Eric Ames took a look back at WWE Survivor Series 1991 for Chairshot Classics, featuring the controversial Undertaker-Hulk Hogan showdown!

We’re getting closer to WWE’s annual November tradition–the Survivor Series, so today we’re taking a look back at another previous event! WWF Champion Hulk Hogan faces arguably his toughest challenge yet in the seemingly indestructible Undertaker. Not to mention Ric Flair has been goading the Hulkster, so the champion certainly has a lot to worry about. Can Hulkamania overcome once again?

Open: Gorilla Monsoon welcomes us to the Joe Louis Arena for tonight’s highly anticipated event, then directs us to video of Jake Roberts’ horrifying actions against Randy Savage from this past weekend’s episode of Superstars. The Snake would tie-up Macho in the ropes, leaving him powerless to defend himself. Jake would unveil his king cobra and allow it to gnaw on Savage’s arm. EMT’s would rush to Macho Man’s aid, pulling him out of the ring as the venom would coarsed through his veins. WWF President Jack Tunney would disallow Savage from competing at Survivor Series due to doctor’s orders, subsequently barring Jake from bringing a snake to the ring anymore and finally reinstating Macho Man. Their confrontation has now been moved a week later and will take place at This Tuesday In Texas.

Match #1 – Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, The Mountie, The Warlord & Ric Flair w/’Sensational’ Sherri, ‘Mouth Of The South’ Jimmy Hart, Harvey Wippleman & Mr. Perfecct vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart, Virgil, The British Bulldog & ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper
The MDM & Hot Rod will start the action, Flair comes in and delivers a cheap shot to Piper’s back, giving DiBiase the advantage, he sends Roddy to the ropes for a clothesline, Piper ducks and hits one of his own. He crotches DiBiase on the top rope, Sherri looks to pull MDM to the outside, but Piper instead drags them both into the ring, corners Sherri and catches DiBiase coming up from behind with a right hand.

The Sensational One hops onto Piper’s back, Roddy gets out of it and plants a smooch on her to send her to the outside. Hot Rod unloads on The MDM with a series of lefts and rights, grabs a wristlock, switches to a hammerlock and tags out. The Bulldog drives knees to the arm, brings in Virgil and he does more of the same before bringing Bret in. The Hitman drops a leg and maintains the hammerlock, Piper re-enters and his tam with more frequent tags to work over the arm. Bret utilizes an armbar, MDM backs him into the corner and doesn’t break clean, Hitman reversing a whip across, charges in for a knee and DiBiase avoids it.

He hooks the champion for a figure four, Hitman kicks him away, monkey flips MDM over and grabs him in multiple pinning predicaments for counts of 2. He takes The MDM back down with an armdrag and hooks the armbar, DiBiase gains his footing, pushes Bret off to the ropes and is knocked down by a shoulder. Hitman back to the ropes, MDM with a hiptoss and he’s finally able to tag out, Flair stepping in and immediately missing an elbow drop. The Hitman scores with an inverted atomic drop, Bulldog with a tag and he catapults The Real World’s Champion into the top turnbuckle.

Flair fires back with chops, Davey Boy reverses a whip to the ropes and elevates Flair with a press slam, then gives the people what they want and brings in Hot Rod. Piper & Flair exchange shots in the corner, Roddy is a house of fire and Flair is sent to the outside after a flurry of rights and lefts. Piper is in pursuit, drives Flair’s head into the steel steps, rolls him inside and Warlord quickly tags in to stop the momentum. He calls for a test of strength, Piper tags Bulldog and he hits the ropes, merely staggering Warlord with a couple of shoulders. He hits the ropes again and takes him off his feet with a dropkick, shoots Warlord into the corner, charges in and meets a boot to the face.

The Mountie enters and scores with a jumping back elbow out of the ropes, Bulldog is close to his corner and makes a tag, Mountie seeking refuge on the outside as The Hitman steps in. DiBiase takes the ring, collar & elbow lock-up, Bret backs MDM into the corner and doesn’t break clean, burying fists to the midsection. He cracks The MDM with a backbreaker, drops an elbow from the 2nd rope and gains a count of 2, goes to a side headlock, gets pushed to the ropes and collides heads with DiBiase, both guys doubling down. The Mountie & Bulldog gets tags, Bulldog with a clothesline out of the ropes, sends Mountie back in for a back elbow, then again for a press slam. Flair comes in from behind and baits Piper & Virgil into the ring, serves a plate of chops to Bulldog and they have no affect.

DiBiase comes in to help Flair sends Bulldog into the corner, they look for a double clothesline, but The Bulldog ducks it and hits them with one of his own. He finally gets his hands on The Mountie, plants him with a running powerslam and covers, everybody enters the ring and it stops the count, Flair takes advantage and comes off the top with a shot to the back of the head, allowing Mountie to turn Bulldog over and gain a 3 count. The British Bulldog has been eliminated. Piper wastes little time in jumping Flair, DiBiase steps in and Hot Rod battles in the wrong corner, but the numbers catch up to him.

The Real World’s Champion snapmares him over, drops a knee, taunts Virgil and then misses another knee. Roddy uses Flair’s own hold against him, slapping on the figure four, Mountie enters and baits Virgil into the ring, the referee is distracted and DiBiase comes in to break the hold before tagging in. He cracks Roddy’s leg with a kneebreaker, utilizes a spinning toe hold, Piper counters into a small package and gets a near fall. The Mountie with a tag now, locks on a boston crab, Hot Rod crawls his way to a tag and Virgil comes in, sending Mountie to the corner and leveling him with a clothesline off the rebound.

The Mountie looks for a tag but none of his partners want in, Virgil shoots him to the ropes for a back elbow and now Flair takes a tag. He exchanges shots with Virgil and comes up on the short end, Virgil with a series of shots, but gets caught with a kick in the corner. He reverses a whip across, flips Flair with a back body drop, The Real World’s Champion begs off and backs away, tagging The MDM. DiBiase looks to ram Virgil into the top turnbuckle, it’s blocked and MDM meets the turnbuckle numerous times. Virgil whips him to the ropes, DiBiase reverses, plants Virgil with a powerslam and brings in The Warlord.

He clobbers away at Virgil’s spine and tosses him to the outside, Flair drops down to punish Virgil behind the official’s back, The Hitman coming around ringside to help Virgil back in. The Warlord with more heavy shots, puts Virgil in the Full Nelson, everyone steps in which allows Bret to drive a shot to the back of Warlord’s head from the top, Piper covers without making a tag and gets the evens up the odds. The Warlord has been eliminated. The MDM is arguing with the referee, Roddy with a roll-up from behind and he nearly gets 3.

MDM goes to the eyes, sends Piper to the ropes and drops him with a back elbow, then looks to follow with a vertical suplex. Hot Rod blocks it and hits one of his own, tag to Virgil and he shoots DiBiase in for a couple clotheslines. Again The MDM goes to the eyes to gain an edge, whips Virgil in for a clothesline of his own, Virgil avoids it and slaps on the Million Dollar Dream. DiBiase drives Virgil into the top turnbuckle to escape it, The Real World’s Champion re-enters, slams Virgil with a back suplex and brings The Mountie in to keep the pressure on. He shoots Virgil to the ropes and scores with a dropkick, tag to DiBiase and he drops an elbow from the 2nd rope.

He plants Virgil with a gutwrench suplex, Flair back in and they score with a double clothesline out of the ropes, Flair covering with his feet on the ropes, but only getting 2. The MDM tags in and flattens Virgil with a clothesline, sends him back to the ropes for a back body drop, Virgil has it scouted and connects with a swinging neckbreaker. Piper & Flair receive tags, The Real World’s Champion fires away with little affeect, Hot Rod going to the eyes and pounding Flair in the corner. Flair powers out for an inverted atomic drop, it has no affect on Hot Rod and he introduces Flair’s face to the top turnbuckle multiple times.

Everybody enters the ring now as the referee can no longer maintain order, Flair scales the top rope and is caught by Roddy who slams him to the canvas, he shoots Flair to the corner and The Real World’s Champion flips up and over, falling to the outside. The official has finally had enough and calls for the bell as the brawl continues. Everyone gets disqualified except for Flair.
Winner & Sole Survivor: Ric Flair

• After The Bell: The melee continues with Roddy, Bret & Virgil clearing the ring.
• EA’s Take: Great start and I’d argue this is the best traditional Survivor Series match there’s ever been until this point. Of course the big story here is the WWF PPV debut of Ric Flair, the franchise of the NWA/WCW for so many years. Flair had finally had enough of the antics at WCW, mainly the new head of the company Jim Herd. After nearly coming a year earlier, Flair signed with the WWF in August, quickly becoming the company’s top heel. He arrived with WCW’s World Title belt as he was the champion at the time and literally owned the championship after putting down a $25,000 deposit (Flair claims that to this day he was never reimbursed). Calling himself ‘The Real World’s Champion’ (the WWF would black-out the title on televised broadcasts), Flair originally was paired with Bobby Heenan. After a short time of living on the road with Flair, Heenan couldn’t handle the lifestyle and was swapped to his on-air ‘financial consultant’ with Mr. Perfect taking managerial duties. Flair would waste little time in calling out the company’s top talent, issuing challenges left and right to Roddy Piper & Hulk Hogan.

In The Arena: ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund introduces the newly reinstated ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Gene discusses Savage’s reinstatement and the brutal attack he suffered at the hands of Jake Roberts. Macho talks about the poison affecting his vision and hearing, however he could hear Elizabeth’s screams. There may be no more reptiles allowed at ringside, but Roberts has been the real snake all along. Savage promises to be all over Jake at This Tuesday In Texas, Okerlund inquires about Elizabeth, but Macho tells him to ask her in person. Elizabeth makes her way out, giving thanks to any and everyone that helped to get Randy reinstated, predicting a victory for him.

Match #2 – Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: Colonel Mustafa, The Berzerker, Skinner & Hercules w/General Adnan & Mr. Fuji vs. ‘The Texas Tornado’ Kerry Von Erich, ‘El Matador’ Tito Santana, ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan & Sgt. Slaughter
Skinner & Santana will get things going, they tie-up and jockey for position, Skinner backs Tito into the corner and slaps him in the face. El Matador returns the favor, scores with a clothesline and grabs a side headlock, taking Skinner to the canvas. Skinner pushes Tito off to the ropes to break it, gets knocked down by a shoulder, Santana back to the ropes and he connects with a Flying Forearm that sends Skinner out to the floor.

He collects himself and climbs back in, Santana back to the side headlock, gets pushed off again and ducks a couple of shots, attempts a crossbody and Skinner avoids it to take control. Berzerker gets the tag, comes off the 2nd rope for a double stomp and misses, El Matador rolling over to tag Von Erich. The Tornado fires away with rights, Berzerker powers him into the corner, shoots him into the ropes and misses a clothesline, then a dropkick attempt. Von Erich with shots to Berzerker’s partners, gets caught in the corner and Hercules tags in.

Tornado quickly rolls away and brings Hacksaw in, Herc with a side headlock off the lock-up, gets pushed into the ropes and they collide shoulders, neither man hitting the mat. They trade right hands, Duggan gets the advantage, Hercules reverses a whip to the ropes, Hacksaw ducking a right hand and Berzerker grabs the hair, placing Duggan in his corner and doing a number on him. The Berzerker takes the ring, whips Hacksaw in for a back elbow and tags right out, Mustafa dropping Duggan with a turnbuckle shot and going to a side headlock. Hacksaw to a veritcal base, escapes and hits the ropes, but runs into a shot to the throat for a count of 2.

He introduces Duggan to the top turnbuckle again, Hacksaw battles back in the corner, climbing to the 2nd rope for a flurry of right hands, the ref stepping in to create a break and Mustafa takes the opening for another 2 count. He hooks Hacksaw for a vertical suplex, Duggan blocks and hits a delayed version, finally reaching Slaughter. Sarge blocks right hands and splits Mustafa with an atomic drop, lays him out with a clothesline and picks up the 1-2-3. Colonel Mustafa has been eliminated.

The Berzerker hops right in and Slaughter meets him with heavy shots, Berzerker reversing a whip into the corner and scoring with big right hands. He shoots Sarge back across, sternum-first into the turnbuckles, then to the ropes and plants a big boot to the jaw for a near fall. The Mighty One tags in and maintains the advantage, drives Slaughter into the top turnbuckle for another 2 count, Berzerker tagging back in. He sends Sarge to the ropes again, misses a right hand, Slaughter crotches him on the top rope, hits the ropes and goes to the knees before tagging out.

Duggan walks into a right hand, Berzerker shoots him to the ropes for a back body drop, Hacksaw sees it coming and scores with a kick, then clotheslines him over the top to the floor. The Berzerker quickly rushes back in, Duggan flips him over the top on the other side and drops his partners on the apron. Slaughter drops down and tosses Berzerker back in, The Berzerker goes to the breadbasket of Hacksaw, shoots him into the corner, Duggan making a tag on the way in and getting squashed by a running shoulder. The Texas Tornado scores with right hands, delivers a Tornado Punch and turns his attention to Herc & Skinner on the apron.

Berzerker uses his size advantage to hold Von Erich in the wrong corner, Herc re-enters, sends Tornado to the ropes for a back body drop, Von Erich avoids one, then another and gets the tag to El Matador. Tito shoots Hercules in and buries a fist in the abdomen, hits the ropes and connects with El Paso Del Muerte for the 3 count. Hercules has been eliminated. Skinner takes the ring and ambushes Santana after the fall, chokes El Matador on the canvas and rams his head into the top turnbuckle. He chokes Tito on the middle rope, tags out and Berzerker hammers Santana in his corner, shoots him to the ropes and flattens him with a clothesline.

Skinner back in with a slam, taunts The Tornado on the apron and pays for it, Tito with shots the ribs. Skinner elevates El Matador for an atomic drop, Slaughter makes a blind tag, Skinner pushes Tito to the ropes for a roll-up, but El Matador hangs on and pushes him away, Sarge grabbing a roll-up and gaining the pinfall. Skinner has been eliminated. The Berzerker is left to fend for himself, attacking Slaughter after the 3 count and sending him to the ropes for a dropkick.

Sarge hangs on to avoid it, introduces Berzerker’s head into an exposed turnbuckle over and over, then sends him across and tags in Hacksaw. Slaughter shoots The Berzerker at Duggan, Hacksaw goes to the 3 Point Stance and levels him to pickup the victory.
Winners & Sole Survivors: ‘The Texas Tornado’ Kerry Von Erich, ‘El Matador’ Tito Santana, ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan & Sgt. Slaughter

• EA’s Take: Really sloppy compared to our first match, but given the participants it’s no surprise. A lot of the lower level talent in this one with a couple of fresh and re-debuting faces mixed in. After years spent between the AWA & WCCW, The Berzerker would arrive in the WWF as ‘The Viking’ before changing his name, an eccentric character that seemed to have very little control of his barbaric behavior. Skinner is another new character given to an old face, as many will remember Steve Keirn for his time in the NWA as a member of The Fabulous Ones. He would also arrive in the WWF in 1990, portraying a dirty alligator handler who chewed tobacco in the ring, often spitting it on his opponents. For Tito Santana, he would take a brief hiatus from the company in 1991 before returning with his ‘El Matador’ gimmick, which was that of a bullfighter.

In The Arena: ‘Mean’ Gene is ready to conduct another interview, this time with Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts. Jake insists that we should trust him, saying what happened to Randy Savage was an accident and he was unaware that the king cobra hadn’t been devenomized. The Snake believes that Okerlund is trying to cast him as the original sinner, but the finger should be pointed at the fans who voted to have Macho reinstated. Roberts finds it hard to believe that nobody realized after 6 years that he’s the snake people need to worry about. He warns Elizabeth that if she shows up in Texas, there will be no prince there to wake her up with kiss, as it will be the end of the beginning.

Video: Two weeks ago, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan was a guest on Paul Bearer’s Funeral Parlor when Ric Flair would walk out, getting in the champion’s face. The Hulkster would retort, but The Undertaker would pop out of a casket behind the champion, attacking him with the urn. Piper & Savage would leave the broadcast position to make the save, Undertaker grabbing Hogan’s chain from around his neck as some sort of symbol.

Match #3 for the WWF Championship: The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer vs. WWF Champion Hulk Hogan
Hogan is fired up coming down to the ring, tipping over the casket reserved for him. The bell rings and we’re underway, collar & elbow tie-up and Taker powers the champion into the corner, charges in and Hulk side-steps it. They circle and lock-up again, Hulkster with a side headlock, Undertaker pushes him off to the ropes, misses a right hand, but scores with a shoulder knockdown to send Hogan to the outside. The champion regroups and cautiously re-enters the ring, Taker gets him by the throat and chokes Hulk in the corner, then rips at his nose.

The challenger uses the top rope to continue to choke Hogan, Paul Bearer does more of the same behind the ref’s back, The Undertaker following with a slam. He hits the ropes for an elbow drop, Hulkster rolls out of the way and scores with right hands, shoots the challenger to the ropes and hits a clothesline that merely staggers him. The champion attempts a slam and Taker blocks it, Hulk sends him back to the ropes and hits an elbow to the forehead, still unable to take him off his feet. Hogan introduces Undertaker’s head to the turnbuckles, clotheslines him over the top and the challenger lands on his feet, pulling Hogan out under the bottom rope and connecting with a shot to the throat.

He drives Hulkster into the steel steps, Bearer provides a distraction, allowing Taker to choke the champion with an electrical cord. They had back in the squared circle and Undertaker continues to choke the air out of Hulk’s lungs, Bearer again gets involved behind the official’s back. The challenger locks a claw hold on the Hulkster’s face, grinds him down to the mat and gains multiple 2 counts, the official finally checks Hogan’s arm and the champion gets a boost of adrenaline, battling to his feet. He hits the ropes multiple times for shoulder tackles, can’t get the challenger down, Hogan goes back to the well again and runs into a flying clothesline, Undertaker following with a Tombstone, but the Hulkster jumps right back to his feet.

The champion with heavy right hands, finally drops Taker to a knee and calls for a slam. Ric Flair makes his way down to ringside as Hogan slams Undertaker, Paul Bearer gets Hogan’s attention and the champion pulls him up to the apron, then notices Flair on the outside and rolls out to drop him. The Hulkster slides back in the ring, sends Undertaker to the ropes for a big boot, hits the ropes for the leg drop, but Bearer grabs his foot. The referee works to get Paul off the apron, Hulk turns around and takes a shot to the throat, Taker lifts him for another Tombstone as Flair places a chair in the ring.

The challenger spikes Hulk on the chair behind the ref’s back, Flair disposes of it, Taker with the cover and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WWF Champion: The Undertaker (Tombstone)

• After The Bell: WWF officials come down to the ring to check on the lifeless Hogan, helping him to his feet after being dropped on the chair. Some of the younger fans in the crowd are in tears as Hulk is helped to the back.
• EA’s Take: A really slow-paced contest dominated by Undertaker, the now-former champion providing all the energy. Taker’s moveset was pretty limited to a lot of chokes at this point, the pacing being slow only due to the nature of the gimmick. Either way, The Undertaker is a made man from this point on, becoming the youngest WWF Champion in history at this point. Ultimate Warrior’s departure forced the feud between him and Taker to be dropped, which one could argue is the best thing that happened for Undertaker’s career. The Hulkster wouldn’t wait long to cash in on his rematch, as the two would meet again for the title just 6 days later at This Tuesday In Texas.

Backstage: ‘Mean’ Gene is in the interview area, shocked that Undertaker is the new champion. Okerlund calls ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper in for his thoughts, Hot Rod talking about anything happening in the WWF. He calls for WWF President Jack Tunney to do something about it, warning Flair & Undertaker that he can hear the bells and they are calling. Sean Mooney is in the locker room with Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect, Perfect speaking about the end of Hulkamania. Flair wonders what we thought would happen when he arrived in the WWF, saying he warned Hulk that his reign would be short-lived. After all these years of people believing in Hogan, but now that’s all over. No more Hollywood, no more limousines, no more little kids running wild. We go back to Gene Okerlund, breaking the news that Jack Tunney and Hulk Hogan are having a meeting as we speak. Gene brings in The Natural Disasters & Irwin R. Schyster alongside Jimmy Hart. Earthquake says the only shock tonight will be what they do to the Legion Of Doom & Big Boss Man. Jimmy thinks this match should have been 4 on 3, it wasn’t any of their fault that Randy Savage got bitten. Back to Sean Mooney who is with their opponents, The Legion Of Doom speaking about Jack Tunney’s decision to make it 3 on 3, Big Boss Man states he’s not afraid of all the big talk. One way or another, they will all serve hard time. We go to Gene again who’s with WWF President Jack Tunney, Tunney claiming the referee’s decision is final, but there will be a rematch at This Tuesday In Texas where he will be ringside to make sure there’s a fair outcome.

Match #4 – Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake) & The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) w/The Genius & ‘Mouth Of The South’ Jimmy Hart vs. The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) & The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)
Butch will begin with Knobbs, Butch with right hands off the tie-up, rakes the eyes, Knobbs battling back, gets a whip to the ropes reversed and takes a knee to the ribs. Luke gets the tag and The Bushwhackers lay out Knobbs with a double clothesline, Sags comes in and is driven to the mat, then driven into his partner. The Bushwhackers dispose of The Nasty Boys with double clotheslines, The Beverlys hit the ring and all 4 men brawl.

The Bushwhackers send them colliding into each other, score with a Battering Ram to each Beverly and clear the ring, The Nasty Boys pull themselves to the apron and The Rockers send them back down with double dropkicks. Order is restored, Shawn & Blake taking the ring now, Blake forces Michaels into the corner and doesn’t break clean. Shawn reverses a whip across, charges in and meets a back elbow to the mouth, irish whip to the ropes, Blake ducks his head for a back body drop and Michaels counters with a swinging neckbreaker.

He can’t capitalize and is split with an inverted atomic drop, Blake follows with a backbreaker and tags out. Knobbs comes in looking for an elbow drop, Shawn rolls out of the way, hits the ropes and connects with a high knee before tagging. Luke is in delivering shots to Knobbs in the corner, Knobbs reverses a whip across and charges in for a splash, but Luke side-steps it. Sags distracts Luke from the apron, Knobbs climbs to the 2nd rope and hits a flying clothesline, hooks the leg and Luke’s night is over. Luke has been eliminated.

Michaels steps right in, sends Knobbs in for a back body drop, Knobbs sees it coming and drops a double axe, then brings in Sags. He plants Shawn with a vertical suplex, buries shoulders to the midsection in the corner, whips Michaels across and rushes in for a back elbow. Shawn hops out of the way to the apron, springs to the top turnbuckle and scores with a crossbody for a count of 2, quickly catches Sags in an armdrag and tagging out. Jannetty comes in with a splash to the arm, locks on an armbar Sags gains a vertical base, gets an irish whip reversed and knocks Marty down with a shoulder.

Back to the ropes, Jannetty with an armdrag and he goes right back to the armbar, Sags using the hair to force Marty in the wrong corner and brings Beau into the match. Beau scores with a neck snap, shoots Marty in for a back body drop, Jannetty lands on his feet and connects with a superkick for a near fall. He hooks an armbar, Beau backs him to the corner to break the hold, but is taken back down with a drop toe hold, then grounded by a front facelock. Beau powers his way up, props Marty on the top turnbuckle, the referee steps in to create a break, Jannetty hops over Beau and bumps into the referee, allowing Beau to attack from behind.

He sends Marty hard into the corner, plants him with a gutwrench suplex and gets a 2 count. He utilizes a side headlock, Jannetty tries to push him off to the ropes, Beau reverses and both guys collide heads and hit the mat. Blake & Butch get tags, Butch unloads with rights and lefts, turns Blake inside-out with a clothesline, Beau hits the ring and is flattened by one of his own. Sags gets the referee’s attention from the apron, the numbers catch up to Butch and The Beverlys send him to the ropes, scoring with the Shaker Heights Spike for the 1-2-3. Butch has been eliminated.

Jannetty hops right in and unloads with punches, sends Beau to the ropes for a back elbow, then into the corner for a monkey flip. He follows with a hurricanrana for a near fall, Marty grabs a front facelock, Beau pushes him off to the ropes, catches a kick attempt, but gets clocked by an enzuigiri. He rolls to his corner to make a tag, Blake rushes right into an armdrag, Michaels makes a tag and uses a wristlock, Blake breaking it with a headbutt. He chokes Shawn on the middle rope, Knobbs intervenes behind the official’s back, Beau with a tag and he leapfrogs Blake into a seated senton on Michaels’ lower back for a count of 2.

Shawn is tossed to the outside, Beau holds the ref’s attention and Knobbs drops down, driving Shawn spine-first into the ring apron. Beau drags him back in by the hair, shoots him in for a back elbow, then drops another on the lower back before sending Michaels hard into the corner. He plants Shawn with a side slam off the rebound, whips Shawn back in for another, Michaels flips over to his feet, hooks a backslide and sneaks in the pinfall. Beau Beverly has been eliminated. Blake ambushes Shawn after the fall, drives him spine-first into the top turnbuckle and plants him with a running powerslam for a 2 count.

Knobbs tags in and sends Michaels in for a back body drop, Shawn counters with a sunset flip and gains his own 2 count, Sags getting a quick tag to prevent Michaels from reaching his corner. He pushes Shawn to the ropes and tosses him over the top, Michaels lands on his feet on the apron, dropkicks Sags from behind and sends him to the outside. He heads to the apron and flies to the floor with a clothesline, Knobbs comes around to help and eats a superkick for his troubles, Shawn rolling Sags back in and scaling the corner. He comes off the top and catches a right hand to the face, Blake tags back in and hits the ropes for a leg drop, hits Michaels with a hot shot and whips him in for a back body drop.

Michaels has it scouted, delivers a kick and finally crawls to a tag as Knobbs enters, Marty coming in with a flurry of fists to all his opponents. He shoots Knobbs to the ropes for a jumping back elbow, snapmares him over and gets a count of 2, Knobbs going to the eyes and bringing Blake back in, Blake getting caught in an armdrag as he enters. Blake pushes Marty to the ropes, Jannetty rolls through, grabs a waistlock and pushes Blake to the ropes for a roll-up, Blake hangs on and Marty rolls through again, hooking Blake for a near fall. Blake squirms away and tags Knobbs, he whips Jannetty hard into the corner plants him with a front slam and merely gets 1 before bringing Sags in.

Sags scores with a pumphandle slam, follows with a back suplex and tags out. Knobbs comes off the 2nd rope for a splash, Marty gets the knees up and makes the tag, Shawn coming in to send Knobbs to the ropes, it’s reversed, but Michaels is right back with a clothesline. All 5 guys are in the ring now, The Rockers sandwich Blake with Knobbs & Sags, Marty lifts Sags for a slam, Shawn is hit in the face accidentally by Sags’ feet, Knobbs grabs a roll-up and Michaels is finished. Shawn Michaels has been eliminated. Michaels loses his cool and berates Jannetty before exiting, Marty looks to apologize, but Shawn pushes him away before finally accepting his apology.

Knobbs ambushes Marty from behind with the numbers in his favor, shoots Jannetty to the corner and charges in, running into a boot to the face. He follows with a bulldog off the 2nd rope and covers, Sags breaks the count at 2 and throws Jannetty to the floor. Blake tags in and drags Marty back inside, whips him to the ropes and plants him with a powerslam, pulling Jannetty up during the count to dish out more punishment. Knobbs comes back in and utilizes a wristlock, Marty springs on the ropes to counter out, slides between the legs and out to the floor, dragging Knobbs with him. Sags looks to intervene and is met with a superkick, Jannetty heads up top and takes out both Nasty Boys on the outside with a crossbody before climbing to the apron.

He slides between Blake’s legs and back into the ring, into the ropes they go and Marty connects with a facebuster, The Nasty Boys entering from behind for a double clothesline to no avail. Blake has the official occupied as Jannetty gets a small package on Sags, Knobbs switches the momentum, the ref turning around to make the 3 count.
Winners & Sole Survivors: The Nasty Boys & Blake Beverly

• EA’s Take: This felt painstakingly long to me, the best spots of the match coming near the end with The Rockers’ high flying. Our newcomers The Beverly Brothers are Wayne Bloom (Beau) & Mike Enos (Blake), formerly known as The Destruction Crew in the AWA and The Minnesota Wrecking Crew 2 in the NWA. After the AWA closed it’s doors down in 1990, the duo would work for New Japan before arriving in the WWF in May of 91, taking on the gimmick of two spoiled, rich, bleach blonde brothers and receiving a fair push in the tag team ranks. The Bushwhackers remain at the lower end of the tag team spectrum, while The Nasty Boys were headed in that direction after losing the tag titles at SummerSlam. The Rockers had a lot of friction between the two backstage, even breaking down into a real-life brawl in which Jannetty put a beating on Michaels (Marty was nearly arrested, but Randy Savage convinced the cops it was part of a storyline). This would be their final PPV match as a team as the split was put into motion on television, with the infamous turn airing in early January of 1992 which saw Shawn superkick Marty on Brutus Beefcake’s show ‘The Barber Shop’, bloodying him by sending him face-first through a glass window. The two were set to feud, however Marty would be fired shortly after the segment aired.

Match #5 – Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) & Irwin R. Schyster w/’Mouth Of The South’ Jimmy Hart vs. Big Boss Man & WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion Of Doom (Hawk & Animal)
Boss Man kicks off our main event with IRS, Boss Man backing Schyster into the corner off the lock-up, IRS doesn’t break clean and sends him to the ropes. Big Boss Man slides to the outside, trips up IRS and goes to climb up, but sees Schyster rolling away and changes him mind. He whips Schyster hard into the turnbuckles, tries again and it’s reversed, Boss Man takes to the outside once more and is back in on the other side for a clothesline.

IRS ducks it, charges into the corner and runs into a boot to the face, then gets dropped by an uppercut before making a tag. Earthquake takes the ring and wants a piece of Animal, Boss Man obliges and makes the tag. Animal applies a side headlock, Quake pushes him off to the ropes and they collide shoulders, neither man budging. Animal goes back to the ropes, ducks a back elbow and goes for a crossbody, Earthquake catches him in the air and cracks him with a backbreaker, but misses a follow-up splash. Animal scores with a dropkick, Quake reversing a whip to the ropes, misses a right hand and turns around into a shoulder tackle, Animal gaining a near fall.

IRS re-enters and gets caught in a wristlock, Hawk comes in off the top with a club to the arm and utilizes a hammerlock. Schyster gains the rope to force a break, Hawk reverses a whip in and buries a boot to the midsection, Typhoon making a blind tag on the way through. Hawk presses IRS over his head, throws him at Typhoon and the big man catches him, but Hawk follows with a dropkick to take him down and get a 2 count. He sends Typhoon into his corner and distracts the referee as Animal & Boss Man put a beating on, Hawk unloads with heavy rights in the corner and Typhoon drops like a bad habit.

He crawls over and tags out, Earthquake comes in and locks up, Hawk with a side headlock and Quake carries him to his corner, IRS making the tag and grabbing a side headlock of his own. Hawk powers out with a back suplex, drops a fist and brings Boss Man in for stiff right hands. He hangs Schyster on the middle rope, jumps on his back with a seated senton, then stands on IRS’ tie to prevent him from escaping to the outside. Earthquake makes his way around ringside to bait the LOD, the official turns his back and Typhoon slides in Schyster’s briefcase, IRS clobbering Big Boss Man, disposing of the evidence and covering for the pinfall. Big Boss Man has been eliminated.

Typhoon ambushes Animal as LOD helps Boss Man out of the ring, Hawk is livid and has the ref distracted while The Natural Disasters work him over, Earthquake claiming he was tagged and plants Animal with a belly to belly suplex. He tags out and IRS comes in off the top with a right hand, drops a leg to the lower abdomen and baits Hawk into the ring for more double teaming in the corner. Typhoon back in, sends Animal to the ropes and squeezes him in a bearhug, backs Animal into the corner, shoots him across and charges into a boot. Hawk gets the tag and unleashes a flurry of fists, whips Typhoon to the ropes for a flying shoulder tackle, Schyster steps in and distracts Hawk, also drawing Animal into the ring.

The official works to get Animal back to the corner, Quake hands IRS the briefcase, Typhoon holds Hawk, but Hawk avoids it and Typhoon gets clocked, Hawk immediately taking advantage to get the elimination. Typhoon has been eliminated. Earthquake checks on his partner and points the finger at Schyster. They exchange words and Quake threatens to deck him, but instead grabs his partner and helps him to the dressing room, leaving IRS to fend for himself. Earthquake has been eliminated.

Hawk quickly goes after Schyster in the corner, hits a dropkick and shoots him to the ropes for a powerslam. He whips IRS back to the corner, rushes in and IRS side-steps out, Hawk going shoulder-first into the ring post and getting dumped outside. Schyster rams Hawk into the ring steps, rolls him in the squared circle and sends him to the ropes for a back elbow. He grounds Hawk with a side headlock, Hawk finds his footing, gets sent back to the ropes and they collide in a botched spot. IRS attempts a vertical suplex, Hawk blocks it and hits one of his own, falls backwards into a tag and Animal hits the ring, shooting Schyster to the ropes for a shoulder tackle.

Animal sends him back in for a powerslam, Hawk steps in and the champions connect with a double clothesline, Schyster, rolling outside and he’s had enough. Big Boss Man comes back out through the curtain with his nightstick to force IRS back to the ring, Animal suplexes him in from the apron, Hawk follows with a clothesline from upstairs, Animal makes the cover and they survive.
Winners & Sole Survivors: The Legion Of Doom

• EA’s Take: Nothing too spectacular here, the placement of this match being a little odd to me. LOD is super-over, but with Savage & Roberts no longer involved this didn’t feel like a main event to me. Nothing bad about the match, but nothing too exciting either. Boss Man’s “last laugh” on IRS was a little bittersweet as it wasn’t even his own doing, but LOD’s. The Natural Disasters seemed to tease a face turn here, but that would have to wait as they’d continue to chase LOD for tag team gold heading into 1992.

Backstage: In the locker room is Sean Mooney who just left Hulk Hogan’s dressing room, Hulkster claiming he’ll take back the title Tuesday In Texas, but doesn’t want to be on camera as his actions in the ring will do the talking. Gene Okerlund has finally located The Undertaker & Paul Bearer down in the depths of the arena. Paul says that nothing is immortal, not even Hulkamania as we all witnessed it die tonight. Most of the time services are performed immediately, but they will put that on hold until Tuesday. Taker states that they warned us what was in store for Hogan and he wants to give Gene a glimpse at what’s in store for Hulkamania. Undertaker cracks open a casket and says the burial will be this Tuesday.

EA’s Finisher: This is arguably the best Survivor Series to date in my opinion, the action was a lot cleaner than years past. The 4 on 4 format works and adding in a singles title match really breaks up the repetitiveness of the format. I’d have preferred the title match be the main event though, I have always been a proponent of the championship holding that spot for every PPV, it’s supposed to be the most coveted prize and should be treated as such. It seemed as if the WWF was more focused on promoting the This Tuesday In Texas special to end the night, giving us an LOD babyface victory to finish out the action. The company’s transition to younger talent is becoming more evident, despite the fact that some of the younger fans were afraid of Undertaker, he actually received a fair amount of cheers as well. The people were beginning to yearn for something different and in due time, for better or for worse, that change was inevitable.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Flair’s Team vs. Piper’s Team
2 – Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker
3 – LOD’s Team vs. Natural Disasters’ Team