Backstage: Craig DeGeorge’s guests this time are The Hart Foundation and the 4 other teams that will be joining them for the 10 Team Survivor Series Match. Bobby Heenan talks about how it will be a piece of cake tonight against Strike Force’s squad and he tells them they’re in for the beating of their lives. Jim Neidhart talks about luck and how they don’t need it at all tonight. Jimmy Hart comes in and is still worked up after getting dropkicked in the last match, saying nobody does that to him and someone’s about to get hurt. DeGeorge wonders where The Bolshevik’s are, Heenan stating they’re already in the ring to sing the Russian National Anthem. On the other side is ‘Mean’ Gene,joined by Strike Force and their 8 teammates. Tito Santana talks about how they are a cohesive team, Martel speaking about their motto being ‘Unity For Victory’.

Match #3 10-Team Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov & Nikolai Volkoff), Demolition (Ax & Smash), The Dream Team (Dino Bravo & Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine), The Islanders (Haku & Tama) & The Hart Foundation (Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart & Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart) w/Slick, Bobby Heenan & Jimmy Hart vs. The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith), The Young Stallions (Paul Roma & Jim Powers), The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond), The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair & ‘Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell) & WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)
The difference between this and the other matches is when one guy is eliminated, his partner must also leave. Martel & Volkoff start the action, Nikolai clubbing away and going for a slam, Martel slips out and pushes into the ropes for a roll-up and a 2 count. Martel striking with fists, he ducks for a back body drop and eats a kick, Volkoff following with a choke and a slam. Zhukov tags in, missing an elbow drop and taking a dropkick and crossbody for 2, then a back body drop and Tito tags in for another 2 count. Zhukov fires away, sending Santana into the ropes, Tito ducks a clothesline and hits his patented flying forearm to get a count of 3. The Bolsheviks have been eliminated.

Ax jumps in and clobbers Santana with double axe handles, pummeling him into the canvas and hitting a body slam. He misses an elbow drop, Jacques tags in for a flying back elbow off the ropes, Bravo tags in and runs into a dropkick. Brunzell comes in with an armwringer, tagging Blair for a 2nd rope shot to the arm. Davey Boy comes in, clubbing Bravo to his corner, Smash off the tag and Davey jumps him. Smash strikes back, but Santana with a tag and he drives Smash into Dynamite’s boot, who then tags in. Dynamite with headbutts, Smash goes to the midsection and bring Haku in. Haku & Dynamite exchange chops, The Kid falls into his corner and Brunzell back in. He takes Haku down at hammers at the leg, brings in Blair and they both stretch the legs.

Haku makes it to Neidhart, he runs in to a drop toe hold, Roma coming in and continuing to work over Neidhart’s leg. The Anvil works his way to tag Smash, he comes in and slams Roma, then brings his partner Ax in for more heavy shots and another slam. Haku unloads and sends Roma in for a big clothesline. He brings Tama into the match for right hands and chops, Roma falls back and tags Powers. Multiple tags, Demolition controlling with a slam. Jacques comes in, irish whip into the ropes, Ax ducks down and Jacques flips over him, delivering right hands. He whips Ax into the corner, reversal and Jacques attempts a 2nd rope crossbody, but misses. Ax slides over into a cover and grabs the 1-2-3. The Rougeau Brothers have been eliminated.

Dynamite comes right in, hitting Ax with a snap suplex, Ax over to his corner and in comes Tama. Dynamite works him over, sends him into the turnbuckle and runs into a big foot. Tama with a front facelock, but he backs Dynamite the wrong way and Powers tags himself in. He drives Tama into the turnbuckle, tries to follow him in, but hesitates and runs himself into the corner. The Anvil’s in now, picking up Powers to his shoulder, Haku tags and drives down a double axe from the 2nd rope. Haku covers, Powers kicks out at 2 and brings in the other Young Stallion, Paul Roma. He fires away with rights, Haku fights back and rushes him in the corner, misses, but still gets a tag to Ax. Roma turns the tide, fighting back, but running into a boot in the corner.

Ax rams Roma’s head into Valentine’s boot and then tags him, The Hammer comes in with a shoulderbreaker for a near fall, then a vertical suplex for another 2. His partner Bravo comes in with a gutwrench suplex and a leg drop, but only gets a count of 2. Smash comes in, Roma tags Blair in the process and he avoids a charging Smash in the corner. Dynamite comes in with a clothesline from the left side, back into the ropes, he puts his head down and pays for it. Smash gets him in the wrong part of town, wrapping Dynamite in the ropes and reigning down forearm shots. The ref tries to break them apart, but gets shoved to the ground and he disqualifies Smash. Demolition has been eliminated.

The Hitman comes in and drives an elbow into Dynamite, then spikes him with a piledriver, nearly getting 3. Bret works The Kid over in the corner with uppercuts and boots, he runs at him and misses, jamming his shoulder into the ring post. Dynamite finally tags out to Powers, he sends Hitman into the ropes, ducks down and takes a kick, allowing Bret to tag Tama. Powers unloads, irish whip into the corner and Tama fires out of the corner with a jumping clothesline, then slams Powers. Tama attempts a slingshot splash, Powers rolls out of the way and Martel comes in on fire. Left hands and a back body drop, Tama tries to beg off and Martel slings him to the canvas, then hits a dropkick out of the ropes. Martel locks in a Boston crab, Tama’s too close to his corner and Neidhart comes in to blast Martel from behind for a near fall.

Neidhart rushes at Martel in the corner, running himself into the boots and Martel gets the tag to his fellow tag team champion. Tito comes in with right hands, reverses an irish whip and connects with his flying forearm. The ref counts to 2, but The Hitman breaks it up, saving his partner, Neidhart making a cover and eliminating the tag team champs. Strike Force has been eliminated. Roma enters the match, gets backed into his own corner, Powers comes in and misses a dropkick to Neidhart. Haku tags in, sending Powers into the ropes for a dropkick of his own and a 2 count. The Hammer comes in showing how he got his nickname, goes for a back body drop, Valentine blocks it and reigns down a big right hand, then slams Powers and drops a forearm for 2.

Valentine tries holding the shoulders down, goes to put his weight down and crotches himself on Powers’ knees. The Anvil quickly comes in and hangs Powers across the top rope, tags Haku for a thrust kick. He splits Powers with a backbreaker and can’t get a 3 count. Valentine in for double team moves, he attempts a vertical suplex, Powers blocks and plants The Hammer with one of his own. Valentine prevents the tag still, bringing in Bret for a backbreaker, Tama coming off the top with a chop illegally. The Hitman with a snap suplex, gaining another 2 count, Bret allows Powers to get too close to the corner and Roma finally gets his partner out of there. He fires away at Hitman in the corner, Bret stops the assault with a thumb to the eye and brings in The Anvil for further punishment.

Valentine enters, slamming Roma and scaling to the top. He comes down with a club to the head, getting a 2 count and Powers comes back in. Hitman tags in, sends Powers into the ropes and misses a dropkick attempt. Dynamite makes his way in, whipping Bret chest first into the turnbuckle for 2, then following with a back suplex for another 2. Roma comes in with a back elbow, then misses an elbow drop. Blair & Haku enter the ring now, Blair with a back body drop, rams Haku into Dynamite’s head and Davey Boy comes in for a double back elbow. Frequent tags now, Powers coming in with lefts and rights, whips Haku into the corner, charges and misses. The Anvil’s in with a big kick, tag to The Hitman and The Hart Foundation is working together.

Powers jumps to his corner, tagging Davey Boy who hits Bret with a military press slam for a count of 2. Davey lets Bret get too close to his corner, Haku tags and runs into a powerslam for a near fall. Davey tags Dynamite, hits Haku with a vertical suplex and The Kid follows with a 2nd rope diving headbutt, hurting himself in the process. Haku gets to his feet first, nailing Dynamite with a thrust kick and picking up a count of 3. The British Bulldogs have been eliminated. Roma interjects himself with a couple of dropkicks, picking up a 2 count. Haku with a slam, Bravo comes in and misses an elbow drop.

Roma tags Powers, he enters looking for a monkey flip in the corner, Dino catches him and hits an inverted atomic drop. Into the ropes and Bravo with a big kick, then brings in his partner The Hammer. He hangs Powers across the top, Bravo back in clubbing away and running Powers into The Anvil’s boot. Neidhart comes in for a double chop and a count of 2, then Hitman comes in and drives Powers into the turnbuckle, hanging him in the tree of woe. The Killer Bees come in to stop the double teaming, Valentine comes in and Powers trades shots with him. Valentine grabs a front facelock, pushing Powers back into his own corner and Bravo comes in with a back body drop. Powers gets hung across the top again, then hits a kick and a side suplex.

Valentine comes in and calls for the Figure 4, Powers kicks him off and Paul Roma tags. The Hammer doesn’t realize it, going for the Figure 4 on Powers again, Roma comes off the top with a sunset flip and he picks up the elimination. The Dream Team has been eliminated. Neidhart rushes in and gets caught with an arm wringer, Blair tags and drives the point of the elbow to the shoulder, then hooks a small package for a 2 count. Tag to Brunzell, The Bees with a double back elbow and then Bruzell with a high knee for another near fall. The Anvil forces his way to his corner, Hitman tags and gets taken down by the leg. Brunzell goes for the knee, Blair comes in and continues to work it over. Roma double teams with Blair, into the ropes and Roma leapfrogs right into a punch. Tama comes in off the top with an overhead chop, slamming Roma’s head into the canvas.

Big headbutt, Haku tags and The Islanders connect with a double back elbow. Haku slams him, then misses a leg drop and Brunzell gets the tag. He slams Haku and drops the leg for 2, then wrenches the head and hits a hip toss for 2. Haku’s too close to his corner, Bret tags and eats uppercuts before Roma comes back in. Roma slams him, then hits a fist from the 2nd rope for a 2 count. The Hitman turns the tables, driving Roma into the mat with a back suplex for a near fall, then Tama tags in and rips at Roma’s face. He tags his partner Haku for a double headbutt and another 2 count, Haku charges Roma in the corner and misses. Roma with an armdrag, but he’s taken too much of a beating and can’t capitalize. Haku with throat thrusts and a standing dropkick, Neidhart in and he hits a dropkick of his own.

The Anvil covers, Roma gets his foot on the ropes and then gets planted by a powerslam for a near fall. Bret in the match, irish whips Roma in, Roma ducks under and tags Brunzell. ‘Jumpin’ Jim rams Bret into the turnbuckle, into the ropes and they hit heads, both men down. Neidhart & Blair come in illegally, the ref gets B. Brian back to his corner. Behind the refs back, Brunzell goes for a slam, Tama with a dropkick to help out The Hitman, Brunzell rolls through and gets the pinfall. The Hart Foundation has been eliminated. Haku drills Brunzell as he’s celebrating, Tama tags and hits an overhead chop from the top, then chokes Brunzell on the mat. He applies a nerve hold, grinding down ‘Jumpin’ Jim. Brunzell to his feet, hits the ropes and runs into a back elbow.

Haku tags in and connects with a shoulder breaker for a near fall. He snaps Brunzell over and goes back to a nerve hold on the trap muscle. Brunzell gets to a vertical base, but gets hammered back down and in comes Tama, maintaing the advantage and picking up where Haku left off. Brunzell tries crawling to his corner, but Tama tosses him into his corner and bring in Haku. Into the ropes, Haku ducks down, Brunzell with a desperation sunset flip and he gets a 2 count. Haku goes back to work on the trap muscle, then plants Brunzell with a vertical suplex for a count of 2. Haku whips Brunzell in, ducks down and ‘Jumpin’ Jim with a kick, finally getting out of the ring and bringing in Powers. A flurry of rights, Powers with a back body drop, tag to Roma who hits a powerslam. He covers, Tama making the save and the ref gets distracted to Blair, allowing The Islanders to double team.

Roma is whipped into the corner, avoids a charging Haku and Blair comes in, getting pounded immediately. Haku drives B. Brian into Tama’s foot, he comes in and hits a nice jumping back elbow, then slams Blair and misses an elbow drop. Brunzell gets the hot tag, he back body drops Tama and has a slam for Haku. Double noggin knocker, Tama into the ropes for a dropkick, Haku comes in to save the match again. The Young Stallions hit the ring to get rid of Haku, B. Brian puts on the mask outside as Brunzell goes for a sunset flip. Tama hangs onto the ropes, Blair slingshots in with another sunset flip and he picks up the victory.
Winners & Survivors: The Young Stallions & The Killer Bees

• EA’s Take: The idea of involving the tag teams into a Survivor Series match was a good one, however the execution was not. This contest was a total cluster, as having 10 guys per side is just way too many. When the match starts you can hardly see the action in the ring on wide shots, due to the amount of guys on the apron. It also makes it very difficult to avoid crazy tagging situations because everyone is just so close in proximity to each other.

Video: ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase talks about how he’s spending his Thanksgiving. All the wrestlers think they have to be the toughest to succeed and all the people think you have to work hard. All you need is to have the most money and the WWF is about to find out. He calls himself a generous man, often offering vast amounts of money to people for doing normal things, all for his own personal pleasure. Video of DiBiase messing with kids is shown, then he talks about another fan that acted like she was a dog to try and get some of his money. He even got some kid to kiss his sweaty feet after a match, but still swindling him out of the cash. The Million Dollar Man buys anything he wants and everybody’s got a price.

In The Arena: Craig DeGeorge welcomes his guests ‘Colonel’ Jimmy Hart & WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man. Craig says this is a night a lot of Superstars have shined, but one that HTM will not want to remember. Honky wonders what he means by that, calling himself a survivor as he was not defeated 3 on 1. He states that if you line them up, he’ll take them out and will accept the challenge of anyone, specifically calling out Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage. Jimmy Hart calls HTM the greatest of all-time and they make their exit.

Backstage: ‘Mean’ Gene is with the champion Hulk Hogan and his team, everyone supercharged for their match. Hulk notes how hungry his team is, talking about their being no rules when you deal with Mother Nature. Hogan states that size doesn’t matter when animals are this hungry. All Hulk’s teammates say they are ready to survive.

Match #4 Survivor Series Elimination Match: ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy, ‘The Natural’ Butch Reed, One Man Gang & Andre The Giant w/Bobby Heenan & Slick vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Patera, ‘The Rock’ Don Muraco, ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff & WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan w/Oliver Humperdink
Muraco & Rude are going to kick things off, Rude backs Muraco into the corner and they go toe to toe, trading strikes. Rude goes to the eyes, whips Muraco into the corner, ducks down and eats a kick. Orndorff tags in, coming off the top with an elbow and hitting a flurry of right hands, into the ropes and another to the midsection. He rams Rude into Hogan’s boot, Hulk comes in with a big clothesline and multiple elbows to The Ravishing One. Bigelow comes in, Hogan with a slam and Bam Bam follows with a falling headbutt. Rude gets military press slammed, Patera enters the match, clubbing Rude who falls into his corner and makes the tag to The Natural.

Reed comes in, Patera whipping him in for a clothesline, then a body slam and a takeover for a count of 2. The Rock with the tag, connecting with a dropkick and driving Reed into Orndorff’s knee. Mr. Wonderful comes in with multiple dropkicks, delivers a shot to Bundy on the apron and then sends The Natural into Hogan’s knee. The Hulkster comes in with a double clothesline to Reed, he drops the big leg and grabs a 3 count. ‘The Natural’ Butch Reed has been eliminated. Hogan celebrates as Andre enters the ring behind him, Hogan turns around and comes face to face with Andre. The ref tells Hogan that when he gave Patera a high-five, that counts as a tag. Patera enters the ring, facing off with Andre as the ref tries to get Hogan to the apron.

Andre tags out to Bundy, Patera with boots to the midsection, driving The Walking Condominium into the turnbuckle and dropping him with a clothesline. Orndorff and One Man Gang gets tags, The Gang pummeling Mr. Wonderful in the corner and Orndorff fires back. He sends Gang into the corner and runs into a knee, Rude re-entering the fray. Orndorff reverses an irish whip, hits Rude with a clothesline and drops an elbow for a 2 count. Muraco comes in with a big clothesline, Hulk with a shot from the apron and The Rock takes a thumb to the eye, allowing Rude to tag out to Gang. He tries to squash Muraco in the corner, The Rock avoids it and tags Patera who unloads on The Gang. Patera suffers a shot to the midsection, whipped into the ropes, he ducks a clothesline and lands a crossbody for 2.

Into the corner, Patera follows with a high knee, Gang fights back, going to the eyes and clubbing the Strongman. Patera gets caught in the wrong corner and Andre’s team unloads while Gang occupies the ref. Patera gets caught in a front facelock, he gets to the ropes and Gang is forced to break, squashing Patera in his corner and going back to the front facelock. Patera fights out, going to the eyes, sends Gang into the ropes and runs into a clothesline and gets pinned. Ken Patera has been eliminated. The champion comes right in after One Man Gang, rifling away with right hands and following him in the corner with a clothesline. In comes Bam Bam for a double big boot, then forearm shots and a whip in the corner. The two bang heads and both go down, Rude getting a tag and in comes Orndorff. Mr. Wonderful with a vertical suplex, following with an elbow drop, Rude whipping into the ropes and Orndorff with a back body drop.

He calls for the piledriver, Bundy comes in from behind and drills Orndorff, allowing Rude to get a roll-up with a handful of tights for the elimination. ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff has been eliminated. Muraco runs right in and hits Rude with an atomic drop and a big clothesline before tagging Bam Bam. Bigelow with a vertical suplex, in comes the champion for a high knee and then another quick tag to Muraco. They send Rude into the ropes, Muraco hits a powerslam and gets the 1-2-3. ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude has been eliminated. Bundy enters the ring, pounding Muraco and hitting a back elbow, but missing a knee drop. The Rock goes after the leg and works it over, Bundy to the eyes and he tags One Man Gang.

The Gang with clubbing shots, Muraco firing back, tosses him into the corner and goes for a slam. The Gang’s too big, falling onto Muraco for a count of 2, Andre with a cheap shot, One Man Gang following with a 747 splash and Muraco’s gone. ‘The Rock’ Don Muraco has been eliminated. Hulk & Bam Bam help Muraco out of the ring, Gang sneak attacks Bigelow, sends him into the ropes, Bam Bam with a sunset flip and One Man Gang just sits down on him. Bundy tags, dropping the knee and turning Bigelow inside out with a clothesline. He drops the knee again, covers and Hogan saves it. Gang back in, Bam Bam fights back, but takes a thumb to the eye and then gets choked across the top. The Walking Condo re-enters, into the ropes and he drives the knee to the midsection.

One Man Gang tags, clobbering Bigelow and hitting a back elbow out of the ropes before bringing Bundy back. Bigelow gets leveled with a forearm, then rolls out of the way of an elbow drop, only to absorb more punishment and get covered for a near fall. The Gang comes in with boots and finally brings in Andre, Bam Bam ducks a shot and gets the hot tag to the champion. Hogan goes bombs away on Andre and they duel in the corner, Hulkster getting the best of it, ramming The Giant into the corner. Hulk takes out Bundy & Gang on the apron, hits the ropes and Bundy drags Hogan out to the floor. He tussles with Bundy and slams The Gang on the floor. Bundy prevents Hulk from getting in the ring, then gets slammed on the floor as the ref’s count reaches 10. Hulk Hogan has been eliminated.

Bam Bam is the last man standing for his squad, he unloads on Bundy and hits a clothesline, dropping the big man and hitting an elbow drop for 2. He hits the ropes and takes Bundy down with a shoulder, follows with a headbutt and gets another 2 count. Bigelow with a dropkick, double leg takedown and Bam Bam drives his elbow into the leg. Bundy is whipped towards the corner, reversal, Bundy misses an Avalanche as Bigelow escapes to the apron. Bam Bam with a slingshot splash back in the ring, picking up the pinfall. King Kong Bundy has been eliminated.

The Gang comes right in and pummels away at Bigelow with elbows and clubbing blows. Clothesline to Bigelow, Gang covers and only gets 2. One Man Gang with a choke on the mat, then more right hands to the back, Bigelow fights to his feet with punches and headbutts to the midsection, but gets caught with more heavy offense. He rams Bam Bam into Andre’s boot, climbs up top and misses a splash. Bigelow drapes the arm over and gets 3. One Man Gang has been eliminated. We’re down to 2, as Andre steps in immediately and pounds the tattooed head of Bam Bam with punches and headbutts. The Giant sends Bigelow into the ropes for a big boot, Bam Bam hangs on and rolls around avoiding Andre. He charges at The Giant in the corner, misses and Andre drives his shoulder into Bam Bam’s back. Andre hits a double underhook suplex and he covers to win.
Winner & Sole Survivor: Andre The Giant

• After The Bell: Hulk runs back down to the ring and clocks The Giant with the title belt, sending him out of the ring to a big ovation. Hogan holds the ring and begs Andre to get back inside. The Giant exits, raising his arms in victory as the champion poses in the ring for the crowd.
• EA’s Take: Interesting way to end this one, as Hogan gets eliminated without actually being pinned and allowing Andre to gain a measure of revenge. Bam Bam gets a nice rub, taking out 2 behemoths before falling victim to The Giant. This was very hotly anticipated at the time, as Andre hadn’t been in the ring since he lost at WrestleMania 3 to Hulk. It wasn’t a one on one situation, but now both guys have a victory over the other, leading into 1988 for the rubber match.

Backstage: ‘Mean’ Gene grabs Andre The Giant & Bobby Heenan on their way through. Heenan tells Okerlund that Hogan can have Andre anytime he wants, all he has to do is put his name on the dotted line. The Giant states he has nothing to say, other than he did exactly what he promised.

In The Ring: Hulk Hogan is still posing for the fans as Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura bid us farewell as we get pictures recapping the night.

EA’s Finisher: This is the WWF’s first foray into a show based around gimmick matches. The success of the event was highly touted, as every fan was eager to see Andre & Hogan battle it out again. It didn’t come without it’s issues though, as the 10 team tag match was a total cluster up until the end. 5 guys per side is almost too much and there’s a lot of repetition when every match is built around the same concept. I like that there was essentially a mid-card, tag team, women’s and main event level contest, but there probably should have been a singles match or two to break up the elimination matches. It would take a couple more years before WWF would really figure out how to best work the Survivor Series and we head into another PPV based around a gimmick match in early 1988, the inaugural Royal Rumble.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Hulk’s Team vs. Andre’s Team
2 – Macho Man’s Team vs. Honky Tonk Man’s Team
3 – Fabulous Moolah’s Team vs. Sensational Sherri’s Team

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