is an annual pay-per-view, produced every November by the World Wrestling Federation since 1987. In what has since become the second longest running pay-per-view event in history, it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, later dubbed the "Big Four". The event is traditionally characterized by having Survivor Series matches, which are tag team elimination matches. The 1991 event was the fifth event in the Survivor Series chronology. It was the first event in which all of the matches were not Survivor Series matches. The event included four Survivor Series matches, three of which were 4-on-4, while the other was the first to be a 3-on-3 match. The only non-Survivor Series match on the card was for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, which was the first time it was defended at a Survivor Series.
Storylines
The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWF's writers, with storylines produced on their weekly television shows.
Aftermath
Due to Ric Flair's involvement in the events leading to The Undertaker's WWF World Heavyweight Championship victory over Hulk Hogan, a rematch was immediately signed for the This Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view event, contested December 3 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. WWF president Jack Tunney was present at ringside to make sure there was no outside interference. During the match, Flair once again attempted to interfere on The Undertaker's behalf, but – in a chaotic series of events that saw Tunney get knocked out – Hogan was able to pin The Undertaker after throwing ash from manager Paul Bearer's urn in his eyes. The following weekend, Jack Tunney vacated the WWF Championship due to the controversial finishes of the last two matches between Hogan and Undertaker, and put the title up for grabs at the 1992 Royal Rumble. Meanwhile, Hogan and Flair began wrestling in a series of matches that had been highly anticipated since the late 1980s. Dissension had been brewing for weeks between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty of the Rockers, and at their Survivor Series match the two argued after Jannetty caused Michaels to be eliminated by accidentally slamming one of the Nasty Boys into him. In a segment of Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake's "Barber Shop" talk show segment taped December 2 and aired on January 12, the two aired their grievances before seemingly resolving to stick together and work through their difficulties. However, Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a plate-glass window that was part of Beefcake's set, cementing Michaels' heel turn. A feud was commissioned, but Jannetty was fired in January 1992, shortly before their first match was to take place; the two eventually met in a series of matches in 1993, when Jannetty returned. However, for Michaels, the "Barber Shop" segment and the superkick jumpstarted his career that would continue to grow during the 1990s and 2000s.
