1996 Survivor Series Review

Of the WWF 96 era ppvs, this is my second favorite behind the Rumble. Live from MSG!!! McMahon, bitchy JR and Jerry Lawler (who is wrestling later)


Match #1

8 Man Elimination Match

World Tag Champs The British Bulldogs w Clarence Mason and The New Rockers Vs Teh Godwins w Hillbilly Jim and Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon


JR still taking shots at McMahon at this point. We got evil Leif Cassidy here, starting to transition to Al Snow in looks. JR bashes Jannetty who is still acting like a moron and this would be his last WWF ppv til this day. Henry tries roping Jannetty but his leg gives out, possible legit injury? Or he's just screwing up?? Henry hits the slopdrop and Jannetty is gone. Owen runs in and pops Henry with the spinwheel kick and pins him 7 minutes in. Phineos gets "riled up" but Bulldog sends him packing just under a minute later with a powerslam. Furnas and Lafon against Owen/Bulldog and Cassidy. JR is having a fit that new referee Harvey Whippleman isn't doing dick about the heels cheating. Furnas gets beat up as the heels tag in and out on him. Cassidy sends Furnas into the corner but misses the charge and hits the corner, hottag to Lafon and he puts Cassidy up top and just splatters him with a reverse vertical suplex and gets an easy pin. Bulldog takes over on Lafon, giving him a sky high drop. Owen in, a falling neckbreaker and a second rope elbow drop gets two. Enziguri gets two. Bulldog in and Lafon tries fighting back but Davey kicks him in the nuts and the refs are really napping on the cheating in the opening round. Not a good sign. Owen and Bulldog try a double clothesline but during the rope run Owen gets pulled out and Lafon gets a crucifix pin on Davey to send him packing. That's not right!! A heel in a handicap match? Owen works over Lafons left leg, specifically the hamstring. Ultimatley Furnas hottags and almost sidelines Owen for 6 months with a release german suplex that almost breaks his neck. Furnas gets the pin at 19:25 and his team survives. Good opener. 3 stars.


Match #2

Grudge Match

The Undertaker Vs Mankind w Paul Bearer

Taker makes his return after buried alive dressed up like a Batman/Dracula hybrid. He would change to a different outfit almost immediatley after this ppv. Bearer is suspended in a cage above the ring. Both guys fight outside where Taker spends the opening minutes to try and break Mankind's claw hand. They end up fighting into the crowd then back into the ring. Mankind gets a ddt as his first big offense of the night, Taker fights back but goes for the tombestone too early, Mankind gets the claw and Taker flings him out of the ring pretty hard. Mankind tries pulling Taker out but gets kicked off and cracks his head on the guardrail, ouch!! Taker hits "oldschool" but Mankind rallies with the mandible claw and Taker almost goes out but hulks up and chokeslams Mankind. Taker misses a charge and flies outside. Mankind tries a somersault off the apron but splats on the floor, back insid where Mankind pulls out a weapon and jabs at Taker a couple of times. Mankind beats Taker down in the corner but Taker muscles him up into the tombestone position and nails it for the suprise win 14 minutes in. Taker almost gets Bearer but The Executioner runs interfernece so Paul can run away. 2 1/2 stars.


Match #3

8 Man Elimination Match


Intercontinental Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Goldust w Marlena, Crush and Jerry The King Lawler Vs The Wildman Marc Mero w Sable, The Stalker, Jake The Snake Roberts and Rocky Maivia.


Sunny is sitting in for Lawler. McMahon asks her if she smokes and Sunny balks at the thought, saying she's "pure" Sunny and JR get on eachothers case. Kind of funny in hindsight as to where both are today. What a skank Sunny was/or is she still? Mark Henry was supposed to be on Mero's team but suffered the first of his many, MANY injuries. Jake The Snake is serving as the replacement. Sunny bites off some of Lawlers insults for Jake. Hunter and Mero have the issue, because Mr Perfect turned on Mero and helped Hunter win the IC title then Hennig hitailed it out of the WWF. Boy, Perfect sure got weird after his back injury, bailing on the WWF at Survivor Series TWICE!!! The Rock makes his WWF debute and JR starts in immediatley with his "blue chipper" crap. Sunny makes a comment about only being 4 years old when Windham was tag champ...in 85. Rocky tags in for the first time and quickly gets caught in the heels corner. Lawler wants a piece of him and gets sent outside by Rockie's good guy offense. Jake plays face in peril getting beat on by the heels then Lawler wants in, the opportunist that he is. Jake quickly answers back with a ddt to end Lawlers night 9 minutes in. Windham is the next to go, falling to the curtain call at 11:54. Mero in next and he gets pummeled by the heels. Crush with the tiltawhirl backbreaker for 2. Hunter comes in now that his hated rival is in trouble. Hunter tries an abdominal stretch (did you know Wilbur Snyder invented that?) JR is on Harvey's case again for not doing anything about cheating. Mero rallies and pins Hunter 18 minutes in after a moonsault to take revenge for him beating him for the IC title. Mero knocks Crush outside then misses a somersault plancha when GD pushes Crush out of the way and Mero splats hard. Crush sends him back in and hits the heart punch and the count. Jake runs in and immediatley misses the short clothesline and gets pinned by Crush ater a heart punch. Figures Rockie's gonna get mega pushed against Crush and the former IC champ. This is only the second time Rockie's been in the match. The Heels gang up on him and GD holds him while Crush goes for the heartpunch. GD gets hit of course and Rocky capitolizes with a flying cross body on Crush to pin him then hits GD with his finisher the shoulder breaker to win at 22:56. You know it's his finisher because JR calls it before he can complete the move. 2 1/2 stars. According to the home video the Crowd was into Maivia. I guess they just started hating him more later on. How come Randy Orton never got that negative response???


Match #4

Singles Match

Bret The Hitman Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin


Hitman makes his return to the WWF!!! Weird jacket and attire for Bret tonight. His pink and black outfit looks weird with yellow trim. Hart works the arm to start. Some good mat stuff follows. Both guys battle back and forth. Bret goes into moves of doom faze and tries a bulldog but gets sent chest first into the corner. Austin tries a superplex but gets knocked off the ropes. Bret nails an elbow for 2. Austin chucks him outside and backs him into the post. Bret answers by knocking Austin into the front row then back over and dislocating and knocking down a section of the guardrail in the process. Austin fights back with a slingshot onto the spanish announcers table and he punches Bret almost underneath the table. Good stuff!! Austin suplexes Bret back in then cranks it up a notch, Austin goes for a series of pin attempts but Bret kicks out on all occassions. They run the ropes with Hart catching Austin and giving him his own stun gun!!! Pendulum backbreaker. Bret goes up top but Austin gives him his own possum routine and crotches him and starts chopping away, almost knocking Bret backwards off the post. Austin gives Bret the super duper plex!!! Both guys struggle to get up and Austin gets a suprise stunner, but only two!!! I liked this era of the stunner. People didn't sell it like they were spazing out and boucing all over the place. Austin with the texas cloverleaf!!! Bret gets to the ropes. Austing sends Bret into the corner but he collapses and slides kidny/small ribs first into the post!! Austin with a bow and arrow but Bret doesn't quit. Bret battles back and is pissed!!! Bret goes to the sharpshooter but Austin gets the ropes. Bret tries a sleeper but Austin breaks it with a jawbreaker!!! Austin with the million $ dream!!! Great finish. Bret pulls out his Wrestlemania 8 trump card that he beat Piper for the IC title with by pushing off in the corner and pinning Austin after just over 28 minutes!!!! JR knocks on Austin a bit by saying Austin basically pinned himself by not releasing the hold. Phenominal. 4 1/2 stars.


Match #5

8 Man Elimination Match

Yokozuna, Savio Vega, Flash Funk and ????????? Vs Faarooq w The Nation Of Domination,New Razor Ramon, New Diesel and ??????????????


Superfly Jimmy Snuka is introduced as the mystery partner. Now when I saw this ppv back in 96 I thought Snuka was looking old THEN!!! Man. When he showed up at the 2008 Royal Rumble he made his 96 appearance look like he was 30 then. Vader is the mystery partner for the heels Faarooq is debuting his new Nation Of Domination look. JR is happy about him getting rid of the gladiator look. This would be Yokozunas last WWF ppv. Flash Funk AKA Too Cold Scorpio makes his WWF debute. JR had the audacity to say that "the red and yellow never looked better in Madison Squar Garden". JR can't understand why everyone on the planet is booing Razor Ramon on his entrance. JR really made an ass of himself in these three months. Whoever was involved in the New Razor, New Diesel storyline should have to spend a mandatory 2 months in purgatory. Cornette sits in on commentary Savio is the first one to go down. He gets caught by New Diesel's jacknife and pinned during a melee. Snuka tags in and is gets a big pop from the crowd. Snuka gets a big whoa from the crowd when he slams Vader. Diesel back in and he gets chopped by Snuka. Snuka sends him into the corner and runs into a knee, Razor tags in and gets in trouble immediatley. Snuka slams New Razor and hits the superfly to eliminate him. Diesel gets pissed and smacks Snuka with a chair then all hell breaks loose. Savio runs in with a chair and the faces clear the ring and the ref declares the match a double dg 9 minutes in in quite possibly the worst survivor series elimination match EVER. Actually id say it is 2 times worse than that Alliance/Mercenaries match from 1990. 1 star.


Match #6


World Heavyweight Championship Match

Shawn Michaels w Jose Lothario Vs Psycho Sid

Sid's biggest match of his career and biggest accomplishment. Possibly his best ever too. Michaels goes at Sid and gets punched down. Shawn decides to use wrestling and interesting that he goes for the figure four then gets booed. Sid fights out of it, too early for a sumbmission. Sid takes over and knocks Shawn outside. Shawn skins the cat and Sid catches him with a clothesline sending him to the floor and the crowd loves it, as if to say get that showboating sheist outta here!!! Sid goes after him and pushes him back first into the ring apron then a press slam accross the guardrail. Sid punches Shawn until he's actually holding Shawn up. Sid brings out a cobra clutch which is interesting. Shawn gets the ropes after a few moments. Sid hits a chokeslam then goes for a powerbomb but JR rags on him for doing his last rights D-Von Dudley pose thing and gets small packaged for 2. Sid drops him. The ref is busy looking at Shawn and Sid knocks the cameraman down and grabs the camera and Jose gets up on the apron and Sid clobbers him in the chest with it. Oh man, not another "heart attack" angle. Shawn superkicks Sid kinda weakly then goes out to tend to Jose. Shawn goes back in and cross bodies the ref by accident then goes back outside to Lothario. Sid goes out after him with the camera and cracks Shawn accross the back. Jose has been laying out there for 2 minutes now with a potential coronary attack and NO EMT's are showing up. Sid rolls Shawn in and hits the powerbomb and pins Shawn for his first world title at 13:58. Sid's supposed to be the heel now I guess, but he still kinda gets cheered. Im going 3 stars. Didn't care for the finish.


Overall Opinion: With the exception of the finish to the third elimination match everything here is solid. Worth atleast one viewing.

Final Score: My second favorite ppv of WWF 96. I gave the Royal Rumble an even 6.0 but im gonna give this one a 6.1. Just a tad higher than Rumble but I still like the January ppv more, it's my favorite ppv series.