WWF Survivor Series 1989
by Scrooge McSuck
- Here we got with part III in the series of long reviews highlighting the past Survivor Series events. 1989 is when the quality of the shows seems to dip a little bit, in my opinion. The highlight of the night happens at the beginning and middle of the show, as the advertised appearance of the already fired Tully Blanchard continues to be pushed, without any hint of trouble.
- Live, from the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, IL. Your PBP team, as the past few years, are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura, the latter of which is wearing a ridiculous pilgrim hat. Monsoon makes fun of it, so Ventura pokes fun at Monsoon's weight. Classic!
- The Dream Team vs. The Enforcers:
(Dusty Rhodes (Captain), Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, Red Rooster vs. Big Boss Man (Captain), Honkytonk Man, Rick Martel, Bad News Brown)
Brown is a very last minute replacement for Akeem (and is corrected during the opening hype video). No idea what happened to Akeem, since he was back on T.V. a week later. Rhodes and Boss Man have the big issues here, and I THINK Beefcake and Martel had a minor thing going on that really went nowhere once Brutus got promoted to feuding with Mr. Perfect. Santana starts it off with Honky, a main event in any arena across the country (in 1987). Honky with a series of rights, and Santana returns the favor. Scoop slam by Santana, then he goes to the armbar. Honky escapes with knees to the midsection. Irish whip reversed, and Honky boots Tito in the face. Martel tags in and the two exchange blows. Martel connects with a dropkick, then spends some time posing. Santana blocks an atomic drop and nails his own before rolling Martel up for a two count. Martel with an over-head wristlock, and Santana counters into a hammerlock. Boss Man tags in and gets taken over with a arm drag. Rhodes tags in and nails some lefts. Boss Man hammers away in the corner. Whip to the corner is reversed and Rhodes with the bionic elbow. Beefcake tags in and comes off the ropes with an axehandle. Boss Man regains control and works the Beefer over. Honky tags in, snapmares Beefcake over, and misses a fist drop. Martel tags in to pound on Beefcake, now. Back breaker by Martel for a two count. Beefcake fights back and tags in the Rooster. Irish whip, and he back drops the Model for a two count. Rooster runs into the knees of Martel, and now he's Poultry-in-Peril. He gets worked over pretty good for a few minutes. Rooster eventually makes the hot tag to Santana, and he comes off the ropes with a dropkick to Martel. Scoop slam by Santana, followed by a second rope elbow to the back of the neck. Whip to the corner and a back drop. Santana calls for the end, but Martel counters the Figure-Four. Scoop slam by Martel, but he misses an elbow drop. Roll-up by Santana, but Martel counters for the three count at 9:17.
Rhodes comes in and we catch a glimps at the woman who'll eventually be known as Sapphire. Rhodes connects with a standing dropkick, followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Beefcake hammers away on the arm of Martel and applies a wristlock. Criss-cross sees Beefcake coming up with the upper-hand. Rooster tags in and is quickly over-matched, once again. Boss Man works him over, as he did before, and catches him off the ropes in a bearhug. Rooser escapes with a biting of the face, so Boss Man tags out to Bad News, who isn't too happy with getting the tag. Rooster slingshots Brown into the ring from the apron and hits him with a knee lift. Brown comes back with his clubbering offense. This just goes on for a few minutes, nothing of note happening. Boss Man comes in for a cheap shot, but Rooster moves, and Brown takes the blow instead. Rewind to 1988, and Bad News quits on his team, getting Counted-Out at 15:26.
Beefcake tags in and locks up with the Boss Man. Beefcake with a series of rights and a whip to the corner. Boss Man bounces right back with a forearm and Honky tags in, pounding away across the back of Beefcake. Honky with a back suplex for a two count. Honky with a rake of the eyes, then rams Beefcake to the buckle. Beefcake mounts his comeback, throwing more punches. Irish whip reversed, and Beefcake connects with the high knee for the three count at 17:24.
Martel comes in to choke away on Beefcake, then takes him down to the canvas for more of the same. Chinlock applied, and this is a rest-hold that doesn't really seem necessary, to me. Beefcake escapes with a series of shoulders to the midsection. Beefcake runs the ropes and gets hit with a knee to the midsection. Martel stomps away on Beefcake. Martel with a back breaker, and Beefcake rolls onto the apron. Beefcake with a shoulder to the chest and a sunset flip. Martel blocks, but Beefcake counters, and that gets a three count at 20:13.
Boss Man hammers on the Barber, and in comes the Rooster now, who gets more of the same. Boss Man misses a charge to the corner, and gets pounded on. Rooster with a big forearm, but he jumps into the Sidewalk Slam, and the Rooster is FINALLY gone at 21:00. Rhodes comes in, only for the second time of the night, and hammers away on the Boss Man. Beefcake tags in and does his usual stuff. Beefcake drives a knee into the chest of Boss Man and tags out to Rhodes. Clubbering blows by the Dust'. Irish whip, and Rhodes comes off the ropes with a cross body press for the three count at 22:02, making Rhodes and Beefcake the survivors. Afterwards, Boss Man beats the tar out of Rhodes with his night-stick, and Rhodes actually blades (surprise!). Beefcake eventually makes the save, but it's too little too late. ** Match was decent, but nothing really memorable happened, there was no great mini-match that some Survivor Series matches have had, and it just seemed like most of the guys were there just to get their check and leave.
- The 4x4's vs. The King's Court:
(Jim Duggan (Captain), Bret Hart, Hercules, Ron Garvin vs. Randy Savage (Captain), Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo, The Canadian Earthquake)
Another substitution here, as Earthquake is replacing the recently departed "Widow Maker" (Barry Windham). Duggan and Savage were fighting over the King's crown, and Valentine/Garvin had issues too. Not sure if anything else was going on to warrant the pairings. The 4x4's do a synchronized routine with 2x4's, and Duggan blows his part. Hercules and Savage start, and Herc' quickly nails him with a big clothesline. Press slam by Hercules, and Valentine tags in. They trade blows, ending with Hercules connecting with an atomic drop. Wristlock applied, and Bret tags in to hammer away on the arm. Arm drag takeover and knee to the shoulder by Bret. Duggan tags in and rams Valentine into the turnbuckle. Garvin tags in and slaps away on the chest of Valentine. Irish whip, and Garvin applies a sleeper hold. Bravo tags in and stomps away on Garvin. Bravo misses a leg drop, and in comes Hercules to lay a pounding in on Bravo. Running knee lift by Hercules, followed by a series of clotheslines. Bravo sends Herc' to the corner, and Earthquake quickly tags in to drop a Vertical Splash, and Hercules is gone at 3:57.
Duggan comes in next to lockup with Earthquake. Irish whip, and a shoulder block rocks Earthquake. A third, with a school boy assistance from Hart, takes the big man down. Garvin comes in and mounts 'Quake for some punching, followed by a splash for a one count. Bravo tags in and works over Garvin some more. Valentine comes in, dropping an elbow and knee across the chest of Garvin for a two count. Garvin with a headbutt to the midsection, and he calls for the Figure-Four. Garvin blocks and rolls Valentine up for a two count. Savage tags in and comes off the top with an axehandle. Savage with a knee drop for a two count. Bravo tags back in and does more boring crap. Garvin surprises him with a back slide for a two count. Savage comes back in and jabs away at Garvin. Valentine is back in with a series of nasty chops. Garvin fights back with his signature chest slaps. Irish whip, but Duggan with the blind tag, and a charging clothesline gets the three count at 7:32.
Bravo nails Duggan from behind and punches a lot. Choking in the corner by Bravo. Savage comes in and hangs Duggan across the top rope for a two count. Earthquake clubs away on Duggan in the corner. Earthquake with a scoop slam, but he misses a fat-ass elbow drop. Garvin tags in and scratches the back of Quake. Bravo tags in and is quickly ambushed by Garvin. Headbutt by Garvin, followed by the best move in the history of WWF... The Garvin Stomp! He goes for the Sharpshooter, but Bravo rakes the eyes to escape. Savage tags in, as does the Hitman, for probably the best pairing-off of the contest. Savage with a sneak attack, but Bret sends Savage to the buckle. Inverted atomic drop by Hart, followed by a stomp to the midsection. Bravo tags in to end that really quick. Lockup, and Bret powers Bravo back into the good-guy corner. Snapmare by Hart, followed by a second rope elbow for a two count. Garvin tags back in, and is caught with the side suplex, and that's enough for a three count at 11:17.
Duggan comes in to square off with the Earthquake. Roundhouse rights by Duggan, followed by more mounted punches in the corner. Duggan with a wristlock, and rams Quake into the boot of Bret. Irish whip, and double clothesline by the remaining 4x4's. Savage tags in to face-off with Hart, again. Duggan snags Savage in the corner, and Bret attacks with a headbutt to the spine. Irish whip and boot by the Hitman. Savage pulls the Andre Special™, and Duggan, gentleman of the year, works him over behind the referee's back. Bret hammers away on the tied of Macho King. Savage escapes, snapmares Bret over, and misses a knee drop. Bret connects with a side back breaker for a two count. Small package by Hart for another two count. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, but Savage runs into a boot from Hart. Hart, in turn, misses an elbow drop from the second rope. Bravo tags in and plants Hart with a slam, and follows up with an elbow drop. Bravo applies a bearhug, so I get up for a drink of cold water. Earthquake tags in and continues to punish Bret. Choke lift by the Quake, followed by a lazy elbow drop for a two count. Bret fights off an Irish whip from Bravo, but is quickly over-whelmed again. Savage tags in and floors Bret with a roundhouse. Savage accidentally nails Bravo with a running high knee, then misses an elbow drop. Duggan with the hot tag, and he clotheslines Savage down several times. Lockup into the corner, and for some reason, Bret tags back in, and is quickly punished for it by Bravo. Bret misses a charge to the corner, and Bravo connects with a shoulder breaker. Savage tags in, heads to the top, and nails his signature flying elbow for the three count at 19:06.
The heels take a timeout to strategize, while Duggan stands around looking like a moron. Earthquake takes him into the corner and drives a series of knees to the midsection. Duggan avoids the charge and cleans house of all three heels. Another meeting takes place while Duggan stands his ground in the squared circle. Savage comes in and works over Duggan, but that doesn't last long. Duggan with a double clothesline to Savage and Bravo, but here comes Quake to nail Duggan from behind. Scoop slam by Earthquake, followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Bravo tags in and catches Duggan off the ropes with a boot to the chest, and Savage comes off the top with a double axehandle for a two count. Savage misses a splash across the ropes, but Duggan is screwed without anymore partners. Duggan with a stalled atomic drop, but as he runs the ropes, Sherri pulls them down, causing Duggan to spill over and out. Quake drops an elbow from the apron across the back of Duggan, and he's Counted Out at 23:25, giving the trio of Savage, Bravo, and Earthquake the victory. Post-match, Duggan clears the ring with his trusty 2x4. Blech. *1/2 Outside of a very few moments throughout the match featuring the likes of Bret, Valentine and Savage, this match was just not very good. Bravo is useless crap, Earthquake stank it up, Garvin did nothing, and Duggan is Duggan.
- The Hulkamaniacs vs. The Million Dollar Team:
(Hulk Hogan (Captain), Jake Roberts, Demolition Ax & Smash vs. Ted Dibiase (Captain), The Warlord, The Barbarian, Zeus)
For the longest time, the team of the Hulkamaniacs was probably the best collection of my favorite wrestlers when I was a kid. The untrained eyes might think Hogan and Dibiase was the beef, since they are the captains, but it was actually Hogan/Zeus, the horrible feud spun from the even more horrible No Holds Barred movie, and Roberts/Dibiase, stemming off from Dibiase injuring Roberts (kayfabe) a few weeks after WrestleMania V. Demolition had long moved away from their feud with the PoP, with Demolition feuding with the Twin Towers during the summer, while the PoP was alternating between singles and tag team limbo. The Genius cuts a pre-match poem for whatever reason, running down the Hulkamaniacs. Roberts and Zeus start, but Zeus wants Hogan, and naturally Hogan obliges. Weird, usually they keep the big pairing off away from the start of the match, unless there's motivation. Shoving match won by Zeus, and Hogan fails to move Zeus with a shoulder block. Hogan with a series of rights, no sold. Hogan with a clothesline, also no sold. Repeat with a running high knee. Hogan with a scoop slam, but Zeus pops right back up. Hogan gets nailed from the apron, allowing Zeus to nail his signature move, the lame ass head-spinning. Oh, and there's the choking. Zeus tosses the referee, and gets Disqualified for it at 3:21. Well, that explains why this was done already, to get the garbage out of the way first. Monsoon coins the best phrase in Survivor Series history..."I don't care if you got a "Z" on your head or not, that's not legal!"
Dibiase goes to work on the fallen Hogan, dropping a series of knees across the back, followed by some choking. Dibiase continues to punish Hogan in the corner, with a series of rights and chops. Whip to the corner, but Dibiase runs into a big boot, and Roberts gets the tag in and work over Dibiase with quick blows. Whip to the corner, and a clothesline sends Dibiase over the top rope, to the floor. Roberts follows him out and rams Dibiase into the ring steps. Back in the ring, and Roberts applies a wristlock. Ax tags in and pounds Dibiase to the canvas. Smash tags in, and both Demolition pound Dibiase into Jell-O. Smash sends Dibiase to the buckle, and whips him into the boot of Ax. Hogan tags in, and he, along with Demolition, triple pound Dibiase into puree. Hogan mounts Dibiase with a series of rights. Whip to the corner, and Hogan follows in with a running elbow. Ax tags back in, and floors Dibiase with a clothesline for a two count. Irish whip, and Dibiase comes back with a back elbow. Warlord tags in and drops a forearm across the back of Ax. Barbarian tags in and connects with a shoulder breaker on Ax. Barbarian to the middle rope, and he misses the elbow drop he always misses. Warlord prevents a tag and clubs away on Ax s'more. Ax boots Warlord and drops him with a clothesline, then blows his spot. Fuji trips up Ax running the ropes, and Warlord drops an elbow for three count at 9:50.
Smash comes in and quickly pounds Warlord to the canvas. Irish whip and a fist to the midsection by Smash. Hogan tags in and hammers away on the Warlord. Irish whip and clothesline by Hogan, followed by a scoop slam. Roberts tags in and he applies a wristlock. Smash tags back in to hammer on the left arm of Warlord and goes back to the wristlock. Warlord reverses, but drops down and gets clubbed for it. Smash scoops Warlord up, but gets the eyes thumbed. Barbarian tags in and gets caught by the leg and taken down. Smash misses an elbow drop and eats boot for his trouble. Dibiase with an axehandle off the ropes, followed by a series of his signature fist drops for a two count. Chinlock applied by Dibiase. Scoop slam by Dibiase, but he misses his falling back elbow drop. Smash continues to exchange blows with Dibiase, until Barbarian comes off the top with a clothesline for a three count at 13:42.
Roberts comes in and goes for a DDT, but Barbarian back drops out of it. Barbarian misses an elbow drop, but Roberts again fails to connect with the DDT. Warlord tags in and it's clubbering time! Whip to the corner, and Roberts is playing it like his back is broken. Barbarian comes in and does some of the same. Barbarian with a side back breaker, and Warlord tags back in to pound away on Roberts in the corner. Roberts whiffs on a roundhouse right and falls on his ass. Dibiase tags in to cheap shot Hogan on the apron and drags Roberts back to the baddies corner. Dibiase works over the back of the neck of Roberts with a series of knee drops, then follows up with a piledriver. That only gets a two count, though. Barbarian tags in and drops a headbutt across the midsection of Roberts. This match is just dragging along at this point. Snapmare by Barbarian, and the 20-second delay between moves is just terrible. Barbarian to the top rope, and he misses a diving headbutt. Hogan gets the hot tag and unloads on everything walking. Irish whip and clothesline to Barbarian, followed by several elbow drops for a two count. Snap suplex by Hogan for another two count. Warlord stops a slam attempt and clubs away on the back of Hogan. Irish whip, and Hogan double clotheslines the Powers of Pain. The PoP remain in control though, and give Hogan a spike piledriver... and the referee has Disqualified them BOTH at 19:51, for excessive double teaming, I assume. Wow, that was really lame. Why protect a tag team that split up two months later?
Dibiase is dominating both Roberts and Hogan at the same time, thanks to the assist of the Powers of Pain. Dibiase with knees to the back of Hogan, and his way of selling is a bit unusual. Million Dollar Dream applied by Dibiase! This move beats everyone and their mother instantly, yet Hogan is still alive after two minutes? Technically, his shoulders are pinned to the ground, too. Roberts breaks the hold, and Ventura questions the lack of DQ for that, after the nonsense earlier in the match. Dibiase reapplies the hold, but it doesn't have the same effect now, as Hogan escapes by ramming Dibiase into the buckle. Dibiase to the middle rope, and he justs into a fist. Roberts gets the hot tag, and he hammers away on Dibiase. Irish whip to the corner and back drop by Roberts, followed by a snap across the top rope. Roberts with some knees to the back of the head for retaliation earlier in the match. Wristlock and short-arm clothesline connects, and here's Virgil, sporting a cast, to distract Roberts. Virgil gets pulled into the ring and DDT'ed, and in the follow through, Dibiase fist drops Roberts for the three count at 23:51, with a little help from the ropes.
Dibiase is the only man standing among Hogan, Roberts, and Virgil laying in the ring. Dibiase with some knees and elbows to the back of Hogan. Irish whip, and Dibiase floors him with a clothesline. That only gets a two count. Dibiase applies a reverse chinlock, and to be fair, he's the only guy in the match who's really done anything that could be classified as exerting a lot of energy. Hogan with a series of elbows to the midsection to escape, and a criss-cross leads to a double clothesline spot. Both men get up and Dibiase takes Hogan down with a back suplex, but it's Hulk-Up Time! Hogan with a series of rights. Irish whip and big boot, followed by the leg drop, and that's enough for the three count at 27:32, making Hogan the Sole Survivor. * An incredibly boring and pathetically booked match, from start to finish. Jobbing out the tag team champions to a part-time tag team (individually, yes, but still...), the lame-ass eliminations of all but the GOOD wrestler on the heel team, and did Hogan really need to win? It wouldn't be ridiculous to think since he was beaten to a pulp filled glass of orange juice by Zeus and the Powers of Pain, let alone being in the ring with a main event level guy like Dibiase. Oh well, it's over, so that's the good thing.
- Roddy's Rowdies vs. The Rude Brood:
(Roddy Piper (Captain), Jimmy Snuka, Bushwhacker Butch & Luke vs. Rick Rude (Captain), Mr. Perfect, Jacques & Raymond Rougeau):
I found it weird that Piper and Snuka are on the same team. The obvious feud here is between Piper and Rude, but did Snuka have issues with Perfect? And how about the Bushwhackers and Rougeaus? This seems to be the most obvious filler match on the card, me thinks. Rude wants to celebrate turkey day the Ravishing way, and Gorilla Monsoon wouldn't want the Genius behind him. Perfect attacks Luke from behind and slams him before missing an elbow drop. Butch tags in and bites on the leg. Piper tags in and bites the arm. Snuka tags in and bites the shoulder. Butch tags back in and bites the ass. Snuka in again, and in comes Jacques Rougeau, trying to show off. Jacques hammers away on Snuka, but ends up getting nailed with a diving headbutt. Irish whip, and Snuka nails Jacques with a big chop. Back breaker by Snuka, followed by a diving headbutt. Scoop slam by Snuka, and the Superfly Splash is enough for the three count at 4:01.
Rude comes in and hammers away on Snuka. Irish whip is reversed, and Snuka headbutts Rude out of the ring. Perfect comes back in and Rude accidentally pulls the ropes down on Perfect, so they argue. Snuka noggin-knockers the arguing duo, in the mean time. Piper tags in and nails a running high knee. Piper continues to lay a beating in on Perfect and tags in Luke. Snapmare by Luke, followed by a knee drop across the chest. Butch tags in and does some crap, before tagging Snuka in for even more crap. Luke tags in to bite on the arm and Perfect continues to take a beating from Roddy's Rowdies. Butch rams him to the buckle and Piper tags back in and connects with an atomic drop. Raymond tags in for the first time of the night and exchanges blows with Piper. Raymond escapes a piledriver but a roll up follows for a two count. Whip to the corner and Raymond with a crescent kick for a two count. Irish whip, and Piper catches him with the piledriver, and that's enough for the three count at 7:30.
Perfect runs in to pound on Piper, but gets a thumb to the eyes for his troubles. Perfect with a snapmare followed by his signature neck snap for a two count. They exchange blows and do a tug-of-war with each other until Piper sweeps the legs and slingshots Perfect to the turnbuckle. Butch tags in and drops a fist for a two count. Stomping away by Butch for another two count. Luke tags in and gets whipped to the corner. Perfect boots him in the face, but Piper cuts him off from tagging with some rights and lefts. Wind-up right leads to complete over-selling from Perfect. Butch is in again, and he pounds away on the midsection. Perfect gets pissed from the biting and rolls Butch up for three at 10:46.
Piper tries to do the same, but that only gets a two count. Snuka with a chop from the second rope, followed by another to put Perfect down. Luke in with some clubbering and a headbutt for a two count. Rude tags in after the long beating to Hennig, and is nailed with a fist to the midsection. Luke with some kicks and biting, but Rude quickly disposes of him with the Rude Awakening for the three count at 12:14.
Snuka comes in and is quickly assaulted by Perfect, being knocked down hard with a knee lift. Whip to the corner, into the greeting boot of Rick Rude. Rude tags in and hammers away on Snuka in a WrestleMania VI Preview. The heels continue taking turns working over the savage from the Fiji Islands. Perfect with a cheap shot to Piper, followed by choking on Snuka. Rude also chokes Snuka while the referee is distracted by Piper. Irish whip and Perfect connects with a dropkick for a two count. Irish whip, and Snuka comes back with a kick to the chest. Rude tags in and quickly applies a rear chinlock on Snuka. Snuka fights back up to his feet and gets raked in the eyes for his troubles. Perfect tags in and gets caught with a small package for a two count. Perfect continues to bring the pain to Snuka. Headbutt by Snuka, followed by another of the diving sort. Perfect with a knee to the midsection to hault Snuka's comeback. Side headlock applied by Perfect, and a criss-cross leads to a head collision. Rude and Piper tag in for their much anticipated confrontation, and it's a slugfest! Piper wins that with ease and takes Rude over with a back drop. Piper tackles Rude through the ropes, and the two brawl up the aisle, getting Counted-Out at 18:35.
Perfect and Snuka remain, and I wonder who's going to win this one. Perfect rams Snuka to the buckle, but Snuka comes back with a kick to the chest. Side headlock and shoulder block by Snuka. Perfect comes back with a hip toss and dropkick, sending Snuka out of the ring. Perfect with a suplex, bringing Snuka back in from the apron, for a two count. Snuka comes back with chops. Irish whip, and Snuka with a shoulder block. Perfect with a roll up for a two count, and Snuka with one of his own. Perfect counters that for two, as well. Whip to the corner and Snuka follows in with a big chop. Back across the ring, and Perfect rolls through a cross body for a two count. Irish whip, and Perfect catches Snuka in the Perfect-Plex for the three count at 21:27, and thus becomes the Sole Survivor. Snuka cleans house of the Genius and Perfect after the match, because Jimmy Snuka circa 1989 has heat he needs to get back from the devestating loss. *1/2 Another match in a series of lack-luster snores with minimal moments of excitement and a end result that didn't seem too surprising. Perfect' main event push would be haulted thanks to plans changing to a Warrior/Hogan meeting at WrestleMania VI.
- The Ultimate Warriors vs. The Heenan Family:
(Ultimate Warrior (Captain), Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty vs. Andre The Giant (Captain), Haku, Arn Anderson, Bobby Heenan)
Hey, where's Tully Blanchard? After over two hours into the broadcast, it's finally revealed at match time that Heenan is competing, without so much as an announcement to the live audience. Warrior and Andre were feuding over the Intercontinental Title, and well, the Rockers and Brain Busters had issues, but without Tully, it's just Arn and it loses any impact it might've had. Neidhart and Haku are just filler. Warrior pulls out the old "let partners get beat up and then make my entrance" routine, as Andre is wiping the floor with the Rockers and Neidhart. Warrior charges in, clotheslines Andre a few time, knocking him out of the ring, and Andre is counted-out at 0:27, thus ending any hopes of this match having ANY suspense. And damn, does Andre look to be in terrible condition at this point of his career. To think, he kept wrestling (in WWF) for another six months. Damn.
Warrior slingshots Arn and Haku back into the ring, and sends Arn into the Warrior's corner for some illegal attacks. Neidhart tags in, and nails a big back elbow to the chest of Anderson. Whip to the corner, and Neidhart charges in with a shoulder to the midsection. Arn stomps away at the knee of Neidhart, and Haku tags in. Neidhart dominates him with shoulder tackles. Neidhart nails Arn off the apron and gets attacked from behind by Haku for his troubles. Slugfest between the two, with Haku taking control. Anderson tags back in and Heenan chokes from the apron. Irish whip, and Neidhart runs into Anderson before getting kicked in the back of the head, and Haku covers for the three count at 3:32.
Michaels comes in and hammers away on Haku, but gets his eyes raked. Irish whip, and Haku with a shoulder block. Criss-cross leads to Haku missing a headbutt, and Shawn applies a wristlock. Shawn and Marty tag in-and-out, working over the arm of Haku, while Warrior looks like a maniac on the apron. Rockers with double teaming on Haku. Haku with a clothesline to Shawn, but Marty with a cross body for a two count. Anderson tags in and is quickly pounded by Jannetty. Irish whip, and Arn drops an elbow across the back of Jannetty. Suplex attempt is blocked, with Michaels saving his partner and connecting with simultanious kicks to Haku and Anderson. Jannetty with a diving back elbow to Haku for a two count. Warrior tags in and chops away on Haku. Haku fights back, but Warrior is insane, so it doesn't phase him. Haku muscles Warrior back into the heel corner, but Warrior fights out of that, and Jannetty tags in to work the arm of Double A. Anderson with a drop toe hold, and in comes Haku. Jannetty with a side headlock, as the crowd chants "Weasel." Irish whip to the corner, and Jannetty misses a charge at 106 mph. Heenan tags in and kicks Jannetty once, before getting hit and tagging back out. Jannetty takes a knee to the back from Anderson, and Haku connects with a crescent kick for a two count. Heenan tags in, stomps away on Jannetty, drops a knee, and covers him... for the three count at 8:53? Who did Jannetty piss off before the show?
Warrior comes in and locks up with Anderson. Irish whip is reversed, and Warrior catches him with a bearhug. Arn escapes with an eye rake and tags in Haku, who runs into a bearhug, as well. Michaels tags in and connects with a dropkick for a two count. Haku dumps Michaels to the outside, but Warrior makes sure nothing happens to him, and dumps him back in the ring. Anderson works over Michaels in the corner, but runs into a drop toe hold and gets his face rammed into the canvas. Irish whip and double fist from the remaining Warriors. Arn continues to take an ass-whooping from the Warrior. Slam by Warrior and a splash by Jannetty for a two count. Haku gets the tag back in and hammers on Haku. He misses a cross body, and Michaels comes off the top with his own for the three count at 12:54.
Anderson comes back in, of course, and works over Michaels. Heenan comes in for a few cheap shots, but quickly tags out. Anderson dumps Michaels to the outside, and Heenan teases a jump from the top rope, before thinking better of it and climbing back down. Michaels with a sunset flip back in for a two count, and Arn is pissed at Heenan for not reaching out for the tag. Anderson with a knee to the back of Michaels, and in comes Heenan with a few knees of his own before tagging Arn back in. Irish whip, and a head collision knocks both men down to the canvas. Slugfest from the knees and back to their feet. Whip to the corner, and Michaels goes for a monkey flip. That's blocked, and a criss-cross leads to Anderson killing Michaels with the spinebuster. Three count at 15:47, so long Shawn.
Warrior comes in, and Anderson is easy pickings. Warrior with a series of shoulder blocks, but Anderson side steps him on one and Warrior falls to the arena floor. Heenan again teases a jump from the top, but doesn't do it. Anderson tosses Warrior back in the ring, and in comes Heenan to pound away on him. Warrior isn't selling, so Anderson has to tag back in. Anderson stomps away on Warrior, but Warrior comes back with choking. Headbutt to the midsection by Anderson, followed by clubbing blows. Heenan gets choked by Heenan from the apron. Irish whip is reversed, and Arn collides with Heenan. Warrior with a press slam to Anderson, and the splash finishes him off for the three count at 18:19.
Heenan is left by himself, and so Warrior gets to toy with him for a little while, stalking him like an animal. Heenan finally realizes he's left alone with the Warrior (he had been knocked silly for Arn's elimination), and tries to run, but that's not happening. Warrior whips Heenan hard to the buckle, complete with over-selling. Repeat, with Heenan pulling the Harley Race bump to the outside. Heenan tries to take a walk, but Warrior chases him down and tosses him in the ring. Warrior charges up and connects with a diving shoulder tackle. Big splash by Warrior, and Heenan is gone at 20:28, leaving the Warrior as the sole survivor. **1/2 A decent match overall, but nothing spectacular. One has to think the match had to be completely rebooked with Bobby Heenan inserted into the lineup in place of Blanchard. Because of that, you've got to think Arn had to pull extra hard to put out a good performance, not only because of the Heenan swap, but for Andre's severely limited participation of the match. Probably best match of the night, but not because it was outstanding, or anything.
Final Thoughts: Definitely an under-whelming show. Nothing really stood out, several of the matches were just long and dull, and one of the most prominently featured matches just completely fell flat (Hulkamaniacs/Million $ Team). Outside of generous ratings to the opener and card finale, nothing is really worth sitting through. Recommendation to Avoid.
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