Top 50 Survivor Series

The Godfather, D-Lo Brown,

Mosh and Thrasher

In 1999, this foursome (all wearing matching pimp outfits) were pitted against the formidable team of The Dudley Boyz and The APA. Infighting put the heel team at a number disadvantage, allowing Team Godfather (specifically The Godfather and D-Lo Brown) to get the win.

In 1992, the only traditional Survivor Series match pitted The Nasty Boys and Natural Disasters against Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers. Both babyface teams had been rejected by Jimmy Hart, who was now in Money Inc.'s corner. Knobbs and Sags ended up being the Survivors here.

Brian Knobbs, Jerry Sags, Earthquake and Typhoon

Before this match in 2009 match, Christian joked that he stood out among his teammates. They took on the formidable squadron of Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk and William Regal. If you look at the 10 names, Kingston is probably the unlikeliest Sole Survivor, yet that's what happened.

As WWE's second-oldest pay-per-view, Survivor Series has quite a bit of history. So much so, in fact, that we're going to need to more than one Top 50 list to cover it off.

This week's Top 50 list looks at the best teams in Survivor Series history. There have been roughly 70 "traditional" Survivor Series matches in the history of the event, whether they were 3 on 3, 4 on 4, 5 on 5, 6 on 6.... well, you get the idea.

Of those matches, I chose ONLY the winning teams for this list because, hey, if your team didn't win, how can you be considered one of the best 50 teams if you weren't victorious in what was likely your only appearance as a team? Other considerations for this ranking include:

How does the team look on paper?

How many future World Champions on WWE Hall of Famers were on the squad?

Did the team have a common theme, or something else that tied them together nicely?

Did the team members get along for the match?

What was the quality of competition the team faced?

How many members of the team ended up being Survivors?

We'll be back next week with another aspect of Survivor Series, but for now, this should be a fun look at the traditional Survivor Series elimination matches.

Ready? Here we go!

Any names missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...

While this team sounds kind of random - and it is - they managed to dispatch the equally-random pairing of Crush, Jerry Lawler, Hunter-Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. Plus Roberts and The Stalker (Barry Windham) went on to the WWF Hall of Fame, and the Sole Survivor (in his debut!) ended up being The Rock.

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Believe it or not, this team was called Team Canada despite having one only Canadian, because of the loose affiliation to The Hart Foundation faction. They opposed Team USA (Vader, Goldust, Steve Blackman and Marc Mero), with British Bulldog - the only man not from Canada or the U.S. - winning it all.

The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon

This was originally supposed to be a team captained by CM Punk when it was created in 2012, only to have Ziggler take over. They faced an impressive squadron captained by Mick Foley - Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Kane and The Miz - but The Show Off was Sole Survivor at the end of the bout.

Dubbed The Darkside, this was a foursome that didn't look overly impressive, especially given they were facing The Royals - Jerry Lawler, King Mabel, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Isaac Yankem. Yet all four members survived - a rare feat, indeed!

The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Henry Godwinn and Fatu

In order to accomodate the debut of E! Network's Total Divas, the WWE promoted a rare 7-on-7 elimination match at last year's Suvivor Series, as Team Total Divas battled AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Summer Rae, Askana, Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka and Rosa Mendes. Natalya and Nikki Bella won the match.

Natalya, Brie and Nikki Bella, Naomi and Cameron,

Eva Marie and Jo-Jo

The Bad Guys (before you ask, Sionne was The Barbarian during his brief run in The Headshrinkers) took on The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and Jim Neihart) in 1994. While at a five-on-one advantage, Michaels and Diesel began infighting, leaving Razor as the Sole Survivor.

Razor Ramon, The 123 Kid, The British Bulldog, Fatu and Sionne

One of the silliest Survivor Series matches on record had The Bushwhackers and Men On A Mission dress up like Doink to battle Fatu and Samu, Bam Bam Bigelow and Bastion Booger. Through a series of comedic happenings, The Four Doinks were all victorious over their more imposing foes.

Butch Doink, Luke Doink,

Mabel Doink and Mo Doink

At the Survivor Series in 1997 (yes, that Survivor Series), the New Age Outlaws and Godwinns were able to overcome their babyface rivals The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) and The New Blackjacks (Barry Windham and Bradshaw) when both Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were left standing.

Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Henry and Phineas Godwinn

On paper, this team sounds incredible - especially a year later - but in 2013 both teams were pretty much relegated to the midcard. Still they battled the squadron of Rey Mysterio, Jimmy and Jey Uso and Goldust and Cody Rhodes, with Rollins and Reigns ending up as the Survivors.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Jack Swagger and Cesaro

Marc Mero, Rocky Maivia, Jake The Snake Roberts and The Stalker

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When The Ultimate Warrior was feuding with Andre The Giant in 1989, Andre's manager Bobby Heenan surrounded his charge with Arn Anderson, King Haku and himself (substituting for the Tully Blanchard). Aided by The Rockers and Neidhart, Warrior stood alone as the Sole Survivor for the match.

The Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty and Jim The Anvil Neidhart

In 1995, the only "Wild Card" match in Survivor Series history took place and saw this random team of heels and babyfaces take on Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Dean Douglas. In the end, only Sid was eliminated from the match (by his own teammate), leaving HBK, Johnson and Bulldog victorious.

Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, The British Bulldog and Sycho Sid

In 2009, Team Miz was foreshadowing what the future upper midcard of WWE would look like, as all members except McIntyre are still prominently featured in the company. Pitted against John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin and Finlay, Miz, Sheamus and McIntyre all stood triumphant.

The Miz, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Jack Swagger

Team Mysterio was involved in the only traditional Survivor Series match in 2010 and they were pitted against Team Del Rio, which consisted of Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger and Cody Rhodes. In the end, only the smallest (Mysterio) and largest (Big Show) members survived.

Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Chris Masters, The Big Show and MVP

In a show of solidarity, the members of The Dream Team came out on Saturday Night's Main Event to support teammate Santana. A few weeks later, they battled The Enforcers - Big Boss Man, Rick Martel, Bad News Brown and The Honky Tonk Man. Rhodes and Beefcake were the Survivors that night.

Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, The Red Rooster and Tito Santana

Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, R-Truth and Christian

In 2009, the first traditional Survivor Series match for Divas in 10 years was held, pitting Team Mickie against Team Michelle, whose members were Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Layla and Alicia Fox. Against overwhelming odds, Mickie James and Melina stood tall at the end of the bout.

Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Gail Kim and Eve Torres

A full twenty years before the previous match, The Rude Brood took on Roddy's Rowdies, the unpredictable pairing of Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Bushwhackers and Superfly Jimmy Snuka. It was strange enough seeing Piper and Snuka on the same team, but surprisingly, Mr. Perfect was the Sole Survivor.

Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Jacques and Raymond Rougeau

Randy Orton, William Regal, Shelton Benjamin, Cody Rhodes and Mark Henry

Team Orton wasn't expected to be victorious against Team Batista when the two clashed in 2008. Despite opposing a team that included Batista, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth, both Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes ended up as the Survivors in this bout.

This collection of babyface tag teams took on 1988's top heel teams, including Demolition, The Brain Busters, The Rougeau Brothers, The Bolsheviks and The Conquistadors. By the end of the match, Mr. Fuji had turned on Ax and Smash and aligned with The Powers Of Pain, who then became heels.

Warlord and Barbarian, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart and Jim Power and Paul Roma

Some of the top "good guys" in 1989 joined forces in this match, despite never having teamed up before, to take on The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, Zeus, Warlord and The Barbarian. In the end, Hogan got a measure of revenge from a year-earlier grudge, pinning DiBiase to become the Sole Survivor.

Hulk Hogan, Jake The Snake Roberts, Ax and Smash

You might wonder what these five have in common, and the answer is "very little". But in 2008, Team Michaels took on Team JBL, consisting of John Bradshaw Layfield, Kane, Montel Vontavious Porter, John Morrison and The Miz. In the end, Michaels, Khali and Mysterio stood victorious.

Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio,

The Great Khali, JTG

and Shad Gaspard

On paper, the team of DiBiase and Rhythm and Blues (plus a mystery partner) didn't look all that imposing in 1990, on the opposite side of Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware and The Hart Foundation. But that mystery partner ended up being the debuting Undertaker (with manager Brother Love), who vanquished two of his opponents and allowed DiBiase to become the match's Sole Survivor.

Ted DiBiase, The Honky

Tonk Man, Greg Valentine

and The Undertaker

It was a Divas battle pitting Phoenix's team (Raw) against Michelle McCool, Victoria, Maria, Maryse and Natalya, whom were representing SmackDown. Despite members being on opposing sides of the fence, they managed to work together for the match, with Beth Phoenix outlasting her opponents.

Beth Phoenix, Mickie James,

Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle

and Jillian Hall

In 1994, this Ted DiBiase managed Million Dollar Team were the decided underdogs against Guts and Glory, the squadron captained by Lex Luger and featuring Mabel, Adam Bomb and The Smokin Gunns. But in the end, DiBiase alumnae Bundy and Bigelow were the last men standing.

King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, Bam Bam Bigelow, Jimmy Del Ray and Dr. Tom Pritchard

This was pretty much the conclusion of Hulk Hogan's long-running feud with Earthquake and Dino Bravo (the other members of The Natural Disasters were the Bobby Heenan-managed duo of Haku and The Barbarian). With members that were closely aligned, Hogan stood tall as the Sole Survivor.

Hulk Hogan, Big Boss Man, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Tugboat

While they were becoming less aligned as The Radicalz towards the end of 2000, the four members of the ship-jumping faction teamed at Survivor Series to take on a modified version of D-Generation X in Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Chyna and K-Kwik. Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn stood tall in the end.

Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn

This infamous Survivor Series match in 1993 had the four Hart brothers aligned to take on Shawn Michaels and His Knights (which were originally Jerry The King Lawler's Knights before he was suspended). In the end, Bret, Bruce and Keith survived but Owen didn't, sowing the seeds for a future heel turn.

Bret, Owen, Bruce and Keith Hart

Beyond being the squadron with the most lengthiest title card so far in this column.... the closely-aligned babyface teams battled The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, Demolition, The Bolsheviks and The New Dream Team in 1987. The bout was so packed with competitors that there was no empty space on the ring apron. In the end, both The Killer Bees and The Young Stallions survived.

Rick Martel and Tito Santana, Jim Powers and Paul Roma, Jacques and Raymond Rougeau, B. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell and Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith

It was Ric Flair's first pay-per-view match in the WWF and along with his teammates, they tangled with the imposing foursome of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret Hit Man Hart, The British Bulldog and.... well, Virgil. In the end, The Million Dollar Man was the surprising Sole Survivor on Team Flair.

Ric Flair, The Mountie,

Ted DiBiase and The Warlord

In 2007, this team was supposed to have Matt Hardy as its fifth member but he was injured, leaving the squad to a 5-on-4 disadvantage, as they took on the dastardly team of Umaga, Big Daddy V, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mr. Kennedy and Finlay. Triple H and Jeff Hardy were the Survivors.

Triple H, Jeff Hardy,

Rey Mysterio and Kane

All four members of this team seemed to be on the same page when they took on the dreaded Nation Of Domination (The Rock, Faarooq, D-Lo Brown and Kama Mustafa) and acted like a faction unto themselves. In the end, only Ken Shamrock was left standing as the Sole Survivor.

Hawk, Animal, Ken Shamrock

and Ahmed Johnson

Talk about a team of legendary bad guys, this squadron (which was "co-captained" by Andre and Bravo for some reason) took on Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jake The Snake Roberts, Ken Patera, Scott Casey and Tito Santana. While not up against the stiffest competition, Mr. Perfect and Dino Bravo stood tall.

Andre The Giant, Dino Bravo, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and King Harley Race

The year was 2005 and in the midst of a rivalry between brands (Teddy Long fought Eric Bischoff earlier on the card) this was Team SmackDown versus Team Raw (Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Carlito and Chris Masters). SmackDown emerged supreme when Randy Orton was the Sole Survivor.

Batista, Rey Mysterio,

John Bradshaw Layfield, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton

As part of an ongoing rivalry with Evolution in 2004, these four challenged Team Triple H (Triple H, Batista, Edge and Snitsky) with the unique stipulation that the winning team got to run Monday Night Raw for an entire month. The good guys prevailed when Randy Orton was, once again, the Sole Survivor.

Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven

The Mega Powers were co-captains for this 1988 match when they assembled a team to take on The Big Boss Man, Akeem, The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, King Haku and The Red Rooster, Despite shenanigans that had Hogan handcuffed to the outside of the ring, The Hulkster and Savage survived the bout.

Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Hercules, Koko B. Ware and Hillbilly Jim

Despite a rivalry that continues to this day, Matt and Jeff Hardy and The Dudley Boyz were able to put aside their differences to go after Edge and Christian and The Right To Censor's Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather. Outside interference from RTC's Val Venis backfired and Jeff Hardy was the Sole Survivor.

Bubba and D-Von Dudley and Matt and Jeff Hardy

Latino Heat's all-star squad faced the not-quite-as-impressive team of Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak and Carlito in 2004. While Team Angle put up a decent offense, it was Guerrero, Show and Cena that stood tall at the end of the match.

Eddie Guerrero, The Big Show, Rob Van Dam and John Cena

This match is famous because it signalled John Cena's babyface turn (which you may not remember given he's booed constantly today). Team Angle took on Team Lesnar, a monster squad consisting of Brock Lesnar, The Big Show, Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones and A-Train. Cena and Benoit stood tall in the end.

Kurt Angle, John Cena, Chris Benoit, Bob Holly and Bradshaw

On paper, The Visionaries don't look like the most impressive team. Yet, they managed to overcome a semi-blind Jake "The Snake" Roberts and teammates Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty and Superfly Jimmy Snuka. All four members of the team were Survivors when this match happened in 1990.

Rick Martel, The Warlord, Hercules and Paul Roma

The difference between WWE's three brands (Raw, SmackDown and ECW) was at an all-time high in 2006 when this match happened, highlighting the best of all three. Team Cena took on The Big Show, Test, Montel Vontavious Porter, Umaga and Finlay, with Cena and Lashley surviving at the end of the match.

John Cena, Kane, Bobby Lashley, Sabu and Rob Van Dam

Originally, The All-Americans were supposed to have Tatanka as a member, but greatly improved their chances when Undertaker (clad in an American-flag robe) took his place to take on The Foreign Fanatics of Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Jacques Rougeau and Crush. Lex Luger stood tall as the Sole Survivor.

Lex Luger, The Undertaker and Rick and Scott Steiner

Interestingly, all four men in The Warriors had "Warrior" in their nicknames at one time or another. When they teamed in 1990, it was against The Perfect Team of Mr. Perfect and Demolition's Ax, Smash and Crush. When all the smoke cleared, The Ultimate Warrior stood tall as... well, the ultimate Warrior.

The Ultimate Warrior, Kerry Von Erich, Hawk and Animal

Another Team Bischoff match, this one in 2003, as they took on the impressive Team Austin (Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Rob Van Dam and The Dudley Boyz). The losing team captain would be fired, and as a result Steve Austin briefly left WWE. The Sole Survivor was.... once again, Randy Orton.

Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Christian, Mark Henry and Scott Steiner

On paper, a Survivor Series team couldn't possibly look much better than this one. Team DX took Team Rated RKO, which consisted of Edge, Randy Orton, Mike Knox, Gregory Helms and Johnny Nitro. All five members of Team DX survived the match, proving the team lived up to their hype.

Triple H, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk and Matt and Jeff Hardy

At the very first Survivor Series main event in 1987, it was highly unlikely that the team of Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco (substituting for Superstar Billy Graham), Paul Orndorff and Ken Patera would lose. Yet they did just that due to some great heel teamwork, with Andre as the Sole Survivor.

Andre The Giant, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Ravishing Rick Rude and Butch Reed

Not the most impressive team out there, we realize, but they shared something extremely rare in 1990. After each member won their respective match, they teamed to fight the heels (Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Warlord and Power and Glory) that had survived their matches in a final "Match Of Survival". Of everyone in their second match of the night, Hogan and Warrior survived.

Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana

It was the opening match at the first Survivor Series, setting the tone for what the event was supposed to be. Three WWE Hall of Famers (and two who are almost guaranteed to make the cut) took on The Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, King Harley Race, Dangerous Danny Davis and Outlaw Ron Bass. Savage, Roberts and Steamboat were all Survivors in this bout.

Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Brutus Beefcake

This match decided the very future of the WWF, with Team WWF taking on Team Alliance (Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam and Shane McMahon) and the losing team's entire side being fired from the company. Vince McMahon hand-picked his squad and it was closer than most people remember. Angle went rogue and turned on Team WWF in the weeks leading up to the event, and Jericho turned on his team mid-match. At the end, though, The Rock was the Sole Survivor and the WWF survived another day.