Great Solo Performances in Survivor Series History

The Survivor Series is one of the longest-standing traditions in WWE history. Every November team warfare enters our homes and the results have, usually, been great. The team dynamic is one that WWE doesn’t explore often and we are given some interesting pairings.

The Survivor Series has always been more about the team game than anything. The importance of working together is always highlighted going into the show but that doesn’t mean a solo performance can’t shine above.

There have been a few times throughout the history of the Survivor Series when a man/woman rises above the rest. There have been times when a wrestler puts on such a great performance that they rise above the rest and become stars. Below we will take a look at some of these instances.

The Undertaker (1990)

The Million Dollar Man promised the world that he had a huge surprise for the Survivor Series. He delivered in that aspect when he announced The Undertaker as his final teammate.

The audience was aghast when the Deadman made his way through the curtain. His appearance and demeanor were terrifying and unlike anything we had seen before.

When he reached the ring, The Undertaker proceeded to carve through his opponents. He eliminated Koko B.Ware and Dusty Rhodes with ease and proved to be too much of a match for others. Only when he got himself counted out did he leave the match. It was an amazing debut and a performance that set the tone for The Undertaker for the next 30 years.

Dolph Ziggler (2014)

The Showoff has always been one of the best workers in WWE. His skill set matched with his amazing selling ability has kept him relevant in the company over the years. This ability made him one of the most over wrestlers on the roster in 2014. A year when his star-making performance had him on top of the world.

The main event of Survivor Series in 2014 had some high stakes attached to it. The loser of the contest, whether it be the Authority or Cena’s partners, would be fired. It was a great way to add some much need suspense to the match, which was heightened when Cena was eliminated early on in the match. This left Ziggler alone against the three remaining members of Team Authority.

These odds seemed to be insurmountable but Ziggler pulled himself together and put in the performance of a lifetime. He disposed of Kane and Luke Harper on his way to getting the pinfall over Seth Rollins. It was an astonishing finish and one that will go down as a masterful performance by Ziggler.

Roman Reigns (2013)

Before the hatred spilled out of every corner of the arena, Roman was a popular member of the Shield. It was still known that he had the company’s backing and was the one from the group poised for bigger things.

We got to see this backing start to form when we hit Survivor Series 2013. The heel team of The Shield and Real Americans took on Cody Rhodes, Goldust, and The Usos. It was a great opener to the PPV and it showcased a lot of the younger talent on the roster, namely Roman Reigns.

Reigns were already earmarked for greatness, but it was here we saw this firsthand. Reigns plowed his way through 4 out of the 5 members of the opposing team. It was a dominance not rarely seen and established him as a force to be reckoned with.

Keith Lee (2019)

In 2019 the brand warfare that was Survivor Series was taken to a new level. The PPV had always included Raw v Smackdown, but this was the first year that NXT was added to the event. This made for an interesting dynamic involving three teams for every match. It also allowed Keith Lee to burst onto the scene.

Lee had been great in NXT, but it was time he took his talents to the main roster. He looked like a beast during this match. His size and athleticism astounded the crowd and impressed all who were watching. This was the first time he was exposed to a national audience and he didn’t disappoint.

Lee was eventually eliminated by Roman Reigns, but their few-minute showdown showed Lee was destined for greater things. He hung with Reigns and had the world believing that he might go over The Big Dog.

Randy Orton (2004)

Randy Orton is the most prolific performer in the history of the Survivor Series. He has been the surviving competitor so often that an entire list can be made of his triumphs. With that being said his 2004 performance was one of his best.

It was one of the few times that Orton was a babyface in his early career. He had been, recently, booted from Evolution, and banded together with Benoit, Jericho and Maven to take on HHH’s group at the Survivor Series.

Orton was fantastic during the match. His, and Hunter’s team, went toe to toe for most of the match until nearing the end. After Jericho had been eliminated Orton was left to fend off both Edge and Triple H. For anyone else, this would have been a death sentence but The Viper was able to summon his courage and cut through both men, en route to winning the match. It was an all-time great performance from Randy Orton.