We’re on the road to yet another showdown between Hulk Hogan and Zeus in this Survivor Series 1989 review, with the No Holds Barred promotion being the main theme entering the Thanksgiving tradition.
This edition features one of the best teams ever assembled, so at least it has that going for it.
Let’s get to the fun with Blake’s Survivor Series 1989 review.
- Date: November 23, 1989
- Location: Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, IL
VIDEO: Various wrestlers say what they’re thankful for, and then Vince runs through all the Survivor Series matches with the team names and participants.
ON THE STAGE: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura welcome us.
The Enforcers (Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown, Honky Tonk Man, and Rick Martel) vs. The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, and Red Rooster)
It’s incredible how simple it is to add team names and team captains to make things feel special. If only the current WWE had 2,498 hours of TV each week so that it could take a few minutes to add this touch to Survivor Series matches. Jesse reminds us early on that Tito and Honky is a main event anywhere in the country. Martel eventually works his way in, and then Dusty and Boss Man get their much awaited clash. Beefcake comes in thinking he’s gonna run wild until Boss Man nails him and takes control.
Honky in and he and Martel continue to work on Beefcake. We get the tag to Rooster and something tells me he’s not winning this thing. Rooster gets his ass kicked by Honky and Boss Man for a while, then Martel figures he’ll squash a jobber too. Rooster gets a small package but to no avail as Honky comes in to do more work. Both men down and Rooster makes the hot tag to Tito who tries to get the Figure Four but Martel counters. Tito goes for a rollup but Martel reverses and grabs the tights for the pin to eliminate Tito. We get a little foreshadowing with a camera shot of the eventual Sapphire in the audience dressed in Dusty gear, which Gorilla plays up on commentary.
Good guys now doing work on Martel until he regains control against who else but the fucking Rooster. Boss Man in and it’s BEAR HUG time on Rooster who cock-a-doodle-do’s his way out by biting him. Bad News in for the first time. Boss Man and Bad News eventually go for the double team but it goes awry and Boss Man accidentally nails Bad News. That leads to Bad News losing it and walking out for the second straight year.
So now we’re 3-on-3 as Beefcake gets worked on. But that doesn’t last as Beefcake hits the high knee on Honky to eliminate him. Martel locks in the sleeper hold on Beefcake for a bit before going for the pin. But the referee notices Martel is holding the ropes, and Beefcake is able to counter for a pin of his own to send Martel packing. Now a 3-1 advantage for the good guys. Then again, it’s basically 2-1 since Rooster is in there. Sure enough, Boss Man quickly hits the slam on Rooster for the pin. I’m shocked.
Beefcake and Dusty do some double team work and eventually Dusty hits the cross body for the pin on Boss Man to win it at 22:02. After the match, Boss Man gets the nightstick from Slick and cleans house. He handcuffs Dusty to the ropes and continues the beating until Beefcake runs them out with the hedge clippers. Fine match with a hot crowd as usual during this time period.
• Rating: **1/2
BACKSTAGE: Sean Mooney with Boss Man and Slick. Boss Man says Dusty is a prisoner now and that justice has been served. He also calls him a stupid puke.
BACKSTAGE: Gene Okerlund with The 4×4’s. The entire team hypes the match, and then they fake shoot the camera. My goodness the late 80s were fun.
The King’s Court (Randy Savage, Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo, and Canadian Earthquake) vs. The 4×4’s (Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ronnie Garvin, Bret Hart, and Hercules)
In hindsight, dropping the Canadian part of Earthquake was a good move. Meanwhile, Savage goes from main eventing every card under the sun to this match. Hercules goes to work on Savage before Valentine gets in. Hacksaw throws in some offense and then we get Garvin vs. Valentine. Eventually Hercules and Garvin go at it before Earthquake comes in and squashes Hercules for the pin.
Hacksaw and Bret use a nifty double team to get Earthquake off his feet, then we work to some back and forth between Garvin and Valentine. Savage in now, then Bravo tags in. Recapping Survivor Series matches is chaotic, folks. We’ve got tags every 10 seconds and keeping track isn’t easy. Hacksaw tags in and eliminates Valentine so we’re 3-on-3 at this point.
Earthquake goes for a big elbow drop on Hacksaw but misses, and Garvin with the BACK SCRATCH OF DOOM to keep the momentum going. Garvin goes for the leg lock on Bravo but we get tags on both sides and holy hell we’re getting Savage and Bret. At this point it was clear that Bret was a future star, because the crowd exploded when these two were in there together. Bret gets in a lot of offense before Savage gets out by tagging Bravo. We work to Bravo hitting a big side slam on Garvin to earn the pin.
Hacksaw and Earthquake go at it again and Bret comes in for the double team. Bret and Savage face off again and Savage gets locked in the ropes, which Hacksaw takes advantage of in true good guy fashion. Small package from Bret gets a near fall on Savage, and then Bret misses an elbow off the top which allows Bravo to get the tag.
Earthquake and Bravo work on Bret for a bit as Jesse calls Hacksaw an idiot for distracting the ref and letting the bad guys team up. Bravo holds Bret and that sends Savage running into Bravo, then Bret makes the hot tag to Hacksaw. That doesn’t work for long as Savage gets in and hits the elbow off the top to eliminate Bret. Hacksaw thinks he has a chance here and he clears the ring.
Hacksaw decides to get cute after taking control and that causes Earthquake to beat his ass. Big elbow from Earthquake only gets a two count. We work to Sherri pulling some shenanigans by holding down the rope to send Hacksaw over the top, and Savage distracts the ref while Earthquake destroys Hacksaw outside. That of course leads to Hacksaw getting counted out at 23:25 because he sure as hell isn’t getting pinned. Hacksaw hits Savage and Bravo with the 2×4 afterwards. Honestly, this was sort of all over the place and did not feel like anything special.
• Rating: **1/4
BACKSTAGE: Mean Gene says Dusty has bruised ribs and a slight concussion.
ON THE STAGE: Guess who’s here? IT’S THE GENIUS! He delivers another literary masterpiece.
The Million Dollar Team (Ted DiBiase, Zeus, The Barbarian, The Warlord) vs. The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts, Ax, and Smash)
Million Dollar Team gets the jobber entrance as they’re already in the ring after Genius’ poem. On a positive note, these two teams are STACKED. Jake brings out his snake early and scares the hell out of everyone. Only in wrestling does that sentence not sound creepy. Hogan spits at Zeus before the match starts, so BABYFACE HOGAN continues to set a great example for children around the world. Hogan and Zeus start things off and here we go again with Hogan raking the eyes. Zeus chokes Hogan like crazy and that leads to Hebner legitimately putting Zeus in a headlock. That does not sit well with Zeus who slings Hebner halfway to Jupiter. Of course that leads to Hebner calling for the DQ to eliminate Zeus right off the bat.
DiBiase gets the upper hand on Hogan until Jake regains control. Ax and Smash get offense in on DiBiase until Hogan comes in to complete the triple team. Jesse yells about the double standard on cheating. HE’S RIGHT. Eventually we get Barbarian and Ax going at it, with Barbarian missing the elbow drop off the top. Warlord makes his way in and that leads to Ax getting tripped up by Fuji with the ref’s back turned and the ANKLE TRIP eliminates Ax. Hogan comes in to destroy Warlord, then Jake comes in to a much larger reaction from the crowd. It seemed obvious at this point that Hogan just wasn’t getting the same type of love from the fans.
We get to the rest hold portion of the match with DiBiase enforcing the chin lock on Smash. But DiBiase goes up and misses the elbow drop off the top. DiBiase gets up and goes off the ropes, with Barbarian tagging him on the back. Smash goes for the pin on DiBiase without realizing the tag was made, and that allows Barbarian to come off the top to pin Smash and give the Dream Team the upper hand. Let’s see how long that lasts.
Jake in and he gets an ass-kicking for a while until Barbarian misses the flying headbutt and allows Jake to make the hot tag to Hogan. Wonder what’s gonna happen now? Shockingly enough, Barbarian actually kicks out twice on Hogan. Then we get DiBiase and Jake fighting outside while Barbarian and Warlord hit the spike piledriver on Hogan, but Hebner figures that must be illegal so he calls for the DQ on both Barbarian and Warlord. There’s a surprise. Even the crowd is booing this bullshit. Jesse is losing his mind at this turn of events.
You know what happens next. DiBiase locks in the Million Dollar Dream but Jake comes in to break it out, which Jesse points us is also an illegal move. Hogan escapes DiBiase once again and hot tags Jake. But Virgil manages to get involved and after the ref is distracted, DiBiase gains the upper hand and pins Jake with the feet on the ropes. HOGAN VS. DIBIASE. WHO WILL WIN? Gorilla says he doesn’t like Hogan’s chances, and I’m not exactly sure what show Gorilla has been watching, but it isn’t the WWF.
Chinlock from DiBiase and we get to a double clothesline with both men down. Hulk up time after that and Hogan gets the pin at 27:32. Another match that had its moments but wasn’t anything necessarily anything great as it was there to push another Hogan/Zeus showdown.
• Rating: **1/2
BACKSTAGE: Mooney with Savage, Zeus, and Sherri. They hype the No Holds Barred match and movie extravaganza.
BACKSTAGE: Mean Gene with Beefcake and Hogan. They do the same and Hogan says they’re gonna put Savage and Zeus out of the WWF. Sherri comes walking in behind them and starts screaming before throwing powder in their eyes. Savage and Zeus run in and attack before all the wrestlers come in to break things up.
ON THE STAGE: Jesse reveals that there is trouble in the Heenan Family.
BACKSTAGE: Mooney with The Rude Brood and THE GENIUS. They talk shit about their opponents.
BACKSTAGE: Mean Gene with Roddy’s Rowdies. Luke and Butch have turkeys in their tights.
The Rude Brood (Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Jacques Rougeau, Raymond Rougeau) vs. Roddy’s Rowdies (Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Luke, Butch)
Not only is The Rude Brood the greatest team name ever, but this may be the greatest assortment of theme music ever for a single team. Heenan doesn’t come out with Rude, which Jesse continues to play up as dissension among the family. Perfect and Luke start off which may be the biggest mismatch in history. Butch comes in and bites Perfect. Piper comes in and he bites Perfect too. Snuka does the same and this carousel continues with quick tags. Jacques flips into the ring and then hugs Raymond while the crowd lets them have it. Snuka hits the flying headbutt to stop those shenanigans and eventually comes off the top to eliminate Jacques.
Rude in and he gets out quickly as Snuka keeps kicking ass. Rude accidentally pulls the rope down and that sends Perfect flying over the top. They aren’t happy with each other and then Snuka delivers the DOUBLE NOGGIN’ KNOCKER. Luke and Butch work on Perfect for a bit and then Piper comes in. Raymond makes his first appearance and he and Piper tussle until Piper hits the piledriver to eliminate him. Piper and Perfect go at it and we get the slingshot on Perfect, which allows Piper to tag Butch.
Eventually Perfect manages to get the rollup to send Butch packing. Luke tries to get his revenge but that goes nowhere as Rude comes in and hits the Rude Awakening to get the pin. Perfect works on Snuka for a bit and then it’s Rude’s turn for a while. Snuka gets a near fall on Perfect and both goes hit the mat which leads to the tag race. Piper gets the hot tag and he runs wild on Rude. They fight to the outside and both men get counted out as they brawl down the aisle.
That leaves Perfect and Snuka, and the fans are booing the double countout. Perfect gets a two count on a suplex and then they exchange two counts on roll ups. Flying cross body from Snuka allows Perfect to counter it for another near fall. Then it’s Perfect Plex time to give Perfect the win at 21:27. Snuka beats up the The Genius afterwards which just isn’t very nice. The finishing sequence between Perfect and Snuka was pretty good, and this was fine overall.
• Rating: **1/2
BACKSTAGE: Mooney interviews Rude’s Brood. They celebrate the win.
BACKSTAGE: Mean Gene with The Ultimate Warriors. This is quite a scene as Warrior plays with Neidhart’s goatee. Warrior talks about organ donor cards and some other stuff like that.
The Heenan Family (Andre the Giant, Haku, Arn Anderson, and Bobby Heenan) vs. The Ultimate Warriors (The Ultimate Warriors, Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels, and Marty Jannetty)
Gorilla and Jesse try to figure out why Heenan is in the match, which was of course due to Tully Blanchard getting fired on the day of the show after a failed drug test. Chaos ensues right away before Warrior even makes his entrance, and he comes running down to send Andre over the top rope. Since the referee already rang the bell, that leads to Andre getting counted out which should tell you how that match is gonna unfold. The “weasel” chants begin, but that doesn’t stop Haku from eliminating Neidhart just a few minutes into the match.
Double teaming from the Rockers on Haku while Warrior makes animal noises on the apron. Arn and Haku go for a double team but Warrior and the Rockers put together a pretty nice reversal. Warrior tags in for a bit and we work to Heenan tagging in with Jannetty down. He quickly tags out when Jannetty goes for some offense to let Haku go back to work. Heenan back in and he manages to pin Jannetty after Haku does the damage. Michaels nearly gets counted out but Warriors throws him back in to prevent it. Michaels and Warrior kick Arn’s ass for a while until Haku takes control.
Haku misses off the top and Michaels pins him for the three to even things back up. Michaels gets sent over the top and Heenan thinks about flying off onto him but decides it’s not a good idea. Arn gets angry at Heenan for not tagging and he quickly gets in and out. Both Arn and Michaels go down, but they fight back up where Arn hits the hard slam to eliminate Michaels. Warrior goes nuts but Arn sends him through the ropes to the outside. Heenan thinks about flying again but hops back down onto the apron. We keep going back and forth with Heenan tagging in to get offense and tagging right back out to Arn.
Warrior sends Arn into Heenan and then hits the splash to eliminate Arn. So now we get the showdown that everyone has been waiting for as Warrior sneaks around to scare the hell out of Heenan, who is yelling for Arn to come back. Heenan tries to escape but gets a flip off the turnbuckle for good measure. He starts walking down the aisle but Warrior brings him back for the flying tackle and splash for the victory at 20:28. This was probably the most enjoyable of the five matches given Heenan’s antics.
• Rating: **3/4
SHOW SUMMARY
This is one of those shows that’s all about the Survivor Series concept itself. You know what you’re getting with the matches, and it’s really about the entertainment quality. I’m not the biggest fan of the mega elimination matches, so it probably limits the overall enjoyment for this particular show. But you can’t argue with the loaded roster that the company had at this point.
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