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Survivor Series is the second longest running annual PPV for WWE PPV, standing behind only WrestleMania in terms of continuity and recognition as a super show. The show had somewhat modest beginnings as counterprogramming to Starrcade and a platform to offer an extra Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant clashes without having to expose the two megastars, who weren’t exactly exemplary in workers at that point, in an extra one on one match. The show’s thirty-year history has since included world title changes, dream matches, the debuts of stars of like The Undertaker, The Rock, and Kurt Angle, and a whole lot of fun tag team elimination bouts that included all star combinations and odd bedfellows.
It’s interesting to look back from the perspective of 2018 and see who has worked the most Survivor Series cards. In part because the four or five-person teams tended to offer up PPV spots to stars who otherwise didn’t get featured much on PPV caliber shows. Moreover, we have had the opportunity to see guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels grow from tag team wrestlers, to mid-card acts, to full-fledged main eventers. It’s also remarkable to see the staying power of acts from different generations like Tito Santana, Ted Dibiase, Billy Gunn, Rey Mysterio, The Big Boss Man, Booker T, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler, each with five-plus Survivor Series shows to their names.
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This article takes a look back at the top eight stars to have worked the most Survivor Series events. The list only takes into account actually wrestling in a match (so, for example, a guest referee, manager, or promo spot does not qualify). Some of the names belong to Hall of Fame caliber top talents you might expect, though more than a few names might also surprise you as not as celebrated talents who nonetheless demonstrated impressive staying power over the years.
#8 and #7 Bret Hart and John Cena – 11 years
Bret Hart and John Cena are a bit of an odd pairing here. Despite both working for periods of time as the face of the company, they’re largely known for near opposite reasons. Hart’s legacy is that of a wrestler’s wrestler—a technical wizard who represented the authentic underpinnings of wrestling as a sport. By contrast, Cena spent longer on top, but was more of a kid-friendly, animated character with a super hero’s physique who could hold his own, but isn’t really in the conversation for all time great workers.
The two men’s Survivor Series journeys are largely representative of their stories. Hart worked his way from humble beginnings as a part of the tag team division, to a mid-card spot, before emerging as a main eventer and ultimately working world title matches at the show opposite stars like Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and Bob Backlund. Meanwhile, Cena’s first Survivor Series appearance was a coming out party of sorts as he had freshly turned face to side with Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, and Bradshaw against a Brock Lesnar-led team of monsters.
That face run would extend for fifteen years and counting as Cena shored up his spot as the top star of his generation.
#6 and #5 Triple H and Randy Orton – 12 years
Triple H and Randy Orton have a long history with one another. They’ve worked the same number of Survivor Series events across their respective careers, each working more than one world title match in that span.
Interestingly, despite having collaborated in Evolution and The Authority, the two never actually worked on the same Survivor Series team, though they did collide twice with one another on the opposite sides elimination tag team matches.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels’s face team swept Orton and Edge’s heel squad at Survivor Series 2007, but it was Orton who picked up the bigger win over his mentor three years earlier. At Survivor Series 2004, an Orton led team beat a group led by The Game to garner control of Raw for a month.
That particular outing was smack dab in the middle of a particularly remarkable trilogy for Orton. At the 2003, 2004, and 2005 editions of the show, Orton emerged as the sole survivor to win for his team in each Survivor Series main event.
#4 and #3 The Big Show and Kane – 15 years
The Big Show and Kane are respected veteran big men by any measure, and it’s noteworthy that the two had the staying power to each work fifteen Survivor Series events and counting.
While wrestling fans are buzzing about last minutes changes to this year’s show that saw Daniel Bryan replace AJ Styles and Charlotte Flair replace Becky Lynch, Show had a career-making night back in 1999 when he served as a last minute replacement in his own right.
The show was supposed to feature a Triple Threat between Attitude Era icons The Rock, Triple H, and Steve Austin, only for Austin to get kayfabe run over in the parking garage and taken out of action (so he could recover from real life injuries). Show was his last-minute replacement and won his first WWE Championship there.
As a testament to each man’s longevity, Big Show and Kane were notably each involved in two of the most memorable main event team matches in Survivor Series history thirteen years apart. In 2001, the two giants were on the same side representing WWE against The Alliance.
In 2014, they started out on opposite teams with The Big Show backing John Cena while Kane represented The Authority. By the end of the match, Show did what Show (and often Kane) does and made a heel turn to help out the heels.
#2 and #1 The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels – 17 years
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are widely regarded as icons of WrestleMania, but it’s worth noting that the two aren’t too shabby either when it comes to the number of Survivor Series shows they were featured on and played high profile roles for.
Michaels got his start sooner, working as half of The Rockers on more than one Survivor Series team. Within a few years, he was challenging Bret Hart for the WWE Championship not once, but twice at this event. Michaels’s legacy would only blossom when he returned from his first retirement for a run that included winning the original Elimination Chamber Match and being the last man standing to fall to Randy Orton in the Survivor Series 2003 and 2005 team main events.
The Undertaker made his debut at Survivor Series 1990 and its telling that exactly one year later he’d be challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship—not to mention that he pinned The Hulkster to actually take the title.
The Deadman may not have made quite as much history over Survivor Series shows to follow, but highlights included beating Yokozuna in a main event Casket Match, putting over Vince McMahon in a Buried Alive Match, and successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho and The Big Show in a Triple Threat.
