From the UK: WWF Survivor Series 1992

PPVs, Reviews, Wrestling DVDs

I’m a big fan of the band Queen. The lead singer Freddy Mercury contracted AIDS and the world was forced to slowly watch him die, knowing nothing could be done. Towards his end the band recorded a new album called “Innuendo” and one of the tracks on that album was called “The show must go on”. If you’ve never heard that song before head over to I Tunes and download it. It’s an emotional and heart wrenching song. In the past couple of days I’ve kept hearing that expression over and over again. The show must go on, the show must go on, the show MUST go on. It’s like Dorothy continuously stammering “there’s no place like home”

After the Benoit tragedy I found it a little hard to watch wrestling but I slowly eased myself back in by watching some old WWF TV from late 92. All the shows were leading up to Survivor Series 92. Well, after watching up to 3 months worth of TV build up I actually wanted to watch the show again and I thought it would be a good way for getting back into the swing of things. So here we go!

Reverend Slick opens up the show and wishes everyone peace and light.

We are in Richfield, Ohio

Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan. Boooooooo I wanted Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan.

High Energy Vs The Headshrinkers w/ Afa
High Energy are Koko B Ware and Owen Hart. Samu and Owen start it out and Samu over powers Owen and shoves him around. Leapfrog segment goes Owen’s way and he unleashes a series of dropkicks and arm drags before tagging in Koko, who does more of the same. Koko actually shows some brains by kicking the Shrinkers feet, as they don’t wear boots, but the smart/stupid balance is soon restored when he tries to give them a noggin knocker. For those young whippersnappers out there who don’t know, Samoans have ridiculously hard heads so targeting the head in any obvious manner will always result in the baby face getting creamed. And indeed Afa gets a requisite cheap shot in to make Koko annoying guy with big trousers in peril. One day I’m going to get a letter from Scott Keith’s lawyers I’m sure of it.

I honeslty think the Samoan Savage gimmick is the least evolved of wrestling gimmicks, being essentially the same for nearly 50 years. I mean you’d be hard pushed to separate either of these two with Umaga, the gimmick is identical. Anyway, Samu gets the usual Samoan Rest Hold, the nerve pinch of extreme anguish and sorrow, and the hot crowd just deflates in front of our eyes. Koko gets a fluke sunset flip on Fatu for two but walks into a thrust kick to stop any momentum. To be fair there hasn’t been much resting here but the match has been very ploddy. Owen finally gets the hot tag and is a House En Fuego but runs right into a Power Slam and gets promptly splashed from the top for the three count.

WINNERS – THE HEADSHRINKERS
TIME – 07:38
* – Overly long and rather dull squash but all 4 guys are at least better than Mark Henry

Big Boss Man is backstage and says that Nailz cannot be rehabilitated so tonight he’ll have to make him serve some hard time. Nailz offers his rebuttal and gives a very scary promo about how he’ll break Bossman’s legs. Pretty heavy stuff for 1992

Nightstick on a Pole
Nailz Vs Big Boss Man
This was a pretty wacky feud whereby Nailz was either an ex-con or an escape done, I forget it was all so dumb anyway, who was out for revenge on Bossman for locking him away in prison for crimes he supposedly didn’t do. Obviously, Nailz was simply a maniac and Bossman had to set his criminal backside straight here. Rules are relatively simple, there’s a nightstick on a pole, grab it and you can use it. Nailz goes for it right away but Bossman charges down and stops him, only to get choked out. Nailz was an absolutely atrocious worker who happened to have a mildly interesting gimmick, he’s pretty good at selling though. Bossman makes a climb for the stick but Nailz throws him off, which is pretty impressive bump for a guy Bossman’s size to take. Nailz chokes a lot and that’s the core base of his offence throughout the match. The funny thing is that Nailz, even with his limited move set, is STILL a better wrestler than Mark Henry. Bossman finally grabs the nightstick and wears Nailz out with it but Nailz grabs it and um nails Bossman with it. Bossman kicks it out of his hand though in a nice spot and gets the Bossman Slam to get the win.

WINNER – BIG BOSS MAN
TIME – 05:43
½* – Very Dull match that really settled nothing in the feud between the two.

Lord Alfred Hayes is backstage with Tatanka who gives a very Ultimate Warriorish promo, talking about his “little braves”, where he says he will defeat Rick Martel and get his eagle feathers

Mean Gene is with Razor Ramon and Ric Flair. They promise bad things for Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect. They show the video where Perfect turns face; I love Heenan getting on his knee and begging Perfect, going as far as getting on both knees and promising to buy him two planes. Flair and Razor are mucho annoyed by it all, as you would imagine.

Rick Martel Vs Tatanka
Martel stole some feathers from Tatanka so Tatanka wants them back and that’s about it as far as motivation for the feud. I’ve seen worse. Lock up to start and Martel slaps Tatanka only to get some knife edge chops and back body drop for his troubles. Tatanka gets some dropkicks and Martel runs to higher ground. Martel talks some smack only to get an atomic drop and a clothesline in response. Tatanka basically pummels Martel for a while more but gets splatted with a Stun Gun and it’s front face lock time. Tatanka powers up and gets a vertical suplex but Martel is soon in control again with the face lock. During this, Doink the Clown, before he was named and revealed to be evil, comes out making a balloon animal for a kid. Martel stays on the offensive with a neck breaker for two. Martel continuously goes back to the hold and a dull match it makes. Come on Rick at least do a different hold if you want to spend the whole match resting. The camera keeps focusing on Doink because it’s infinitely more entertaining than this match so far.

Tatanka finally livens things up with a clothesline and starts making the comeback, targeting the arm after Martel misses a shoulder charge in the corner. Backslide gets two for Tatanka and he follows that with an arm bar. This may just be moot now but if you wanted Rick Martel and Tatanka to have a very long match then the best way to make it fun to watch would be to just not do it, just saying. Martel gains control again and targets the back with elbows and knee drops. Martel goes up to the second rope but jumps into Tatanka’s fist, in a very unwise move, and Tatanka is all pissed and stuff. Big chop from the top looks cool and Samoan Drop ends it clean for Tatanka

WINNER – TATANKA
TIME – 11:04
*1/2 – Not a particularly bad match but a rest hold heavy one. However, both guys are still better than Mark Henry. Post match, Doink reveals a hint of his eventual evilness by popping some kids’ balloon.

Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect are backstage and promise victory

Razor Ramon and Ric Flair Vs Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect
Funny story, Savage was meant to team with Warrior but he supposedly failed a drug test and was fired so Savage, to rock the boat, decided to pick Perfect which really upset the applecart as you’d imagine. Heenan is going insane on commentary, and is hilarious with it too. Perfect and Razor start out and Perfect quickly schools him with his superior technical ability and Flair is beside himself on the apron. Ramon drags him into the heel corner but Perfect fights them both off and Flair comes in to go at it with Perfect. Perfect destroys Flair, with Bobby getting more and more agitated as the beating wears on. Flair Flipâ„¢ sends Flair outside where Savage continues the beating.

A tag sends Savage in for real as he nails the axe handle from the top and delivers a couple of slaps. However, a well placed cheap shop for Razor puts Savage on the defensive in the wrong corner and makes him maniac in peril. Savage has his midsection worked over and we have the tag partner assisted abdominal stretch for good measure. Savage powers out of the move but misses an elbow drop and gets worked over some more. Flair sends Savage over the top where Razor makes him eat some ring steps. Man, Savage Vs Flair is one of the best feuds the WWF/E has ever done. Savage gets put in the Half Boston Crab as Perfect takes a walk but thinks better about it and comes back.

Flair and Razor are working great together as a team here. Savage continues to take the shit kicking of a lifetime, but Flair makes the cardinal mistake of going up top and gets slammed off allowing Savage to make the hot tag to Perfect who is a good old fashioned House En Feugo. Everything breaks loose and during the commotion Flair nails Savage with a chair outside. Perfect takes out the ref accidentally as Razor goes for The Edge but it’s countered with a Perfect Plex but Flair saves at two. Flair takes it next but the refs argue over legality and the match ends in a disqualification. LAME

WINNERS – SAVAGE AND PERFECT BY DQ
TIME – 16:29
***1/2 – Excellent match before the crappy ending. As you would imagine all 4 guys are much better than Mark Henry. Flair and Razor attempt a beat down on Perfect but Savage makes the save and we have a handshake.

Mean Gene is backstage with Razor and Flair, and they’re very angry at the chain of events. Vengeance is promised and Flair tears a couple of strips off Mean Gene

Yokozuna Vs Virgil
Just before this match starts I would like to point out that both these men are better than Mark Henry. Just thought I’d make that known encase anyone was wondering. Yoko hadn’t been in the WWF for long at this point but was quickly establishing himself as a threat by crushing numerous jobbers so it was only natural he’d move up to Jobbers to the Stars and there’s no one better in that department than Virgil and that’s meant as a compliment. As you imagine, Virgil gets beaten to a pulp, has a few slight hope spots, and that gets crushed with the Bonzai Drop.

WINNER – YOKOZUNA
TIME – 03:34
I found it humorous in the match that Vince was all like “Come on Virgil get up you can win!” cheerfully ignoring the fact that Virgil hadn’t beaten anyone since 1991

Sean Mooney is with Savage and Perfect, who are very happy at their victory earlier. Perfect make some turkey jokes, actually holding a turkey while doing it.

The Beverly Brothers and Money Inc w/ The Genius and Jimmy Hart Vs The Natural Disasters and The Nasty Boys
The Nastys were originally managed by Hart but he turned his backs on them in favour of Money Inc so they promptly turned face to get revenge. The rules of this match are that once one member of a team is beaten then both members are eliminated. Typhoon and Beau Beverly start it out. Before we continue I must state that, say it with me, everyone in this match, including the managers, are better than Mark Henry. Anyway Typhoon wears Beau out with the usual and tags in Quake to continue with a bear hug. Blake comes in to lend a hand but both guys end up getting crushed in the corner courtesy of the Disasters. Brian Knobs comes in and is all like “come on Ted Dibiase I want to kick your rich ass and such” but Blake grabs his attention with a slap, only to get pummelled as a result.

Saggs comes in and continues the pounding, nailing Beau with a Pumphandle Slam but Dibiase causes a distraction allowing Beau to get an under hook suplex. Happy that Saggs is sufficiently weakened, Dibiase comes in for the first time and gets a double shoulder block with IRS. Saggs fights back, taking everyone out, but gets distracted by Jimmy Hart allowing an IRS cheap shot. Sags gets worked over in the heel corner, with The Beverly’s doing some nice stuff, but Saggs and Blake bump heads leaving them both down. Earthquake gets tagged in and unloads on everyone with clotheslines and it all breaks loose. Blake stupidly tries a crucifix on Typhoon and that ends how you’d expect it to and the Aftershock ends his night soon after, and eliminates the whole team.

Dibiase gets hammered in the faces corner but dodges an Earthquake charge in the corner leading to Money Inc delivering a double back suplex for two. That looked awesome. Fans are really getting on IRS here, and even remain into the match when he slaps on a chin lock. Dibiase gets a clothesline and some chops, sending Quake down to his knees, and follows with an axe handle off the second rope for two. Dibiase goes to the well once to often and Quake makes him pay with a boot to the face leading to a hot tag to Typhoon. The Shockmaster lets both men have it and squashes IRS with a splash but Dibiase saves at two. Dibiase is sent outside but trips up Typhoon allowing IRS to get the pin. However, he celebrates too long allowing Saggs to sneak in with a school boy for the three count.

WINNERS – THE NASTY BOYS
TIME – 15:50
**1/4 – Not a bad match, I was quite digging it in places.

Virgil is backstage in agony and warns everyone about Yokozuna

Meanwhile, Undertaker says Kamala will not survive tonight.

Coffin Match
Kamala w/ Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee Vs The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
This is basically a casket match where the loser gets stuffed in a casket after the pin fall or submission. Kamala’s selling of the casket is pretty funny. Kamala runs around to start before getting some right hands but Undertaker no sells and nails him with the Rope Walk. Undertaker knocks Kamala down and chokes away but makes the mistake of attacking Kamala’s keepers allowing Kamala to jump him outside. Kamala even resorts to using a chair but Undertaker, can’t believe I’m about to type this, draws power from the urn to fight back. Undertaker no sells two bodyslams but the third one does the trick and Kamala squashes him with three splashes but for some reason doesn’t go for the pin. Somehow the urn ends up in the ring and Undertaker plants Kamala with it for the win. LAME

WINNER – THE UNDERTAKER
TIME – 05:27
* – He could have at least Tombstoned him. Undertaker then puts Kamala in the coffin, not before whispering in his ear that both of them are better than Mark Henry, and then the coffin is sealed shut with a hammer and nails.

Sean Mooney is with Shawn Michaels who says he’ll win the WWF Title tonight and leave as a double champion.

WWF Heavyweight Championship
Champion Vs Champion
(C) Bret Hart Vs Shawn Michaels
British Bulldog was originally meant to defend the Intercontinental Championship against The Mountie on this show but he supposedly failed a drug test, leading to Shawn Michaels winning it on an episode of SNME. This match had been signed before this, which at the time made no sense because Michaels was nowhere near WWF Title Level yet and the majority of the promotion for the show went to the Tag Team Match. In one of those coincidental moments, Earl Hebner is reffing here. Of course 5 years later this match would be much different but at this point both guys were friends and hadn’t started their never-ending personal war. Michaels gets frustrated to start and tries to engage Bret in a shoving war but Bret keeps his cool and gets Shawn in an arm lock.

Bobby gets the requisite “Bret Hart has greasy hair” joke in as Bret continues to work on the arm. Bret gets two from a cross body and another near fall from a sunset flip before going back to the arm. Shawn gets a cheap open fist in to stops Bret momentum and gets a gorgeous flip out of a hip toss, it was so fluid, but Bret clotheslines him down and goes back to the arm. Stun Gun, second time we’ve seen it tonight, turns the tide in Michaels favour. Bret misses a shoulder charge in the corner and hurts his shoulder. Shawn uses the opportunity to get an Arm DDT on Bret and peppers him with some right hands. Bret gets sent into the corner at 100 mph and the impact is enough for Shawn to get a near fall from it. Shawn grabs a headlock and Bret tries to power out but Shawn powers him back down.

Thankfully, Shawn gives the impression of a struggle in the hold rather than just laying there, which is always appreciated. Bret gets out of the hold but runs into a dropkick for another near fall. Shawn gets a back breaker for another two before going back to the headlock again, which Bret cheerfully makes an effort to fight off rather than just taking it. Bret gets a swinging neck breaker out of nowhere but Shawn goes to the throat to stop any chance of a comeback. Shawn goes back to the hold, which is a little bit excessive for me I mean it’s not like he’s wrestling Stevie Ray is it? Bret appears to make his comeback proper with a bulldog but he misses an elbow to send the ball back into Shawn’s court. Shawn goes back to the hold again though, which is enough for me to deduct points at this point.

Shawn was still yet to find his groove proper but that would come in the following couple of years. Bret gets a desperation inside cradle for two and then DRILLS Shawn with a back suplex. Man that looked brutal. Shawn gets tossed into the corner and both guys are down. Bret now starts his comeback and crotches Shawn on the ropes. Back body drop gets Bret a near fall, as does a Russian Leg Sweep. Bret gets the elbow from the second rope for two and then superplexes Shawn for ANOTHER near fall. Wow this is making me breathless. Bret gets sent to the outside where Shawn slams him on the floor. Back inside, Shawn gets another near fall from sending Bret into the corner and sets up Bret for a back body drop of his own. Shawn stupidly yells at the ref allowing Bret to get a roll up for two but he walks into Sweet Chin Music. Shawn delivers the Side Suplex, his finisher at the time, but that only gets two. Shawn gets tied up in the ropes but dodges Bret’s attack, leading to Bret getting strung up in the ropes like a slinky. Shawn tries a move off the second rope but Bret counters with The Sharpshooter to retain.

WINNER – BRET HART
TIME – 26:40
****1/4 – Brilliant match, mainly due to the fact that both men are better than .. Ah what’s the point? Father Christmas comes out to congratulate Bret post match. No that isn’t a typo. That also allows for Vince McMahon to “Ho Ho Ho” in a very sinister way.

The Inside Pulse
The main event of this show saves it from mediocrity but, compared to the three other excellent pay per views that the WWF put on in 1992 you’re better off hunting down Wrestlemania VIII or Summer Slam if you want to get a flavour for the WWF during this period. Anyway, at least this show is better than Mark Henry