10 Worst WWE Survivor Series Main Events, Ranked

Survivor Series may not be as prominent as the other big four events like the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam, but it is still a marquee date on the WWE calendar, and over the years the PPV has offered up some great moments and matches.

However, not everything about Survivor Series over the years has always been perfect, and in fact even the main event of the night has been a let down on occasion. Over the course of several different eras, WWE have dropped the ball on the Survivor Series main events, leading to some terrible bouts that fans would rather forget. This will also look at ratings for cagematch.net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, per profightdb.com.

10 The Rock & John Cena Vs. The Awesome Truth, Survivor Series 2011

The Rock’s Return Wasn’t All That Entertaining

The Rock’s star power alone helped to carry this match, but when looking back it really was just a glorified house show main event. Cena took most of the heat from the heels, and The Rock brought out all the greatest hits after a hot tag.

It wasn’t a bad match by any means, but when compared to many other Survivor Series main events over the years, this one falls a little short in truth, and was basic and bland enough to make its way into the list of worst Survivor Series main events of all time.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
The Rock & John Cena defeated The Awesome Truth	21.32	***1/2	5.73

9 Booker T Vs. Batista, WWE Survivor Series 2006

Batista & Booker Brought Little Energy To The Main Event

The World Heavyweight Title main event between Batista and Booker T was fine, but when you consider it headlined the show, it just lacked the desired energy to make it feel like a big enough deal.

For whatever reason, neither man brought their A-game to this one, and it resulted in a lackluster match, with the only real plus coming when Batista scored the win and became the new champion.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Batista defeated Booker T	4.58	*1/4	4.58

8 Goldberg Vs. Triple H, WWE Survivor Series 2003

Another Poor Goldberg Performance In WWE

Goldberg’s debut year in WWE saw poor performance after poor performance, as his presentation was not what it was in WCW. He had slightly longer matches that he wasn’t really fit for, and this was an example of that.

It was quite boring and suffered from a lot of interference and overbooking with Evolution by the side of Triple H. It didn’t live up to being in the main event position, and despite a hot finish, this was not a good match overall.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Goldberg defeated Triple H	11:45	**1/2	4.78

7 Randy Orton Vs. Wade Barrett, WWE Survivor Series 2010

John Cena Stole All The Spotlight In The Survivor Series Show-Closer

This was Wade Barrett’s last chance to breakout in WWE after an up and down 2010, but like much of his debut year, he was overshadowed by John Cena, whose role as Special Guest Referee ruined this match.

Despite his job being on the line, Cena helped Orton to win the match due to being the ultimate good guy, sticking it to Barrett after what was a very by the book bout that would have been better suited to Raw.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett	15:14	**1/4	4.71

6 Big Boss Man & Legion Of Doom Vs. IRS & Natural Disasters, WWE Survivor Series 1991

Six-Man Tag Which Wasn’t Worthy Of The Main Event

The hot crowd in this match at Survivor Series 1991 made up for what was really a main event which did not deserve to be in the spot it was in. The Legion of Doom were super over, but no one else really felt like they belonged in the main event of the show.

Like the matches mentioned already in this list, it wasn’t terrible but it certainly wasn’t great, and given the often decent quality of Survivor Series main events, it gets included here.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Legion Of Doom Win As Sole Survivors	15:21	**	4.23

5 Shayna Baszler Vs. Becky Lynch Vs. Bayley, WWE Survivor Series 2019

A Dull End To A Fun Night At Survivor Series

NXT joined the battle for brand supremacy in 2019, and it made for a very fun night. The main event on paper had potential to steal the show, but the three women displayed very little chemistry and a complete lack of energy that made this a dull slog.

The fans did not care for the match despite the star power on display, and it certainly fell short of expectations. After such an energetic and fun night for WWE, this one was an absolute dud of a match. What they did wasn’t necessarily bad, but there was no intensity or urgency, and it really affected things.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Shayna Baszler defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch	18:10	**	4.27

4 Roman Reigns Vs. Dean Ambrose, WWE Survivor Series 2015

A Show-Long Tournament With A Dull Ending

The entire WWE Title tournament at Survivor Series 2015 lacked excitement, and that was the same case for the main event which was insanely predictable and ultimately very boring. A first-time singles match between close allies in Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns should’ve felt like a huge deal, but it was not.

It was a run of the mill match that was over before it had even really begun, with Reigns picking up the obvious win. A post-match Money in the Bank cash in didn’t really help things either.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose (Sheamus cashed in MITB after)	9:01	***1/2	4.85

3 Team Raw Vs. Team SmackDown, WWE Survivor Series 2017

A Fever Dream Of Star Power Chaos In The Main Event

On paper, this had the potential to be an all-time classic. Featuring stars from the past and present like John Cena, Triple H, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, and several more, this was a dream match central for fans. In fact, the first half of this match was actually great, with hot face-offs and fun action. And then things derailed.

A booking nightmare overcame this and ruined it in a major way. Triple H was presented as the sole focus, turning on both Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon (who were on opposing teams) in an all-time bad finish. The second half of this match pushed into contention of being the worst ever, though the strong opening portion certainly saved it from the top spot.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Triple H & Braun Strowman Win As Sole Survivors	33:22	*3/4	4.47

2 Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, & Tito Santana Vs. Hercules, Paul Roma, Warlord, Ted DiBiase, & Rick Martel, WWE Survivor Series 1990

Classic Cage Of Hulk Hogan Overcoming The Odds

Last Survivors Match Survivor Series 1990 Cropped

The winners of various matches earlier in the night all ended up in the main event, with the babyfaces given the numbers disadvantage.

If you’ve seen Hulk Hogan and friends overcome the odds once, you’ve seen it a hundred times. This was so predictable, the wrestling quality was poor, and Warrior & Hogan buried all the upper card heels in one night.

Match Result	Match Length	Dave Meltzer Star Rating	Cagematch.net Rating
Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior Win As Sole Survivors	9:07	*1/4	9.07

1 Randy Orton Vs. The Big Show, WWE Survivor Series 2013

The Worst WWE Championship Match In Survivor Series History

Seeing the Big Show main event a show for the WWE Title in 2013 says it all. This was a horrendous match which the crowd couldn’t have cared less for. Show as the anti-authority babyface did not work, especially since fans had been rooting for the likes of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk at the time.

All this embarrassingly short and uneventful match did was set up the post match segment when John Cena came out to confront Orton.