Survivor Series 1987 was the inaugural Survivor Series event. The success of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant's rivalry and match at WrestleMania 3 led to the establishment of Survivor Series. The event has since become one of the longest-running WWE pay-per-view events in history.
RELATED: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Survivor Series 1999
The first event was held on Thanksgiving in 1987. It featured a host of massive WWE talent ranging from Hulk Hogan to Randy Savage. The show ended up being such a resounding success that it led to the second Survivor Series in 1988. This list will examine ten things fans should know about the pay-per-view event that spawned a decades-long tradition, Survivor Series 1987.
10 Featured A Women's Survivor Series Elimination Match
The WWE Women's division has come a long way from its early incarnation in the 80s and 90s. "Bra and Panties" matches and Playboy were once the "draw power" of the women of the WWE. Today, the company has arguably the best women wrestlers on the entire planet. On any given weekend stars like Bianca Belair, Bayley, and Becky Lynch can outshine any male wrestler.
In a shockingly progressive move for its era, the first Survivor Series event featured both men's and women's Survivor Series tag team matches. The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno) were the sole survivors of the match. It was the last official Survivor Series women's tag team match until the 2008 event almost twenty years later.
9 Rob Van Dam Made His First WWE Appearance
Although he didn't compete at the event, Ted DiBiase made his television debut in Survivor Series in 1987. A promo video aired between matches, and they showed DiBiase as a rich man humiliating fans to help sell the star as a heel to the audience.
RELATED: 10 Wrestlers You Completely Forgot Had Multiple Runs In WWE
One of the examples of DiBiase humiliating common fans included a teenage Rob Van Dam kissing DiBiase's feet for cash. The two never crossed paths in the ring. Van Dam made his Survivor Series wrestling debut at the 2001 event.
8 Every Member Of Randy Savage's Team Is In The WWE Hall Of Fame
The first match featured a ton of star power. The team of Brutus Beefcake, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Randy Savage & Ricky Steamboat (w/Miss Elizabeth) defeated Danny Davis, Hercules, King Harley Race, Ron Bass & The Honky Tonk Man (w/Bobby Heenan & Jimmy Hart). It was the first Survivor Series elimination match in history and Savage's team featured all future Hall of Famers.
Ricky Steamboat was the first member inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. Jim Duggan joined the illustrious club in 2011. Jake Roberts and Randy Savage were a part of the 2015 Class. Brutus Beefcake joined in 2019, which meant every competitor earned a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, a rare Survivor Series feat.
7 Not A Single Champion Survived
Every WWE titleholder competed at Survivor Series. The gold did not make the difference since every single one of them was eliminated from their match.
The Honky Tonk Man entered the event as the Intercontinental Champion. He was the last member of his team eliminated. Strike Force (Rick Martel & Tito Santana) were tag team champions and were eliminated from their 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team match. WWE Champion Hulk Hogan was counted out in his match after 16 minutes.
6 It Was Ricky Steamboat's Only Survivor Series Appearance
Ricky Steamboat is one of the best wrestlers to ever compete at the WWE. Although he became well known as a WCW wrestler, he spent a large part of the 80s as a member of the WWE.
Somehow, Survivor Series 1987 was the only Survivor Series event Steamboat ever competed in. He would wrestle for the company a few times off and on but never landed on another Series elimination team or match.
5 Bam Bam Bigelow and Rick Rude Made Their Television Debut
In 1987, the WWE had only aired three WrestleMania events. Raw was still years away from airing on television and this event featured a ton of in-ring television debuts for many WWE superstars.
RELATED: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Survivor Series 1993
Bam Bam Bigelow, who debuted during his main event match, became a staple at WWE, WCW, and ECW. WWE Hall of Famer and WCW juggernaut, Rick Rude made his WWE televised debut at the event as well. He would compete at two more Series after the inaugural event and was never part of a losing team.
4 It Went Head-To-Head With Starrcade
Long before Starrcade was WCW's "WrestleMania," the NWA was competing for wrestling fans against Vince McMahon's company the WWE. Starrcade 1987 was the NWA's first major pay-per-view event.
McMahon threatened cable networks who aired Starrcade that they would not be allowed to televise WrestleMania 4. Survivor Series ended up doing massive numbers compared to Starrcade due to the threat. NWA scored a 3.30 buy rate and Survivor Series drew a massive 7.0.
3 Smash Was The Only Person DQ'd At The Event
Survivors Series elimination matches almost always include multiple DQ eliminations. With heels grabbing weapons becoming commonplace in the 90s, it's a part of the show that makes sense. At the first Survivor Series event, only one person suffered a DQ elimination, Smash.
Demolition (Ax & Smash) won the WWE Tag Team Titles on three different occasions and had a few big runs at the company. The pair competed in the 10-man tag team elimination match and were the third team eliminated when he shoved a referee.
2 Featured Andre's First Match In Seven Months
One of the biggest selling points for this event was the pairing of Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan. Although it wasn't Andre's first match after WrestleMania 3, it was the first televised match of Andre's career after the event.
As many know now, Andre's health started seriously declining and a few years after this event he would form The Colossal Connection with Haku to help extend Andre's wrestling career.
1 Hulk Hogan Suffered A Rare Televised Loss
Hulk Hogan did not lose many matches during his time on top of the WWE. He was built as a massive superstar that was often invincible in the ring.
Although he didn't suffer a pinfall loss in this match, Hogan was counted out and his team fell to the team of Butch Reed, The Heenan Family (Andre The Giant, King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude) & The One Man Gang. It was only the second televised loss of Hogan's career at the WWE.
