Yes, after an insane amount of anticipation and build up, what came out of the egg was a man dressed in a turkey costume. The millions of people watching the event at home, as well as the 16,000 in attendance that day (of which your humble columnist, at the tender age of 11, was one) witnessed one of the most embarrassing events in the history of professional wrestling.
Hector Guerrero, dressed in an absurd turkey suit, proceeding to flip and dance around the ring, making turkey noises and dancing with Mean Gene. Okerlund, using his vast announcing talents, deduced the name of the clucking man was "The Gobbledy Gooker." Guerrero and Okerlund spent what seemed to be an eternity making fools of themselves as the capacity crowd booed heavily, praying for this event to end. Gorilla Monsoon and and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper tried to save this fiasco on commentary, claiming that the arena loved the Gobbledy Gooker, as they were barely audible over the sounds of the booing and jeering.
It was November 22, 1990, a dark and dreary Thanksgiving evening, and a morbid chill hung in the air. For the unsuspecting thousands gathered at the Hartford Civic Centre, a spiritual revolution was about to occur. A solemn bell tolled, signifying something, but what? Fan's emotions quickly moved from security to uncertainty to fear, as funereal organ music played and an ominous stranger slowly made his way to the ring.
A decade of destruction had begun. He was cold, somber and unflinching. The portrait of darkness. Led to the ring by Brother Love, he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's "Million-Dollor Team". Apparently, even the dead had a price and DiBiase had found a way to lure the Grim Reaper himself into WWE. As he he stepped into the ring for the first time and stared straight into the eyes of Bret The Hitman Hart, it became apparent that this was a competitor like no other. This was Undertaker.
Within seconds, Hart found himself on the receiving end of a Chokeslam from Hell, and when Jim The Anvil Neidhart sprang into the ring to make the save, he soon found himself on his back as well. Koko B. Ware entered the confrontation believing that with his speed, he could outmaneuver Undertaker. However, he instead became the first ever victim of the Tombstone Piledriver. Without missing a beat, Taker made short work of Dusty Rhodes and hurled the "American Dream" out of the ring and onto the arena floor. But "the Man from the Darkside" wasn't finished. Unsatisfied with the carnage, he followed Rhodes to the outside and continued to pummel him back to the locker room while the referee counted to 10. Despite the countout loss, Undertaker proved all he needed on that night!
Introduced to the WWE Universe in 1987,
the Survivor Series was initially developed to counter the National Wrestling
Alliance (later known as WCW) showcase event “Starrcade.” But unlike its
opposition, Survivor Series focused on the art form of Tag Team Wrestling in a
unique setting as superstars competed in matches in teams of five (or four)
with the objective simple: Survival. In its inaugural years, the event focused
on these survival style Elimination Matches, but as time wore on, matches
involving Championship and personal vendettas became the primary focus.With Survivor Series 2012 right around the
corner, the mind naturally wanders to past versions of the staple WWE Event.
Legends and Mid-Carders, Champions and Challengers, have all made a name for
themselves at Survivor Series. From the Traditional 10 Man Elimination Matches
to inventive new matches, the November Pay-Per-View has produced its share of
classics. So many have been great that it is hard to rank them.
Honorable Mentions:
The Gravest Challenge 1991
The Submission Match (1994)
The Wild-Card Match 1995
So here we go, My Personal Top 20
Favourite Matches of the Survivor Series........
20: Survivor Series 1994 - Bad Guys Vs. Teamsters
Participants: Razor Ramon,
The 1-2-3 Kid, The British Bulldog, Fatu and Sione
(with Afa and Captain Lou Albano)
vs. Shawn Michaels, Diesel,
Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart
and Jeff JarrettHYPERLINK\l "cite_note-oo-22"
Diesel snaps and goes after his partner,
and eventually chases him back to the dressing room, with the rest of the team
following to calm things down. The others are counted out one-by-one, until finally
Ramon wins an improbable countout victory. Way cheap ending, but the match was
rockin’ while it lasted!
19: Survivor Series 1989 - Rude’s Brood vs. Roddy’s Rowdys
Participants: Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and
The Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and The Bushwhackers
A nice touch was Rude's tights featuring
airbrushed depictions of everyone involved. Great climax here. Snuka flies off
the top with a crossbody and Perfect rolled him over and got a two. Perfect
suplexed him. The Survivor is Mr. Perfect. A lot of credit to Hennig, Rude, and
Piper in this one!
18: Survivor Series 1990 - The Dream Team Vs. The Million
Dollar Team
Participants: Ted DiBiase, The Undertaker,
The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine (with Virgil, Jimmy Hart and Brother
Love) vs. Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart.
This would be The Undertaker's first time
on tv, but technically he made his debut a couple weeks earlier at a TV taping
that wouldn't air until after the event. Bret Hart dedicated this match to his
brother who died the day before. In the match Undertaker dominated the heroes
and made quick work of both Koko B. Ware and Rhodes. He was counted out while
beating up Rhodes, effectively eliminating him
without getting pinned or losing his brand new heat. Good closing moments with
the two best workers in the match, Hart and DiBiase. This match is significant
and has an impressive climax! http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7x1sb_survivor-series-1990-million-dollar_sport
17: Survivor Series 1987 - The First Women Traditional
Survivor Series Match
Participants: The Fabulous Moolah, Rockin' Robin, Velvet McIntyre, Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno) vs. Sensational
Sherri, The Glamour Girls
(Leilani Kai and Judy Martin) (with Jimmy Hart), Donna
Christanello, and Dawn Marie
At the first Survivor Series, even the
women had their place on the show. Team Moolah defeated Team Sherri, and all
the women involved were not Divas, they were actual female wrestlers.
Outstanding solid match!
16: Survivor Series 2007 - WWE Championship Match, Randy
Orton (c) Vs. Shawn Michaels (Michaels was banned from using the Superkick, while Orton would have lost the
title had he been disqualified)
This is really a fantastic match from two
competitors that were limited in their arsenals but still pulled off a classic.
It is a nice mixture of an old school technician and veteran in Michaels
against an up and coming star that really knows his game well in Orton. This is
a fun match with a fast-paced, hot finish that is sure to make you sit up and
applaud!
15: Survivor Series 2007 - Hell in a Cell Match for World Heavyweight Championship.
Batista (c) Vs. The Undertaker
The two big men endured a bloody battle
that thrilled. While most interference endings tend to take away from the
match, the haunting image of a crazed Edge delivering a con-chair-to on the
steel steps was unforgettable. The Undertaker delivered another classic this night!
14: Survivor Series 1988 - The Mega Powers Team Vs. Twin Towers
Team
Participants: The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan
and Randy Savage), Hercules, Koko B. Ware,
and Hillbilly Jim (with Miss Elizabeth) vs. The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss
Man), Ted DiBiase, Haku, and The Red
Rooster (with Slick,
Bobby Heenan, and Virgil)
This match was tremendous. Savage and
Hogan were mainstream success stories and with the upcoming explosion of the
Mega Powers. These were the final good moments they had together. All in all,
an effective main event to close the 1988 Series!
13: Survivor Series 1987 - Andre The Giant Team vs Hulk
Hogan Team
Participants: Andre The Giant, Butch Reed,
Rick Rude, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan, Don Muraco, Paul
Orndorf, Ken Patera, Bam Bam Bigelow
The story for this main event comes off
the WrestleMania III feud of Hogan and Andre, as this would be Andre's first
match since then. It was quite the shock to see Hulk eliminated here earlier
on. This match was unpredictable and booked extremely well. Terrific old school
fun!
12: Survivor Series 2003 - Team
Austin Vs. Team Bischoff
Participants: Chris Jericho, Christian,
Randy Orton, Scott Steiner and Mark Henry vs. Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam,
Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. Another great Survivor Series match, that Shawn
Michaels was involved in. The reason to why HBK is the greatest of all-time, is
because how dramatic, he can make a match be. Especially in a traditional
Survivor Series match. It was down to Orton and Michaels, with the veteran
Michaels, who was bloodied up and weak, and the young hot shot Orton, at the
time, it was the most dramatic of a match, you can get!
11: Survivor Series 1998 - Deadly
Game Tournament Final Match for the Vacant WWF
Championship. The Rock Vs. Mankind
The Rock defeated Mankind by submission to
win the belt in a very Montreal
Screwjobish-type of finish that was a catalyst for "The Brahma Bull"
turning heel and joining The
Corporation. Rocky played the Deadly Game and guess what? It was so good
that we all ended up winning in the end!
10: Survivor Series 1995 - No Disqualification Match
for the WWF Championship. Diesel (c) Vs. Bret Hart
One of the most important things in WWF
History takes place... the first Spanish commentary table bump! Diesel charges
and rams Bret right off the apron and through the wooden Spanish table. Great
bump, even after all this time. Bret sells it like crazy, just as the
announcers do. The match was great, definitely one of Diesel's best ever
matches!
09: Survivor Series 1990 - The Perfect Team Vs. The
Ultimate Warriors
Participants: Mr. Perfect, Demolition (Ax,
Smash and Crush) with Bobby Heenan and Mr. Fuji vs. The Ultimate Warrior, The
Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) The Texas
Tornado
A short but hard hitting matchup that was
fun to watch. This match serves as a fine opener, great tag feud with
Demolition and the Leigion of Doom. Best parts were Warrior/Perfect at the end
and the Demolition/Doom brawl!
08: Survivor Series 1992 - WWE Championship Match. Bret
Hart (c) Vs. Shawn Michaels
Bret delivered a tremendous promo before
the match. This is a true underrated gem. Love the sequence right here when the
two criss-cross and a leapfrog by Michaels surprises Bret. Shawn hits a drop
toehold into a quick side headlock, Bret immediately knows a counter to the beautiful chain wrestling displayed by the two. The X-Factor here was both guys were
entering in there prime and watching the chemistry together was a thing of beauty!
07: Survivor Series 2002 - Elimination Chamber Match for
the World Heavyweight Championship
Participants: Triple H (c) vs. Shawn
Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T vs. Kane vs. Chris Jericho
The first and perhaps the best ever Elimination
Chamber Match was the highlight of the 2002 Survivor Series. The recipe that
WWE followed was first to construct a demonic metal structure and then to fill
it with future Hall of Famers and then watch the sparks fly!
06: Survivor Series 2001 - Team WWE
vs. Team Alliance
in a Winner Takes All Match
Participants: The Rock, Chris Jericho, The
Undertaker, Kane and The Big Show vs.
Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Booker T and Shane McMahon
It was billed as ‘Winner Take All’, the
WWF would finally take on the Alliance,
in the final PPV of the Invasion angle. The match got plenty of time and
showcased several storylines. Shane has a fun segment of interfering only to
have everyone to hit their finishers on him. Jericho turns heel. Angle turns face for the
night. And Austin
unoffically tuns face by his actions. The final segment of Rock vs Austin is the same quality
they had been producing at Wrestlemania. And there was no other way to end it
than to have Rock and Austin, two of the biggest rivalries in WWE history, to
face off for the fate of the two companies!
05: Survivor Series 1996 - Number 1 Contendership to the
WWE Championship. Bret Hart Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Two of the best and most famous wrestlers
in WWE history put one of their finest matches at the 1996 Survivor Series at Madison Square Garden.
One of the more technical outings by the Rattlesnake helped in his growth from
star to superstar. This match was a preview of the greatness to come from Austin and a testament to
Bret Hart's excellence!
04: Survivor Series 2002 - Triple Threat Elimination Match
for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Edge, Rey Mysterio (c) Vs. Los Guerreros
(Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero) Vs. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit
The newly created WWE tag team titles had became the
most exciting title in the WWE at the time. Just a week or so before, Edge and
Mysterio won the titles in a great 2/3 Falls Match. All six man had been
putting up match of the year candidates on a weekly basis over on Smackdown.
The expectations for this match was huge. The fact that they got such a long
match and were after the WWE title match showed that the WWE knew they had
something special.Really great match.
The exchanges between the teams of Angle & Benoit vs. Edge & Rey was as
exciting as always. Guerrero’s brought their own personality and psychology to
the match which added a new and interesting dynamic to it!
03: Survivor Series 1989 - The Hulkamaniacs Vs. The
Million Dollar Team
Participants: Hulk Hogan, Demolition (Ax
and Smash) Jake The Snake Roberts vs. Ted DiBiase, Power of Pain (The Warlord
and The Barbarian) Zeus, with Virgil and Mr. Fuji
It was incredibly uncommon to see two or
three mega stars team up in a tag match, which is why early Survivor Series pay
per views were so popular and fondly remembered by long-time fans. At the time
Hogan was the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, Demolition were the WWF World Tag
Team Champions and Roberts was probably the number four guy on the “babyface”
side of the roster at the time. To see three bonafide main event acts on side
in one match was a sight to see for that time period. The Hulkster material was
booked perfectly as usual around this time period. The match started with all
members seemed ready to go. Zeus and Hogan went toe to toe which was great. It
was a treat to see such superstars all “playing ball” together on one team for
just one time only!
02: Survivor Series 1988 - 20-Man Tag Team Survivor Series
Match. Team Demolition vs. Team Powers of Pain
Participants: The Powers of Pain (The
Warlord and The Barbarian), The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty),
The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid), The Hart Foundation
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and The Young Stallions (Jim Powers and Paul Roma)
vs. Demolition (Ax and Smash), The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully
Blanchard), The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov), The Fabulous Rougeaus
(Raymond and Jacques) and The Conquistadors (Uno and Dos) (with Mr. Fuji, Bobby
Heenan, Slick and Jimmy Hart).
Why this concept died out afterward is
confounding and ridiculous. This one was slightly getting a total of 42 minutes
to shine with. A really fun non stop survivor style match that gives everyone
ample time to shine. There is a lot going on here, in and out of the ring. This
is the final time we will see the Dynamite Kid on WWF TV and is the last hurrah
for Davey Boy for the next 2 years. Demolition was getting complete face pops
after a year in the WWF. Logically, you wonder why Fuji would ditch the Tag Team Champions for
another team. Well, I guess you have to suspend logic for now as this was an
entertaining match with a big swerve. Once again this showed how awesome the
tag division was in the late 80s!
01: Survivor Series 1987 - 20-Man Tag Team Survivor Series
Match. Strike Force Team VS The Hart Foundation Team
Participants: Strike Force (Tito Santana
and Rick Martel), The Young Stallions (Paul Roma and Jim Powers), The Fabulous
Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond), The Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell and Brian Blair)
and the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) vs. The Hart
Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), The Islanders (Haku and Tama),
Demolition (Ax and Smash), The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov)
and The New Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Dino Bravo) (with Jimmy Hart, Bobby
Heenan, Mr. Fuji, Slick and Johnny V.)
This match was absolutely spectacular, one
of the best pure matches of all time. 20 men in 10 tag teams. Every team
getting time to shine in a 37-minute match. It was on the very first Survivor
Series and still stands the test of time. Demolition was the obvious team of
the future as they were eliminated without being pinned. Non-stop action and a
great example of the wonderful wealth of tag team talent the WWF had throughout
the 80s. Just sit and watch this match with an amazement of the incredible
depth of the tag team division!
