Sage Cortez
It’s time for the build to Survivor Series, which also happens to contain one of my favorite angles ever. Now that I think of it, perhaps two of my favorites. Surprisingly, when Rick Rude quit, they also announced that he would be suspended rather than just write him out and ignore that he was ever there. That’s strange, and was also quite rare. To the matches!
– October 19th, 1990, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
Mr. Perfect (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Texas Tornado for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Knowing what Kerry’s matches have looked like, I wouldn’t go so far as to call watching this a treat. That being said, it’s an important match, and one that I feel obligated to review as a result. It was also the headliner for the most part, crazy as that sounds. 9,000 tickets sold with these guys and a DiBiase/Dusty match on top isn’t quite as weak as it would seem.
Match Review: Perfect attacks, so we’re underway. They trade punches for a little bit, then Perfect clotheslines Kerry over the top. He then continues to knock Kerry off the ring apron, but Kerry pulls him to the outside and hits him with the TORNADO PUNCH. Kerry then brings Perfect into the ring and throws him back out over the top rope, and knocks Perfect off the apron the same as Perfect was doing to him. Kerry grabs onto the arm when Perfect gets back in there, but Perfect chops away at him. Perfect puts a sleeper on the champion, Kerry then breaks it, and puts his own on. I like how this match is following a pattern of the opponent replicating moves that were given to them. Perfect gets out and follows with a neck snap, then puts a neck vice on Kerry for a few seconds. Perfect then gets thrown into the corner, but the referee happens to be standing there. Kerry then goes for a clothesline, but Perfect ducks and Kerry clotheslines the referee. So, he’s out. Perfect hits Kerry with a clothesline, then gives him the PERFECT-PLEX. He takes the chance to take the turnbuckle pad off, and rams Kerry into the exposed buckle. There’s no referee, after all. Perfect tries to cover again, but there’s no count. He’s had Kerry beaten twice, one of those being completely clean. The referee finally makes a count, and it’s the closest of 2 counts. Kerry comes back with the TORNADO PUNCH, then another knocks Perfect over the top. Kerry follows him, and the referee starts counting, as they brawl on the outside. Kerry rams Perfect into the apron multiple times, then Perfect gets sent into the post, right as the bell rings at 8:50. Despite Kerry getting back in the ring, both guys were counted out.
My Thoughts: This was a pedestrian match, but about as good as you’d get from Kerry in those days. At least they tried hard and didn’t spend any time sitting around doing nothing. The finish was strange, I thought Kerry had beaten the count, and perhaps he was supposed to. **1/4, mostly for Mr. Perfect’s work.
– Taped to air October 27th, 1990, on Superstars, from the Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois
The Brother Love Show with Jake Roberts and Rick Martel
After Roberts was sprayed with Arrogance, I have no idea why he’d come on this program again. Yet, he did, and Martel apologized for what he did. That was extremely sincere, what a great man. He even has a walking stick to give to Roberts. Roberts comes out, and he’s wearing sunglasses. He apparently cannot see! Brother Love gives the cane to Roberts, who swings it and misses. That’s too bad. Brother Love then gets close to Roberts, who cuts a promo on Martel. A great one at that. He talks about an eye for an eye, and Martel comes back. Roberts can’t see him though. Martel slaps him, and Roberts gives Brother Love a DDT, but his glasses are off…AND BAH GAWD HIS EYE IS COMPLETELY WHITE HE’S BLINDED FOREVER. The commentary was hilarious, vince and Piper sold that so well. I love this entire program, truthfully.
DAVEY BOY SMITH RETURNS!
So yeah, he’s back, and now he’s called the BRITISH BULLDOG. A more fitting name for a wrestler I have never seen. He was so pumped up, roided to the point of ridiculousness. He was so big even the commentators pointed it out. He got in all his signature moves that we know of, like the delayed suplex. For some reason he also put the Brooklyn Brawler in a chinlock. As a finish, Bulldog used the RUNNING POWERSLAM, which was a very good finisher. I always believed in that move and thought the match would be over afterward, even though it was an ordinary powerslam.
– October 30th, 1990, from Allen County Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana
The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Team Championships in a 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: This match is infamous for being a title change that it was decided not to air, for whatever reason. I’ve seen this match a couple times and have loved it each time. I have it on DVD, so it is very easy to access! I remember there being no commentary at all for this match, even though it was taped for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Fall #1: Bret Hart and Marty Jannetty will start this off, and it begins with some nice chain wrestling that shows these guys are equals. Marty then takes Bret down with an arm drag, and Bret comes back with a shoulderblock. Shawn Michaels tags in, and the Rockers give Bret a double backbreaker. Jim Neidhart rushes in, gets hit with a double superkick, and Bret gives the Rockers a noggin-knocker. Neidhart follows with a double clothesline, and we’re back to square one. Neidhart and Michaels are the legal men, and Neidhart blocks a hip toss. Michaels replies with a flying head-scissors, then gets punched in the mouth. Neidhart misses an elbow smash, then Marty tags in to go to work on his left arm. Marty then trips Neidhart, but gets railroaded by a shoulder tackle. Neidhart clotheslines Marty over the top, then does the same to Michaels. Neidhart tries to suplex Marty back into the ring, but instead Marty ducks under him and gives him an atomic drop. Michaels tags in and dropkicks Neidhart for 2, then brings Marty back in for a double axehandle from the second rope. Marty goes for a sunset flip, and takes him down thanks to a Michaels clothesline. Bret then runs in and smacks Michaels, but the Rockers give Neidhart a double back elbow anyway. That’s follows with a double slam, then the Rockers both climb up top. Bret pushes Michaels down to the canvas, but Marty lands a fist drop that leads to Bret having to break up a cover. Michaels makes a legal tag in after that, and winds up getting caught and powerslammed by Neidhart for a 2 count. Bret tags in there, and launches Michaels into the corner. He then gives Michaels a backbreaker for 2, and follows with a Russian leg sweep for 2 as well. Bret then gives Michaels a bodyslam and a leg drop for 2, then PILEDRIVES the poor guy for 2 again. As Bret argues with the official, Michaels makes a tag out, and his partner blocks a sunset flip attempt for a first fall win at 9:33!
Fall #2: As usual, the people who ended the first fall must start the second. Bret gives Marty an inverted atomic drop, then the Foundation exchanges tags for a little while. Bret throws Marty hard into the corner, then covers him for 2. Bret holds Marty in place so he cannot tag out, then tries a suplex, only for Marty to block it and tag out. Bret then lifts Marty up, Michaels catches him, and they give Bret a double clothesline. Now, Neidhart charges into the corner and misses, and the top rope breaks. Now that’s interesting. Bret gives Michaels a suplex for 2, and puts a front face-lock on him. As Bret has said in his book, the rope break ruined the match and threw everyone’s timing off, so we’ll see how it goes. Michaels finally backdrops Bret to break the hold, and the other two guys run in there to cause a brawl that ultimately amounts to nothing. Bret then puts Michaels in a chinlock, which Michaels gets out of. He then throws Bret into the corner, and Bret takes his signature bump with his chest hitting the middle turnbuckle instead. That’s different. Marty makes the tag in, and hits Bret with a superkick for 2. Bret comes back with a swinging neckbreaker, then tags in the Anvil. A chinlock is then applied to Marty, and Neidhart also slams him. Bret then slams Neidhart on top of Marty for 2, as it seems a host of officials have gathered near the entrance to the arena. Bret hits Marty with an elbow smash from the second rope for 2, then Neidhart comes in with a bodyslam. The Foundation goes for a ROCKET LAUNCHER, but Michaels runs in and dropkicks Neidhart, which sends Bret over the top and out. Bret barely makes it back in the ring in time, and Michaels goes for a suplex. Bret reverses into a back suplex, then tags out of there. Neidhart catches Michaels, and it’s time for THE HART ATTACK. Bret goes for the cover, and it gets 3 at 19:23. Why didn’t Marty run in there? This match got really strange.
Fall #3: Now there’s a break to repair the top rope, and when that’s done, it’s time for the third fall. This fall starts with Neidhart throwing Michaels into the knee of the Hitman, then Bret coming in and slamming Michaels. Neidhart gets back in there, and he gives Michaels a huge backdrop. Bret tags back in, and there’s some stiff looking European uppercuts. Very impressive. Bret then goes for a charge at Michaels, and repeats the spot he used in all those matches against the British Bulldogs! I love it. Michaels makes the tag out, and Marty comes in with a flying back elbow. That is followed by Marty powerslamming Bret for 2, then Marty blocking a charge from Bret. Marty then leaps off the second rope and bulldogs Bret for 2, and Michaels runs in there. With all four in, the Foundation is thrown into each other, and Neidhart is given a double back elbow. Bret and Marty then criss-cross, and completely botch whatever it is they wanted to do. Bret suplexes Marty, then Neidhart tags back in there. Bret is clearly not pleased with how this match has gone. After some right hands, Bret heads back into the ring, and throws Neidhart shoulder-first into Jannetty for 2. The Foundation then does their slam spot, with Bret intending to splash Marty, but Marty gets his knees up. Michaels then runs in and gets backdropped over the top rope, and the Foundation goes for the the Hart Attack again. This time, Michaels dropkicks his partner as Neidhart is holding him in place, and very sloppily Marty falls on top for the victory at 25:01! The arena was told there were new champions, but in reality there were not.
My Thoughts: The top rope falling off led to some incredible spots taking place until they fixed the rope. Some of those I had never even seen before, particularly the failed Rocket Launcher spot. It was just such a weird match. I do understand why Bret has a problem with it as his performance was really not good at all. He got flustered and just lost his cool. I really enjoyed watching this match although it wasn’t aesthetically great. All of the drama surrounding the rope break, the different spots used as a result, and the intensity of the match gave it its own unique feel. The lack of crowd heat also gave it a unique feel. I’m going to rate this ***3/4. It was just too much, and if not for the botches, it would have been a top quality match. The effort here was exceptional. In my opinion, the rope break was not why the match failed to air. I don’t know if this is factual, but I think Jim Neidhart being scheduled to be fired is why they booked the match, and the reversal of that decision was the reason they shelved it. Bret Hart’s singles push was actually supposed to start sooner as well.
– Taped to air November 3rd, 1990, on Superstars, from the Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois
Dustin Rhodes (w/Dusty Rhodes) vs. Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil and Sapphire) in a 10 MINUTE CHALLENGE
Pre-Match Thoughts: After what happened on SNME, it was time for that to be followed up in a meaningful way. This was it. Dustin challenged DiBiase, and said that he could last ten minutes with the Million Dollar Man. If he lasted ten minutes, he was the winner. Could he do it? Sapphire was at ringside for this match, as my title shows. That surprised me.
Match Review: DiBiase evades Dustin for a little bit, showcasing the inexperience of the young man. Eventually Dustin turns to his dad for advice, and DiBiase attacks him from behind. He also hits Dustin with a few back elbows, and drops the elbow on him after that. Dustin finally gets in some offense with a backdrop, then follows with some dropkicks and a hip toss to clear the ring. The crowd is really feeling this match. DiBiase gets back in and tries to go to work, but the kid takes him down with a backslide for 2. Dustin then slams DiBiase, and Dusty throws DiBiase back into the ring to stop him from gathering his thoughts. Dustin then rolls DiBiase up for 2, the crowd bought that being the finish. DiBiase comes back with some chokes, and a backdrop follows that. 5 minutes remain in the time limit, and DiBiase suplexes Dustin after that announcement. He follows with a second suplex, and that gets 2. DiBiase puts a chinlock on Dustin, and makes sure he can’t get up for quite some time. When he does get up, DiBiase knees him in the gut and drops a fist on him for 2. Back to the chinlock, only two minutes were left. Dustin just had to hang on a little longer. He powers out of the chinlock, and tries a sunset flip that gets 2. This crowd is going insane. DiBiase clotheslines Dustin, then slaps the MILLION DOLLAR DREAM on him. There’s only a minute left. The countdown starts, but Dustin has held on, and makes it through the 10 minute challenge! He has won!
Dusty and Virgil get in the ring, at which point DiBiase knocks Dusty out of the ring and clobbers Dustin with his MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP. Now that’s low.
My Thoughts: This was pretty good as it told a story. For a Superstars match, that’s rare. Makes things a lot more fun, though. Most of the match was spent in chinlocks, but it all made sense. Dustin was inexperienced, so an experienced wrestler should look to wear him out. They also put him over without having him get a pinfall, so DiBiase didn’t look bad at all. **1/2 seems fair. At Survivor Series, it was only going to be Dusty and DiBiase wrestling there, so the payoff to this program was not coming anytime soon. They got rid of Sapphire right after this.
– Taped to air November 10th, 1990, on Superstars, from the Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois
The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) vs. Legion of Doom
Pre-Match Thoughts: Wow, I get to watch a regular tag team match with LOD. Have hardly even had the chance seeing as they weren’t in many after showing up in the WWF. The Orient Express basically did jack crap at this point, or any other point for that matter. They were still the #2 or #3 heel tag team in the WWF. That’s crazy.
Match Review: To start things off, LOD gives the Express stereo press slams. As good a start as any! Hawk then clotheslines Tanaka, as the match has normalized. Hawk clotheslines Tanaka for a second time, this time sending him upside down. Animal tags in there, and gives Tanaka a hip toss. Sato tags in, and Animal hits him with a flying shoulderblock. Hawk tags back in there, and gives Sato a gutwrench suplex. Sato tries to trade punches with him, but he loses that battle and has to tag out. Tanaka runs into a brick wall named Hawk, then gets caught and given a press slam. Hawk winds up getting trapped and attacked by both guys, so Sato kicks him in the face. They then collide with each other, and both guys make tags. Animal gives Tanaka a huge backdrop, then powerslams Sato. Animal then clotheslines Tanaka in the corner, and Fuji is making a signal. As LOD is going to dish out the DOOMSDAY DEVICE, here comes the entirety of Demolition for a DQ at 3:21. Demolition teams up and beats down LOD, and for some reason Demolition is wearing masks. This is so weird. LOD takes a beatdown from all five guys, which makes the Orient Express look more legitimate than they actually were!
My Thoughts: This was a standard TV match, but LOD looked really impressive in it. The whole point of this was to establish Demolition reuniting with Fuji, and it worked. *1/2 for the match, and the angle after it was well done. I do think making LOD look that weak wasn’t good, though.
– Taped to air November 18th, 1990, on SURVIVOR SERIES SHOWDOWN, from Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana
Sgt. Slaughter (w/General Adnan) vs. Tito Santana
Pre-Match Thoughts: If Slaughter performs as well as he did in his SNME match, this could be a lot of fun. If he doesn’t, then it will probably suck. I hope it doesn’t suck given how much effort I’m putting into watching the matches from this show. The Iraqi thing is strong here. I’m just jazzed to watch some competitive matches of length, those weren’t often televised by the WWF.
Match Review: After a lot of stalling by Slaughter, he finally climbs into the ring and we’re ready to go. Santana evades his punches, and puts a wristlock on the big man, who makes it to the ropes. After that, Slaughter goes to work with kicks, and he doesn’t have pointed boots yet. That’s too bad. He hits Santana with a back elbow to the gut, then double stomps him. He follows that with a gutbuster for 2, Slaughter then places Santana on the ropes, and works him over with elbows. Santana tries a backdrop, but gets kicked, so the pace of this match shall continue. Slaughter drops Santana on the ropes, and tries his own backdrop, only for Santana to go for a sunset flip that gets 2. He then shoots Slaughter into the corner, and he goes over the top and out of the ring. Slaughter gets back in there, and Santana heads up to the second rope for a fist drop. A knee drop follows that, and Santana covers for 2. Santana puts Slaughter in a chinlock, which is strange from a babyface. I have no idea what to make of it. Slaughter gets out with a backbreaker, then suplexes Santana. He then heads up top, which I’ve never seen before. Slaughter comes down with a big splash, but he misses and nearly breaks his wrist in the process. Santana misses a dropkick, and Slaughter heads up top again. This time Santana slams him all the way down, that’s a massive bump to take in the WWF ring. Santana nails Slaughter with the FLYING FOREARM, but it knocks Slaughter out of the ring. So, he tries to bring Adnan and Slaughter to the apron for a noggin-knocker, which appears to have worked. He tries to slam Slaughter back into the ring, but Adnan trips Santana by grabbing the leg, and that gets a win for Slaughter at 11:30 as he falls on top for the cover. Santana meets Slaughter in the aisle, but the referee stops them from fighting for some reason. Oh well.
My Thoughts: The match was standard fare, and the best thing in it were the bumps Sarge had. He did his best, but couldn’t make the match any better than it was. The Santana chinlock was so out of place, I just don’t understand why that happened at all. I also didn’t understand why Slaughter didn’t pin Santana clean. The interference was needed, but not leading to the pin. **.
Rick Martel vs. Marty Jannetty
Pre-Match Thoughts: Now this has some potential. Expecting a strong match here, even though Martel was injured so often that he rarely had a chance to have any. This is a good chance though! They gave him a great program as well, so everything’s a fit. He’s captain of his Survivor Series team, which is in the only match that actually looked like a quality one heading in. I hope Arrogance plays some part in this match, it would fit quite well. I can see why Marty would be tabbed to do the job here, too.
Match Review: When these guys lock up, Martel runs away before being hit. That’s good gimmick work. He’s a model, you see. He takes Marty down with an arm drag, then does some jumping jacks. Marty does his own, which makes Martel really angry. He puts a headlock on Marty, then ducks out after being shot into the ropes. He wasn’t about to get hit. Martel wants to take time, then gets back in and lands some punches. Why, of course! Martel uses the bottom rope as a clothesline during a catapult, then misses a charge to the corner. Marty goes to work on the knee that hit the turnbuckles, using a toe-hold. Martel kicks out and tries a monkey flip, but Marty cartwheels out of the way and continues to apply the toe-hold. Martel kicks out again, and gets hip tossed this time. Marty follows with a spinebuster, and locks the leg up. He gives Martel a leg-breaker, and keeps that toe-hold on. Second match in a row with no heel control segment. Martel kicks Marty to the outside, and when Marty gets back in, the Model slams him. These names I’m using are too similar, aren’t they. Martel drops an elbow to the back, but gets hit on the way down from the second rope. Marty hits him with a flying back elbow, and follows with a knee lift. Martel runs into his boot, then gets smashed face-first into the mat for 2. Martel comes back with a throw to the outside, then Marty makes the apron and tries to come in with a sunset flip. Martel ducks under it, and covers for the victory at 10:49.
My Thoughts: Never seen that finish before. The announcers sold it as Marty hitting his head after flipping into the ring. He kind of did, after all. Good booking to make Martel look strong here, he was getting a decent push ahead of Survivor Series. I like seeing that. The match wasn’t as good as the last, though. *3/4, surprisingly.
Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Big Boss Man
Pre-Match Thoughts: Nice matchup here, two guys with some star power. I hope they have a good plan. Boss Man sprinted to the ring, which cleared it early on. Also bear in mind Boss Man has a thing going with Bobby Heenan, maybe that will play a part here. I need for this to be the best of the three matches from this show that I’m watching. That’s not likely, though.
Match Review: These behemoths lock up, and Boss Man gets shoved into the corner. Will he return the favor? No, instead he puts a headlock on Quake. He drills Quake with a right hand too, knocking him back into the corner. I guess the favor was returned. Jimmy Hart gives his charge some advice, and Quake follows that advice, giving Boss Man a bodyslam. However, he misses an elbow drop, and Boss Man decides to go after Hart. He chases him around the ring, then gets back in and tries to throw Quake around, but Quake does it and misses a charge. Boss Man trips him for a 1 count, then heads up top and comes down with a cross body, only for Quake to catch him and powerslam him. Now that was good. Heenan now walks down to the ring, leaving Monsoon to do commentary all by himself. Quake throws Boss Man from pillar to post, then sits on him. Quake then distracts the referee so Heenan can slap Boss Man around, and once it’s over, Heenan is still allowed to stay at ringside. No idea why. Quake gives Boss Man a big elbow drop, then steps on him. Quake puts Boss Man in a bear hug, but Boss Man bites his way out of it. Regardless, Quake was still in control, and kicked Boss Man in the face. After another elbow drop by Quake, it’s back to the bear hug. The bear hugs are upsetting as this match was going really well. Quake then drives Boss Man into the corner, and it’s time for a babyface comeback. The crowd is really getting behind Boss Man. They trade punches, and Boss Man blocks a backdrop. He follows with an enzuigiri, and Heenan may leave ringside now, after a cover that gets 2 for Boss Man. Boss Man drills Quake with some clotheslines, and those tie him up in the ropes. Boss Man smacks him around, and hits him with a cross body. After that, he punches Hart, and goes for another cross body, only to be backdropped over the top. Heenan stomps away on Boss Man, and beats him down too, so Boss Man chases him to the back once he stops. Of course, that leads to a count-out victory for Earthquake at 10:59.
My Thoughts: This match was so much better than I expected, and it really was better than the other matches! Trust me when I say it was actually good. Just ignore the 2 minutes of bear hugging, these guys worked really hard and kept things interesting. Best of all it was a hard hitting match and the crowd was really into it. Of course they were. Boss Man was super over, and Earthquake was being presented as their top heel at that time. **1/2, equal to Rhodes/DiBiase.
So, I suppose with that, and my finding a different Boss Man/Heenan match to watch later, that’s it! I think the WWF built pretty well to Survivor Series, I’m interested in seeing the show even though I’ve seen it before and didn’t enjoy it that much. Actually, I’ve seen it more than almost every other WWF show. Sorry to sound uninspiring, but it’s true. A lot of the WON space for the WWF was being taken up by bodybuilding garbage at this time. There were no real news bits of note, either. Next up for me, I’m going to watch NWA matches all the way up to Starrcade rather than Clash 13. I only have one or two things to watch that took place between Clash 13 and Starrcade, so I might as well.
Best: The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation. People may disagree with me, but it was fantastic.
Worst: The complete lack of use for the Ultimate Warrior. Much like Sting, they ruined this guy’s title reign, although the causes of ruining it were much different.
