WWF Survivor Series 1990

For 1990 – with business down across the board throughout the year under WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior – the WWF continued to tweak their Survivor Series formula. The matches remained four-on-four contests, though they starting booking them at a more nimble pace – leaving room at the end of the night for a ‘Grand Finale Match of Survival’ – as all the winners of the night came back out for one final Survivor Series match to determine the Ultimate Survivor for the evening. Aside from that, unlike previous years, this time they had no definitive main event to sell the show (outside of the promised ‘Ultimate Match’), and the feuds going in weren’t their most stirring stuff, resulting in fan interest for this show ending up at almost non-existent.

From Hartford, Connecticut; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper.


Opening Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Perfect Team (Mr. Perfect, and Demolition) v The Warriors (The Ultimate Warrior, The Texas Tornado, and The Legion of Doom): Demolition were Ax, Smash, and Crush by this point, as the WWF was phasing out Ax, due to perceived heart problems, worrying that he would die while performing. Animal starts with Smash, jumping him with a series of punches - though the poor camera angle clearly shows him pulling them by several inches. Powerslam, and Warrior gets in with Ax. Series of shoulderblocks, and a splash get rid of him predictably first at 3:23. He would be dropped by the WWF shortly afterwards, replaced by Crush altogether. Twenty-two years later, Ax is still alive and well, while replacement Crush has been dead and buried for over five years. Warrior unloads on everybody, but Crush catches him with a clothesline, and a flying kneedrop gets two. Hawk tags, and dominates looking to finish with a flying clothesline, but that triggers a brawl between the Demos and the Doomers, leading to them all getting booted at 7:36. That leaves Perfect alone with the tassel-twins, and he's none-too-happy about it. Warrior wants him first, but Perfect challenges Tornado, and Warrior stupidly obliges. Well, he was always more 'brawn' than 'brains.' Tornado (Kerry Von Erich, then the current Intercontinental Champion), beats him all over the ring, but posts himself, and Perfect rams him into an exposed turnbuckle. Perfect-plex finishes at 11:02. Warrior charges, but misses a Stinger Splash into the exposed corner. Perfect-plex, but it only gets two. Standing dropkick, but no! He CRACKS UP!! Series of clotheslines! Diving shoulderblock! Splash! and we're done at 14:20.
Survivor: The Ultimate Warrior
This likely would have been both Warrior and Von Erich surviving, but the WWF was rapidly losing confidence in him, and Perfect would, in fact, take the Intercontinental Title back a few weeks after this. Match was noticeably sloppy in a few spots, but the brisk booking was a major improvement over some of the earlier Series-outings. * ¼

Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, and The Hart Foundation) v The Million Dollar Team (Ted DiBiase, The Undertaker, and Rhythm & Blues): Come on, guys! Those are the same team names as last year! Do a better job of capitulating to the needs of ten-year-old-Ben, and make with the snappy snappy. This is actually The Undertaker's WWF debut, as the always calculating Ted DiBiase had promised a mystery partner for Survivor Series - and, boy, did he deliver! The crowd just does not know what to make of him - towering over the others – and playing up the zombie gimmick to painstaking perfection. He starts with Bret Hart (whose brother had just died the day before - so just in bad taste), and chokes the life out of him. Jim Neidhart doesn’t have any better luck, so Koko tries (yeah, because if the WWF Tag Team Champions can't do it, send Koko B. Ware...), but he eats a nasty tombstone, and heads home at 1:39. Ouch - Undertaker still had a long way to go (and a lot of necks to practice on!) before perfecting that spot. Dusty and Greg Valentine have a go, and Dusty's all elbows. The Harts work him over, so he bails to Honky Tonk Man, but Neidhart finishes him with a powerslam at 4:16. DiBiase runs right in before Neidhart can compose himself – but Neidhart's never composed - and easily fights him off. Suplex gets two, but Virgil (DiBiase's valet/slave/drycleaner) trips the Anvil up, and he's done at 5:49. Bret comes in to avenge him, but Dusty wants to finish him (they had an issue over slavery/call girls at the time). His WWF run is all but done at this point, however, so he doesn't even get to do that properly, and DiBiase gets the tag to 'Taker. Flying axehandle kills Rhodes at 8:26. Bret comes in, a whorehouse of fire, but 'Taker is still focused on Dusty (more meat?), and stalks him up the aisle, getting counted out at 9:17. That leaves Bret with Greg Valentine, who goes for the figure four, but Hart counters with a small package at 9:57. Wow, moving right along here. Slugfest with DiBiase, and an atomic drop puts him on the outside. Bret follows with a slingshot bodypress, posts him, but back inside takes his chest first cross corner bump for two. They work a great spot where it looks like Bret botches a criss cross - tripping over DiBiase and hurting his knee – but as Ted showboats, Bret sneaks behind with a rollup for a dramatic two count. Miscommunication with Virgil gives Bret another rollup for two. Backbreaker, and the 2nd rope elbow for two. Bodypress, but DiBiase rolls through, and gets the victory at 13:54.
Survivor: Ted DiBiase
While accelerated pace was definitely an improvement over the thirty-minute slog-fests from the first couple of shows, this was like Survivor Series on crack. Still, decent match - with a wonderful closing argument from Hart and DiBiase - along with the debut of one of the most important figures in WWF / WWE history. It was also very interesting to watch him here, in his first outing, as he had already mastered the gimmick – though he still was working on the move set we would come to associate with the Undertaker, using stuff we never see – like a flying axehandle – or hitting an elbowsmash where he normally sets up the jumping clothesline.  * ¾

Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Visionaries (Rick Martel, The Warlord, and Power & Glory) v The Vipers (Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, and The Rockers): The main issue here stems from an angle where Martel (playing a gimmick as a male-model) blinded Roberts by spraying him in the eyes with his new, signature cologne. It sounds sillier than it was - as Roberts was just the type of guy to get an angle like that over. Where it got silly was the blowoff, at WrestleMania VII. Marty Jannetty starts with Warlord, and does his best to dodge the big guy, but gets caught in the corner. Miscommunication allows him a sunset flip, and Shawn Michaels comes in, facing off with Martel. He hits a high dropkick, and tags Jake in to exact some revenge - but Martel quickly bails. Warlord takes out Jannetty again, and a powerslam eliminates him at 5:03. Shawn comes in for vengeance, and actually pulls off a cautious rana, but gets backdropped into the heavens. Martel tags in to finish him off, but Shawn won't quit. Backbreaker gets two, and he takes a visually impressive Flair flip. Martel misses a blind charge, however, and Snuka gets the tag. Backdrop, and a diving forearm for two. Springboard bodypress, but Martel rolls through (with a handful of tights, for good measure), and Snuka's done at 9:28. Jake corners Martel immediately, but he slips through his grasp to get a tag off to Hercules. Jake's good and pissed (angry, not his usual sort of 'pissed'), and tries to take his head off with the DDT, but Hercules bails. Another go, but Herc forces him too close to the heel side, and Martel steamrolls him from the apron. Roma tags, but misses a flying fistdrop, and Shawn Michaels hits a diving back elbow. Suplex, and a 2^nd rope elbowdrop gets two. Atomic drop, and a dropkick - but Hercules makes the save. He hits a nonchalant press slam, and a superplex/flying splash combo sends Shawn on his annual Holiday drug binge at 15:40. Jake is now all alone, but the crowd is behind him as he faces off with Hercules. That doesn't go his way, and a showdown with Warlord isn't much better - getting him trapped in a bearhug. He escapes, and hits the DDT, so Martel runs in, spraying him with the cologne again. Seeing red - but also figuring his odds are limited against the entire heel side - Jake grabs the snake, and chases Martel to the locker rooms with it, getting counted out in the process at 17:42.
Survivors: Rick Martel, The Warlord, Power & Glory
This was well paced, but didn't feel as rushed as the previous match, with hard work from everyone – particularly Shawn Michaels, who came off looking like the star he would become. * ¾ It also has the distinction of being the first clean sweep in Survivor Series history.

Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, The Big Bossman, Jim Duggan, and Tugboat) v The Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Dino Bravo, The Barbarian, and Haku) : The main issue here is Hogan/Earthquake - who had been feuding through most of the year - though there was also supposed to be the added intrigue of Bossman/Rude facing off on opposite sides, but Rude 'was suspended' (see: quit, after getting disgruntled at the size of his paycheck for the SummerSlam main event versus how much the Ultimate Warrior got), and was replaced by Haku - whose main issue in life was with footwear. Haku starts with Duggan, and the 'USA' chant is easier than ever to conjure up tonight - at the height of the Gulf War. Duggan controls with his usual clothesline heavy offense, and gives Bossman a turn, and the Bossman Slam sends Haku home at 3:15. Well, he beat the replacement. That's as good as Rude! Feud over! Barbarian comes in with a suplex, but a 2nd rope elbow drop misses, and Duggan tags back in. Backdrop, but he gets caught in the wrong part of town, and ends up on the receiving end of Earthquake's substantial backside. He retaliates as he best knows how - by attacking with a weapon - but we live in a SOCIETY OF RULES dammit! One where you can kick, punch, slam heads into concrete things - hell, break all the bones you like – but never with a 2x4 in your hand. There's a line, Jim Duggan. And you crossed it on November 22, 1990, 6:12 into your match. Hogan comes in to clean house (he brings his lawyer), and slams Earthquake on the first try. Yep, you know the level of intrigue is pretty much under the bottom of rock bottom when he does that. Ten punch count, but 'Quake slams him, Dino Bravo unloads with elbowdrops - only to get cradled for the elimination at 7:59. Bossman in with 'Quake, and he hits a flying bodypress for two, but an assist from Barbarian allows Earthquake to splash him, and he's done at 9:08. Hogan unloads again, but this time the slam fails - which is kind of fatuous, backwards wrestling psychology, but whatever. Splash misses, and Tugboat reminds us he's here by tagging in. He barely has a chance, as virtuous babyface Hogan pulls Earthquake to the floor during his clean, one-on-one showdown, and when Tugboat stupidly follows, they both get counted out at 11:33. So, basically, Hogan's an asshole who wanted to hog all the glory for himself. Tagged out only when he absolutely had to let someone else play. Fucked with Earthquake using a cheap shot - costing him an elimination. And, oh yeah, he's the hero. And people wonder why fans flocked towards a new type of hero in guys like Bret Hart during the 90s, en masse. That leaves Hogan with Barbarian, and they try to build suspense (because it's Hogan versus the fucking Barbarian) by posting Hogan on the floor, and Barbarian hits a well executed piledriver for two. Flying clothesline to finish, but! HULK UP!! Big boot, and the legdrop finishes at 14:49.
Survivor: Hulk Hogan 
Well paced, fun match - without a resthold in sight - though it really should have ended with Hogan over Earthquake cleanly. What were they saving that blowoff for, if not here? **.

Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Alliance (Nikolai Volkoff, Tito Santana, and The Bushwhackers) v The Mercenaries (Sgt. Slaughter, Boris Zhukov, and The Orient Express): This was coming off of a brilliant angle where American-hero Slaughter returned to the WWF after a five-year absence - and with the escalating tensions in the Middle East - turned heel, saying the Americans were soft, and that he was proud to align himself with Saddam Hussein, and Iraq. It drew phenomenal heat, and got him a push all the way to the WWF Title, as well as a WrestleMania main event. His more direct issue here is with Nikolai Volkoff, newly naturalized, and proud American citizen after the fall of the Soviet Union (he must have had one hell of a visa all those years), who is particularly offended by Slaughter’s anti-American rhetoric. Zhukov starts off with Tito, and quickly eats the diving forearm at 0:48. The Orient Express jump him, but a double team backfires, and the Bushwhackers pull of their own, eliminating Sato with a battering ram at 1:46. Santana in, and a quick diving forearm loses Tanaka at 2:13, leaving Slaughter alone. Volkoff comes in first, but Slaughter dismantles him, and a dropkick finishes at 5:25. The Bushwhackers double team, but Luke's attempt at a flying bodypress hits the knees, and Slaughter hits a gutbuster at 6:30. Butch doesn't fare any better, quickly falling to a clothesline at 6:53. Fuck, somebody get the bookers a Valium, or something. Tito puts up a better fight, a casa of arson, hitting a flying clothesline. Monkey flip, but Sarge tosses him off, and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Backbreaker for two, and a hanging vertical suplex gets two. Santana gets the diving forearm, so General Adnan (Slaughter's manager) nails Tito with the Iraqi flag for the weak disqualification ending at 10:52.
Survivor: Tito Santana
Really, if they needed to pad out the babyface side for the final match, they should have put Bret Hart over earlier, and Slaughter over here - especially because there was no point in protecting Tito Santana at this point, and that ending didn't help anybody. Match was just a basic squash, with a lot of guys in it. ½*

So, to kill time, and to give the guys in the Main Event a bit of rest, Mean Gene Okerlund ventures out to the giant, oversized egg that had been sitting near the entrance all night. The idea here was that, for weeks building up to the event, the WWF had been hyping this oversized egg on its programming – promising that it would ‘hatch’ at the Survivor Series – trying to add intrigue to a lackluster card. Much speculation abounded over what would come out – with most assuming it would mean the debut of a new wrestler. Instead, the egg hatches - and a dude in a turkey costume (Héctor Guerrero, brother of Eddie) pops out, and introduces himself as the Gobbledy Gooker - a one time Thanksgiving themed mascot. The Gooker then proceeds to dance with Gene, and is never heard from again… until modern WWE, when they learned to make fun of themselves. It was considered a huge letdown at the time - and is today remembered as one of the WWF's bigger misses, as it would have been fine as a mascot alone, maybe, but came off horribly after weeks of build.

Grand Finale Match of Survival: Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Tito Santana v Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Warlord, and Power & Glory: Warlord and Santana start, and I guess that Valium hasn't kicked in yet, 'cause the diving forearm finishes at 0:28. Paul Roma jumps him with a powerslam immediately, however, and a DiBiase suplex gets two. Tito with the fists of fury, but he gets stungunned at 1:51. Hogan comes in - taunting DiBiase about greed, in the ultimate pot-kettle-black moment - but he gets caught in the wrong part of town, and Roma hits a flying axehandle for two. Power and Glory with the superplex/flying splash combo to finish, but he HULKS UP!! Clothesline kills Roma at 5:57. Martel faces Warrior next, and gets stomped into an arrogance scented grease spot. Series of slams, a faceslam, and Hogan comes in to finish with the big boot, but Martel bails, hightailing it to the back rather than take any more abuse at 7:17. I guess the theory was that they were building him for Roberts, not wanting to job him here, though having him get slaughtered, and then run to the back like a coward twice in one night doesn't exactly make him come off like Ron Swanson. DiBiase tries Hogan next, but gets cross corner clotheslined immediately. Big boot. Legdrop. And DiBiase's turkey is waiting for him at 8:30. Herc charges in, but gets powerslammed, and Warrior unloads with a series of clotheslines. Diving shoulderblock. Splash. Happy Thanksgiving at 9:07. Afterwards Hogan continues to publicly endorse Warrior - desperately trying to help salvage that sinking ship - but his title run had already done all the damage it would do, and he would drop the title at the next pay per view. 
Ultimate Survivors: Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior 
Match was energetic, but no one was going out of their way during their second appearance, with all the endings academic, and the whole thing wrapped up in under ten minutes. 1987 would roll over in its grave if it could see that! ¼*

BUExperience: The card is really easy to sit through, due to the breakneck pace, but what they actually booked is about as lackluster as it gets. Standard expected stuff not settled (Roberts/Martel, Legion of Doom/Demolition) for later blowoffs, though this time nothing was settled, not even giving us an ending to feuds that had long played out – like Hogan/Earthquake. The Gobbledy Gooker was a letdown, but the bigger letdown was the missed opportunities from a booking standpoint. Roddy Piper doing commentary? Randy Savage – one of the best wrestlers on the roster – saddled with an interview, and nothing more?

It certainly has some major historical value going for it with the debut of The Undertaker – who would go on to become one of their biggest, and most dependable draws over the years – though the lack of a definitive main event hurt this one big time, and clearly signaled that a bigger change than a ‘Grand Finale’ excuse for Hogan and Warrior to shake hands was needed. *