Survivor Series History: Facts, Records and Firsts Ahead of the 40th Event

By the numbers · Updated Nov. 10, 2026

Among pay-per-view events, only WrestleMania has been around longer than Survivor Series, which WWE has held every November since Thanksgiving night 1987 (Wikipedia). There have been 39 so far. No. 40, Survivor Series: WarGames, is Saturday, Nov. 28 at Daikin Park in Houston (WWE.com). These are the numbers, records and firsts from the first 39, with sources at the bottom.

Survivor Series at a glance

A timeline of Survivor Series firsts

• 1987: The first Survivor Series aired on Thanksgiving night, head-to-head with the NWA’s Starrcade. In the main event, André the Giant became the first sole survivor in the event’s history.
• 1990: The Undertaker made his pay-per-view debut.
• 1996: Dwayne Johnson debuted as Rocky Maivia, and he was the sole survivor of his team.
• 1997: The Montreal Screwjob. Shawn Michaels won the WWE Championship from Bret Hart in Montreal.
• 1998: No traditional Survivor Series matches. The night was a 14-man tournament for the vacant WWE Championship, won by The Rock.
• 2002: The first Survivor Series under the WWE name (the company was the World Wrestling Federation until 2002), and the debut of the Elimination Chamber, won by Shawn Michaels.
• 2014: Sting made his WWE debut, helping Team Cena win the main event.
• 2016–2021: The brand supremacy era, with Team Raw against Team SmackDown and Team NXT joining in 2019.
• 2020: Held with no fans in the building, in the WWE ThunderDome at Orlando’s Amway Center.
• 2022: The event became Survivor Series: WarGames, ending the brand supremacy theme.
• 2025: The first Survivor Series held outdoors and in a stadium, at San Diego’s Petco Park, which drew a record 46,016 fans.
• 2026: The 40th Survivor Series heads to Daikin Park in Houston, the second year in a row at a major sports stadium (WWE.com).

From Thanksgiving night to Saturday night

Survivor Series has moved around the calendar more than once. It aired on Thanksgiving night for its first four years, moved to the night before Thanksgiving from 1991 to 1994, then ran on Sundays for 27 straight years before switching to Saturdays in 2022.

Where Survivor Series has been held

The 39 events have visited 25 cities in 15 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and three Canadian provinces. Boston has hosted four times, and so has New York City: three nights at Madison Square Garden plus Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2021.

Madison Square Garden, Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena and the Richfield Coliseum have each hosted three times. Survivor Series has left the U.S. three times, always for Canada: Montreal (1997), Toronto (2016) and Vancouver (2024).

Biggest Survivor Series crowds

At the other end, the smallest reported crowd was 7,500 at Cleveland’s Gund Arena in 2004, and the 2020 event had no fans in the building at all. According to WWE.com, the 2025 show at Petco Park set gate and attendance records.

Records and title changes

2002 had the most title changes of any Survivor Series, with five: Billy Kidman (Cruiserweight), Victoria (Women’s), Big Show (WWE Championship), Los Guerreros (WWE Tag Team) and Shawn Michaels (World Heavyweight).

The WWE Championship has changed hands at 11 Survivor Series:

• 1991: The Undertaker
• 1994: Bob Backlund
• 1995: Bret Hart
• 1996: Sycho Sid
• 1997: Shawn Michaels
• 1998: The Rock
• 1999: Big Show
• 2002: Big Show
• 2008: Edge
• 2011: CM Punk
• 2015: Roman Reigns, then Sheamus with a Money in the Bank cash-in

Big Show is the only wrestler to win the WWE Championship at Survivor Series twice. By our count of every Survivor Series elimination table, Ultimate Warrior (1988–1990) and Randy Orton (2003–2005) share the record for most times as a sole survivor, three each, and both did it three years in a row. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Dolph Ziggler and Roman Reigns have each done it twice.

Survivor Series FAQ

When is Survivor Series 2026?

Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026, at Daikin Park in Houston. It’s the 40th Survivor Series and keeps the WarGames name (WWE.com).

How many Survivor Series have there been?

39, from 1987 through 2025. The 2026 event is the 40th.

Where was the first Survivor Series held?

At the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, Ohio, on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 26, 1987.

What is a Survivor Series match?

A tag team elimination match, usually with teams of four or five. Wrestlers are eliminated one at a time, and the team with the last wrestler or wrestlers standing wins. These matches were the centerpiece of every Survivor Series from 1987 to 2021 except 1998 and 2002.

Why is it called Survivor Series: WarGames?

Since 2022, the event has been built around men’s and women’s WarGames matches: team matches inside a roofless cage that surrounds two rings, decided by a single pinfall or submission.

What is the biggest Survivor Series crowd ever?

46,016 at Petco Park in San Diego in 2025, the first Survivor Series held in a stadium.

Has Survivor Series been held outside the United States?

Yes, three times, all in Canada: Montreal in 1997, Toronto in 2016 and Vancouver in 2024.

Every Survivor Series result

Full results for all 39 events, including every title change and elimination, are in our Retro Rapid Results series: every Survivor Series result.

More Survivor Series videos from TSC News: WWE Survivor Series 2015 Retro Review – Roman’s Reign Begins and Ends · WWE Survivor Series 2016 Retro Review · WWE Survivor Series 2017 Recap: RAW vs. SmackDown! · Becky Lynch Off WWE Survivor Series 2018 Card · Drew McIntyre Wins WWE Title, Faces Roman Reigns at Survivor Series.

Sources: WWE.com · Wikipedia.org (Survivor Series, 1987, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2022, 2025 and each event’s article; adapted, CC BY-SA 4.0).

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