Following WrestleMania III, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) added an event titled Survivor Series to their pay-per-view (PPV) calendar in November to market the success of Hulk Hogan and André the Giant's rivalry.

[4] WWF Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Vince McMahon threatened cable companies who aired the National Wrestling Alliance's Starrcade (which was going head-to-head with Survivor Series on Thanksgiving night, 1987) instead of Survivor Series would not be allowed to broadcast WrestleMania IV.

[5] The main feud heading into Survivor Series included André the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed and Rick Rude against Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Bam Bam Bigelow.

[6] This culminated in their historic match at WrestleMania III, where Hogan defeated André to retain the title.

[7] Superstar Billy Graham got involved in a feud with Butch Reed, culminating in a match between the duo.

One Man Gang interfered in a match where he hit Graham with a big splash on the concrete floor.

[7] On October 3, 1987 Saturday Night's Main Event XII, Savage challenged Honky for the title winning by disqualification.

[7] A match was booked for Survivor Series featuring Savage, Roberts, Ricky Steamboat (whom Honky Tonk had defeated to win the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title), Brutus Beefcake and Duggan against Honky, Hercules, Danny Davis, Ron Bass and Race.

[7] The major ongoing tag team feud pitted the face Strike Force and the villainous Hart Foundation.

Strike Force quickly became a top contender for the WWF Tag Team Championship, held by the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), and on October 28, 1987, Strike Force won the titles when Neidhart was trapped in Martel's Boston crab.

Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Brutus Beefcake, and Jim Duggan faced WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion The Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, Danny Davis, Ron Bass, and Harley Race.

[2][9] The next match was a women's match featuring the team of The Fabulous Moolah, Rockin' Robin, Velvet McIntyre, and The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno) against WWF Women's Champion Sensational Sherri, WWF Women's Tag Team Champions The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin), Donna Christianello, and Dawn Marie.

The match featured WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel), The Young Stallions (Paul Roma and Jim Powers), The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond Rougeau), The Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair), and The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) against The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), The Islanders (Haku and Tama), Demolition (Ax and Smash), The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov), and The New Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Dino Bravo).

Brian Blair put on his Killer Bees mask and pinned Tama with a sunset flip to eliminate Islanders.

[2][9] The main event was a Survivor Series match where André the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed, and Rick Rude faced WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow.

One Man Gang entered and then hit Muraco with a 747 Splash to eliminate him, giving André's team a three–two advantage.

Bigelow—the lone remaining member of Hogan's team—fended for himself, using a Slingshot to eliminate Bundy, then pinning One Man Gang after he missed a 747 Splash.

Bigelow eventually fell victim to André, who hit a butterfly suplex to win the match.

At the first Royal Rumble supercard on January 24, 1988, Hogan and André signed a contract for a WrestleMania III rematch.

With help from former champion Hogan, Randy Savage defeated DiBiase in the finals of the tournament to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

[15][16][17] Bigger things lay ahead for several other competitors, including Savage, the Honky Tonk Man and the tag team Demolition: A second Survivor Series occurred the following year, establishing the event as an annual November pay-per-view, becoming one of the WWF's original four annual pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam, which were eventually referred to as the "Big Four".