WWF Survivor Series 1988

For the second Survivor Series, the WWF continued their ‘Teams of Five Strive to Survive’ gambit, only this time without any major, box office busting feud heading into the show to carry it – as they had the year before, with Hogan v Andre. Instead, they took some perfunctory feuds, and instead decided to develop new angles during the show – trying to develop a ‘can’t miss’ atmosphere for their pay per view events. Unfortunately, the card itself was relatively lackluster on paper, and they drew 8,000 people fewer to the same arena that the event emanated from the year before.  

I first saw this one on VHS, a good six years after the fact, in my endless quest to see every WWF and WCW tape I could get my nine year old hands on. My local video store didn’t carry it, but a trip to one of the next towns over led me to finding it tucked away in the corner of their grocery stores video department – along with a bunch of other early WWF-stuff I had never seen. I was never a tantrum throwing type, so it took some significant work (see: begging) to convince my parents why this tape featuring Hulk Hogan teaming up with the Macho Man was worth renting, and then having to drive twenty minutes in each direction to return it the next day. Luckily, I have the best parents.

From Richfield, Ohio; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura.


Opening Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Greg Valentine, Bad News Brown, and Danny Davis v The Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Sam Houston, The Blue Blazer, and Jim Brunzell: This one actually aired second on the Coliseum Video I rented as a kid – clipped down to about ten minutes to fit onto the VHS - though this is the correct chronology from the original pay per view. Beefcake and Valentine start, but the heels quickly double team to take the advantage, and figure it's safe enough to tag in Danny Davis. It's Danny Davis, though, and he succumbs to the Sleeper at 1:18. Well, serves Honky right for picking Davis two years in a row - especially after his performance the year before. And, you know, him being Danny Davis. Valentine gives it another try, and works the leg for his figure four finisher, but Beefcake gets the tag to Brunzell. Dropkick, but Bad News runs in to break things up, and tags himself in to abuse Brunzell proper-like. Ghetto-Blaster (an enzuigiri) finishes Brunzell at 5:12. Houston comes right after him, but probably forgot that this is the only dude who has ever made Andre the fucking Giant back down from a fight, so he gets slaughtered. Brown decides to let Valentine in on the Texan-killing fun, but a miscommunication causes Valentine to nail News by accident, and that's one mistake you don't make. News sees red (and probably a lot of other colors - I don't think he was colorblind), but decides it best to let the face team kill them, walking out of the match at 7:50. That was a perfect behavior within the nature of the Bad News Brown character (and by most accounts, the man as well) - and came off perfectly. Houston does his best, fighting off a barrage from the entire heel side, but Bass pins him with a powerslam at 10:09. Warrior comes in to clean house, taking out everybody, and the Blue Blazer (Owen Hart, under a mask), hits a flying splash on Bass for two. Bodypress on Honky gets two, and a dropkick levels him. Valentine tries his luck, but takes a gutwrench suplex for two. Backdrop, and Blazer tries a flying splash, but Honky shoves him off, and Valentine finishes with the figure four at 12:29. Interestingly, they would meet again at the Survivor Series, in 1993 - that time, with Greg Valentine under a mask. Beefcake gets worked over by the heels, cutting the ring in half, but blocks Honky's attempt at the Shake Rattle 'n' Roll (a swinging neckbreaker), and locks him in the Sleeper, but they spill to the floor, leading to a double countout at 15:44 - in one that could have used a clean ending. That leaves Warrior alone to get double teamed, but FREAKS UP!! and pins Bass with double axehandle at 17:30, and then Valentine with one at 17:50. Fuck, dude couldn't be bothered to do the finishing routine? He was on the apron for most of the match.
Survivor: The Ultimate Warrior.
Fun stuff - Warrior's perceived laziness aside – with no restholds (making good use of tags), logical booking (aside from Honky/Beefcake, which they should have blown off here), and a quick pace. ***

Twenty-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Demolition, The Brain Busters, The Bolsheviks, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, and The Conquistadors v The Powers of Pain, The Rockers, The British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation, and The Young Stallions: It might have just been easier to say: 'Awesome Tag Team Dream Match,' but, you know, for archival purposes, that might not be the best description. Davey Boy Smith and one of the Conquistadors start out, but both quickly tag, and then those guys quickly tag, and it basically goes on that way - as everyone gets a turn to come in and hit a quick spot, setting the battle royal-like tempo. That goes on, until Raymond Rougeau tangos with Bret Hart, and gets caught with a small package, eliminating the Rougeau's first at 5:22. The Powers of Pain showdown with Demolition, and Barbarian has the upper hand on Smash, but he quickly tags out to one of the Conquistadors. He gets slaughtered, of course. It's complete mayhem, as Demolition work everyone over (except the Powers of Pain), including trapping Shawn Michaels in the heel corner for some eight-on-one abuse, as apparently, the show is now taking place in Syracuse, New York. Anderson hits him with a spinebuster for two, but they make the mistake of tagging the Conquistadors in, and Shawn bails to his corner. Warlord press slams him, and that draws Demolition in for another showdown. Slugfest, and Barbarian hits a spinkick on Smash, and that's all for now. They trade off a couple more time, and we end up with Boris Zhukov and Jim Powers, with Powers goes for a bodypress off of the 2^nd rope. Reversed, however, and the Young Stallions go home at 15:20. Shawn Michaels runs right in, hitting a 2^nd rope flying fistdrop for two, and Marty finishes with a sunset flip at 18:09 to send the Bolsheviks off on a search for the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Everyone unloads on Marty in retaliation (trying to beat a good dealers number out of him in time for their various holiday parties), but he gets a faceslam off on Arn Anderson, and tags Davey back in. Criss cross with Tully allows Smith to take his version of the Flair flip, and the heels cut the ring in half. He manages a tag to Jim Neidhart, and the Hart Foundation hit the Conquistadors with a Demolition Decapitator (with Smash in the frame, looking like someone stole his lunch money), but it only gets two - as you don't finish with that when the actual Demolition are right there. The Conquistadors get worked over, but Barbarian makes the brilliant decision to headbutt him... right into his home corner, allowing him to tag. Well, I guess when the bulk of your offense includes hitting guys with your head, you may not be known as a more cerebral wrestler. And, indeed, Demolition tag in, and take turns putting him in headvices. The Brain Busters don't fare as well, and we get a mini-match with the Harts. Neidhart suplexes Blanchard, and Bret with an inverted atomic drop. German suplex for the pin, but Tully lifts his shoulders, pinning Hart's at 27:03. Yep, leave it to the NWA import to work a Dusty-finish into the match. That spot would work with, say, Shawn Michaels at this point, but one of Bret's entire background points was his mastery of technical wrestling. He wouldn't fall prey to a spot like that. Speaking of Shawn Michaels, he runs in, but gets quickly double teamed by the Busters, drawing in Marty Jannetty. All four spill to the floor, and it's a double disqualification at 28:00. Back in the ring, one of the Conquistadors misses a senton bomb, and gets worked over, taking a hanging vertical suplex from Davey for two. Crucifix on Ax gets two, and Dynamite Kid with a chincrusher. Snap suplex on Smash, but a flying headbutt misses, and Smash sends the British Bulldogs to do whatever English people do on Thanksgiving at 36:02. Warlord in, but the Conquistadors quickly trap him in the corner, and Demolition take turns destroying him - working the shoulder after he misses a blind charge. Demolition manager Mr. Fuji wants in on the fun, too, but when the Demos don't give him a chance to whack anyone with his cane - instead preferring to finish the Powers off cleanly, and not risk disqualification – he 'accidentally' pulls down the bottom rope off of a criss cross, causing Smash to go tumbling out in a heap, and get counted out at 39:33. Demolition is rightly pissed at Fuji for that one, but Pai Mei he isn't tolerating any American insolence, especially from some cunts in face paint, and whacks Ax with his cane. He hasn't quite mastered the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique yet, however, so the Demos kill him on the floor, and suddenly the crowd forgets they hate them, and we have a face turn! Hey, that's all it takes. Beating up an old Japanese man. The babyface Powers of Pain see poor old man Fuji down on the floor, after getting double teamed by the World Tag Team Champions no less, and decide to help him up, and allow him to stand in their corner - keeping his honor. They quickly finish the Conquistadors at 42:12.
Survivors: The Powers of Pain.
They then hoist Fuji up on their shoulder to hammer home that they're now heels - though, really, all they've done is some boy scout-like community service. The crowd even reacts that way, at first cheering them, thinking that maybe Fuji has turned face, helping to eliminate Demolition – but the Demos run back in, and clean house, then pose with their music playing. See, this was an important bit, as the crowd didn’t entirely ‘get’ the double-turn, but when Demolition returned, and managed to run off the Powers of Pain (which they wouldn’t be able to do as heels – as years of being a fan has conditioned us to know), and then had their music play while the invincible Powers hightailed it to the back with their tails between their legs – those were clear and obvious signals to the crowd that Demolition were now faces, and the Powers of Pain now heels. A double-turn is extremely difficult to pull off, and they executed it here flawlessly – making excellent use of the way wrestling fans have been trained to notice and experience certain things, even subconsciously. Not quite to the degree that Bret Hart and Steve Austin would at WrestleMania in 1997, but still one of the more famous double-turns in history. The match itself was a fuckton of fun - essentially a structured battle royal, with guys popping in and out to do quick bits – and while the psychology was definitely on the lower end of the scale, it certainly had enough interesting bits to keep it going, while building to the famous ending. ***

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Andre the Giant, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Dino Bravo, and Harley Race v Jim Duggan, Jake Roberts, Scott Casey, Ken Patera, and Tito Santana: Duggan is actually the captain for the faces - something even Jesse Ventura has to shake his head at. Rude and Patera start, and Ken tosses him around like a ragdoll, but Scott Casey doesn't fare as well. Perfect (very early into his run) helps work him over, but Rude misses a blind charge, and Tito hits the jumping forearm for two. Duggan with a slam, but an elbowdrop misses, and Patera's back in - only to get caught in the Rude Awakening at 8:18. Scott Casey jumps him, but gets caught in the heel corner, and Dino Bravo gets him with the sidewalk slam at 9:27. Mr. Perfect and Jim Duggan faceoff next, but Perfect outsmarts him (I know, shocking), trapping him in the corner, where Andre chokes away. These ten-man matches were the perfect format for Andre at this stage of his career - you could hype Andre the Giant, but he didn't actually have to get in the ring and do much. And whatever he did do, came off as substantial. Tito and Harley have a mini-match, with Santana kicking out of the piledriver, but he hits the jumping forearm, and gets the pin at 13:19. That draws Andre in (you don't fuck with the clean sweep, chico!), and he gets murdered. Buttsplash, and Santana warms up the Thanksgiving rice at 14:40. Duggan in, tying Andre up in the ropes, and he and Roberts take turns abusing him. His teammates bail him out (you know it's early in Mr. Perfect's run when it takes him that long to figure out how to undo a knot), however, and they work Jake over, cutting the ring in half. Bravo with a fantastic piledriver, but he misses a series of elbowdrops, and Duggan gets the hot tag. He unloads on Bravo, but gets too excited (it happens - though usually not to anyone in the vicinity of Dino Bravo), using his 2x4, and gets disqualified at 21:22, leaving Jake alone. The best part of it, is watching Duggan flip out with the 2x4, and seeing Perfect and Rude in the background of the frame, shooting each other looks, like, 'they pay that guy?' The heels call a strategy session ('okay, so, we kill him?' 'yeah, sounds good'), and Perfect goes in first. Jake plays it smart, luring him into his corner, and not daring to venture towards the heel side - even holding the middle rope to make sure he doesn't get dragged. He manages to keep Perfect at bay, though can't mount enough of an advantage to eliminate him. Bravo tries next, and Jake employs the same strategy. Rude, so Jake bails to the floor to catch a breather. Inside, Jake gets caught with a jab, and the vertigo sends him into the wrong part of town. Stomachbreaker by Rude, and a gorgeous flying knee. He gets arrogant, however, and Jake sneaks up with a DDT for the pin at 28:45. Andre comes in to finish it (if you want something done right...), and grabs a vicious chokehold (no one did a choke like Andre - those catcher mitt sized hands looking like they would turn your neck into a worn-out an accordion), but gets disqualified for not letting off at 29:39. That killed Jake dead, though, and Perfect runs in for the easy pin at 30:03.
Survivors: Mr. Perfect, Dino Bravo.
Not the most intriguing match on the card going in, though Jake's psychological exhibition of an endgame was brilliant - if too long for a match that had already run twenty minutes. It slowed to a halt after Duggan’s elimination, killing the crowd. Andre also worked cleverly – popping in to do bits like clean up after his team, and the virtuoso ending – tiring of Roberts' games, and willingly sacrificing himself in order to damage him enough for the others. **

Main Event: Survivor Series Elimination Match: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim v The Big Bossman, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, Haku, and The Red Rooster: DiBiase and Savage start things off, and Savage catches him with a hangman’s clothesline. Both guys tag out, and Hercules works over Haku, and brings in Hogan for a series of elbow drops. Red Rooster (Terry Taylor during his rooster phase) in, but Hogan hits the big boot, and Savage finishes him with the Big Elbow at 6:11. That draws everybody in, and the faces clean house. Hogan goes with Haku after everyone cools down, and hits a cross corner clothesline. Hercules tries his luck, but gets side suplexed, and Haku bails to Akeem. He faces off with Hillbilly Jim (it's on now!), and quickly finishes with the Air Africa (a splash) at 9:59. Koko charges in with a crisp dropkick, but a splash in the corner misses, and Bossman comes in with the Bossman Slam to send Koko off to fry a turkey at 11:45. Hogan comes in to showdown properly, and they do the bit where Hogan atomic drops him into the face corner, for Savage and Hercules to abuse. Big boot, and the slam, but Hogan gets caught with a spinebuster. He and Akeem double team, and the heels cut the ring in half on Hogan. DiBiase fistdrop gets two, but HULK UP!! Atomic drop, and... he tags in Hercules?!? What a waste of cocaine. Hercules with enough clotheslines to feed an army, but a distraction from Virgil (DiBiase's valet/slave), causes him to get rolled up at 16:35. DiBiase makes the cardinal mistake of taunting him after the elimination, however (that's what Virgil's for!), and Savage schoolboys him up at 16:57. They work over Haku, but Hogan gets caught in the wrong part of town, and the heels cut the ring in half. Haku with a suplex, and a nervehold. Hogan starts on a comeback, but Haku cuts him off at the knees by tagging Bossman, who hits the Bossman Slam. Flying splash misses, however, and Hogan gets the tag to Savage. He's a house of arson, but gets caught with a cheap shot, and locked in a Bossman bearhug. Meanwhile on the outside, heel manager Slick attacks Mega Power manager (and Savage's lady friend!) Elizabeth, so Hogan goes to make the save. It's an ambush, however (my third least favorite type of bush!), and the heels jump Hogan outside of the ring, handcuffing him to the ropes. You'd think that would be an automatic disqualification on the whole team, given how trigger happy the referees seem to be with that, but instead they just decide that Bossman was counted out while using police grade weapons to immobilize his opponent at 25:09. Maybe next time he should just shoot him if that's the deal. Bossman thinks so, too, grabbing his nightstick, and wailing on him, now that there are no consequences anyway - while inside the others beat on Savage, until the referee finally grows a pair, and DQ's Akeem at 26:00. That doesn't really stop the assault, however, as he hits the Air Africa on Savage, and both guys get a couple of extra licks in on Hogan on the way out. Finally cleared out, Haku goes to work, as literally no one makes even a pseudo-effort to help uncuff Hulk Hogan. Savage continues to dodge offense, and look for a tag but finding a phantom, until Elizabeth steals the keys to the cuffs from Slick, and Hogan gets the tag! Big boot! Slam! Legdrop! Happy Thanksgiving at 30:10. But not quite, as during the celebration Hogan gives Elizabeth a single friendly hug - which causes Savage to shoot him jealous glances, further pushing into the earth the seeds for what would eventually be the break up, and blowoff at WrestleMania V. Another great angle there – as almost everyone has been in that situation with a friend before (including me, on both sides of a ‘jealous lover’ fence) – but it takes some smooth booking to do an angle with the subtle intonations and inflections Savage, Hogan, and Elizabeth brought to the Mega Powers break up.
Survivors: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage.
Match – while not reinventing the wheel, or even attempting to – was a fun, 80s-style main event, taken to the next level by Savage’s selling, and the minor further development of what would be the explosion of the Mega Powers. ** ¼

BUExperience: George Harrison once said that recording Rubber Soul and Revolver felt interchangeable to him – like making parts I and II of the same album. In many ways, the first two Survivor Series events give that same mood – even taking place in the same arena. They feel like two halves of the same whole – though the second half is certainly superior. While not as enthusiastically received as the previous years outing, they had gotten the format down better – weaving angles into the action effortlessly – as well as cutting the women’s match from the proceedings. Overall, a much better outing, and worth taking a look at should you come across it – which likely doesn’t require a trip into the next town for you youngsters today, with your Netflix’s, and iPhones. **