WWF Survivor Series 1996

As an eleven year old mark, I have very fond memories of watching this show on pay per view. The WWF was getting killed financially by WCW at the time, and they built this card nicely, with the blowoff to the Mankind/Undertaker feud, Shawn Michaels defending the WWF Title against Sid, and, probably most intriguing of all, the return of Bret Hart – after eight months of absence, and worries that he would also jump to WCW – to finally face off with Steve Austin, and his mouth.

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross.


Free For All Survivor Series Elimination Match: Jesse James, Aldo Montoya, Bob Holly, and Bart Gunn v The Sultan, Justin Bradshaw, Salvatore Sincere, and Billy Gunn: Montoya and the Sultan start, and Montoya unloads with a series of dropkicks. Flying bodypress gets two, but he gets caught in a piledriver off of a criss cross, and Sultan sends him home with the Camel Clutch at 3:55. Holly charges in (already dropping both straps!) with a bulldog, but a cheap shot from the heel side gets him belly to belly suplexed. Sincere and Bart Gunn have a go, and Bart quickly gets rid of him with a sidewalk slam at 6:55. Kinda sad that he was still using his half if the Sidewinder as a finisher at this point. Bradshaw in, but he walks into Holly's famous dropkick for two. Bradshaw throws him a Russian legsweep, and a lariat sends Holly home at 8:35. James immediately runs in to schoolboy him at 8:46, and goes with Sultan. He doesn't want to go to class, however, so James has to show him his small package at 9:44. Billy Gunn quickly runs in with a fameasser to send his future outlaw home at 9:59, leaving us with a showdown of the Smoking Gunns - with Billy thankfully switching to tan denim for this match so we know he's the evil one. Also, for future reference, next time, at the mall. He slaps Bart around, but gets caught in a diving forearm, and we're out at 10:46.
Survivor: Bart Gunn
This was just a warm-up match for the pay per view preshow, with rapid fire eliminations, and no flow. ¼*

Opening Survivor Series Elimination Match: Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and The New Rockers v Doug Furnas, Phil LaFon, and The Godwinns: Unfortunately, no snappy team names this year. Marty Jannetty and Phil LaFon start, and trade armbars, until LaFon takes Marty's head off with a clothesline. Both tag (Leif Cassidy and Phineas Godwinn), and Leif catches him with a bodyslam, but a second try fails (usually goes the other way with bodyslams), so the heels gang up to take down the force that is Phineas Godwinn. Jannetty misses a 2^nd rope flying elbowdrop, however, and Henry Godwinn tags to finish him with the Slop Drop (an inverted DDT) at 8:12. He makes the mistake of turning his back on the opposing corner, however, and Owen runs in with a spinkick to the back of the head at 8:18. Phineas back in, unloading on everyone, but Davey catches him with the Running Powerslam at 9:04. Doug Furnas squares off against Davey, but botches a dropkick, so Owen tags, and nearly takes his head off with a flying version. Owen with a fisherman's suplex for two, and Davey hits the hanging vertical suplex as they cut the ring in half. Cassidy gets his turn, but misses a blind charge, and LaFon kills him with rolling side superplex at 13:43. Owen with a belly to belly suplex, a neckbreaker, and a flying elbowdrop gets two. Enzuigiri for two, and they try a double team, but LaFon catches Davey Boy with a sunset flip, and he's done at 17:22. Davey clips his knee on the way out to give Owen a fighting chance (and also because he's a proper heel), and Hart zeros in. Sharpshooter, but Furnas breaks it up, and LaFon catches Owen with his own modified enzuigiri. Furnas with a dropkick for two, and an overhead suplex gets two. An impressive release German suplex (with Owen taking a 360 bump off of it) finishes at 20:41.
Survivors: Doug Furnas, Phil LaFon
This was Furnas and LaFon's WWF debut, and a clean win over the reigning Tag Champions signaled big things for them, but they failed to get over with the audience, and eventually left the promotion the next year. Match had some great bits, but also quite a few botches and mistimed spots – particularly from the likely nervous duo of Furnas and LaFon. Otherwise, well paced, and booked. * ¾

The Undertaker v Mankind: This is 'Taker's return, after Mankind buried him alive at the last pay per view. Which, for those keeping track, is the second time the Undertaker no-sold death by simply changing his outfit - in this case going from the second old school Undertaker look, to his leather medieval bat king ensemble. It's also the reason why I always carry a change of clothes with me. Well, that and a love of Indian food. Paul Bearer (aligned with Mankind, for those Bearer tracking) is suspended in a shark cage, fifteen feet above the ring to prevent his interference - and also, because who doesn't love suspended animation. If the Undertaker wins, he gets five minutes alone to do what he wants with Paul Bearer. In the ring, to be clear. 'Taker wastes time fiddling with Bearer, allowing Mankind to jump him, but 'Taker slugs back, and works on the Claw hand - trying to disable it. He rams it into the steps, stops on it, even ties it up with the tag rope, but misses an elbowdrop, and Mankind hits the Cactus clothesline. They spill into the crowd, allowing 'Taker to backdrop Mankind over the rail, but Mankind catches him with a somersault bodyblock off of the apron. Inside, Mankind tries to keep 'Taker down, but gets hammered, and 'Taker goes back to attacking the claw-hand. Also, that's the one he masturbates with - so, just mean. Tombstone, but Mankind locks the Mandible Claw, only to get dumped. Ropewalk forearm, and the chokeslam, but Mankind gets the Claw on again. 'Taker fades, but gets off a desperation chokeslam to escape. Mankind dodges the jumping clothesline, putting 'Taker on the outside, but another somersault bodyblock misses, so Mankind grabs a shiv. He unloads with it, but gets caught in the tombstone, and 'Taker takes it at 14:52. He gets five minutes to have his way with Paul Bearer, but the Executioner (Terry Gordy, under a mask) runs in to stop the debut of anal rape on WWF pay per view, extending the Mankind/Undertaker feud. Dull match, as they seemed to be grasping for ways to be original, after already having several high profile pay per view matches against each other.  Luckily they would eventually figure out all sorts of fun new ways for ‘Taker to try to murder Mankind – like throwing him fifteen feet off of a cage, through a table. *

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Crush, Jerry Lawler, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Goldust v Marc Mero, Jake Roberts, The Stalker, and Rocky Maivia: This is notable as the debut of The Rock, as lovable third generation babyface Rocky Maivia! They spend a while debating who gets to start - finally settling on Mero and Goldust - with Mero tossing him around. Crush gives it a go, and Rocky tries to hold him in an armbar. He's a rookie, though, so he gets quickly overpowered, and caught in the wrong part of town. The heels cut the ring in half, but he backdrops Hunter to comeback, and Jake Roberts (who sadly, has forgotten his shirt for the event - or more likely lost it somewhere around the Village) is a Molotov cocktail. DDT puts Lawler away at 10:00. Goldust runs in with a chinlock (yeah dude, run in for that!), but Jake gets the tag off to The Stalker (Barry Windham). Suplex gets two, so he tries a superplex, but gets shoved off, and the CurtainCall finishes at 12:44. Mero in, but the heels gang up, and cut the ring in half. Headscissors takes Helmsley down, and he unloads with the Golden Gloves routine. Hunter tries to dump him, but Mero catches him on the return with a springboard moonsault at 19:20. Dropkick puts Crush on the outside, but Mero face plants off of a slingshot dive, and Crush finishes him with the Heart Punch at 20:33. Roberts in, but he suffers the same fate at 20:54. That one actually shocked his system so badly, it is still keeping him alive. And wrestlers say they need a union. Rocky comes in to show down, and Crush calls for a test-of-strength (causing all the kids in the audience to simultaneously yell 'no, no!' in a great bit), and, of course, Crush nails him with a cheap shot. The heels gang up, but Rocky holds his own, dodging Crush's heart punch, and finishing him with a bodypress at 23:12. Shoulderbreaker (his original finisher) finishes Goldust at 23:44.  
Survivor: Rocky Maivia
Smart booking in letting Mero take the heat portion, but no one was going beyond 'kick-punch' here, which made for a dull match. ½*

#1 Contenders Match: Bret Hart v Steve Austin: This was setup by a fantastic angle, as Hart - on hiatus since dropping the WWF Title to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII - started getting called out by the increasingly rebellious Steve Austin. To finally shut him up, Bret returns (legitimately doing Vince McMahon a favor, and turning down a better deal from WCW in the process - which becomes important next year) and faces down Stone Cold. Big staredown to start, and Austin flips him the double bird - back when that was still a less common occurrence. Austin wins the initial lockup - forcing Hart into the corner - and then letting off, just to make sure he knows who's boss. They fight viciously over a hammerlock, with Bret taking control, and neutralizing him on the mat, until Austin nails him with a back elbow. Short-clothesline, and Austin tries a reverse chinlock, but Hart counters back into a wristlock. Austin maneuvers, but Hart won't let off, so he drops him with a stungun. Austin chokes away, and dumps him to the outside - already celebrating victory. He drags him back in for a chinlock (which is appropriate here, as he has been working the neck, and his finisher is the Stunner), but Hart wrestles out. Slugfest goes Austin's way, but Bret catches him with an inverted atomic drop. He sets up the Russian legsweep, but goes into a quick rollup instead (knowing Austin has been training for him), and gets two - in a nice bit. Russian legsweep (without the standard setup) gets two, and he goes into the standard follow-up bulldog, but Austin knows it's coming, and counters by sending him into the buckle, chest first. Austin with a superplex, but that's one of Bret's holds, and he tosses him off, then drops an elbow from the 2^nd rope. Backbreaker, but again Austin is ready, and rakes the eyes. To the outside, Austin posts him, but gets cocky, and Hart knocks the rail over with Austin's head. Bret tries to head in, but Austin evades him, running to the other side of the ring. It proves to be a good maneuver, as he trips Bret up, and hits a slingshot onto the announce table, following over to slam him onto it. Suplex back in, and the FU elbow gets two. Austin goes back to the neck, but gets stungunned by Bret during a slugfest. Bret cradles him for two, and hits a well executed piledriver for two. Backbreaker, but Austin catches him on the top rope, and super-duperplexes him off. Another great bit there, as both guys got to hit the spots they failed with earlier – but only after disorienting each other first. Both guys are dead, but Bret busts out a complex cradle from flat on his back for two. Austin with the Stunner for two, but he can't believe it, so he turns it into a series of two counts. Bret still won't quit, so Steve loses it, and just starts punching like a wildman. Texas Cloverleaf, but Hart makes the ropes, so Austin whips him into the ringpost. That gets two, so he tries to finish breaking Bret's back with a surfboard, but Hart counters to the Sharpshooter – only to have Austin dive for the ropes. Sleeper, but Austin quickly stuns his way out. Bret is staggered, so Austin gets the Million Dollar Dream, but Hart runs the ropes, and gets the pin at 28:36. Absolutely fantastic, original match that legitimized Steve Austin as a main eventer, and pulled out all the stops. This wasn't a crazy weapon filled, blood spilling brawl (though, they would do that at WrestleMania 13 a few months later), but instead a great psychological battle, as Austin spent months training for Hart – to the point where Bret couldn't even perform any of his standard offense - but despite his best efforts, after his finisher failed him, he lost sight of his training, and allowed Bret the opportunity to pin him the same way he won the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania VIII. Something like that would certainly not have been lost on the Austin character, and the frustration at his mistake caused him to continue to antagonize Hart for months, leading to the aforementioned Submission Match at WrestleMania – which is considered one of the milestone moments in the birth of the Attitude Era. **** ½

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Faarooq, Vader, 'Razor Ramon,' and 'Diesel' v Flash Funk, Savio Vega, Yokozuna, and Jimmy Snuka: Snuka was a much hyped mystery partner, rumored to be anyone from Randy Savage (who was on hiatus from WCW), or The Ultimate Warrior, depending on who you talk to. Not a rumor: Snuka was a letdown to everyone. When you're eleven, and think 'seriously?' it's not good. Vader starts with Funk, and unloads with the body shots. Funk with a spinkick, and they spill to the outside, where he hits a flying moonsault. Inside, Funk tries to keep it going, but walks into Vader's gut. Powerbomb draws Yokozuna in, and both guys tag, allowing Savio Vega to throw the fake Razor Ramon around. He doesn't have as much luck with fake Diesel, however, and that powerbomb sends him home at 8:39. Snuka runs in, and starts unloading headbutts on Ramon. Superfly Splash (a flying splash) finishes him at 9:28. Diesel clobbers him with a chair in response, leading everyone to brawl with chairs in their hands, and the referee throws the whole thing out at 9:48.  
Survivors: None
Well, honestly, after ten of these shows, it's about time they tried that finish - teasing it in the '91 opener - though this match was horrible. Everyone made good use to quick tags to keep the pace going, but sloppy work all around, particularly from Savio Vega - who missed about half of his spots, which were sold anyway. ½*

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Sid: Sid beats the hell out of him to start – allowing Shawn to pinball around the ring - but Shawn catches him with a bodypress, and locks him in a mat-based side-headlock. Sid wrestles out, and Shawn makes the mistake of paint brushing Sid with a couple of slaps - and a slugfest doesn't go his way. Powerbomb, but Michaels bails to the floor to block. He lures Sid into a chase, and clips the knee on the way back inside. Shawn goes to work on it - trying to keep Sid off of his feet - and locks a figure four. It ends up in the ropes, but Michaels keeps attacking the knee – drawing a mixed reaction from the crowd. Sid powers out of a leglock, shoving Michaels shoulder first into the post, and he hammers away on it. Blind charge misses, however, and Shawn hits a breathtaking dropkick to the knee, executed with amazing precision. He tries to continue working the knee, but gets dumped, and Sid press slams him onto the rail. He continues to work the shoulder, and catches a Michaels flying bodypress attempt with a backbreaker for two. Shawn intelligently tries to draw sympathy by rallying, and engaging Sid in a slugfest, but he gets nailed coming off of the 2^nd rope. Sid with a cobra clutch, but Michaels fights out, and looks to finish. Superkick countered with a chokeslam, and Shawn tries Bret's finish from last year, cradling him during the powerbomb. It gets two, so Shawn tries the diving clothesline. Kip up, but he walks right into a lariat. Sid grabs a camera from one of the ringside cameramen - drawing protests from Michaels' manager Jose Lothario - so Sid takes him out, but walks right into a Superkick. Shawn see's Lothario hurt on the floor, however, and heads out to help him, allowing Sid to clobber him with the camera, and the powerbomb finishes at 20:02. The crowd was all over the place here, starting mixed, but ending firmly behind Sid. The problem wasn't so much that they hated Shawn Michaels, but with the booking of the match, as Shawn didn't draw sympathy properly. He looked like a chump throughout, with Sid stopping every comeback attempt we've been trained to recognize (Shawn skins the cat - gets clobbered; Shawn kips up - gets clobbered etc), and generally dominating – not allowing Shawn to string together more than one or two offensive moves. Shawn realized it at one point - trying to draw sympathy with a slugfest and 'come on, bring it' gestures, but he just kept getting clobbered again and again – like playing against some videogame with the difficulty set on expert. This led to the WWF planning a heel turn for Michaels, and him getting the title back at the Royal Rumble with the plan to drop it to Bret Hart at WrestleMania – though both plans changed. Match was decent otherwise, but kind of fell apart at the end, as they didn't want to make either guy look weak. * ¾

BUExperience: Um, it’s got Hart/Austin, and The Rock debuts. The rest of the show could have been Crush standing mid-ring in tighty whities, shoveling beans in his mouth, and blowing farts at the camera every forty seconds – it still would be a relevant show. Thankfully, they didn't go that way. But they could have.

With WCW destroying the WWF financially, this was a clear change in direction, with new stars debuting (Furnas and LaFon, Rocky Maivia), intense feuds (Hart/Austin, Undertaker/Mankind), and a change on top with Sid’s victory for the WWF Title. Some of these were less important than others in the long term battle with WCW, while others were the ammo for the explosion into the Attitude Era the next year.

It should be noted that this was a far better product than what WCW was putting on at the time (compare it to Starrcade, from the next month), with better production values, atmosphere, and overall presentation. What it lacked, unfortunately, was one overarching angle to carry the promotion the way WCW had with the nWo – though they would pick up on that in 1997.  **