WWE Judgement Day 2002 (5/19/02)

This was the first ppv officially licensed under the name WWE so this is where the "modern era" begins. The main event for this ppv would be the rubber match between The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship. Taker won at Survivor Series 91 but Hogan took the rematch a week later on Tuesday in Texas (the first attempt of what would later be Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday) so 11 years later they finally settle the score. Other matches include Steve Austin vs Ric Flair and Big Show, which had been brewing for a month and HHH vs Chris Jericho in a Hell in the Cell. Also included are a hair vs hair match between Kurt Angle and Edge and the rubber match between Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam. The undercard looked great at least on paper while the main event should be at least watchable.

MAY 19, 2002

GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

NASHVILLE, TN

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Match 1

Rob Van Dam vs Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

 This was the 3rd match between the 2 in a month, Guerrero took the title from Van Dam at Backlash and Van Dam won by DQ at Insurrextion. Hope this match is as good as the other two. Guerrero swings and misses and Van Dam hits a shoulder tackle. Rob goes for 3 quick covers before Guerrero goes outside and throws a temper tantrum. Back inside Eddie gains the advantage with some heel tactics but a charge in the corner eats boot. Van Dam fakes Eddie out and hits a split legged moonsault and a high backbody drop. Eddie runs into a tilt a whirl but the cover gets a deuce. Rob stomps away as Eddie says "nonononono" Rob locks in a butterfly lock and damn near pinned him with it. That must have hurt like hell......Rob hits a standing moonsault and then Eddie backs into the corner and calls timeout. King says "No Mas, No Mas" before Eddie fires back and stomps a mud-hole in Van Dam. Eddie gives Rob an indian sunburn on the ring apron before taunting the crowd. JR shills the Guerrero family as Eddie sticks a thumb to the eye, then JR mentions we're in Lawler country. Rob hits a split/monkey flip spot before a slugfest ensues, which Guerrero wins. Van Dam then hits another monkey flip before hot-shotting him throat first on the top rope. A rolling thunder gets 2 as a sign in the crowd says "R.I.P. Davey Boy". The king of Coliseum Video wins, British Bulldog sadly died shortly before this ppv. Guerrero counters a suplex into a prawn for a 2 but Van Dam fires back with a step-over heel kick. Rob goes upstairs but Eddie crotches him then powerbombs him almost through the mat. Eddie goes upstairs and says "I feel froggy" but missed the splash. They trade blows before Rob Van Dam turns into Jean Claude Van Dam and hits a roundhouse kick to make the crowd go "woah". Rob goes upstairs but missed the 5-star attempt. King "How do you say RVD in Spanish?" JR "I don't have a damn clue" They just stand there looking at each other before going into a leapfrogging session which ends with a flying bodypress by Van Dam for a long two count. Rob counters a european uppercut into a backslide for another long deuce before Eddie counters a roundhouse kick into a backslide, then puts his feet on the ropes for 1...2....3., nice. JR cries foul but Eddie retains the title in a decent opener. The roundhouse Rob hit earlier was one of the sickest spots I've seen in a while. I thought it was going to be good and it was. Show's off to a good start.

Time of match:  11:08

Winner: Eddie Guerrero by pinfall (still IC champion)

   The next segment is Reverand D'Von, Stacy Keibler, Deacon Bautista and Vince McMahon all bowing in a prayer......now before I try to explain what the hell I'm watching, here's some backstory. Someone had the bright idea (sarcasm) to split the Dudley Boys and while Bubba Ray was basically the same as he always was on Raw, they turned D'Von into a preaching minister. DVon was also given a bodyguard, a 6'6 300 lb monster named Leviathan (great Peter Weller movie btw) in Ohio Valley Wrestling became Deacon Bautista on Smackdown. Stacy, Deacon and D'Von close their eyes while Vince takes that opportunity to check out Stacy as D'Von preaches that Stacy will take out Trish in their match and if Bubba Ray interferes he'll be taken out as well. Oh and if you couldn't guess, donation box carrying Deacon Bautista is now known as "The Animal" Dave Batista, a legend that needs no introduction. Then we cut to a "Get the F Out" commercial......its bad enough we had to see these horrible attempt to look hip commercials on weekly television, but on a ppv? The backstory to those that don't know was the World Wildlife Foundation successfully sued World Wrestling Federation for the rights to the initials WWF so Vince renamed his company World Wrestling Entertainment and tried to look cool by having commercials say "Get the F out". It wasn't cool...it was openly admitting he lost. Should have just slipped the Wildlifers a few bucks to go away.

Match 2

Stacy Keibler (with D'Von Dudley and Deacon Bautista) vs Trish Stratus (with Bubba Ray Dudley) for the WWE Women's Championship

 An inter-promotional diva-fest that could actually be interesting. The re-union of the Dudleys combined with the looks of Stacy and the debut of Bautista could be noteworthy here. Stacy held a swimsuit contest on Smackdown and Tajiri pulled Torrie Wilson out of the competition leaving Trish to enter and win, then giving Stacy a beat-down. Trish enters alone wearing a purple leotard (what?) and then Stacy enters with Deacon and D'Von in tow. Bubba is announced last which is interesting since he's neither the champion nor the challenger or even in the match period. Trish starts out with forearms before catching a roundhouse kick from Stacy. That one may have trumped Van Dam's from earlier but the cover gets 2. Stacy hits a sloppy looking back-drop before making another cover. Trish hits some clothesline and puts Stacy in a boston crab. Stacy counters into a sunset flip (impressive by her standards) but Trish hits a neckbreaker for another 2 count. Trish hits the Chick Kick that knocks Stacy out of the ring into Bubba Ray territory. Bubba leans over her and then laughs in her face, causing Stacy to slap him across the face. Hahahhahahaha! Bubba backs Stacy into the corner of the ring as the ref tells Bubba to get lost....but then Deacon Bautista gets in the ring and slams Trish. Stacy slides in but the cover only gets 2. Stacy locks in a chin lock before pulling her hair, then Trish hits a jump kick before hitting a baseball slide on Bautista. Deacon is unfazed so he hops up on the apron but is nailed by a Stacy Keibler clothesline that was aimed for Trish. Again Deacon is unfazed as Trish hits a one handed bulldog and covers for 3 to win the match. D'Von gets in the ring and chases Trish away but then Bubba gets in and the crowd pops loudly. D'Von then tries to offer a handshake and Bubba accepts, then takes out an on-rushing Bautista, then D'Von hits a running clothesline. D'Von then repents and shakes his head as Deacon gets in and stomps a mudhole in Bubba. D'Von then restrains Deacon before giving the old sign of the cross...and resumes the beatdown. D'Von tells Bautista to get the tables as D'Von begins preaching to Bubba that he needs to be taught a lesson. Wonder what Spike Dudley was doing at this time. Deacon then goes for what's now known as the Batista Bomb through a table but Bubba counters and attacks D'Von in the corner. Batista...errr Bautista hits Bubba with the donation box and they flapjack Bubba through a table. In what has to be the gayest (and I don't mean homosexual gay) moment of Bautista's career, before the Eddie Guerrero hug, he then holds his hands together and looks up to pray. Stacy wakes up and they all celebrate in the ring. Damn did Stacy suck in that match....you'd think with three years in the business she'd have learned a thing or two by now. Hell she started in 1999 and Trish in 2000 and still looks years behind Trish in terms of ability. Ah well, least she didn't have a miscarriage in this promotion. Also she was much more comfortable as a manager, and a damn good one, so why didn't they have Bubba vs D-Von with Trish and Stacy outside?

Time of Match:  2:55

Winner: Trish Stratus by pinfall (Still Women's champion)

  The next segment is Ric Flair and Arn Anderson getting confronted by Vince himself and they shake hands because Flair is sick of Austin as well. Flair says unlike Vince he'll take Steve down. Vince and Flair hug as McMahon looks angered by that comment.

Match 3

The Hardy Boyz vs Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman

 No Shawn Stasiak this time...Heyman will do it himself. The storyline going into this one is Brock has been a one man wrecking crew and is on the verge of breaking out as a superstar once he's done with Matt and Jeff Hardy. He's been feuding with them for a solid month now. Speaking of Jeff....he flies out of the ring as Lesnar makes his entrance and Brock catches him. Matt quickly baseball slides into Jeff to knock Brock flat on his back. The Hardys double team Brock outside the ring then chase Heyman inside. Heyman begs for mercy before Lesnar clobbers The Hardys with a double clothesline as the bell rings, Lesnar gets rid of Matt then feasts in Jeff in the corner with shoulder blocks. Jeff tries to counter but Lesnar's power is too much. Matt tags in and goes on the offensive but Lesnar takes control and hits more shoulderblocks in the corner as the crowd starts up a GOLDBERGGGG chant. Wait two years, people. Matt blocks a overhead press but is caught in a powerslam. Everything Lesnar has done so far is high impact power moves, and keep in mind he was a mat based wrestler in high school and college. Lesnar continues to hit shoulderblocks in the corner before Matt counters with a tornado ddt. Jeff tags in and hits whisper in the wind and then a jawbreaker. Jeff trips up Brock as Matt goes upstairs and they hit their 2Xtreme legdrop combo....ok I made the name up but you can visualize it can't you? Brock is barely fazed but is hit by the Leap of Faith by Jeff and clotheslined out of the ring by Matt. The Hardys chase Heyman around the ring again and finally Matt grabs ahold inside the ring. Paul's hat falls off exposing his bald head as King squeals "LOOK AT HIS HEADD...HAHAA LOOK AT HIS HEAD" Matt unloads on Paul in the corner and Jeff hits a Leap of Faith. Brock comes over and pulls Matt out under the ring as Jeff goes upstairs. Brock gets in and catches Jeff in mid-air....then falls backwards for a two count. Who blew that spot? Jeff charges and Brock leapfrogs him over his head and crashing into Matt on the apron, knocking him off. Brock hits the F-5 and tags in Heyman, who trips getting in the ring as JR scoffs. A cover gets the 1--2--3 to win the match and, oh yes, Paul Heyman has pinned Jeff Hardy.  After the match Heyman takes his jacket off as King prays he doesn't continue to strip. Brock did all the work of course and looming on the horizon....King of the Ring. Lesnar had proven his point by taking out both Hardys, now it was on to better things.

Time of match: 4:47

Winners: Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman by pinfall

  The next segment is some dorkus malorkus interviewing Booker T about his recent joining of the nWo on Raw. Before I continue I should point out after Scott Hall was fired, they replaced him with Booker T. The move wasn't so bad in terms of a talent standpoint since Scott really couldn't work anymore and Booker was amongst the best, it was that to ANYONE that followed WCW knew that Booker was anti-nWo since the beginning. Anyway Booker says that he's the man before spotting a Halle Berry lookalike contest winner and proceeds to hit on her until she tells him she wants him to sign her an autograph in a very special place and proceeds to give him the key to her hotel. Booker then goes crazy as we head for our next match but not before King says "I think Booker just got a magic johnson!"

Match 4

Steve Austin vs Ric Flair and Big Show

   This one has been brewing for months. It started at Backlash when Flair unknowingly screwed Austin out of the WWE title and then began to make one mistake after another before Austin stunned him at Insurrexion (as well as several other times on Raw). Big Show highlights are shown including a promo he cut saying how when Austin was out from 99-00, Show was one of the main stars but when Austin came back he (meaning Show) was turned into a joke. Yes, a rare logical storyline since Big Show was pretty much an afterthought to this point in May 2002. This was pretty much a pseudo-heel turn by Flair who hated Austin but after this was over, would go back to being his jolly old self. Big Show comes out to his new nWo theme as Flair comes out to his old school WWF theme.....until the theme ends and you can hear his 2001 Space Odyssey tune finishing out and they actually overlap at the end. Which means they were overdubbing the old school all along, guess they didn't want to pay royalties or something. Austin enters and begins slugging away at the both of them. Austin backdrops Flair and kicks away at Big Show, he then goes for a stunner attempt but is thrown into Flair. Austin slugs away at Big Show and fires away at Flair before hitting a low blow on Show. Austin applies a figure four and in a dumb spot, hits Flair while lying on his back and Flair sells it like he was hit by a truck. Austin flips off Flair and applies a figure four on flair then rolls out of the way of an oncoming Big Show elbow drop. Austin rolls outside and grabs a chair and gets inside which provokes referee and Flair lackey Charles Robinson to give him an earful. Finally Austin gives up the chair....then rolls out and gets another one. He then props the chair and sits in it, then flips off Charles Robinson. I'm gonna miss Austin that's for sure....I'll explain what I mean at the end of this match. Flair climbs to the second rope and stands behind Show. The crowd gets a "What" chant going as Austin locks up with Flair.....and I just realize this is the first time they've wrestled in any sort of meaningful match since 1993 back when Austin was chumming with the late Brian Pillman. What a shame how this could have been a money-making main event back in 1998 but is a midcard match on a 2002 ppv. Austin slugs Big Show and says "what?" but hits Flair with a shoulderblock. Flair rolls outside and regroups with Big Show as Austin rolls outside and grabs a brewsky Its a little early for the post-match celebration. Austin teases cracking it open before discarding it and eats a Flair shoulderblock. Flair begs off and then catches Steve with a thumb to the eye. Flair chops the rattlesnake in the corner as the crowd chants WOOOOOO. Austin then counters and begins chops of his own as the crowd loudly chants "What?" Flair does a flop and again begs for mercy. Austin hits a series of punches then no sells an inverted atomic drop before clotheslining Flair down. Flair tags out to Show as King says "Now the fun begins". Show taunts Austin before Austin does push-ups to piss Show off, which Show answers with open handed chops to the chest. Austin regains his composure and once again is sent down from a big chop. Austin then counters with punches but eats a big boot to kill the momentum. Flair tags in and hits a lowblow on Steve as JR scoffs. Flair struts as Big Show laughs as Ric chops Austin in the corner, then they trade blows. Flair gets another thumb to the eye and goes upstairs, but Austin throws him off the top rope. Steve stomps a mudhole in Flair and then attacks an interfering Big Show, but Show counters with a powerslam. A cover gets 2 and Flair continues to stomp away on Steve before taunting the crowd. Flair chops and punches Austin in the corner again and begins attacking the left leg of Austin. Show tags in and begins wearing down the leg Flair was working on. Flair tags back in and Austin surprises him with an inside cradle for a 2 count. Flair then hits the figure four leg lock....and the crowd doesn't even pop or cheer. After a minute Austin reverses the hold but Show comes in and drops an elbow. Austin sneaks a backslide for a 2 count but Flair hits more chops and a right hand. Austin rallies with chops as the crowd chants "Woo" and "What". Austin then hits a spinebuster and another figure four before Show comes in and leg drops Steve. Flair tags in Big Show who eats boot twice before Austin hits a Lou Thez press from the second rope. Flair comes in and is met with a conventional Thez press. Austin hits a low blow and a spine buster, but Show stops the counter attempt. Austin counters a chokeslam attempt into a Stunner but nWo member X-Pac interferes. Austin ducks under a savate kick and Pac nails Show with it instead and is stunned for his effort by Steve. Austin stuns Flair and covers for the 1-2--3 to win the match even though Big Show was the legal man. Austin then does his double drink salute on the ramp. Not the best match but the crowd was really into it with all the chants.

I should point out following this ppv, Austin grew increasingly bitter against Stephanie McMahon and the other writers so on June 2, 2002...he walked out. That's right, the man who helped launch the WWF into the stratusphere in 1998 got so angry he took his ball and went home. One of the reasons was that they wanted him to job cleanly to Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifying match on an upcoming Raw. Austin said he had no problem jobbing to Lesnar, but would rather do it in a more important match such as a ppv main event or something (Think of Austin, the 1996 KOTR passing the torch to Lesnar in the 2002 final). On one hand Austin was definitely playing an ego card by refusing to job to Lesnar and getting angry that they were putting others in the spotlight ahead of him, but when you saw what they were doing to the careers of Chris Jericho, The Hardys and Austin himself you could feel for him. Stephanie was the head writer and HHH was her fiancee....who do you think's getting the spotlight? So as it was, this would be the last ppv Austin would wrestle at for 8 months...least he went out with a win.

Time of match: 15:36

Winner: Steve Austin by pinfall

 The next segment is hosted by Michael Cole and Tazz which highlights the upcoming hair vs hair match. They show a preview of what both would look like bald, and Edge with the shades looked like Ron Pearlman from Blade 2. I should point out that one of the oldest rules in promoting is give the fans a match they want to see, but do it in a manner where the outcome of the match can't be given away, therefor making fans pay to see what happens. A perfect example of how to do it and how not to do it happened at Wrestlemania 18, two months earlier. The Rock faced Hulk Hogan in a match fans paid to see but the buildup and the combined ego's of the two men involved gave no indication of who would win, therefor fans were interested enough to pay to see the outcome. The opposite of this would be HHH vs Jericho, HHH was being booked as an unstoppable face after returning from quad surgery and Jericho was being booked so horribly that everyone knew HHH was going to win, also because HHH is an ego-maniac and Jericho has never been known to have a backstage ego (which is ironic given his on-screen character). Edge has long blond hair that the female fans love and Kurt has a noticeable receding hairline so it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out who wins this one. I just hope the match itself is worth the inevitable conclusion.

Match 5

Edge vs Kurt Angle  (Hair vs Hair)

 Remember in my Backlash review how I said even through the storylines for this feud were silly but the matches delivered, this would be the epitome. A hair vs hair match usually stinks the joint out but if its booked properly, can be a noteworthy event (Wrestlemania 23). This could have been the opposite, fans were hot to see Edge and Angle get it on but certainly not in a manner like this. They lock up and Angle hooks in a cement mixer that Edge quickly backs into the corner to avoid the pinfall attempt. Kurt locks in a front facelock and they chain sequence until Edge hits a running roll-up for a 2 count. Angle goes on offense as JR shills Kurt's career at this point. Edge throws Kurt over and out then hits a baseball slide, then goes on offense outside. Kurt gets the upper hand back inside with punches and kicks before eating a back body drop. Edge ties Kurt into the top rope Andre the Giant style and then hits a spear. A second attempt is turned into a belly-to-belly suplex from the ring to the floor by Angle onto Edge. Kurt stomps away in the corner but turns his attention to the ref long enough to start an "Angle sucks" chant. Edge chops Kurt but eats a spinebuster for his troubles. Angle chokes Edge with his knee on the second rope as King tries to make fun of Edge by saying he has a dinosaur shaped head and then says JR has a bowling ball shaped head. Edge hits a back elbow smash but Kurt counters with a ddt/pinfall attempt for a 2 count. Kurt locks in a resthold as JR puts over the importance of this match, King says the loser of this match should seek help from Howard Finkel. As Edge does the fade-then-revive routine, King accidentally says "WWF" and JR scolds him on it, this was literally the first month of the name change and after saying the letters WWF for over 20 years, kind of hard to adjust in a matter of weeks. Edge powers out and Kurt takes him down by the hair then hits a floatover suplex for a 2 count. Kurt goes for a double armbar facelock as JR says if Edge loses his hair all the ladies will weep, then King says "I was hoping you wouldn't say if Edge loses all the kids will shave their heads" Nevermind the fact the kids shave their heads anyway due to a Mister Stone Cold Steve Austin. Edge hits a BtB suplex of his own and they stay down for a few seconds. Edge rallies with clotheslines and a spinning back kick, then an Edge-o-matic for 2. Kurt hits another BtB suplex as King hypes up the next match (Hell in a Cell). Edge backdrops Kurt onto the apron but kicks his legs out from under him. Edge hits a plancha from the ring to the floor onto Angle...but doesn't clear the ropes completely like he did at Summerslam 98. Edge goes upstairs and shoves an onrushing Angle off the turnbuckle then hits a missle dropkick. A cover gets a LONG 2 count and Angle quickly recovers to hit a german suplex. King and JR are non-stop with hair jokes as Edge turns another german into a victory roll for a 2 count. Edge hits the Edgecution and then goes upstairs again but this time Angle gets the overhead suplex from the top. Kurt covers for the 1..2...noooooo Edge kicks out at 2. Edge hits a superkick and hits a ddt from the second rope but the near-fall is a 2. Edge goes for the spear but Angle moves and referee Brian Hebner goes flying. Kurt does another german and Edge actually does a 360, landing on his face as the crowd all goes silent at once. Kurt covers but Hebner's out, so he goes out and grabs a chair. Edge counters a swing with a spear but the ref is still down. Edge calls for another spear but Angle kicks him in the face. Kurt goes for the angle-slam but Edge hits another spear but Hebner takes too long and Angle kicks out at 2. Edge blocks an angle-slam but Angle hits a spear of his own and finally hits an angle-slam. The cover gets 1...2...NOOOOO Edge kicks out as Angle is heated. Angle unstraps his singlet and locks in an ankle-lock, but Edge counters with an enziguiri. Angle hits a single-leg takedown and hits another anklelock but Edge kicks angle off the ropes and catches Kurt with an inside cradle for 1...2..3 AND ITS OVER. Angle attacks Edge after the bell but Edge counters with the Edgecution. Edge drags Kurt to the barber area set up where Kurt manages to escape.....lame. Decent match but Angle managed to escape for now with his hair

Time of match: 15:30

Winner: Edge by pinfall (Kurt is to be shaved bald)

 The next camera shot is the Marriott Hotel across the street and King says "Uhhhhh...what would be the reason to show that?" Then we see Booker T in bed calling for his new "friend" to get in bed. Then she says to turn off the light and he complies, then she says to kiss her but the camera light unfortunately shows someone leaving the bed and someone else getting in. Booker then says "what do u want me to do now" and Goldust's voice says "I want you to leave the nWo!" Booker turns on the light and screams then runs out with his ass showing as Goldust turns to the woman and says "...I wore this dress for nothing!" On to the next match before I throw up.

Match 6

HHH vs Chris Jericho (Hell in a Cell)

 This would be the end of one of the dumbest and frustrating storylines I've ever been forced to witness. Chris Jericho after years of service with both WCW and WWE finally got his due when he pinned both The Rock and Steve Austin in the same night at Vengeance 2001 to become WWE Champion. Now as the champion, he then took a back-seat to the returning HHH and began serving as Stephanie McMahon's lackey. After HHH beat Jericho for the title at Wrestlemania, Jericho wasn't even booked to wrestle at Backlash while HHH jobbed to Hulk Hogan. In the storylines, Vince McMahon was mad at HHH for the pedigree on both Vince and Stephanie so he employed Jericho to take him out in a Hell in a Cell. Yes, so not only was Jericho never given his rematch for the title, he was now forced to be the McMahon's hired gun against HHH. They do a stare down to start the match then trade blows. Hunter hits a high knee and a backdrop then goes on offense in the corner. HHH throws out Jericho and both counter each others attempt to ram heads into steel. Back inside Jericho flys and hits HHH but a slugfest ensues. Chris says "Come on you sonovabitch" but misses a shoulderblock and hits the ringpost. HHH finally rams Jericho head first into the cell outside and then body first on the other side. Back inside HHH continues the assault with short armed clotheslines and a suplex. Jericho whips HHH over the corner to the floor and finally Chris gets some offense in. HHH reverses a whip and Jericho goes into the steel steps as his arm cuts open. HHH goes for a piledriver on the steps but Jericho counters and catapaults HHH into the cell. Jericho goes and gets...a ladder from under the ring. Jericho rams the ladder into HHH who blades, then Jericho grates Hunter's head into the cell. Back inside Jericho javelins the ladder into HHH's head again, before proping the ladder in the corner. Jericho whips HHH into the ladder who bounces off, over the top rope and face first onto the steel steps. King says "Looks like he's in a pinball machine" and Jericho throws the ladder out onto HHH. Jericho whips HHH into the cell and puts the ladder and a chair in the ring. Jericho goes for the ladder but HHH counters with a chair shot on the ladder. HHH hits Chris in the back with the chair but Y2J hits the one-arm facebuster on the ladder. Chris gets the steel steps as referee Tim White says "Get in the god damn ring Jericho, I've had enough." Jericho picks up the steps but HHH drop-toes him into it. HHH hits a neckbreaker and a facebuster then heaves the steps right into the bad shoulder of Jericho. Outside HHH javelins Jericho into the cell and heaves him into the other set of steel steps. Tim White heads out onto the apron to fix something as both HHH and Jericho head back inside. Jericho charges but HHH throws him into Tim White who ricochets right into the cell. Jericho hits HHH with a chairshots as JR speculates that Tim had the key to the door. Jericho covers but White's nowhere to be found, so Y2J goes outside and tosses White into the other side of the cell because he's such a role model. White is busted open and Jericho pummels him for absolutely no reason. Jericho runs inside right into a spinebuster by The Game. By this point referees Mike Chioda and Jim Korderas get a pair of clippers and cuts the lock off the cell. The officials check on White as HHH kicks the chair into Jericho's face. HHH goes outside and gets his equalizer the sledgehammer. HHH nails Jericho with it but with the referee's busy, there's no one to count the fall. Jericho slips outside and crawls out of the now open door, then shuts it in Triple H's face. HHH finally crawls out and is met with boots by Y2J. They battle all around the outside of the cell and onto King and JR's announce table. Jericho dismantles the Spanish announce table and goes for a pedrigree but HHH blocks it and ddt's Chris through the table. Jericho makes his way up to the top of the cell as HHH unveils a 2 X 4 wrapped in barbed wire. I remember a friend of mine saying "I can understand ladders, tables, chairs and sledgehammers under the ring, but what the hell does THAT have to do with ring maintenence? The 2 X 4 has a wrap on it so HHH straps it on his wrist and climbs to the top as well. Both are now on top of the cell but Jericho uses the 2 X 4 first to the back of HHH. JR reflects on past cell matches as Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho but Chioda just then starts climbing to the top. Once Chioda gets up there, HHH crawls and kicks Chris off. Y2J gets the 2 X 4 but HHH hits a low blow, but Jericho back-drops HHH into the cell, which doesn't give away. If the thing did give way he would have landed on the top rope in the ring, now that would have been cool. HHH picks up the 2 X 4 and waffles Chris with it, and it catches in his hair. Hunter covers but Jericho kicks out, now Jericho is clearly busted open in the face. HHH hits the pedigree and covers for the 1...2...3 to end this massacre. HHH poses on the top of the cell as JR shills both of them. This would be Tim White's last match ever as an official and this would later lead to a horrific angle which I'll get to in due process, but for now The Game has won.

Time of Match: 24:31

Winner: HHH by pinfall

  We then cut to Kurt Angle running away from Edge, who disguises himself in the makeup chair as Edge runs by. Angle thinks he's fooled him but Edge quickly runs the other way after him. We then cut to another Get the F out commericial with SEXUAL CHOCOLATE as the theme song. After this we head on over to The World in Times Square where Maven is on a date with Torrie Wilson. Torrie says how wearing the geisha outfit was cool, but she'd rather wear nothing at all which causes Maven to do a spittake. Back at ringside JR and King go back to work and put over the previous match before the next match begins.

Match 7

Rikishi and Rico vs Billy and Chuck for the WWE Tag Team Championships

 Before the match is started, it is learned that Rikishi will challenge Billy and Chuck with a Mr. McMahon appointed partner. Howard Finkel then says by order of Vince McMahon..RICO is named the partner. Yes, the manager of the tag team champions, and JR scoffs. Rico is making his ppv in ring debut here and I should note he wasn't a bad worker in his OVW days but the gimmick is really dumb. Billy starts out with Rikishi and unloads with fists but Kish rallies. Billy hits a ddt that doesn't faze him at all so Kishi hits a superkick, Chuck interferes and Rikishi flattens him as well. Rikishi charges but Gunn and Palumbo move out of the way then hit a flapjack on Rikishi. Rikishi avoids and Billy dropkick and goes for the tag but Rico turns away. Billy tags in Chuck and hits football shoulderblocks in the corner and unloads with rights. Chuck hits a powerful overhead suplex and covers but kicks out at 2.  Billy tags in and hits the fame-asser and covers for 1---2---noooo, he kicks out. Chuck tags in and nails a Razor Ramon style right hand as referee Teddy Long scoffs. Rikishi counters a backdrop with a kick and hits a BtB suplex on Chuck. Rikishi tries to fight back and hits backdrop on Chuck and a samoan drop on an interfering Billy. Chuck goes for a sunset flip but Rikishi sits on him for 1....2...nooo Billy tackles him at the last second. Rikishi goes for a press-slam diamond cutter but botches it. Chuck hits a dropkick and orders Rico to kick him, but Rikishi ducks and Rico nails Chuck instead. Rikishi superkicks his own partner and covers Chuck for the 1...2...3?? Yes...Rikishi and Rico are the new tag team champions and no one pops, the crowd is dead silent. Rico wins his first gold inadvertently. Rikishi then does a victory dance complete with dance number at the entrance-way. Really really bad match but it did the job as the crowd is now relaxed enough for the main event

Time of Match: 3:50

Winners: Rikishi and Rico by pinfall (new WWE Tag Team Champions)

  Edge is still running after Angle and this time Kurt catches him with a trash can lid to the face. They brawl back to the ring and Kurt grabs the mic and proclaims he's gonna cut Edge's hair. They brawl near Floyd the barber and Edge locks in a sleeper hold. After a while Kurt is out and Edge finally gets to shave Angle bald. JR "Look at that, look at this"  King "I can't see anything" JR (pointing to the monitor) "Look over here" The crowd starts chanting NA NA NA NA, Goodbye as Edge finishes the job. Edge puts shaving cream on his hand and wakes Kurt up to show him the mirror. Edge grabs the mic and says "They're not gonna chant You suck anymore, but now they're gonna say You're Bald" Kurt's music starts up and the crowd does indeed chant You're Bald.  Kurt runs to the back and to this day he has never wrestled with hair again. On to the main event. 

Match 8

The Undertaker vs Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship

The Hogan nostalgia run had catapulted Hogan to the WWE Championship but standing in his way is one of the only men to ever beat him clean, The Undertaker. The storyline was logical as Taker had beaten Austin at Backlash to become number 1 contender and then proceeds to beat up Hogan with a belt, to which Hogan counters by driving an 18 wheeler over Taker's bike. Taker enters to his You're Gonna Pay theme without the actual lyrics as Hogan comes out to Voodoo Child. JR brings up Taker's win over Hogan at Survivor Series 91 and Hogan's rematch victory at Tuesday in Texas, then Taker attacks Hogan with his own belt. Taker whips Hogan but Hogan comes back with right hands. Still wearing his entrance gear and belt, Hogan picks up the belt Taker brought and waffles Taker with it a bunch of times. The bell finally rings as Hogan rakes the eyes and punches Taker in the corner and hits a slow clothesline as JR basically admits this will not be your standard wrestling match. Hogan still has all his gear on and backdrops Taker and clotheslines him to the floor. Hogan tears the shirt off as the crowd cheers for some reason. Hogan and Taker battles outside before Hogan whips Taker into the steel steps. Hogan whips Taker into the foam guardrail before going back inside. Taker fires back with elbows and shoulder breakers as the crowd chants Hogan again. Taker goes for old school but Hogan blocks it and crotches Undertaker on the top turnbuckle. Hogan then does a superplex and covers for a near fall. Taker ducks under a clothesline and chop-blocks Hogan down and works over the left leg. Taker rams Hogan's leg into the side of the ring and then the ringpost, then adds a right cross for good measure. JR then says since Hogan is not a mat wrestler, taking out one of his legs makes him virtually defenseless....how come no one did that in the 80's? Taker does a leg-lock spot before Hogan counters by stomping his right leg about 9 times. They trade blows in the middle of the ring before Hogan hits a double axe-handle smash. Hogan then hits the big boot but Taker catches the right leg on the legdrop of doom attempt and turns into a half boston crab. JR says Hogan has never submitted before in his career.....which is blatently false because Starcade 97 was one of the biggest ppv's in wrestling history and Sting made him submit to the scorpion death lock. Hogan makes it to the rope and pulls himself up, but Taker slugs away in the corner. Taker goes for a big boot but Hogan pulls the top rope down and Taker crotches himself. Hogan pseudo Hulks Up and Taker hits one of the worst chokeslams I've ever seen, not even a foot off the ground. Taker covers and Hogan Hulks Up for real this time. Hogan hits the fists and big boot then the leg drop and covers for the 1..2...NOOOOOO. Hogan goes for another big boot and Taker counters with a ddt. Taker goes outside and gets a chair as Vince McMahon hits ring side. Hogan kicks the chair in Taker's face and hits the leg drop, but Vince gets on the apron and distracts referee Earl Hebner. Hogan brings Vince in the ring and drops the big leg on him. Earl rolls Vince out as Taker catches Hogan with a chair shot and a chokeslam. Taker covers for 1...2....3 to win the match and the title. Vince grins and the crowd goes silent. The Undertaker is your new WWE Champion.....the third new champion in 3 months which isn't a good thing. JR asks if Hulkamania is dead as Taker goes outside and gets a steel chair and drives Hogan throat first into it. Taker continues to attack Hogan with the chair as JR signs off and thus ends the ppv. Bad match but the belt has come off Hogan and onto The Undertaker for the 4th time in his career.

Time of Match:  11:17

Winner: The Undertaker by pinfall (new WWE Champion)

   This ppv was half and half. The opener was good, the hell in the cell was ok and the hair vs hair match was good, the rest were nowhere close to good. The biggest mistake was playing hot potato with the WWE Title since there's been a new champion crowned every month since Wrestlemania. Devaluing the world title is what helped kill WCW so doing this to their own was one of the reasons ratings began to decline. Although this was indeed a landmark event, Kurt Angle hasn't had hair nor has Hogan won a World title since, plus the whole Tim White saga and Rico's first title win. 2 1/2 stars out of 5...mainly due to the opening contest. The next ppv would be King of the Ring

WWF Monday Night Raw (12/27/93)

Monday Night Raw

Mid-Hudson Civic Center

Poughkeepsie, NY

December 27, 1993

Commentators: Vince McMahon Jr, Quebecer Jacques & Quebecer Pierre

Ring Announcer; Howard Finkel

Welcome to another Monday Night RAWWWW. As the holidays in 1993 come to an end, we start gearing toward the next pay-per-view extravaganza the 1994 Royal Rumble. Before that happens, there's some business to take care of first. Months earlier Johnny Polo ruined a match between Marty Jannetty and 123 Kid and Marty finally gets Polo in the ring tonight. Unfortunately for Marty, tonight's guest hosts with Vince McMahon are the WWF Tag Team Champions, The Quebecers. The Quebecers laugh loudly in the opening intro with Pierre (in French) saying he's gonna get Lex Luger for putting him out of Survivor Series. Vince says who knows what's going to happen tonight as he sends us to our first match.

Match 1

Lex Luger vs Barry Horrowitz

Lex comes out smiling and Vince claims he's smiling because he body slammed Yokozuna again the previous week on Raw. Jacques says he won't be smiling this weekend on Superstars because they're booked for a 1 on 1 showdown. Jacques says it would be a surprise if Barry wins as Lex gets in a go-behind. Jacques and Pierre speak French to annoy Vince as Lex gets in an armdrag on Barry. Jacques asks why Lex and Bret Hart put so much oil on themselves. Vince says it makes them a little slippery to get out of certain holds. Lex poses for the crowd and Barry just lets him as Vince says Lex wants to be in the Royal Rumble. Barry gets the upperhand with several boots to the midsection but Luger whips him into a chest bump in the corner. Luger rolls him up for a deuce as Jacques mentions The Quebecers will be facing Bret and Owen Hart for the tag belts at the Rumble.  Barry gets a thumb to the eye, a back rake and a European uppercut. Barry gets a jawbreaker in before forearming Lex in the side of the head. Barry taunts the crowd and punches Lex in the face. Vince says the Quebecers may not make it to the Rumble and Jacques counters its the Hart brothers you need to worry about staying intact. Barry rams Lex's head into his boot and goes to work in the corner. Barry chokes Lex in the corner with his foot as Jacques speaks French to annoy Vince again. Jacques says he speaks English, French and Spanish as Barry does shoulderblocks in the corner. Lex roars out of the corner with a clothesline before powerslamming Barry. Jacques asks why he looks at the crowd after every move as Lex sets up Barry for a superplex. Lex hits the superplex and covers for 1...2...3 to end the match. Jacques says that's not gonna happen with him and Vince hypes up their match this coming Saturday. 

Time of match: 4:25

Winner: Lex Luger by pinfall

After the match Vince plugs the WWF Hotline and tells the fans at home to call Jack Tunney and tell him if Lex should or shouldn't be in the Rumble. Only 99 cents per minute so give them a call at 1-900-454-4WWF. Jacques says enough is enough and Vince switches gears to the main event of the evening, Marty Jannetty vs Johnny Polo. Vince with Jacques and Pierre laughing shows the October 25th Raw where Polo ruins the Kid and Jannetty's match. Polo on that Raw says he can beat both of them. After the montage is over we go to a live interview with Johnny. Vince "Johnny can you hear us?
 Johnny "Of course I can hear you Mc-Moron, whataya want?" Johnny says he can take "Marty Confetti" and the "Snot Nosed Kid" and beat both of them like he did on October. Tonight Johnny says he's gonna beat Marty "Confetti" in the center of the ring. Vince says "Thank you Johnny Hobo" which causes Jacques to correct Vince while Polo tries not to laugh. (Boston market commercials are for Auto Zone, Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup, National Education Centers, a promo for USA Up All Night with Gilbert Gotfried and a promo for the movie Day of The Jackal)

Promotional Consideration Paid For By The Following: Ico Pro (Razor Ramon lifting), Electronic Talking Battleship and Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition on SNES and Sega.

Match 2

Johnny Polo vs Marty Jannetty

Polo gives Howard Finkel bunny ears before going outside to hug Jacques and Pierre. Johnny also threatens to hit Vince with the polo stick. Jannetty enters wearing the green and black bodysuit with Polo in polo pants and striped singlet. Jacques and Pierre speak French to annoy Vince as the bell rings. Johnny backs off before getting in a go-behind to start. He hiptosses Marty as Jacques says he's the man. Marty and Johnny exchange wristlocks before running into an armdrag by Polo. Jacques says Marty is over the hill and did nothing since he split with Shawn Michaels....ouch. Marty tricks Polo into diving into the corner. Polo hops over the top rope onto the apron but Jannetty slingshots him back in. Marty delivers an atomic drop, ducks under a right hand and delivers a back suplex. Marty covers for a deuce as Jacques says Marty is good but Johnny was in Honolulu recently. Marty tilt-a-whirls into a sunset flip for a 1 count. Marty armdrags Johnny and works an armbar as Jacques says Marty has a black eye courtesy of Johnny. Marty goes for a bodypress but Polo ducks and Marty goes crashing over the top rope. Polo hits a plancha as Jacques claps for him. Polo looks at the camera and says "Polo fever...CATCH IT!" Jacques says "Polo Fever, Polomania." Johnny gets back in the ring as the crowd chants for Marty. Polo works Marty over on the apron but Marty slingshot presses onto Johnny for 1...2...nope. Polo snaps Marty over and works a chinlock. Vince taunts the Quebecers saying Marty will knock Polo out of action and the Harts win at the Rumble. Marty and Johnny both go for bodypresses but crash into each other. Vince asks if Jacques and Pierre were ever Arkansas State Troopers and Jacques has no idea what he's talking about and says concentrate on the match. Marty sends Polo chest first into the buckle and nails him with the flying back elbow. Polo puts his head down and Marty rams his head into the ground. Marty goes upstairs but Polo crotches him and goes for a superplex. Marty counters and front suplexes Marty down before hitting a bodypress for 1..2....NOOOOO. Jacques "Don't count your apples before they grow." Marty leapfrogs Polo and rolls him up for a two count and Jacques continues to annoy Vince with French. Polo kicks Marty in the head as Pierre gets up from the table. Jacques tells Vince to mind his business as Marty dropkicks Polo over the top rope to the floor. Pierre picks up Johnny and Marty baseball slides both men down. Jacques "That'll make him mad, shouldn't have done that." Jacques "Ou es Pierre?" He's right there you idiot! Pierre trips up Marty and he turns his attention to him. Polo goes to attack but Marty goes to counter with the superkick but Polo is too close so he grazes him in the stomach. Marty sidesteps and hits the real superkick and goes upstairs. Pierre pulls Johnny outside and Marty flies on top of Pierre and punches him. Polo goes back in the ring and Marty gets on the apron. Marty shoulderblocks Polo and goes for the sunset flip but Pierre assists Polo by grabbing on to him during the counter for 1...2....3 and its over. Johnny Polo needed a lot of help from Pierre but makes good on his pre-match prediction by beating Marty Jannetty. Jacques says they are the greatest and laughs about it. Vince says he's never seen anything like this as Polo walks away victorious as Pierre rejoins Jacques at the announce table.

Time of match: 8:23

Winner: Johnny Polo by pinfall

After the match, Marty complains to referee Joey Marella and goes to attack The Quebecers. Joey says the result is final but throws Pierre out of the arena. Marty grabs a chair and Vince tells him to take it easy. Marty and Jacques look to square off as Marella tells Pierre to hit the bricks. I don't think I've ever seen a referee throw out an announcer before or since. We cut to commercial as Vince says Pierre is gone. (Boston market commercials include Nyquil, Butterfinger, 1994 Mazda 626 and 1994 F-150 Ford) We're shown the vignette where Yokozuna dreams he's Santa Claus before we get the next match.

Match 3

Doink The Clown (with Dink) vs Spike Gray

Doink brings Dink to the ring in a wagon as Vince celebrates Pierre being gone and tells Jacques he'll be next if he doesn't behave. Vince says President Jack Tunney won't tolerate them and Jacques says Tunney should worry more about Lex Luger's loaded elbow. Dink offers Doink some chewing gum before the bell rings. Dink offers some to Spike but its a trap....har de har har. Jacques "Oh my godddddd." (Me: Hahahahahaha) Dink kicks Spike in the shins and Jacques says if Dink gets hit everyone will complain but he gets to go around kicking people. Vince calls Johnny Polo a joke and Jacques says it won't be a joke when Bam Bam Bigelow gets ahold of him. Dink climbs to the top rope and Spike goes to punch him but Dink counters by punching him in the nose. Doink hits a German suplex and bridges for 1..2...3 its over. Jacques says to go check on Pierre as Vince sends us to the Royal Rumble report.

Time of match: 1:04

Winner: Doink by pinfall

Todd Pettengill says Doink got Dink for Christmas but imagine if Dink got Doink a dog....ha ha ha. Todd says he welcomes The Quebecers...or just Jacques to Raw and says they're 3 weeks away from the 1994 Royal Rumble. He shills the Rumble match itself and runs down the list of who's in so far. Bret Hart, Crush, Kamala, Owen Hart, Doink The Clown, Mabel, Scott Steiner, Shawn Michaels. Diesel, Adam Bomb, Bam Bam Bigelow, Macho Man Randy Savage, 123 Kid, Fatu, Samu, Rick Steiner, Bob Backlund and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine making his official return. Todd says Lex Luger may or may not be entered and shills the WWF hotline again. Todd then shills the Casket Match between Undertaker and WWF champion Yokozuna, Razor Ramon and IRS battle for the Intercontinental title and The Hart Brothers take on The Quebecers for the WWF Tag Team titles. We cut to a promo of Bret and Owen and Bret says they've patched things up and are focused on beating the Quebecers. Owen says there's no problems anymore and they're taking the belts. Todd says this is his first ever title shot before sending it back to Vince and Jacques. Jacques says Owen and Bret are temporarily together because at the Rumble they'll try to outdo each other which will lead to their demise....talk about foreshadowing. Vince says Crush is up next in action as we go to commercial. (Boston market commercials include Ricola, Sonic Chaos for Game Gear, Whitewater Zest soap, the Sci-Fi Channel and a promo for Hush Little Baby). Back from commercial, Todd hypes up next week's main event as The Smoking Gunns vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Bastion Booger.

Match 4

Crush (with Mr. Fuji) vs Mike Moraldo

Jacques praises Crush on his way to the ring and Vince praises Macho Man Randy Savage's victory over Fatu on Raw. Crush kicks Moraldo and drops him with a chop as Jacques says the only reason their team lost at Survivor Series was Randy Savage sticking his nose in. Crush over head press slams Moraldo and the still shot of that would later be used on the cover of WWF Magazine. Crush bows to Fuji as Vince says Savage is coming for him. Crush punches Moraldo down as Vince says Randy is back with Todd Pettengill on WWF Mania. Crush does his Chong Li kick combination as Jacques refuses to say what Pierre got him for Christmas. Jacques says what's with Vince suing Star Magazine for 5 million and Vince says that's not him that's ED McMahon as Crush locks in the Cranium Crush. Vince says Moraldo is seeing stars as the ref calls for the bell. Vince "Crush defeating Mike Moraldo rather handily." Vince sends us to The Undertaker's workshop.

Time of match: 2:15

Winner: Crush by submission

We got to Undertaker's workshop where Paul Bearer makes Christmas puns on Mr. Fuji, Jim Cornette and Yokozuna. Undertaker "Soon Yokozuna, you too will be gift wrapped. Merry Christmas Yokozuna...ho....ho...hooooooo" It was a good touch to have Taker stalk Yokozuna like this rather than have them get in the ring and attack each other like you see now. We cut to commercial (Boston market commercials include Slim Jim, Vicks 44 Liquicaps, the pay-per-view channel, Hollywood Hair and Bret Hart telling us not to drink and drive) before we go back to Vince and Jacques. Vince sends us to the WWF Women's Championship tournament finals where Alundra Blayze beat Heidi Lee Morgan in the finals. We get the pre-match promos and highlights of the match itself from the previous week. It was nice to see the women's division get a reboot since it had been dormant for the previous 5 years. Vince says up next is Razor Ramon and we go to commercial one last time. (Boston market commercials include Dayquil, V8 Picante juice, a movie trailer for The Air Up There and Nyquil). When we return we get a vignette of Kwang doing martial arts, soon to make his debut. Why the world needed a Puerto Rican ninja we may never know. Time for the final match of the night as Razor Ramon makes his entrance in the purple trunks. Vince asks where the gold around Razor's neck went and Jacques says IRS is going to win at the Rumble.

Promotional Consideration Paid For By The Following: WWF Royal Rumble for SNES and Sega, Electronic Talking Battleship and Mortal Kombat for Sega and SNES.

Match 5

WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs Derek Domino

Jacques says Domino made a promise before the match that he'd deliver Razor Ramon in 30 minutes or less....ha ha ha. Domino works over the left arm but Razor takes him down. Jacques brings up how Shawn Michaels attacked Razor a few weeks prior on Raw. Domino chops Razor in the corner and Razor counters with chops of his own before sending Domino flying across the ring. Domino ducks a clothesline and catches Domino mid-air. Jacques and Vince babble on about Fidel Castro's daughter as Razor hits a top rope fallaway slam. Razor does his STF slaparound as Vince says the gold around Razor's neck is in IRS' briefcase. Vince hypes up a USA made for TV movie called Fallen Champ about the life of Mike Tyson and Jacques says Razor's would be Falling Chump. Razor locks in an abdominal stretch as Jacques calls it an Ab-Domino stretch. Vince says Domino will be going to Pizza Hut after because Razor is no Little Caesar...good lord. Razor looks at the crowd and Vince asks Jacques about Razor and Castro's daughter and Jacques says to ask Jack Tunney. Vince counters by saying Tunney is Canadian, what does he know? Razor plants Domino on the top rope and hits the back suplex. Jacques says his New Year's Resolution is too teach Pierre how to speak English. Razor calls for the Razor's Edge and hits it. Razor covers for 1..2...3 to end the match. Jacques says this was the best Raw ever and Happy New Year to all the Frenchmen.

Time of match: 3:52

Winner: Razor Ramon by pinfall

We end the show with Vince hyping up a tag match between The Smoking Gunns and Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger next week on Raw. Jacques says its gonna be a big one and Vince says Double J Jeff Jarrett will be in action as well as Yokozuna. Jacques says Johnny Polo will be the special guest host with Vince and Vince rolls his eyes before saying goodbye. Jacques flexes his bicep and we fade to black.

It seemed like this was another lackluster show with the Polo/Jannetty payoff but things were just beginning. For those scoring at home, this coming Saturday on Superstars will be the big Lex Luger vs Jacques showdown and next week on Raw is the tag match. That's how things were back then, one "main event" per show with a bunch of squash matches. You had to catch each show if you wanted to see the big matches but the catch 22 is you didn't miss much if you didn't. See you Saturday for Mania.

WWF 1993 Survivor Series (11/24/93)

1993 SURVIVOR SERIES

BOSTON GARDEN

BOSTON, MA

NOVEMBER 24, 1993

Commentators: Vince McMahon Jr and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

We've finally made it to the 1993 edition of WWF Survivor Series. After months of hype following the aftermath of Summerslam, here we are. Let's get to the feuds going into this thing. The opening match is supposed to be Team Razor featuring WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, Marty Jannetty and 123 Kid against Team IRS featuring IRS, Adam Bomb, Diesel and "The Model" Rick Martel. Razor & Kid have history with IRS while Razor beat Martel for the vacant IC title. Diesel helped cause Mr. Perfect to lose his IC title match at Summerslam to Shawn Michaels. Jannetty, Adam Bomb and Martel are pretty much throw-ins. Next is The Hart Family taking on Jerry Law....er.....Shawn Michaels and his Knights. After Summerslam it was supposed to be Bret Hart and Owen Hart teaming with their retired brothers Keith and Bruce Hart taking on Jerry Lawler and three knights. Then weeks before the ppv Jerry Lawler got indicted on a rape charge so Vince McMahon swapped Lawler out with the returning Shawn Michaels who served a 30 day suspension for a failed piss test. Shawn pretty much picked up where Lawler left off while carrying the IC title belt that he claimed he never lost, more on that later. Then we get a Smoky Mountain Wrestling tag team championship match featuring The Heavenly Bodies taking on the legendary Rock N Roll Express. Vince signed Jim Cornette in the summer and as a favor to Jim, allowed the tag match to be on this ppv to showcase both teams....problem was he barely promoted the Express who were gods down in Atlanta. Next is the Four Doinks taking on Team Bam Bam consisting of Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Headshrinkers. When Doink The Clown turned babyface he started pulling his pranks on the heels with Bam Bam Bigelow being the primary target. Bam Bam had already teamed with Samu & Fatu at Summerslam so it made sense to put them with him along with Booger being another big ugly dude. Problem was Doink promised four of himself so nobody knew who was going to be on his team. Then the main event was originally supposed to be The All Americans consisting of Tatanka, The Steiner Brothers and Lex Luger against the Foreign Fanatics led by WWF Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna along with Ludvig Borga and WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers. Luger and Yokozuna was the primary feud while The Quebecers used chicanery to win the tag belts from the Steiners. Borga ended Tatanka's undefeated streak and was being booked as a secondary adversary so at least everyone matched up. Then the substitution factor came in which I'll explain later. With that out of the way, let's get to the event. Before the show started there was a dark match for the Boston Garden crowd.

Dark Match

Brooklyn Brawler vs Billy Gunn (with Bart Gunn)

If you ever wondered why the hell the Smoking Gunns would appear later in the show, this was why. Billy faced Brawler in the dark match and Billy won.

Time of match: 7:46

Winner: Billy Gunn by pinfall

The Coliseum Video tape opened with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Vince McMahon preparing to enter the curtain in the Gorilla position with Heenan nervous as all hell that he might run into Gorilla Monsoon. Vince makes fun of Bobby for being nervous as we cut to our opening graphic. The Bobby and Gorilla dynamic would be a theme all night and it was also going to lead to Heenan's departure from the company. Now the actual live broadcast opened with Lex Luger with his wife and kids in his house in front of a fire saying they're thankful for Thanksgiving and family. Isn't that nice? Then we cut to a guy singing the national anthem but no graphic saying who it is. Vince and Bobby open the show running down the card with Gorilla Monsoon sitting at the "radio" booth threatening to hit Heenan. After Heenan makes hilarious gestures, Howard Finkel sends us to our first match. Team IRS comes out first together and IRS gets on the mic saying this team of survivors will audit everyone. Then we get separate entrances for the babyfaces. 123 Kid and Marty Jannetty make their entrances before Razor Ramon comes out next, peculiar. Razor gets on the mic and says Mr. Perfect tagged out before the match started. In real life, Mr. Perfect's back acted up again and he wouldn't be seen for a while. Razor says he's got a surprise for the audience though, someone with as much "machismo" as he does.....MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE!

Match 1 (2)

Team Razor (WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, 123 Kid, Marty Jannetty and "Macho Man" Randy Savage) vs Team IRS (IRS, Adam Bomb, "The Model" Rick Martel and Diesel with Harvery Whippleman)

With Perfect out, Randy Savage subs in thus giving the babyfaces the advantage as Heenan points out not only is he a former IC champ like Jannetty, but he also was 2 time WWF Champion as well. Bell rings and Savage wants IRS but leaves. Razor himself starts with Martel and they shove each other to start. Martel slaps Razor as Vince brings up Razor's victory over Martel to become IC champ on October 11th. Martel gets in an arm ringer and they exchange reversals until Martel drops the champ with a drop-toe hold. Rick goes for a headlock but Razor slips out and goes for the hammerlock. Heenan says Kid, Marty and Savage should just leave so they can have a better crack at the IC title once the heel team is done with Ramon. Martel slaps Razor again but this time Razor slams him back. Martel gains the advantage but Razor reverses a whip into the corner. Martel goes up and over and runs to the other corner, hitting a bodypress that Razor rolls through for 1....2...nope. Martel ducks a clothesline and goes for a bodypress but Razor catches him mid-air. Razor hits the fallaway slam and covers for 1....2..nope. Vince goes over the rules as Razor blocks a kick and hits an atomic drop into his corner where Savage happily gets in a punch to Martel's head. Razor hits an inverted atomic drop and drops him with two consecutive clotheslines. Martel tags to Adam Bomb as Heenan says he smells napalm. Bomb is larger than Razor and he throws Ramon into the corner on a lock-up. They lock up again and Adam shoves him down. Adam wants a test of strength then locks in a headlock. Razor fights out of it but a shoulderblock sends him to the mat against. Adam once again wants a test of strength and this time Razor goes for it. Adam wins the game of mercy but Razor looks to power out of it, only to get a boot to the ribs. Heenan says "Razor would have given up" four times in a row to annoy Vince as Razor rises again. This time Razor powers out of it and delivers a northern lights suplex. He covers and spots Martel coming, moving out of the way as Martel drops an elbow on Bomb....D'oh! Harvey gets in the ring and shoves Martel. Rick shoves him down and Bomb clocks Rick for it. Diesel gets in and pushes Bomb back before IRS comes in and plays peacemaker. Razor's team has the crowd going wild at the dissention as IRS successfully calms his team down. Diesel, Martel and IRS leave with 123 Kid tagging in to face Bomb. Kid gets a headlock but eats a shoulderblock. Kid goes for a sunset flip but Adam turns it into a Baldo Bomb. Diesel tags in and hits Kid with a forearm before hiptossing him 3/4 across the ring. Heenan "I smell rubber burning, is that the Diesel?" Diesel hits a forearm to the back and delivers a gut wrench suplex with Heenan screaming for each spot done to Kid. Kid runs into a big boot but turns a sidewalk slam into a headscissors. Kid makes the tag to Macho Man who drops Diesel with an axehandle off the top rope. Savage intercepts Bomb and IRS with elbows before scoop slamming an interfering Martel. Savage hits an atomic drop on IRS that sends him into Martel. Savage whips Bomb into Diesel before a knee to the back sends Bomb to the outside. Savage scoop slams Diesel then goes upstairs. He hits the flying elbow and covers for 1...2....3 to eliminate DIESEL 10:20 into the match. The faces celebrate as Diesel can't believe it. 

The refs get Diesel out of there as Martel attacks Savage in the corner. Martel gets whipped into the corner and Savage backdrops him. Martel gets punched into his corner and IRS tags in. Vince says Irwin has lost the services of the mighty Diesel. They lock up but IRS gets a knee to the stomach. IRS rams Randy into the corner but Randy ducks the write off. Randy does a crossbody for a one count then two left arm clotheslines. Randy tags Razor back in and they work over the left arm. Razor locks in an arm-ringer as Heenan says everyone in the match would love to be IC title match as Vince says Shawn Michaels claims he's still the champ. Razor gets a knee to the back from Martel from the outside and Rick officially tags in with an axehandle from the second rope. Heenan asks if Vince ever cheat anybody with Vince saying no. Wait 4 years Bobby! Adam Bomb tags in and continues the onslaught before tagging Martel back in. Martel hits an axehandle to the back and IRS tags in to deliver an elbow drop followed by a leg drop. IRS covers for 1....2...nope. Heenan says Jannetty is fresh as Martel switches places with IRS as Vince bitches about it. Referee Joey Marella lets it go as Martel sends Razor off the ropes. Razor counters with a knee lift as again Heenan praises Jannetty. IRS tags in and Razor gets sent into the corner, only for the charge to eat boot. Razor tags in Savage who gets nailed in the ribs. Irwin puts his head down and eats a boot before a knee to the back sends Irwin sternum first into the buckle. Savage drops IRS throat first off the top rope then hits a scoop slam. Savage goes for the flying elbow when Crush makes his way to ringside. Savage spots him and makes a beeline to him. Kid, Jannetty and Razor try to hold Randy back and actually manage to get him back in the ring. Savage climbs to the second rope to point at the taunting Crush. IRS then sneaks up on Randy and does a schoolboy from the second rope for 1....2....3 and RANDY SAVAGE is gone 16:47 into it.

Savage immediately gets out of the ring and chases Crush to the back. The Coliseum Video version shows an irate Savage looking for Crush in the back but thankfully the live broadcast keeps the action in the ring. Jannetty tags in for the first time all match as IRS regroups in his corner. Jannetty gets in a headlock as IRS sends him off but gets hiptossed. Marty hits a dropkick and covers for 1....2...nope. Martel tags in and works over Jannetty in the corner before tagging in Bomb. Adam hits a back suplex and chokes him on the top rope. Heenan "A good big man will always beat a small little punk." Vince mistakenly calls Bomb "Diesel" as Martel tags in to apply an abdominal stretch. Bomb hangs on to Martel for leverage as Vince tells Marella to open his eyes. Martel sends Jannetty into the buckle but Martel's charge eats ringpost. Martel makes the tag to IRS as Jannetty makes it to Ramon. Razor cuts him off with punches and sends IRS into opposite corners before hitting a modified chokeslam. Razor gives the signal for the Razor's Edge. Razor gets him and nails the finisher before covering for 1....2....3 and IRWIN R SCHYSTER is out 20:32 into it.

Martel tags in to prevent Razor from tagging Kid in. Martel works him over in the corner but Razor reverses it. Bomb gets in to nail Razor so Kid & Jannetty get in to cut him off. Marella deals with Bomb, Marty and Kid as Razor gets Martel in the Razor's Edge. All of a sudden IRS gets in with his briefcase and nails Razor with it. Razor falls out of the ring as the camera shows Irwin is bleeding under his left eye as he leaves. Marella then counts RAZOR RAMON out at 21:42 to even it at 2-2 with both captains gone.

Martel, Bomb and Whippleman celebrate thinking they got this as the crowd chants 1-2-3. Heenan says its amazing the people in Boston can count to three. Now its a standard tag match as Martel starts working Kid over. Kid leapfrogs and drops down on Martel and Rick cartwheels to safety. Kid locks in a headlock, gets sent off, Martel leapfrogs, Kid drops down and Martel is armdragged vertitcally. Kid locks in an armringer but Bomb tags in. Bomb sends Kid off but Kid slides under him, pulling him down by the ankles. Kid ducks under a clothesline and does an elevated dropkick to stun Adam. Bomb bails to the outside and Kid goes for the suicide dive.....but Bomb catches and slams him. Heenan says this is where Larry Bird used to dribble a ball and now they're dribbling the Kid. Bomb rolls Kid back inside and hits the slingshot clothesline. Rather than cover Kid he taunts the crowd and calls for the Adam Smasher. Kid gets whipped hard into the corner and goes down to avoid the move. Kid is whipped into the other corner but moves out of the way of a charge, schoolboying Bomb for 1.....2..nope. Bomb drags Kid into his corner and tags Martel back in. Martel drops an elbow and goes to work on Kid, sending him off and delivering a punch to the ribs. Martel goes to the second rope but Kid nails him coming off. Jannetty gets the hot tag and comes in like a house of fire, dropping Martel with a flying back elbow. Marty sends Martel into the opposite corner before ramming his head into the buckle ten times. Marty snapmares Martel and covers for 1...2..nope. Kid tags back in and they do a double back elbow smash. Martel whips Kid into the buckle and charges, but Kid turns it into a sunset flip for 1...2.....3 and RICK MARTEL is eliminated at 26:50. Kid crawls to the corner and tags in Jannetty who sunset flips ADAM BOMB for 1...2...3 to win the match. Kid and Jannetty celebrate as Vince says "Can you believe this??" Bomb, Whippleman and Martel complain outside as Marty and Kid pull off the upset. Kid and Marty get the duke for Team Razor and Vince had big plans for these two. It should be noted this is the first and only match in Survivor Series history to this day to have an entire team score a pinfall or submission. All four members of Team Razor got a pinfall and nobody has done that ever again.

Time of Match: 26:58

Survivors: Marty Jannetty & 123 Kid

Vince sends us to Todd Pettengill for an interview with Shawn Michaels. Shawn says he should be the WWF Superstar of The Year. Todd calls him the former IC champ as Shawn rebukes him saying he's still the champ and is wearing the IC title belt. Todd puts over the upcoming Family Feud match featuring Shawn's team against the Hart family. Todd sends us to an interview with Family Feud host Ray Combs and the Hart family. Bruce, Keith, Owen, Bret and Stu Hart all flank Ray for this one. Stu is wearing a Detroit Pistons jacket...d'oh! Now we know who Bret and Owen are but how good were Keith and Bruce? Keith Hart turned pro in 1973 and was a mid-carder for his father in Stampede Wrestling before becoming a firefighter after retiring in 1989. Bruce had a bit more success as he could cut a good promo and was in a tag team with a young Brian Pillman called Bad Company. Bruce also promoted Stampede Wrestling when Stu began to get old but hasn't wrestled since 1991. Stu himself was a legendary promoter & wrestler in Calgary. His feud with The Stomper drew a ton of money and even scared a young Bret Hart which is a story I'll get to later. Ray puts over the importance of the match and asks Bret how he feels about Shawn's comments about the family. Bret puts over his brothers and Stu then says Stu has had it up to HERE with Shawn Michaels and his Knights. Bret says they don't care about the Knights, they just want Shawn and he's going to pay for the skit he did mocking the Harts on Raw. Ray says that this brought two brothers out of retirement and asks the others for their thoughts. Owen says this is the biggest family feud ever and they don't kindly to Shawn and his Knights. He says Shawn's team is going down and sends it to Keith. Keith says Shawn is going to need EMTs because there's going to be a massive Hart attack in the ring. Ray says the Harts will be there and Bruce says "everyone". Keith is ready for action, Ray "Survey says, this is a match you don't want to miss.

After the interview we go back to Shawn who laughs it off and says if he had parents that looked like Stu & Helen Hart, he'd have put them 6 feet under whether they were dead or not. In real life, Shawns mother was one of the best part of Before They Were Superstars. Shawn goes on to say he owes Bret for last year's Survivor Series but the difference is he's still got his gold while Bret's got nothing. Shawn runs down Owen and Keith saying he's so hot Keith can't put him out. He runs down Bruce as a substitute teacher and says he can't teach Shawn anything. Shawn says the Harts are going down and if Stu gets involved he's gonna waffle him and somehow make him uglier than he already is. Todd sends it back to ringside.

Before the next match starts Ray Combs is in the ring for the introductions. Also it should be known that ex-Hart Foundation member "Dangerous" Danny Davis is the referee, bad news for HBK. Combs says welcome to Martha and Georgia Hart along with Helen at ringside. Georgia is the mother of the infamous Teddy Hart who was 13 at the time and Martha was Owen's wife. Martha also happens to be holding their son Oje Hart who was just over a year old then. Heenan calls Oje ugly as Combs gives a shoutout to the other Hart brothers Ross and Wayne. Wayne Hart was a referee during Stampede's heydey and Ross as we know was the jobber Ross Lindsey who was doing jobs for WWF TV a few years earlier. Helen Hart gets a good ovation as she waives to the crowd as Vince calls her a super lady. Remember earlier I mentioned Archie "The Stomper" Goulding? Stomper was in a feud with Stu in the 60's and a young Bret was playing outside when Archie showed up to the Hart house. Bret made a mad dash to warn his mother that the Stomper was here to hurt his father but Helen just smiled and walked outside. She said "Hiya Archie, Stu has your money all set" and Stomper greeted her warmly much to Bret's confusion. Heenan says "Is that her rail hair?" Vince "Stop it Bobby Heenan!" Ray then says all this started because of Shawn Michaels and he makes a bunch of bad jokes about Shawn and his parents. Again, the real Mrs. Carol Hickenbottom was awesome but since Shawn was a heel, she gets the Mama Cornette treatment.

The sad part was this was all reserved for Jerry Lawler but he was in serious legal trouble at the time. I already mentioned what earlier so no need to mention again. Shawn was coming off a suspension for a failed drug test so they just threw him into Lawler's spot and everyone acted like he started this all along. Ray then says "Its time to play the feud!"

Match 2 (3)

The Hart Family (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart & Keith Hart with Stu Hart) vs Shawn Michaels, The Red Knight, The Black Knight and The Blue Knight

Guest commentator: Ray Combs

As we get started, who are the knights? The Black Knight was pro football player turned wrestler turned armed robber Jeff Gaylord. Jeff played for the Boston Breakers of the United States Football League in 1983 before becoming a wrestler. The Red Knight is Barry Horrowitz, we all know who he is. The Blue Knight is none other than Greg "The Hammer" Valentine who was due to return to the WWF for the Royal Rumble so this was most likely him just getting some work in. Shawn's team comes out first and HBK messes with the Harts at ringside, causing Wayne Hart to almost take a swing at him. The Harts come out next with Bret wearing olympic style singlet tights for the first time in his career although they're in his standard pink. Stu Hart now has a Boston Bruins jacket on so at least someone told him where they were. Vince said Stu wrestled in the Boston Garden back in 1945 while Heenan says it was 1845 at the tail end of his career. Stu was actually 78 at this time so he would have been 30 then. Bells gone and Shawn continues to heckle Wayne and Ross. Ray joins the commentary team as Shawn immediately runs over to heckle Stu. Heenan says Stu is 3 weeks older than Family Feud announcer Gene Wood and Ray says Gene could take Bobby in a fight. Heenan responds that Stu and Helen are Senile In Seattle and Ray says it won't take much for one of the Hart brothers to kick the living daylights out of him. Vince says the Harts are directly behind them as Heenan says "That's the smell!" Vince then says Gorilla Monsoon is nearby as well so he better behave. Owen starts with Shawn but Shawn wants Bruce instead. Bruce tags in and Shawn immediately gets in a headlock as Ray says some of the Hart women could take Bobby. Shawn brings Bruce to the corner and tags in Barry the Red Knight as he's sent off the ropes. Bruce and Red do drops downs with Shawn running the ropes and Bruce sends Shawn crashing into Red. Shawn shoves Red and tells him to get in hear before he tags back in. Bruce chops Blue before Shawn goes to whip him into the other corner. Bruce then ducks under Shawn and double clotheslines Blue and Red.  Black holds Bruce but Shawn nails Black by accident with Ray screaming for every spot. Bruce armdrags Shawn into his corner and Keith tags in. Keith works over the left arm as Heenan says "What a stupid name. You got nine months and you come up with Bruce?" Keith ducks under a Shawn leapfrog but Shawn dips the shoulder and boots Keith the rubs. Shawn goes for a suplex but Keith counters with an inside cradle for 1...2..nope. Keith takes down Shawn and locks in an arm-bar as Heenan says he's definitely Dungeon trained. The crowd starts chanting "Gomez, Gomez" because Keith looks strikingly like John Astin's portrayal of Gomez Adams. Heenan asks where Mary Hart is as Shawn bodyslams Keith. Red tags in but misses an elbow drop then walks into an arm-drag. Owen tags in and he works over the left arm before Red pokes him in the eyes. Owen arm-drags Red then overhead arm-drags him as Heenan calls Owen "The Shadow" since he's in the shadow of Bret. Owen arm-drags Red and hits a dropkick that sends him into the corner. Heenan brings up Reo Rogers as Black tags in only to get arm-dragged. Black gets slugged by each Hart in their corner before Black is hiptossed into his corner. Owen tags in Bret as Black tags in Greg the Blue Knight. These two were on opposite teams 3 years earlier and the on the same in 87. Blue rakes the eyes and he delivers some forearms. Bret catches the leg and hits both kinds of atomic drops. Bret clotheslines him down and covers for a deuce. Keith tags in and works over the left arm and hits a nice fireman's carry take down. Bruce tags in as Heenan says "HEY STU WAKE UP!" Vince says "He'll come over here next" and Bobby without missing a beat says "That'll take two hours, we'll be off the air."  Bruce is sent off right into a knee to the back by Shawn. Blue scoop slams Bruce before Shawn tags in to deliver a backbreaker. Shawn drops a sries of elbows to Bruce as Black says "Look at your boy now baby!" Red tags in and nails Bruce with an axehandle off the second rope. Heenan asks how many kids Stu had and Vince says 12. Unfortunately Dean Hart passed away in 1990 but everyone else was still here in 93. Red hits a double underhook suplex for a two count and two covers get nothing. Bruce tries to fight out of it but Black tags in. Black kicks Bruce in the sternum as Vince says Black is the biggest of all the nights. Jeff Gaylord had a great physique but too bad he was a better burglar than a wrestler. Black punches Bruce down but Bruce counters with a backslide for a two count. Shawn tags in and hits an axehandle to the back then works over Bruce. Bruce falls outside and Shawn comes outside to get him. Bret comes over but Shawn slides inside but Bruce hangs on from the apron then slams Shawn into his own corner. Bruce is knocked back inside by Red as Heenan calls the Harts the cowards of Canada. Bruce ducks under a Shawn clothesline then hits an absolute lariat on Shawn. Shawn tags in Black as Bruce falls and tags Bret back in. Bret O'Connor rolls Black for a two count then catches him with a small package for another two. Bret hits a backbreaker as Heenan praises Bret for winning every title in the WWF. Bret hits his second rope elbow drop and covers for 1,,,2,,nope. Shawn broke up the count as Owen tags in for his spinning heel kick. All 8 men get in the ring but the Harts take over. They send Shawn's team crashing into each other causing Shawn, Red and Blue to bail. Keith whips Bruce who clotheslines Black in the corner then Owen comes off the top with a dropkick. He covers for 1..2....3 and BLACK KNIGHT is eliminated 10:49 into the match. 

Ray thinks its over but Heenan reminds him the match keeps going. Owen starts working over the left leg of the Red Knight before Bret tags in for a double wishbone. Bret then works over the right leg before Keith tags in for more damage to the right leg. Keith works over the left leg in the corner as Vince says there's 20 members of the Harts in attendance, Heenan says that's a ghetto. Stu can be heard yelling "Work on that leg, wear him down!" Keith and Bruce do another wishbone as Bruce shoves Red down. Bret tags in for yet another wishbone and now Keith tags in but gets kicked into the buckle. Red headbutts Keith down then delivers a snapmare. Red misses the knee drop and Keith locks in a figure four as Heenan says the only thing worse is to have JJ Walker as a tag team partner. This catches the announce team off guard to the point Shawn interferes to drop an elbow on Bruce with Ray saying "Get JJ out of there!" Blue tags in and chops Keith as Ray says he "weenie slapped" him. Keith delivers forearms as Vince slips and says "and Greg....having his problems here" referring to Valentine as the Blue Knight. Red trips up Keith and Shawn slingshot splashes Keith's left arm. Good teamwork by the heels. Blue works over the left arm as the crowd continues to chant "Gomez, Gomez." Shawn comes off the top with an axehandle then sends Keith shoulder first into the buckle. Shawn sends him shoulder first into the other corner as Heenan makes fun of the firefighter. Red tags in and drags Keith into the ring post. Bret kicks Red into the guardrail as Blue comes over to assist Red. Red yells "SHUT UP" to some fan as Bruce complains in the ring. Red slingshots Keith into the bottom rope then boots Keith. Blue drops a leg on the left arm and Greg slams him shoulder first to the mat. Blue drags Keith to the center then tags in Shawn. Blue goes for the Rocket Launcher (ironic) but Keith rolls out of the way to tag in Bret. Shawn tags out to Red but Bret cuts him off. Bret punches Red but is sent off the ropes only for Red to jump in his arms. Bret slams Red down and locks in the sharpshooter. RED KNIGHT gives up 18:06 in as Bruce literally gets in the ring and just watches as Blue clotheslines Bret after the bell.

Vince says Red Knight is out of here as Blue throws Bret to the outside with Keith trying to pick him up with his right arm. Shawn jumps off the apron with an axehandle smash. Shawn sends Bret back in who gets suplexed by Blue. Blue gets a deuce on a cover then drops an elbow on Bret. Blue tags Shawn and HBK whips Bret into the corner. Shawn puts the boots to Bret as Vince says the Harts are a good looking family causing Heenan to laugh. Shawn hits a diving back elbow smash then covers for 1...2...nope. Heenan says the Harts belong on America's Most Wanted as Shawn locks in a chinlock. Ray says Heenan's family would be on America's Most Unwanted, ha! Bret powers out of it but runs into a knee to the ribs. Blue tags in and he delivers a headbutt to the mid-section. Blue covers for 1,..2..nope. Blue attacks Bret in the corner but a charge eats boot. Bret clotheslines Blue down and tags in Owen who hits a dropkick on Blue. Owen hits Blue ten times in the corner then scoop slams him Owen hits his top rope elbow but Shawn breaks up the count. Bruce gets in and he and Owen hit a double noggin knocker on Blue & Shawn. Shawn slides under Bruce and goes for Stu only to eat a left hand that sends Shawn 8 feet backwards. Owen hits a plancha on Shawn before sending HBK back in. Bruce and Owen whip the heels into each other and Owen hits a crossbody onto Blue. Shawn drops an elbow on Blue by accident and is double clotheslined over the top by Owen and Bruce. Owen hits a bulldog on Blue and locks in the sharpshooter. BLUE KNIGHT submits 23:55 into the match as Ray says "AND THEN...THERE...WAS...ONE"

Shawn is all by himself now and he throws a tantrum outside with Owen clapping in the ring. Bret nails Shawn and throws him in the ring with Owen. Shawn begs off but misses a punch. Owen atomic drops Shawn into the corner where all the brothers take a shot at Shawn. Owen drops Shawn with a punch before tagging in Bruce who drops two knees then covers for two. Bruce whips Shawn into the corner but the charge eats elbow. Shawn does a blatant choke as Danny Davis says he'll disqualify Michaels. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and covers for 1.....2...nope. Let it be known that the only Hart brother to ever kick out of SCM including Davey Boy and Niedhart was Bruce Hart. The camera shows Stu from the back and Heenan says there's a picture of Helen on the back of his jacket. Ray and Vince point out its a Bruin, hahaha. Bruce kicks Shawn in the face as Ray incorrectly calls it a dropkick as Bruce 3 quarter rolls over Shawn to tag Bret. Bret hits an atomic drop that Shawn sells like he got shot out of a cannon. Bret sends Shawn into the corner and slingshots him into the buckle. Bret drops an elbow then covers for 1...2...nope. Bret hits the russian leg sweep and covers for a deuce. Bret goes for the backbreaker but Shawn rakes the eyes. Bret tags in Owen and bails to the apron. Owen sends Shawn off and hits a beautiful over the head belly to belly suplex and covers for 1....2...nope. Shawn whips Owen off as Bret tries to make his way to the corner and Owen collides with Bret. Bret goes front first into the guardrail as Shawn rolls up OWEN HART for 1...2......3! Heenan proclaims "the shadow" is gone as Owen is out 27:36 into the match.

Bruce, Keith and Stu check on Bret as Owen throws a temper tantrum in the ring and yells at Bret on the outside for getting in the way. Owen says "Why are you worried about him, what about me?" Owen continues to throw a tantrum as Bobby tosses a water bottle to Shawn Michaels. Owen leaves saying "What about Bret, what about me?" Ray Combs screams and the camera quickly pans to the ring where Bruce is chopping Shawn. Bruce hits another huge lariat and covers for 1...2...no. Bruce delivers a jawbreaker as Heenan imitates Stu calling Bret a lazy, no good, bum. Vince "He did not." Bruce locks in a sleeperhold as Vince says Shawn's narrowed the odds a bit. Shawn sends Bruce face first into the buckle as Bret makes it to his feet finally. Shawn whips Bruce off and they shoulderblock each other down. Bruce tags Keith in as the crowd chants "Gomez, Gomez" again. Keith locks in an abdominal stretch but Shawn hiptosses him. Keith tags Bret in and he strikes Shawn in the corner before Shawn does a Flair corner flip into a right hand. Shawn is sent into the corner where he gets kicked nad first onto the top rope. Bret goes for the sharpshooter but Shawn squirms out of it and slides out of the ring. Shawn says the hell with it and runs to the back. SHAWN MICHAELS is counted out and the match is over. Bret, Bruce and Keith Hart survive as Heenan calls it a smart move. The Hart family celebrate as Owen comes back to the ring. Rather than celebrate Owen pulls Bret off the middle rope and shoves him. Owen continues to shove Bret and Vince says he's embarrassed. Keith and Bruce try to console Owen as Heenan says Owen is sick of living in the shadow. Owen sticks a finger in everyone's face and says he doesn't need them. Bret is holding back as Heenan says right in front of his mother and father. Helen starts crying as Bret says to let him go as the crowd boos Owen. Bret leaves as Stu wants to talk to Owen one on one. Owen says he had Shawn beat but Bret got in the way and he doesn't get any recognition. Owen goes to the second rope and gets booed as Ray says this is a REAL family feud. Bret, Keith and Bruce bail as Vince says Owen is being booed out of the Boston Garden. Vince hopes they can reconcile for Thanksgiving.....they're Canadian you divot head, their Thanksgiving was a month earlier. Anyway this was supposed to close the book on Bret vs Lawler and transition into the biggest push of Owen's career. It was a blessing in disguise as the Lawler feud would continue another day and Owen would still get that push. The Harts win the Family Feud match and the crowd was dead for most of it mostly because of the 3 knights, Bruce and Keith having no heat going into it. Its not any of their faults, its the promoters fault for not promoting them better. Keith and Bruce should have had matches on TV to showcase their abilities and the Knights at least could have made an appearance beating up 3 jobbers. Otherwise it was a solid match and heel Shawn bumping his ass off is always a good thing.

Time of match: 30:57

Survivors: Bret, Bruce & Keith Hart

Todd Pettengill tries to get a word with Owen but Owen tells him he doesn't want to talk about it. Todd sends it back to Vince who says they're about to switch commentary teams. Bobby and Vince are going to do radio while Gorilla and Jim Ross will do PPV. Gorilla says he's ready and says he might get his hands on "that poor excuse for a human." Bobby says how can he talk about Ray Combs like that. Gorilla "I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT RAY COMBS, BRAIN!" They send it over to Todd who tries to explain the Hart situation when the cameras pick up Monsoon grabbing Bobby and yelling at him. Monsoon goes to clobber Heenan but Heenan begs off. Gorilla goes back to his table as Bobby trips on the way to his. What the hell is this about? Unfortunately it was the beginning of the end for Bobby as he had planned to retire. But he's still with us for this show. We're sent to a Wrestlemania 10 commercial with Todd Pettengill doing the voiceover. "Sunday....March 20th and event so hot it'll bake the big apple. Sunday....March 20th...back where it all began, Madison Square Garden in New York City. Wrestlemania 10....ten years in the making. Sunday.....March 20th."

Back to Jim Ross who asks Gorilla what that was about and Monsoon calls Bobby a fountain of misinformation. Ross says he has to deal with him every week on Wrestling Challenge. Ross then sends us to a montage of events leading up to the main event with Todd in the voiceover. It was supposed to be Lex Luger, Tatanka and The Steiners against Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga and the Quebecers but on the October 30th episode of WWF Superstars, Borga pinned Tatanka for the first time in his WWF career then had Yokozuna squash him with the banzai drop. Lex Luger ran out to help but was intercepted by The Quebecers and Tatanka was put out of the match. For weeks fans wondered who'd be their replacement partner then on the November 13th episode of Superstars Lex Luger revealed The Undertaker was their new partner who famously had a Betsy Ross flag inside his jacket. Then it was the Americans turn to put someone out as Lex Luger knocked Quebecer Pierre goofy in their match on the November 15th episode of Raw. Jim Cornette and the rest of the Fanatics then announced literally days before Survivor Series on the November 20th Superstars that Mr Fuji's protege Crush would be taking Pierre's place. So now we got The Undertaker and Crush in the main event instead of Tatanka and Pierre which makes no sense storyline wise but does add star power to it. On to the next match.

Match 3 (4)

The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) with Jim Cornette vs The Rock N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Championship

Commentators: Jim Ross & Gorilla Monsoon

Here we have another case of Vince McMahon not having a clue on how to book outside talent. The Rock N Roll Express were one of the top teams of the 1980's in the NWA and were now working for Cornette's promotion. Rather than bring them in a month early for some TV tapings and interviews to get them over, Vince showed a smidgeon of SMW footage and expected them to sell some tickets for this tag match against the Bodies, who had a damn good showing at Summerslam against The Steiners. As it is, Ricky and Robert get almost no reception from the crowd during their entrance. Also keep in mind we're 11 months into the New Generation which was promoted strictly for children, kids were too young for the 80's Express so they didn't know who they were. Ross has to explain what Smoky Mountain is to the fans as the Bodies make their entrance. Ross actually gets in a dig at Jim Barnett by saying Cornette was on the phone earlier saying "any news?" which was Barnett's catchphrase. Now if you're watching the live broadcast or Coliseum Video tape, the Express make their entrance with the song Cornette would later come out with. If you're watching on Peacock, they come out to some generic theme with a clearly older Howard Finkel overdubbing the Express' names. The Bodies waste no time and attack the Express before they even get their jackets off. Prichard heaves Ricky outside and Jimmy heaves Robert out the other side. The Bodies slingshot Robert back in still wearing his jacket. They go to slingshot Ricky in but he blocks it and slingshots both Bodies over the top to the floor. The Express shed their ring jackets off as Robert holds the rope as Ricky suicide dives onto the Bodies. Now if Vince had them do that in matches leading up to this, they might have had a better crowd reaction. Cornette rips his jacket off as Ross makes fun of him for it. The camera man gets too close to Cornette who shouts "Get out of my face I'm trying to do something here!" Monsoon calls him a piece of work as Del Ray and Robert start. Monsoon asks how long they've been feuding and Ross says he was there from the start when it was the RnR Express against the Midnight Express. Its funny because Stan Lane was the original Heavenly Body tag team partner of Prichard for over a year but retired to become a WWF commentator. He was the link between the Midnight Express and the Heavenly Bodies feud with Gibson & Morton.  Jimmy eats a shoulder tackle, drops down, has Robert slip the hiptoss and Gibson flips over the buckle before hiptossing Jimmy.  Robert hits a head scissors as Joey Marella the ref tells Cornette to get away from the ring. Ricky tags in and Jimmy runs into a double back elbow smash. Prichard tags in and shouts "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" Prichard pounds away on Ricky in the corner as Ross explains the feud that he himself was there to see. Thank God Jim is on commentary for this one because he knew the guys involved a hell of a lot better than Vince & Bobby. Tom blocks a hiptoss and Ricky almost botches the leapfrog but still hits the hiptoss. Ricky hip tosses Jimmy and Tom two more times apiece as Ross brings up Ricky Morton's father who was a legendary referee in the Tennessee territories. Jimmy accidentally clocks Tom with a superkick and Ricky & Robert whip Del Ray into the corner. Prichard is whipped into Del Ray and Ricky monkey flips Tom. Robert monkey flips Del Ray and they are atomic dropped into each other. Ricky & Robert row Tom and Jimmy as Del Ray bails. Ricky goes to work on the left leg of Prichard as Ross says he loves pumpkin pie. Monsoon "You resemble that remark." Ross "I certainly do." Robert tags in and he jumps into the ring directly onto the left leg. The Express roll over Prichard and clock Del Ray off the apron before Ricky returns to the left leg. The camera pans to Vince explaining to Bobby on radio that throwing someone over the top rope is an automatic disqualification in SMW. It was actually a universal rule in every territory but one going back decades....care to guess the only one that never had the rule? That's right, New York. The Express flip over Prichard again but Jimmy ducks this time only for them to wait a moment and clock him off the apron again. Robert kicks Prichard in the leg and tags Ricky back in who continues to work on the leg. Ross explains Robert's mother is deaf and they both know sign language because of it, often communicating with it. Prichard tags Jimmy in who runs right into an arm-drag. Jimmy gets the advantage in the corner and goes to whip Ricky into the other corner but Robert angles himself to block the impact. Ricky goes to whip Jimmy but Robert cuts off Tom trying the same thing so Ricky just whips Jimmy back into the corner much to Monsoon's delight. Ricky whips the Bodies together but they stop each other only to eat a double noggin knocker. The Bodies bail as Ross says they're confused and their timing is off leading Cornette to pound the mat in frustration. The Bodies regroup with Cornette as some idiot in the crowd chants "Boring! Boring!" Literally this is the most fast pace match of the night, the hell is boring? Then again this was the same guy chanting "Gomez" earlier for Keith Hart....and they say New York or Philly is a tough crowd? Prichard tags in and says he's gonna break Ricky's neck as Ricky goes to whip Tom into the corner. He goes for a backdrop and Tom counters with a sitdown powerbomb. Here comes the heat, folks. Cornette even wrote in his Midnight Express scrapbook "How to get rich beating on Ricky." Tom shouts "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" again as Cornette whoops it up. Tom puts the boots to Ricky and Del Ray tags in. Prichard scoop slams Ricky and assists Jimmy into a standing moonsault on Ricky for 1....2..nope. Del Ray elbows Ricky down the taunts Gibson. Tom tags in and throws Ricky outside. Cornette holds Ricky as Del Ray hits a second rope moonsault onto Ricky on the floor. Ricky is thrown back inside and Tom covers for 1...2...nope. No other team in the WWF was doing spots like this at the time. Tom and Ricky slug it out in the corner but Ricky gets whipped. Prichard hits a powerslam and covers for a two count before Jimmy tags in. Jimmy executes a snap suplex and poses for some heat before dropping a knee to the face. Del Ray drops Robert off the apron and Prichard runs in for a double team spot similar to the Smoking Gunns finisher only Prichard hits a bulldog instead of a legdrop. Tom covers for 1.....2..no. Prichard locks in a chinlock and the crowd barely makes a noise. Tom hits a delayed vertical suplex then tags in Del Ray. Jimmy goes upstairs and they execute a trash compactor (!!!) and Jimmy covers for 1.....2....noooooo. Jimmy goes for another powerbomb but Ricky counters with a frankensteiner for a two count. Jimmy tags in Prichard who eats an inside cradle for 1....2...nope. Prichard tags Jimmy for another moonsault and he hits for 1....2....nope, Robert breaks up the count. The Bodies send Ricky off but he catches them with a double ddt. Ricky rolls into his corner and Robert gets the hot tag. Robert cleans house to no crowd reaction at all as he wipes out both members. Ricky does the O'Connor roll even though he's not the legal man and Prichard heaves him over the top rope. Robert thinks the match is over and celebrates but Marella has to explain the over the top rule isn't in effect under WWF rules. Prichard heaves Robert outside but Ricky hits a flying bodypress on Del Ray but Prichard kicks him off. Ricky jumps over Prichard and the Express hit their finisher, the double dropkick. Robert makes the cover as Morton nails Cornette off the apron for 1....2.....NOOOOO! Somehow Prichard kicks out. Marella tries to get Ricky out but turns his back as Cornette tosses his tennis racket to Jimmy. Del Ray comes off the top and nails Robert in the back with it. Prichard rolls him over and covers for 1...2.....3 and we got new SMW tag team champions. That was an awesome match as Ross says if this was under SMW rules the Express would have won but it wasn't meant to be. Its a shame that the match was epic but underappreciated because of the double edged sword of failure to promote and kids having no idea who the Express were. Still, if you can set aside the crowd that's what a tag match should be.

Time of match: 13:41

Winners: Heavenly Bodies by pinfall (new SMW tag team champions)

Ross sends us to last weekend's Superstars to set up the next match, The Four Doinks vs Team Bam Bam. Its funny how this was only days before Survivor Series but its clearly Matt Borne doing the promo despite the fact that he was fired a month earlier. Doink says he knows who his partners are gonna be this Wednesday night, the nasty Booger and the Headshrinkers. Doink grabs his head and says "Oh no!" Then he says his partners are Doink, Doink....and Doink. Now the live broadcast and Peacock had an interview with Team Bam Bam as the Headshrinkers, Afa, Booger and Luna Vachon all devour cooked turkeys but Coliseum Video doesn't have it. Todd asks how Bam Bam can deal with four of the same person and Bam Bam says it doesn't matter if its four Doinks or a hundred Doinks, his team is going to take care of the job. Bam Bam says he's going to end Doink's shenanigans once and for all. Todd sends us back to Vince and Bobby as Vince says none of those guys will be WWF Superstar of The Year. Heenan says "Booger is my pick." Vince "I beg your pardon? We're on the air....its a family show!" Heenan "I know, I pick Booger to win. He's my pick." Now the Peacock version doesn't have this part but the live broadcast has Vince rolling his eyes and says if you want to make your pick, call the WWF Hotline and vote yourself. Its 1.49 for the first minute, 99 cents for each additional minute and kids ask your parents permission before calling.....which I didn't. Vince then sends it to the Fink who introduces Team Bam Bam. Booger, The Headshrinkers and Afa all come out with turkeys and bananas as Vince says we don't know who Shawn Michaels Knights were but we're gonna find out who the Doinks are. Heenan says he knows who the Knights were but he's not telling. Doink's music hits then cuts to the Bushwhackers theme as Luke and Butch come out in Doink makeup & wigs. Luke is riding a scooter and Butch lugs a wagon to the ring. Great....a bait and switch. The Doink music plays again before the Men on A Mission rap hits....sure enough, here comes Mabel, Mo and Oscar all dressed in Doink wigs & makeup. Literally they hyped up the four Doinks for a month and it turned out to be Men on A Mission and The Bushwhackers.

Match 4 (5)

The Four Doinks (Luke, Butch, Mabel & Mo) with Oscar vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Bookers, Samu & Fatu (with Afa and Luna Vachon)

So much for Matt Borne as the four Doinks turned out to be two babyface tag teams. My theory is that Borne was gone so it made no sense to have four random guys as Doink so may as well throw four babyfaces in there in Doink makeup. Heenan says that's the best the Bushwhackers and M.O.M. ever looked. Heenan also calls them Doinks On A Mission as Mo is carrying balloons to the ring. Jim Cornette on his podcast lamented the fact that the Express and Bodies put on a tag team match for the ages that got no crowd reaction yet the kids went nuts for The Doinkwhackers and Doinks On a Mission. He's got a point as all the kids cheer during the intro rap. Bells gone as Vince says Team Bam Bam couldn't have possibly prepared for this. Mabel pretends to moon Samu and pretends to be scared. The crowd chants "We want Doink" as Vince passes it off as a babyface cheer. Heenan says he can't pick a winner because The Headshrinkers are the toughest tag team in the WWF but how do you prepare for two lunatics like The Bushwhackers? He's got a point, Team Bam Bam has four monsters so to speak on the team but they're against guys that are wackier than they are....at least on this night anyway. Bastion Booger starts with Luke and hammers him down to start. Booger hits a forearm to the back to drop Luke again. Luke looks to get up but sees Booger coming off the ropes and throws himself back down so Booger can hit the big splash. Booger doesn't try to cover as Vince points out referee Tim White is out of position. Booger punches Luke down as Fatu inexplicably offers Booger a banana and Bastion goes to eat it much to Bam Bam's chagrin. Luke bites Booger on the ass all the way to his corner where Butch pokes Booger in the eyes 3 Stooges style. Luke steps on Booger's feet who retreats to his corner where Fatu laughs at him. Samu tags in as Fatu offers Booger a banana again as Samu clobbers Luke from behind. Samu stomps away on Luke as the Peacock broadcast inexplicably edits out where Vince agrees The Headshrinkers might be the toughest tag team in the WWF. Butch then hands Samu a green balloon off the stick Mo was holding earlier and Samu bites it. Samu headbutts Luke as Mabel hands Samu a yellow balloon. Samu bites that one too then kicks Luke. Mo offers Samu a blue balloon but when Samu bites it, its actually a water balloon. Heenan "Oh they set him up!" Luke rolls up Samu for 1....2.....3 and SAMU is eliminated just 3:02 into the match. 

The Bushwhackers celebrate in the ring as Fatu clobbers Luke out of it. Butch didn't actually make a legal tag but he's in there now punching away on Fatu. He goes for the headbutt and naturally hurts himself as Fatu doesn't sell it. Fatu hits a suplex on Butch and headbutts him on the ground. Heenan says you can tell them apart by counting their teeth, one's got four and one's got three. Bastion Booger tags in who kicks Butch in the ribs before dropping a big leg. Booger pounds on Butch's back and tags in Bam Bam. Bigelow headbutts the side of the ribs of Butch and taunts the crowd. Heenan says you don't make fun of these guys. Bam Bam chokes Butch on the top rope and Fatu snaps him off. Booger doesn't even tag in, he just walks in and takes over. Booger scoop slams Butch and goes for Trip To The Batcave (Or the Chubby Checker Drop as Monsoon calls it). Booger hits it but inexplicably gets up to eat the banana Fatu is offering. Bam Bam yells at Booger to just pin the guy as Booger with a banana in his mouth goes for a second attempt. This time Mabel pulls Butch out of the way and there's nobody home when Booger drops. The Bushwhackers hit the battering ram on Booger and Mabel drops a huge leg with the banana still in Booger's mouth. He covers for 1....2.....3 and BASTION BOOGER is done 6:02 into the match.

If you happen to replay this match again after a first time watch, check out the ushers in the aisle's reactions to the leg drop, its kind of funny. Heenan "Whoopsie there it is!" The crowd chants as Booger gets up with the banana still in his mouth. Vince says "Leaving with a banana, that's all he'll get out of this matchup, he's history."  Fatu gets in with a turkey carcass and offers it to Butch before waffling him with it, splitting his head open....guess Fatu forgot the bones were still in it. Fatu clocks Butch again with it as Mo then randomly gets in the ring and rides around on a scooter to distract Fatu. Heenan "This is Animal House!" Bam Bam gets in and dropkicks Mo down. Bam Bam throws the scooter out of the ring and Heenan says Bam Bam means business. Fatu hits a side backbreaker and throws a banana peel into the center of the ring. Fatu then goes upstairs for the top rope splash and hits it....but doesn't cover Mo. Instead he picks up the banana peel and shows it to Bam Bam as Heenan says "THEY'RE NOT COVERING THEM!" Even Bam Bam tells him to get the three as Fatu drops the banana peel and turns around to see Butch standing there with a bucket. Tim White completely missed that there was no tag. Butch fakes throwing something on Fatu which makes him slip on the banana peel. Butch rolls up FATU for 1....2......3 to eliminate him 8:33 into the match. Yes, they got so cartoony he literally slipped on a banana peel.

Bam Bam is by himself and he clears the ring of both Bushwhackers and Mo but Mabel walks in. Vince "Bam Bam is huge but look at the size of Mabel." The crowd chants whoomp there it is as Bam Bam goes nowhere on a shoulderblock. Bam Bam tries it again but Mabel doesn't move. Bam Bam ducks a clothesline but eats a shoulderblock. Mabel hammers away on Bam Bam and whips him to the corner. The charge misses and Bam Bam hits him with a flying shoulder tackle. Bam Bam intercepts Luke and scoop slams him then covers. White does go down for the pinfall attempt even though Luke isn't the legal man but Butch runs over and heaves a bucket of confetti on Luna. Bam Bam gets up to check on him as M.O.M. sandwiches Bam Bam in the corner. He falls backward and all four guys pile on top for 1,...2......3 to end this debacle. Team Bam Bam may have been the toughest team but they also were the dumbest as The Four Doinks earn the clean sweep. Vince "This is a cartoon." For some reason Peacock edits Vince's post-match speech of "Forget about Looney Tunes, forget about Hanna Barbara, they have nothing on the WWF." Heenan "Not tonight, this looks like the type of match Chief Jay Strongbow should have been in." The babyfaces celebrate and leave as Heenan points out the ring was a mess. Vince asks Heenan how much weight was on Bam Bam at the end. Heenan says Mabel is 500 and both Bushwhackers add up to 500. As Bam Bam and Luna leave the real Doink appears on screen and his voice gives away that its Ray Apollo for the live show. Doink makes fun of Bam Bam and Luna and barks at her. Bad, bad match and once again it shows that catering to children was ridiculous yet the sign of the times. Once again, a great tag match got no crowd reaction but funny ha-ha had the crowd cheering. This would actually be the first and last ppv appearance for Bastion Booger but I'll get to why another time. Say goodbye to Matt Borne too.

Time of match: 10:58

Survivors: Men on A Mission and The Bushwhackers

After the match is over the Coliseum Video exclusive has Doink celebrating with Men on a Mission and The Bushwhackers, have to assume it was Ray Apollo for the live show again. The live broadcast was supposed to get a commercial for the upcoming WWF Royal Rumble on January 22, 1994....a Saturday night, but Peacock cut it for some reason. It should be noted 93-94 would be the last time shows would be on any time other than a Sunday for another 10 years until Taboo Tuesday 2004. Then we go to Todd Pettengill with The Foreign Fanatics and Jim Cornette handles the promo. He talks about a human body and how there's a mind, a heart and a soul. He says the heart are the Steiner Brothers, the mind is The Undertaker and Luger is the soul. Cornette puts over the faces as athletes but the Fanatics will take them out one at a time, mind, heart and soul. Yokozuna shouts "BANZAI" as Todd sends it back to ringside. That's why Cornette was the best, folks. Heenan says he watched the eyes of the heel team and says they look determined and ready. Heenan says the Bruins, the Celtics and the Boston Garden will never be the same. The live broadcast and the Coliseum Video had a montage of the history of Boston narrated by the All-Americans but its cut from the Peacock showing. Scott Steiner says Paul Revere made a midnight ride to give a warning and Scott warns the Foreign Fanatics they're not going to survive. Rick says this battle will be like Bunker Hill and a decisive victory for the All-Americans. The Undertaker says Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried in the Granary Burial Ground and four new headstones will be prepared for the Foreign Fanatics. The montage concludes with President John F Kennedy saying "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Luger says we know what we can do for our country, we'll defeat the Foreign Fanatics." My only guess to why this was cut was (seriously) the term Foreign. Otherwise giving the rich history of Boston with the good guys saying they'll win was a great promo on the heels of Cornette's great promo. Anyway, let's get to the main event.

Match 5 (6)

The Foreign Fanatics (Crush, Quebecer Jacques, Ludvig Borga & Yokozuna with Mr. Fuji, Jim Cornette and Johnny Polo) vs The All-Americans (Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, The Undertaker and Lex Luger with Paul Bearer)

Like I mentioned in the intro, this had months of buildup going back to Summerslam with Lex against Yoko and subsequently Ludvig Borga's challenge. The Steiners and Quebecers were supposed to be a feud but the additions of Crush and Undertaker kind of screwed up the chemistry, although it made sense on the heel side with Crush also being managed by Mr. Fuji. Then again, there was nobody left on the babyface side to use unless you wanted to go with Bob Backlund or Bart Gunn. Vince says Yokozuna was on Conan O'Brien the night before and Heenan asks if Conan is actually Bob Backlund. Vince brings up Survivor Series Showdown where Owen unknowingly cost Bret Hart the WWF title against Yokozuna. The Undertaker makes his entrance and Heenan apparently hid under the table for it. Heenan also claims the Steiners are from the University if Wisconsin since their jackets are on upside down. The camera shows Taker and Yoko having a staredown in the center and The Undertaker himself has gone on record saying Yoko was one of his favorite opponents ever. Cornette did an interview with Paul Bearer saying he loved that feud as well because he couldn't do anything to Taker and Bearer couldn't touch Yoko so he and Paul would just point menacingly at each other most of the time. We got all the managers in this one so ringside is certainly crowded for now. Heenan points out a sign in the crowd says Yoko-tuna. Heenan "I hate Thanksgiving, you don't get any gifts." Vince "Bobby Heenan!" Vince "You get a bunch of lousy food and relatives you don't even like, they hang around and kiss you with wet lips. Got to watch a lousy football game, nothing to do." He just described every child watching at home's Thanksgiving experiences growing up hahaha. Once you get older, you appreciate those times with family members that are no longer around but back then you're looking forward to the Burger King on the ride home and getting out of your dress clothes.....not that I would know anything about that. Heenan asks who the brains on Luger's team is as Cornette and Polo hilariously tell the camera man to buzz off in the other corner. Scott Steiner starts with Jacques and Jacques wants to shake his hand. Scott gives him the arm and the elbow then kicks Jacques in the ribs. Scott leapfrogs over Jacques and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Scott covers for a two count and Jacques looks around confused. Vince "And Jacques trying to find a place to hide, there is no place to hide." Rick Steiner tags in and Jacques retreats to tag in Yokozuna. Heenan asks if either Steiner could suplex Yoko and Vince isn't sure they could do it together. The crowd chants USA and Yoko shakes his head at the crowd. Yoko chops Rick down and sends him off the ropes. Rick ducks the line and hits the Steinerline. Rick hits a shoulder tackle to stun him. Rick then hits a third tackle to knock Yokozuna through the ropes to the outside. Rick caters to the crowd as Heenan points out Rick only stunned the champ, he didn't knock him out. He says only an Amtrak train could knock Yoko out but Vince points out Lex did it at Summerslam. Heenan "That's cause he's got more steel in his arm than an Amtrak train!" Back inside Yoko brings Rick to the corner and tags in Ludvig Borga. Borga punches Rick then sends him through the ropes on top of one of the cameraman as Heenan points out. Rick goes up to the top and nails Borga with a forearm smash. The cover only gets 1 and Rick puts on an arm-bar. Borga punches Rick in the ribs and Ludvig scoop slams him. He misses the elbow drop as Rick goes upstairs again. Rick jumps off the second rope and I think Borga was supposed to catch and powerslam him but instead Ludvig took a crossbody and just kinda slammed him over on his hip. Borga covers for 1....2.....3 and RICK STEINER is out 5:05 into the match. 

Rick noticeably limps out of the ring looking hurt for real as the heels celebrate. Cornette points and laughs at Rick as Jacques points at him and says "Out! OUT!" Scott gets in with Jacques taking over for Borga. Jacques locks in a headlock but is sent off into a gorilla press by Scott. Scott goes to heave him in the corner but Crush gets in and catches Jacques one handed. Jacques taunts Scott as Crush is in now.  Crush wants a test of strength as Heenan points out all four heels have been in but Luger & The Undertaker haven't tagged in yet. Crush chops Scott and drops him before going to work with right hands. Scott ducks under a line and hits his double underhook suplex. Vince says Randy Savage is back in the building as Scott drops Crush with a clothesline. He covers for 1...2...nope. Scott sends Crush off who leapfrogs over Scott and drops him with a crescent kick. All of a sudden Randy Savage makes his way to ring side with Tim White, Joey Marella, The Suit Brigade and the Smoking Gunns trying to hold him back. Like I mentioned before, I wondered why the Gunns were there but never knew they had a dark match until recently. Crush press slams Scott over the top to the floor and taunts Savage from the ring. Crush pulls Scott back in and drops him with a right hand. Crush does his kick combo and drops a leg on Scott. Heenan praises Mr. Fuji for turning Crush into a monster (which was a great heel turn) as Crush hits a jumping headbutt and then locks in a standing leg-lock. Crush drops a leg on Scott and kicks him in the leg three times. Heenan goes to explain something but Vince butts in and says Randy's coming back. Savage this time almost makes it to the ring as Heenan says to let them go. Crush says come on but gets dropkicked by Scott over the top to the outside. Crush abandons the match and attacks Randy in the aisle. Crush goes to press slam him on the guardrail but Savage punches his way out. In the confusion, CRUSH has been counted out 11:36 into the match. 

After everyone clears Savage out, Borga and Yoko pound on Steiner in the corner. Crush walks back to the ring only to be told to get lost by Hebner. Crush bitches about Randy interferring but he's been counted out. Jacques puts Steiner in a rear chin-lock with Borga holding onto the ankles. Jacques hits a flying back elbow and covers for a deuce. Jacques hits a piledriver as Heenan says that won't work. The cover gets a two as Vince asks why it won't work, Heenan responds he got dropped on his head and there's nothing in there. Steiner flips Jacques with just a shot to the ribs as Heenan points out Luger and Taker still haven't been in the ring. Scott hits another press slam on Jacques and finally tags in Luger 13 minutes into it. Lex hits a scoop slam on Jacques, goes to the second rope and drives a forearm into the chest. He covers for 1..2.....3..to eliminate QUEBECER JACQUES 14:04 into the match. Wow, that wasn't even a high impact move.

Heenan says Luger took out both Quebecers in a matter of weeks. Scott drags himself back in as Borga wants Luger now. Steiner says he'll handle Borga who's not interested, he wants Lex. Lex leaves as Borga says "Ohhh....ohhhh...chicken huh?" Borga sits on the middle rope to invite Lex in but Scott is in there. They look to have fisticuffs as Vince updates that Savage has been thrown out of the building. Heenan "How is he getting in, what is he Batman? Does he come through the rafters, is he hanging from a flag?" Borga eats a left armed clothesline and is headbutted in the corner. Borga whips him off and hits a modified Stinger Splash before hitting a devastating lariat. Borga goes upstairs but Scott stops him with a forearm. Scott then hits a superplex. Scott covers but Yoko breaks it up at two. Yokozuna stays in as Vince says there was no tag made. Yoko one arm slams Scott but misses the elbow drop. Scott gives the sign for the frankensteiner, yeah right! Scott goes for it but misses and crashes on the mat. Yoko hits the big leg drop and covers for 1....2....3 to eliminate SCOTT STEINER 16:57 into the match.

Heenan says we're down to the nitty gritty as Luger gets in. Heenan says he's not going over to sit with monkey breath as Vince hypes up this showdown as a continuation of Summerslam. Yoko and Lex slap each other but Yoko gets a kick and a chop in. Yoko goes to work on Lex and slams him as Borga waives the Japanese flag. Yoko misses a big splash and Lex rallies with right hands. Lex rocks Yoko with a clothesline but Yoko drops Luger with one of his own. Borga tags in and he continues to punch away at Luger. Borga nails Luger in the ribs as Heenan says "Taker may have died on the apron...well he's dead anyway, I don't know." Borga kicks Luger in the ribs as Heenan says Undertaker is going to start a basketball team for people 6 feet and under. Yokozuna tags in to continue the onslaught. Yokozuna nails Lex into the corner then whips him into the opposite one. Yoko misses the avalanche and Lex FINALLY makes the tag to The Undertaker. The crowd explodes as Taker rallies with chops on Yokozuna before hitting a jumping DDT. Taker chops him again and clotheslines him again. Borga hits Taker but Taker chops him down. Yoko catches Taker with a belly to belly suplex but Heenan knows Taker will sit up. Yoko drops Taker with a clothesline and drops the big leg. Vince says he thought he saw fear in the eyes of Yokozuna and Heenan confirms it. Yoko drags Taker into the corner and says no one's ever gotten up from the banzai drop. He says look what it did to Tatanka and Duggan.....d'oh! Not supposed to mention guys no longer in the company as Jim Duggan was gone at that point. Yoko hits the banzai drop but hangs onto the bottom rope to negate the pinfall attempt. Fuji wants another banzai and Yoko goes for it....but Taker sits up and Yoko misses the second one. Taker hits the flying clothesline and Yokozuna bails to the outside. Yoko rams Taker head first into the steel steps but Taker snaps his head back and shoots Yoko a glare. Yoko looks absolutely terrified as Taker rams his head into the steps. Hebner ends up counting out both UNDERTAKER and YOKOZUNA out 22:26 into the match. 

They brawl until Paul Bearer grabs Taker and pulls him off. Meanwhile Borga and Luger are the only ones left as Borga drops a leg on Lex. Borga covers for 1...2..nope. For some reason Johnny Polo, Fuji and Cornette still hang around ring side even though their men are gone. Luger walks into a sidewalk slam and Ludvig covers for 1...2...nope. Borga hits a suplex and covers arrogantly for 1....2..no. Borga sends Luger off and hits a powerslam then covers for 1...2...nope. Borga drops Luger with two clotheslines and covers arrogantly for 1...2...no. Vince says Borga's arrogance is appalling as Borga goes for another suplex. This time Lex blocks it and hits one of his own. Lex ducks under a clothesline and they clothesline each other down. Heenan asks if he hit him with the "true value" elbow but Vince says no. Polo and Cornette distract the ref as Fuji hands Borga the bucket of salt. Borga clocks Luger with it and gets rid of it. Borga covers Lex for 1.....2....no.  Luger rallies in the corner, sends Borga off the ropes and Borga sells a punch to the ribs hilariously. Lex hits a DDT on Borga then drops him with an elbow smash. He covers for a two count before Lex hits a powerslam on Ludvig. He covers for another two count before Heenan says we could be here all night. Borga sends Luger off the rope but Lex jumps over Ludvig and nails him with the loaded forearm. Lex covers for 1...2....3..to win the match. Luger is the sole survivor. Snow starts falling from the Garden rafters as Heenan says its the worst case of dandruff he's ever seen. All of a sudden Santa Claus comes to ringside and gets in with Luger to celebrate to Jingle Bells. Even Vince didn't wait to cut the turkey before catering to the Christmas season. Either way the match was designed for Lex to stand tall and set up Taker vs Yoko at the Royal Rumble and it completed its task. It was a good main event with a lot of stuff happening at once. Savage vs Crush, Lex pinning Borga, Taker and Yoko....at least it was fun to watch. The Coliseum Video exclusive has Todd with Lex putting over Santa and the holidays, yippie.

Time of match: 28:02

Survivor: Lex Luger

Its funny how there was no real historical importance to this show other than bits and pieces here and there. Razor Ramon and IRS would settle things at the Royal Rumble, Bam Bam and Doink would settle it at Wrestlemania, Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid proved to be a good team for future purposes, the spot with Yokozuna and Taker also led to the Rumble, the genesis for Bret vs Owen in 94 happened here and Lex Luger would get his crack at Yokozuna also at Wrestlemania. This was also the last ppv appearances for Bastion Booger and Ludvig Borga as both of them missed the Rumble for different reasons I'll get to another time. The Rock N Roll Express wouldn't be back for another 4 years for the god awful NWA invasion angle while Bobby Heenan wouldn't resurface until Wrestlemania 17. In terms of match quality the opener was good, the tag match was great, the Family Feud match was good, the Doink match sucked and the main event was good. It wasn't a bad show, there just wasn't anything iconic like Taker beating Hogan, or the Demoltion/Powers of Pain double turn, the return of Mr. Perfect or the debut of The Undertaker like previous shows had. With Survivor Series out of the way, now we point our attention toward the Royal Rumble. Some of the feuds were already known at this point while others needed time to play out. They had two months to get there so let's see how things play out along the way. Since this show was actually on a Wednesday, we'll see you this coming Saturday morning for WWF Mania. See you there!