WWF 1993 Survivor Series Showdown

November 21, 1993

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan then in another location (at Delhi, NY from the 11/10 “Superstars” tapings) we have Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon at the other location (at Bushkill, PA from the 11/8 “Monday Night RAW” taping)

We get a video package on last week’s IRS vs. Bret Hart match from “Superstars” that led to a confrontation between Bret and Yokozuna to hype their title match tonight.

Besides Bret vs. Yoko we will see Doink the Clown vs. Bastion Booger and Marty Jannetty vs. IRS. We then see both announce teams side-by-side with Gorilla and Heenan briefly trade insults. Also, Reo Rodgers will be with Shawn Michaels to interview Stu & Helen Hart. Keep an eye on the Gorilla/Heenan stuff going forward. There’s also a bit where Heenan is not feeling well due to having a feeling Bret Hart will win the title tonight. This is done because of the fact they had to heavily edit this show because it originally featured a lot of Jerry Lawler, who was on hiatus due to being indicted.

Bastion Booger vs. Doink the Clown

Ross & Monsoon are the announcers here. Booger comes out holding a pizza box while Doink is riding a scooter while holding two buckets. I believe Doink is portrayed by Ray Apollo here. Before the match, Booger tries to ride the scooter and predictably falls as I can only imagine how hard Vince was laughing in the Gorilla position. Doink does some comedy with basic magic tricks then continues to mess with Booger as he laughs while Booger takes a breather. Booger then drags Doink outside and roughs him up including an avalanche against the ring post. We go back inside as Booger uses a reverse chinlock. Booger then kicks Doink through the ropes and then off of the apron as the announcers talk about his lack of cardio being a factor if the match goes over ten minutes. Booger hammers away at a methodical pace as Ross talks about going to the Boston Garden for the first time at the Survivor Series. Doink fights back then laughs like a moron after ducking a clothesline and ends up getting clotheslined for two. Booger then believes he has won but Doink apparently tapped his shoulder, not the ref, and then Doink uses a rollup for the win (7:36) DUD. After the match, Doink puts hot sauce all over Booger’s pizza and hides as Booger eats it and spits it out and flips out as Doink now laughs while running up the aisle.

Thoughts: Doink is now just a character that does tricks you’d see at a children’s birthday party and the novelty of this wore off after a couple of minutes and the work after that was incredibly slow and dull. Seemed more of a segment designed to “laugh” at Booger than to promote the Survivor Series.

A video package on the Ludvig Borga and Tatanka match three weeks ago from “Superstars.”

Raymond Rougeau welcomes the All-Americans to the interview platform. Vince & Heenan are the announcers for this segment. Rougeau asks Luger about Crush replacing Pierre as Luger asks the crowd if they’re having fun then fucks up saying “Survivor Series” en route to another unconvincing promo. We then get to hear from everyone else for brief, generic Survivor Series hype. And Undertaker is clearly seen as the bigger star than Luger here.

The segment with Todd Pettengill telling us how easy it is to order the Survivor Series on PPV airs once again.

We see the Crush/Savage Summit from four weeks ago where Crush turned on Savage. Then two weeks later when Savage attacked Crush and became barred from announcing as a result.

Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Virgil

Crush hammers away to start. The announcers talk about Crush making the Foreign Fanatics even more dangerous as Virgil fights back. Virgil takes Crush out with a pescado then heads back in to hype up the crowd. Fuji yells at Crush then we see Crush kick Virgil in the face after blocking a reverse rollup. Crush chops down Virgil and hammers away then no sells a bunch of thrusts and beats on Virgil in the corner. Heenan warns the crowd to not chant “USA” at Luger because it will upset Borga in a desperate attempt to make sure the crowd is loud for the match as Crush stays in control. Heenan now puts over Crush’s new attitude then crush chokes out Virgil but eats boot on a charge. Virgil hits a flying clothesline and follows with a few jabs as he knocks Crush through the ropes. Virgil then tries a double axe handle off of the apron but gets caught and driven into the apron. Crush brings Virgil back in but Virgil surprises him with a small package for two. Crush beats down Virgil then blocks a Million Dollar Dream attempt before dropping him throat-first across the top rope. Crush then puts on the head vice and after a struggle puts him away (7:56) *1/2. After the match, Crush puts the vice on as Vince screams for the ref to reverse the decision.

Thoughts: Not terrible and good enough for a big man vs. smaller man match but why on earth was Virgil, who was a TV enhancement talent at this point, getting in this much offense against the recently turned Crush? With the turn and addition to the Foreign Fanatics team, Crush should have dominated.

Back to both announce teams split screen as Ross stirs up shit by mentioning Heenan’s comments to Gorilla. Since we never heard these comments its really just comes off as Ross being a shit stirrer.

Clips from Razor Ramon vs. Rick Martel in the Intercontinental Title rematch from Superstars three weeks ago that ended with the IRS & Martel & Bomb & Diesel team nearly turning on each other until they were able to hash it out.

Reo’s Roundup is next. We see Reo with Shawn Michaels, who is holding his Intercontinental Title belt, as they are in front of the home of Stu & Helen Hart. This was actually the real-life home of ring announcer Howard Finkel. Reo also refers to Shawn as the undisputed Intercontinental Champion. Shawn makes fun of the Hart Family and promises his knights will help take care of the Harts at the Survivor Series. Someone in a mask with a walker and chest hair answers as they are supposed to be Helen. We see a large poster of Bret followed by a tiny picture of Owen nearby as Reo talks about Owen always being in Bret’s shadow. We then see Stu, who is wearing a mask and the shades of Bret then Vince demands the camera cut away. A terrible segment but they were desperate to try and get heat for this match with Shawn replacing Bret. I did read in the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” that TV tapings had a “King’s Court” with Johnny Polo & Harvey Whippleman as Stu & Helen Hart that never aired because of what happened to Lawler so I assume that was going to air on this show.

IRS vs. Marty Jannetty

IRS tells us tax cheats to be thankful he is not coming by for an audit. Ross & Gorilla are announcing this too as Ross asks Gorilla if he heard what Heenan said when he accidentally left his mic on during the break. The announcers talk about IRS’s team and if they can stay on the same page for the Survivor Series as we get a mild “Irwin” chant from the crowd. IRS takes Marty over with a hip toss but fails on a cheap shot after a break and bails after Marty uses a flurry of offense. IRS stalls on the outside then heads back in where Marty uses an arm bar. Marty continues to work the arm until IRS counters with a headscissors. IRS ducks underneath the ropes for a breather then soon after that uses Marty’s momentum to toss him outside. IRS heads out and sends Marty into the steps then pulls him back onto the apron and hammers away. Marty floats over on a suplex attempt and gets two with a rollup but is then nailed with a back elbow smash. IRS drops an elbow for two then applies a chin lock as Gorilla tells us to multiply this by “four or “eight” to get a feeling on how intense the Survivor Series will be as he continues to coast on commentary. IRS now uses the dreaded abdominal stretch and grabs the ropes for leverage. Marty escapes and avoids a charge in the corner as he begins to run wild. Marty lands a few near falls but IRS comes back with a suplex that gets two. The pace quickens as Marty hits a jumping back elbow smash for two but ends up getting turned inside out with a clothesline for the win (12:36) **.

Thoughts: Dull until near the end and a complete bore when IRS was in control. Marty looked great though as he continues to have an excellent year in the ring.

Raymond Rougeau now welcomes the Foreign Fanatics to the Interview platform. Cornette said they drew first blood and calls the fans idiots and that chanting USA will not change anything. Johnny Polo said they are dedicating the match to Pierre before Borga talks about breaking Luger’s back. Crush then tells the “American pukes” that he found men who honor each other and dares the All-American “pukes” to fight them. More generic Survivor Series hype.

WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Yokozuna (c) w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Bret fires away to start but gets caught in a slam. Bret manages to roll away from an elbow drop then sends Yokozuna through the ropes with a dropkick and we see Yokozuna run into the post as the crowd chants USA. Yokozuna takes his time before entering the ring then Bret once again hammers away. Yokozuna flings Bret off his back to break up a sleeper and follows with a clothesline. Yokozuna roughs up Bret in the corner then kicks him outside of the ring. Yokozuna is already pouring buckets of sweat as we see Fuji hit Bret with the flag post just before the break. The match returns with Bret firing away but Yokozuna hits him low as the ref went over to Fuji for some reason. A really contrived spot to work a low blow spot. Yokozuna now works a nerve hold as Vince wants to know how Bruce & Keith Hart are in the ring because they’ve never been in the WWF before. Bret escapes but then bounces off of Yokozuna and gets tossed outside. Yokozuna heads out but Bret fights back and bounces Yokozuna’s head off of the steps. Fuji now distracts the ref so Yokozuna can hit Bret with a chair a few times. Yokozuna now rolls back inside and celebrates as we head to break. The match returns as Bret apparently beat the ten count and is now getting beat on in the corner. Bret fights back but whiffs on a dropkick and Yokozuna drops the leg with Bret rolling himself to the ropes. Yokozuna takes his time as the crowd gives him shit then finally goes to pick Bret up and rams him into the turnbuckle. Yokozuna chokes out Bret but misses an avalanche as Bret now fires away. Bret drops Yokozuna after three clotheslines and gets a two count then he knocks Fuji off of the apron. Yokozuna catches Bret coming off of the top rope then Bret bites Yokozuna to break it up and gets tossed down. Bret then kicks Yokozuna and uses a flying bulldog that gets two. Flying elbow drop gets two. Both men are down on the mat with the crowd chanting USA then Yokozuna catches Bret with a belly-to-belly suplex. Yokozuna decides against covering for some reason then tries for a splash but misses as both men are down. Bret now tries for the Sharpshooter and puts it on then we see Owen come out to ringside and slapping hands with the fans (I assume this was the shot of his entrance of his match against Lawler that was supposed to air on this show). Fuji now hits Bret from behind with the salt bucket as the ref went out to talk with Owen. However, Owen then comes into the ring and hammers away on Yokozuna then uses the salt bucket as the ref rings the bell for the DQ (15:52 shown) ***1/4. Vince acts all surprised that Bret was disqualified and said he heard Yokozuna quit while Heenan laughs at the Hart family for being dumb.

Thoughts: The match was good and Bret did a great job because this was the worst I’ve seen cardio-wise from Yokozuna until this point. They put in a lot of spots that allowed him to rest in the match. The finish came off goofy because once again, they had to remove Lawler (original finish was the ref being distracted when Lawler came out but Owen ran out to attack, thus distracting the referee so Fuji could hit Bret with the Salt Bucket) so to the TV viewer this all came off strange as to why Owen cost Bret the title.

Back to the announcers as they hype up the Survivor Series with Heenan making fun of both Gorilla & Ross.

We then have Men on a Mission come out for a “special” Survivor Series rap as Vince yells at Heenan to “GIT DOWN!” Oscar gets winded less than halfway through this corny (even by his standards) rap as the camera pans to the audience with like 12 people into the song. Just terrible.

Final Thoughts: The legal issues with Lawler turned this show a mess. Not only did they have to edit him off of segments but also on commentary too. The main event match was good but the rest wasn’t and it did not do much at all to make you want to order the PPV. This is available on the WWE Network under the “Hidden Gems” segment but there is really no reason for you to set time aside for this show.