Matt Speaks Out – Survivor Series 1993

WWF Survivor Series 1993
November 24, 1993
Boston, MA
Boston Garden

The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Yokozuna (6/13/1993)
Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon (9/27/1993)
World Tag Team Champions: The Quebecers (9/13/1993)

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan.

– Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, & Randy Savage vs. Irwin R. Schyster, Diesel, Rick Martel & Adam Bomb (w/Harvey Wippleman) – 4-on-4 Survivor Series Elimination Match

OOOO YEAH! Savage is subbing for Mr. Perfect while he lays low during the steroid trials. Evidently Hennig was more guilty than Savage, which seems hard to believe. Team IRS can’t seem to get along because of Harvey Wippleman screwing up at cheating all the time in their matches, so there’s your story. Ramon and Martel start off trading hammerlocks. Both guys were feuding over the IC title belt at the time. Martel runs into a Fallaway Slam for two. Razor delivers a pair of atomic drops to Martel, so Adam Bomb gets a tag. Probably better known as Nightstalker, Wrath or Bryan Clarke in WCW. They do a stand-off, followed by Adam Bomb shoving Razor down from a tie-up. They play around with a test of strength, but Ramon launches Adam Bomb to escape and gets two. Martel elbow drops Adam Bomb by mistake and now everybody on Team IRS is mad! Like a good captain, IRS calms them down. I knew all the training he received as a naval captain somehow in some way would come in handy one of these days. 1-2-3 Kid tags in and thinks he can go toe-to-toe with Adam Bomb. He throws the Kid around a bit and tags in Diesel for another game of midget-tossing. 1-2-3 Kid puts a stop to it with a headscissors and tags in Savage. He gets rid of Diesel’s teammates and finishes him off with a MACHO ELBOW! (10:20) Martel attacks Savage from behind, but he blocks a turnbuckle smash and returns the favor. Tag to Razor and IRS. IRS shoves off a headlock and Savage gets nailed with a knee from the apron by Martel. He delivers a backbreaker on Razor as Heenan asks McMahon if he’s ever cheated anybody. Vince denies any such thing, but that’s just the character talking. Razor plays face-in-peril for a while as the heels jump in and out of the ring without tagging. IRS runs into a boot and Savage gets a tag. He sets up IRS for the MACHO ELBOW as Crush comes down the aisle. Savage spots him from the top rope and goes down to get him some, but his teammates hold him off. He’s still so preoccupied with Crush that he’s easy-pickings for a rollup and gets eliminated. (16:47) And that’s all Crush wanted to do. Savage goes back to the dressing room and goes into lunatic-mode trying to find Crush so he can beat his freakin’ head in. Back in the ring, Martel has Jannetty in an ab stretch. Adam Bomb helps out with some leverage. Hey, that’s Rotunda’s spot! Martel charges into the corner post and Jannetty tags Razor. He gives IRS a chokeslam and calls for the RAZOR’S EDGE! That’ll do it for the IRS. (19:35) A pier-six brawl erupts and during the MAYHEM~!, IRS sneaks back in the ring and breaks up a RAZOR’S EDGE by nailing Ramon in the chest with his briefcase. OH NOES! Razor falls out to the floor and gets counted out. (20:45) It’s now down to Martel/Adam Bomb vs. 1-2-3 Kid/Jannetty. Kid dropkicks Adam Bomb out to the floor, but gets caught after a suicide dive and slammed on the floor. Adam Bomb hits a slingshot clothesline back in, but misses a corner charge and takes an enziguri. Tag to Martel, Kid catches him coming off the middle rope and hot tags Jannetty. Kid tags in for a double back elbow and a Jack Brisco rollup gets three on Martel. (25:51) Adam Bomb is in and reaches over to grab Kid as Jannetty tags and sunset flips in for 1-2-3. (26:01) Survivors: 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty. Solid enough match, but I think they could’ve done more by getting Adam Bomb over. As a result of the finish, the Kid/Jannetty tag team is born. ***¼

In the back, Todd Pettingell is standing by with Shawn Michaels. Shawn has been reinstated in the WWF and calls himself the undisputed Intercontinental champion.

– Bret, Owen, Keith & Bruce Hart (w/Stu Hart) vs. Shawn Michaels, Blue Knight, Red Knight & Black Knight – 4-on-4 Survivor Series Elimination Match

There is TWENTY Hart family members in attendance tonight. Family Feud’s Ray Combs tells some really bad Family Feud-related HBK jokes. See, because the Hart family is here and Jerry Lawler has been making fun of the Hart family over the last five months – it’s a family feud. Due to the recent charges of Lawler having had sex with a minor that were later dropped, Lawler took a hiatus from the WWF. Because of all the bad media attention they were receiving because of the steroid trials, Vince didn’t really need “teenage rapist” added to the laundry list of problems in the WWF. So Shawn Michaels is reinstated after some steroid troubles that he later denies in his book. Of course the kayfabe reason being that he was stripped of the IC belt since it wasn’t defended in 30 days and quit the WWF. Ray Combs joins Vince and Bobby at the announce table. Stu wears a Boston Bruins jacket to the ring to make him easy to love. Heenan says he swiped it from the souvenirs booth. The Knights gimmick doesn’t make any sense here considering there’s no Jerry “The King” Lawler, but they went with it anyway. The Blue Knight is Greg Valentine, the Red Knight is Barry Horowitz, and the Black Knight is Jeff Gaylord from the USWA. Bruce wants Shawn, so they start the match. Shawn and the Knights do NOT work well as a team for starters as there is all sorts of heel miscommunication. Keith Hart tags in and he is all about armbars. Owen and the Red Knight give it a go. He gives the Red Knight a bunch of armdrags while Bobby mentions how Owen lives in Bret’s shadow. Black Knight gets stuck in the Harts corner and takes a hiptoss over to the Blue Knight for a tag. Bret tags in and gives Valentine a clothesline. Bruce tags and plays Hart-in-peril for a while. Bret gets a hot tag and a couple nearfalls on the Black Knight. Backbreaker/flying elbow drop gets two. Owen tags in for a spinning heel kick and now everybody comes in for a fight. The Knights and HBK all get whipped into each other, leaving the Black Knight all alone for a missile dropkick from Owen. Cover, 1-2-3. (10:49) The Harts work over the Red Knight’s leg for a bit. Shawn breaks up a FIGURE-FOUR by Keith with an elbow drop. Now the Knights take control and pound on Keith’s arm. The hot tag to Bret comes when Shawn misses a Rocket Launcher. Bret grabs the Red Knight and hooks on the SHARPSHOOTER for the submission. (18:09) The Blue Knight nails Bret from behind and throws him out in front of the announce table. Back in, The Hammer drops an elbow for two. Meanwhile, Stu is massaging Keith’s arm and shoulder. Shawn hits a jumping back elbow and clamps on a chinlock. Bret elbows out, but runs into a knee. The Blue Knight headbutts the groin for two. Blue Knight runs into a boot and takes a clothesline. Hot tag to Owen, he delivers the ten-count corner punch and a flying elbow on Shawn for 1-2-NO! Shawn slides out to avoid being whipped into a right hand from Owen and grabs Stu, only to get popped right in the mouth. Of course, only Shawn can sell it like he’s been punched out of his mind. Owen follows out with a pescado. Back in, Owen and Bruce double-clothesline Shawn out of the ring before Owen slaps the SHARPSHOOTER on the Blue Knight for another submission. (23:47) Now it’s four against Shawn! Bruce dominates Shawn until he runs into an elbow in the corner. Superkick gets two. Shawn ducks low off a whip and pays for it followed by a hot tag to Bret. Atomic drop, catapult and a Russian legsweep gets two. Bret goes for a backbreaker, but Shawn rakes the eyes. Bret sells like Shawn literally ripped his eye out and tags in Owen. He delivers a NICE belly-to-belly suplex for 1-2-NO! Bret, still holding his eye, walks down the apron as Owen comes off the ropes and knocks Bret down onto the guardrail. Owen turns around to see what just happened and gets rolled up from behind for 1-2-3. (27:26)Owen is PISSED! Bret’s injured, but all Owen can think about is that he is the only Hart family member to be eliminated. Bruce checks on Bret and then goes after Shawn. He hits a sweet clothesline and a sleeper, but Shawn breaks loose by ramming Bruce into the corner. Keith tags and grabs an ab stretch. Shawn hiptosses out and Bret gets a tag. Shawn gets crotched on the top rope and goes for a seesaw ride. He escapes a SHARPSHOOTER attempt and heads to the dressing room to take the countout loss. (30:57) Survivors: Bret, Bruce and Keith Hart. During the Hart family celebration, Owen Hart comes back down to the ring and yells at Bret. His brothers try to cool him down, but that’s not going to work this time. Owen to Stu ~ “What about me? I never get any recognition, it’s always Bret!” Helen Hart starts to cry in the front row. Stu would cry too, but I don’t think his face can express feelings anymore. This might would rock the house in Calgary by itself, but not in Boston and not without Jerry Lawler. This was useless and made no sense apart from the Bret/Owen storyline, but they had to give us something to further it. **

– SMW Tag Team Champions The Rock N Roll Express vs. The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette)

JR and Monsoon do PBP while McMahon and Heenan call the action on WWF Radio. It’s a good thing, too. Who would rather hear Vince call this match than JR? Monsoon and Heenan have been having their problems as of late and Gorilla nearly cold cocks him when they switch tables, but decides it isn’t worth the energy. The Bodies dump the RNR Express out to the floor. They flip Gibson back in the ring from the apron, but Morton doesn’t let it happen to him and pulls the Bodies outside. Morton follows up with a suicide dive and now the action settles down to some good ol’ fashioned southern tag wrestling. Del Ray and Gibson start the match. Gibson delivers a headscissors and then they switch with Morton and Pritchard. Pritchard tries to work the crowd, but they just don’t care about these two teams in Boston. Morton hiptosses the crap out of the Bodies and avoids a Del Ray superkick that hits Pritchard instead. The Bodies get whipped into the corner for consecutive monkey flips. The Bodies are whipped into each other again to set up a row boat by the Express. They isolate Pritchard and work the leg while knocking Del Ray off the apron every now and then. Pritchard goes to the eyes and tags Del Ray who runs into an armbar. Del Ray backs Morton into the corner and whips him across, but Gibson blocks the force of the blow by leaping onto the top turnbuckle. Pritchard tries to do the same, so Morton brings Del Ray back into the opposite corner. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER to the Bodies! They take a walk out to the floor with Corny. Pritchard tags in and hits a Doctorbomb on Morton. Tag to Del Ray, Pritchard flips him over onto Morton for 1-2-NO! Pritchard’s back in and he dumps Morton out for an ASAI MOONSAULT by Del Ray! Wouldn’t that be a US PPV first? Back in, Pritchard hits a powerslam for 1-2-NO! Del Ray lifts Morton up for a side slam as Pritchard comes off the ropes with a neckbreaker of sorts. Kind of like a horizontal Hart Attack. That gets two. Veg-O-Matic to Morton! Cover, 1-2-NO! Del Ray wants a powerbomb, but Morton ranas out for two. Morton gets an inside cradle on Pritchard for another two. Del Ray hits the Moonsault Press for 1-2-NO! Gibson makes the save. Morton counters a double-backdrop into a double DDT and makes what would be a hot tag to Gibson down in Tennessee. Morton gets thrown over the top rope which would be a DQ down in the Smoky Mountains, but this is sanctioned by the WWF. While the ref is busy with Pritchard, Morton nails Del Ray with a flying bodypress. He’s got the cover (even though he’s not legal), but Pritchard breaks it up. The RNR Express surprise Pritchard with the DOUBLE DROPKICK for 1-2-NO! Cornette gets knocked off the apron and still manages to toss Del Ray the tennis racket to come off the top onto Gibson. The ref didn’t see a thing since he was getting Morton out of the ring, as Pritchard rolls Gibson over and covers for 1-2-3. (13:41) This was actually the Heavenly Bodies: Del Ray/Pritchard edition’s first SMW tag title win. Even though the crowd didn’t give two craps about either one of these teams, this was a great tag team match. By the way, Jimmy Del Ray is the freaking man. ***½

– The Bushwhackers & Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger & the Headshrinkers (w/Luna Vachon and Afa) – 4-on-4 Survivor Series Elimination Match

This is the match of misfit wrestlers if there ever was one. Well, the real Doink the Clown Matt Borne was released because of drug issues, so instead of going with the actual Doink team, they just dress up the Bushwhackers and MOM as Doinks. Crowd chants “we want Doink”, but they aren’t going to get him. Luke bites Booger on the butt. Wow, that sentence looks like something a five year old would come up with while working on a mad lib. Samu comes in and stomps Luke down on the mat, but is promptly rolled up with the use of the tights to be eliminated. (3:02) Butch gets owned by the heels. Booger delivers the TRIP TO THE BATCAVE. Ugh. He tries it again with a banana in his mouth, but Mabel has already pulled Butch out of the way and Booger falls to his doom. The Bushwhackers knock Booger over with the BATTERING RAM to set up a Mabel legdrop for 1-2-3. (6:03) Fatu beats another one of the Bushwhackers with a half-eaten turkey while Mo rides a scooter inside the ring. WTF? Bigelow does the coolest thing ever by coming up behind Mo and enziguri kicking him off the scooter. YES! Fatu splashes Mo off Bigelow, but gets distracted by a banana peel? Butch has a bucket in the ring and fakes Fatu out by throwing nothing at him. Fatu sells it anyway and Butch cradles him for 1-2-3. (8:33) It’s come down to four-on-one. Bigelow dumps everybody out but Mabel because he’s humongous. Bigelow can’t put him down until the guy misses an avalanche and Bigelow gives him a jumping shoulderblock. One of the Bushwhackers throws something on Luna at ringside, causing Bigelow to head over to the corner. The MOM sandwich him in the corner and Mabel splashes him as everyone dog piles Bigelow for 1-2-3. (10:59) Survivors: The Bushwhackers & Men on a Mission. Completely retarded and an utter waste of time. Doink shows up on the tron and taunts Bigelow. CRAPPITY CRAP

– Lex Luger, Undertaker & the Steiner Brothers (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Yokozuna, Crush, Jacques Rougeau & Ludvig Borga (w/Jim Cornette, Mr. Fuji & Johnny Polo) – 4-on-4 Survivor Series Elimination Match

Ahh yes, WWF is suffering from another bad case of xenophobia. It tends to contaminate the WWF about every four to six years. Wait, why is Crush on the “foreigners” team? He’s from Hawaii. Looks like he’s subbing for Pierre LaFitte. Jacques wants a handshake, but Scott doesn’t shake hands with foreigners and gives him a release belly-to-belly suplex instead. Rick tags, so Jacques tags Yokozuna. He judo chops Rick, but misses a clothesline and receives a Steinerline. A pair of shoulderblocks puts Yoko through the ropes and to the floor. Borga tags and dumps Rick out. Rick comes back in off the top with a double ax-handle, but can’t capitalize. Rick comes off the top again and gets slammed in mid-air for 1-2-3. (5:05) Scott presses Jacques onto Crush. Crush isn’t phased by it and puts the Quebecer down. Scott delivers the double-underhook slam, but Crush slows Scott down with a roundhouse kick. Randy Savage starts to make his way down to ringside to get at Crush, but about twenty security people cut him off. Crush then proceeds to throw Scott out to the floor, jamming Scott’s knee in the process. Savage continues to distract Crush. Scott comes up behind Crush and dropkicks him out to the floor. Crush reaches Savage and they start beating the crap out of each other – leading to Crush being counted out. (11:36) Scott gets beat down in the corner while Jacques draws Lex into the ring. Taker has yet to do anything at all but stand on the apron. Jacques hits the jumping back elbow for two. Piledriver? Yes! Cover, 1-2-NO! Scott comes back with a press slam and reaches Luger for a tag. Luger slams Jacques and delivers a flying elbow drop for 1-2-3. Huh? (14:05) Borga wants Luger, but Scott’s enough for him to handle right now. Borga splashes Scott, but gets crotched up top for a superplex. Cover, 1-2-NO! Yoko makes the save. Yoko misses an elbow drop, so Scott thinks it’s a good idea to try a FRANKENSTEINER. Of course, that ultimately fails and Yoko delivers the Legdrop for three. (16:58) Luger and Yokozuna do a standoff. Yoko goes low on Lex and tries a splash, but nobody’s home. Luger delivers a pair of clotheslines, but Yokozuna puts him down with only one. Luger plays face-in-peril as Borga and Yoko punch him around until Yoko misses a corner splash. HOT TAG TO THE UNDERTAKER! Crowd goes nuts. He hits the jumping DDT off the ropes on Yoko. Borga distracts Taker, setting him up for a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Taker tries to do the sit-up, so Yoko Legdrops him. BANZAI SPLASH! He tries a second one, but Taker sits up. Taker hits the jumping lariat and they go to the floor. Taker NO-SELLS a head smash on the steps, causing Yoko to freak out and get his own head smashed on the steps. Both guys get counted out. Booooo. (23:26) We’re down to just Borga vs. Luger. Apparently, Luger’s still down from the beating he received earlier. Either that or its past his bedtime. Borga tries to put Luger away with power moves, but it just won’t work. Luger counters a suplex, but that leads to a double-KO spot. Meanwhile, Johnny Polo hops up on the apron to distract the ref while Fuji sneaks in the ring and hands Borga the wooden pail. Borga nails Luger in the head with the pail and gets rid of the evidence. Cover, 1-2-NO! Luger makes his comeback and hits the RUNNING FOREARM OF AMERICAN STEEL for the win. (27:59) Survivor: Lex Luger. He celebrates like he just won the WWF title, including a special guest appearance from Santa Claus! Not too bad, but the finishes were either out of nowhere or uncreative at best. **½

The 411: Pretty much a passable show. Some major storylines were furthered that would impact 1994 in a big way, but nothing that you couldn’t watch in video packages prior to the blowoff matches at the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 10. You wouldn’t miss a thing by just watching those shows instead. There is still a few decent matches here though and since there’s only five matches, that’s a pretty good ratio. I’ll give this a mild thumbs in the middle. It’s okay to watch it, but its not a must-see. If you decide to watch it, fast forward past the Doinks.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]