By Shawn Valentino, PWTorch Specialist

It began as the Thanksgiving tradition and it was only fitting as the matches during those early years were mostly turkeys, but the Survivor Series has survived to be one of the "big four" pay-per-views WWE presents each year. History has been made at this annual spectacular and some of the more memorable moments in the industry have taken place. With Survivor Series 2008 behind us, I thought we would take a look at the top ten moments in Survivor Series history.

(10) The Gobbledygooker is unveiled: Survivor Series 1990

One of the most infamous moments in the history of wrestling took place at Survivor Series 1990. This was the ultimate in everything that is bad about the wrestling business, but the unintentional comedy of the moment and its sheer absurdity make it unforgettable. In the weeks leading up to the PPV, the announcers hyped up that a surprise would come out of a gigantic egg at the event. Yes, it is actually as ridiculous as it sounds, but fans were clamoring for an exciting shock, such as a new superstar or returning hero. Instead, the fans were "treated" to a man (Hector Guerrero) in a turkey costume dancing in the ring with Mean Gene. As atrocious as the spectacle was, it still garners laughs in retrospect as it is arguably the most memorably bad moment in the history of the industry.

(9) The crowd turns on HBK: Survivor Series 1996

The seeds for what would become the Attitude Era were arguably planted on Survivor Series 1996. At the time, Shawn Michaels was the biggest star in the company and having phenomenal matches that took workrate to a new level in WWF. Unfortunately, the company was also in dire straits competing against the hot NWO angle and needing an edgier concept for success. HBK would fight Sid Vicious in the main event of the night at Madison Square Garden, and the reaction of the New York crowd was unexpected. The audience booed the athletic but cheesy Michaels, while cheering the badass Sid. The voice had been heard that no longer did wrestling crowds want the nice guy faces to cheer on. It was a moment that did not change the company's direction right away, but exemplified that something different was needed if WWF was going to compete with the emerging WCW.

(8) Michaels returns to World Champion status: Survivor Series 2002

In late 2002, it was assumed that Shawn Michaels's comeback to the WWE was only temporary. As a result, WWE decided to give him one last honorary run as the World Champion. He was in the middle of a hot feud with Triple H, who demolished his injured back with a sledgehammer. Michaels came back in time for a championship match that would debut in a new structure that was even more impressive than the Hell in a Cell. The very sight of the Elimination Chamber was awe-inspiring and the match provided some jaw-dropping moments, including RVD flying around like Spider Man and Triple H getting thrown through a "bullet-proof" chamber. Because of the success of this match, the Chamber has become a yearly staple of WWE PPVs and has become an excellent way to decide a champion when there are multiple candidates for the throne. Michaels winning the championship commemorated his return to main event status, but nobody could have imagined that it would lead a long run of him participating in some of the greatest matches in wrestling history.

(7) The Invasion ends: Survivor Series 2001

Potentially the biggest angle in the history of wrestling ended at Survivor Series 2001. Of course, we all know looking back that the Invasion angle was a huge letdown, as it was booked shoddily and WWF did not have access to the biggest stars in WCW to make it successful. Team WWF defeated the Alliance of WCW and ECW for good and concluded one of the most disappointing feuds in wrestling history. This makes the list because the match signified the official death of WCW and the original ECW.

(6) Michaels attempts to save Austin's career: Survivor Series 2003

The original concept of Survivor Series was to have teams of five competing against each other until survivors remain unpinned. While the idea sounds interesting on paper, the actual execution of these matches was usually a big cluster of bad wrestling and worse booking. The greatest of these matches took place at Survivor Series 2003 when Steve Austin put his career on the line assembling a team to compete against a team put together by co-GM Eric Bischoff. The drama of the last ten minutes of the match when Shawn Michaels fought valiantly against three wrestlers in an attempt to save Stone Cold's career was sensational.

This was one of the greatest performances of HBK's career and his body language and facial expressions at the end told a story of a man giving his all to save a fellow grappler's career. Of course, Team Austin lost, but he would soon return in the embarrassingly bad Sheriff Austin gimmick. For this event, however, Michaels's fight to save Austin's career created one of the most compelling in-ring dramas you've ever seen.

(5) Undertaker defeats Hogan: Survivor Series 1991

1991 was in many ways an end of an era for WWF, as the Hulkamania era was winding to a close. Fans were tiring of the stale act and needed new stars to carry wrestling to its next generation. Who could have imagined that a gimmick straight out of the cartoonish era of the 1980s would become one of the most memorable characters in wrestling history. The Undertaker immediately became a huge star in WWF, and he was soon rewarded with something few wrestlers did at the time: gain a victory over Hulk Hogan. His win immediately legitimized him as a main event star, and the legend of the Dead Man has not died since.

(4) Michaels and Hart become main eventers: Survivor Series 1992

Survivor Series 1992 featured the first WWF World Championship main event without Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, or Hulk Hogan. A combination of factors, including a steroids controversy, bored fans, and stale acts forced the company to look for new stars and a new direction. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were about as different as could be from the older larger-than-life comic book figure heroes. They were smaller wrestlers with incredible athleticism and wrestling ability. They were given the big stage and earned it with a very good match at a time where workrate was not yet emphasized to become a big star. The quality of the match started the shift of the company towards a focus on great wrestling matches instead of inflated bodies.

(3) The Deadly Game tournament: Survivor Series 1998

Vince Russo takes a lot of criticism these days, and deservedly so, for not building up long-term storylines, and not being able to make new stars. Survivor Series 1998 was Russo's booking at its absolute peak. WWF had built up a compelling storyline that featured multiple layers and characters. Shane and Vince were supposedly feuding and Vince mysteriously took Mick Foley in as his corporate champion. At the same time, the fans had turned Rock into a huge face. This all lead to a series of intricately plotted swerves at the Survivor Series. The World Championship was vacant at the time and it was decided that it would be won at a tournament. Austin would get screwed by Shane, who was apparently plotting with Vince all the time. The Rock turned out to be the true Corporate Champion as he was helped by the Corporation to defeat Foley.

This event worked on multiple levels. The storyline that had been brewing for months came to a satisfying climax that surprised everyone. It made Rock the ultimate bad guy, while turning Foley into a sympathetic face that would soon become champion himself. It made fans clamor for Austin to defeat the Rock and led to one of the biggest rivalries in wrestling history. If Russo achieves nothing else in wrestling, we will always have this Survivor Series to point to that proves at one point he was an excellent booker.

(2) Austin and Hart steal the show: Survivor Series 1996

While Shawn Michaels is known as the Showstopper, on this particular event, he had the show stolen from him. HBK was getting booed in the main event while on the undercard, a grass-roots uprising of fans cheered on a tough, no-nonsense rebel that was on his way to becoming the biggest star of the company. When Bret Hart came back from his hiatus from WWF, he handpicked his opponent to be Steve Austin, as he saw him as the future of the company. As we all know, he turned out to be absolutely right, but credit must go to Bret as well, as his feud with Stone Cold took him to another level of stardom. The two had many excellent matches, and one of the best was at Survivor Series 1996, where they had an incredible back-and-forth battle that showcased their great chemistry in the ring. This match was an important step in Austin's ascension to iconic status and the WWF's progression to the Attitude Era.

(1) The Montreal Screwjob: Survivor Series 1997

Do I even need to describe this event? Is there any wrestling fan out there that does not have an opinion on this? If you did not know already, this is the moment that destroyed kayfabe forever. This blurred the lines between reality and drama to a degree that will likely never be seen again in wrestling. Vince "screwing" Bret became the catalyst to the evil Mr. McMahon character, that lead to the epic Austin-McMahon rivalry that revolutionized wrestling to its most successful era ever. This was also the end of an era. The Hart-Michaels rivalry had come full circle from them being friends who were changing the direction of the industry, to hating each other so much that the company was not big enough for the two of them, and leading to another major change in company philosophy. This was not only by far the biggest moment in the history of the Series, but maybe the biggest moment in the history of wrestling as well.

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