We finally made it to the second annual Thanksgiving night tradition known as THE SURVIVOR SERIESSSSS. And what an absolute mess it was getting here. The Mega Powers had beaten The Mega Bucks at Summerslam but Andre The Giant had left Ted Dibiase behind to feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Dibiase responded by recruiting the Twin Towers to take on the Mega Powers. Hercules stepped up for Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage after turning face when Dibiase attempted to buy him as a "slave", try getting away with that now. To round out the teams, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan loaned The Red Rooster and Haku to Dibiase while former Hogan butt-kisser Hillbilly Jim and Koko B Ware rounded out Team Powers. Speaking of Andre, he joined up with Mr. Perfect and Frenchy Martin's own Dino Bravo. Also on loan from Bobby Heenan are "Ravishing" Rick Rude and Harley Race. No longer the King as he lost the mantle to Haku. Jake Roberts had been feuding with Rick Rude for most of the year before transitioning to Andre and he's got "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to counter Dino Bravo. Originally it was supposed to be Ken Patera, Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog to round out Team Roberts but JYD left. B Brian Blair of the Killer Bees replaced Dog and was featured on the VHS cover.....and then HE left. Scrambling for a body to throw in, Vince settled on jobber Scott Casey. Why he didn't use Lanny Poffo is anyone's guess but Casey is in. Then we get the Tag Team match with WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition teaming with Los Conquistadors, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, The Bolsheviks and The Brain Busters taking on the Powers of Pain, Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, The Rockers and The Young Stallions. Finally Ultimate Warrior had upset Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam and it spilled over to Survivor Series. Honky recruited mid-card heels Bad News Brown, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "The Outlaw" Ron Bass and "Dangerous" Danny Davis. Warrior recruited Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake who was locked in against Ron Bass. "The Rock" Don Muraco, The Blue Blazer and Sam Houston rounded out the team....until Muraco left. "Jumping" Jim Brunzell of the Killer Bees subbed in for Muraco and here we are. Who will survive? Let's find out.
SURVIVOR SERIES
RICHFIELD COLISEUM
RICHFIELD, OHIO
NOVEMBER 24, 1988
Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Monsoon and Ventura welcome us to tonight's festivities. Jesse is "The Pilgrim" tonight and we get right to our first match.
Match 1
WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Blue Blazer, Sam Houston and "Jumping" Jim Brunzell vs Honky Tonk Man, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "The Outlaw" Ron Bass, "Dangerous" Danny Davis and Bad News Brown (with Jimmy Hart)
As mentioned earlier, the feuds were Warrior/Honky, Brutus/Bass, Davis/Houston and the rest were fill ins. Bell's gone and it'll be Brutus and Valentine to start. Valentine backs Beefcake into the corner but misses an elbow smash. Brutus snatches the foot and unloads with right hands. Valentine sends Brutus off the ropes right into a knee by Danny Davis. Brunzell and Houston point from the outside but referee Dave Hebner is looking at clouds. Davis tags in and stomps away at Beefcake. Beefcake is sent off and he wraps up Davis in the sleeper right away. DANNY DAVIS falls asleep and he's gone just like that.
Brutus rolls Davis out of the ring and Valentine gets back in. Greg punches away at Brutus and hits a big elbow. Valentine hits a headbutt between the legs and works over the right leg. Ventura says smart move by Greg to soften up the legs. Beefcake powers out of a figure four attempt and rallies with right hands. Blue Blazer tags in and comes off the top rope with an axehandle. Blazer hits a hell of a head scissors and Ventura says Blazer never ceases to amaze him. Gotta love the Harts. Brunzell tags in to work over the arm as Ventura can't help but take a shot at his old AWA rival. Valentine scoop slams Brunzell but misses an elbow. Brunzell gets a one count and Bad News blind tags in. Brunzell hits a dropkick on Valentine and covers but Bad News snatches him from behind, only Jesse saw the tag. Valentine drops Brunzell with an elbow before he leaves. Bad News slugs away at Brunzell and headbutts him. Bad News kicks Brunzell in the chest and scoop slams him. Bad News delivers a forearms to the chest and heaves Jim into the corner. Brunzell tries to slug it out with Bad News as Gorilla calls the 39 year old Jim a "youngster". Bad News is whipped into the corner but Brunzell misses a charge. Bad News hits the Ghetto Blaster and covers for 1...2...3. Bye Bye JIM BRUNZELL.
Beefcake gets in and slugs away at Bad News before tagging in Sam Houston. Sam continues to work over the left arm but a charge in the corner eats boot. Monsoon says Warrior wants in as Bad News chops Houston down. Bad News drops a leg and nonchalant covers for 1...2...no. Sam fights back but eats a headbutt. Ventura says Bad News needs to tag and Monsoon reminds him he's not used to tagging. News sends Houston hard off the corner into a clothesline. Bad News tags in Valentine who clobbers Sam down. Bad News tags right back in and holds Houston only for Sam to move, Valentine hitting Bad News instead. Valentine begs off but Bad News is having none of it. They start shoving each other as Bass & Honky try to talk them down. BAD NEWS BROWN says screw it and leaves, getting counted out.
Houston drops Bass then O'Connor Rolls Valentine for 1..2...no. Houston goes for the sunset flip but gets punched for his trouble. Bass tags in for the first time and he scoop slams Sam. Bass drops an elbow and covers for a near fall. Houston does an O'Connor Roll on Bass for a deuce and rallies with right hands. Houston's charge in the corner eats boot as Ventura says Sam needs a tag. Bass hits a clothesline and covers for 1..2...no. Bass rams Houston face first in the mat and covers for a two count. Houston hits a second rope crossbody but only gets a two. Bass drops him with a forearm to the head and another elbow drop. Bass covers for two but Houston rallies with more right hands. Houston goes for a monkey flip in the corner but Bass counters with an Oklahoma Slam for 1...2..3 and SAM HOUSTON is done.
Warrior gets in for the first time and cleans house of all three remaining heels. Warrior choke bombs Honky and hits the shoulder tackle on him. Warrior slams bass and tags in Blazer. Warrior rocket launches Blazer (ironic) on Bass for 1..2...no. Honky blind tags in but apparently Blazer saw it and hits a crossbody for 1...2..no. Honky gets whipped into the corner and Blazer monkey flips him before delivering a dropkick. Valentine tags in and Blazer botches a leapfrog where Valentine headbutts him in the gonads. Blazer doesn't miss a beat, though and hits a gutwrench suplex. Blazer drops a knee and covers for a deuce as Ventura praises Blazer. Blazer backdrops Valentine and powerslams him. Blazer goes upstairs but Honky pushes him off. Valentine hooks in the figure four and BLUE BLAZER gives it up.
Down to 3 on 2, Beefcake checks on his fallen comrade and Valentine axehandles him from behind. Valentine pounds on Beefcake as Ventura brings up they were tag team partners. Damn right, the Dream Team. Hammer tags in Bass who hits a running knee to the gut followed by a falling headbutt. Bass covers for a deuce as Honky tags in. Honky taunts the irate crowd and rams Brutus' head into the mat. Honky rams Brutus' head into the boot of Bass. Valentine tags in as Ventura says Warrior couldn't come back down 3-1. The heels triple team Beefcake in the corner as Warrior gets caught by the ref trying to break it up. Honky goes for Shake Rattle & Roll but Beefcake backdrops him. Bass tags in and drops Brutus throat first across the top rope. He covers for two and Honky tags in. Honky comes off the top to a punch to the ribs. Brutus rallies with right hands and hits an atomic drop. Brutus clotheslines him down as Monsoon says he should go for a tag. Instead Brutus catches Honky with the sleeperhold until both tumble to the floor. Beefcake locks in the sleeper again but the ref is counting. Both HONKY TONK MAN and BRUTUS BEEFCAKE are counted out.
Down to Warrior against Valentine and Bass, both heels slug away on Warrior. They drop him with a double elbow and Valentine drops a forearm. Warrior walks into a double boot and Bass slugs away with forearms. Bass sends him into the corner and holds him as Valentine kicks away at him. Valentine's elbow does nothing as Warrior rallies with right hands. Valentine sends him into the boot of Bass. Bass tags in and go for another double clothesline but Warrior ducks under it. Warrior blasts both men with a double clothesline of his own. Warrior hits a running axehandle to drop Bass and goes for the cover. Hebner literally jumps over Valentine for 1...2....3 and RON BASS is gone.
Valentine drops an elbow on Warrior as Ventura says Greg was legal, that shouldn't have counted. Monsoon says too bad. Warrior hits another running axehandle to Valentine and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Warrior is the sole survivor. Decent opener that showcased some of the high flyers like Houston & Blazer and kept Bad News' heat intact since he still hadn't lost on TV yet. Warrior was in the match maybe two minutes but kayfabe wise, that was smart on his part. Say goodbye to Brunzell as the Killer Bees were done and this would be the last PPV appearances for Blue Blazer, Sam Houston and Danny Davis as wrestlers although Davis and Blazer would return eventually in different roles/personnas.
Time of match: 17:51
Winner: Ultimate Warrior
After the match we go to the highlights of Warrior winning and then hype for the tag team match. We get right to it.
Match 2
The Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov & Nikolai Volkoff with Slick), The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond with Jimmy Hart), Los Conquistadors (Jose Estrada & Jose Luis Rivera), The Brainbusters (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard with Bobby Heenan) and WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition (Ax and Smash with Mr. Fuji) vs The Young Stallions (Jim Powers & Paul Roma), The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty), The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Niedhart), The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) and The Powers of Pain (The Warlord & The Barbarian)
Lots to unpack here. Its the ppv debuts for The Brainbusters, Los Conquistadors & The Rockers plus a real life feud that's about to come to an end which I'll get to later. Ventura calls it a sea of humanity and its hard to argue with 20 guys in the ring and 4 managers outside. Niedhart leads a cheer in the corner with all the faces while the managers converse outside. Davey Boy starts with Estrada (I think) and Davey headbutts him into the corner where Jacques tags in. Davey press slams Jacques into Raymond. Shawn Michaels tags in and so does Nikolai Volkoff. Volkoff drives Shawn to the corner where Boris Zhukov tags in to do some damage. Shawn backflips off the second rope out of trouble and locks in an arm ringer. Marty Jannetty tags in for a double team and Ax tags in. Ax clubs away at Marty and Ventura says The Rockers weakness is they don't have the strength to match bigger teams. Ax rams Marty head first into the foot of Raymond. Arn Anderson tags in and Ventura gives him very high praise by calling him "a wrestler's wrestler". Hard to argue that. Arn eats a backdrop and a dropkick by Marty then tags out to Tully Blanchard. They slug it out and Marty hits an atomic drop. and Tully gets right hands from all the faces before stumbling into Jacques Rogeau, who tags in. Jacques misses a second rope crossbody and Marty covers for a deuce. Dynamite Kid tags in and here we go....For those that don't know, Dynamite and Davey had been ribbing people for awhile but another prolific ribber joined the ranks, Mr. Perfect. Perfect had ribbed Dynamite by cutting up his clothes but Dynamite for whatever reason thought Jacques Rougeau did it. One day in Miami, Dynamite sucker punched Jacques while Raymond was on crutches nursing an injury. Dynamite beat the crap out of Jacques and taunted Raymond before leaving. Shortly before Survivor Series Jacques walked up to Dynamite and punched him full force in the face with a roll of quarters, knocking his teeth out. Amazingly Dynamite didn't go down so Jacques kept at it with a now healthy Raymond standing guard making sure Davey Boy or The Harts didn't join in. Pat Patterson broke it up eventually and because Dynamite was such an asshole, and due to Vince McMahon didn't think he had it in him, Jacques was not reprimanded. This led to the Bulldogs wanting out of WWF with Dynamite's pride hurt. Here its all business with Dynamite dropping Jacques with a headbutt. Dynamite hits the snap suplex and covers for two before tagging in Jim Powers. Raymond tags in and Dynamite tags back in. Raymond eats a shoulderblock but Ray gets a knee to the ribs. Dynamite second rope sunset flips Raymond for 1...2...no. Powers tags back in but so does Boris Zhukov. Jim hits a dropkick and rams his head into the buckle before Smash tags in. Smash rams him into the foot of Nikolai and Jacques tags in to hit a dropkick. He covers for a one and Jim drives to tag in The Hitman. Bret Hart eats a back elbow smash and gets covered for one. Ray tags in and puts his head down, Bret catching him with a small package for 1...2...3 and THE FABULOUS ROUGEAU BROTHERS are gone five and a half minutes in. The rumor was they went first so they could leave the building with no further incident with the Bulldogs.
Raymond kicks the rope as he and Jacques leave. Nikolai gets in and Paul Roma comes off the top with a punch. Roma leaps from the mat to the top rope to nail Nikolai with a crossbody for 1...2...no. That was nice. Niedhart tags in and dropkicks Nikolai down. I don't ever remember Niedhart doing that, everyone's pulling out all the stops. Smash tags in and gets a boot to the head. Barbarian tags in and he slugs away at Smash. Jose Luis Rivera tags in and punches away at Barbarian. Barb fights back and hits a big boot. Warlord tags in to punch away at Jose. Bret Hart tags in to punch Jose into the corner where Smash tags in. Smash and Ax double team Bret after Ax tags in. Bret sends Ax into the corner but a charge eats boot. Tully tags in to come off the top with an elbow smash. Tully whips Bret into the corner but a charge eats clothesline. Ax and Shawn Michaels tag in....yes Bret and Shawn were on the same team, shocking. Shawn rallies with right hands but Tully grabs his leg, allowing Demolition to get in for the double team. Smash catches Shawn's crossbody and places him on the top rope in his corner. Him and Nikolai pound on Shawn before Nikolai tags in. Nikolai hits the backbreaker but doesn't cover. He drops Shawn with a knee to the mid-section and Tully tags in. Tully tags in Arn for the spinebuster and he covers for 1...2...NOOOO. Shawn kicks out of the spinebuster as Jose Estrada tags in. Estrada slams Shawn but he's too close to the corner, Marty tagging in to waffle Jose. Marty hits a powerslam and a right hand that sends him into the corner, Jose Luis Rivera tagging in. Marty flips over an arm drag and scoop slams him, covering for 1..2..no. Nikolai tags in and gets dropkicked for his trouble. Marty covers but Nikolai bench presses him off. Roma tags in and they slug it out before Davey tags in. Davey slams Nikolai and covers but he gets bench pressed off as well. Tully tags in and backdrops Davey before dropping an elbow on him. Tully misses one and is headbutted by Davey. Jose Rivera tags in and so does Warlord. Rivera's punches had no effect and is press slammed for his trouble. Ax tags in and the crowd pops. They slug it out as Ax gets the upper hand with a thumb to the eye. He tags in Smash and he punches away at him. Warlord catches the foot and trips him up before tagging in Barbarian. Barbarian hits a running knee and another big boot. Smash doesn't go down and they slug it out again. Tully tags in and comes off the top with an elbow. Tully is press slammed off the top rope and Niedhart tags in. Niedhart hits a powerslam and covers for a deuce before Dynamite tags in. Kid and Niedhart double headbutts Tully but Tully recovers enough to shitcan him. Tully tags in Arn who hits a forearm to the ribs. Arn stomps away before Rivera tags in. He punches away then Bors Zhukov tags in. Boris misses a kneedrop and here comes Powers. Powers hits a backdrop and rams his head in the buckle. Powers hits a clothesline and goes for a top rope crossbody. Boris rolls through it and hooks the leg for 1...2....3 to eliminate Powers and THE YOUNG STALLIONS 15 minutes into it.
Zhukov is staggered and Michaels hits the ring to drop him with a back elbow smash. Shawn scoop slams him and hits the second rope fistdrop, covering for a deuce. Barbarian tags in and hits a shouldertackle that sends Boris into the corner. Tully tags in and fairy walks over to tag in Nikolai, classic heat move. Monsoon says he should have made contact and Nikolai headbutts Barbarian. He rams Barb's head into Blanchard's boot, making the tag to Ax. Ax chops away at Barb and beats him down. Ventura says this is the first time he's seen Barbarian manhandled. Jose Estrada and Nikolai make frequent tags to wear down Barb but Barb fires back with a big boot on Volkoff. Shawn comes in but so does Boris. Shawn is sent off the ropes but Marty blind tags in. Shawn hits Zhukov with a punch to the ribs and Jannetty sunset flips Boris for 1....2....3 to eliminate THE BOLSHEVIKS.
Arn Anderson runs in and punches away at Jannetty before Blanchard tags in. The heels nail Jannetty but he almost pins Rivera with another sunset flip. Rivera tags Estrada who backdrops Marty. Smash tags in and he beats down Marty, making the tag to Ax. Ax scoop slams Marty and rams him into Anderson's boot. Anderson tags in but Marty rams his head into the mat. Davey tags in and so does Rivera who eats a backdrop. Blanchard tags in and immediately begs off. Bret and Marty have a chat on the apron as Davey is front flipped into the corner. Tully distracts the referee so Ax can snap Davey off the top rope. Smash tags in and punches away at him before applying a chinlock. The first "rest hold" applied all match. Rivera tags in with right hands before Estrada comes off the top with a big punch. Estrada's charge in the corner eats boot and Niedhart tags in. He throws Estrada into Bret's boot and Bret hits a second rope elbow. Niedhart covers for 1..2...noooo. Shawn tags in and the Rockers double team Estrada until Dynamite tags in. He hits the snap suplex and the second rope knee. He covers for 1..2...no. Even Ventura is surprised he kicked out. Barbarian tags in with a clothesline and a powerslam. Barbarian drops an elbow and a headbutt that knocks Estrada into Rivera. Tully tags in and gets a quick tip from Heenan. Tully sucker kicks Barbarian and Ax tags in to pound away on him. Ax and Smash both hammer away as Ax tells the ref to stick it. Smash locks in a chinlock and taunts the irate crowd. Barbarian powers out of it but gets a kne to the back. The heels one by one tag in to punch away at Barbarian but Rivera gets caught. Ax tags in with Rivera in mid-air as Jose is atomic dropped. Ax clobbers Barbarian from behind and its the Brainbusters turn to double team, until Barbarian kicks Arn in the head. Jannetty tags in with a dropkick and a back elbow smash. Niedhart tags in but gets an elbow to the head. Tully tags in and comes off the top with a bodypress for 1..2...no, Niedhart bench presses him off. Niedhart suplexes Tully and tags Bret back in. Bret runs through his offense and rams Tully's head in the corner. Tully whips Bret in the corner who flips over him. Bret hits a german suplex and the referee counts 1....2....Tully's arm comes up....3! Classic spot as Bret thinks he got him but no, THE HART FOUNDATION is eliminated. Jesse says he saw the shoulder come up and even outside ref Tim White comes in to tell Bret the bad news. Bret and Jim are gone but Dynamite hits a tombstone piledriver on Tully and covers for 1...2...no. The Bulldogs hit a double forearm and Shawn Michaels tags in. Arn runs in for the double team and Marty Jannetty comes in to cut him off. All four men brawl and Arn shoves Hebner away. Shawn pushes White and catches Marty mid-air. The Rockers hit the double superkick to send the Busters out but Hebner's had it up to here with them. THE ROCKERS and THE BRAINBUSTERS are all disqualified 29 minutes in.
The Rockers and Busters brawl to the back with Smash getting a chinlock on Dynamite. Smash is dropped by Dynamite and covered for 1..2...no. Estrada tags in and he gets a knee to the ribs. Rivera comes off the top with a forearm smash as Ventura says with only four teams left, its easier to call the match. Rivera misses a second rope swanton and Warlord tags in. Ventura says with three teams gone in under two minutes the ring looks practically vacant. Warlord slams Rivera's head into the buckle as Barbarian tags in. Barbarian hits a big boot that sends Rivera into Estrada. Davey boy tags in to hit the delayed suplex on Estrada as Ventura asks how to tell the Conquistadors apart. One's taller than the other, according to Monsoon. Ax gets a tag who runs into a crucifix by Davey for 1...2..no. Ax punches away at Davey and Smash tags in. Smash is whipped into the corner as Ventura wonders how the Conquistadors are still there. Davey armdrags Smash and locks in an arm ringer. Dynamite tags in and they double headbutt Smash down. Ax tags in and clubs away on Dynamite until Kid drops him with a lariat. Davey tags in as does Rivera. Davey press slams Rivera and goes for the running powerslam, hitting it. He doesn't cover and instead tags in Barbarian. Barbarian and Davey double headbutt Rivera into his corner, making the tag to Ax. Ventura says that was a big mistake by the face team and I agree, they had Rivera dead to rights. Ax stomps away at Barbarian and tags in Smash, who heaves Barbarian outside of the ring. Ventura wants some odds on Los Conquistadors surviving and Monsoon says 100 to 1. Speaking of which, the Conquistadors double team Barbarian until Barb catches Estrada. Davey tags in for the double elbow and Davey covers for a deuce. Dynamite tags in who hits a gut wrench suplex. He covers for 1...2..no. A headbutt and a nonchalant cover gets two and Ventura says Dynamite should know better. Warlord tags in and he clubs away at Estrada, hitting a scoop slam and a leg drop. He refuses to cover and instead tags in Dynamite. Both Monsoon and Ventura berate the faces for not going for the pin and sure enough Estrada boots Dynamite, tagging in Smash. Smash clubs away at Kid but a charge in the corner eats boot. Dynamite hits the snap suplex and goes upstairs. He goes for the diving headbutt but misses. Smash hits a lariat and covers for 1..2....3 to eliminate THE BRITISH BULLDOGS thirty-six minutes into it.
Barbarian slugs away at Smash but Smash drives him into his own corner. The Conquistadors doublet eam Barbarian but he powers Rivera into his corner where Warlord tags in. Warlord chops away Rivera in the corner but misses a charge. Ax tags in and clubs away on him, hitting a snap mare. Ax continues to club away on him and taunts the irate crowd. Ventura marvels at the Conquistadors are still there and Fuji outside of the ring should be pleased that this is just about over. Smash tags in and Fuji hops up on the apron waiving his cane for absolutely no reason. Smash gives him a nod and tags in Rivera. Rivera and Estrada work over Warlord as Fuji is visibly frustrated. Even Ventura the heel supporter doesn't know what his problem is. Ax tags in and works over the left arm. Ax locks in an arm-ringer and tags in Smash. Smash punches away at Warlord as Fuji hops up again waiving his cane. Smash nods at him again and works over the left arm. Referee Earl Hebner tells Fuji to get lost as Warlord gets to his feet. Monsoon says Fuji wants to take a whack at someone but Ventura says he's more of a distraction than anything. Warlord drops Smash with a shoulderblock and runs off the ropes, but Smash ducks under. Smash hits a clothesline and looks over at Ax to say this one's over. Smash goes for another clothesline but Fuji yanks the middle rope down, causing Smash to go flying outside. What the hell was that about? Ventura says Fuji did that on purpose. Monsoon tries to say Smash might have slipped but once again heel supporter Ventura says he saw it. Hebner completes the count and DEMOLITION is eliminated.
Ax gets right in Fuji's face and confronts him. Fuji says he doesn't care what Ax says, he's the boss. He keeps whacking Ax with the cane and Ax finally has enough and shoves him. Ax turns around and Fuji hits him in the back. Smash from behind grabs Fuji and tosses him to Ax. Ax scoop slams him much to the crowd's delight. Demolition leaves as Ventura says we've seen a falling out. Rivera gets in as somehow, someway the Conquistadors have, in fact, made it to the final fall. All of a sudden Barbarian and Warlord go outside and tend to Mr. Fuji. They help him up and brush him off as Monsoon says something stinks here. The PoP damn near get counted out pulling Fuji to their corner but Barbarian gets in just in time. Rivera and Estrada make frequent tags to pound on Barbarian before Estrada goes off the ropes....tripped up by Mr. Fuji. Barbarian hits the falling headbutt and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. The crowd pops thinking this was a face turn by Mr. Fuji. They put Fuji on their shoulders and the crowd pops.....whoops! From a match standpoint, that was a lot better than last year's tag match. The top teams going in were Demolition and PoP and they were there in the end...sort of.
Time of match: 42:25
Winners: The Warlord and The Barbarian
After the match, Demolition comes back to the ring. Ax and Smash clean house with scoop slams and clotheslines. Fuji and the PoP leave as Demolition's theme hits. Ventura has no idea what's going on as Demolition starts raising each other's arms. Demolition leaves and we go to the replay where Ventura correctly points out Fuji pulled the rope down on purpose. We then show Fuji hitting Ax and getting slammed as a result. Monsoon says this didn't happen overnight and Ventura agrees. From a kayfabe standpoint this was a complete and total mess of a double turn. If they wanted to book Fuji was fed up with Demolition, they should have been getting dominated by the PoP with Fuji screaming at them. Instead Demolition was in control and even Ventura the heel was telling Fuji to get lost on commentary. The PoP going out to rescue Fuji made sense for them in the storyline as they sucked as babyfaces, but they could have done it better. Fans had begun to cheer Demolition so Vince was giving them what they wanted, much to Ax's chagrin (see Guest Booker: Bill Eadie from Kayfabe Commentaries).
We go to Sean Mooney in the back with Bad News Brown. Mooney calls him an independent soul and asks what happened out there. Bad News says the beer bellied sharecroppers tried to conspire against him by having his own teammate attack him. Brown says everyone wants to beat him but it won't happen and "Survival" Series means nothing to him. Brown says he's been a survivor all his life and he wants the WWF Championship belt. Mooney asks why he deserves a title shot and Brown says Mooney has been on Mars. Brown says he's beaten everyone he's faced so far and won the Wrestlemania Battle Royal. Mooney says President Jack Tunney should be able to give him a shot and Bad News says he's been after Tunney for a shot but he won't answer. News says eventually Tunney will have to face him in person. Mooney asks how the title shot would go with Elizabeth in his corner. Bad News says Macho Man Randy Savage has a skirt in his corner and he needs nobody. Mooney sends it back to Monsoon and Ventura who confirm Bad News is undefeated. Hard to argue Bad News here. He was Stone Cold ten years before Stone Cold, he just happened to be the wrong color for Vince and had just turned 45 years old. In the era of "Hogan must pose", having a 45 year old black heel world champion wasn't going to fly in marketing. Too bad, Bad News was the perfect gimmick.
Monsoon says Bad News is going about the title shot the wrong way but he still deserves a shot. We go to "Mean" Gene Okerlund who's with Mr. Fuji and the Powers of Pain. Gene asks what in the world was that about and Fuji says he made Demolition but their britches got too big. Fuji says he's been searching for someone to take out Demolition and he found them in the Powers of Pain. Gene tries to reason with Barbarian that Fuji can't be trusted but he just says they lost the Master and they're gonna lose the titles next. Okerlund says Demolition carried him and Fuji says HE made them and they will pay. Gene asks Warlord what he thinks and he says Demolition wouldn't listen to Fuji but they will. Again, great promo if this had been building for a while....but it didn't. This was literally one minute Demolition and the Conquistadors are beating the crap out of the Powers of Pain and then the next, Fuji pulls the rope down and says he's been wanting to do this for a while. They should have had the PoP in control the whole time but oh well. To be fair, Demolition could talk on their own and the PoP couldn't, hence putting Fuji with them made sense. We just got there the wrong way.
Monsoon hypes up the final two matches featuring Team Roberts vs Team Andre and this is horribly mismatched in favor of the heel team. Then we have Team Mega Powers vs Team Twin Towers which is a little bit more balanced. We go to Mean Gene with Team Andre with all the heels and managers glad handing each other. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan names all five of Team Jake and Andre grabs Mean Gene with Bobby right on cue saying Andre's hands will be around the neck of Roberts. Heenan says he hopes Jake had a nice Thanksgiving because it might be his last. Dino Bravo with no accent says 7 people behind him (Frenchy Martin and Heenan included) are going to make the best of it. He wants Hacksaw Jim Duggan and he wants to shame all the Americans. Rick Rude calls Mean Gene a divothead and praises how his partners and him will celebrate turkey day the ravishing way. Mr. Perfect says the fivesome here is the five best in the world, the perfect combo. Gene says Damien the snake is hungry and Andre says he doesn't care about Damien, he won last year and he's doing it again this year. Wow, Harley and Frenchy get the shaft. Still, even without the managers you got some of the best talkers in Rude and Perfect and guys that get right to the point like Bravo & Andre. Heenan makes it that much better.
Back to Monsoon who says there's no lack of confidence in that team as the cameraman shows some of the fans at ringside. Ventura says he's not afraid of snakes and he could use a new pair of boots. Back to Mean Gene who's with Team Mega Powers, Miss Elizabeth and Frankie the Bird. "Macho Man" Randy Savage low key says this team is electric. Koko B Ware says they're hot and they won't lose. Hillbilly Jim says God bless America and the bad guys will feel the heat. Hercules says he doesn't have to be alone anymore, he tells Ted Dibiase to welcome to the jungle. He then says they have fun and games, they have everything he wants and they have the names....just kidding. Hulk Hogan says the 24 inch pythons has ruled for five years and there's no weak links in the chain. Hulk says Hercules stood in the Pacific Ocean and had a big seance where they were blessed. Hulk says they all have dollar signs on their heads and Hulkamania will run wild on them. Not exactly the coke fueled, testosterone filled mayhem last year's Hulkamania promo was but still fun. On to the next match.
Match 3
Jake "The Snake" Roberts, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Ken Patera, Tito Santana and Scott Casey vs Andre The Giant, Dino Bravo, Mr. Perfect, "Ravishing" Rick Rude and "Handsome" Harley Race (with Frenchy Martin and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan)
Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way early. Why Scott Casey the glorified jobber? Junkyard Dog was originally supposed to be in the match back in September but he left. B Brian Blair of the Killer Bees replaced him but he left shortly before the Survivor Series. Rather than turn to Lanny Poffo who wasn't quite the genius yet, Vince stuck Scott Casey in there. From JYD to Blair to Casey talk about DING, Ding, ding. Duggan uses his 2x4 as a rifle as the bell rings. Rude starts with Patera as a tribute to last year and Ken throws him across the ring. Ventura sings Ken's praises as Monsoon said Patera retired him. Dino tags in and they shoulderblock each other. Bravo locks in an arm-ringer and Perfect tags in with a punch off the top. Patera rams Perfect into his corner where Jake Roberts tags in to work over the left arm. Tito Santana comes in and Perfect shoulderblocks him down, but eats an arm drag. Tito scoop slams Perfect but Curt rallies in the corner. An elbow stuns Tito and Bravo tags in. Dino chokes him in the corner as Roberts tags in. Scott Casey comes into work over Bravo and Ventura praises Scott's physique. Yeah he looks gassed up too. Bravo hits an inverted atomic drop and tags in Harley Race. Race hits the belly to belly suplex then drops a knee on him. Ventura says nobody drops a knee better than Race, a young Paul Lesveque would agree. Rude tags in and scoop slams Casey. Rude overs for a deuce and rams Casey into Andre's knee. Perfect tags in and clotheslines Casey before stomping away. Casey headbutts him and Santana tags in. Santana holds him for Patera to tag in for the double elbow smash. Patera tags Duggan in for the first time and he clobbers away at Perfect. Duggan comes out of the corner with a clothesline and taunts Andre. Perfect gets a thumb to the eye much to Jesse's delight but Duggan winds up for a big right hand that sends Perfect flying over the top rope. Andre tries to grab Duggan but misses. Casey tags in and one arm slams Perfect before dropping a leg. Perfect hangs on to the leg and Rude tags in. Monsoon puts over the upcoming Royal Rumble on January 15th as Rude forearms Casey, dropping him with a clothesline. Rude taunts the crowd and punches away on Casey. Rude misses a charge in the corner and Casey tags in Santana. Tito hits a flying chop and covers for 1...2...no. That wasn't the flying jalapeno. Duggan tags in and elbows Rude in the back. Duggan misses a clothesline but catches Rude in a spinning slam. Duggan misses an elbow but they collide in the middle of the ring. Ventura says Rude got the worst of it and Duggan hilariously dives into his corner to tag in Patera. Patera scoop slams Rude and elbows him in the neck. Patera hits a cradle for 1..2..no. Patera sends Rude off but a charge eats boot. Rude catches Patera with the Rude Awakening and covers for 1...2....3 to eliminate KEN PATERA 8 minutes in. Say bye bye to Patera as this was his last ppv appearance for the company.
Casey jumps in but Rude throws him into the corner. Harley Race tags in and catches Casey with a dropkick. Race misses an elbow drop but still puts Casey in the corner. Dino Bravo tags in and Casey hits a backslide for 1...2...no. Casey goes for the O'Connor Roll but Bravo blocks it. Casey charges but Bravo catches him with the sidewalk slam. Bravo covers for 1..2....3 and SCOTT CASEY is done 9 minutes in. This was also his last ppv as well.
Down to 5 on 3, Santana charges in but he clobbers Bravo with a big right. Perfect tags in as Ventura says its not looking good for Jake's team. Tito rallies with right hands and a small package for a deuce. Duggan tags in and elbows Perfect but puts his head down. Perfect kicks Duggan and Duggan stomps around the ring. He punches Perfect but Andre snatches him for the big headbutt. Monsoon says they're in real trouble if Hacksaw is eliminated. Rude tags in but eats a clothesline. Santana tags in as Race enters as well. Race hits a big left hand and sends him into the buckle. Bravo tags in to work over Tito but a shoulderblock goes nowhere. Tito hits a crossbody for 1...2..no. Bravo rallies with strikes but a charge eats sunset flip for 1..2...no. Race tags in and piledrives Tito, covering for 1..2...no. Race hits a left arm clothesline and covers for 1...2..nope, gotta hook the leg. Tito ducks under a clothesline and hits the flying jalapeno. He lands on top of Race for 1..2.....3 and HARLEY RACE is out 15 minutes in
Andre himself gets in and grabs Santana. Ventura hilariously shouts "ANDRE'S GOT CHICO!" Andre chokes Tito against the ropes and hits a big right hand followed by a chop. Andre sits on Tito as Santana tries to fight back. Andre chops and chokes him again. Santana goes for a sunset flip...is he out of his mind? Andre simply sits on Tito for 1....2...3 and TITO SANTANA is eliminated almost 17 minutes in.
Duggan gets in a three point stance and hits the clothesline to tie Andre up in the top rope. Duggan and Roberts double team Andre as the heel team tries to get Andre free. Roberts punches down Rude and chokes Andre while he's still tied up. Ventura says Jake is lucky he's tied up but Heenan gets Andre loose. He punches Roberts away and Rude tags in to send Jake into the ropes. Rude taunts the irate crowd and whips him into the other corner. Rude sends Jake into the boot of Perfect. Perfect chops away and kicks at Roberts. Andre kicks him again and Perfect slingshots Jake into the bottom rope. Perfect and Roberts slug it out but Bravo tags in. Roberts slugs away at Bravo and hits the left arm clothesline. Jake goes for the DDT but Rude clotheslines him down from the apron. Rude tags in legally as Ventura says Roberts & Duggan have to eliminate someone. Rude stalks Roberts and clocks him with a big right hand. Bravo and Perfect clap for Rude and Rick covers Jake for 1....2..no, foot on the rope. Ventura says if Jake is eliminated, Duggan would run for cover. Monsoon "HE WILL NOT!" Bravo tags in and hits a scoop slam on Roberts but misses the elbow drop. He misses another one and Duggan gets the hot tag. Duggan beats the crap out of Bravo and backdrops him. Duggan rams Bravo into the corner as Ventura reiterates they have to get rid of someone. Duggan clotheslines Bravo and calls for the 3 point stance. Frenchy Martin grabs the leg and pulls him outside. Monsoon says that should be a disqualification...for who? Martin is a manager. Duggan grabs the 2x4 like an idiot and waffles Bravo with it in the ring. JIM DUGGAN is disqualified just over 23 minutes into it. Duggan visibly says "Bullshit!", what? You clocked a guy with a foreign object.
Roberts should be furious with Duggan since its now 4 on 1 but instead he drops knees on Bravo. He covers for 1.....2...no. Perfect tags in and Ventura points out Jake took a beating earlier and he's all by himself. Well he's not running away but Jesse tells Monsoon not to run down there to help him. Jake punches away at Perfect and drops him with a left arm clothesline. The crowd chants for DDT and Jake gives the signal for it. Perfect and Roberts exchange punches before Jake drops him with a knee lift. Ventura says Perfect should tag out and he does, Bravo comes in. Essentially its 6 on 1 out there with Frenchy and Heenan. Monsoon screams that the referees should have tossed Martin by now. Bravo wins a game of mercy but misses the elbow drop. Rude tags in and Roberts bails to the outside. Smart move by Jake to regroup with no one left to tag. Back inside Rude gets a thumb to the eye and turnbuckle head slams. Rude slugs away at Jake and he staggers right into a right hand by Bravo. Rude hits a stomach breaker as Ventura says he should go for the cover. Rude slaps Jake and taunts him before landing another right hand. Rude sends Jake into the corner and Ventura says if Rude gets the pin, Cheryl Roberts will leave Jake for Rude. Rick scoop slams Jake and locks in a bear hug. Jake powers out of it but Rude hits a snap mare. Rude hits a top rope fist drop and gyrates over him. Rude slowly walks over to tag Andre but Jake cuts him off by pulling his tights down. Rude staggers right into the DDT to a huge pop. Jake covers for 1....2...3, bye bye RICK RUDE just under 31 minutes into it.
Andre gets in and punches away at Roberts. Andre chokes Jake in the corner....and chokes....and chokes....and chokes...and bites....and chokes....and chokes. Finally referee Joey Marella has enough and ANDRE THE GIANT has been disqualified just under 32 minutes into it. Just like that Roberts has cut the deficit in half.
Andre throws Jake into the center of the ring. Perfect gets in and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Smart move by Curt Hennig to take advantage there. Perfect and Bravo survive then they celebrate with Martin in the ring. Andre and Heenan nod from the outside. Jake grabs Damien and throws him in the ring. Andre's gaggle of goons retreats as Jake and Damien stand tall in the ring. Not the best match but you had guys like Patera, Casey and Race that didn't belong or on their way out, Bravo & Andre who could barely move and Duggan who was a pure brawler. Perfect keeps his heat by surviving.
Time of match: 32:08
Winners: Dino Bravo and Mr. Perfect
We got to Mean Gene with Team Twin Towers. Slick says him and Heenan have come up with a system of elimination that will not be denied. Ted Dibiase says Hercules is a slave and the champagne and caviar is on ice after the match. Akeem says they're the survivors and Heenan says he's showing proper respect to King Haku. Mean Gene asks Red Rooster if he can talk and Rooster says he can talk and wrestle too. Haku says they'll all bow to the king. Big Bossman says he's a survivor and he wants Hulk Hogan. Hook from AEW is 25 years old as of today, that's how old Bossman was here. Bossman says he's gonna hurt Hulk real bad and leave him laying. On to the final match.
Match 4
Akeem, Big Bossman, "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, The Red Rooster and King Haku (with Bobby Heenan, Slick and Virgil) vs Koko B Ware, Hercules, Hillbilly Jim, Hulk Hogan and WWF Heavyweight Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth)
Randy Savage comes out to his music along with Jim, Hercules and Koko but Hogan gets his own entrance...of course. Dibiase starts out with Savage and Randy drops him with a shoulderblock, but Savage runs into a clothesline. Dibiase works Randy in the corner but misses a charge. Randy slugs Dibiase and drops him with a left arm clothesline. Hercules tags in and Dibiase immediately retreats outside after tagging Red Rooster. Hercules chases him out of the ring and back inside where Rooster catches him with a jawbreaker. Rooster goes for a sharpshooter but Herc blocks it. Hercules drops him with a clothesline and tags in Koko. Ware lands a headbutt but a charge in the corner eats boot. Akeem tags in and he clubs away on Koko. Haku tags in and drops him with a big chop followed by a scoop slam. Haku misses a legdrop and Koko tags Hercules back in. Herc and Haku slug it out and drops him with a right hand. Hulk Hogan tags in who punches away at Haku, dropping him with a clothesline. Hogan drops a series of elbows and rams him into the knee of Jim. Hillbilly tags in and they double big boot Haku down. Jim covers for a 1 count and he headbutts him,....which Haku no-sells. Akeem tags in to waffle Jim then Red Rooster tags back in. Rooster foolishly tries for a scoop slam but Jim counters with a scoop slam of his own. Jim teases booting Rooster in the nads and just kicks his leg instead. Koko tags back in for a powerslam, but the cover only gets two. Rooster tries ramming Koko's head into the corner which he no-sells. Koko is whipped in the corner and fakes out Rooster on a crossbody, then hits a top rope dropkick. Koko covers for 1....2...no. Koko tags Hogan in and Rooster looks like a deer in the headlights. Hogan hits the big boot and tags in Savage. Hogan slams Rooster and Savage hits the top rope elbow. He covers for 1...2...3 and RED ROOSTER is done 6 minutes in.
The face team chases the heels outside as the crowd pops like crazy. They all celebrate in the ring as Monsoon says they got a long way to go. Ventura says he'd have cheapshotted the Rooster and Monsoon would have too, but Gorilla rebukes him. Heenan screams at Rooster to get lost and Akeem starts asking Bobby what happened. Heenan "Should NEVER have been in that position." Slick "I told you that guy was no good." Ventura tries to bring up how Oklahoma Sooners football coach Barry Switzer yells at his players...well he didn't yell enough because they had just lost to Nebraska five days prior to Survivor Series that knocked them out of Orange Bowl contention. Haku tags in and drives Randy to his own corner where Hogan tags in. Haku gets a thrust to the throat and hits a dropkick. Haku pounds on Hulk until Hogan clotheslines him into the corner. Hulk scoop slams Haku and Hercules tags in. Herc drops him with a clothesline and covers for 1..2...no. Herc punches away at Haku until Haku hits a back suplex. Akeem tags in and scoop slams Hercules, but misses the big elbow. Hillbilly Jim tags in and punches away at Akeem followed by a headbutt. Jim gets a head scissors in the corner and stuns him with a big boot. Jim goes for a bearhug but Akeem rams him into the corner. Jim whips him into the other corner but gets dropped with a clothesline. Akeem hits the big splash and covers for 1...2...3 and HILLBILLY JIM is eliminated just under 10 minutes in.
Slick celebrates outside as Koko dropkicks Akeem in the back. Hulk tags in and he rams Akeem in the corner. Ventura says its a pet peeve for a guy to win a fall and start celebrating because another guy is about to come in. That would prove fatal later but for now, Savage tags in who comes off the top with an axehandle smash. Savage stuns Akeem with a series of elbows and Hercules tags in. Herc punches away at him but Akeem won't go down. Herc sends Akeem off and stuns him with an elbow smash. Koko tags in and punches away at him then dropkicks Akeem in the corner. Koko misses a corner splash and Bossman tags in for the first time. Bossman hits the Bossman Slam and covers for 1...2...3 to eliminate KOKO B WARE just under 12 minutes into it.
Slick says "That's two" outside as Hogan sneaks up on Bossman. The crowd pops as we finally get the showdown. Bossman gets a thumb to the eye but Hogan rallies with right hands and a clothesline. Bossman won't go off his feet until Hogan atomic drops him into the corner. Savage and Herc slugs at Bossman and Hogan hits a clothesline in the corner. Hulk hits the big boot and calls for a slam. Hogan scoop slams Bossman but runs right into a spinebuster. Bossman tags in Akeem and now the Twin Towers double team Hogan with a double back elbow. Haku tags in and punches away at Hulk. Haku drops him with a throat thrust and covers for a deuce before Bossman tags back in. Bossman slugs away at the crowd cheers for Hogan to rally. Bossman jumps on Hogan on the second rope then chokes him with his boot. Dibiase tags in and he kicks away at Hulk as well. Dibiase drops Hulk with a left arm clothesline and a fistdrop. He hits two more fistdrops and covers for 1...2...no. Monsoon calls Dibiase "excellence of execution" as Hogan gets up waiving his finger. Hogan hits an atomic drop on Dibiase and tags in Hercules. The crowd pops as Dibiase begs off. Hercules pulverizes Dibiase all over the ring. Herc gets tripped up by Virgil and Hercules pulls him onto the apron. Dibiase from behind rolls him up for 1...2....3 and HERCULES is eliminated 16:35 into it.
Things look bleak for the Mega Powers here down 4 to 2 as Dibiase celebrates in the ring. Hercules then gets a big pop for decking Virgil outside. Suddenly Savage runs in, rolls up TED DIBIASE for 1...2..3 to eliminate the Million Dollar Man just like that. Like Ventura said, celebrating early can be fatal and that just proved it.
Dibiase goes berserk in the ring as Ventura says that was a smart move because he just cut it to 3-2 when 4-2 would have been insurmountable if Dibiase dug in or tagged out. Virgil takes off with Dibiase so essentially its 5 on 3 with the Twin Towers, Slick, Haku and Heenan against the Mega Powers and Elizabeth. Haku goes to work on Savage and drops him with a chop, but misses the headbutt. Savage tags out to Hulk and hooks Haku's leg so Hogan could stun him with a kick. Haku drops him with a thrust kick and tags in Bossman. Bossman headbutts Hulk in the back and drops him with a big right hand. Bossman scoop slams Hogan and covers for 1..2...no. Bossman chops Hulk in the throat and Akeem tags in. Akeem punches away at Hogan and tags in Haku. Haku continues the onslaught with a vertical suplex. He covers for 1..2....no. Haku continues to pound away at Hulk as Savage paces back and forth on the apron. Haku locks in a nerve hold and Hogan fades for 1..2...nooo, he revives and powers out of it. Haku gets a thumb to the eye and tags in Bossman. Bossman sends Hulk off and hits the Bossman Slam. Rather than cover, Bossman just celebrates his move much to Slick's chagrin. Even Ventura admonishes Bossman for not going for the cover. Bossman goes up to the top rope and misses a big splash. Hogan gets the hot tag to Savage who goes nuts on all three heels. Slick trips up Savage and Monsoon says he saw it. All of a sudden for no reason Slick runs over to yell at Elizabeth. Bossman locks Savage in a bearhug as Slick drags Elizabeth up the entrance aisle. Hogan runs over and decks Slick, but Akeem nails him from behind. Bossman joins in and they drag Hogan over to their corner. Bossman handcuffs Hogan to the bottom rope but Earl Hebner completes the count. BIG BOSSMAN has been counted out just over 23 minutes in.
Bossman attacks Hogan with the nightstick with Haku kicking the daylights out of Savage in the ring. Hogan crumples to the floor as Monsoon shouts for the refs to get Bossman out of there. Akeem tags in but Savage rallies with right hands. Bossman waffles Savage with the nightstick as well and gets back in the ring. Hebner tries to pry Bossman off but Akeem makes the mistake of shoving him away. Haku kicks away at Hogan outside as Akeem hits a big splash on Savage. Earl Hebner then disqualifies AKEEM for shoving him just over 25 minutes in.
Technically its down to 2 against 1 with the Twin Towers eliminated but Hogan's handcuffed to the bottom rope and Slick has the key. Slick should do the smart thing and take off with Bossman and Akeem. Naturally Slick sticks around and Haku drops Savage with a back elbow smash. Haku covers for 1...2...no. Slick taunts Hogan with the key but Haku misses an elbow drop. Ventura says Hebner won't let Slick leave but the truth is Slick just wants to taunt Hogan. Haku pounds on Savage but msises a dropkick. Savage goes to make a tag but Hogan's not there. Elizabeth has to tell him that Hulk's handcuffed. Slick hops up on the apron and holds Savage, but Randy ducks the thrust kick and Slick goes flying. Heenan runs over and is clotheslined by Hogan. Elizabeth runs over to get the keys as Ventura hilariously says she's going for his wallet. Monsoon "SHE IS NOT!" Elizabeth gets the key and uncuffs Hogan. The crowd pops as Haku goes up to the top rope, hitting the big splash. He covers for 1..2....noooooo. The crowd explodes as Savage somehow kicks out. Haku hits another thrust kick but Savage spirals into Hogan who gets the hot tag. Hogan hits the punches, big boot, scoop slam and leg drop. Hogan covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. That was a lot of fun but a lot of stupidity on the part of the heels in kayfabe.
After the match Hogan does his hot dogging and grandstanding as Elizabeth tends to the frazzled Savage. Elizabeth tries to tell Hulk that Randy is hurt and Hulk picks her up to celebrate much to Savage's dismay. Savage shoots Hulk a dirty look although they all raise each other's hands. Monsoon says the Mega Powers have won it as we end the show with Savage asking Hogan what's he doing.
Time of match: 30:11
Winners: Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage
This was definitely a transition show with a lot of guys on their way out such as the British Bulldogs, the Killer Bees (Brian Blair was already gone), Ken Patera and even the Conquistadors. Bottom line was the show served its purpose of planting the seeds of dissention with the Mega Powers, double turned Demolition and the Powers of Pain and established The Ultimate Warrior as the next big thing. Bad News Brown wants a piece of Savage and Big Bossman wants Hogan. Jake vs Andre will still be a thing with Duggan and Bravo, good lord. Least we got some feuds still hot as we turn the calendar closer to 1989. The matches themselves were fun to watch with individual stories carrying them. As mentioned earlier, Savage clearly wasn't happy with Hogan picking up Liz and that was certainly not going to be overlooked as the months progressed. We're still four months away from Wrestlemania 5 and some feuds are already locked in for a conclusion while others are up in the air. Up next is a another triple shot. Vince thought it was a good idea to spread his crew out to three different locations on Black Friday. Hogan vs Bossman would headline the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut, Jake Roberts vs Rick Rude would headline the Pensacola Civic Center in Florida and Andre The Giant vs Randy Savage would headline the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago. I'll see you in Hartford!
