We’re getting closer to WWE’s annual November tradition the Survivor Series, so today we’re taking a look back at another previous event! We have a new WWF Champion and on top of that, our marquee match has been altered due to The Ultimate Warrior’s release from the company. Changes galore at the top, but could the bottom of this edition of the Survivor Series save it or does the fresh feel negate everything?

Open: Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan run down our card for the evening from the announce position. Tonight will be a night of firsts as Undertaker battles Kamala in a Coffin Match, while Big Boss Man tries for revenge on Nailz in a Nightstick On A Pole Match. The Brain remarks about Mr. Perfect joining Randy Savage tonight, vowing that Razor Ramon & Ric Flair will be the ones having a “perfect night”.

Match #1: The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) w/Afa vs. High Energy (‘The Rocket’ Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware)
The Rocket & Samu to get things started, collar & elbow tie-up and Samu uses his power to shove Owen to the canvas. They lock-up and Samu again powers Hart down, a third lock-up and The Rocket gains a side headlock. He gets pushed off to the ropes, both guys collide, Owen recovers and goes back into the ropes, ducking numerous shots and scores with a crossbody for a quick 1 count. Both guys are back up fast, Hart with a dropkick, follows up with an arm drag, then delivers another dropkick and tags out. The Birdman goes to work on the left arm, Samu backs him into the wrong corner and makes a tag, looks to hit a headbutt, but Koko avoids it and Fatu’s drilled instead.

The Birdman with multiple dropkicks for Fatu now, goes to a side headlock, gets sent away to the ropes and counters a back body drop attempt by stomping on the exposed toes. Samu steps in to lend a hand, The Headshrinkers get caught in a double noggin knocker, but it has no affect whatsoever. Koko runs to the ropes and under a double clothesline, Owen tries to come in and distracts the referee, Afa hammering The Birdman in the back with a cane of some kind. The Headshrinkers put a beating on Koko before order’s restored, Fatu with a big slam, Samu with the tag and they connect with a double headbutt.

Samu walks over and baits Hart into the ring, the official working to get Owen back to the apron, The Headshrinkers with a double team beatdown of Koko in the corner. Fatu takes the ring back and rips at The Birdman’s eyes, irish whip to the ropes and he flattens him with a clothesline before tagging back out. Samu utilizes a nerve hold on the trap muscle, Koko with back elbows to get to his feet, gets pushed to the ropes for a back body drop, he hops over it, but turns around into another devastating clothesline. Samu makes a tag and Fatu enters with knees to the abdomen, shoots The Birdman in for a back body drop, Koko counters with a sunset flip and gets a count of 2, but again turns around only to get clocked, this time by a superkick.

Fatu proceeds to bite Koko, tag to Samu and they pummel The Birdman back to the mat, Samu dropping a headbutt for 2. He whips Koko to the corner and charges in for a splash, The Birdman side-steps it and crawls to his corner, getting the hot tag to Owen. The Rocket steps in and catches Samu with a dropkick, Fatu steps in only to get caught with one and Hart is on fire right now. He clears Fatu out of the ring, shoots Samu to the ropes and elevates him with a back body drop before going up top. The Rocket connects with a crossbody, Fatu is back to the break the count at 1, Owen sends him to the ropes and drops him with a spinning heel kick, then turns his attention back to Samu.

Irish whip to the ropes, Samu with the reversal, misses a big haymaker, but catches Hart in a powerslam coming back through. Fatu tags, climbs upstairs and connects with the Headshrinker Splash to put it away.
Winners: The Headshrinkers (Fatu/Headshrinker Splash)

• EA’s Take: A nicely paced opener to a card that will resemble a more traditional WWF PPV and move away from so many Survivor Series elimination matches, which is a plus if you ask me. Owen provides all the fast-paced action while The Headshrinkers assert their power and crazy Samoan style. After working for NWA/WCW, the former Samoan SWAT Team would enter the WWF in 1992, essentially keeping the same gimmick (a new version of The Wild Samoans) with a different name. These members of the famed Samoan Anoa’i family would make a pretty significant impact upon arrival, helping Money Inc. to win the WWF Tag Titles from The Natural Disasters. High Energy was a fun team to watch for their short run, this being their only PPV match as they’d quietly disband in early 1993, Owen embarking on a solo run.

Backstage: In the locker room is Sean Mooney, welcoming in his guest Nailz for comments on the Nightstick On A Pole Match. Nailz talks about waiting for this day for a long time, thinking about it for over 2,000 days in a cell. This time, Boss Man doesn’t have 6 other guards behind him and they know how good of a climber he is. He claims he was punished for crimes he didn’t commit, Big Boss Man will pay for it and learn what it’s like to serve hard time. Gene Okerlund is in the hallway with Big Boss Man, Boss Man talking about the crimes Nailz committed and how he should be serving a life sentence. He’s got a job to do and that’s to make sure trash like Nailz serve hard time. He notices Nailz is in the ring and rushes to the squared circle.

Match #2 – Nightstick On A Pole: Nailz vs. Big Boss Man
Nailz goes up for the nightstick as Boss Man sprints to the ring, the bell dings and we’re underway with Nailz being pulled down from the corner. He reverses an irish whip across, catches Big Boss Man by the throat off the rebound and chokes him on the mat before trying for the nightstick again. Boss Man’s there to prevent it, Nailz goes to the eyes, jabs away with lefts and rights in the corner, whips him across and charges in, meeting double boots to the face. The former corrections officer fires back with right hands, Nailz reversing another whip to the ropes for a big boot, Boss Man ducks under and connects with a haymaker that drops him to his knees.

He eyes the nightstick and makes it to the top rope, Nailz grabs him and slams Boss Man down to the canvas, then cracks him with a backbreaker and chokes him some more. He looks to wear Boss Man out with a chinlock, Big Boss Man finds a rush of adrenaline, fights to his feet, escapes the hold and hits the ropes for a shoulder knockdown. He goes back to the ropes, Nailz explodes up with a clothesline, pulls himself to his feet and climbs for the nightstick, Boss Man grabbing him by the foot and crotching him on the top rope. Big Boss Man to his feet first, grabs Nailz and takes a knee to the breadbasket, Nailz with an irish whip and both guys go down after executing clotheslines.

Boss Man makes his feet first again, climbs up and grabs the nightstick, hammering Nailz in the midsection. He looks to the crowd, Nailz takes the opening with a big right hand, takes the nightstick and turns the tables on Boss Man, pummeling to the mat. He goes for the knockout shot, Big Boss Man ducks it and scores with fists, sends Nailz to the ropes and plants him with a Boss Man Slam to get the 3 count.
Winner: Big Boss Man (Boss Man Slam)

• EA’s Take: This was cleaner than probably any match that ever involved Nailz, but was still a little bit sloppy. You could really tell it took a lot for Boss Man to make anything look decent with this guy, but it was a losing battle. Unfortunately for Boss Man, this was his final push in the WWF as he would mainly be used as an enhancement talent heading into 1993. For Nailz, this would serve as his final WWF PPV appearance after attacking Vince McMahon in his office a few weeks later. Reportedly Nailz was unhappy with his pay for SummerSlam and got violent with Vince, Bret Hart claiming he heard the entire commotion. A number of lawsuits between the parties would follow and Nailz (Kevin Wacholz) would ultimately testify against McMahon in his future steroid-related trial with the federal government, claiming he had been forced to take steroids.

Backstage: ‘Mean’ Gene is standing by with Razor Ramon & Ric Flair, showing us video of Randy Savage choosing his partner on Prime Time Wrestling just over a week earlier. The Nature Boy thinks he’s seen enough of that video, wondering what Mr. Perfect is thinking by walking away from the opportunity he had to be in the shadow of greatness. Now, Perfect made a career altering decision and he will answer to The Nature Boy & Razor Ramon. Razor claims two things will happen tonight, proving nobody’s perfect and that only one man in the WWF oozes machismo. If there’s anything left when Flair’s finished, he will carve them up.

Match #3: ‘The Model’ Rick Martel vs. Tatanka
Collar & elbow tie-up to begin, both guys jockeying for position, Martel backs Tatanka into the corner and unwisely slaps him. The Native American turns the tables and fires way with chops, shoots The Model across and elevates him with a back body drop off the rebound, clearing the ring with multiple dropkicks. Martel regroups on the outside, steps back in and gets in Tatanka’s face, poking him in the chest. They shove each other back and forth, The Model tries a kick, gets his foot caught and is split by an atomic drop before being clotheslined back over the top.

The Model takes his time coming back in, buries a knee to the abdomen off the tie-up, attempts to ram Tatanka’s head into the top turnbuckle, it’s blocked and Martel gets driven in. The Native American looks for a whip to the ropes, The Model reverses, drops Tatanka on the top rope with a hot shot, then chokes him with the bottom of his boot. Martel takes control with a front facelock, The Native American works to his feet, lifts The Model in the air and breaks free with a suplex, but is unable to capitalize.

Martel jumps back on the front facelock as Doink The Clown is in the aisle making balloon animals, back to the action and Tatanka gets to his feet again, powers The Model onto the apron. He blocks a right hand, scores with one of his own and flips Martel back inside, again he can’t capitalize and takes a shot to the throat, The Model following with a neckbreaker for a count of 2. He slaps the front facelock back on, Tatanka fades and the official checks the arm, The Native American coming to on the third attempt, powers up and flattens Martel with a clothesline. The Native American builds momentum with overhand chops, The Model reverses a whip to the corner, charges in, Tatanka side-steps and Martel drives his own shoulder into the ring post.

Tatanka now goes to work on the shoulder with a wristlock, The Model sends him away to the ropes, misses a big left hand and gets caught in a backslide for 2, then taken to the mat with an armdrag. The Native American utilizing an armbar, Martel works back up and sends him to the ropes again, uses Tatanka’s own momentum and tosses him over the top to the floor. The Model sneaks outside and drives The Native American’s lower back into the apron, pulls him back inside by the hair, then continues to punish the lower spine with knees.

Irish whip to the ropes, Martel goes to the ribs with a right hand, climbs to the 2nd rope for a double axe handle, Tatanka catches him with an abdomen shot in return. He gets the momentum rolling with knife-edge chops, does his war dance and slams The Model to the mat before going up top. He connects with an overhand chop, shoots Martel into the ropes and plants him with End Of The Trail to remain undefeated.
Winner: Tatanka (End Of The Trail)

• EA’s Take: Nothing too exciting, I’d only describe this match as solid. The storyline was not very interesting either, The Model had previously stolen Tatanka’s “sacred eagle feather” to add to his wardrobe as some kind of fashion statement. The Native American would reclaim the feather here and continue his on-television undefeated streak (he actually had lost to Martel back in June, but it was not televised or talked about), putting an end to his long feud with Martel. The Model would start to take on lower-card status for a few months, while Tatanka’s push and streak would continue into 1993, earning his first championship shot along the way.

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