If the internet existed outside of military ops in 1987 this match would be probably surpass Hogan-Rock as one of the most shockingly surprising awesome matches.
Given that the first Survivor Series had 99% of the good workers in the Savage-HTM and Tag-Team matches there wasn't too much expected from the Super Heavyweight main event. But Scotty gave it **** and I'm actually right there with him because these guys really let it all hang out.
As much as the Survivor Series format is outdated, I am one of those that still believes with the proper build you could get people somewhat excited about a 5-on-5 with Cena, Bryan, Punk, Rhodes vs. Shield, HHH and hmm Bro...nah no way in hell would he do it so let's go with Del Rio. Seriously give it 45 minutes and I think you'd have a kick ass match. Much better than that 7-on-7 deal at Summerslam a few years ago.
Anyway, let's climb in the way back machine as Team Hogan (Hulk, Muraco, Bam Bam, Orndorff and Ken Patera) battle Team Andre (Rick Rude, Butch Reed, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy and Andre)
Given that the first Survivor Series had 99% of the good workers in the Savage-HTM and Tag-Team matches there wasn't too much expected from the Super Heavyweight main event. But Scotty gave it **** and I'm actually right there with him because these guys really let it all hang out.
As much as the Survivor Series format is outdated, I am one of those that still believes with the proper build you could get people somewhat excited about a 5-on-5 with Cena, Bryan, Punk, Rhodes vs. Shield, HHH and hmm Bro...nah no way in hell would he do it so let's go with Del Rio. Seriously give it 45 minutes and I think you'd have a kick ass match. Much better than that 7-on-7 deal at Summerslam a few years ago.
Anyway, let's climb in the way back machine as Team Hogan (Hulk, Muraco, Bam Bam, Orndorff and Ken Patera) battle Team Andre (Rick Rude, Butch Reed, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy and Andre)
I know ARPANET was blowing up over this match, but face Don Muraco is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I can't believe someone pulled out an ARPANET reference. That's great.
ReplyDeleteI liked Muraco at the time, largely because he was associated with Superstar Billy Graham, and I fucking loved his tie dye stuff. Wound up wearing tie-dye t-shirts for a number of years; even made some a time or two.
ReplyDeleteHell, I'd still wear 'em now if I could find 'em. I have a couple of sweatshirts.
I feel like WWE is trolling me by booking a basic Raw match like Bryan and Punk vs Harper and Rowan for Survivor Series, especially after the set up last week. That match has to evolve into a traditional elimination match right?
ReplyDeleteMuraco was also SBG jacked up here too. Liked him way better as this than as fat sandwich eater.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
ReplyDeleteThe big thing here is they also kept Hogan and Andre's interactions minimal, since this was (I believe) the first time they had been in the ring together since their WM3 battle. And even after the match, the hype was there for their NBC rematch. The match did a few other things right, too, like showcasing Bam Bam Bigelow, to showing Andre could still go a bit (at least at the end).
ReplyDeleteIt's not outdated, it's just abandoned.
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought if one of the heels brought in a needle, they could poke it in one of his muscles and he'd fly out of the ring from the expelled air.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Bigelow was a bit of a flake. I was all aboard the Bam Bam train after this performance.
ReplyDeleteWarner Brothers physics.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if it's done right, a 5-on-5 showdown could build to some bigger matches. HTM getting slaughered to set up matches against Steamboat and Co, Hart Foundation pinning Strike Force to set up more rematches.....
ReplyDeleteIt can be done if it's done right. Problem is, the storylines below the top aren't presented as being interesting enough for it to happen. And even the top stuff is boring enough to put a case of Mountain Dew to sleep.
Why did he flake out? Even after TME, he was tagging with Hogan on house shows and being presented as Hogan's equal.
ReplyDeleteMusclebob Buffpants should've been his new name.
ReplyDeleteOne would hope. But, ANYTHING can happen (or, not happen) in the World Wrestling Feder...errr....Entertainment.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, he had a pretty bad ego problem around this period.
ReplyDeletePlus they blow through all that "setup" stuff on RAW nowadays... or worse, on twitter.
ReplyDeleteI'm just gonna leave this here....
ReplyDeletehttps://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7837368832/hA982B9ED/
Should be Jef Vinson safe, but I'm not entirely certain.
And, there should be a way to tie it into the current state of the WWE, but I can't quite seem to do it.
Man, I had some other thoughts about this match:
ReplyDelete- Paul Orndorff went from "Feud of the Year" just a year prior with Hogan to being Hogan's lackey, and pretty much being forgotten about. Shoot, THAT SAME YEAR, he and Muraco had their forgettable WM match. Guess even THEY forgot about it.
- You could've put Rick Rude in Don Cheadle's "Captain Planet" video. MAN was he green.
- Hogan pins Butch Reed first. Man always keepin' a brotha down...
- From now on, I'm calling SBG Muraco "Musclerock Buffpants".
Ok, that made me laugh, though I'm not sure I understand why.
ReplyDeleteI guess the only change I would have made is switching Patera out for someone like...I dunno Beefcake. Won't change much in the match but damn Patera just seemed like such a lost cause at this point.
ReplyDeleteMuraco's new moniker still made me chuckle.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but IIRC, Beefer wasn't ready for that yet, since they had him job to HTM in the opener. Patera's issues with Heenan's crew made him part of this, but you're right - he was pretty much done at that point.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they were across the street from a McDonald's - who knows.
Thanks for sharing. I love this one. Awesome star power, red-hot crowd. Reminds me of how much more BamBam could have been back then
ReplyDeleteTotally. I was 4 years old for this show and probably saw it a year or so after the fact as a VHS rental. I recall instantly becoming a Bigelow fan after this match
ReplyDeleteThe eventual Hogan-Bigelow match could have been really cool I bet
ReplyDeleteIt would be SO easy to do too
ReplyDeleteI remember renting this on VHS from Blockbuster and being blown away that Bam Bam was so agile.
ReplyDeleteIf they want to build towards a Daniel Bryan title win at Mania (and I still think they do) a traditional Survivor Series match would be a great place to start. You can have a back and forth elimination to get rid of the Rhodes Boys, Usos, and Wyatt Family and then have the Shield cheat to eliminate Punk with Daniel Bryan heroically pulling out a win.
ReplyDeleteHeh, I love how Hogan steals Bigelow's thunder by immediately running out and cheapshotting Andre with the belt. Then they play Hogan's music!
ReplyDelete"If they want to build towards a Daniel Bryan title win at Mania (and I still think they do)"
ReplyDeleteAh you poor Naive bastard; stay gold Ponyboy...stay gold
Here's why it's an outdated idea:
ReplyDeleteBack in 1987, the Survivor Series teams were constructed with guys who routinely performed in squash matches on TV, making them all look pretty good. I mean, I don't remember Ken Patera or Butch Reed losing on TV, and that's all I had. The VHS tapes back then were Best of WWF, Volume whatever, with older MSG matches. So back then, when these teams are built, the average fan was left to wonder who was going to be eliminated by whom.
Now, on RAW and Smackdown, these guys are jobbing to each other left and right. You can pretty much predict who is going over and who might possibly be left to survive. The modern era and it's booking methods have taken away a lot of the surprise factor that we were all subjected to back in the Hogan era.
Growing up, the Survivor Series was my favorite WWF PPV.
ReplyDelete... and unfortunately nothing gold (around Daniel Bryan's waist) can stay.
ReplyDeleteIT'S THE SURVIVOR SERIESSS!
ReplyDeleteI remember really liking this match when I first watched watched it and it stands up well. Great pacing from all parties, even the big guys. The finish is nice, since it sort of rips off video game booking: Bigelow beats Bundy, then has a harder challenge with the One Man Gang, and then faces the mammoth Andre and can't overcome the final boss.
ReplyDeleteQuestion. Was there talk back than of whether a big push was in line for bigelow?? Him beingthe last man for that team and getting display some nice moves for a big man was impressive. The only thing I remember hearing was from Brets book saying how he was a punk (he was young at the time I believe), so maybe that had something to do with it??
ReplyDeletePrincess I'm with you on all accounts EXCEPT (with the exception of the no sell ending) I had a blast watching the summerslam 2010 main event. Everyone was letting it all hang out and even Bret brought the goods, redeeming himself from Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteExactly
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this, and here's why.
ReplyDeleteSurSer matches have that added component of teamwork. Guys who NEVER work with partners, guys who are "loners", suddenly find themselves having to co-exist, or lose. What looks "easy" on paper can be quite the challenge, ESPECIALLY if you get that one or two "shocking" eliminations early.
However, with the modern creative concept, as we see it, of 50/50 booking, HHH + Cena >>> anyone else, and the devaluation of titles/wins in general... yes, the concept is generally not compatible. But that falls on creative, not the concept.
One other thought: Shawn Michaels performance in 03 was also excellent, mirrors Bigelow's , and was one of the last good traditional SS matches.
ReplyDeleteI'm so so so disappointed they booked an angle to set up a six-on-six tag match on Monday night, then went with boring old Bryan/Punk v. The Wyatts.
ReplyDeleteHe hung around for like a year after this, too!
ReplyDeleteI'll throw this out also:
ReplyDeleteA while back, Vince and company wanted to dump SurSer from the lineup, and plug in another generic PPV. Fan backlash convinced them that losing the SurSer name wasn't a good idea at the time.
If this SurSer bombs, which is a possibility at this point, would a name change be as reviled? Could this be a reason for the so-far lackluster card?
GODDAMNIT, I'M GONNA BITCH ABOUT THIS AGAIN. Every ppv after Summerslam is supposed to be book around some kind of hook or gimmick, right? "Night of Champions." "Hell in the Cell." Then, when we get to Survivor Series, a 20 YEAR GIMMICK OF ELIMINATION MATCHES, we fuck that idea and just do a bunch of the same old shit we see on Raw and Smackdown, then wonder why the buyrate sucks. WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT RANDY ORTON V. BIG SHOW. WHO CARES ABOUT A PLAIN OLD TAG MATCH? OR CENA V. DEL RIO AGAIN?
ReplyDeleteRemember in '95 the "Wild Card" match? Book a bunch of that shit! Put together a "draft show" on Smackdown and pick captains, then have them do wacky shit like split The Sheild up, or have Cena pick Del Rio because "If he's my partner, he can't try and break my arm."
I agree with you, and I disagree with most of what Norton and DiPaolo say. But I also think they're both hilarious. That doesn't make them not idiots, but they can deliver their material.
ReplyDeleteNever gotten a great hookup on tickets except for the weekend I went to a TNA house show and a 2CW ippv with some of the clients from work, so the company paid for both tickets and I was on the clock the whole time. Nothing much other than that. Someone spontaneously gave me tickets to see The Used for an MTV special once but those were free to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI saw Halestorm play a bunch of times when they were a local band before they got big.
ReplyDeleteYou live in SD?
ReplyDeleteWent to college here. Living in Moreno Valley now.
ReplyDeleteI never really have has a "score." In a way I guess I was one for my friends when working for the Cavs. Working in the visiting team locker room, I generally was able to get a couple tickets from one of the players whenever they didn't want to use them.
ReplyDelete"The free shit is the best part of working for the media." Yep! I still can't believe I get paid to do things I would gladly do for free (shhhh).
ReplyDeleteI would totally plow the singer from Halestorm. Just want to throw that out there...
ReplyDeleteLol. What a scam artist. A part of me respects his ingenuity
ReplyDeleteDude is a complete piece of shit, I wouldn't piss on him to put him out if he was on fire. Fuck, he evicted his own fucking mother from his house.
ReplyDeleteWow man. That is low.
ReplyDeleteYou know what's really sad? He's the nicest of my 3 uncles.
ReplyDeleteLol. You win
ReplyDeleteWorking in the corporate environment definitely has some sweet perks from time to time. Over the past few years, I've been able to catch a Sox game from Fidelity's private suite at Fenway and been to a private party in the Monster Corner which is a roped off section just to the left of the Green Monster...this included watching BP on the field and having my drinks paid for all night.
ReplyDeleteAlso a Saints fan... and even with the 80s/early 90s and the 2011-12 playoffs, they're not even in my Top 5 hated teams (Cowboys, Falcons, Packers, Patriots, ?????)...
ReplyDeleteThen again, part of that is my best friend being a 49ers fan pretty much his whole life. Not for Montana or Young, but Jerry Rice is his top guy, ever.
Fuck the Dallas Stars. That bullshit got them into the Cowboys/Yankees "Fuck You Forever" club, where I WILL cheer anything bad happening to those teams.
ReplyDeleteYes, including injury. (Exceptions do exist, but they are RARE. The 90's Cowboys had three... Jay Novacek, Daryl Johnston, and Charles Haley. The Yankees since 1998 had NONE, until Rivera a couple seasons ago. Jeter's also reached that point with me, where I won't cheer an injury. But I wouldn't be sad, either.)
If by dirty, you mean "infected with a witches' brew of STDs", then yes, they provide a service when the asshole who fucks them catches the right mix and dies. Quickly, so his medical bills don't pile up and wind up fucking everyone else in the long run.
ReplyDelete(Shit, I'm kinda angry this morning. Oh great, another reason to be angry just walked in.)
I have no hatred for the Packers. Never knocked us out of the playoffs or beat us in a key game.
ReplyDeleteCowboys, yes, Dirty Birds, yes, Patriots, well they are the Patriots.
I despise the 49ers. Always destroying us back in the day, then the shit in 2011, derailing our season last year, the only team I despise more is ATL.
Yeah she's rather attractive. I remember one night around Halloween she was dressed up like a vixen. Pretty nice.
ReplyDeleteAnother time it was just her and her brother in some dive bar. There was no one there so she walked around with the mic and basically sang to everyone at the bar personally. It was pretty cool.