All Survivor Series Captains From RAW And SmackDown Teams So Far

The WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view has a rich history dating back to 1987 when it was first held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, Ohio. The unique 5-on-5 elimination tag team match has been a staple of the event ever since, pitting top superstars from the RAW and SmackDown brands against each other.

As we head towards Survivor Series 2023, let’s take a look back at the team captains for RAW and SmackDown over the years.

The first Survivor Series in 1987 was headlined by a 5-on-5 elimination match featuring top WWE stars at the time. Andre the Giant captained the RAW team while Hulk Hogan led the SmackDown squad. In the end, the SmackDown team emerged victorious with Hogan as the sole survivor.

At Survivor Series 1988, the Mega Powers team of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage co-captained the SmackDown team against RAW captained by Akeem. The SmackDown squad once again came out on top.

The following year at Survivor Series 1989, The Ultimate Warrior captained the SmackDown team against RAW captained by Rick Rude. This time it was the RAW squad led by Rude that survived.

SmackDown struck back at Survivor Series 1990 when team captain The Ultimate Warrior again defeated rival RAW team led by Mr. Perfect. The next year at Survivor Series 1991, Ric Flair captained the RAW team to victory over SmackDown led by Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Bret Hart led the SmackDown team to success at Survivor Series 1992 against RAW captain Shawn Michaels. However, Michaels got his revenge a year later at Survivor Series 1993 when he captained RAW to beat SmackDown led by Hart.

At Survivor Series 1994, Diesel and Shawn Michaels co-captained the RAW team to defeat SmackDown’s squad led by Davey Boy Smith. The next year, Bret Hart switched to RAW and captained them to victory against SmackDown captain Yokozuna.

SmackDown struck back at Survivor Series 1996 when Sycho Sid led them to beat RAW captained by Shawn Michaels. But RAW dominated the next two years with Steve Austin leading them over SmackDown in 1997 and The Rock captaining them to victory in 1998.

At Survivor Series 1999, The Big Show led the RAW team while SmackDown was captained by The Rock in a marquee clash. The Rock’s team emerged victorious in the end.

From 2000-2003, the traditional 5-on-5 matches were scrapped in favor of singles matches. When the tradition returned in 2004, Randy Orton captained the RAW squad to victory over SmackDown led by Eddie Guerrero.

The next year, the tables turned as SmackDown captain Batista defeated RAW counterpart Shawn Michaels. At Survivor Series 2006, Batista once again led SmackDown to beat RAW captained by Spirit Squad member Kenny.

In 2007, Batista and The Undertaker co-captained SmackDown but fell to RAW led by Shawn Michaels. Michaels continued RAW’s success in 2008 by leading his team past SmackDown captain The Big Show.

At Survivor Series 2009, Chris Jericho captained SmackDown to finally defeat counterpart Kofi Kingston’s RAW team. But RAW regained momentum in 2010 when Wade Barrett led his Nexus squad to beat SmackDown’s Alberto Del Rio-led team.

John Morrison captained the SmackDown team in 2011 against RAW led by The Miz. However, Miz’s squad emerged victorious. In 2012, Dolph Ziggler captained SmackDown but again came up short against RAW counterpart CM Punk.

RAW’s dominance continued in 2013 when Cody Rhodes led them past Goldust’s SmackDown team. But in 2014, SmackDown finally got a big win as Mark Henry’s team beat RAW captained by Big Show.

The following year though, Roman Reigns led RAW to beat SmackDown captain Dean Ambrose at Survivor Series 2015. In 2016, RAW captain Kevin Owens defeated SmackDown’s AJ Styles, despite infighting with teammate Chris Jericho.

At Survivor Series 2017, Kurt Angle stepped up to captain RAW and led them to victory over Shane McMahon’s SmackDown squad. In 2018, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey made history as the first-ever women’s Survivor Series team captain, leading RAW to success over SmackDown captain Charlotte Flair.

Last year at Survivor Series 2019, Roman Reigns captained SmackDown but could not get revenge against RAW captain Seth Rollins. Now, as we head into Survivor Series 2023, the captains are still to be decided. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that the event will feature amazing 5-on-5 traditional elimination action between the RAW and SmackDown brands. The rivalry between the red and blue brands will be as intense as ever this year.

In 2020, Seth Rollins captained the RAW men’s team against SmackDown’s squad led by Kevin Owens. Despite some dysfunction within the RAW team, Rollins was able to lead them to victory over Owens’ team in a hard-fought match.

The next year at Survivor Series 2021, tensions were high as WWE Champion Big E faced Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a classic champion vs champion bout. Reigns led Team SmackDown into battle against RAW captained by WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. In the end, Reigns overcame McIntyre and picked up the win for the blue brand.

At last year’s Survivor Series 2022, Rollins once again captained Team RAW against SmackDown, this time led by Drew McIntyre who had swapped shows earlier in the year. In a shocking turn of events, McIntyre turned on his SmackDown teammates, allowing Rollins to pick up the win for RAW.

The brand warfare will continue this year at Survivor Series 2023 with new captains leading the charge. The rivalry between RAW and SmackDown is sure to be as intense as ever.