 of having one side dominate instead of the usual record of splitting the victories.
Raw won all six head-to-head matches on the main roster with domination in the team matches. The better Smackdown performances still resulted in defeat when Charlotte Flair was disqualified for using a weapon on Ronda Rousey and Daniel Bryan fell short to Brock Lesnar in champion vs champion matches.
7 Sting Debuting To Stop Triple H
Wrestling fans badly wanted to see Sting in WWE for many years after WCW went out of business, but the legend felt more comfortable in TNA. Sting finally made the move when signing a contract with WWE in late 2014.
Everyone expected Sting to enter a feud with The Undertaker as the obvious dream match, but his first moment came at Survivor Series. Sting stopped Triple H from leading The Authority to a huge win. The interaction set up their WrestleMania 31 match which upset many fans who wanted Undertaker vs Sting instead.
6 Big Show Winning The WWE Championship
WWE advertised a massive WWE Championship match at Survivor Series 1999 between Triple H, Steve Austin, and The Rock in a battle of the three biggest stars. Fans were upset when Austin was run over by a car earlier in the show as a bait and switch to write him off of television.
Big Show was highly inconsistent since joining WWE earlier in the year, but Vince McMahon was set on pushing him to the top this night. The earlier elimination match saw Big Show surviving the odds in a 1 vs 4 match. WWE replaced Austin with Big Show to give him his first WWE Championship win before he was ready for such a role.
5 Sheamus Cashing In Money in the Bank on Roman Reigns
The Money in the Bank briefcase win by Sheamus in 2015 felt like a strange move since Sheamus flopped in a title position multiple times before this push. Seth Rollins was forced to vacate his WWE Championship due to injury weeks before his Survivor Series 2015 showdown with Roman Reigns.
WWE went with a tournament to crown a new champion with friends Reigns and Dean Ambrose facing off in the finals. Roman won the match but was attacked by Sheamus who cashed in to steal the title at show’s end. Sheamus had another disappointing title reign and Reigns saw his first championship win pointless in the grand scheme of WWE.
4 Sycho Sid Ending Shawn Michaels' Title Reign
The WWE Championship reign of Shawn Michaels in 1996 led to great matches but the fans turning on his face character. Michaels played a generic face and audiences were starting to expect more from the wrestlers.
WWE went with the shocking move of having Sycho Sid defeat Michaels at Survivor Series 1996. Madison Square Garden fans cheered Sid after the heel win through shady methods. The move hurt Michaels’ run since Sid wasn’t at the level of Bret Hart or The Undertaker at the time in the main event picture.
3 Triple H vs Steve Austin Ending
WWE’s biggest storyline to end 2000 saw Steve Austin trying to figure out who ran him over with a car at the Survivor Series 1999 event to take him off television for almost a year. Rikishi was the person revealed as the driver, but Triple H was the one to hire him.
The one-year anniversary of the moment saw Austin and Triple H facing off in the Survivor Series 2000 main event. WWE didn’t give a finish as the two brawled outside of the venue. The show closed with Austin trapping Triple H in a car, raising it with a forklift, and dropping it. Fans typically wanted real finishes and were left confused with this ending.
2 Bob Backlund Winning The WWE Championship
Bret Hart’s WWE Championship reign in 1994 cemented him as a successful face of the company. WWE wanted to try to elevate other stars when Diesel became the new major project. The plan was to have Diesel beat a heel, so Bret was tasked with losing the title to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 1994.
Most WWE fans lost interest in Backlund since he peaked about a decade prior and never had the superstar appeal. Backlund still was booked to win the belt through the controversial ending of an “I Quit” match. Even though he lost the title days later to Diesel, Backlund beating Bret was an upsetting moment for many viewers.
1 Goldberg Squashing Brock Lesnar
One of the most shocking moments in WWE history saw Brock Lesnar and Goldberg facing off at Survivor Series 2016. The rematch saw the two wrestling against each other for the first time since their all-time terrible WrestleMania 20 match.
Both wrestlers were more motivated here as Brock wanted Goldberg to work a long-term program with him. Goldberg squashed Lesnar in a dominant performance after Lesnar destroyed the WWE roster for years. Many fans loved the shock of the moment, but it was also criticized for Goldberg getting spotlighted more than the full-time talents.