WWE Survivor Series 1993 Review
The seventh edition of the Survivor Series saw WWE change things up with a different format from the previous year. After doing only one traditional Survivor Series elimination match in 1992, they did four of them in 1993.
The only title match on this show was for the Smoking Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Titles, which didn’t mean a lot to WWE viewers.
This wasn’t the best of times for WWE even though 1993 was the year that they launched Monday Night Raw. There was a lack of star power, so they were doing what they could to develop people. Yokozuna was the WWE World Champion while Lex Luger was pushed to the top although not enough to win the title from Yoko. Other former World Champions like Bret Hart and The Undertaker were in the mix too.
The most significant lineup change for this show involved Jerry “The King” Lawler. He was supposed to lead his team against Bret Hart’s team, but he was pulled from the show with no explanation. Shawn Michaels took his place, which we’ll get to later. The reason why he was pulled was because he allegedly raped and sodomized a teenage girl. After this show took place, the girl claimed to make up the story. A popular version of the story is that wrestlers that Lawler owed money to from his Memphis promotion are the ones that put her up to it. Lawler returned to the company soon after Survivor Series since the charges were dropped.
If you look for this on WWE Network, they use the graphic with Tatanka on it even though he wasn’t on the show. The Undertaker replaced him on the babyface team.
Poor Tatanka. Basically, the story was Tatanka was taken out by Yokozuna and Ludvig Borga, which led to The Undertaker as a replacement. That was the right call by WWE.
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WWE Survivor Series
Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
November 24, 1993
There was a brief video featuring Lex Luger and his family wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving. This took place on a Wednesday night, which was Thanksgiving Eve.
There was a singing of the American national anthem to start the show.
It was a packed house in the Boston Garden as Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan welcomed us to the show. McMahon pointed out Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross working on WWF Radio for the show.
Analysis: This was Heenan’s last Survivor Series because he jumped two WCW two months after this. Jerry Lawler took over as the main heel color commentator and did a great job, but Heenan was my favorite in that role.
The heels walked out first for the opening tag match followed by the faces led by Razor Ramon. He announced the partner for his team, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Huge ovation for him.
Analysis: It was going to be Mr. Perfect, but I believe he was out with back problems.
Survivor Series Elimination Match: Irwin R. Schyster, Diesel, Rick Martel & Adam Bomb (w/Harvey Wippleman) vs. Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty & 1-2-3 Kid
Analysis: The IRS led team are the heels while Razor led the faces. To show you how the company was going through changes, it’s worth pointing out that Diesel, Bomb and Kid were making their Survivor Series debuts. Ramon was the Intercontinental Champion at the time.
Ramon started with Martel with a slap to the face and got a nearfall after a cross body block. Ramon gets two with his patented fallaway slam. Atomic drop by Ramon followed by clotheslines. Bomb tagged in for the heels and overpowered Ramon early on with shoulder tackles. They did the dreaded test of strength spot to kill a couple of minutes. Ramon broke free from Bomb. Martel dropped an elbow, Ramon moved and Martel hit Bomb. Wippleman got in the ring to yell at Martel, so Martel punched him and Bomb pushed Martel. The heels argued about things, but the match continued. Bomb overpowered Kid with a two-handed choke into a slam. Diesel tossed Kid all the way across the ring. Gutwrench suplex by Diesel on Kid. He should have done that move more often because it looked impressive. Boot to the face by Diesel to Kid. Headscissors takedown by Kid on Diesel. Savage tagged in and hit a double axe on Diesel and he attacked the other heels in the match as well. Savage whipped Bomb into Diesel and then kneed Bomb out of the ring. Savage body slam on Diesel. Savage up top and he hit the flying elbow drop to pin Diesel.
Diesel eliminated by Randy Savage
Analysis: That was a surprising elimination since Diesel was fairly new and Savage was one of the older guys. Diesel got his big main event push about a year after this.
Savage back body drop on Martel. Schyster battled Savage with Savage hitting two clotheslines. Ramon worked on the arm of Schyster. Martel hit a knee to the back of Ramon and then tagged in with a backbreaker. The heels did a lot of quick tags to work on Ramon while McMahon was marking out over basic moves like elbow drops and leg drops. Ramon tagged in Savage, who was in there with Schyster. Savage with a knee to the back, then he dropped Schyster throat first across the top and hit a body slam. Crush walked out from the back. He had issues with Savage at the time. Savage was on the top rope and saw Crush in the aisle. Savage tried to go after him, but the teammates told Savage to go back in the ring. Savage stood on the turnbuckle to yell at him, so Schyster did a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! to eliminate Savage.
Randy Savage eliminated by Irwin R. Schyster
Analysis: That was Savage’s last appearance at a Survivor Series. He signed with WCW in late 1994. He had a WrestleMania 10 match with Crush.
Jannetty was in there for the faces as the bigger heels overpowered him a bit. Back suplex by Bomb on Jannetty. Martel missed a shoulder tackle on Jannetty, so Ramon tagged in against Schyster. Ramon with two hard whips into the corner followed by a chokeslam. Ramon picked up Schyster and hit the Razor’s Edge to eliminate him.
Irwin R. Schyster eliminated by Razor Ramon
It’s three faces against two heels. The five guys left were brawling. The referee was trying to break everything up. Ramon went for a Razor’s Edge on Martel, but Schyster hit Ramon in the back with a briefcase to send Ramon to the floor. Ramon was counted out for the cheap elimination.
Razor Ramon eliminated by countout
It’s down to Kid and Jannetty vs. Bomb and Martel. Arm drag by Kid on Martel. Kid tripped up Bomb, then hit a dropkick leading to Vince saying “what a maneuver.” Kid went for a dive outside the ring, but Bomb caught him and slammed him on the floor. Slingshot clothesline by Bomb looked impressive. After some kicks, Kid tried to tag in Jannetty, but Bomb held his leg. Gutwrench suplex by Martel on Kid. Jannetty got the tag against Martel with a flying back elbow followed by a knee lift. Jannetty slammed Martel’s head into the top turnbuckle ten times. Kid tagged in and did a sunset flip on Martel to pin him.
Rick Martel eliminated by 1-2-3 Kid
Jannetty got the tag and did a sunset flip over top to pin Bomb to end the match at 26:58. Huge ovation from the crowd for that.
Adam Bomb eliminated by Marty Jannetty
Survivors: Marty Jannetty and 1-2-3 Kid
Analysis: *** It was very good by the end of the match, but there was a slow start to it. I thought the eliminations were well built with a mix of finishing moves, distracted finishes and a cheap ending with Ramon getting eliminated because of Schyster. When looking at the names of the competitors, you may not have thought that Jannetty and Kid would survive. The reason they did was because there was a story about them as an underdog tag team that found ways to win big matches.
There was a backstage interview with Shawn Michaels conducted by Todd Pettengill. They went to an interview with the Hart family interviewed by Family Feud host Ray Combs. The Hart boys talked about how they’re going to do justice in the ring. It went to Michaels talking about how if he had a mom and dad that looked like the Harts he’d have put them six feet under.
Analysis: Michaels was suspended for a few months before this because he failed a steroid test. The storyline suspension was that he didn’t defend the Intercontinental Title enough. Razor Ramon was recognized as the IC Champion after Michaels was stripped, but Michaels still wore the other IC Title. This was the story that set up the incredible Michaels/Ramon ladder match for the IC Title at WrestleMania 10.
Ray Combs was in the ring doing the introductions for the next elimination match. He pointed out members of the Hart Family at ringside including the mother of the family, Helen Hart. Combs was killing time insulting Michaels for being dumb and McMahon did this over the top laugh.
Survivor Series Elimination Match: Shawn Michaels and His Knights The Red Knight, The Blue Knight and The Black Knight vs. Bret, Owen, Bruce & Keith Hart (w/Stu Hart)
Pre-match notes: The knights were Jeff Gaylord (Black), Greg Valentine (Blue) and Barry Horowitz (Red) although we were never told who they are. The Hart Family were the faces going into the match while Michaels was the heel.
Michaels talked trash to the Hart family at ringside. Combs joined the announcers for the match. Michaels went for a knee on Bruce, but he moved and he hit one of the knights. Heenan was ripping on Keith for being a fireman. Small package by Keith on Michaels gets a two count. Stu was seated at ringside for the match. Owen with arm drags on Red followed by a dropkick. Owen hit a bunch of arm drags on Black as well. Bret tagged in against Blue with two atomic drops and a running clothesline for two. Bruce was in there, so Michaels hit a knee to the back while Blue slammed Bruce. Red hit a double underhook suplex as the heels worked on Bruce for a bit. Michaels stomped Bruce so that he landed outside the ring. Back in the ring, Bruce hit a running clothesline on Shawn. Bret tagged in against Black with a rollup for two. Small package by Hart gets two. Backbreaker by Bret on Black followed by the elbow drop off the middle rope. Owen tagged in with a spinning heel kick on Black. All eight guys went into the ring leading to a spot where all four heels were thrown into eachother. Owen hit a missile dropkick on Black and pinned him.
Black Knight eliminated by Owen Hart
Bret worked over the leg of Red and brought in Keith to work on the left leg of Red as well. Nice knee lift by Red on Keith. Heenan kept on making jokes about the Hart Family by mostly making fun of the age of Stu and Helen. Keith was in there, but Red kicked him away and hit a headbutt. Keith applied a Figure Four Leglock only for Michaels to go in the ring and hit an elbow to break it. Blue tagged in for the heels against Bruce. The heels worked on the arm of Bruce as this match has become very boring. Keith tagged in, so the heels worked on his arm for a few minutes. Michaels went for a splash off the top, but Keith moved and Bret tagged in against Red. Bret caught him in the air, slammed him down and hit a Sharpshooter. Red quit.
Red Knight eliminated by Bret Hart
Blue hit a suplex on Valentine as Heenan said the Blue Knight is “the guy in the ring right there.” Heenan was hilarious. They showed Stu rubbing the shoulder of Keith with Heenan saying that Stu may dislocate his own hip. Michaels with a flying back elbow on Bret gets two. The heels worked on Bret for several more minutes. Bret with a clothesline off the middle ropes on Blue. Owen tagged in with a dropkick on Blue followed by a body slam and an elbow drop off the middle rope. Michaels went after Stu outside the ring, so Stu punched him and Michaels sold it in a big way. Owens nailed a cross body on Michaels on the floor. Owen with a cross body block on Blue. Michaels was sent out of the ring with a double clothesline. Owen put the Sharpshooter on Blue, who gave up.
Blue Knight eliminated by Owen Hart
Michaels was left alone against the four Hart boys. Atomic drop by Owen to Michaels, all Harts got punches in and down went Michaels. Michaels dropped Bruce with a back elbow followed by a superkick for a two count. Bruce kicked himself free as Bret tagged in with an atomic drop for Michaels. Bret slingshot on Michaels into the corner. Bret with a Russian legsweep followed by a backbreaker attempt, but Michaels raked the eyes. Owen tagged in with a belly to belly suplex. Bret was holding his eye, Owen was sent into the ropes, knocked Bret off the apron (Bret hit the railing hard), Michaels did the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! on Owen to eliminate him.
Owen Hart eliminated by Shawn Michaels
After the elimination, Owen was angry. He yelled at Bret wondering what he was doing. Bret was down outside the ring. The camera was on Owen as he left angrily. Bruce nailed a clothesline on Michaels. After a chinlock by Bruce, Michaels sent him into the turnbuckle. There was a collision spot to knock down Bruce and Michaels. Bret tagged in with punches, then a corner whip with Michaels doing the upside down bump. Bret kicked him in the corner so that Michaels was crotched on the top rope. Michaels avoided the Sharpshooter and went up the aisle. Michaels just ran all the way to the back to lose by countout. That’s it after 30:57 of action.
Shawn Michaels eliminated by countout
Survivors: Bret, Bruce & Keith Hart
Analysis: *1/2 It was a long match that wasn’t very interesting except for what happened after the match. Even with the greatness of Bret, Shawn and Owen they couldn’t save it from being a boring match. If they shaved off ten minutes that would have helped. Heenan’s commentary was hilarious as he ripped on the Hart Family the whole match. That’s something Lawler used to do very well.
Post match, Owen went back into the ring. He went over to Bret, pulled him off the turnbuckle and shoved him. Owen shoved Bret a few times while the other brothers tried to cool him down. Heenan explained it saying that Owen was sick of living in the shadow of Bret. More shoving from Owen while Bret never pushed him back. When Owen posed, the crowd was booing him. Owen complained to his dad about how he never gets any recognition. Owen posed again and the crowd booed again. Their mom Helen was crying in the crowd. Bret just walked away looking frustrated.
Analysis: This was a big storyline with Owen being jealous of his more successful brother Bret. It continued at the 1994 Royal Rumble after they seemingly patched things up, but that led to a continuation of the angle. That cemented the heel turn of Owen and led to a match at WrestleMania 10 with Owen against Bret for the first time. It was a great angle that led to one of the best feuds of the 1990s.
There was a commercial for WrestleMania 10 on Sunday, March 20.
The WWF Radio announce team of Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon took over as Vince and Bobby moved to WWF Radio.
There were clips of various events leading to the All Americans vs. Foreign Fanatics later in the show.
Jim Cornette went to the ring to introduce the Heavenly Bodies team of Jimmy Del Rey and Tom Prichard. Their opponents were the Rock N Roll Express duo of Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton, who were the SMW Tag Team Champions.
SMW Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) vs. Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Rey & Tom Prichard) w/Jim Cornette
Pre-match notes: Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a company run by Jim Cornette in the early 1990s. Cornette was working for WWE as a manager by this point. This was like a talent exchange since WWE’s roster was thin at the time, so they decided to feature an SMW match. Rock N Roll were the faces of course.
Morton hit a dive outside the ring leading to a clothesline on both heels. Gibson worked with Del Rey and hit a headscissors takedown. Double back elbow by the faces. Ross mentioned how this story started ten years earlier when Jim Cornette managed the Midnight Express against Rock N Roll Express many times. Great tag team work by RNR with both of them hitting monkey flips and atomic drops. The faces were in control for a few minutes as they worked on Prichard. The crowd wasn’t into the match that much. Double noggin knocker by the faces on the heels drew a bit of a reaction for the faces. The heels reset on the floor and Prichard went back in the ring with a Powerbomb on Morton. Del Rey with a back elbow. Morton was on the floor, Cornette held Morton and Del Rey hit a moonsault like move on Morton on the floor. Prichard worked on Morton in the ring. Powerslam by Prichard got a two count. Ross noted that between the two teams they’ve held the SMW Tag Titles a combined nine times. Suplex by Prichard on Morton. Del Rey tagged in and hit a leg drop off the top as Prichard held Morton, which was good for a two count. Morton countered a Del Rey move with a Frankensteiner (hurricanrana). Prichard got in there and Morton got an inside cradle for two. Moonsault by Del Rey got two as Gibson made the save. Double DDT by Morton and the hot tag to Gibson. The crowd barely reacted as Gibson hit a back body drop and an enziguri kick. Del Rey threw Morton over the top with Gibson thinking that’s a disqualification because (as Ross told us) that’s a DQ in SMW. Prichard dumped Gibson to the floor. Morton nailed a cross body block on Del Rey. Double dropkick by RNR gets two for Gibson. Morton punched Cornette to knock him off the apron. Del Rey up top, Cornette tossed him the racket and Del Rey hit Gibson in the back with the racket. Prichard covered Gibson to win the match at the 13:41 mark.
Winners by pinfall and new SMW Tag Team Champions: Heavenly Bodies
Analysis: **3/4 It was a pretty good tag match by two teams that knew how to put on an entertaining match. The crowd didn’t seem to care that much, though. The Rock N Roll Express were a popular team in the 1980s and into the early 1990s, but they were more known for being in the south. If this was in a southern city instead of Boston I think the fans would have cared more. It’s hard to get fans invested when they don’t know the performers that much. The finish was well done. It was a cheap victory for the heels.
There was a promo from Bam Bam Bigelow’s team with Bam Bam joining up with Bastion Booger, Samu and Fatu. They were eating turkeys.
Vince and Bobby were back on commentary after being on WWF Radio for the previous match. Heenan said “Booger is my pick” for Superstar of the Year. Well played, Bobby.
The faces made their entrance with the Bushwhackers walking out in Doink face paint. Then Men on a Mission showed up with the Doink face paint. Vince McMahon was WAY too excited on commentary while Heenan commented that they came up with a clever surprise as a joke. Vince kept doing his over the top laugh and said “we’re having some fun, folks.” Sure, Vince. Put down the vodka.
Survivor Series Elimination Match: Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Headshrinkers – Samu and Fatu – (with Luna Vachon and Afa) vs. The Four Doinks (The Bushwhackers – Luke and Butch – and Men on a Mission – Mabel and Mo) (with Oscar)
Pre-match notes: The heels are Bigelow’s team. The faces are The four Doinks, who are all dressed with Doink face paint.
It sounded like the fans were chanting “We Want Doink” because Doink wasn’t there. Booger splashed Luke early on with no cover. Luke bit Booger’s ass, which is a description I’m not proud to write about. Samu hit a headbutt on Luke. Samu popped a water balloon held by Mo and Luke pinned Samu with a ROLLUP OF DEATH~!
Samu eliminated by Luke
Fatu worked on Luke for a bit. Booger tagged in with a leg drop on Luke. Booger did his seated splash on Luke, but he didn’t cover. Booger ate a banana and missed another splash attempt because Mabel moved Luke out of the way. Battering Ram by the Bushwhackers and then Mabel hit a leg drop to eliminate Booger even though Luke was the legal man.
Bastion Booger eliminated by Mabel
Analysis: That was so awful. Luke was the legal man, Mabel pulled him out of the way and then was able to pin Booger. They didn’t try to explain it.
Fatu worked over Luke and Mo was in the ring with a scooter. Vince on commentary: “What is going on?” The referee Tim White had lost control as Bigelow hit a dropkick to the back of Mo. Fatu hit a top rope splash on Mo and didn’t cover because he saw a banana peel. What? Anyway, Butch just goes into the ring, teases throwing a bucket of water on Fatu (it was an empty bucket), Fatu slipped on a banana peel and then simply pins him off that.
Fatu eliminated by Butch
Analysis: Another pin without a tag. This match is hurting my brain.
Bigelow tossed both Bushwhackers and Mo out of the ring. Big man Mabel was in there as Vince was marking out about how big Mabel was. Shoulder tackle by Mabel. Bigelow avoided an attack in the corner and hit a shoulder tackle. Bigelow slammed a Bushwhacker, but the other Bushwhacker threw bananas on Luna. Mo splashed Bigelow in the turnbuckle and then Mabel did. Mabel hit a splash on Bigelow, his three teammates jumped on top and that was enough to beat Bigelow at the 10:58 mark.
Bam Bam Bigelow by Mabel
Survivors: Mabel, Mo, Luke & Butch
Analysis: -* It gets the minus star treatment. A comedy match that was painful to watch in 1993 and even worse today. It was barely funny at any point. If you want an example of why business was down for WWE in 1993 and why it was one of the worst years in company history, this match explains it. At one point, McMahon asked: “What is going on?” I don’t know, Vince. You booked this shit. Please apologize to us for it. Seriously Vince. It’s been 23 years. Apologize to us, pal! Now! Thank you.
After the match, Bigelow and Luna walked out of the ring. The real Doink appeared on the video screen. Doink told him not to get mad and said he was just clowning around.
Analysis: Bigelow vs. Doink was a terrible feud that went on too long.
There was an interview with the Foreign Fanatics team led by the WWE World Champion Yokozuna. Jim Cornette talked about how they are winners.
The introductions took place for the heel team for the main event. Ludvig Borga out first. Jacques is one half of the Tag Team Champions with Pierre as The Quebecers and he’s got Johnny Polo (later known as Raven) as a manager. Crush walked out with no theme song although they played the start of Yokozuna’s song. He’s also from Hawaii, which is an American state, yet he’s on this team of foreigners because he was aligned with Mr. Fuji. The WWE World Champion Yokozuna made his entrance with managers Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette.
Analysis: Yokozuna was actually American, but he was portrayed as Japanese in WWE. That meant that the Finnish Borga and Canadian Jacques were the only foreigners on the team.
The Undertaker walked out with Paul Bearer for the face team. Huge ovation for him. Good reaction for the Steiners with Vince calling them great Americans. Lex Luger walked out last and was called an “American Original” by Howard Finkel during the introduction.
Analysis: I’ll always remember the moment when Undertaker revealed he was on the team when he opened his jacket that had the American flag on it. It was cheesy, but it worked.
Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Foreign Fanatics – Yokozuna, Crush, Ludvig Borga and Quebecer Jacques (w/Jim Cornette, Johnny Polo and Mr. Fuji) vs. The All-Americans – Lex Luger, The Undertaker and Rick and Scott Steiner (w/Paul Bearer)
Pre-match notes: Luger’s team are the faces while Yokozuna’s team are the heels.
Staredown by Undertaker and Yokozuna early on. Scott nailed a great belly to belly suplex on Jacques. Rick tagged in to face off with Yoko. Rick nailed a clothesline followed by two shoulder tackles that knocked Yoko out of the ring. Borga tagged in for the heels and Rick nailed a double axe off the ropes to knock him down. Rick avoided an elbow drop. Rick went up top, he jumped and it looked like Borga was going for a slam, but didn’t really hit it. Borga covered, Rick got his arm up before three, yet the referee Earl Hebner still counted it. That was weird.
Rick Steiner eliminated by Ludvig Borga
Analysis: That was a weird spot. I think Rick suffered some leg injury, so they counted him down even though he got his shoulder up.
Scott with a Gorilla Press Slam on Jacques where he tossed him into Crush, who tagged in. Double underhook suplex by Scott on Crush. Vince said on commentary that Randy Savage was in the building as a way of warning people he might go after Crush. Kick to the head by Crush on Steiner. Savage showed up, but was held back by several officials and wrestlers. Crush dumped Scott over the top to the floor. Savage was pushed to the back. Leg drop by Crush on Scott. Crush worked on the leg of Scott to keep him grounded. Savage showed up again and this time he got closer to the ring. Crush was distracted by it, so Scott hit him with a dropkick. Crush ran up the aisle after Savage. They brawled up the aisle as Savage sent Crush face first into the guard rail. Crush was eliminated by countout.
Crush eliminated by countout
Analysis: This was building to their WrestleMania 10 match. I had forgotten that their feud had such a long build, but it did.
Jacques was in for the heels and hit a piledriver with Heenan saying that won’t work because there’s nothing in Scott’s head. Scott with a Gorilla Press Slam on Jacques and he tagged in Luger for the first time. Luger has way too much baby oil on. He sure likes his own muscles. Diving elbow off the middle ropes by Luger is enough to eliminate Jacques. Yawn.
Jacques Rougeau eliminated by Lex Luger
Borga worked over Scott with some punches to the ribs. Bobby Heenan: “I’ll tell ya, this Borga is the wrestling of the 90s.” Um, nope. Not even close. Borga went to the top rope, Scott followed and hit a superplex for a two count as Yokozuna made the save. Yoko slammed Scott and then missed an elbow drop. Borga should still be the legal man. Scott missed a dropkick and Yoko hit a leg drop to pin Scott even though Yoko didn’t even tag into the match. The terrible refereeing on this show continues.
Scott Steiner eliminated by Yokozuna
It’s down to Yokozuna and Ludvig Borga against Lex Luger and The Undertaker, who hasn’t even entered the match in the first 17 minutes. Yoko slammed Luger and missed a fat man splash. Luger hit a clothesline, but Yoko came back with a clothesline of his own. The heels worked on Lex for a couple of minutes. Yoko went for a corner splash on Luger, but he moved and Undertaker got the tag. Undertaker faced off with Yoko with Taker hit a diving DDT. That was impressive. Borga hit a cheap shot on Undertaker, which allowed Yoko to hit a belly to belly suplex. Clothesline and a leg drop by Yoko. Yoko hit the Banzai Drop on Undertaker. He went for it again, but Undertaker sat up and Yoko missed. Undertaker nailed a leaping clothesline. Undertaker sent Yoko face first into the ring steps. The ref counted them out for the double disqualification.
The Undertaker and Yokozuna eliminated by double countout
Analysis: It was hyped up a lot and it felt like a big deal when they interacted. The countout was done to set up their feud that led to a big match at the Royal Rumble 1994. Undertaker missed most of 1994, but then returned later in the year and they had another match at Survivor Series 1994, which was the main event. I’ll have that in the next review.
Borga and Luger were the final two men left. Borga leg drop gets two. Delayed vertical suplex by Borga gets two. Powerslam by Borga for two. Clothesline for Borga gets two as Vince said his arrogance was appalling since he doesn’t hook the leg. Luger nailed a suplex. Double clothesline spot puts both guys down. Cornette distracted the ref, so Fuji put some bucket into the hand of Borga and he hit Luger in the head with it for a two count. Luger with a punch to the stomach followed by a DDT and a back elbow. Powerslam by Luger gets two. Borga got back up, sent Luger into the ropes, Luger bounced off and hit the flying forearm smash to the head for the win after 27:59 of action and I use that “action” word loosely.
Ludvig Borga eliminated by Lex Luger
Survivor: Lex Luger
Analysis: ** A boring match with a predictable outcome. The Yoko/Undertaker thing was done to set up their feud, which produced a lot of crappy matches. Luger received his big push in 1993, but never lived up to the hype. Borga was just an evil foreigner that looked the part, yet he lacked talent. It’s not like fans had a reason to hate somebody just because he was from Finland either. The other four guys were just there to be a part of the match and didn’t feel like a big deal in any way.
After the match was over, Luger celebrated with the American flag as “snow” dropped into the ring. Somebody dressed as Santa Claus walked out to celebrate with Luger to end the show.
Analysis: They did the Santa thing a year earlier with Santa joining Bret Hart to end the show.
The show had a run time of 2 hours and 47 minutes.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
– This show bombed in terms of its PPV buyrate. It did 180,000 buys, which was by far the lowest buyrate in Survivor Series history. The 1995 show did even worse. The lack of star power hurt for sure, but so did the lack of interesting matches. There just weren’t enough interesting stories.
– The best part of the show was Owen Hart freaking out after the match. He blamed Bret for it since he bumped into Bret while he was on the apron. It was the start of a fantastic angle that led to a tag match at Royal Rumble 1994 when Owen fully turned heel, then one of the best matches ever at WrestleMania 10 and a fantastic WWE Title match at SummerSlam 1994. It was a long story that elevated Owen to that next level.
– There were a lot of replacements on this show for various reasons. Once again it was a sign of WWE not being at their best. They had a lot of issues on screen and behind the scenes as well.
– That match with Bigelow’s team against the Four Doinks is one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen. I had forgotten how bad it was, so to re-live it again was very painful. I don’t recommend checking it out unless you want to torture yourself for ten minutes! I know it was comedy, but this is an example of how bad comedy wrestling can be instead of a celebration of a great match.
– I think 1993 was the worst year for WWE and most of their PPVs were bad too. The only 1993 PPV I liked was King of the Ring 1993 because it featured three amazing Bret Hart matches. The other PPVs from 1993 are awful.
Show rating (out of 10): 3
An awful show that was very forgettable. Avoid watching this show if you’ve never seen it because nobody should re-live this mess.
OPINIONS
Best Match: Team Razor Ramon vs. Team IRS
Worst Match: Team Bigelow vs. Four Doinks
Most Memorable Moment: Owen Hart freaking out after he lost.
FIVE STARS
1. Owen Hart
2. Bret Hart
3. Shawn Michaels
4. Razor Ramon
5. Randy Savage – He didn’t do anything particularly interesting, but he’s the main reason I’m a fan to this day. This was his last Survivor Series, so I’m putting him here.
That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.
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My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter @johnreport