Survivor Series

The 1990 Survivor Series was truly a classic event. So much happened at the event which was memorable.

For starters, we had the debut of The Undertaker who is still tearing up wrestlers today. The Undertaker was a lot younger and faster than he is today. He was truly invincible. At this event he was the surprise member of The Million Dollar Team and the opposing team just couldn't put a dent in him.

The great things about this and other Survivor Series events is that the writers of these shows put enemies against each other in teams of four. Okay, I know wrestling is just another branch of showbiz but we can at least pretend that the guys all hate each other.

Hulk Hogan captained a team against the Earthquake who was one of the most despicable heels of the time. Earthquake and Hogan had a lot of history and the energy during this match was great. There were four other great Survival matches on the card and then we got to see a Grand Finale where the Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana faced the devastating Visionaries and the Million Dollar Man.

This video is perfect for wrestling fans who like to see such explosive battles in the ring!

What many fans today don't often understand is back in the 80's and early 90's, watching wrestling was about spectacle. We didn't care so much if we were watching a five star match, we just enjoyed the show. This ppv is a classic example.

The matches meant nothing, no titles on the line and some of the wrestlers were arbitrarily thrown on teams. However, it was pretty damn awesome as a kid to see the Ultimate Warrior team with LOD and Kerry Von Erich in a match. Even if we knew the probable outcome.

Same with the Gooker and final match. They meant nothing but 30+ years later I still have fond memories of watching this event Thanksgiving night with my cousins.

This event was great, and had some of the greatest gimmicks here. In the opening match we have Mr Perfect (with Bobby Heenan) and Demolition (Ax, Smash and Crush with Mr Fuji) vs. Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado, and Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal). This was during the time that Ax was on his way out and Crush was on his way in, when Demolition was a 3 man team. I thought that was pretty cool.

Then we have Dusty Rhodes, Hart Foundation and Koko B Ware vs Million Dollar Man (with Virgil), Rhythm and Blues (Honky Tonk Man and black-haired Greg Valentine with Jimmy Hart) and the Undertaker (with Brother Love). This is the event where the Undertaker was introduced to the WWF and this is his first match ever. Here, Brother Love is he chubby manager/boss, before Paul Bearer.

The next match is Jake the Snake, the Rockers and Jimmy Snuka vs. Rick Martel, Power and Glory (with Slick) and the Warlord (with Slick).

Then we have Hulk Hogan, Tugboat, Big Boss Man and Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Earthquake (with Jimmy Hart), Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart), Haku (with Bobby Heenan), and Barbarian (with Bobby Heenan). Rick Rude (who had a world title shot at Summerslam just 3 months earlier) was scheduled to be on Earthquake's team, but he quit the WWF before this event took place. He was replaced by Haku, another Heenan family member. This is during a period where the entire Heenan family was feuding with the Big Boss Man.

The next match is Nikolai Volkoff, Bushwackers and Tito Santana vs. Sgt Slaughter (with General Adnan), the Orient Express (Sato and Tanaka with Mr Fuji) and Boris Zukov (replacing Akeem). I am no sure why Slick's man Akeem did not appear at this event, he was a no show at last year's Survivor Series also. Boris Zukov replaces him (I didn't know Zukov was still in the WWF at this time!) Zukov was once managed by Slick, too, so I am not sure why Slick does not appear with him here.

We then have Mean Gene with the hatching of the Gobbledy Gooker (a gimmick played by Hector Guerrero) This was the only appearance of the Gobbledy Gooker until Wrestlemania X-7 in 2001.

The last match feature the the good guy survivors from the previous matches against all the bad guy survivors from the previous matches, so this match was Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana vs. Million Dollar Man, Rick Martel, Power and Glory and Warlord. 3 vs 5. In all, this event was one of the best WWF pay per views ever and I give it 10 out of 10

the real problem with this time in wrestling was the lack of surprises we new hogan would survive and so would the warrior the WWF seemed only to care about these two characters when there was so much talent about. The debut of the Undertaker and a v good couple of minutes between Bret Hart and Ted DiBese make this match the best by far. I still enjoyed it because it was my first survivor series but looking back it was a waste. In a time when there was only four pay per views a year this is a real letdown. Worth watching to see some classic characters Mr.Perfect ,Demolition ,L.o.d and Kerry Von Erich all in one elimination match but the WWF commitment to trying to make certain people come of looking good ruins the quality of the match the event feels like just another stepping stone for certain wrestlers. If this eventually led to Wrestlemania 7 Hogan vs Warrior 2 and l.o.d vs Demolition it would have been good hype but the WWF seemed to lose its bottle

This Fourth Survivor Series event is a big disappointment in my opinion. The matches suffer from being far too short and the way in which some of the wrestlers are eliminated, was rather lazy and unimaginative. The most stupid thing about this Survivor Series from 1990, is the appearance of some idiot dressed up as a feathered hen! I know it was the holiday of Thanks-giving but even so, it was ridiculous. The match of the Ultimate Warrior's team against Mr. Perfect's team, had some potential initially. The Legion of Doom - still one of the best tag teams in Wrestling history - were having a story angle with Demolition. The two teams were on opposing teams at the 1990 Survivor Series. What could have been a great match, resulted in there being an average one. Ax from Demolition was due to leave the WWE for various reasons and new member Crush took his place. Ax had little to do and was eliminated early. The fact that both members of Legion of Doom and Demolition were eliminated at the same time, was both thoroughly lazy and disappointing. It was left to the Ultimate Warrior to win the match. The next match is quite a bit better. We are introduced to a wrestler who would proceed to become one of the company's biggest names - The Undertaker. He was a last minute replacement for Bad News Brown who had left the WWE not long before the date of the Fourth Survivor Series. The Undertaker was on the team of the Millon Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. The match has some good action and the confrontation between DiBiase and Bret Hart is like poetry in motion. Next is the Hulk Hogan match where his team is pitted against his enemy, Earthquake and his team. The match is not bad and is at least entertaining. It's too brief though and should have been about 6 minutes longer. The match of the Vipers vs. The Visionaries is absolutely terrible. Of all the matches on the card, this one should have been shorter as it is too one-sided. The ending was rather stupid as well. The final match is also lamentable. The whole thing was woefully uneven in the way the wrestlers were eliminated. To conclude this Survivor Series event, all the survivors from the matches gathered to wrestle in a match to decide who would be the ultimate survivors. This match was passable without distinguishing itself. A few wrestlers were due to participate in the Fourth Survivor Series but had left before this could happen. Akeem the African Dream and Ravishing Rick Rude each were part of the official photos that were taken to show who the teams were going to be. Macho King Randy Savage didn't take part and I was disappointed.