The original concept for the Survivor Series was to have an annual pay-per-view event that focused on tag team wrestling. Another contributing factor to the birth of the Survivor Series was to capitalize on the big time feud between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant, whom wrestled each other at that year's WrestleMania.
It was originally created to be the "Thanksgiving event" as the first four Survivor Series events took place on Thanksgiving Day in November. Notable wrestlers The Undertaker, The Rock and Kurt Angle all made their WWF debut at Survivor Series.
The event is usually characterized by having four on four (or sometimes five on five) tag-team elimination matches. These matches are generally referred to simply as "Survivor Series matches". The 1987-1991 and 1993-1997 Survivor Series events featured multiple Survivor Series style matches. The 1992 event had only one 4 on 4 tag team elimination match, but featured the first WWF casket match. The 1998 edition featured an elimination tournament for the WWF Championship, not seen since WrestleMania IV. The 2002 Survivor Series featured the debut of the Elimination Chamber match.
Survivor Series is the second longest running pay-per-view event in WWF/E history, behind WrestleMania. The first Survivor Series, held in 1987, came on the heels of the incredible success of WrestleMania III, as the WWF began to see the lucrative potential of the pay-per-view market.
Survivor Series is often referred to as the all-star game of professional wrestling, where the most elite of two divisions (or, in the case of the 2005 Series, the two divisions themselves) go head-to-head.
In 2006, Survivor Series celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven) vs. Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista and Snitsky) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match
Team Cena (John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Bobby Lashley, and Sabu) vs. Team Big Show (The Big Show, Test, Montel Vontavious Porter, Finlay and Umaga) in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match King Booker (c) (with Queen Sharmell) vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship