The Rise of the Dragon: An Altered History of the World Wrestling Federation
- Thread starter The Walkman
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Great update looks like DDP is gonna need new theme music if he's in WCW in the 90's since Smells like Teen Spirit is gone.
LightningLynx89
Banned
Well they can always use another Pearl Jam song.
Man Bray Wyatt is here... man. Hopefully in this TL he's an actual decent wrestler.
Next update is in the works. Until then: question time!
Well, you've just spoiled the next update! *kidding*
I can tell you that Bret and Michaels will definitely have good careers down the road. A special event is coming up for Bret, which you maybe can already guess.
As for the future of WCW...well, you'll just have to wait!
Steamboat is currently very comfortable in his position in the WWF right now, and since he's fresh from his sabbatical, he should be good to go.
Funny you should mention injuries, though, as we're about to get a big one ITTL...and no, it won't be Hogan.
Nikita is indeed still a heel ITTL, having won the NWA Television Title (he recently lost it to Lex Luger, recall from the last update) and teaming with his Kayfabe uncle Ivan. I can tell you the two will be in a tag team Steel Cage match at Starrcade, but I won't spoil their opponents just yet.
The Mega Bucks tag team doesn't exist ITTL. Andre is still a babyface, and as I said before, the Million Dollar Man gimmick plays out almost exactly as OTL for now, Virgil and all. I can tell you, though, that Mr. Dibiase will play a fairly prominent role pretty soon.
Hey, he's only four months old at this point ITTL! A lot can happen...
I never claimed to be writing a utopia!
That wasn't the only mistake, IMO: the NWA also put the World Title on, of all people, Ron Garvin. If Magnum was still in the picture, it strikes me as inevitable that they'd have chosen him over Garvin to get the title off of Flair, which probably would have been much more positively received by the fans.
Even if something like Nirvana were to form ITTL, the writing of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would be very likely to be butterflied away, since Cobain's then-girlfriend Kathleen Hanna spray-painted it on his wall. If she were to spray-paint, say, "Your room smells weird" instead, we might have gotten a very different song.
As for DDP...well, I have plans for him.
In his favor, the Wyatt Family gimmick is one of the most unique things going in present-day OTL WWE.
Of course, that's a long way away, and butterflies can change many, many, many things.
Well, you've just spoiled the next update! *kidding*
I can tell you that Bret and Michaels will definitely have good careers down the road. A special event is coming up for Bret, which you maybe can already guess.
As for the future of WCW...well, you'll just have to wait!
Steamboat is currently very comfortable in his position in the WWF right now, and since he's fresh from his sabbatical, he should be good to go.
Funny you should mention injuries, though, as we're about to get a big one ITTL...and no, it won't be Hogan.
Nikita is indeed still a heel ITTL, having won the NWA Television Title (he recently lost it to Lex Luger, recall from the last update) and teaming with his Kayfabe uncle Ivan. I can tell you the two will be in a tag team Steel Cage match at Starrcade, but I won't spoil their opponents just yet.
The Mega Bucks tag team doesn't exist ITTL. Andre is still a babyface, and as I said before, the Million Dollar Man gimmick plays out almost exactly as OTL for now, Virgil and all. I can tell you, though, that Mr. Dibiase will play a fairly prominent role pretty soon.
Hey, he's only four months old at this point ITTL! A lot can happen...
I never claimed to be writing a utopia!
That wasn't the only mistake, IMO: the NWA also put the World Title on, of all people, Ron Garvin. If Magnum was still in the picture, it strikes me as inevitable that they'd have chosen him over Garvin to get the title off of Flair, which probably would have been much more positively received by the fans.
Even if something like Nirvana were to form ITTL, the writing of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would be very likely to be butterflied away, since Cobain's then-girlfriend Kathleen Hanna spray-painted it on his wall. If she were to spray-paint, say, "Your room smells weird" instead, we might have gotten a very different song.
As for DDP...well, I have plans for him.
In his favor, the Wyatt Family gimmick is one of the most unique things going in present-day OTL WWE.
Of course, that's a long way away, and butterflies can change many, many, many things.
You got rid of Nirvana? You bastard!
I don't know much about wrestling, but I've seen Ricky Steamboat at conventions I've occasionally covered. Next time he's at one, maybe I need to ask you guys what I should ask him if he'll get an interview
I don't know much about wrestling, but I've seen Ricky Steamboat at conventions I've occasionally covered. Next time he's at one, maybe I need to ask you guys what I should ask him if he'll get an interview
October-November 1987: Meltzer's Musings
October-November 1987: Meltzer's Musings
October 12, 1987
WWF
The main event for Survivor Series was officially announced on the 10/10 edition of Superstars. As mentioned before, the whole show will consist of 5-on-5 elimination tag team matches. The main event will have Ricky Steamboat’s team (made up of Steamboat, Junkfood Dog [1], Greg Valentine, Ken Patera and Jimmy Snuka) facing Hulk Hogan’s team (made up of Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton and Don Muraco).
A vignette aired on the same episode debuting Barry Darsow’s new gimmick of “Repo Joe”. During the promo, he broke into a car at night, and drove off with it because he claimed the man didn’t make his car payments, saying “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine, too”. [2] Well, at least it’s getting the guy on television…
The Jim Powers-Paul Roma team has apparently been named “The Young Guns”. Vince called them that on commentary halfway through their match on the show, and kept on using the name, so I presume it will stick. [3]
NWA
Jim Crockett has officially announced that Starrcade will take place in Chicago. As previously reported in September, Crockett had considered holding the show in Atlanta, but has ultimately decided on a more “national” approach. Here’s hoping money gained from the show will be enough to patch some of JCP’s wounds (but I doubt it). [4]
The tagline for Starrcade will apparently be “Magnum Cum Laude”. [5] If anyone seriously thinks that they can think of a dumber tagline, this writer would like to hear it.
October 26, 1987
WWF
Bamm Bamm Bigelow appeared on the 10/24 episode of Superstars, and appears to be debuting as a babyface. After kayfabe rejecting all heel managers in the company except for Slick, Slick announced Bigelow as his newest client on the show. Bigelow came out, told Slick “I walk alone”, and walked away. [6] … A second vignette for Repo Joe aired as well, in which he stole a child’s bicycle. Yep, that’s not alienating to your target audience at all.
Two more matches were announced for Survivor Series on the same episode. The Hart Foundation will be defending the Tag Titles against the Rougeaus, in what will apparently be the only non-5-on-5 elimination tag match on the card. There will also be a match between a team “captained” by Andre the Giant (which makes some semblance of sense) against a team “captained” by John Studd (which makes no sense at all, unless being a cartoon voice actor makes you a big star or something). No word yet on who the other members of either team might be.
Donna Christanello has apparently been contacted by Vince to appear at Survivor Series in some form. Sources say McMahon is also trying to get some sort of celebrity appearances at the show, but there’s no further word on that at this point.
NWA
The Funk brothers have been contacted by Crockett, who wants them to appear at Starrcade. The Funks (who readers may remember turned in their WWF resignations back in July, and have been appearing sporadically throughout territories in Texas and Mexico) have yet to sent [sic] an answer to Crockett.
Ron Garvin will face Tully Blanchard at Starrcade. Blanchard attacked Jimmy Garvin at a recent TV taping, prompting Ron to run in, setting up a match between the two at the big show.
The Rhodes-Anderson feud continues to have some of the most intense promos on television today. This writer is still in awe that Crockett is allowing Arn Anderson to spout some of the “opinions” about Dusty Rhodes that have made it to air.
November 2, 1987
WWF
The card for Survivor Series has now been fully revealed. TV tapings on 10/30 show that there will be a women’s elimination tag match (with Wendi Richter “captaining” one team, and Sherri Martel “captaining” the other), and, in what looks to this writer like a desperate attempt to stuff as many guys into this card as possible, a 10-on-10 elimination tag match featuring pretty much all the semi-regular tag teams in the company (and some that were apparently solely thrown together for the show). The official match card is listed below.
Survivor Series Card
Ricky Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka vs. Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco
Andre the Giant, Superstar Graham, Hillbilly Jim, George Steele & Bamm Bamm Bigelow vs. John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe
Randy Savage, Koko B. Ware, Dino Bravo, Blackjack Mulligan & Outback Jack vs. Jake Roberts, Honkytonk Man, Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake & Rick Rude
Hart Foundation vs. Fabulous Rougeaus (Tag Title Match)
Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin & the Jumping Bomb Angels vs. Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Donna Christanello & the Glamour Girls
Santana and Martel, Haynes and Boone [7], Killer Bees, Midnight Rockers & Spivey and Casey [8] vs. Demolition, Young Guns, Red Army, Outlaws [9] & Islanders
In addition, all ten 5-man tag teams will have “names”. All that has been revealed so far is that Steamboat’s men are called “the Dragon’s Den”, and Hogan’s men are called “the Hulkamaniacs”. [10]
McMahon and company are planning a spin-off of Saturday Night’s Main Event, to be held on a Friday sometime early next year. It’s still too early to even think about what matches will be on the card, but if SNME was any indication, McMahon just might pull this off with aplomb.
NWA
Not to be outdone by WWF, Crockett has gone all out for Starrcade, contacting the Funks and the Sheepherders to appear at the show. The previously announced Koloffs vs. Rock & Roll Express match will be a Steel Cage match (oddly, as the only gimmick match on the card). In addition, several newly acquired names, including three obtained from Mid-South when it was purchased several months ago, will be in a six-man tag to start off the card, to see if they can impress the higher-ups. Currently, the card is as listed below.
Starrcade Card
Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (NWA Title Match)
Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Road Warriors (Tag Title Match)
Arn Anderson vs. Dusty Rhodes (US Title Match)
Lex Luger vs. Terry Taylor (NWA TV Title/UWF TV Title Unification Match)
Rock & Roll Express vs. Koloffs (Steel Cage Match)
Funks vs. Sheepherders
Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard
Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater
AWA
Dear God, we’re getting another Gagne vs. Hennig match. Of course we are. Fans who were clamouring for the program between the younger Hennig and the younger, less talented Gagne are no doubt weeping right now, as Hennig vs. Gagne was announced for a TV taping on the 2nd of next month. And this time, Gagne actually has a real chance of winning the title. Sometimes, I REALLY hate this business.
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[1] Nope, that ain’t a typo, folks. Meltzer really did used to use that term in the late ‘80s to refer to the guy.
[2] Very similar to this vignette that was aired on WWF Superstars around 1991, when Smash was first repackaged as Repo Man.
[3] IOTL, of course, they were called the “Young Stallions”. Here, Vince just comes up with something on the fly (which he probably did with the OTL name as well), and the name sticks.
[4] IOTL, Starrcade ‘87 was also held in Chicago, which proved to be very alienating to most of the predominantly “Southern” crowd that made up most of Crockett’s fanbase. Also, the Road Warriors (who were billed as being from Chicago) were super over at the time, and bizarrely, they were actually booked to lose their match on the show. We’ll see how well the decision works to hold the show in Chicago ITTL in the next update.
[5] IOTL, the show’s tagline was “Chi-Town Heat”.
[6] IOTL, Bigelow (also a babyface) had Oliver Humperdinck as his manager. Here, he flies solo.
[7] This is the tag team of Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone. Haynes and Boone were both employed at this point IOTL as well, were good friends, and as IOTL, they’re billed as storyline cousins.
[8] The team of Dan Spivey and Scott Casey. Both are jobbers at this point IOTL and ITTL, but the tag team is purely thrown together for the pay-per-view.
[9] The team of Sam Houston and Ron Bass. As OTL, they’re brought in at about the same time from Crockett’s NWA, but in TTL, Vince gets the idea to make a tag team out of them, with a Wild West-style gimmick (think the Smoking Gunns, except several years earlier, and as heels). They’re close to the bottom of the totem pole right now, unfortunately, but things could change.
[10] Survivor Series teams have been given names before IOTL: for example, in 1989, a team captained by Jim Duggan, dubbed “The 4x4s” went up against a team captained by “Macho King” Randy Savage, known as “The King’s Court”. It strikes me as inevitable that the WWF would come up with the idea sooner or later, and here, they come up with it right off the bat.
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And as we drive forward to the night of the “dueling pay-per-views”, we see the impending debuts of two men (one great, one...not-so-great), the influx of new talent into JCP, and a foreshadowing of things to come in the AWA...
Next up: dual coverage of Survivor Series and Starrcade.
October 12, 1987
WWF
The main event for Survivor Series was officially announced on the 10/10 edition of Superstars. As mentioned before, the whole show will consist of 5-on-5 elimination tag team matches. The main event will have Ricky Steamboat’s team (made up of Steamboat, Junkfood Dog [1], Greg Valentine, Ken Patera and Jimmy Snuka) facing Hulk Hogan’s team (made up of Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton and Don Muraco).
A vignette aired on the same episode debuting Barry Darsow’s new gimmick of “Repo Joe”. During the promo, he broke into a car at night, and drove off with it because he claimed the man didn’t make his car payments, saying “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine, too”. [2] Well, at least it’s getting the guy on television…
The Jim Powers-Paul Roma team has apparently been named “The Young Guns”. Vince called them that on commentary halfway through their match on the show, and kept on using the name, so I presume it will stick. [3]
NWA
Jim Crockett has officially announced that Starrcade will take place in Chicago. As previously reported in September, Crockett had considered holding the show in Atlanta, but has ultimately decided on a more “national” approach. Here’s hoping money gained from the show will be enough to patch some of JCP’s wounds (but I doubt it). [4]
The tagline for Starrcade will apparently be “Magnum Cum Laude”. [5] If anyone seriously thinks that they can think of a dumber tagline, this writer would like to hear it.
October 26, 1987
WWF
Bamm Bamm Bigelow appeared on the 10/24 episode of Superstars, and appears to be debuting as a babyface. After kayfabe rejecting all heel managers in the company except for Slick, Slick announced Bigelow as his newest client on the show. Bigelow came out, told Slick “I walk alone”, and walked away. [6] … A second vignette for Repo Joe aired as well, in which he stole a child’s bicycle. Yep, that’s not alienating to your target audience at all.
Two more matches were announced for Survivor Series on the same episode. The Hart Foundation will be defending the Tag Titles against the Rougeaus, in what will apparently be the only non-5-on-5 elimination tag match on the card. There will also be a match between a team “captained” by Andre the Giant (which makes some semblance of sense) against a team “captained” by John Studd (which makes no sense at all, unless being a cartoon voice actor makes you a big star or something). No word yet on who the other members of either team might be.
Donna Christanello has apparently been contacted by Vince to appear at Survivor Series in some form. Sources say McMahon is also trying to get some sort of celebrity appearances at the show, but there’s no further word on that at this point.
NWA
The Funk brothers have been contacted by Crockett, who wants them to appear at Starrcade. The Funks (who readers may remember turned in their WWF resignations back in July, and have been appearing sporadically throughout territories in Texas and Mexico) have yet to sent [sic] an answer to Crockett.
Ron Garvin will face Tully Blanchard at Starrcade. Blanchard attacked Jimmy Garvin at a recent TV taping, prompting Ron to run in, setting up a match between the two at the big show.
The Rhodes-Anderson feud continues to have some of the most intense promos on television today. This writer is still in awe that Crockett is allowing Arn Anderson to spout some of the “opinions” about Dusty Rhodes that have made it to air.
November 2, 1987
WWF
The card for Survivor Series has now been fully revealed. TV tapings on 10/30 show that there will be a women’s elimination tag match (with Wendi Richter “captaining” one team, and Sherri Martel “captaining” the other), and, in what looks to this writer like a desperate attempt to stuff as many guys into this card as possible, a 10-on-10 elimination tag match featuring pretty much all the semi-regular tag teams in the company (and some that were apparently solely thrown together for the show). The official match card is listed below.
Survivor Series Card
Ricky Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka vs. Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco
Andre the Giant, Superstar Graham, Hillbilly Jim, George Steele & Bamm Bamm Bigelow vs. John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe
Randy Savage, Koko B. Ware, Dino Bravo, Blackjack Mulligan & Outback Jack vs. Jake Roberts, Honkytonk Man, Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake & Rick Rude
Hart Foundation vs. Fabulous Rougeaus (Tag Title Match)
Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin & the Jumping Bomb Angels vs. Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Donna Christanello & the Glamour Girls
Santana and Martel, Haynes and Boone [7], Killer Bees, Midnight Rockers & Spivey and Casey [8] vs. Demolition, Young Guns, Red Army, Outlaws [9] & Islanders
In addition, all ten 5-man tag teams will have “names”. All that has been revealed so far is that Steamboat’s men are called “the Dragon’s Den”, and Hogan’s men are called “the Hulkamaniacs”. [10]
McMahon and company are planning a spin-off of Saturday Night’s Main Event, to be held on a Friday sometime early next year. It’s still too early to even think about what matches will be on the card, but if SNME was any indication, McMahon just might pull this off with aplomb.
NWA
Not to be outdone by WWF, Crockett has gone all out for Starrcade, contacting the Funks and the Sheepherders to appear at the show. The previously announced Koloffs vs. Rock & Roll Express match will be a Steel Cage match (oddly, as the only gimmick match on the card). In addition, several newly acquired names, including three obtained from Mid-South when it was purchased several months ago, will be in a six-man tag to start off the card, to see if they can impress the higher-ups. Currently, the card is as listed below.
Starrcade Card
Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (NWA Title Match)
Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Road Warriors (Tag Title Match)
Arn Anderson vs. Dusty Rhodes (US Title Match)
Lex Luger vs. Terry Taylor (NWA TV Title/UWF TV Title Unification Match)
Rock & Roll Express vs. Koloffs (Steel Cage Match)
Funks vs. Sheepherders
Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard
Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater
AWA
Dear God, we’re getting another Gagne vs. Hennig match. Of course we are. Fans who were clamouring for the program between the younger Hennig and the younger, less talented Gagne are no doubt weeping right now, as Hennig vs. Gagne was announced for a TV taping on the 2nd of next month. And this time, Gagne actually has a real chance of winning the title. Sometimes, I REALLY hate this business.
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[1] Nope, that ain’t a typo, folks. Meltzer really did used to use that term in the late ‘80s to refer to the guy.
[2] Very similar to this vignette that was aired on WWF Superstars around 1991, when Smash was first repackaged as Repo Man.
[3] IOTL, of course, they were called the “Young Stallions”. Here, Vince just comes up with something on the fly (which he probably did with the OTL name as well), and the name sticks.
[4] IOTL, Starrcade ‘87 was also held in Chicago, which proved to be very alienating to most of the predominantly “Southern” crowd that made up most of Crockett’s fanbase. Also, the Road Warriors (who were billed as being from Chicago) were super over at the time, and bizarrely, they were actually booked to lose their match on the show. We’ll see how well the decision works to hold the show in Chicago ITTL in the next update.
[5] IOTL, the show’s tagline was “Chi-Town Heat”.
[6] IOTL, Bigelow (also a babyface) had Oliver Humperdinck as his manager. Here, he flies solo.
[7] This is the tag team of Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone. Haynes and Boone were both employed at this point IOTL as well, were good friends, and as IOTL, they’re billed as storyline cousins.
[8] The team of Dan Spivey and Scott Casey. Both are jobbers at this point IOTL and ITTL, but the tag team is purely thrown together for the pay-per-view.
[9] The team of Sam Houston and Ron Bass. As OTL, they’re brought in at about the same time from Crockett’s NWA, but in TTL, Vince gets the idea to make a tag team out of them, with a Wild West-style gimmick (think the Smoking Gunns, except several years earlier, and as heels). They’re close to the bottom of the totem pole right now, unfortunately, but things could change.
[10] Survivor Series teams have been given names before IOTL: for example, in 1989, a team captained by Jim Duggan, dubbed “The 4x4s” went up against a team captained by “Macho King” Randy Savage, known as “The King’s Court”. It strikes me as inevitable that the WWF would come up with the idea sooner or later, and here, they come up with it right off the bat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And as we drive forward to the night of the “dueling pay-per-views”, we see the impending debuts of two men (one great, one...not-so-great), the influx of new talent into JCP, and a foreshadowing of things to come in the AWA...
Next up: dual coverage of Survivor Series and Starrcade.
I love the update! This keeps getting better and better.
The mention of some wrestlers are making me wonder more about this TL. First, you mentioned One Man Gang. Towards the end of the 1980s, he became Akeem the African Dream. (Some still think even today that was a racist gimmick while others actually liked it!) Will that still happen in this timeline?
What about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling? Do they exist in this TL? Has Dragon fever affected them in any way?
The mention of some wrestlers are making me wonder more about this TL. First, you mentioned One Man Gang. Towards the end of the 1980s, he became Akeem the African Dream. (Some still think even today that was a racist gimmick while others actually liked it!) Will that still happen in this timeline?
What about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling? Do they exist in this TL? Has Dragon fever affected them in any way?
Hogan has already done so in several of his big-time matches ITTL, including his big encounter with Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3.
I don't know much about wrestling, but I've seen Ricky Steamboat at conventions I've occasionally covered. Next time he's at one, maybe I need to ask you guys what I should ask him if he'll get an interview
If you ever get the chance, definitely make sure to shoot me a PM.
Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately, things aren't going to be all good ITTL, especially for some would-be stars of OTL...
I can see how people would perceive the gimmick as racist, but I personally find Akeem to be funny as hell in retrospect. I think it was more of a jab at Dusty Rhodes than anything--a big white man talking "jive" and gyrating around? Tell me that doesn't sound like Dusty!
GLOW indeed still exists: it was founded in 1986 IOTL by wrestling fan David McLane and Jackie Stallone (Sylvester's mother!), and will play out largely as OTL. GLOW also was the starting point for a handful of future women's wrestlers, the most notable being future Women's Champion Lisa "Ivory" Moretti. As for whether other GLOW Girls become notable ITTL...keep on reading!
Late November 1987: Survivor Series & Starrcade
November 1987: Survivor Series vs. Starrcade
November 26, 1987
SteamPunk, the WWF Blogger – Post Date November 20, 2012
PPV Faceoff: Survivor Series ’87 vs. Starrcade ‘87
Hello, and happy Thanksgiving. Today, I’m doing the second installment of my new “PPV Faceoff” section, where I take two pay-per-views held at around the same time chronologically and analyze them, match-by-match, and determine which one is superior. This week, we’re heading back to a pivotal moment in wrestling history: Thanksgiving Day 1987, when the WWF ran the very first Survivor Series show alongside the NWA’s flagship pay-per-view, Starrcade.
The entwined history of these two PPVs is a confusing one, but one that all wrestling fans need to know. Back in the late 80s, the WWF was experiencing great success after the first three Wrestlemanias, and the fourth one scheduled to be happening soon. As such, Vince McMahon wanted to add more PPVs to his arsenal, and had a bold and slightly crazy idea: run a PPV on the same date as the NWA’s signature show. This was no doubt seen by most as a deathwish by everyone’s favorite wrestling promoter, and no doubt a lot of people expected him to fail miserably. But McMahon thought ahead: he contacted many of the cable companies, and told them that if they offered Starrcade instead of Survivor Series, he wouldn’t allow them to run the upcoming Wrestlemania 4. Most cable providers gave in, and ran the WWF’s show. Overall, this was obviously a much greater success for WWF than it was for NWA…but how about the quality of both shows? Let’s get started with this side-by-side analysis!
Survivor Series ‘87: Part 1
We open up Survivor Series with an intro from the Fink for both Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. Surprisingly, Ventura gets a warmer reception than Monsoon. Nobody boos the master of the Upper Occipital Protuberance!
Backstage Interview – In the back, Craig DeGeorge is with Team Jake Roberts, which consists of Honky Tonk Man, Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake, Rick Rude, and the Snake himself. Roberts says he has assembled the greatest group of mercenaries known to man, and they’ll take everyone down tonight. Honky says they have a special tune to play especially for Savage. Reed and Rude make it known that they’re also gunning for Savage. Roberts ends by saying if Elizabeth gets in their way, she’ll come face-to-face with Lucifer himself. Roberts was gold as usual, and Honky and Rude weren’t bad, but I can do without the other two guys. Oh, and Craig can kiss my ass too. ***
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene is now with Randy Savage and his teammates. Savage’s team consists of himself, Koko B. Ware, Blackjack Mulligan, Dino Bravo, and…Outback Jack? Yep, this was his only PPV appearance, and trust me, it wasn’t pretty. [1] Savage says his men are ready to fight, and he knows every one of them can walk through the Danger Zone with him. I can hear the Kenny Loggins music now! Bravo and Ware say…well, who cares?…and Mulligan says they’ll all survive tonight. Savage saved this with his epic promo-cutting skills. Mulligan isn’t that bad on the mic, either—sadly, he wouldn’t stick around the WWF much longer after this. **
Survivor Series Match: The Macho Men (Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, Blackjack Mulligan, Koko B Ware & Outback Jack) vs. The Snake Pit (Jake Roberts, Brutus Beefcake, Butch Reed, Rick Rude and Honky Tonk Man) – All the managers are there. I think it’s nice how they made up little names for the Survivor Series teams, although it did get old after about ten years. Outback gets in only about 30 seconds of offense before Reed catches him with a press slam and pins him to eliminate him. See ya, Crocodile Dundee. Savage and Roberts tease a face-off, but Roberts just shakes his head and tags in Rude. Great heel psychology. Reed goes out next at the hands of Dino Bravo, who pins him after a suplex. Bravo doesn’t have time to celebrate long, though, as Beefcake pounds on him and makes him pass out to a bear hug. At least they’re getting most of the horrible wrestlers out early! Koko and Rude have a funny exchange in the ring where Rude gyrates and Koko dances, and the crowd cheers Koko and boos Rude—freaking sheep. Rude gets the last laugh when he hits the Rude Awakening on Koko and pins him. Only Savage and Mulligan are left against 4 guys on Jake’s team. Mulligan evens it up a little by eliminating Beefcake, but Roberts plants him with the DDT, leaving Savage all by himself. Savage fights back valiantly, and even eliminates Honky with a roll-up, but eventually, Jake’s DDT puts a stop to the momentum. Rude immediately tags in and pins Savage to win the match at 18:22, and Jake just looks at Rude like “what the hell, man?” This was the beginning of Roberts’ slow face turn, and his epic feud with Rick Rude that also involved his wife Cheryl. Who doesn’t remember that steel cage match that blew the feud off with a bang? But I’m getting ahead of myself—this match was good, and a very solid way to open the show. ***
Survivor Series Match: The Richter Scale (Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin & Jumping Bomb Angels) vs. Sherri’s Scaries (Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Leilani Kai, Judy Martin & Donna Christianello (sp)) – I can sum this match up in three words: Jumping Bomb Angels. Gorilla keeps calling Itsuki Yamazaki “Eye-sooky”, and neither commentator even bothers to remember Noriyo Tateno’s name. Poor ladies…at least Tateno would get some name recognition later by winning the Women’s Title. Velvet McIntyre goes out first at the hands of Misty, but Donna Christianello (sp) is eliminated by Wendi soon after. Good, because the fans have no clue who she is (my info on her is limited too!) A vertical suplex from Sherri sends Rockin’ Robin packing a few minutes later. Again, the bad wrestlers are dropping like flies, which I like. From here, the Jumping Bomb Angels put on a great showing. Misty Blue goes out after an AWESOME flying clothesline, and Judy Martin is pinned after a Steamboat-esque crossbody that gets a pretty sizable pop from the crowd. Sherri starts to gloat when she sets Tateno up for a suplex, but Tateno rolls through and pins her to a big pop. The announce play up the fact that the Women’s Champ just got pinned. Kai is all alone against three very pissed off women, and she tries to run. The Angels bring her into the ring panties-first, and Wendi soon pins her with a sit-out DDT at 16:03. My main complaint for this match was that it went about ten minutes too long for a women’s match. Still, it’s one of the best women’s matches I’ve ever seen that didn’t take place in Japan. **½
That does it for Part 1 of Survivor Series. Not too bad. Now, let’s go to the NWA, for a look at the first portion of Starrcade.
Starrcade ’87: Part 1
Starrcade is coming to us live from Chicago, Illinois. This was the first Starrcade to be held somewhere outside Jim Crockett’s more “traditional” territory of the Southern U.S., and is considered the first “true” PPV ever held by the “united” NWA. Ted Turner himself even reportedly watched this PPV.
Disclaimer here: While I know every single guy on this PPV, I only have knowledge of a couple of background feuds on the show. As such, I’m going to analyze this show mainly by its wrestling aspect, as well as based off research I’ve gotten offline. OK? Good.
Your commentators for this show are Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross. Already, this show has an edge on Survivor Series by having the best freaking play-by-play guy of all time.
Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater – A little history here: Crockett had bought the Universal Wrestling Federation a few months before this PPV, and as such, acquired pretty much all the talent in the whole damn territory, including Sting, Rick Steiner and Dick Slater, who make up one-half of this match. [2] Sting’s team is the babyface team, and Venom (Sting’s former tag team partner) heads the heel team. Precious accompanies Garvin, and the heel team has Eddie Gilbert at ringside. Rick Steiner’s brother Scott was still in college at this point, and wouldn’t show up in the biz for a little while. For the record, Jimmy Garvin sucks as a face. Lots of great offense in this match, mostly from Sting, Steiner and Garvin. Late in the match, Venom throws Sting HARD into the turnbuckle, causing him to fall to the outside and tweak his knee when he lands. The announce plays it up as a big deal, and Sting apparently got hurt pretty badly due to it. Finish comes when Duggan pins Slater after a shoulder block at 9:59. Sting didn’t last long after this—he would be gone from NWA within a year, due to his injury being seen by the management as detrimental… Despite Sting’s injury, though, this match was incredible. Everyone brought something great to this match, and with the exception of maybe Duggan, everyone worked their asses off here to put on a hell of a show. ****
Steel Cage Match: The Rock n’ Roll Express vs. The Koloffs – Wow, Ivan was in bad shape here. Lots of hardcore action, and nearly everybody bleeds (only Ricky Morton stays clean). Nikita does a lot of power moves, and the Rock n’ Rollers are good as usual. Ivan, however, really drags this match down. He would officially retire very soon after this match, going on to manage Nikita and a few other guys. About ¾ of the way through, Robert Gibson suplexes Nikita off the top turnbuckle, and the announcers play it up like they’ve both just fallen off a building. Finish comes when both Rock n’ Rollers each hit a crossbody on Ivan and Nikita, and both simultaneously pin them to win the match at 10:22. Not really a bad match, and at least Ivan’s performance was helped along by the cage stipulation. Still, there were much better matches on this card—some involving worse workers than even Ivan! **¾
NWA TV Championship/UWF TV Championship Unification Match: Lex Luger (NWA TV) vs. Terry Taylor (UWF TV) – Terry Taylor was another acquisition from the UWF, and this match was one of several to unify that company’s titles with the NWA’s. The only one left after this was the UWF World Title, held by Big Bubba Rogers, and that would be unified with the NWA Title within a month or two. [3] This match was good enough for what it was—at this point, Luger was still very green, and couldn’t wrestle more than a few minutes without exhausting himself. Thankfully, Taylor carried him through to a watchable match. I always thought Taylor was a very underrated wrestler—he was kind of like a “diet” version of Flair (does that make sense? I don’t care). Finish comes when Taylor goes for a forearm smash, but Luger catches him and locks on the Torture Rack. Taylor submits at 5:49, and Luger holds up both belts to cheers from the crowd. A pretty short match, but considering that Lex Luger was involved in it, maybe that’s not a bad thing. It was alright to watch without becoming too boring or horrible, and it got over Luger as a solid babyface champion well. **
And so ends Part 1 of Starrcade, which was great. But we still have over half of each PPV left…
Survivor Series ‘87: Part 2
Backstage Interview – We start off Part 2 with Mean Gene with all the babyface tag teams in the upcoming match. Tito says they are ready, and they are going to run over all the other teams tonight. Shawn Michaels says there’s a reason they call themselves the “Dream Teams”, and that’s because they’ll be sending the other teams off to dreamland tonight. They really should have let Shawn shine more on the mic at this point—that was pretty clever! The other teams say words, but none of it really matters—you’re watching this for Team Victory and the Midnight Rockers. **
Backstage Interview – Craig is with the heel tag teams, along with Slick, Fuji and Johnny Valiant. Fuji says his Islanders will run over everyone, and Johnny says Demolition will be there to pick up the scraps. Volkoff gets in a few words I don’t understand, and Slick caps it off by saying the Dream Teams had better find some good lawyers, because they’re about to have to be scraped up off the ring like pancakes. That made no sense, but I dig the Doctor of Style, so I’ll let it slide. *½
Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Dream Teams (Team Victory, Killer Bees, Midnight Rockers, Scott Casey & Dan Spivey, and Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone) vs. The Mean Teams (Islanders, Demolition, Young Guns, Red Army & Outlaws) – Wow…very original team names here. Were the creative guys sick that day or something? Santana & Martel hadn’t officially been dubbed “Team Victory” just yet, but I’m calling them that to save room. [4] Again, all the managers are there. The rules are that when one man on a team is eliminated, he and his partner both are out. This match shows how great the tag division in 1987 was, even if they did have to cobble together a couple of weird teams just for the purpose of this match. The only outright bad wrestlers in this match are the Red Army, Brady Boone, Casey & Spivey. Fortunately, “Team Super-Jobber” go out first (big shocker there) after a sick kick from King Tonga. (Although granted, anyone would be shitting their pants after a kick from Tonga.) The babyfaces even it up when Tito pins Boris with the flying forearm, eliminating the Red Army. Ron Bass tries to pound on Tito awhile, but Tito fights him off, tags in Michaels, and Shawn pins Bass after a flying elbow off the top. Michaels is isolated for a while by Demolition, but Ax just throws him to the corner after a minute or so, yelling at the other teams to get him some fresh meat in there. Awesome. Brady Boone tags in (this won’t end well) and tries to fight Ax, but Ax just plants him. One Decapitation later, Boone & Haynes are gone. We now get about 4 minutes of Demolition vs. Midnight Rockers, which is great. Brunzell gets a hot tag, and they fight back for a while, but the larger men overpower them. Hammer gets overzealous and shoves the ref down, so the Demo’s get eliminated by disqualification. Roma beats on Brunzell for a while, but Blair gets a tag and takes it to him. However, one cheap shot from Powers and a double suplex later, the Bees are gone. It’s down to Team Victory & Rockers vs. Islanders & Young Guns now. Who the hell booked the Young Guns to last that long? Fortunately, they’re not long for this match, as Jannetty eliminates Powers after a Steamboat-esque crossbody (I’m seeing a trend here…) The Islanders are all that’s left, and the announce plays up that King Tonga might beat all four members of the other team by himself. Foreshadowing of things to come? Finish comes when Martel tries to slam King Tonga, Tonga Kid dropkicks Martel to stop it, but Martel rolls through it and pins the King anyway at 19:55. This was an awesome tag match, showcasing the best of what WWF had to offer at the time (well, anyone who wasn’t holding or competing for the gold, but we’ll get to that later). Having Team Victory and the Rockers survive to the end was a great touch as well—they were four of the best workers in the biz at the time. ****¼
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene interviews John Studd’s team (consisting of Studd, Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy and debut wrestler Barry “Repo Joe” Darsow), and Studd is wearing sunglasses and playing up the weird “Hollywood” persona he had for a few weeks before his departure—this would be one of Studd’s final appearances in WWF before leaving. He hogs all the mic time—not even Heenan gets in a single word here. Out of nowhere comes Peter Cullen (the voice of Wolverine on the old 80s X-Men cartoon—Studd was the voice of Sabertooth on the same cartoon), who says Studd is letting all this stuff go to his head. Studd actually calls Cullen “Wolverine”, saying he’ll prove why he’s a dominant force in both Hollywood and the WWF tonight. Cullen says he just might head out to ringside to see if that’s the case. God, this was so damn surreal… DUD
Backstage Interview – Craig now has Andre and his team (Superstar Billy Graham, Hillbilly Jim, Bamm Bamm Bigelow & George “the Animal” Steele) for a pre-match interview. Superstar says he is humbled to be on a team of such prestige and honor, and has no doubt in his mind that they will all come out on top tonight. Andre says his team is ready, and they will all survive tonight. George Steele caps it off by shouting “WE…SURVIVE…BYE-BYE!” Graham was great here as usual, but…that’s about it. ½*
Survivor Series Match: Andre’s Giants (Andre the Giant, Superstar Billy Graham, George Steele, Hillbilly Jim & Bamm Bamm Bigelow) vs. The Heenan Family (John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe) – This was Repo Joe’s official debut. God, what a weird gimmick he had. What was he going to repossess, Hillbilly Jim’s hat? Again, we have the managers all there. The match starts out very weirdly, with Repo Joe just laughing in the ring at the babyface team. He points at each one, saying “you’re all gonna pay”. Hillbilly takes offense to this, and rushes headlong to the wrestling car repossesser. Repo is isolated for a while by the babyfaces until George Steele attempts to suplex him, but Repo shoves him away, hits a hard shoulder tackle and pins the Animal. Steele was 50 years old here, and would retire soon after this due to Crohn’s disease. [5] Bigelow hammers on Repo for a few seconds, but Repo rolls out of the ring, grabs a nearby rope (not sure why) and hightails it, intentionally getting himself counted out. Superstar Graham pounds on Bundy for a few minutes, but the Gang tags in. Gang Irish-whips Graham into the turnbuckle, then throws him to the outside. The Gang hits a big splash on the downed Superstar, drawing a gasp from the audience. Graham gets counted out, and has to be helped from ringside by a referee. Later, it was learned that Graham had suffered career-ending injuries, and he retired as an active wrestler (he stuck around to manage a few guys, though). [6] Hillbilly goes out after a splash from Bundy a few minutes later, leaving just Andre and Bamm Bamm against four huge heels. Just then, Peter Cullen comes out to ringside, clapping for Andre and Bamm Bamm. Gorilla calls him “the man who plays ‘The Wolverine’”. Millions of comic book fans worldwide want to slap Monsoon right now—me included. Cullen distracts Bundy long enough for Bigelow to surprise him with a slingshot splash and eliminate him. Studd yells at Cullen as Bigelow and Davey Boy square off now. After a few minutes of solid wrestling from the two talented big guys, Bigelow manages to reverse a powerslam into a slingshot splash, and pins Davey to eliminate him. It’s 2-on-2 now, but the Gang overpowers the tired Bigelow. Gang goes for a splash, but Bigelow rolls out of the way. He tags in Andre, who hits a legdrop on the Gang and pins him. Down to Studd vs. Andre and Bamm Bamm now, and Studd unloads on Andre. However, Andre no-sells most of it, and knocks Studd down with a boot. Andre hits an underhook suplex, and pins Studd to win the match at 24:12. Not lying: this match was very painful to sit through—for obvious reasons—and seeing the accident that ended Graham’s career really stings. It also went a bit too long, considering the bad workers that were in it. At least it established Andre and Bigelow as a new face tag team, which lightened Andre’s workload considerably for the rest of his tenure in WWF. But why did they have to involve a relatively unknown (at the time) voice actor? **
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene has found Repo Joe, and asks him why he walked out on his team. Joe says it’s because he knows all about all the little things everyone in the WWF has done. They all hold possessions that they need to pay for, and he’s here to make sure they pay every cent if they want to hold onto their things. He says George Steele got a taste of it tonight, and he knows something very special of Steele’s he needs to pay for soon. This started one of the most memorable (and bizarre) WWF feuds of 1987—I think we all remember the “Mine” storyline that finished up Steele’s career. Still, Joe could hold his own on the mic halfway decently, so this wasn’t a complete dud. *
This wraps up Part 2 of Survivor Series, and if you want my opinion, it’s slightly better than the first part (with the obvious exception of the X-Men thing…ugh). Let’s see if Starrcade can even up the score.
Starrcade ’87: Part 2
Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard – The rest of the Horsemen accompany Tully. Garvin was always an underrated wrestler, IMO—he had a pretty decent reign with the US Title before this PPV. The two men start brawling on the outside early in the match, and Tully slaps Garvin before the rest of the Horsemen throw Garvin back in the ring. Hard chops from Garvin in the corner. Blanchard goes for a figure four, but Garvin kicks him off. Blanchard grounds Garvin with a headlock, wrenching his head, but Garvin fights back with a headbutt. More chops are traded before Garvin punches Tully HARD in the nose. Tully throws Garvin outside the ring, and it spills out again. “This is man-on-man now,” Jim Ross exclaims. Easy, JR—there are kids present. Tully almost punches Arn Anderson while trying to get back in the ring. Blanchard goes for the figure four again, but Ronnie rolls him up for a 2-count. More great chain wrestling, and Tully almost pins Garvin with an Oklahoma roll, but Garvin counters with a bridge for another near-fall. Tully hits a knee to the face and goes to the top, but Garvin slams him off. Garvin hits a hard punch to Tully’s face, and gives one to Arn Anderson on the apron as well. Garvin goes for the cover, but Windham and Rotundo run in to break it up. They start beating up Garvin, and the ref calls for the bell at 6:32. Ric Flair comes in and tries to join in, but here come the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes to even up the score. Hawk press-slams Flair, and Dusty gives Arn a Bionic elbow. Garvin is bleeding badly as Dusty and the Roadies help him up. I really wish this match had gone longer—it was just starting to get really good, and the DQ finish seemed cheap. It was fine for what it was, though, and these two had really great chemistry together. **½
NWA US Championship Match: Arn Anderson (C) vs. Dusty Rhodes – Rotundo and Windham are at ringside. According to the stipulation, if Rhodes loses here, he’ll be suspended indefinitely. Johnny Weaver, the inventor of the sleeper hold, is at ringside as the guest timekeeper. [7] Midway through the match, Dusty actually goes for a sleeper (kiss-up!), but Anderson fights back and hits a string of power moves. Dusty goes to work on the arm, and Schiavone actually tries to explain the psychology behind it. Arn hits some chops to Dusty in the corner, but Dusty reverses and hits a powerslam in a pretty cool spot. Late in the match, the ref gets bumped, and Windham tosses in a chair. Anderson swings—and misses. Dusty hits a DDT (Jake Roberts copyright infringement!) and pins Arn at 7:40 to win the title. The other Horsemen try to pounce, but Dusty grabs the chair and drives them away. Dusty holds his newly won belt aloft as the Horsemen retreat, having suffered their first casualty tonight. This match was OK—definitely not the greatest in the world, but it was exciting in places, and it was cool to see Dusty finally take the Horsemen down after all they’d done to him. **
And Part 2 of Starrcade is over. I personally think WWF had the better second third, but the NWA definitely whipped the WWF in the first part. It all comes down to the main event portions of both PPVs.
Survivor Series ’87: Part 3
WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Hart Foundation (C) vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus – Jimmy Hart accompanies the Rougeaus. The announce play up the fact that the Harts have held the Tag Titles since Wrestlemania 2—they don’t bring up the exact date, but this is the Harts’ 599th day of holding the belts. Can they make it to 600? Bret hands a pair of sunglasses to a kid at ringside; I think this was one of the first times he started doing that. Anvil and Raymond start things off, and Anvil shoves him away. The Rougeaus hug it out in the corner, for some reason. Bret and Jacques soon tag in, and Bret takes him down with a couple sick-looking armdrags. Some great chain wrestling between Bret and Jacques, ending in a headlock from the Hitman. Jacques reverses it by kicking Bret’s stomach, and another Irish whip exchange occurs. Jacques tries to telegraph Hart’s move, but Bret drops an elbow on his throat. Hart tags Neidhart back in, who wrenches Jacques’ arm with a hammerlock. You don’t see many submission moves from Anvil. Anvil overpowers Jacques for a few more minutes before Raymond gets the tag, and they double-team him. A double suplex gets a 2-count. Hart tags back in, and receives a big back elbow from Raymond. A sick-looking flying crossbody from Hart gets another 2-count. Hart tries a suplex, but Raymond reverses into a facebuster and tags Jacques back in. Jacques goes for a slam, but Bret reverses it into a near-fall. Anvil almost gets the tag, but Bret ends up getting double-teamed. Raymond tags in, and we get more good chain wrestling (though not as good as Jacques!) A diving knee drop gets another 2-count. Raymond goes for a crossbody in the corner, but Bret moves, and Neidhart gets the hot tag. Anvil cleans house on both Rougeaus for several minutes, hitting a SICK dropkick on Jacques, taking him to the outside. Jacques trips Neidhart, and they hit the Bombe de Rougeau. Jacques goes for the pin, but Neidhart kicks out. Bret rushes in to take care of Raymond, but Jimmy throws the megaphone to Jacques behind the ref’s back, and he clocks Anvil over the head and covers him to win the match and the titles at 14:38. Hart stares at the Rougeaus as they grab the belts and celebrate with Jimmy on the outside. He helps Anvil up, and Neidhart mouths “I’m sorry”. An absolutely superb match from two of the best teams in history, and a candidate for Match of the Night. The Rougeaus would go on to take mostly chickenshit heel victories until losing their titles to Demolition. As for the Harts, don’t cry for them—they got to have the longest Tag Title reign in history, after all. And things could only go up for Bret Hart at this point. ****½
A montage of Ted DiBiase vignettes airs, hyping the upcoming debut of the Million Dollar Man. Everybody has a price!
It’s now time for the main event of the first Survivor Series. But first, we get some backstage promos from both teams.
Backstage Interview – Jesse Ventura has taken a break from the announce table to interview Bobby Heenan, Hogan, and his teammates. Heenan says there’s a reason Hulk Hogan is the WWF Champion, and that’s because he is the most ruthless man in the WWF. Hogan says Steamboat can bring all the men he wants: tonight, he and his team are going down. Hercules jammers on about how they will run over Steamboat’s team one by one. Orton says Steamboat will be left all by himself, and they will all pick up the scraps. Muraco says he wants to get a piece of Steamboat, and Orton interrupts, saying Muraco has had his chance—he wants to show the world he can take out Steamboat. Fuji gets between them, saying that they will all work together to fell the Dragon tonight. A great segment, and it teased tension between Orton and Muraco that would come to a head later. Hogan, Heenan and Ventura were epic as well. ****
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene has Steamboat and his team backstage now. Steamboat says Hogan may have the belt right now, but he’s not a true champion. Tonight, all four of the other men on his team are going to step into battle side-by-side with him, and he trusts them with his life (ironic, since Jimmy Snuka allegedly killed somebody). JYD says Hogan’s team will be singing the blues when they’re done with them, and Ken Patera says Bobby Heenan and Hulk Hogan will fall tonight. Other than Steamboat and possibly JYD, not that many good mic-workers here, but you could still feel the excitement conveyed by these guys. **½
Survivor Series Match: The Dragon’s Den (Ricky Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka) vs. The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco) – Heenan and Fuji are at ringside for the heels. Muraco and Snuka start us off, and Muraco overpowers him. He slams Snuka to the mat, and poses over him. Orton argues from the apron, wanting Muraco to make the pin, and Muraco goes over to argue with his teammate for a long time. When he turns around, he eats a clothesline, and Snuka pins him to eliminate him. Muraco pleads with the referee to let him stay, but the ref is having none of it. Muraco looks super pissed as he is forced to leave the ring. Hercules comes in and pounds on Snuka, but Snuka fights through it and tags in Patera. Patera sets up for a full nelson, but Hercules reverses it into a big slam. He tags in Hogan, who hits the Ax Bomber and pins Patera. Hogan points at Steamboat, who just narrows his eyes at the larger man. Snuka comes in and starts unloading on Hogan with chops, but Hogan grounds him with sheer power. Orndorff tags in and hits a piledriver on Snuka, pinning him to eliminate him. Snuka would take a leave of absence after this PPV, eventually coming back after the turn of the 90s. JYD and Orndorff square off, and Orndorff tries another piledriver, but JYD counters into a Thump to pin and eliminate Orndorff.. JYD doesn’t have much time to celebrate, as Hercules makes him submit to a backbreaker rack soon afterward. Things get even worse for the babyfaces when Greg Valentine goes out after a Hogan legdrop. Steamboat is now all alone against Orton, Hercules and Hogan. All three men take turns pounding on Steamboat, but none of them can score a pinfall. Out of the blue, Muraco comes back, clapping and cheering for the heel team. Orton almost pins Steamboat after a clothesline, and Muraco climbs on the apron to supposedly cheer him on. As Orton goes over to see what the hell he wants, Muraco clocks Orton in the face, allowing Steamboat to roll him up and eliminate him. Face turn! Muraco and Orton start brawling on the outside as the match continues. Hercules hammers Steamboat and puts him in the backbreaker rack, but Steamboat fights out of it and starts a comeback. Herc tries to slam Steamboat, but in an amazing show of strength, Steamboat counters it into an armdrag that pops the crowd HUGE. Steamboat hits the Dragon Dive, and gets the pin on Hercules. It’s down to Steamboat and Hogan, and Steamboat just points at Hogan, mouthing “come and get me, big man”. The crowd is going nuts. Both guys hammer each other with strong shots, each one failing to go down. Hogan hits a hard knee to Steamboat’s gut, then bounds off the rope. Steamboat catches him with a scoop powerslam that gets a near-fall. They go for a couple more minutes, and the finish comes when Steamboat hits a crossbody off the ropes to pin the WWF Champion at 30:24. Bobby Heenan comes in, but Steamboat hits some chops on the Weasel, trapping him in the corner. Hogan escapes with his title, but Steamboat press-slams Bobby Heenan to the outside—right on top of Hogan. Both men retreat, and Steamboat makes the sign for the belt around his waist and poses for the crowd as the show comes to an end. Quite an exciting match—even with some somewhat subpar wrestlers on both teams—and it set up for things to come nicely. Steamboat and Hogan would continue to feud after this, on up to Wrestlemania 4, which culminated in their intense “Loser Leaves WWF” match. ***¾
That does it for Survivor Series. Let’s see how Starrcade counters with its grand finale.
Starrcade ’87: Part 3
NWA Tag Team Championship Match: Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (C) vs. The Road Warriors – Paul Ellering accompanies the Road Warriors. Animal and Hawk had never been tag champs up to this point, and the Horsemen had been thorns in their sides for a long time. The Roadies are over like shit here, this being their hometown of Chicago. Hawk and Rotundo start things off, and Rotundo tries to find the big man’s weakness. Windham tags in and hits a few chops, but Hawk slams him to the mat, getting a 1-count. Windham tries to run, but Hawk throws him back in the ring and hits a sick-looking dropkick. Windham tags in Rotundo, who gets clotheslined out of his boots. Animal and Hawk take turns beating on Rotundo, and one spot has Rotundo try to call “time out” as the Roadies both choke him in the corner. Great cowardly heel stuff there. The Roadies dominate for several more minutes until Windham hits a chairshot on Hawk’s leg behind the ref’s back. Windham goes for a slam, but Hawk reverses it into a bulldog, and Animal gets the hot tag. He cleans house for a while until Windham trips him. Arn and Tully run out and try to distract the Road Warriors, but Ellering successfully blocks their way. The Horsemen try a double suplex on Animal, but no dice. Finish comes when the Road Warriors knock Rotundo out of the ring and hit the Doomsday Device on Windham to get the pin and the titles at 14:34. This was a great match, full of awesome spots and some cool brawling. It was also so fitting to see the Road Warriors win the titles for the first time in their (kayfabe) hometown. [8] ****
And now, we get to the main event we’ve all been waiting for: Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA for the NWA Title. Ross delivers the audience a message from Jim Crockett that because of their actions in previous matches, the Horsemen have been banned from ringside.
Ringside Interview: We get some words from Magnum TA before his big moment, and he says he is grateful to be back wrestling in one of the greatest cities in America. He thanks all the fans that supported him when he was down, and says tonight, Ric Flair will get a taste of just how hungry he is for the NWA Title. Magnum was usually hit-or-miss in most of the promos I’ve seen him do, but this one was very well done, and you could tell how emotional he really felt. ***¾
Backstage Interview - Gordon Solie catches a few words with Ric Flair. He asks him how it feels for the Horsemen to have lost all their titles tonight, and Flair interjects, saying they still have the most important title in the NWA. He says tonight, Magnum has a chance to prove it to the world that he can beat Flair, but deep down Magnum knows that he can’t. Flair says tonight, they have the champagne chilled, the limousine filled with gas, and they’re ready to hit Chicago hard after Flair wins tonight. He says when he and the Horsemen have torn down Chicago, they’re coming to take over New York too,—an obvious jab at Vince and the WWF—because they are the best that wrestling has to offer. This was pure Flair gold, and the fact that he basically said “screw you” to the WWF was a great touch. ****¾
NWA Title Match: Ric Flair (c) vs. Magnum T.A. – Magnum, of course, was in a bad car accident a couple of years before this, but miraculously recovered. The announce also plays up the fact that Flair was in a plane crash early in his career, and came back from that as well, which I thought was a very, very nice touch. [9] The fans are mostly behind Magnum here, but Flair gets his share of cheers as well. Magnum opens up with chops and punches, and hits a sick-looking dropkick in the first two minutes of the match. Flair comes back with chops of his own, and hits a suplex. Lots of back and forth action in the first 7 or 8 minutes. Flair sets up for the Figure Four, but Magnum kicks him off. Flair continues to target Magnum’s knee. Magnum limps through it and throws Flair into the turnbuckle. He punches Flair some more, busting him open now. Later on, Magnum goes for the figure four, which actually makes some of the crowd boo. Flair makes it to the ropes, but Magnum comes off the top with a crossbody for a 2. Flair tries to run, but Magnum grabs him and tries another suplex. Flair reverses it into a roll-up for a very close 2. I’m exhausted just watching these guys. Flair locks on the figure four, but Magnum refuses to tap. Magnum successfully counters by rolling over, putting the pressure on Flair’s knee, but Flair is quick to get out of it. Both men struggle to their feet, and Magnum surprises Flair with a belly-to-belly and pins him at 21:36 to win the title. Flair actually kicks out just after the ref’s hand strikes the mat. The bell dings, the crowd erupts, and Flair has a look of pure shock on his face. He tries to beg with the ref, but he says he was too late on the kick-out. The referee hands Magnum the title belt, but Flair punches out the ref. Arn, Tully, Windham and Rotundo swarm the ring, and they all start to beat down Magnum. Magnum shoves them away as best he can, and even clocks Blanchard in the mouth, but they just keep coming. The Road Warriors and Dusty run down again, and help Magnum fight off the Horsemen. Arn eats a Doomsday Device that the crowd pops huge for. Flair and the others retreat, looking incredulous as Ross states “the Horsemen have finally fallen tonight!” With that, Magnum, Dusty, Animal and Hawk each climb a turnbuckle and hold their title belts up as the audience cheers, and the show ends. Such an epic match from two of the greats of their time, and the confrontation that followed make this a true classic in every sense of the word. ****¾
And with that, both shows are wrapped up. How do they hold up?
Final Verdict: From a historical standpoint, both these shows are indeed significant in their own right. The WWF’s show was the very first Survivor Series PPV, and introduced the concept very well. Starrcade saw Magnum T.A. finally get his revenge on Ric Flair, winning the NWA Title and starting his run as the Horsemen’s chief adversary. On the whole, Survivor Series was a decent show, and a good way to introduce both the PPV and the concept of Survivor Series matches to the WWF audience. However, aside from the Tag Title match and the tag team Survivor Series match, there really wasn’t anything here that struck me as “must-see”—and of course, the whole thing with Studd and Cullen makes every wrestling fan cringe. Starrcade, on the other hand, had several really, really good matches, none that were really bad at all, and some highly memorable and well-executed moments. It’s a close call, and the WWF fanboy in me is screaming not to do it, but in the end, I have to give it to Starrcade. The match quality is slightly better, it has a little bit better match commentary, and the final image of Magnum, Dusty and the Road Warriors having finally vanquished the Horsemen is just epic.
Winner: STARRCADE ‘87
That does it for today’s post. Next time you see me, it’ll be on Monday, when I’ll be covering this coming Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV. Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, and stay safe.
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Full Survivor Series 1987 Results (11/26/87)
Survivor Series Match: The Snake Pit (Jake “the Snake” Roberts, The Honk Tonk Man, “Natural” Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake & “Ravishing” Rick Rude) (w/ Johnny V, Slick & Bobby “the Brain” Heenan def. The Macho Men (Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Blackjack Mulligan, Koko B. Ware, Dino Bravo & Outback Jack) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) (18:22)
Survivor Series Match: The Richter Scale (Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin, Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno) def. Sherri’s Scaries (“Scary” Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Judy Martin, Leilani Kai & Donna Christanello) (16:03)
Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Dream Teams (The Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell & B. Brian Blair), Billy Jack Haynes and Brady Boone, The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty), Scott Casey and Dan Spivey, & Team Victory (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)) def. The Mean Teams (Demolition (Ax & Hammer), The Young Guns (Paul Roma & Jim Powers), The Red Army (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov), The Outlaws (Ron Bass & Sam Houston), & The Islanders (King Tonga & Tonga Kid)) (w/ Slick, Mr. Fuji & Johnny V) (19:55)
Survivor Series Match: Andre’s Giants (Andre the Giant, Bamm Bamm Bigelow, Hillbilly Jim, George “the Animal” Steele & “Superstar” Billy Graham) def. The Heenan Family (Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe) (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, Jimmy Hart & Slick) (24:12)
WWF Tag Team Championships: The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond) (w/ Jimmy Hart) def. The Hart Foundation (Bret “Hitman” Hart & Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart) (c) (14:48) – TITLE CHANGE!
Survivor Series Match: The Dragon’s Den (Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka) def. The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, “Cowboy” Bob Orton & “Magnificent” Don Muraco) (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan) (30:24)
Survivor Series Elimination Matches
Macho Men vs. Snake Pit
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Outback Jack Macho Men Butch Reed Pinfall after a press slam 0:42
2 Butch Reed Snake Pit Dino Bravo Pinfall after a side suplex 4:46
3 Dino Bravo Macho Men Brutus Beefcake Submission via a Bear Hug 7:25
4 Koko B. Ware Macho Men Rick Rude Pinfall after a Rude Awakening 10:20
5 Brutus Beefcake Snake Pit Blackjack Mulligan Pinfall after a clothesline 12:30
6 Blackjack Mulligan Macho Men Jake Roberts Pinfall after a DDT 14:07
7 Honky Tonk Man Snake Pit Randy Savage Pinfall with a small package 16:27
8 Randy Savage Macho Men Rick Rude Pinfall after a DDT from Jake Roberts 18:22
Survivors: Jake Roberts & Rick Rude
Richter Scale vs. Sherri’s Scaries
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Velvet McIntyre Richter Scale Misty Blue Simms Pinfall after a running forearm 3:03
2 Donna Christanello Sherri’s Scaries Wendi Richter Pinfall after a powerbomb 4:49
3 Rockin’ Robin Richter Scale Sherri Martel Pinfall after a vertical suplex 6:00
4 Misty Blue Simms Sherri’s Scaries Noriyo Tateno Pinfall after a flying sitout clothesline 8:14
5 Judy Martin Sherri’s Scaries Itsuki Yamazaki Pinfall after a flying crossbody 12:02
6 Sherri Martel Sherri’s Scaries Noriyo Tateno Pinfall with a roll-up 14:47
7 Leilani Kai Sherri’s Scaries Wendi Richter Pinfall after a sitout DDT 16:03
Survivors: Wendi Richter, Noriyo Tateno & Itsuki Yamazaki
Dream Teams vs. Mean Teams
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Scott Casey (Casey & Spivey) Dream Teams King Tonga Pinfall after a Savate Kick 1:01
2 Boris Zukhov (Red Army) Mean Teams Tito Santana Pinfall after a flying forearm 3:16
3 Sam Houston (Outlaws) Mean Teams Shawn Michaels Pinfall after an elbow drop 4:33
4 Brady Boone (Haynes & Boone) Dream Teams Ax Pinfall after a Demolition Decapitation 6:04
5 Hammer (Demolition) Mean Teams himself Disqualified for hitting the referee 10:11
6 B. Brian Blair (Killer Bees) Dream Teams Jim Powers Pinfall after a double suplex 13:48
7 Jim Powers (Young Guns) Mean Teams Marty Jannetty Pinfall after a crossbody 16:20
8 Tonga Kid (Islanders) Mean Teams Rick Martel Pinfall after King Tonga knocked over Martel, who had Tonga Kid in his arms, and rolled through to a pin 19:55
Survivors: Midnight Rockers and Santana & Martel
Andre’s Giants vs. The Heenan Family
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 George Steele Andre’s Giants Repo Joe Pinfall after a shoulder tackle 3:12
2 Repo Joe Heenan Family himself Countout after leaving the match 4:40
3 Superstar Graham Andre’s Giants N/A Countout after a 747 Splash by One Man Gang on the concrete 8:19
4 Hillbilly Jim Andre’s Giants King Kong Bundy Pinfall after an Avalanche 11:40
5 King Kong Bundy Heenan Family Bamm Bamm Bigelow Pinfall after a Slingshot 15:56
6 Davey Boy Smith Heenan Family Bamm Bamm Bigelow Pinfall after a Slingshot 18:22
7 One Man Gang Heenan Family Andre the Giant Pinfall after the Gang missed a 747 Splash on Bigelow 22:17
8 Big John Studd Heenan Family Andre the Giant Pinfall after a double underhook suplex 24:12
Survivors: Andre the Giant & Bamm Bamm Bigelow
Dragon’s Den vs. Hulkamaniacs
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Don Muraco Hulkamaniacs Jimmy Snuka Pinfall after a clothesline while Orton and Muraco were arguing 1:29
2 Ken Patera Dragon’s Den Hulk Hogan Pinfall after an Axe Bomber 5:13
3 Jimmy Snuka Dragon’s Den Paul Orndorff Pinfall after a piledriver 7:48
4 Paul Orndorff Hulkamaniacs Junkyard Dog Pinfall after a Thump 10:02
5 Junkyard Dog Dragon’s Den Hercules Hernandez Submission via Backbreaker rack 13:00
6 Greg Valentine Dragon’s Den Hulk Hogan Pinfall after a legdrop 16:41
7 Bob Orton Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall after Muraco returned to the ring and hit Orton 21:22
8 Hercules Hernandez Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall with a roll-up 25:49
9 Hulk Hogan Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall after a Dragon Dive 30:24
Survivor: Ricky Steamboat
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Full Starrcade 1987: Magnum Cum Laude Card (11/26/87)
Sting, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin & “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (w/ Precious) def. Venom, Rick Steiner & “Dirty” Dick Slater (w/ “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert) (9:59)
Steel Cage Match: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. Ivan & Nikita Koloff (10:22)
NWA TV Championship / UWF TV Championship (Unification Match): Lex Luger (C) def. Terry Taylor (C) (5:11) – TITLE CHANGE!
Ron Garvin def. Tully Blanchard (w/ Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo) via Disqualification (6:32)
NWA United States Championship: Dusty Rhodes def. Arn Anderson (C) (w/ Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo) (7:40) – TITLE CHANGE!
NWA Tag Team Championships: The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) (w/ Paul Ellering) def. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (C) (14:34) – TITLE CHANGE!
NWA Championship: Magnum T.A. def. Ric Flair (C) (25:36) – TITLE CHANGE!
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[1] This is a better deal than Peter “Outback Jack” Stilsbury got in OTL, where he appeared on no WWF pay-per-views at all—not even dark matches. In both OTL and TTL, he’ll leave the company in 1988 after jobbing to numerous high-profile wrestlers. IOTL, Stilsbury became active in Highland Games caber tossing before tragically becoming blind. Sadly, to this date, you’d be hard-pressed to find even a hardcore old-school WWF fan who even remembers the guy…
[2] Dick Slater was actually in the WWF (briefly) before coming back to the NWA to finish up his career in 1987. Here, he stays with Mid-South until the territory is bought up, and his history with Crockett’s promotion propels him to a push.
[3] There was never an official UWF Title/NWA Title unification match IOTL; the former was just quietly retired in early 1988, with Rogers being the final recognized champion. Here, Crockett makes good on his promise to utilize UWF talent a bit better with a match between Rogers and then-NWA Champion Magnum T.A.—we’ll get to that in a future update!
[4] IOTL, Santana & Martel’s tag team was dubbed “Strike Force”—during a Gene Okerlund interview on Superstars, Santana said that he and Martel would “strike with force” in their match against the Islanders that night, and the name stuck. ITTL, in an interview that occurs after Survivor Series, Santana instead says something to the effect of “we will achieve victory”, and that becomes the team’s name.
[5] As OTL.
[6] Graham, who was very close to retiring by this point in OTL and TTL, suffered a similar “career-ending” injury before Survivor Series IOTL, when the One Man Gang gave him a splash on the concrete floor. Graham, who was scheduled to be a participant in the main event of the PPV, was removed from Hulk Hogan’s Survivor Series team, being replaced by the recently turned-babyface Don Muraco. Here, Graham sticks around until the day of the pay-per-view.
[7] Weaver also appeared at Starrcade ’87 IOTL, in the corner of Dusty in his steel cage match against Lex Luger.
[8] IOTL, the Road Warriors would have to wait to win the NWA Tag Titles—they faced Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard at Starrcade, and appeared to have won the titles after pinning Anderson. However, a false finish occurred because the referee saw Arn Anderson get thrown over the top rope (an illegal move in the NWA at the time), and returned the belts to the Horsemen, which nearly caused a riot with the extremely hot Chicago crowd. Here, Crockett very wisely decides to put the titles on the Road Warriors to avoid such a crowd-irritating moment.
[8] Flair was indeed in a plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in October 1975, which broke his back in three different places (and also paralyzed fellow wrestler Johnny Valentine). Doctors told him he would never wrestle again, but he miraculously recovered. The similarities between Flair’s and Magnum’s accidents ITTL were too good not to use in the storyline.
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All apologies for my lengthy hiatus! I hope you enjoyed this dual coverage of two of the biggest shows of 1987.
Still to come: a look at the last Saturday Night’s Main Event of the year, year-end awards and coverage from the Newsletter, and a lucrative film offer for Ricky Steamboat. All this and more, when Rise of the Dragon continues!
November 26, 1987
SteamPunk, the WWF Blogger – Post Date November 20, 2012
PPV Faceoff: Survivor Series ’87 vs. Starrcade ‘87
Hello, and happy Thanksgiving. Today, I’m doing the second installment of my new “PPV Faceoff” section, where I take two pay-per-views held at around the same time chronologically and analyze them, match-by-match, and determine which one is superior. This week, we’re heading back to a pivotal moment in wrestling history: Thanksgiving Day 1987, when the WWF ran the very first Survivor Series show alongside the NWA’s flagship pay-per-view, Starrcade.
The entwined history of these two PPVs is a confusing one, but one that all wrestling fans need to know. Back in the late 80s, the WWF was experiencing great success after the first three Wrestlemanias, and the fourth one scheduled to be happening soon. As such, Vince McMahon wanted to add more PPVs to his arsenal, and had a bold and slightly crazy idea: run a PPV on the same date as the NWA’s signature show. This was no doubt seen by most as a deathwish by everyone’s favorite wrestling promoter, and no doubt a lot of people expected him to fail miserably. But McMahon thought ahead: he contacted many of the cable companies, and told them that if they offered Starrcade instead of Survivor Series, he wouldn’t allow them to run the upcoming Wrestlemania 4. Most cable providers gave in, and ran the WWF’s show. Overall, this was obviously a much greater success for WWF than it was for NWA…but how about the quality of both shows? Let’s get started with this side-by-side analysis!
Survivor Series ‘87: Part 1
We open up Survivor Series with an intro from the Fink for both Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. Surprisingly, Ventura gets a warmer reception than Monsoon. Nobody boos the master of the Upper Occipital Protuberance!
Backstage Interview – In the back, Craig DeGeorge is with Team Jake Roberts, which consists of Honky Tonk Man, Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake, Rick Rude, and the Snake himself. Roberts says he has assembled the greatest group of mercenaries known to man, and they’ll take everyone down tonight. Honky says they have a special tune to play especially for Savage. Reed and Rude make it known that they’re also gunning for Savage. Roberts ends by saying if Elizabeth gets in their way, she’ll come face-to-face with Lucifer himself. Roberts was gold as usual, and Honky and Rude weren’t bad, but I can do without the other two guys. Oh, and Craig can kiss my ass too. ***
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene is now with Randy Savage and his teammates. Savage’s team consists of himself, Koko B. Ware, Blackjack Mulligan, Dino Bravo, and…Outback Jack? Yep, this was his only PPV appearance, and trust me, it wasn’t pretty. [1] Savage says his men are ready to fight, and he knows every one of them can walk through the Danger Zone with him. I can hear the Kenny Loggins music now! Bravo and Ware say…well, who cares?…and Mulligan says they’ll all survive tonight. Savage saved this with his epic promo-cutting skills. Mulligan isn’t that bad on the mic, either—sadly, he wouldn’t stick around the WWF much longer after this. **
Survivor Series Match: The Macho Men (Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, Blackjack Mulligan, Koko B Ware & Outback Jack) vs. The Snake Pit (Jake Roberts, Brutus Beefcake, Butch Reed, Rick Rude and Honky Tonk Man) – All the managers are there. I think it’s nice how they made up little names for the Survivor Series teams, although it did get old after about ten years. Outback gets in only about 30 seconds of offense before Reed catches him with a press slam and pins him to eliminate him. See ya, Crocodile Dundee. Savage and Roberts tease a face-off, but Roberts just shakes his head and tags in Rude. Great heel psychology. Reed goes out next at the hands of Dino Bravo, who pins him after a suplex. Bravo doesn’t have time to celebrate long, though, as Beefcake pounds on him and makes him pass out to a bear hug. At least they’re getting most of the horrible wrestlers out early! Koko and Rude have a funny exchange in the ring where Rude gyrates and Koko dances, and the crowd cheers Koko and boos Rude—freaking sheep. Rude gets the last laugh when he hits the Rude Awakening on Koko and pins him. Only Savage and Mulligan are left against 4 guys on Jake’s team. Mulligan evens it up a little by eliminating Beefcake, but Roberts plants him with the DDT, leaving Savage all by himself. Savage fights back valiantly, and even eliminates Honky with a roll-up, but eventually, Jake’s DDT puts a stop to the momentum. Rude immediately tags in and pins Savage to win the match at 18:22, and Jake just looks at Rude like “what the hell, man?” This was the beginning of Roberts’ slow face turn, and his epic feud with Rick Rude that also involved his wife Cheryl. Who doesn’t remember that steel cage match that blew the feud off with a bang? But I’m getting ahead of myself—this match was good, and a very solid way to open the show. ***
Survivor Series Match: The Richter Scale (Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin & Jumping Bomb Angels) vs. Sherri’s Scaries (Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Leilani Kai, Judy Martin & Donna Christianello (sp)) – I can sum this match up in three words: Jumping Bomb Angels. Gorilla keeps calling Itsuki Yamazaki “Eye-sooky”, and neither commentator even bothers to remember Noriyo Tateno’s name. Poor ladies…at least Tateno would get some name recognition later by winning the Women’s Title. Velvet McIntyre goes out first at the hands of Misty, but Donna Christianello (sp) is eliminated by Wendi soon after. Good, because the fans have no clue who she is (my info on her is limited too!) A vertical suplex from Sherri sends Rockin’ Robin packing a few minutes later. Again, the bad wrestlers are dropping like flies, which I like. From here, the Jumping Bomb Angels put on a great showing. Misty Blue goes out after an AWESOME flying clothesline, and Judy Martin is pinned after a Steamboat-esque crossbody that gets a pretty sizable pop from the crowd. Sherri starts to gloat when she sets Tateno up for a suplex, but Tateno rolls through and pins her to a big pop. The announce play up the fact that the Women’s Champ just got pinned. Kai is all alone against three very pissed off women, and she tries to run. The Angels bring her into the ring panties-first, and Wendi soon pins her with a sit-out DDT at 16:03. My main complaint for this match was that it went about ten minutes too long for a women’s match. Still, it’s one of the best women’s matches I’ve ever seen that didn’t take place in Japan. **½
That does it for Part 1 of Survivor Series. Not too bad. Now, let’s go to the NWA, for a look at the first portion of Starrcade.
Starrcade ’87: Part 1
Starrcade is coming to us live from Chicago, Illinois. This was the first Starrcade to be held somewhere outside Jim Crockett’s more “traditional” territory of the Southern U.S., and is considered the first “true” PPV ever held by the “united” NWA. Ted Turner himself even reportedly watched this PPV.
Disclaimer here: While I know every single guy on this PPV, I only have knowledge of a couple of background feuds on the show. As such, I’m going to analyze this show mainly by its wrestling aspect, as well as based off research I’ve gotten offline. OK? Good.
Your commentators for this show are Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross. Already, this show has an edge on Survivor Series by having the best freaking play-by-play guy of all time.
Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater – A little history here: Crockett had bought the Universal Wrestling Federation a few months before this PPV, and as such, acquired pretty much all the talent in the whole damn territory, including Sting, Rick Steiner and Dick Slater, who make up one-half of this match. [2] Sting’s team is the babyface team, and Venom (Sting’s former tag team partner) heads the heel team. Precious accompanies Garvin, and the heel team has Eddie Gilbert at ringside. Rick Steiner’s brother Scott was still in college at this point, and wouldn’t show up in the biz for a little while. For the record, Jimmy Garvin sucks as a face. Lots of great offense in this match, mostly from Sting, Steiner and Garvin. Late in the match, Venom throws Sting HARD into the turnbuckle, causing him to fall to the outside and tweak his knee when he lands. The announce plays it up as a big deal, and Sting apparently got hurt pretty badly due to it. Finish comes when Duggan pins Slater after a shoulder block at 9:59. Sting didn’t last long after this—he would be gone from NWA within a year, due to his injury being seen by the management as detrimental… Despite Sting’s injury, though, this match was incredible. Everyone brought something great to this match, and with the exception of maybe Duggan, everyone worked their asses off here to put on a hell of a show. ****
Steel Cage Match: The Rock n’ Roll Express vs. The Koloffs – Wow, Ivan was in bad shape here. Lots of hardcore action, and nearly everybody bleeds (only Ricky Morton stays clean). Nikita does a lot of power moves, and the Rock n’ Rollers are good as usual. Ivan, however, really drags this match down. He would officially retire very soon after this match, going on to manage Nikita and a few other guys. About ¾ of the way through, Robert Gibson suplexes Nikita off the top turnbuckle, and the announcers play it up like they’ve both just fallen off a building. Finish comes when both Rock n’ Rollers each hit a crossbody on Ivan and Nikita, and both simultaneously pin them to win the match at 10:22. Not really a bad match, and at least Ivan’s performance was helped along by the cage stipulation. Still, there were much better matches on this card—some involving worse workers than even Ivan! **¾
NWA TV Championship/UWF TV Championship Unification Match: Lex Luger (NWA TV) vs. Terry Taylor (UWF TV) – Terry Taylor was another acquisition from the UWF, and this match was one of several to unify that company’s titles with the NWA’s. The only one left after this was the UWF World Title, held by Big Bubba Rogers, and that would be unified with the NWA Title within a month or two. [3] This match was good enough for what it was—at this point, Luger was still very green, and couldn’t wrestle more than a few minutes without exhausting himself. Thankfully, Taylor carried him through to a watchable match. I always thought Taylor was a very underrated wrestler—he was kind of like a “diet” version of Flair (does that make sense? I don’t care). Finish comes when Taylor goes for a forearm smash, but Luger catches him and locks on the Torture Rack. Taylor submits at 5:49, and Luger holds up both belts to cheers from the crowd. A pretty short match, but considering that Lex Luger was involved in it, maybe that’s not a bad thing. It was alright to watch without becoming too boring or horrible, and it got over Luger as a solid babyface champion well. **
And so ends Part 1 of Starrcade, which was great. But we still have over half of each PPV left…
Survivor Series ‘87: Part 2
Backstage Interview – We start off Part 2 with Mean Gene with all the babyface tag teams in the upcoming match. Tito says they are ready, and they are going to run over all the other teams tonight. Shawn Michaels says there’s a reason they call themselves the “Dream Teams”, and that’s because they’ll be sending the other teams off to dreamland tonight. They really should have let Shawn shine more on the mic at this point—that was pretty clever! The other teams say words, but none of it really matters—you’re watching this for Team Victory and the Midnight Rockers. **
Backstage Interview – Craig is with the heel tag teams, along with Slick, Fuji and Johnny Valiant. Fuji says his Islanders will run over everyone, and Johnny says Demolition will be there to pick up the scraps. Volkoff gets in a few words I don’t understand, and Slick caps it off by saying the Dream Teams had better find some good lawyers, because they’re about to have to be scraped up off the ring like pancakes. That made no sense, but I dig the Doctor of Style, so I’ll let it slide. *½
Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Dream Teams (Team Victory, Killer Bees, Midnight Rockers, Scott Casey & Dan Spivey, and Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone) vs. The Mean Teams (Islanders, Demolition, Young Guns, Red Army & Outlaws) – Wow…very original team names here. Were the creative guys sick that day or something? Santana & Martel hadn’t officially been dubbed “Team Victory” just yet, but I’m calling them that to save room. [4] Again, all the managers are there. The rules are that when one man on a team is eliminated, he and his partner both are out. This match shows how great the tag division in 1987 was, even if they did have to cobble together a couple of weird teams just for the purpose of this match. The only outright bad wrestlers in this match are the Red Army, Brady Boone, Casey & Spivey. Fortunately, “Team Super-Jobber” go out first (big shocker there) after a sick kick from King Tonga. (Although granted, anyone would be shitting their pants after a kick from Tonga.) The babyfaces even it up when Tito pins Boris with the flying forearm, eliminating the Red Army. Ron Bass tries to pound on Tito awhile, but Tito fights him off, tags in Michaels, and Shawn pins Bass after a flying elbow off the top. Michaels is isolated for a while by Demolition, but Ax just throws him to the corner after a minute or so, yelling at the other teams to get him some fresh meat in there. Awesome. Brady Boone tags in (this won’t end well) and tries to fight Ax, but Ax just plants him. One Decapitation later, Boone & Haynes are gone. We now get about 4 minutes of Demolition vs. Midnight Rockers, which is great. Brunzell gets a hot tag, and they fight back for a while, but the larger men overpower them. Hammer gets overzealous and shoves the ref down, so the Demo’s get eliminated by disqualification. Roma beats on Brunzell for a while, but Blair gets a tag and takes it to him. However, one cheap shot from Powers and a double suplex later, the Bees are gone. It’s down to Team Victory & Rockers vs. Islanders & Young Guns now. Who the hell booked the Young Guns to last that long? Fortunately, they’re not long for this match, as Jannetty eliminates Powers after a Steamboat-esque crossbody (I’m seeing a trend here…) The Islanders are all that’s left, and the announce plays up that King Tonga might beat all four members of the other team by himself. Foreshadowing of things to come? Finish comes when Martel tries to slam King Tonga, Tonga Kid dropkicks Martel to stop it, but Martel rolls through it and pins the King anyway at 19:55. This was an awesome tag match, showcasing the best of what WWF had to offer at the time (well, anyone who wasn’t holding or competing for the gold, but we’ll get to that later). Having Team Victory and the Rockers survive to the end was a great touch as well—they were four of the best workers in the biz at the time. ****¼
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene interviews John Studd’s team (consisting of Studd, Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy and debut wrestler Barry “Repo Joe” Darsow), and Studd is wearing sunglasses and playing up the weird “Hollywood” persona he had for a few weeks before his departure—this would be one of Studd’s final appearances in WWF before leaving. He hogs all the mic time—not even Heenan gets in a single word here. Out of nowhere comes Peter Cullen (the voice of Wolverine on the old 80s X-Men cartoon—Studd was the voice of Sabertooth on the same cartoon), who says Studd is letting all this stuff go to his head. Studd actually calls Cullen “Wolverine”, saying he’ll prove why he’s a dominant force in both Hollywood and the WWF tonight. Cullen says he just might head out to ringside to see if that’s the case. God, this was so damn surreal… DUD
Backstage Interview – Craig now has Andre and his team (Superstar Billy Graham, Hillbilly Jim, Bamm Bamm Bigelow & George “the Animal” Steele) for a pre-match interview. Superstar says he is humbled to be on a team of such prestige and honor, and has no doubt in his mind that they will all come out on top tonight. Andre says his team is ready, and they will all survive tonight. George Steele caps it off by shouting “WE…SURVIVE…BYE-BYE!” Graham was great here as usual, but…that’s about it. ½*
Survivor Series Match: Andre’s Giants (Andre the Giant, Superstar Billy Graham, George Steele, Hillbilly Jim & Bamm Bamm Bigelow) vs. The Heenan Family (John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe) – This was Repo Joe’s official debut. God, what a weird gimmick he had. What was he going to repossess, Hillbilly Jim’s hat? Again, we have the managers all there. The match starts out very weirdly, with Repo Joe just laughing in the ring at the babyface team. He points at each one, saying “you’re all gonna pay”. Hillbilly takes offense to this, and rushes headlong to the wrestling car repossesser. Repo is isolated for a while by the babyfaces until George Steele attempts to suplex him, but Repo shoves him away, hits a hard shoulder tackle and pins the Animal. Steele was 50 years old here, and would retire soon after this due to Crohn’s disease. [5] Bigelow hammers on Repo for a few seconds, but Repo rolls out of the ring, grabs a nearby rope (not sure why) and hightails it, intentionally getting himself counted out. Superstar Graham pounds on Bundy for a few minutes, but the Gang tags in. Gang Irish-whips Graham into the turnbuckle, then throws him to the outside. The Gang hits a big splash on the downed Superstar, drawing a gasp from the audience. Graham gets counted out, and has to be helped from ringside by a referee. Later, it was learned that Graham had suffered career-ending injuries, and he retired as an active wrestler (he stuck around to manage a few guys, though). [6] Hillbilly goes out after a splash from Bundy a few minutes later, leaving just Andre and Bamm Bamm against four huge heels. Just then, Peter Cullen comes out to ringside, clapping for Andre and Bamm Bamm. Gorilla calls him “the man who plays ‘The Wolverine’”. Millions of comic book fans worldwide want to slap Monsoon right now—me included. Cullen distracts Bundy long enough for Bigelow to surprise him with a slingshot splash and eliminate him. Studd yells at Cullen as Bigelow and Davey Boy square off now. After a few minutes of solid wrestling from the two talented big guys, Bigelow manages to reverse a powerslam into a slingshot splash, and pins Davey to eliminate him. It’s 2-on-2 now, but the Gang overpowers the tired Bigelow. Gang goes for a splash, but Bigelow rolls out of the way. He tags in Andre, who hits a legdrop on the Gang and pins him. Down to Studd vs. Andre and Bamm Bamm now, and Studd unloads on Andre. However, Andre no-sells most of it, and knocks Studd down with a boot. Andre hits an underhook suplex, and pins Studd to win the match at 24:12. Not lying: this match was very painful to sit through—for obvious reasons—and seeing the accident that ended Graham’s career really stings. It also went a bit too long, considering the bad workers that were in it. At least it established Andre and Bigelow as a new face tag team, which lightened Andre’s workload considerably for the rest of his tenure in WWF. But why did they have to involve a relatively unknown (at the time) voice actor? **
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene has found Repo Joe, and asks him why he walked out on his team. Joe says it’s because he knows all about all the little things everyone in the WWF has done. They all hold possessions that they need to pay for, and he’s here to make sure they pay every cent if they want to hold onto their things. He says George Steele got a taste of it tonight, and he knows something very special of Steele’s he needs to pay for soon. This started one of the most memorable (and bizarre) WWF feuds of 1987—I think we all remember the “Mine” storyline that finished up Steele’s career. Still, Joe could hold his own on the mic halfway decently, so this wasn’t a complete dud. *
This wraps up Part 2 of Survivor Series, and if you want my opinion, it’s slightly better than the first part (with the obvious exception of the X-Men thing…ugh). Let’s see if Starrcade can even up the score.
Starrcade ’87: Part 2
Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard – The rest of the Horsemen accompany Tully. Garvin was always an underrated wrestler, IMO—he had a pretty decent reign with the US Title before this PPV. The two men start brawling on the outside early in the match, and Tully slaps Garvin before the rest of the Horsemen throw Garvin back in the ring. Hard chops from Garvin in the corner. Blanchard goes for a figure four, but Garvin kicks him off. Blanchard grounds Garvin with a headlock, wrenching his head, but Garvin fights back with a headbutt. More chops are traded before Garvin punches Tully HARD in the nose. Tully throws Garvin outside the ring, and it spills out again. “This is man-on-man now,” Jim Ross exclaims. Easy, JR—there are kids present. Tully almost punches Arn Anderson while trying to get back in the ring. Blanchard goes for the figure four again, but Ronnie rolls him up for a 2-count. More great chain wrestling, and Tully almost pins Garvin with an Oklahoma roll, but Garvin counters with a bridge for another near-fall. Tully hits a knee to the face and goes to the top, but Garvin slams him off. Garvin hits a hard punch to Tully’s face, and gives one to Arn Anderson on the apron as well. Garvin goes for the cover, but Windham and Rotundo run in to break it up. They start beating up Garvin, and the ref calls for the bell at 6:32. Ric Flair comes in and tries to join in, but here come the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes to even up the score. Hawk press-slams Flair, and Dusty gives Arn a Bionic elbow. Garvin is bleeding badly as Dusty and the Roadies help him up. I really wish this match had gone longer—it was just starting to get really good, and the DQ finish seemed cheap. It was fine for what it was, though, and these two had really great chemistry together. **½
NWA US Championship Match: Arn Anderson (C) vs. Dusty Rhodes – Rotundo and Windham are at ringside. According to the stipulation, if Rhodes loses here, he’ll be suspended indefinitely. Johnny Weaver, the inventor of the sleeper hold, is at ringside as the guest timekeeper. [7] Midway through the match, Dusty actually goes for a sleeper (kiss-up!), but Anderson fights back and hits a string of power moves. Dusty goes to work on the arm, and Schiavone actually tries to explain the psychology behind it. Arn hits some chops to Dusty in the corner, but Dusty reverses and hits a powerslam in a pretty cool spot. Late in the match, the ref gets bumped, and Windham tosses in a chair. Anderson swings—and misses. Dusty hits a DDT (Jake Roberts copyright infringement!) and pins Arn at 7:40 to win the title. The other Horsemen try to pounce, but Dusty grabs the chair and drives them away. Dusty holds his newly won belt aloft as the Horsemen retreat, having suffered their first casualty tonight. This match was OK—definitely not the greatest in the world, but it was exciting in places, and it was cool to see Dusty finally take the Horsemen down after all they’d done to him. **
And Part 2 of Starrcade is over. I personally think WWF had the better second third, but the NWA definitely whipped the WWF in the first part. It all comes down to the main event portions of both PPVs.
Survivor Series ’87: Part 3
WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Hart Foundation (C) vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus – Jimmy Hart accompanies the Rougeaus. The announce play up the fact that the Harts have held the Tag Titles since Wrestlemania 2—they don’t bring up the exact date, but this is the Harts’ 599th day of holding the belts. Can they make it to 600? Bret hands a pair of sunglasses to a kid at ringside; I think this was one of the first times he started doing that. Anvil and Raymond start things off, and Anvil shoves him away. The Rougeaus hug it out in the corner, for some reason. Bret and Jacques soon tag in, and Bret takes him down with a couple sick-looking armdrags. Some great chain wrestling between Bret and Jacques, ending in a headlock from the Hitman. Jacques reverses it by kicking Bret’s stomach, and another Irish whip exchange occurs. Jacques tries to telegraph Hart’s move, but Bret drops an elbow on his throat. Hart tags Neidhart back in, who wrenches Jacques’ arm with a hammerlock. You don’t see many submission moves from Anvil. Anvil overpowers Jacques for a few more minutes before Raymond gets the tag, and they double-team him. A double suplex gets a 2-count. Hart tags back in, and receives a big back elbow from Raymond. A sick-looking flying crossbody from Hart gets another 2-count. Hart tries a suplex, but Raymond reverses into a facebuster and tags Jacques back in. Jacques goes for a slam, but Bret reverses it into a near-fall. Anvil almost gets the tag, but Bret ends up getting double-teamed. Raymond tags in, and we get more good chain wrestling (though not as good as Jacques!) A diving knee drop gets another 2-count. Raymond goes for a crossbody in the corner, but Bret moves, and Neidhart gets the hot tag. Anvil cleans house on both Rougeaus for several minutes, hitting a SICK dropkick on Jacques, taking him to the outside. Jacques trips Neidhart, and they hit the Bombe de Rougeau. Jacques goes for the pin, but Neidhart kicks out. Bret rushes in to take care of Raymond, but Jimmy throws the megaphone to Jacques behind the ref’s back, and he clocks Anvil over the head and covers him to win the match and the titles at 14:38. Hart stares at the Rougeaus as they grab the belts and celebrate with Jimmy on the outside. He helps Anvil up, and Neidhart mouths “I’m sorry”. An absolutely superb match from two of the best teams in history, and a candidate for Match of the Night. The Rougeaus would go on to take mostly chickenshit heel victories until losing their titles to Demolition. As for the Harts, don’t cry for them—they got to have the longest Tag Title reign in history, after all. And things could only go up for Bret Hart at this point. ****½
A montage of Ted DiBiase vignettes airs, hyping the upcoming debut of the Million Dollar Man. Everybody has a price!
It’s now time for the main event of the first Survivor Series. But first, we get some backstage promos from both teams.
Backstage Interview – Jesse Ventura has taken a break from the announce table to interview Bobby Heenan, Hogan, and his teammates. Heenan says there’s a reason Hulk Hogan is the WWF Champion, and that’s because he is the most ruthless man in the WWF. Hogan says Steamboat can bring all the men he wants: tonight, he and his team are going down. Hercules jammers on about how they will run over Steamboat’s team one by one. Orton says Steamboat will be left all by himself, and they will all pick up the scraps. Muraco says he wants to get a piece of Steamboat, and Orton interrupts, saying Muraco has had his chance—he wants to show the world he can take out Steamboat. Fuji gets between them, saying that they will all work together to fell the Dragon tonight. A great segment, and it teased tension between Orton and Muraco that would come to a head later. Hogan, Heenan and Ventura were epic as well. ****
Backstage Interview – Mean Gene has Steamboat and his team backstage now. Steamboat says Hogan may have the belt right now, but he’s not a true champion. Tonight, all four of the other men on his team are going to step into battle side-by-side with him, and he trusts them with his life (ironic, since Jimmy Snuka allegedly killed somebody). JYD says Hogan’s team will be singing the blues when they’re done with them, and Ken Patera says Bobby Heenan and Hulk Hogan will fall tonight. Other than Steamboat and possibly JYD, not that many good mic-workers here, but you could still feel the excitement conveyed by these guys. **½
Survivor Series Match: The Dragon’s Den (Ricky Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka) vs. The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco) – Heenan and Fuji are at ringside for the heels. Muraco and Snuka start us off, and Muraco overpowers him. He slams Snuka to the mat, and poses over him. Orton argues from the apron, wanting Muraco to make the pin, and Muraco goes over to argue with his teammate for a long time. When he turns around, he eats a clothesline, and Snuka pins him to eliminate him. Muraco pleads with the referee to let him stay, but the ref is having none of it. Muraco looks super pissed as he is forced to leave the ring. Hercules comes in and pounds on Snuka, but Snuka fights through it and tags in Patera. Patera sets up for a full nelson, but Hercules reverses it into a big slam. He tags in Hogan, who hits the Ax Bomber and pins Patera. Hogan points at Steamboat, who just narrows his eyes at the larger man. Snuka comes in and starts unloading on Hogan with chops, but Hogan grounds him with sheer power. Orndorff tags in and hits a piledriver on Snuka, pinning him to eliminate him. Snuka would take a leave of absence after this PPV, eventually coming back after the turn of the 90s. JYD and Orndorff square off, and Orndorff tries another piledriver, but JYD counters into a Thump to pin and eliminate Orndorff.. JYD doesn’t have much time to celebrate, as Hercules makes him submit to a backbreaker rack soon afterward. Things get even worse for the babyfaces when Greg Valentine goes out after a Hogan legdrop. Steamboat is now all alone against Orton, Hercules and Hogan. All three men take turns pounding on Steamboat, but none of them can score a pinfall. Out of the blue, Muraco comes back, clapping and cheering for the heel team. Orton almost pins Steamboat after a clothesline, and Muraco climbs on the apron to supposedly cheer him on. As Orton goes over to see what the hell he wants, Muraco clocks Orton in the face, allowing Steamboat to roll him up and eliminate him. Face turn! Muraco and Orton start brawling on the outside as the match continues. Hercules hammers Steamboat and puts him in the backbreaker rack, but Steamboat fights out of it and starts a comeback. Herc tries to slam Steamboat, but in an amazing show of strength, Steamboat counters it into an armdrag that pops the crowd HUGE. Steamboat hits the Dragon Dive, and gets the pin on Hercules. It’s down to Steamboat and Hogan, and Steamboat just points at Hogan, mouthing “come and get me, big man”. The crowd is going nuts. Both guys hammer each other with strong shots, each one failing to go down. Hogan hits a hard knee to Steamboat’s gut, then bounds off the rope. Steamboat catches him with a scoop powerslam that gets a near-fall. They go for a couple more minutes, and the finish comes when Steamboat hits a crossbody off the ropes to pin the WWF Champion at 30:24. Bobby Heenan comes in, but Steamboat hits some chops on the Weasel, trapping him in the corner. Hogan escapes with his title, but Steamboat press-slams Bobby Heenan to the outside—right on top of Hogan. Both men retreat, and Steamboat makes the sign for the belt around his waist and poses for the crowd as the show comes to an end. Quite an exciting match—even with some somewhat subpar wrestlers on both teams—and it set up for things to come nicely. Steamboat and Hogan would continue to feud after this, on up to Wrestlemania 4, which culminated in their intense “Loser Leaves WWF” match. ***¾
That does it for Survivor Series. Let’s see how Starrcade counters with its grand finale.
Starrcade ’87: Part 3
NWA Tag Team Championship Match: Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (C) vs. The Road Warriors – Paul Ellering accompanies the Road Warriors. Animal and Hawk had never been tag champs up to this point, and the Horsemen had been thorns in their sides for a long time. The Roadies are over like shit here, this being their hometown of Chicago. Hawk and Rotundo start things off, and Rotundo tries to find the big man’s weakness. Windham tags in and hits a few chops, but Hawk slams him to the mat, getting a 1-count. Windham tries to run, but Hawk throws him back in the ring and hits a sick-looking dropkick. Windham tags in Rotundo, who gets clotheslined out of his boots. Animal and Hawk take turns beating on Rotundo, and one spot has Rotundo try to call “time out” as the Roadies both choke him in the corner. Great cowardly heel stuff there. The Roadies dominate for several more minutes until Windham hits a chairshot on Hawk’s leg behind the ref’s back. Windham goes for a slam, but Hawk reverses it into a bulldog, and Animal gets the hot tag. He cleans house for a while until Windham trips him. Arn and Tully run out and try to distract the Road Warriors, but Ellering successfully blocks their way. The Horsemen try a double suplex on Animal, but no dice. Finish comes when the Road Warriors knock Rotundo out of the ring and hit the Doomsday Device on Windham to get the pin and the titles at 14:34. This was a great match, full of awesome spots and some cool brawling. It was also so fitting to see the Road Warriors win the titles for the first time in their (kayfabe) hometown. [8] ****
And now, we get to the main event we’ve all been waiting for: Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA for the NWA Title. Ross delivers the audience a message from Jim Crockett that because of their actions in previous matches, the Horsemen have been banned from ringside.
Ringside Interview: We get some words from Magnum TA before his big moment, and he says he is grateful to be back wrestling in one of the greatest cities in America. He thanks all the fans that supported him when he was down, and says tonight, Ric Flair will get a taste of just how hungry he is for the NWA Title. Magnum was usually hit-or-miss in most of the promos I’ve seen him do, but this one was very well done, and you could tell how emotional he really felt. ***¾
Backstage Interview - Gordon Solie catches a few words with Ric Flair. He asks him how it feels for the Horsemen to have lost all their titles tonight, and Flair interjects, saying they still have the most important title in the NWA. He says tonight, Magnum has a chance to prove it to the world that he can beat Flair, but deep down Magnum knows that he can’t. Flair says tonight, they have the champagne chilled, the limousine filled with gas, and they’re ready to hit Chicago hard after Flair wins tonight. He says when he and the Horsemen have torn down Chicago, they’re coming to take over New York too,—an obvious jab at Vince and the WWF—because they are the best that wrestling has to offer. This was pure Flair gold, and the fact that he basically said “screw you” to the WWF was a great touch. ****¾
NWA Title Match: Ric Flair (c) vs. Magnum T.A. – Magnum, of course, was in a bad car accident a couple of years before this, but miraculously recovered. The announce also plays up the fact that Flair was in a plane crash early in his career, and came back from that as well, which I thought was a very, very nice touch. [9] The fans are mostly behind Magnum here, but Flair gets his share of cheers as well. Magnum opens up with chops and punches, and hits a sick-looking dropkick in the first two minutes of the match. Flair comes back with chops of his own, and hits a suplex. Lots of back and forth action in the first 7 or 8 minutes. Flair sets up for the Figure Four, but Magnum kicks him off. Flair continues to target Magnum’s knee. Magnum limps through it and throws Flair into the turnbuckle. He punches Flair some more, busting him open now. Later on, Magnum goes for the figure four, which actually makes some of the crowd boo. Flair makes it to the ropes, but Magnum comes off the top with a crossbody for a 2. Flair tries to run, but Magnum grabs him and tries another suplex. Flair reverses it into a roll-up for a very close 2. I’m exhausted just watching these guys. Flair locks on the figure four, but Magnum refuses to tap. Magnum successfully counters by rolling over, putting the pressure on Flair’s knee, but Flair is quick to get out of it. Both men struggle to their feet, and Magnum surprises Flair with a belly-to-belly and pins him at 21:36 to win the title. Flair actually kicks out just after the ref’s hand strikes the mat. The bell dings, the crowd erupts, and Flair has a look of pure shock on his face. He tries to beg with the ref, but he says he was too late on the kick-out. The referee hands Magnum the title belt, but Flair punches out the ref. Arn, Tully, Windham and Rotundo swarm the ring, and they all start to beat down Magnum. Magnum shoves them away as best he can, and even clocks Blanchard in the mouth, but they just keep coming. The Road Warriors and Dusty run down again, and help Magnum fight off the Horsemen. Arn eats a Doomsday Device that the crowd pops huge for. Flair and the others retreat, looking incredulous as Ross states “the Horsemen have finally fallen tonight!” With that, Magnum, Dusty, Animal and Hawk each climb a turnbuckle and hold their title belts up as the audience cheers, and the show ends. Such an epic match from two of the greats of their time, and the confrontation that followed make this a true classic in every sense of the word. ****¾
And with that, both shows are wrapped up. How do they hold up?
Final Verdict: From a historical standpoint, both these shows are indeed significant in their own right. The WWF’s show was the very first Survivor Series PPV, and introduced the concept very well. Starrcade saw Magnum T.A. finally get his revenge on Ric Flair, winning the NWA Title and starting his run as the Horsemen’s chief adversary. On the whole, Survivor Series was a decent show, and a good way to introduce both the PPV and the concept of Survivor Series matches to the WWF audience. However, aside from the Tag Title match and the tag team Survivor Series match, there really wasn’t anything here that struck me as “must-see”—and of course, the whole thing with Studd and Cullen makes every wrestling fan cringe. Starrcade, on the other hand, had several really, really good matches, none that were really bad at all, and some highly memorable and well-executed moments. It’s a close call, and the WWF fanboy in me is screaming not to do it, but in the end, I have to give it to Starrcade. The match quality is slightly better, it has a little bit better match commentary, and the final image of Magnum, Dusty and the Road Warriors having finally vanquished the Horsemen is just epic.
Winner: STARRCADE ‘87
That does it for today’s post. Next time you see me, it’ll be on Monday, when I’ll be covering this coming Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV. Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, and stay safe.
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Full Survivor Series 1987 Results (11/26/87)
Survivor Series Match: The Snake Pit (Jake “the Snake” Roberts, The Honk Tonk Man, “Natural” Butch Reed, Brutus Beefcake & “Ravishing” Rick Rude) (w/ Johnny V, Slick & Bobby “the Brain” Heenan def. The Macho Men (Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Blackjack Mulligan, Koko B. Ware, Dino Bravo & Outback Jack) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) (18:22)
Survivor Series Match: The Richter Scale (Wendi Richter, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin’ Robin, Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno) def. Sherri’s Scaries (“Scary” Sherri Martel, Misty Blue Simms, Judy Martin, Leilani Kai & Donna Christanello) (16:03)
Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Dream Teams (The Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell & B. Brian Blair), Billy Jack Haynes and Brady Boone, The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty), Scott Casey and Dan Spivey, & Team Victory (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)) def. The Mean Teams (Demolition (Ax & Hammer), The Young Guns (Paul Roma & Jim Powers), The Red Army (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov), The Outlaws (Ron Bass & Sam Houston), & The Islanders (King Tonga & Tonga Kid)) (w/ Slick, Mr. Fuji & Johnny V) (19:55)
Survivor Series Match: Andre’s Giants (Andre the Giant, Bamm Bamm Bigelow, Hillbilly Jim, George “the Animal” Steele & “Superstar” Billy Graham) def. The Heenan Family (Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Davey Boy Smith & Repo Joe) (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, Jimmy Hart & Slick) (24:12)
WWF Tag Team Championships: The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond) (w/ Jimmy Hart) def. The Hart Foundation (Bret “Hitman” Hart & Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart) (c) (14:48) – TITLE CHANGE!
Survivor Series Match: The Dragon’s Den (Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera & “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka) def. The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, “Cowboy” Bob Orton & “Magnificent” Don Muraco) (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan) (30:24)
Survivor Series Elimination Matches
Macho Men vs. Snake Pit
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Outback Jack Macho Men Butch Reed Pinfall after a press slam 0:42
2 Butch Reed Snake Pit Dino Bravo Pinfall after a side suplex 4:46
3 Dino Bravo Macho Men Brutus Beefcake Submission via a Bear Hug 7:25
4 Koko B. Ware Macho Men Rick Rude Pinfall after a Rude Awakening 10:20
5 Brutus Beefcake Snake Pit Blackjack Mulligan Pinfall after a clothesline 12:30
6 Blackjack Mulligan Macho Men Jake Roberts Pinfall after a DDT 14:07
7 Honky Tonk Man Snake Pit Randy Savage Pinfall with a small package 16:27
8 Randy Savage Macho Men Rick Rude Pinfall after a DDT from Jake Roberts 18:22
Survivors: Jake Roberts & Rick Rude
Richter Scale vs. Sherri’s Scaries
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Velvet McIntyre Richter Scale Misty Blue Simms Pinfall after a running forearm 3:03
2 Donna Christanello Sherri’s Scaries Wendi Richter Pinfall after a powerbomb 4:49
3 Rockin’ Robin Richter Scale Sherri Martel Pinfall after a vertical suplex 6:00
4 Misty Blue Simms Sherri’s Scaries Noriyo Tateno Pinfall after a flying sitout clothesline 8:14
5 Judy Martin Sherri’s Scaries Itsuki Yamazaki Pinfall after a flying crossbody 12:02
6 Sherri Martel Sherri’s Scaries Noriyo Tateno Pinfall with a roll-up 14:47
7 Leilani Kai Sherri’s Scaries Wendi Richter Pinfall after a sitout DDT 16:03
Survivors: Wendi Richter, Noriyo Tateno & Itsuki Yamazaki
Dream Teams vs. Mean Teams
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Scott Casey (Casey & Spivey) Dream Teams King Tonga Pinfall after a Savate Kick 1:01
2 Boris Zukhov (Red Army) Mean Teams Tito Santana Pinfall after a flying forearm 3:16
3 Sam Houston (Outlaws) Mean Teams Shawn Michaels Pinfall after an elbow drop 4:33
4 Brady Boone (Haynes & Boone) Dream Teams Ax Pinfall after a Demolition Decapitation 6:04
5 Hammer (Demolition) Mean Teams himself Disqualified for hitting the referee 10:11
6 B. Brian Blair (Killer Bees) Dream Teams Jim Powers Pinfall after a double suplex 13:48
7 Jim Powers (Young Guns) Mean Teams Marty Jannetty Pinfall after a crossbody 16:20
8 Tonga Kid (Islanders) Mean Teams Rick Martel Pinfall after King Tonga knocked over Martel, who had Tonga Kid in his arms, and rolled through to a pin 19:55
Survivors: Midnight Rockers and Santana & Martel
Andre’s Giants vs. The Heenan Family
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 George Steele Andre’s Giants Repo Joe Pinfall after a shoulder tackle 3:12
2 Repo Joe Heenan Family himself Countout after leaving the match 4:40
3 Superstar Graham Andre’s Giants N/A Countout after a 747 Splash by One Man Gang on the concrete 8:19
4 Hillbilly Jim Andre’s Giants King Kong Bundy Pinfall after an Avalanche 11:40
5 King Kong Bundy Heenan Family Bamm Bamm Bigelow Pinfall after a Slingshot 15:56
6 Davey Boy Smith Heenan Family Bamm Bamm Bigelow Pinfall after a Slingshot 18:22
7 One Man Gang Heenan Family Andre the Giant Pinfall after the Gang missed a 747 Splash on Bigelow 22:17
8 Big John Studd Heenan Family Andre the Giant Pinfall after a double underhook suplex 24:12
Survivors: Andre the Giant & Bamm Bamm Bigelow
Dragon’s Den vs. Hulkamaniacs
Elim. #, Wrestler, Team, Eliminated by, Elimination Move, Time
1 Don Muraco Hulkamaniacs Jimmy Snuka Pinfall after a clothesline while Orton and Muraco were arguing 1:29
2 Ken Patera Dragon’s Den Hulk Hogan Pinfall after an Axe Bomber 5:13
3 Jimmy Snuka Dragon’s Den Paul Orndorff Pinfall after a piledriver 7:48
4 Paul Orndorff Hulkamaniacs Junkyard Dog Pinfall after a Thump 10:02
5 Junkyard Dog Dragon’s Den Hercules Hernandez Submission via Backbreaker rack 13:00
6 Greg Valentine Dragon’s Den Hulk Hogan Pinfall after a legdrop 16:41
7 Bob Orton Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall after Muraco returned to the ring and hit Orton 21:22
8 Hercules Hernandez Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall with a roll-up 25:49
9 Hulk Hogan Hulkamaniacs Ricky Steamboat Pinfall after a Dragon Dive 30:24
Survivor: Ricky Steamboat
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Full Starrcade 1987: Magnum Cum Laude Card (11/26/87)
Sting, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin & “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (w/ Precious) def. Venom, Rick Steiner & “Dirty” Dick Slater (w/ “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert) (9:59)
Steel Cage Match: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. Ivan & Nikita Koloff (10:22)
NWA TV Championship / UWF TV Championship (Unification Match): Lex Luger (C) def. Terry Taylor (C) (5:11) – TITLE CHANGE!
Ron Garvin def. Tully Blanchard (w/ Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo) via Disqualification (6:32)
NWA United States Championship: Dusty Rhodes def. Arn Anderson (C) (w/ Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo) (7:40) – TITLE CHANGE!
NWA Tag Team Championships: The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) (w/ Paul Ellering) def. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (C) (14:34) – TITLE CHANGE!
NWA Championship: Magnum T.A. def. Ric Flair (C) (25:36) – TITLE CHANGE!
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[1] This is a better deal than Peter “Outback Jack” Stilsbury got in OTL, where he appeared on no WWF pay-per-views at all—not even dark matches. In both OTL and TTL, he’ll leave the company in 1988 after jobbing to numerous high-profile wrestlers. IOTL, Stilsbury became active in Highland Games caber tossing before tragically becoming blind. Sadly, to this date, you’d be hard-pressed to find even a hardcore old-school WWF fan who even remembers the guy…
[2] Dick Slater was actually in the WWF (briefly) before coming back to the NWA to finish up his career in 1987. Here, he stays with Mid-South until the territory is bought up, and his history with Crockett’s promotion propels him to a push.
[3] There was never an official UWF Title/NWA Title unification match IOTL; the former was just quietly retired in early 1988, with Rogers being the final recognized champion. Here, Crockett makes good on his promise to utilize UWF talent a bit better with a match between Rogers and then-NWA Champion Magnum T.A.—we’ll get to that in a future update!
[4] IOTL, Santana & Martel’s tag team was dubbed “Strike Force”—during a Gene Okerlund interview on Superstars, Santana said that he and Martel would “strike with force” in their match against the Islanders that night, and the name stuck. ITTL, in an interview that occurs after Survivor Series, Santana instead says something to the effect of “we will achieve victory”, and that becomes the team’s name.
[5] As OTL.
[6] Graham, who was very close to retiring by this point in OTL and TTL, suffered a similar “career-ending” injury before Survivor Series IOTL, when the One Man Gang gave him a splash on the concrete floor. Graham, who was scheduled to be a participant in the main event of the PPV, was removed from Hulk Hogan’s Survivor Series team, being replaced by the recently turned-babyface Don Muraco. Here, Graham sticks around until the day of the pay-per-view.
[7] Weaver also appeared at Starrcade ’87 IOTL, in the corner of Dusty in his steel cage match against Lex Luger.
[8] IOTL, the Road Warriors would have to wait to win the NWA Tag Titles—they faced Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard at Starrcade, and appeared to have won the titles after pinning Anderson. However, a false finish occurred because the referee saw Arn Anderson get thrown over the top rope (an illegal move in the NWA at the time), and returned the belts to the Horsemen, which nearly caused a riot with the extremely hot Chicago crowd. Here, Crockett very wisely decides to put the titles on the Road Warriors to avoid such a crowd-irritating moment.
[8] Flair was indeed in a plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in October 1975, which broke his back in three different places (and also paralyzed fellow wrestler Johnny Valentine). Doctors told him he would never wrestle again, but he miraculously recovered. The similarities between Flair’s and Magnum’s accidents ITTL were too good not to use in the storyline.
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All apologies for my lengthy hiatus! I hope you enjoyed this dual coverage of two of the biggest shows of 1987.
Still to come: a look at the last Saturday Night’s Main Event of the year, year-end awards and coverage from the Newsletter, and a lucrative film offer for Ricky Steamboat. All this and more, when Rise of the Dragon continues!
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Ummm maybe that explain the loser leave wwe clause? a way to leave ricky that chance?(and we still Ricky vs Ric flair, the multiverse demanded it.)
I'm kinda stunned about Sting getting released that changes alot of history for WCW curious to see if he ends up North.
Methinks WCW will regret releasing Sting...
Well we need a sucessor to Ricky soon and one closer 'big' style and he...would be the mother all ironies(and hilarous in hindisight as sting was not close to wwe when this tl started and now is into the hall of fame)
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