WWF Survivor Series 1990 11/22/1990

WWF Survivor Series 1990 11/22/1990

Gorilla Monsoon and Rowdy Roddy Piper are on commentary. I don't know about that duo. Piper says Saddam Hussein has to pay double to see this in response to this being free on The Armed Forces Network.

Mean Gene interviews The Warriors. Hawk says he doesn't know what his thoughts are but says the 4 of them will take out their 4 opponents. Kerry says to check out what they can do. Animal says submission is one way to go down and says they won't let their team down. Warrior talks about people making the sacrifice and says to follow their team into this battle. He says they have become one and formed a bond like no other. He said no one can break what they created. He said there is no poison or medicine to cure it and says Demolition and Perfect won't survive.

Survivor Series Match - The Perfect Team (Mr. Perfect and Demolition) vs The Warriors (The Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado and The Legion of Doom)

Warrior's rocking all shiny silver today. Kerry didn't wear facepaint here which was lame since all of his partners did. Heenan and Fuji are out there with Demolition. Fuji hadn't appeared with Demolition prior to this so that's new, though they did say he helped coordinate an attack with The Orient Express on The LOD. Demolition didn't wear their masks here after just debuting them a few weeks ago and my guess is that it has to do with Ax leaving the team after this.

Animal nails Smash from behind to start things. He pounds on him and clubs on him. Smash gets hit by all of his opponents then Animal takes a shot from Perfect and Smash. Smash suplexes Animal then Animal hits a powerslam on him. Animal atomic drops perfect into an inverted atomic drop then Warrior lariats Perfect. Animal atomic drops Smash and Kerry hits punches on Smash.

Ax, with his protest haircut, hits shots on Kerry then Kerry claws him. Smash breaks it up. Warrior runs the ropes and shoulders Ax over. Warrior flying shoulders Ax then flying splashes him to eliminate him. IIRC, this is Ax's last WWF appearance.

Warrior slams Crush and Smash then throws Perfect out. Crush lariats Warrior then hits punches. Smash backbreakers Warrior then Crush top rope knee drops Warrior. Crush hits Warrior in the gut then Warrior lariats him over. Hawk blocks Perfect's punch and lifts him with a double arm choke. Hawk lariats Perfect over. Hawk misses a corner charge and goes into the post.

Crush double axe handles Hawk then backbreakers him. Perfect hits punches on Hawk then Hawk hits punches on Smash. Hawk flying shoulders Smash then fist drops him. Hawk lariats Smash then top rope lariats Smash. The Demos and The LOD battle and Hawk kicks the ref. The ref disqualifies both The LOD and Demolition in a lame call. 

Kerry and Perfect squash off. Kerry hits a punch flurry then discus punches him out of the ring. Kerry slingshots Perfect in then lariats him over the top rope. Warrior goes out and bangs Perfect's and Heenan's heads together then throws Heenan over the rail. Kerry spears the post when Perfect moves. Perfect eye pokes Tornado then bangs his head off the buckles. Perfect perfectplexes Kerry and pins him.

Warrior misses a splash on Perfect. Perfect perfectplexes him for 2. Perfect drops Warrior with a punch then standing dropkicks him for 2. Perfect chops Warrior and beats up on him. Warrior starts to hulk up then hits running lariats. Warrior flying shoulders him then hits a flying splash for the win.

Warrior then nails Heenan on the apron after. 

Thoughts: Demolition and LOD going out so easy was a big disappointment. They've been feuding for 3 months yet on TV, we've only saw them battle once outside of this. This was Ax's final WWF appearance and he refused to slick back his hair for it, which people remember to this day. While Perfect is a great performer, I don't think him being thrown around all the time really puts over the "perfect" part of his character as a perfect wrestler wouldn't get thrown like that. I thought he was made to look a little weak here. The match was fast paced and full of action but definitely needed more time. It was fine but a little underwhelming to me.

The Million Dollar Team is interviewed by Sean Mooney. Jimmy Hart is excited and said they will survive. Ted says his mystery partner is here and everyone will know his identity soon. He promises a big surprise. He says Koko is one more bird that will be plucked and stuffed on Thanksgiving. He says The Hart Foundation is going to Heartbreak Hotel. He says there is no mercy for Dusty, who he says will be on his hands and knees begging.

Survivor Series Match - The Dream Team (Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Jim Neidhart & Koko B. Ware) vs. The Million Dollar Team (Greg Valentine, Ted DiBiase, The Honky Tonk Man & The Undertaker)

Ted Dibiase says everyone has a price and announces his mystery partner. He says he's lead to the ring by his manager Brother Love, it's The Undertaker. This is the debut of The Undertaker, though he had technically already debuted on shows that wouldn't air until later.

Taker and Hart start us off. Taker nodowa otoshi's him down and Jim gets in. Taker slams Jim. Koko misses a splash and ends up throat first on the ropes. Taker tombstones Koko and pins him.

Hart tries punches on Taker. Greg and Dusty get in. They trade and Jim gets back in. Jim works Greg's arm. Hart bangs Greg's head off the buckles and hits gut punches. Greg gets his knee up in the corner then Honky stomps Hart. Honky knees Hart in the gut then Jim powerslams Honky for the elimination.

Ted hits elbows and chops on Jim. Jim lariats and slams him. Dusty hits elbows on Ted then dropkicks him. Ted takes a double back elbow for 2. Jim suplexes Ted for 2 then shoulders him over. Virgil trips Jim then Ted lariats and pins Jim. Shane McMahon is a ref at ringside here.

Bret punches and headbutts Ted. Dusty elbows and punches Ted. Ted eye rakes and elbows him. Ted hits a stiff lariat and Taker gets in. Taker beats up on Bret then Ted trades with Bret. Bret atomic drops him then Dusty hits elbows on Ted. Taker hits punches on Dusty then top rope double axe handles him. Taker pins Dusty and throws him out.

Bret hits punches on Taker and Brother Love cheapshots Dusty outside. Dusty grabs Love outside and Taker goes after him. They fight to the back and Taker gets counted out. Piper says Taker is big but dumb. Greg clubs on Bret then Bret pins Greg with a cradle. Ted and Bret go at it. Bret atomic drops him over the top then plancha's him outside. 

Bret hits mounted punches on Ted outside. Ted is sent into the post and steps. Bret hits shots on Ted then Bret is sent chest first into the buckles. Bret backslides him for 2 then Ted trips Bret. They say Bret blew his knee out then Bret back rolls Ted for 2. Virgil gets on the apron and grabs Bret. Ted knocks Virgil off the apron and Bret rolls him up for 2. Bret backbreakers Ted then 2nd rope elbow drops him for 2. Bret crossbodies Ted but Ted rolls through it and pins him.

Thoughts: This was longer than the last match. They put over Taker well here as an unstoppable force though I didn't like Piper calling him dumb. Bret got put over some here but him and Ted didn't have time to do anything epic. It was an average match for the most part.

They a promo for The Main Event tomorrow with Ted Dibiase vs The Ultimate Warrior. This was supposed to be a Saturday Night's Main Event, but it got moved to Friday and cut down in time.

Mean Gene interviews The Vipers in the showers. Thankfully, everyone is clothed. Jake says his partners have survived the scars of time. Jake said Shawn survived power and Glory. He says Snuka has the scars of time all over his face. Jake said he stood the test of time too.  He said you aren't sending the lambs to slaughter and aren't trying to pick cherries from the tree - just try it and Damien might fall out on you.

Survivor Series Match - The Vipers (Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels) vs. The Visionaries (Hercules, Paul Roma, Rick Martel & The Warlord)

War and Marty start us off. Marty evades him and hits shots. Marty is thrown into the buckles then slingshot kicks and dropkicks him. War brushes a dropkick away. Marty gets shots in on the heels then War runs into Herc. War is sunset flipped and lariated over on it by Shawn.

Shawn is thrown in the corner and Rick hits shots. Rick's head is banged off the buckles. Shawn flips out of a hiptoss and hits his own. Shawn dropkicks and monkey flips him. Jake goes after Rick and Rick slides out. Roma hits shots on Jake. Jake hits a punch on him and Snuka hits snots on Roma. Roma eye rakes Snuka and hurts his hand punching him.

Herc gets in and shoulders Snuka over. Snuka chops him down. Snuka is slammed by War and War misses an elbow drop. Snuka dropkicks War then War bearhugs Marty. Marty ear claps him then is powerslammed off a 2nd rope crossbody. War pins Marty. Shawn hits punches on War and hurricanrana's him. Jake hits punches on War and can't knock him over.

Jake knees War in the corner then running lariats him. Roma elbow drops Shawn's neck and stomps him. War back body drops Shawn then Her lariats Shawn. Ric knee drops Shawn then backbreakers him. Shawn is thrown into the buckles and upside down flips for it. Rick goes into the post when Shawn moves inside then Snuka gets in.

Snuka back body drops Rick then flying headbutts him for 2. Snuka 2nd rope twisting crossbodies Rick but Rick back rolls him with the tights and wins it. Rick evades Jake and tags in Herc. Jake knee lifts Herc and Herc evades a ddt. Jake hits punches on Herc then Rick lariats Jake from the apron. Herc and Roma pound on Jake then Jake falls over on a missed punch. Roma slams Jake then misses a top rope fist drop. 

Shawn hits shots on Roma then flying back elbows him. Shawn suplexes Roma then 2nd rope elbow drops him for 2. Shawn atomic drops Roma and dropkicks him. Herc drops a big elbow on Shawn's neck. Herc hits nice punches on Shawn then lariats him. Herc gorilla presses Shawn.

Shawn takes a powerplex and is pinned. Jake is the last man on his team vs 4 heels. Herc boots and punches Jake. War clubs on Jake then bearhugs him. War double axe handles Jake then Jake ddt's him. Rick grabs his Arrogance and they say Jake avoids getting sprayed with it. Jake grabs Damien and runs after Rick to the back with him. Damien wraps around Jake's foot slowing down the chase. Jake is eliminated and the full Visionaries team advances to the grand finale.

Thoughts: This was another longer match here and the long elimination matches are starting to wear me out. Herc was great with his selling and punches but it wasn't a real fulfilling match. Jake didn't even really get his hands on Rick...on a PPV. This really would have been better if it was just Jake vs Martel and Power and Glory vs The Rockers.

They talk about the upcoming Royal Rumble 1991.

The Hulkamaniacs are interviewed by Sean Mooney. Hulk says his hulksters have been surviving here for some time and said it's their chance to prove that the four demandments can help you survive any situation. He says Boss Man will lay down all the law and order. Boss says he's been a survivor all his life and said we will see if Heenan can survive. Tug says he's loaded and ready for battle and says only the strong survive. Duggan says everyone is excited and has ribbons around his 2x4. Hulk says they are dedicating the match to the people in the Middle East who are fighting for all of them. He tells President Bush that they volunteer their services if they need extra artillery. He asks what Saddam Hussein will do when the Hulkamaniac's run wild on him.

Survivor Series Match - The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, The Big Boss Man & Tugboat) vs. The Natural Disasters (Dino Bravo, Earthquake, Haku & The Barbarian)

Heenan and Jimmy Hart are out there with their men. Haku and Jim trade shots. Haku eye rakes him and bangs his head off the buckles. Haku misses a 2nd rope twisting crossbody and is lariated over. Jim back elbows him and misses an elbow drop. Dino atomic drops Jim then Jim takes shots from Barb and Haku.

Boss gets in ands drops Haku with punches. Haku hits a nice dropkick for 2. Boss sidewalk slams Haku and pins him shockingly. Barb chops on Boss. Boss big boots and running back elbows Barb. Boss goes for Heenan on the apron and bangs Heenan off the post. Boss hits uppercuts on Barb then Barb suplexes him. 

Barb slams Boss then misses a 2nd rope elbow drop. Barb boots Jim in the gut then back body drops him. Jim takes a double clothesline then Quake hits hip attacks on Jim in the corner. Jim slides out and is clubbed. Jim tries running shoulders on Quake then Jimmy Hart pulls him out. Jim goes after Jimmy Hart then he nails Quake in the gut with his 2v4. Jim then is disqualified.

Hulk gets in and hits punches on Quake then his opponents. Quake slams Barb, eye rakes Quake and hits a big slam on Quake. Hulk hits punches on Quake then corner lariats him. Hulk hits corner punches on Quake then Quake powerslams him. Dino elbow drops Hulk then Hulk pins Dino with a cradle.

Boss hits punches on Quake. Quake misses a corner splash then catches Boss' crossbody off the top. Hulk pushes Quake over for a Boss Man 2 count. Barb knees Boss in the back then Quake elbow drops Boss. Quake then pins Boss.

Hulk comes in and pounds on Quake. Hulk hits the big boot and lariats him. Hulk hits another lariat then Quake stops a slam attempt this time. Hulk eye rakes Quake then Quake falls on him on the slam attempt. Quake misses a splash.

Tug gets in and hits shots on Quake. Tug shoulders him over into the ropes. Hulk pulls Quake out and Quake gets double teamed by the faces. Hulk's back is lightly rammed into the post. Quake and Tug then get counted out. Hulk and Barb are the last two. 

Barb chops Hulk outside and inside the ring. Barb hits a headbutt then piledrivers Hulk for 2. Hulk and Barb double clothesline each other down. Barb top rope diving lariats Hulk. Hulk then starts to hulk up. Hulk hits punches then hits a big boot. Hulk legdrops Barb and pins him. Hulk wins the match as the sole survivor.

Heenan gets in the ring after. Hulk punches him then throws him over the top rope to the floor.

Thoughts: I don't think this really did much to help anyone out here. Haku got taken out easy as did Boss Man. Quake didn't get his revenge and Tug didn't get much in here either. They kept it moving and it was watchable but like a lot of matches on this show - if you were looking for some big blow off after almost half a year of TV on the Quake/Hulk feud, this was not it. I guess the idea was not to kill Quake and to get you to go to house shows, but it's disappointing.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Macho King Randy Savage. Savage doesn't have the crown on, doesn't have Sherri here and has a rare red and white striped outfit. Gene says Macho is a spectator here. He says he's the once and future champ. He says Ultimate Warrior will be the ultimate turkey and says it's his title.

Gene talks about Sherri insulting Ultimate Warrior. Macho says Sherri slapped The Ultimate Chicken 3 times. He says he will be The Ultimate Loser. He said Warrior was in a state of shock when he got slapped as he realized Macho would take his title back and there's nothing he could do about it. Gene says Warrior is looking for Macho. Macho says he's been scoping out places to find him here but hasn't found him. Macho says he's the greatest superstar and says don't bet against him. Gene asks where we go from here. Macho says he may just retire after proving he is the best. He said he has more than proven he is #1. He says he digs it but says the 15,000 fans don't. 

The Mercenaries are interviewed in the arena. Gene says the armed forces will see this show and said they find them despicable. Sarge says to shut that hole and listen up. He says he salutes one flag - the banner of the brave Iraqi nation. He says his team sat down to a turkey dinner and said they didn't have to worry about any desert flags or the smell of camel dogs in the air. He said they didn't have any sand in their pumpkin pie. He asked what the soldiers in Saudi Arabia had in their ration kit today. He tells President Bush to be quiet with his soldiers because the Mercenaries and the Iraqi Army take no soldiers and are survivors.

The line about the dinner rations are pretty mean, but it wasn't that good of a promo otherwise.

Survivor Series Match - The Alliance (Butch, Luke, Nikolai Volkoff & Tito Santana) vs. The Mercenaries (Boris Zhukov, Sato, Sgt. Slaughter & Tanaka)

Sarge's team has camo paint on. Boris gets hit by The BW's then is double lariated. The heels are standing on different sides of the ring for some reason. Tito flying forearms Boris and pins him.

Sato pounds on Tito then side kicks him. Tanaka superkicks Sato when Tito moves. Butch hits running shots on Tanaka then lariats him. Sato is battering rammed and is pinned by Butch.

Tanaka drops Butch then misses a jumping headbutt. Tito flying forearms Tanaka and pins him. Nikolai Volkoff hits some shots on Sarge as Sarge faces a 1v4. Nik hits a bunch of shots on Sarge then boots him in the gut. Nik hits boots to the head. Sarge blocks a boot. Sarge lariats and elbow drops him.

Sarge back elbows Nik then hits shots to the gut. Sarge clubs on Nik. Nik fires back and his head is rammed into the buckles. Sarge punches Nik then dropkicks him. Sarge snapmares and elbow drops Nik to eliminate him.

Butch gets in and hits punches on Sarge. Sarge takes a double team slam then a double clothesline. Luke flying back elbows Sarge then lands on Sarge's knees off the top. Sarge gutbusters Luke and pins him.

Sarge has this down to 1v2. Luke is sent into the buckles face first then is lariated and pinned.

Tito dropkicks Sarge from behind and sends him into the buckles and post. Tito back body drops Sarge then top rope flying forearms him for 2. Tito hits boots to the gut and Sarge blocks his monkey flip. Sarge neckbreakers and backbreakers Tito for 2. Tito is eye raked then suplexed. Tito is pushed into the ref. Tito flying forearms Sarge then Adnan comes in and rams the flag into Tito's back. The other ref openly sees this and Sarge camel clutches Tito. The ref makes Sarge break it and disqualifies him in a rare good call. Tito is the winner and the only survivor.

Thoughts: I have no idea why this took place after the Hulk match. It was pretty fast paced with people getting eliminated quick. I suppose it helped Sarge a little to get easy wins but he really could have used a win here since he was going to get pushed to the main event scene and hadn't done a lot on TV yet. He also came across like a dummy for him and Adnan openly cheating in front of the ref and getting caught.

The heel survivors are interviewed by Sean Mooney. That's Ted Dibiase and The Visionaries. Rick says they did the impossible and said a whole team survived for the first time at Survivor Series. He says that's unity and teamwork. He says there's no stopping them with the money and resources of Dibiase. Ted said he gave a lot of incentive money to make sure this team survives one more time. He says Tito is in the right place at the wrong time. He says Hulk and Warrior have bad blood from WM6 and doesn't think they can work together. He says we are looking at the survivors. 

Mean Gene Okerlund is with the Survivor Series egg. He says the egg is gonna hatch and he says it's starting to crack right now. The egg opens and The Gobbledy Gooker comes out. The crowd boos some and doesn't react much otherwise. Gene asks what is this. The bird agrees that his name is The Gobbledy Gooker. He tells Gene he wants to dance. They get in the ring and dance. Gene runs the ropes and trips over the bottom rope. Gene falls on a cartwheel and they walk out together. The commentators made it seem like this really got over when it didn't.

Thoughts: I don't really know what the point of this was. They wasted a whole bunch of time and money on it over several months. I get that it was supposed to be some Survivor Series mascot, but what would you do with it after Thanksgiving? The Gooker can't wrestle in the costume and it would have very limited storyline use otherwise. I think that if they had outright said that it was going to be a mascot or a non-wrestling entity from the start, it would have gotten a lot less blow back and maybe gone over better, but it still would have been pointless. They should have just scrapped the egg part or hatched it after a week or two and then gone with The Gooker from there as a mascot.

The babyface survivors of Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior are interviewed. Hulk says he's not too worried about the odds. He says he has never seen such intensity like The Ultimate Warrior has. He says he and "The Arriba Man" Tito Santana have been around since day one. He says they will survive this thing. Tito says this is what it's all about and says the odds aren't against them. He says they are here to survive. The Ultimate Warrior really says nothing of note and takes a long time to get to it. Hulk says they are walking the razor's edge of greatness and disaster here. He asks what cha gonna do when their team survives and wipes out those dudes.

Survivor Series Grand Finale - Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior & Tito Santana vs. Hercules, Paul Roma, Rick Martel, Ted DiBiase & The Warlord

War hits a shot by Tito, gets punched by Hulk then Tito pins War with a flying forearm. Roma stomps on Tito then powerslams him. Ted knee drops Tito then suplexes him. Tito lariats him and hits some shots. Tito back body drops Ted. Ted ducks a flying forearm. Tito takes a stun gun on the ropes and Ted pins him.

Hulk points his finger at Ted and Ted begs off. Hulk hits punches then bangs Ted's head off Warrior's boot. Ted lariats Hulk over. Herc clubs on Hulk then lariats him. Roma top rope punches Hulk then clubs on him. Rick clubs on Hulk and Herc hits punches on Hulk. Hulk's head is banged off the buckles. Ted 2nd rope double axe handles Hulk then knee drops him. Ted hits a fist drop. Herc hits gut punches on Hulk then seats him up top. 

Hulk kicks out of a powerplex and no sells it. Hulk lariats Roma and pins him. Rick pounds on Hulk. Hulk kicks him. Warrior gets in and hits boots on Rick. Warrior back body drops Ric and no sells his shots. Warrior slams Rick then bangs his head off the mat. Hulk hits shots on Rick then hit the big boot. Hulk lariats Rick out of the ring. Rick throws his hands up and heads to the back. Rick Martel is counted out and eliminated.

Ted hits punches on Hulk's gut then takes a corner lariat. Hulk pulls Ted from the ropes then big boots him. Hulk legdrops Ted and pins him clean. Hulk hits a bad powerslam on Herc. Warrior is tagged in and hits running lariats on Herc. Warrior flying shoulders and flying splashes Herc to win it. Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior are the final survivors.

Slick gets on the apron and is hit after then thrown over the top. Hulk and Warrior pose together after.

Thoughts: The grand finale concept was a cool idea but it ran into some problems. You had to have the feuding wrestlers fight each other in Survivor Series matches which meant only one team would survive and therefore, rivals couldn't fight in the grand finale. So instead of getting like Hulk, Jake and The LOD vs Quake, Martel and Demolition in the finale, we got a random pairing of heels.

I thought Dibiase was hurt here by being beaten so easily and Warlord was super buried here by being beaten in seconds after months of having no one being able to handle him. The faces won as expected here which was a good move, but it didn't do a lot to build to anything going forward. Since Sgt. Slaughter was ultimately going to win the title, he should have been involved in the finale somehow. It was a shorter match and not the epic it maybe could have been.

Overall thoughts: It wasn't that good of a show. Like Summerslam, stuff was built up for months and we didn't get great payoffs in most cases. The elimination matches got boring after two of them and none of them were classics. There were lots of tricks here to protect heels like Undertaker and Slaughter from taking clean losses and to save ahead for future feuds like Jake/Martel. Then we just didn't get much of a battle between LOD and Demolition for unknown reasons. The Gobbledy Gooker segment sucked and was pretty much always going to suck due to the large amount of hype it got and due to the Gooker not really being able to be a wrestler. I wouldn't recommend this one.