Survivor Series Count-Up – 1996: The Austin Era Really Begins
Survivor Series 1996
Date: November 17, 1996
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 18,647
Commentators: Jim Ross, Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler
Free For All: Team Bart Gunn vs. Team Billy Gunn
Bart Gunn, Aldo Montoya, Bob Holly, Jesse James
Billy Gunn, Salvatore Sincere, Justin Bradshaw, The Sultan
Holly comes in with a bulldog as we see Aldo walk up the ramp opposite the cameras (an MSG standard). Sultan grabs a chinlock and we take a break to come back with Sultan slamming Bart on the floor so Sincere (a flamboyant yet still generic Italian) can baseball slide him in the face. Back in and Bart grabs a side slam to get rid of Sincere and tie the match up.
Bradshaw (who JR says is going to be something special) comes in and kicks the freshly tagged Holly in the face. We go to a split screen to see Austin running Dok Hendrix out of his dressing room and come back to Bradshaw hitting the Clothesline From an Undisclosed Location to eliminate Holly.
Team Furnas and Lafon vs. Team Owen Hart/British Bulldog
Doug Furnas, Phillip Lafon, Henry Godwinn, Phineas Godwinn
Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty, Leif Cassidy
Leif comes in to cover and the former powerlifter sends him flying on the kickout. The bad guys get smart with a blind tag and a springboard missile dropkick to wipe Furnas out in a great looking visual. JR goes into yet another rant about the referees not catching the heels cheating, which is a really weird complaint for a heel to have.
Paul Bearer insists he WILL NOT get into the cage and be hung above the ring. Mankind will crush Undertaker like the cockroaches he used to eat for dinner.
Undertaker vs. Mankind
Bearer is in an individual cage above the ring and if Undertaker wins, Bearer is his for five minutes. The entrance is an important one as Undertaker descends from the rafters and debuts the sleeveless leather attire that would become his signature look for the next several years. It marks the evolution of the original character to the newer, sleeker fighting machine that could hurt people at will.
Team Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Team Marc Mero
Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry Lawler, Goldust, Crush
Marc Mero, The Stalker, Rocky Maivia, Jake Roberts
Rating: D. They accomplished the goal of giving Rocky a good rub to start (hence why you have goons like Crush around to take a fall like this) but this was WAY too long. You could probably cut out five to ten minutes here and do just about the same thing. Windham was worthless (as he was for most of the time after 1990 or so) and there were way too many stretches of boring non-action dragging it down.
Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart
Bret takes him down and stays on the arm with a hammerlock until a hard elbow to the jaw puts him down. Austin keeps slugging away until Bret pulls him into another armbar. Bret: “ASK HIM!” Did Jericho get that from Bret? Steve comes right back with a hot shot and starts choking on the bottom rope.
Faarooq/Vader/Razor Ramon/Diesel vs. Flash Funk/Savio Vega/Yokozuna/???
Jimmy almost runs over for the tag back to Vega, who hits maybe 10% of a spinwheel kick on Diesel. Faarooq rams him into the post and the Jackknife ends Vega to hopefully start wrapping this up. The Superfly Splash ends Ramon less than a minute later and then the remaining six come in for the big brawl, resulting in a massive DQ and no winner.
WWF World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Sid
The threat of a powerbomb sends Shawn bailing to the outside and we have a breather. Back in and Shawn gets smart by going after the knee, including a Figure Four (actually done on the proper leg). The hold is turned over and Sid sends him shoulder first into the post to take over. Shawn goes right back to the knee and the fans boo him out of the Garden. Thankfully they catch on to the idea and Sid blasts Shawn to the floor with a clothesline.
Back in and Sid gets in a few kicks to the face, followed by a big backbreaker for two. We hit a cobra clutch of all things (Sid would use that occasionally and it always looked weird for someone his size) before a chokeslam drops the champ. Shawn hits his flying forearm and is loudly booed, though the nipup draws a high pitched pop.
Shawn checks on Jose as Sid poses to end the show.
Ratings Comparison
Team Jesse James vs. Team Billy Gunn
Original: N/A
2012 Redo: N/A
2016 Redo: C-
Team Furnas and Lafon vs. Team Owen Hart/British Bulldog
Original: B-
2012 Redo: C+
2016 Redo: B
Undertaker vs. Mankind
Original: C+
2012 Redo: B
2016 Redo: B
Team Jerry Lawler vs. Team Jake Roberts
Original: D
2012 Redo: C+
2016 Redo: D
Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart
Original: A+
2012 Redo: A+
2016 Redo: A+
Team Vader vs. Team Yokozuna
Original: D-
2012 Redo: F
2016 Redo: F-
Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid
Original: C-
2012 Redo: B
2016 Redo: B+
Overall Rating
Original: B-
2012 Redo: B+
2016 Redo: B
And the 2012 Redo:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/04/survivor-series-count-up-1996-thats-blue-chip-right-there/
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