wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF Survivor Series ’92
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-SummerSlam was a test for the WWF to see what a PPV without Hulk Hogan would look like and they went overseas to make sure they could sell out a large stadium and have a hot crowd. This time we are back in the US and we have a new WWF Champion. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Nov. 25, 1992
-Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
-Attendance: 17,500
-PPV Buys: 250,000
-The PPV buys were down 50,000 from the previous year. They would crater the following year, but for this year not a bad drop for the first Survivor Series without Hogan.
High Energy (Owen Hart and Koko B. Ware) vs. The Headshrinkers
-Bloodline back in the WWF after a run in NWA/WCW. Fatu (congrats on another grand baby on the way) starts with Owen. Hart Dynasty vs. Samoan Dynasty. As we know, wrestling has more than one Royal Family. The crowd is hot for this one which is a good sign. Fatu throws Owen around a bit and brings in Samy. Owen with a series of dropkicks to pop the crowd and makes the tag to Koko. He gets caught in the wrong corner, but ducks a right hand and hits a dropkick. He stomps the bare feet off The Shrinkers, which is smart, but gets dumb as he runs them head first into each other. We know that don’t work! Afa uses his kendo stick to get in a shot from the floor. A young Sandman was probably watching somewhere. Fatu bites at Koko’s head and then runs him into the corner. Clothesline and tag to Samu. He hooks a nerve hold (ugh) but it doesn’t last long. Koko shows some life, but gets dropped with a clothesline to stop that rally. Fatu back in and he throws knees to the gut. He sets too early on a backdrop though and Koko gets a sunset flip for two. He can’t follow up though and Fatu hits a superkick. More biting! The Shrinkers do some clubbering as Heenan wonders if the Shrinkers will be having Thanksgiving dinner at McMahon’s house. I don’t doubt that could have happened at some point in time. Samu misses a splash in the corner and the hot tag is made to Owen. Dropkick! Dropkick! Dropkick! Backdrop! He heads up top and hits a cross-body for one as Fatu breaks up the pin. Another dropkick sends Fatu to the floor. Owen ducks a clothesline, but Samu catches him with a powerslam. Fatu off the top with a splash for the pin at 7:40. The crowd is not happy with that!
Winners: The Headshrinkers via pin at 7:40
-Hot crowd and an okay tag match. They used the tag formula so it worked out fine. The Shrinkers were certainly a higher priority than High Energy, so the result wasn’t a surprise. **
-Sean Mooney is backstage and warns us the next match could become graphic. He brings in Nailz and he spits a lot while he talks. He wants revenge for what Boss Man did to him in prison. I mean, it’s a solid promo as he plays crazy well enough. -Boss Man offers his rebuttal and shoots down claims that Nails was innocent as he has seen the files. He notes Nailz should be in prison for life. That narrows down the type of crime, so why was he released? As Boss Man is cutting the promo he sees on a monitor that Nailz is already in the ring and climbing for the nightstick, so he sprints to the ring.
Nightstick on a Pole Match: Nailz vs. The Big Boss Man
-Boss Man gets there in time to stop Nailz from grabbing the nigh stick and we get an opening bell. Boss Man fires off right hands in the corner as Heenan notes, “you won’t see any wrestling here.” Nailz goes to a choke and the ref yells at him. So can use a night stick to bludgeon someone, but can’t choke? Vince says this is no holds barred. It must be second nature to the ref then. Boss Man lands a right hand and starts to climb. The crowd is into the match thanks to the stipulation which is a good sign as I don’t know the reaction if this was just a straight one on one match. Again, the ref starts a five count on the choke. No clue what that is bothering me, but it does. The crowd starts a chant for the Boss Man as Vince continues to rage on the idea that Nailz is innocent. Boss Man fights back, but misses a splash. Heenan makes a Windsor Castle joke which goes over my head, but I am curious and have to check. Hold please! So, a fire broke out at Windsor Castle only five days before this show. Learning is fun! Anyway (hi Rowan), they each take turns going for the stick and again, it creates some great heat from the crowd. Boss Man gets the night stick and starts beating on Nailz much to the joy of the crowd. There is something to say here for little kids cheering a man in a uniform beating a prisoner in a prison uniform, but this is wrestling and I try not to think about stuff like that. Nailz gets the stick and lands a few shots, but Boss Man fights back and hits The Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:44.
Winner: The Big Boss Man via pin at 5:44
-Not good, but the stipulation gave the match a lot of heat and it was short. I’ll take it! *
-So Warrior flaked out just weeks before this show and Savage needed a new partner, so they changed up on the fly and came up with an amazing decision. They had Savage play mind games by picking Perfect and that pisses Heenan off. Heenan is so pissed he SLAPS the face of Perfect on Prime Time Wrestling and in a great touch, Heenan immediately becomes a cowering, blubbering mess, when Perfect grabs him by the tie. Heenan is great as he begs and offers money, cars. Perfect dumps a pitcher of water on his head and accepts Savage’s offer. That was great and they made a bad situation so much better.
-Flair cuts a fire up Flair promo and Razor just looks cool. He looks right at home standing to a big star like Flair. No wonder they had no problem putting him in this spot so early in the character’s run.
Tatanka vs. Rick Martel
-There is a story this year as Martel stole the ceremonial eagle feathers from Tatanka and has been wearing them as a fashion accessory. This is also a rematch from WrestleMania VII. Martel slaps Tatanka in the face and plays to the crowd. Tatanka fires up with chops and hits a backdrop followed by a dropkick and another one. Tatanka was still undefeated at this point as well. Martel talks trash to Tatanka and tries to land a kick, but the boot gets caught and Tatanka hits an atomic drop. Heenan gets in a joke about the Cleveland Indians never winning anything. Here soon someone will watch this show and have now clue about the Cleveland Indians. Still waiting on that World Series though. Sorry to my best friend, who is a massive Cleveland spots fan. Martel hits a stun-gun back in the ring and then hooks a front face lock. Vince and Heenan talk about Jack Tunney putting Sgt. Slaughter in charge of the officials (so he is there answer to Ole Anderson in WCW and Heenan questions putting a man who broke the rules in charge of making sure the rules are followed. As the face lock continues, Doink The Clown shows up in the aisle making animal balloons. We ignore the match to watch Doink made a dog out of a balloon. Back to the machine as Tatanka gets caught with a shot to the throat. Neck breaker gets two though we only heart the count as we go back to Doink. Vince wants to know what Doink has to do with Survivor Series. I know Vince, who booked this? Tatanka escapes another face lock and hits a clothesline. Martel goes shoulder first into the post and Tatanka goes to work on the damaged limb. Backslide from Tatanka gets two. More with Doink as Martel side steps Tatanka and fires him to the floor. He works on the back and sends Tatanka back into the ring. More back work and then a punch to the gut. Martel off the middle ropes but Tatanka punches him on the way down. Tatanka starts his comeback and does his version of the Hulk Up. Papoose-to-go (TM Bobby Heenan) finishes at 11:06.
Winner: Tatanka via pin at 11:06
-Heenan is shocked that Tatanka beat Martel, but it already happened at Mania VII and Heenan was shocked then as well. Just a match that spent more time that needed focusing on Doink. *1/2
-Mooney is backstage with Perfect and Macho and they don’t like each other, but think they can be the Perfect Tag Team. Perfect Madness? Perfectly Savage? Perfectly Macho? I’ll listen to other suggestions.
Ric Flair and Razor Ramon vs. Mr. Perfect and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Hall had to be pinching himself to be able to leave WCW and put in a spot like this. This is Perfect’s return to the ring after a back injury put him on the shelf. Heenan is nearly in tears as he rants against Perfect. Brain was really rolling in 1992, but was always better when he had Gorilla needling him. Perfect starts with Razor as we have an AWA reunion. The crowd is really into this one. They are barely touching in the first 60 seconds, but the crowd is popping for everything. Razor knocks Perfect down with a shoulder. Perfect back with a drop toehold and he slaps Razor around on the back of the head. Perfect lands a shot on Flair, who was on the apron and Flair is pissed. He demands to get in the ring. Perfect handles him rather easily and gets a dropkick. Just lucky according to Heenan. Fair enough! Flair goes up and over in the corner and runs the apron right into a shot from Savage. Funny! Macho gets the tag and comes off the top with a double axe. Macho has a little gimp to his left knee as I wonder if he tweaked it on the way down. Savage slaps Flair in the face and Perfect takes a swipe from the apron. Another slap from Savage and Razor comes in to save, but gets punched in the mouth. Hooking clothesline from Savage and one to Razor and one more to Flair. Savage finally gets cut off and sent into the corner. Razor in with his sweet looking right hands. They get a little wonky with something and cover the best they can. Flair yelling at Perfect from his corner in a nice touch. Flair back in and he sends Savage to the corner. He lays in some chops and right hands. Razor buries a knee to the back from the apron and comes in with forearms to the back. Savage is of course great at selling the pain of every move. Abdominal stretch and because Flair is there, we get some cheating as he provides Razor with extra leverage from the apron. Simple and effective! Savage is able to power out, but makes the mistake of going after Flair instead of making a tag. Razor stays in control and brings Flair back in and he throws Savage over the top and to the floor. Razor sends Savage into the steps and then back into the ring. Flair gets a series of two counts and then drops a knee to the nose. He suckers Perfect into the ring and that lets Flair and Razor switch off. Classic! Razor with a weak half crab as Perfect walks up the aisle. The story being that Perfect is always just out for himself and he’s had enough of this. The crowd gets all over his case, which has Perfect questioning his decision. He decides to head back to the apron as Razor is slapping Savage around. Razor decks Perfect to pull him into the ring again and more cheating from Razor and Flair. Flair in and he gets two off a chop. Savage grabs the ropes to block a hip-toss and gets a backslide for two. Razor drops some elbows for a two count. The crowd is getting restless with this onslaught against Savage. Small package from Savage, but he can’t follow it up. Flair back in with punches and chops in bunches. Whip to the corner and he catches Savage coming out with a clothesline. Flair plays to the crowd as he is feeling good. He takes too long to head up though and Savage slams him down. Shocking! Tag to Razor, but Savage is able to make the hot tag and the place goes crazy. Neck snap to Razor followed by chops and an atomic drop. Perfect lands a knee-lift to Razor and then Flair, who nearly flips selling it. Savage and Flair brawl on the floor, which lets Flair grab a chair and put it to good use. Perfect clotheslines Flair back to the floor and then we get a ref bump. Razor’s Edge, but Perfect flips off with help of the top buckle. Perfect-plex, but we have no ref. One finally enters, but Flair breaks up the count. Now a Perfect-plex to Flair and the first ref crawls in to make a two count. We have two refs and we get no winner as Flair pushes one of the ref’s away at 16:23.
Winners: Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage via DQ at 16:23
-Just kind of a standard tag match with good heat and then it got really fun after the hot tag to Perfect. Bummer ending though. ***
-Flair hooks a figure-four as Razor grabs a chair. Savage takes it from him and all hell brooks lose as Perfect starts swinging for the fences while Heenan is crying. Fun stuff!
-Gene catches up with Razor and Flair backstage and we get another great, fired up promo from Flair. Great line from Razor as he notes he was double crossed one time before and tells Perfect to ask that “Chico, if you can find him.” Nice!
Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Virgil
-More from the Bloodline! Yoko is at least introduced as being from The Polynesian Islands. The crowd reaction as he takes off his jacket is something man. You just knew he was going to hurt somebody. Virgil tries a trio of dropkicks and Yoko is still standing. Superkick from Yoko takes Virgil’s head off. Rock Bottom! The reaction from the crowd withe each heavy move from Yoko is kind of cool. Virgil starts a rally, but a sidewalk slam ends that one. Leg Drop and again, the gasp from the fans. He sends Virgil to the corner but misses a charge. Virgil is dumb enough to try a roll-up, but Yoko just flattens him. No clue if that was by plan or a mistake, but it got a reaction. Back Splash in the corner and Banzai Drop end this one at 3:34.
Winner: Yokozuna via pin at 3:34
-The WWF has a new monster heel and it started here. SQUASH
-Mooney is with Savage and Perfect and Perfect pulls out some turkeys as visual aids.
Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Natural Disasters and The Nasty Boys vs. The Beverly Brothers and Money Inc. (w/ Jimmy Hart)
-So the rules are if a man gets pinned or submits, both he and his partner are eliminated. That stipulation was cool when it was five teams on each side, but kind of loses the plot with two teams on each side. Blake and Typhoon start and after some stalling, Typhoon shoves Blake across the ring and then struts to mock him. Blake jumps on the back to hook a headlock, but Typhoon runs him into the corner and throws him across the ring. Backbreaker and then a tag to Quake who gets a bear hug. Beau in so Quake just squashes both in the corner and then Typhoon hits them with a splash. Quake with a splash into Typhoon on the Beverly stack. Powerslam from Quake and he tags in Knobbs. Blake is still confident as he slaps Knobbs in the face. It doesn’t help his cause any as Knobbs dominates. Saggs in and he is nice enough to take a punch to let Beau tag into the match. Saggs them takes control but makes the mistake of yelling at Dibiase. Beau attacks from behind and now Ted, rocking his white wear, enters the match. He tries a suplex, but Saggs is too bottom heavy and counters with his own. Ted is still better off and tags IRS. Double clothesline followed by an elbow and leg drop from IRS for two. Poor Knobbs tried to get a “Nasty” chant going and the crowd ignored him. He does get it going a few seconds later. Saggs rallies and seems kind of lost for a second as he just wanders around the ring and swings at anyone on the apron. Beau back in and he drops a leg for a two count. Blake off the top with a double ax to back and a neck breaker gets two. Saggs ducks a clothesline and hooks a sleeper, but gets shoved off and they collide heads to leave both down. Race to the corner and in come Beau and Quake. Sucks to be Beau! Back elbow from Quake and then everyone in as he hits a series of clotheslines. The Nasty Disasters clear the ring outer than poor Beau. Samoan Drop and Earthquake Splash send him and Blake packing at 9:30.
-Team ND up 4-2: Man, that’s a dumb stipulation with only 4 total teams. Ted gets run over with a shoulder and I guess the idea is Money Inc is getting their comeuppance against the two teams Jimmy Hart screwed over. Quake misses a splash and Money Inc hit an impressive double team belly-to-back suplex. IRS goes for the pin, but Quake is out at two with some power. “Irwin” chant and I don’t live all that far from Irwin, PA. Irwin hooks a reverse chinlock that is rather loose. Money Inc switch off behind the ref’s back for good measure. The crowd continues to chant “Irwin.” Ted hits a clothesline and Quake is still standing. Heenan notes that Perfect should call Lloyds of London as he will need it. I see what he did there! Another cover, and Quake is out with ease again. This is going on kind of long and as I type that, Ted gets caught with a boot to the face coming off the top. The crowd is into it, so it’s working. Hot tag to Typhoon though there are some audible boos. He runs wild and hits splash on Irwin, but Ted makes the save. Nasty Boys in and a clothesline sends Ted to the floor. Ted trips Typhoon and IRS drops an elbow and gets the pin at 15:57.
-Tied at 2: Saggs in and he gets a roll-up to end this one at 16:03.
Winners: The Nasty Boys at 16:03
-I was thinking we were going to get the Money Inc ending where they walk away to fight another day, but we got an actual winner. Not a fan of the rapid fan pins to end it, but they got enough time for an Elimination Match that only had 3 decisions. The crowd was into it but it wasn’t my jam. *1/2
-Recap of Taker/Kamala feud that has been rolling along since the summer. Taker building the wooden coffin is one of those memories that stuck with me.
Coffin Match: The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Kamala (w/ Harvey and Kim Chee)
-Kamala plays terrified well though he still slaps his belly. He threatens to chop Taker, but then backs away in cowardly fashion and his facial reactions have me laughing. Taker stalks him but Kamala is first in the ring and catches Taker with a series of chops. Taker has no time for this and fires back with thrusts to the throat. Old School connects and Kamala gets sent into the top buckle. Short-arm clothesline which I thought was a cool move to use as it was Jake’s move and Taker turfed him from the company at Mania VIII. Taker sets too early on a backdrop and Kamala lands strikes and a back kick. Clothesline sends Taker to the floor, but he lands on his feet and goes after both managers. Kamala follows to save them and sends Taker into the steps. Double chop and then one to the head. Kamala uses a chair and it sounded impressive. Back in the ring he gets an awkward slam, but Taker sits up. Kamala back to the throat and another slam and Taker sits up again. Heenan’s selling of Taker sitting up is great. A third slam and this time Taker stays down. Splash and another! Three is the a good numbers so we get one more and Paul Bearer takes a solid bump on the apron as Kim Chee trips him. He has possession off the urn and Kamala wants no parts of that. Taker sits up and waffles Kamala with the urn. He gets the pin at 5:27, but the match isn’t over as I guess you have to get them in the coffin and hammer the lid shut. It was the first one and they obviously worked out the kinks with how to declare a winner. We get the excitement of Taker hammering nails to seal the lid. My son is learning how to build things as Home Depot offers free workshops each month. We don’t get a bell to end the match, but Taker’s GONG hits and Fink announces him as the winner at 7:00.
Winner: The Undertaker at 7:00
-This was better than I anticipated as it was short and I was entertained by Kamala’s character work. We got a definitive blow off as well, so it was what it needed to be. *
-Mooney is backstage with Shawn Michaels and they are pushing hard that Bret has defended the WWF Title more than anyone at this point in their run. Shawn drops some HBK math as he beat Bulldog, who beat Bret and 1+1 = 2 belts. Not Steiner Math, but it checks out.
WWF Championship: Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
-As noted, Shawn won the IC Title a month before this show, but his Title is not on the line here. It’s not like Mania VI with Hogan vs. Warrior. This is an interesting match as Vince is rolling with the internet darlings (before that was a thing) on top as he tries to find anything to fill The Hogan void. Going in a different way is not a bad idea as it’s better than trying to find the next Hulk Hogan. Shawn take a long look at the belt as Henbar shows it to him. I hear he has some kind of boyhood dream. They are still hammering home the idea that Bret is defending the title across the world more than anyone and Heenan notes it is going to catch up to him. Shawn buries a knee and gets a take down. We get some amateur wrestling and Bret wins that battle so Shawn scurries to the ropes. Another go and they trade arm control, so Shawn goes to the hair. Kip up by Bret and he pounds Shawn down to the mat. He continues to work the arm as Shawn tries his best to get hold of the hair without the ref seeing. Shawn is able to escape, but tries to out wrestle Bret on the mat again and it doesn’t go well. Bret gets a hammerlock and works that for a bit. Shawn gets to a standing position and reverses. Bret runs around until he gets Shawn off balance and sends him through the ropes to the floor. Shawn yells at the fans on the apron which lets Bret sling him back into the ring and we go back to the armbar. Shawn shoves off, but can’t get a slam. He does get a cross-body for two. He slings over the ropes and gets a sunset flip for two and then back to the armbar. It’s a slower pace, but the key is they are conditioning the fans to get use to this newer style on top. Heavy clothesline from Bret gets a two count. Back to the armbar! Shawn pushes off but gets run over with a shoulder tackle. They hit the ropes again and Shawn uses his athleticism with leap frogs and then catches Bret with a stun-gun. Heenan wants to see some good “Greco-Roman kicking.” Shawn goes to the eyes, but has a whip to the corner reversed. Bret charges, but Shawn is out of the way and Bret goes shoulder first into the post. Bret takes his sweet chest first bump into the corner. Always looked great! Shawn hooks a reverse chinlock and takes it to the mat. Again, they are working here to show off their style and what we can expected in the post Hogan era. I am sure both were motivated like crazy to deliver in this spot. Bret forces a break, but runs into a dropkick for a two count. Back breaker gets a two count and back to the chinlock. Bret fights to his feet again and drops Shawn with a neckbreaker as he set to early on a backdrop. Shawn is up first though and puts the boots to Bret. There’s our Greco-Roman kicking. Front facelock from Shawn and the crowd is staying with them, but they are wanting Bret to get going here. Shawn gets caught with a charge in the corner and Bret follows with a bulldog. He goes for a middle rope elbow, but Shawn moves out of the way. Shawn crawls for a cover and gets two. Another two count off a back elbow. Back to the front facelock. Heenan: “Ring the bell, give it to him,” while sitting next to Vince during a Bret/Shawn match at Survivor Series. That’s why he’s The Brain! Heenan notes Bret’s arm dropped a third time so the bell needs to ring. Vince says it didn’t drop and yes, would be a shame if Bret lost a World Title without his arm dropping a third time or without actually quitting. Okay, no more Montreal references! Bret mounts a comeback as he catapults Shawn into the corner. Bret has a spring in his step again and sends Shawn into the corner where he starts his pinball bumping. He gets bounced on his balls on the top rope. Backdrop gets a two count. Side Russian Leg Sweep gets two! Back breaker followed by the middle rope elbow gets two. Someone should give this group of moves a name. Superplex leaves both men down, but Bret crawls over for a two count. The ref gets umped in the corner, but he is up rather easily, so no shenanigans. Oh, the ref is Hebnar by the way. Just noting for historical accuracy. Shawn sends Bret to the floor, but keeps breaking the count as he can’t win the Title that way. Shawn gets a slam on the floor and breaks the count again. Back in the ring Shawn gets a backdrop and falls on Bret for a two count. He argues with the ref and Bret gets a roll-up for two. SUPERKICK from Shawn, but that didn’t mean all that much in 1992. He looks for the Teardrop Suplex, but Bret blocks. Shawn fights back and hits it for a two count. Shawn is running out of things to do and is showing the frustration. Bret gets Shawn trapped in the ropes and throws himself at him, but Shawn gets free and Bret bounces off the ropes. Cool! Shawn comes off the middle ropes with what I would call a shotgun dropkick, but whatever it was, the point is Bret catches him and Shawn is in prime position for the Sharpshooter. He gives it up at 26:40.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Bret Hart via pin at 26:40
-This was a much different main event than we had seen for years in the WWF, and that was the point. It started slow which was a bummer as it seemed they were just wrestling to fill some time as none of the early submission work paid off later in the match. Shawn wasn’t SHAWN yet so this was his first brush with the Main Event and he didn’t look out of the place, but you never bought he had a chance of winning either. It got really good down the stretch and gave Bret another hard, fought title defense. They checked all the boxes of things they wanted to accomplish with this one. ***3/4
-Santa Claus immediately hits the ring and it starts snowing as Bret needs the rub from Jolly St. Nick!
-Thanks for reading!
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