Revisiting the WWE's Survivor Series tradition that began on Thanksgiving Day 1987
Survivor Series 1987 was the WWE's first pay-per-view event outside of WrestleMania, and set the tone for 30 years of events that followed. As we prepare for Thanksgiving on Thursday, it gives us the opportunity to revisit a moment in time more than 30 years ago, when the first Survivor Series event reached airwaves in the evening hours of Thanksgiving Day.
The main event was a match that would become a tradition -- a five-on-five elimination tag match between teams captained by Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. The
two had met several months prior
at WrestleMania III, and the event was a way to further their feud with another big payoff.
Event: 1987 Survivor Series
Location: Richfield Coliseum; Richmond, OH
Date: November 26, 1987
The Matchup: Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco and Ken Patera
versus
Andre the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude and "The Natural" Butch Reed
Bam Bam Bigelow reached the end of the match against Andre the Giant, having outlasted Hulk Hogan and eliminated two men by himself, but Andre would ultimately be the sole survivor.