WWF Survivor Series 1987 (Version III)

 

Original Airdate: November 26, 1987

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

Backstage, Craig DeGeorge catches up with WWF Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man, and his team, to shout their last minute threats 

Backstage, Gene Okerlund catches up with Randy Savage, and his team, so they can shout back

Opening Survivor Series Elimination Match: Honky Tonk Man, Harley Race, Hercules, Ron Bass, and Danny Davis v Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Brutus Beefcake, Jake Roberts, and Jim Duggan: Hercules and Beefcake start, and they posture. A criss cross allows Beefcake to get the sleeper on early, but he slips away in his home corner, and tags to Davis. Beefcake brings him in the hard way for a bodyslam, and he passes to Jake for a wristlock. The babyfaces take turns pinballing Danny around, until Ricky runs into a boot while charging in the corner. That allows a tag to Race, and he drills Steamboat with a shoulderbreaker. Corner whip, but Ricky jumps on the middle rope to block, and dives with a 2nd rope tomahawk. Race tries throwing him over the top a few times, but Steamboat keeps skinning the cat, so Race drops him with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Ricky manages to get a tag off to Duggan, and Jim clotheslines Race over the top. Jim follows for a slugfest on the outside, and both guys are counted out at 4:32. Bass and Roberts are in next, and they posture. Bass with a bodyslam, but he misses an elbowdrop, and Randy tags in to hit Ron with a high knee. Savage with a backelbow, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop for one. Macho with a bodyslam, but he gets distracted by Honky, and Bass clotheslines him. That allows Honky to tag in to unload, but Macho gets fired up, so Honky hides out in his home corner. Bass tags back in to work Macho over, but Randy counters a piledriver with a backdrop. He manages a blind tag to Beefcake, and Brutus nails an oblivious Bass with a high knee at 6:59. Hercules rushes in, but Beefcake slams him before he can get anything off. Hercules manages to put Brutus down, and he unloads a bit, before passing to Honky for a wristlock. The heels work Beefcake over, until he makes a brief comeback on Honky, but stupidly tries to gut it out instead of tagging. That allows Honky to hit him with the swinging neckbreaker at 10:49. You’d think he’d know better, being a former tag champion, and all. I guess Valentine carried that team. Macho runs in, but Honky tags out to Hercules before Savage can grab him. The heels dominate Savage, but Honky misses a clothesline, and Jake gets the tag. He looks for a quick DDT, but Honky hits the deck to block. Jake tries a charge in the corner, but Honky gets his knee up to block, and the heels cut the ring in half on Jake now. Davis loses control, and Jake drops him with a short-clothesline, then the DDT at 15:08. Hercules pops Jake with a clothesline as soon as he’s up after the pin, and a pair of elbowdrops get him two. The heels work Jake over, until he catches Hercules with a chincrusher, and Steamboat gets the tag. He runs wild, and Hercules eats some chops. That allows Ricky to get to the top for a flying tomahawk chop, and a bodyslam sets up a chop drop. Tag to Macho for the flying elbowdrop to finish him at 21:02. That was a great fall! Honky is all alone now, and Randy goes right to work. He gets overzealous, however, and runs himself into the corner. That allows Honky to hammer, but a clothesline misses, and Macho delivers a forearm smash on the rebound. Tag to Ricky, and Honky eats some chops. Over to Jake to get his shots in, as the babyfaces take turns just destroying the Intercontinental champion. Honky ends up going over the top after an atomic drop from Savage, and he walks out at 23:41.

Survivors: Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts

This wasn’t bad by any means, but it’s clear that they hadn’t nailed down the concept yet, as it was way too long, and any match with heat segment after heat segment for that length of time is not an easy watch. * ¼ (*; **) (Three review average rating: 1.42)

Backstage, DeGeorge catches up with Andre the Giant and his team, and Andre promises that he’ll beat Hulk Hogan again, just like he did at WrestleMania III

Survivor Series t-shirt and souvenir program ad

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Sensational Sherri, Leilani Kai, Judy Martin, Dawn Marie, and Donna Christianello v Fabulous Moolah, Rockin' Robin, Velvet McIntyre, Noriyo Tateno, and Itsuki Yamazaki: It’s so weird seeing Moolah as a babyface. Sherri blitzes Velvet to kickstart things, and she dominates. Velvet manages a bodypress for two, allowing the tag to Moolah, and she whips Sherri around with snapmares. Sherri sneaks off long enough to tag Donna, and Moolah hits her with a catapult. Tag to Velvet for a backelbow, and a dropkick leads to a bodyslam for two. Velvet with a victory roll from there, and Donna is gone at 1:59. Kai rushes in and throws Velvet around, but Robin catches a tag. She immediately gets clobbered in the heel corner, and they work Robin over - until Robin catches Dawn with a bodypress at 4:12. The dust settles on Kai in with Yamazaki, and they trade cradles. Yamazaki dominates, and passes to Tateno to throw Kai around, but she manages to pass to Sherri. Tateno nails her with a backelbow ahead of a butterfly suplex for two, as Monsoon and Ventura go to great lengths to put the Jumping Bomb Angels over. Tag to Robin for an elbowdrop on Sherri for two, but Sherri fights her off, and tags Kai. Robin manages to fight Kai with a monkeyflip, so Sherri tags back in, and bodyslams her. Sherri adds a vertical suplex to send Robin home at 6:53. Yamazaki rushes in to dropkick Sherri a few times, but the second knocks her right into a tag to Martin. Martin dodges Yamazaki and uses a facebuster, but Velvet manages to tag in for a bodypress for two. Tag to Kai, so Velvet hits her with a catapult, and Moolah tags in to school Kai a bit. Back to Martin, and she slugs at Moolah, before blasting her with a backelbow. Moolah with a cradle for two, and she tags to Yamazaki. Kai hits her with a jumping axehandle, and the heels dominate Yamazaki but fail to cut the ring in half, and Moolah tags back in. Moolah runs wild, but gets double teamed by the Glamour Girls, and pinned at 10:55. Tateno rushes in, but eats a big boot from Martin. Martin tries a second one, but Tateno blocks, and decks her. Tag to Yamazaki, and Yamazaki comes in to work the leg. Over to Velvet for a Mexican surfboard, but Martin hangs on. Velvet dropkicks her right into a tag to Sherri, and that goes badly when Sherri feeds her a facebuster. Tag to Tateno, but Kai hits her with a butterfly suplex for two - though the bell rings as if it was three. Velvet tags back in, but immediately gets into trouble again. She manages a giant swing on Sherri, and a victory roll on Sherri sends the WWF Women’s Champion home at 14:57. We get some Glamour Girls/Jumping Bomb Angels exchanges from there, until a still battered Velvet decides to get back in, and eats a hotshot from Kai at 17:23. The four remaining women all come in to brawl from there, dominated by the Angels. Kai misses a flying splash, allowing a tag to Tateno for a flying bodypress at 18:38! Martin rushes in to nail Tateno, and a fireman drop gets her two. Tateno fights off for a tag to Yamazaki, and Yamazaki dives with a flying kneedrop on the way in. The Angels hit a tandem backdrop, so Jimmy Hart tries a distraction, but it fails. That allows the Angels to finish at 20:17.

Survivors: Noriyo Tateno, Itsuki Yamazaki

Like the opener, this was just too long, and dragged, but unlike the opener it didn’t have the star power to make up for it. It started out well enough with pretty quick eliminations, but then slowed way down after Moolah got eliminated, with an extended segment before the next fall. * ¼ (*; **) (Three review average rating: 1.42)

Backstage, DeGeorge catches up with the Hart Foundation’s team, and man, I’d love to be a part of any group as lively as these Survivor Series teams during backstage interviews 

Backstage, Okerlund catches up with Strike Force’s team, ready for action

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Strike Force, The British Bulldogs, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, The Killer Bees, and The Young Stallions v The Hart Foundation, Demolition, The New Dream Team, The Bolsheviks, and The Islanders: Rick Martel starts with Nikolai Volkoff, and Martel rolls him up for two right away. Rick with a series of punches, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. That allows Volkoff to unload a bit, and a bodyslam sets up a stomp. Tag to Boris Zhukov, but he misses an elbowdrop, and Martel dropkicks him. A bodypress gets two, and a backdrop follows, allowing a tag to Tito Santana. He uses a bodypress for two, and the jumping forearm finishes the Bolsheviks at 1:42. Ax rushes in to nail Tito, but an elbowdrop misses, and Jacques Rougeau tags in with a jumping backelbow. Tag to Dino Bravo, but Jacques dominates him. The babyfaces dominate Dino with quick tags, but Smash catches a tag in. The Bulldogs do battle with him, but Dynamite Kid runs into trouble. Tag to Haku to trade chops with Kid, and Haku wins that one, then throws a headbutt. The Killer Bees come in to stick and move on Haku until he tags Jim Neidhart, but Anvil runs into a drop-toehold. The babyfaces pepper Neidhart for a bit, but Ax tags back in. Jacques tries to hit him with a 2nd rope bodypress, but Ax ducks, and covers at 5:46. Kid rushes in with headbutts on Ax, and a snap suplex. Tag to Tama, but he gets into trouble against the Stallions. Neidhart puts a stop to that, and the heels dominate Paul Roma. Demolition get carried away, however, and end up shoving the referee for a DQ at 9:10. Kid ends up down in a heap after that, and Bret Hart rushes in to piledrive him for two. Very nice execution on that one - excellent, you might say. Bret unloads in the corner, but misses a charge, and Jim Powers tags in. He tries a backdrop, but Bret blocks, and passes to Tama. Tama with a jumping clothesline, and a bodyslam sets up a pump-splash, but Powers dodges. Tag to Martel, and he runs wild on Tama. A dropkick sets up the Boston crab, but he’s too close to the corner, and Anvil tags in while the hold is being applied. He hits Martel with a clothesline from behind for two, but a charge in the corner goes badly, and Tito tags. He nails Neidhart with a jumping forearm, but the Hitman saves at two, and Anvil pins a groggy Santana at 12:01. Roma comes in, and he muscles Neidhart into the babyface corner for some abuse, but Powers misses a dropkick. That allows the heels to work him over, until Roma tags in… and promptly gets destroyed by the heels as well. Back to Powers… and back to the heat segment. Fuck, get on with it already. Bret misses a dropkick to allow the tag to Kid, and that turns the tide. Kid with a corner whip for two, and a side suplex gets another two, but he stupidly tags Roma back in. Jesse is all over him for that. Roma immediately fucks it up, but he manages to tag B. Brian Blair before he gets into too much trouble. Powers gets tagged back in to immediately trigger another heat segment, but Davey Boy catches a tag. He press-slams Hart for two, so Haku tags in. Davey hits him with the running powerslam for two, so he passes to Kid for a combo, but Kid’s 2nd rope headbutt backfires on a man like Haku. That allows Haku a superkick at 19:55. That segment was way too long. Roma rushes in with a few dropkicks on Haku for one, but Haku shakes him off with a bodyslam, before tagging to Dino. Bravo misses an elbowdrop, allowing the tag to Powers, but he gets blocked on a monkey flip. Tag to Greg Valentine to beat on Powers with chops, and the heels work Powers over. Dino hits a sidewalk slam, but decides to tag Greg instead of cover. Greg tries the figure four, but Powers blocks, and tags Roma for a flying sunset flip at 23:37. The babyface side is looking pretty weak here, I’m surprised that they picked those two teams to finish it out. The dust settles on the Bees peppering Neidhart, and Blair hooks a small package for two. Jim Brunzell with a high knee for two, but Anvil overpowers him, and tags to Bret. Brunzell with a takedown, and he tags Blair for a combo. Tag to Roma, as the babyfaces dominate Hart. but it’s Roma, so he quickly fucks it up. Has no one learned anything out there?! And how in the world are they still in there?! Brunzell gets a tag and runs wild on Haku, but fails to cut the ring in half, and Hart tags back in. Roma hits him with a 2nd rope fistdrop for two, but Bret side suplexes him for two. The heels work Roma over again, and man, this needs to go home in the worst way already. Brunzell gets a tag in, and he tries a bodyslam on Bret, so Tama throws a dropkick. That topples Brunzell, but he manages to roll through for the pin at 30:26. That entire segment was kind of a whole lot of nothing. The Islanders go to work on Brunzell, and man, a series of nerveholds and another heat segment in a match that’s already over thirty minutes deep is a lot to stomach. Haku telegraphs a backdrop, allowing the tag to Powers, and the crowd doesn’t even pop for that. Ouch. But fair. Roma hits Haku with a powerslam after tagging in, and he passes to Blair, but Haku kills him. Go home already. Things break down for a brawl, and the Bees do the old mask routine before pinning Tama with a slingshot sunset flip at 37:13.

Survivors: The Killer Bees, The Young Stallions

35.05. Just insanely, punishingly long. The sheer length negated whatever good stuff this might have had. And what weird booking, with the big star teams not making it to the end. * (** ½; ***) (Three review average rating: 2.17)

Ted DiBiase vignette, as he shows us how he spends Thanksgiving, while mocking the other wrestlers for working hard, trying to survive, while he thrives 

DeGeorge brings Honky out for a podium interview, as they do an extended stall to fill time, even having Gorilla and Jesse go through all the matches we just saw in long form. Anyway, Honky wants to challenge Hulk in a title-for-title match

Backstage, Okerlund catches up with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan’s team, and no one can ramble about a match and get you psyched like Hogan in the 80s

Main Event: Survivor Series Elimination Match: Hulk Hogan, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Paul Orndorff, and Bam Bam Bigelow v Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude, Butch Reed, and One Man Gang: Muraco and Rude start, and they get right into a slugfest - Rude getting the upper hand with an eye poke. Cross corner whip, but Don fights him off, and tags to Orndorff. Orndorff unloads, and lands a kneelift before passing to Hulk. Hogan comes in with a clothesline to set up a trio of elbowdrops, and it’s over to Bam Bam. Hulk bodyslams Rude to set up a splash from Bam Bam, and Bigelow gives Rick a press-slam. Tag to Ken for a flying axehandle, but it knocks Rick into his corner, and Reed is able to tag. Patera hits him with a quick clothesline, and a small package gets him two. Over to Don for a dropkick, and then back to Orndorff for a dropkick of his own - two of them! Back to Hulk for a tandem clothesline, and Hogan delivers the legdrop at 2:58. Andre comes in next, giving us the epic showdown, but Patera has been tagged in, so Hulk can’t have his shot. If he’s so broken up about it, why not just tag back in, you giant poseur? Andre doesn’t feel like squashing Ken, and lets Bundy in instead. Ken dominates him, and tags Orndorff, but Gang is able to tag in because Patera fails to cut the ring in half first. That goes nowhere before Rude tags in, and Orndorff hits him with a pointed elbowdrop for two. Tag to Don for a clothesline, as the babyfaces continue to absolutely dominate this thing. Muraco gets caught in the heel corner to allow the tide to briefly turn, before Gang misses an avalanche, and Ken tags back in. Ken peppers Gang with punches, and a bodypress gets him two. Ken with a cross corner high knee, so Gang rakes the eyes, and takes him into the heel corner for some abuse. Gang then polishes him off with a clothesline at 8:38. Hogan rushes in to slug at Gang, and he lands a corner clothesline, before passing to Bam Bam for a stereo big boot spot. Bigelow tries a shoulderblock, but it backfires with big Gang, and we have tags to Orndorff and Rude. Orndorff runs wild on him, and a vertical suplex sets up a pointed elbowdrop. Orndorff keeps coming with a backdrop, and he wants a piledriver, but Bundy whacks him to put a stop to it. That allows Rude a schoolboy at 10:17. Don comes right in to hit Rude with an atomic drop and a clothesline while Rude celebrates, and Bigelow vertical suplexes him. Tag to Hulk for a high knee, then back to Muraco to powerslam him at 11:05. Bundy is in, but Muraco takes him to the mat, and goes after the leg. Tag out to Gang, so Don looks for a bodyslam, but Gang topples him for two. Andre adds a shot to knock Muraco silly, and Gang quickly capitalizes with a splash at 12:48. Bigelow comes in, but Gang hammers him. Bigelow tries a sunset flip, but Gang drops down to block, and passes to Bundy to deliver a clothesline - nicely sold by Bigelow. It gets two, and the heels cut the ring in half on Bam Bam. Andre comes in to finish the job, but Bigelow slips away, and tags Hulk - and now the place comes unglued! Hulk comes in with fists of fury, and Andre is unable to fight him off. Hulk leaves Andre staggered with a series of turnbuckle smashes, and he looks for the knockdown with a series of clotheslines, until Bundy pulls Hogan out of the ring. Hulk brawls with Bundy and Gang on the outside, and he bodyslams each of them on the floor, but gets counted out in the process at 18:06. Hogan should have dropped a pinfall to Andre here. It wouldn’t have hurt him, and would have added some more juice to the rematch. Hulk refuses to leave to the point that the referee has to threaten disqualifying Bigelow if he doesn’t, and finally Hogan goes. The dust settles on Bigelow and Bundy, and Bigelow clotheslines him down for an elbowdrop that gets two. A headbutt drop gets two, but a slingshot splash gets the pin on Bundy at 20:41. Bigelow is pretty spent, however, and Gang clobbers him. Gang goes to work, but misses a flying splash, and Bam Bam covers at 23:00. Unfortunately for Bigelow, Andre hustles in and kicks the shit out of him, before pinning him with a butterfly hiptoss at 24:16.

Survivor: Andre the Giant

Afterwards, Hogan hits the ring as soon as the bell sounds, and attacks Andre with the title belt for literally no reason, so the show can go off the air with Hulk’s music playing, even though he lost fair and square. I love Hulk, but how did he manage to stay a babyface for so long with his behavior? The match was basically all action, but still far too long. It had some peppy eliminations early on, but slowed down a lot in the second half, to the point where it dragged some. * ½ (***; ** ¾) (Three review average rating: 2.42)

Backstage, Okerlund catches up with Andre, who wants a title shot after what happened out there. I get that he won the match, but getting a pin on Hogan would have made this so much better

BUExperience: This is a weird show, in that I generally like all of the matches enough on an individual basis, but an entire show in this style is a lot to handle, and I can’t in good conscience recommend it. I’ll always have a soft spot for the concept, but the switch to the four-on-four matches later definitely went a long way in increasing the rewatchability of these. 

The other odd thing in the booking was that every match (save the women’s match) had multiple storylines and feuds going into the show, but very little happened to actually advance or build any of those stories during the matches (the only notable examples would be the Hart Foundation eliminating Strike Force to continue their angle, and the Andre/Hogan saga - though even their actual interaction was fairly limited). Even stranger still, no new angles branched out of the matches. They just kind of played out ‘straight.’ They’d get a lot better at that in future iterations as well. 

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