The 2019 Survivor Series pay-per-view is less than two weeks away, and with NXT talents on the card, it figures to be one of the chronology's better shows in recent memory.
One of the main worries for fans, of course, is that the 2019 Survivor Series main event will fail to actually deliver. Over the years, we've been left disappointed by some extremely lackluster to terrible matches that closed out Survivor Series. And WWE could have easily avoided this by simply placing a better match in the main event slot instead.
Here is a look at the five worst main event matches in Survivor Series history, and the five matches that should have ended the show instead.
10 Worst: Booker T vs. Batista (2006)
King Booker and Batista actually performed a highly entertaining feud in 2006, but Survivor Series 2006 marked a disappointing conclusion to their rivalry.
They closed out the show here with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. The stipulation was that if Batista had lost, he would never get a title match against King Booker again.
Their main event showdown was poor in terms of pacing and overall quality. It also didn't help that everybody knew Batista was going to win this match. This match simply shouldn't have been the main event, even though they were both top main event stars at the time.
9 Replaced By: 5-on-5 Elimination Tag
Overall, Survivor Series 2006 was a disappointing pay-per-view, but at least the Team Cena vs. Team Big Show match had some intensity and excitement.
Team Cena consisted of the 16-time World Champion, Kane, Bobby Lashley, Sabu, and Rob Van Dam, while Team Big Show consisted of the World's Largest Athlete, Finlay, Test, Umaga, and MVP.
This match featured five popular babyfaces and five big-time heels, so fans were able to get pretty emotionally invested in this one. We're not saying it was a top-tier match by any means, but it was more deserving of closing out the show.
8 Worst: Triple H vs. Goldberg (2003)
The Triple H and Goldberg rivalry didn't exactly live up to expectations, but you can understand why it seemed like a good idea for WWE. After all, Goldberg was the face of WCW for several years, and it made sense to put him up against the merciless and relentless Cerebral Assassin.
But there wasn't much to like between these two when it came to their in-ring work together. The chemistry and overall pace simply weren't there in the slightest. When all was said and done, Goldberg defeated Triple H to become the new World Heavyweight Championship in a main event match that just didn't deliver the way we had hoped.
7 Replaced By: Mr. McMahon vs. Undertaker
At first, this felt like it would be an easy win for The Undertaker. How could the WWE chairman possibly emerge victorious in a Buried Alive match against one of the company's most dominant superstars?
Well, The Deadman was about to put his boss away, but in a twist ending, Kane appeared from the grave and attacked his storyline half-brother. The Big Red Machine then assisted McMahon in burying Undertaker, thus securing the victory.
This reignited the historic Kane-Undertaker feud, and it led to a match at WrestleMania XX - won by the former. Given the aftermath and totally unexpected ending, the Vince-Undertaker match deserved to close out Survivor Series 2003.
6 Worst: Ultimate Warriors vs. Heenan Family
The 1989 Survivor Series card featured one singles match (Paul Roma vs. Boris Zhukov) and five elimination tag team matches. The show closed out with Ultimate Warrior's team (he, Jim Neidhart, Marty Jannetty, and Shawn Michaels) vs. The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Haku and Andre the Giant).
But at the time, most of these wrestlers had yet to reach main event status, so the match wasn't as intriguing then as it may look now. There wasn't much to like about the quality of this match overall, and the best match of the night had already taken place. Fair or not, the main event of Survivor Series 1989 just didn't stand much of a chance in stealing the show.
5 Replaced By: Hulkamaniacs vs. Million Dollar Team
It's anybody's guess why this four-on-four tag team match didn't wind up closing out the show. Team Hogan consisted of the biggest name in professional wrestling at the time, along with Jake "The Snake" Roberts plus Ax and Smash.
They went up against The Million Dollar Team, which had Ted DiBiase, Zeus, The Barbarian, and The Warlord.
This was simply a much more exciting match for the fans to get behind, as a handful of these superstars were already established main event talents. It was an added bonus for the fans when Team Hogan emerged victorious over the villainous Million Dollar Team.
4 Worst: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar (2016)
This match was filled with plenty of hype, as it marked Goldberg's first WWE match in over 12 years. He rekindled his rivalry with Brock Lesnar, whom Goldberg had defeated at WrestleMania XX before both superstars left the company for lengthy periods.
In a big upset, Goldberg squashed Lesnar and defeated him in just 1:26. Now, the fans in Toronto gave Goldberg an incredible ovation for his win, but let's be real here. The match was nothing close to main event quality, even if you liked the result. This should not have closed out the show.
3 Replaced By: Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown
Now, this was the prime example of what a main event match should look like. Too bad that the 5-on-5 elimination tag team match featuring Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown didn't end up closing out Survivor Series 2016.
The match was loaded with true main event superstars. Team Raw had Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, and Chris Jericho, while Team SmackDown consisted of Randy Orton, Shane McMahon, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, and Dean Ambrose.
The buildup for this match was incredible, and the superstars put on a clinical effort, with the bout lasting about 53 minutes. Team SmackDown came away victorious in a superb match that deserved to be the main event.
2 Worst: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart (1997)
This could have been one of the greatest matches in the history of WWE, if only Vince McMahon and others didn't decide to double-cross Bret Hart on his way out of the company.
As many of you know by now, the plan was for Hart to retain his World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels, his storyline and real-life arch enemy. Hart would then drop the title before departing for WCW.
But Vince betrayed Hart and the original plan, and he got referee Earl Hebner to have the bell rung once Michaels locked in the Sharpshooter, even though Hart had never tapped out. It is the most controversial moment in WWE history, and the fans in Montreal were screwed along with Hart on this very night. What a massively disappointing ending to a match that should have been remembered for better reasons.
1 Replaced By: Owen Hart vs. Steve Austin
Since McMahon had decided he was going to screw Bret, he could have at least inserted the Steve Austin-Owen Hart Intercontinental Championship match in the main event.
This, folks, was truly the match of the night. Two of WWE's premier in-ring workers put together a quick four-minute match that was still far better than the Michaels-Hart bout. And if this were the main event, you know it would have gone on for at least 10 minutes.
Survivor Series 1997 left a bitter taste in the mouths of everybody, thanks to a horrible and embarrassing ending. It could have at least been salvaged if Owen and Austin got to finish out the show.