What the World Was Watching: Survivor Series 1994

Seems fitting that Chuck Norris passed away a few days before we got to this point of the 1994 reviews. Rest in peace to Walker, Texas Ranger.

A video package shows the captains of the different elimination tag teams giving pep talks to their squads.

Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon, clad in cowboy hats, are in the booth, live from San Antonio, Texas. This would be the last WWF pay-per-view that Monsoon would commentate. It would also be the last Survivor Series to take place the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, a sellout crowd of 10,000 fans attended the show, 8,000 of which paid for tickets. The show posted a 0.90 buyrate (254,000 buys). That was better than the 0.82 (180,000 buys) of the previous year’s event, marking the first time in four years that a Survivor Series pay-per-view outsold the prior year’s edition.

Opening Contest: Razor Ramon, the 1-2-3 Kid, the British Bulldog & the New Headshrinkers (wAfa & Captain Lou Albano) defeat Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart when Ramon was the sole survivor after Diesel, Michaels, Jarrett, Owen, and Neidhart are counted out at 21:54:

Other Eliminations: Diesel pins Fatu after the Jackknife at 13:31; Diesel pins the Kid after the Jackknife at 14:12; Diesel pins Sione after the Jackknife 14:44; Bulldog is counted out at 15:38

The heels enter to Diesel’s theme music but Michaels steps in front of Diesel during their walk down the aisle, jealous of the attention that the big man is getting. When the match starts, Fatu is messing with his boots and Monsoon criticizes Albano for not allowing Fatu to wrestle barefoot. Owen has a lot of heat so the crowd enjoys when the Bulldog slingshots him into the babyface corner and all of them throw fists in his direction. The feeling out period lasts 13 minutes, featuring some fun mini-matches between Jarrett, Neidhart, Owen and the babyfaces. When Owen gives Diesel a blind tag while wrestling Fatu that is bad news for the babyfaces as Diesel quickly eliminates the New Headshrinkers and the Kid by himself. He knocks the Bulldog to the floor with a big boot and Owen and Jarrett prevent the Bulldog from re-entering the ring, causing him to get counted out. That leaves Ramon alone. He and Diesel resume their battle from Monday Night RAW, with Michaels irritated with how long it takes Diesel to try to Jackknife Ramon. When Diesel finally does it, he tags Michaels in. Instead of doing the pin, Michaels has Diesel, who is tired, lift Ramon for a superkick. However, heel miscommunication happens with that for the third time this year and this time, Diesel has had enough. He pushes aside his teammates and then attacks them as he chases Michaels backstage. Only Owen has any sense to tell his teammates that they need to return to the ring but none of them do in time, giving Ramon the victory by count out. There was good action throughout the match until the storyline driven finish. The massive count out was not as much of a cop out as the massive disqualification in the 1991 opener but made Jarrett, Neidhart, and Owen look dumb. It would have been better for Diesel to do more to annihilate his teammates so that they were too incapacitated to return to the ring rather than having them make Diesel and Michaels’ spat their issue. Nevertheless, the eliminations made Diesel look like a million bucks and this was a great launching pad for his babyface turn. Rating: ***

Todd Pettengill tries to catch up to Shawn Michaels, who is trying to flee the arena. Michaels calls Diesel ungrateful and says he wants nothing to do with him again. To emphasize the last point, he throws his half of the WWF Tag Team Championship on the ground and speeds away in his car.

Diesel is shown talking to fans who have called into the Survivor Series Hotline.

Jerry Lawler, Sleazy, Queasy & Cheesy beat Doink the Clown, Dink, Wink & Pink when Lawler, Sleazy, Queasy, and Cheesy are the survivors when Sleazy pins Dink at 16:06:

Other Eliminations: Lawler pins Doink after rolling through a reverse flying body press off the second rope and using the tights at 10:35; Cheesy pins Wink after blocking a monkey flip and getting leverage from Lawler at 13:11; Cheesy pins Pink after Lawler drops him on top at 14:30

The opening minutes focus on comedy spots as all of the little people from both sides run on Lawler’s chest and then Lawler’s team fails when they try to mimic what Doink’s team is doing. Doink’s team also manages to sneak a Burger King crown onto Lawler’s head, triggering a “Burger King!” chant. The funniest bit is when Doink puts Dink on his shoulders for a fight and Lawler insists getting on Sleazy’s shoulders to do the same, causing Sleazy’s knees to buckle and Lawler to faceplant. The rules of the match, which are explained halfway through, make no sense as Lawler and Doink can only wrestle each other and the little people can only wrestle each other. So when Lawler pins Doink after rolling through a reverse flying body press off the second rope McMahon claims that the match is practically over because Lawler cannot wrestle Dink, Wink, or Pink. In that case, why is this an elimination match at all? The crowd dies for the little person wrestling segments, which are thankfully kept short. Lawler, who yells at his teammates, helps all of them eliminate the clowns through leverage, actions behind the referee’s back, or creative distractions. What results is a terrible match, especially its layout, but a few of the comedy spots at the beginning were enough to prevent a DUD. Rating: ¼*

After the match, Lawler cuts his team’s celebration short – no pun intended – by saying that he is the only reason that they won. Queasy, Sleazy, and Cheesy refuse to bow to him so Lawler tells them that he hates short people. When they refuse to lower their hands in victory, Lawler chases them around the ring and all the little people join forces to make him leave ringside. Before he can make it to the locker room, Doink shoves a pie in his face.

Todd Pettengill narrates footage of Bull Nakano defeating Alundra Blayze for the WWF Women’s Championship in the Tokyo Dome on Sunday. He tries to interview Nakano, who speaks in Japanese and Pettengill does not understand her. It is funny when he says she is elated at winning as she looks stoically at the camera.

Stu and Helen Hart are shown sitting at ringside before the next match.

Submission Match for the WWF Championship: Bob Backlund (w/Owen Hart) (12-2) beats Bret Hart (Champion w/the British Bulldog) (9-3) via submission when Helen Hart throws in the towel to win the title at 34:44:

The crowd is more engaged in the bout’s slower, technical style than expected, cheering for Bret at various points to rally when Backlund works the arm and reacting when Backlund tries to go for the crossface chicken wing several times. Most of the match’s story is two accomplished veterans struggling to apply their finishing holds and counting each other over and over again. A good example is a figure-four leglock in the middle where Bret holds it for a long time. Owen refuses to throw in the towel, a decision that pays off when Backlund eventually counters it. The Bulldog refuses to throw in the towel from that and Bret reverses once more until Backlund ends up in the ropes. After a collision results in a double KO, Bret transitions into the moves of doom and applies the Sharpshooter. Owen tries to get in the ring, causing the Bulldog to chase him. When referee Earl Hebner cuts the Bulldog off, Owen bulldogs Bret to break the hold, earning substantial heat. The Bulldog charges Owen on the floor afterward but Owen drop toeholds the Bulldog into the steps, knocking him out. Owen feigns concern for the Bulldog and when Bret confronts him, Backlund pounces with the chicken wing. Bret tries to fight it by not letting go of the top rope and when that fails, tries to remain in a standing position. Owen now shows concern for Bret, saying that he is sorry, and finally Bret falls to the canvas in the hold. He tries to fight back to his feet but Backlund pulls him back down. Since the Bulldog is incapacitated, Owen cries and pleads with his mother and father to throw in the towel. The only problem is that this takes too long, so much so that Backlund even gets tired and his right hand cannot stay around Bret’s neck. After about five minutes, Owen removes the guardrail and there is an unintentionally funny scene where Stu and Helen have to step over the Bulldog’s unconscious body to pick up Bret’s towel. Stu grabs it from Helen, not wanting it thrown in, but Owen’s pleading is too much for her to bear so she snatches it from Stu and tosses it in, ending her son’s second WWF title reign. Again, the technical parts of this were great but the endgame drama was milked too much. Rating: ***½

Right after the towel goes in, Owen runs in, grabs Bret’s towel, and runs to the locker room with his arm raised to the sky. The announcement of Bob Backlund’s title win is delayed, making fans question if the result will stand because the Bulldog did not throw in the towel. Hebner helps roll Bret to the floor, where WWF road agents assist the former champion’s walk to the locker room. No one pays attention to the poor Bulldog, who might have died of a brain bleed on the arena floor by this point. Backlund stands up straight as Hebner puts the title around his waist, eyes bulging like a crazy man.

Pettengill talks with Owen backstage. He smiles at how he conned his parents into throwing in the towel, happy that Bret is not the WWF champion anymore. He calls Bret a quitter and hypes himself as the “Best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be.”

Tatanka, Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy & the Heavenly Bodies (w/Ted DiBiase) beat Lex Luger, Mabel, Adam Bomb & the Smoking Gunns (w/Oscar) when Bigelow and Bundy survive when Bundy pins Luger after a splash at 23:20:

Other Eliminations: Mabel pins Tom Prichard after a flying body press off the second rope at 3:56; Mabel is counted out at 7:11; Bigelow pins Bomb after a moonsault at 9:07; Luger pins Jimmy Del Ray after the running forearm at 10:53; Tatanka pins Bart after the End of the Trail at 14:26; Bundy pins Billy after an elbow drop at 17:12; Luger pins Tatanka with a small package at 23:11

The crowd is subdued after the outcome of the last match. There is not a big pop for Luger’s team, nor a big pop when Luger gets the better of Tatanka to start the match. In fact, Mabel gets a bigger reaction by keeping Bundy at bay and dishing out punishment to the heels. It is proof that fat man standoffs are a draw. The purple rapper is finally successful on pay-per-view in 1994 by pinning Tom Prichard with a flying body press off the second rope. He resumes a clash with Bigelow from last year’s Survivor Series, waking up the crowd until he clotheslines Bigelow out of the ring and falls to the floor. Bigelow gets back in and Mabel does not, leading to his elimination. Bomb and Bigelow give fans a taste of their feud, with Bigelow winning after Bundy clotheslines Bomb in the back of the head and Bigelow pins him after a moonsault. Fans finally start getting behind Luger when he takes out Jimmy Del Ray with the running forearm to even the score at three men each. The Gunns double team Tatanka but cannot eliminate him, culminating in a sloppy sequence where Bart cannot get up for a crucifix and when he does, takes a sloppy bump from the End of the Trail. Putting a heel in peril is not good for crowd engagement, so they stay silent until Tatanka tags Bundy, who kills Billy. Left alone, the crowd tries to will Luger to a three-on-one comeback. He kicks out of several pin attempts, including a knee drop and elbow drop from Bundy and a Tatanka powerslam. Luger surprises Tatanka with a small package to eliminate him but is too beat up to get up, so Bundy squashes him with a splash to win the match for the Million Dollar Team. The ending was another letdown for the crowd but hands DiBiase’s stable a needed win. The match started well but did not do a good job sustaining interest over its last ten minutes. Rating: **½

After the match, Bigelow and Bundy hold Luger so Tatanka can beat on him. Tatanka delivers the End of the Trail and the heels get a few more token kicks in until Luger’s teammates finally make the save. Road agents tend to Luger afterward.

Pettengill interviews WWF Champion Bob Backlund, who has photographers taking pictures of him. He gives a fun promo about how he is going to “scrutinize, pasteurize, homogenize, and synchronize” fans back into morality, welcomes all challengers, and yells out how he feels like God.

Casket Match with Chuck Norris as Enforcer: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (8-1) beats Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (21-5) at 15:26:

The winner of a Bearer look-a-like contest is shown in the crowd during Yokozuna’s entrance. Yokozuna’s weight is billed over 600 pounds for the first time. The Undertaker gets one of the loudest pops of the night for his entrance. The lighting effects and fog make it appear that he is coming from another realm. There is a funny bit at the beginning where the Undertaker does a throat slashing gesture and a petrified Yokozuna falls down in the corner. Some of the match is helped by Yokozuna taking the fight to the Undertaker and avoiding long rest holds. However, he is spent after doing a uranage that fails to put the Undertaker in the casket. It takes the Undertaker an eternity to roll Yokozuna close to the casket after a flying clothesline, bringing out King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow. As that gets the referees and Norris’ attention, IRS runs in and attacks the Undertaker, putting him down with a sleeper hold. It would have been better if he hit the Undertaker with John Dough’s tombstone. IRS throws the Undertaker into the casket but Yokozuna takes too long to try to close the lid. As the Undertaker chokes Yokozuna, Jeff Jarrett decides to give Norris a try and gets superkicked. That pops the crowd and Bigelow and Bundy decide to retreat. A flying clothesline and DDT off the ropes daze Yokozuna and the Undertaker boots him into the casket, breaking Fuji’s Japanese flag and tossing it in for good measure to avenge his defeat ten months ago at The Royal Rumble. The hot finish is enough to make this one of Yokozuna’s best matches of the year. Rating: **

As officials wheel the casket away, McMahon says that fans have seen the last of Yokozuna. He would not return until WrestleMania as the WWF wanted him to lose some weight.

The Last Word: In terms of match quality, this was a solid show. It departed from part of the WWF’s babyface-driven formula as the heels looked strong throughout, winning most of the matches and coming close to winning four out of five. Everything that needed to deliver did. The crowd went home happy as the Undertaker slayed Yokozuna but fans were in shock that Bret Hart lost the WWF Championship. Bret’s feud with Owen, which was blown off at The Action Zone last month, has been revived. Meanwhile, Diesel and Shawn Michaels have split up and the WWF Tag Team Championship appears to be vacant. The WWF product had a poor fall but this show gives the company a lot to work with to reboot its creative direction heading into 1995.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for November 26!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1993 WWF, 1993-1995 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!