In The Arena: Todd Pettengill is back with ‘President Bill Clinton’ and they are now joined by Bob Backlund. Clinton wonders if Backlund will run for President with Colin Powell out of the race, Backlund informs him that he needs to be referred to as ‘Mr. Backlund’, but the question is irrelevant. He asks what the President is doing here, Clinton stating he’s got nothing else to do.

Video: This past June at King Of The Ring, The Undertaker took on Mabel in the tournament, but due to interference from Kama, Mabel would pick up the win. The following month on RAW, King Mabel crushed Undertaker’s face after a vicious attack and nobody has seen him since…until tonight.

Match #4 is a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Royals (King Mabel, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, Hunter Hearst Helmsley & Isaac Yankem, DDS) w/Sir Mo vs. The Darkside (Savio Vega, Henry O. Godwinn, Fatu & The Undertaker) w/Paul Bearer
Helmsley & Fatu will begin, The Connecticut Blue Blood taunts him with a bow, Fatu returns the favor to mock him, ducks under a clothesline and unloads with right hands. He shoots Helmsley to the ropes for a back body drop, flattens him with a clothesline, sends him back to the ropes for another back body drop, Hunter hooks him for a Pedigree instead, but catches a glimpse of Taker’s face and backs off. He catches Fatu with a kick, drives him head-first into the top turnbuckle, it has no effect and Fatu clocks him with numerous headbutts, then tags out.

Godwinn steps in and Helmsley retreats to his corner to tag out, Lawler takes the ring, but then quick-tags Yankem. Isaac floors Henry with a clothesline and puts the boots to him, irish whip to the ropes is reversed, The Hog Farmer launches him with a hip toss, then plants him with a body slam. He hits the ropes for an elbow drop, slaps on a side headlock, Yankem shoves him off hard into the turnbuckles, delivers a back suplex and makes a tag. The Connecticut Blue Blood hammers Godwinn with uppercuts, chokes him using the 2nd rope, Sir Mo gets in some cheap shots and Hunter sends him to the ropes for a high knee. He makes a cover and gets a count of 2, tries to whip him back to the ropes, Henry reverses it, lifts him up with a military press, Helmsley crawls to his corner and reaches to tag.

The King re-enters the match as Savio gets a tag, Lawler hits the ropes and runs into a hip toss, Vega taunts him with a salsa dance, they lock-up and King rakes the eyes. Irish whip to the ropes is reversed, Lawler avoids a back body drop with a kick, mocks The Darkside on the apron with a dance of his own, Savio gets back to his feet and delivers a dropkick from behind. Fatu scores with a right hand, Vega follows with one of his own and tags out, Fatu rams Lawler head-first into the top turnbuckle numerous times, then follows with a headbutt. He goes to send The King to the ropes, Lawler reverses it, Isaac drives a knee into Fatu’s back from the apron, King decks him with stiff rights, then tags Yankem.

The big man scoops Fatu up for a powerslam, squashes him with a leg drop, Mabel gets a tag Isaac shoots Fatu into the corner, then sends King Mabel in for a splash. Fatu rolls out of harm’s way and tags out, Savio steps in and batters Mabel with fists and chops, hits the ropes for a head of steam, gets planted by a sidewalk slam and King Mabel bludgeons him with heavy blows. He shoves Vega into the wrong part of town, The Royals do a number on his as Fatu argues with the referee, Mabel launches Savio with an overhead throw, then tags Isaac for a double headbutt. Yankem chokes Savio over the 2nd rope, The Royals get in more cheap shots, Isaac sends him to the ropes for a big dropkick, then brings in The Connecticut Blue Blood.

Helmsley puts the boots to Vega in the corner, baits Fatu in to hold the official, The Royals put a beating on Savio in the corner, Hunter then snapmares him over and hits the ropes for a knee drop. He makes a cover and only gets a 2 count, pours it on in the corner with punches and kicks, sends him into a Mabel clothesline from the apron, tags out and Lawler comes in for a Piledriver, but still can’t finish him off. Tag back to Yankem, he drives Savio head-first into the top turnbuckle, quick-tags out to Hunter, Vega starts to fight out of the wrong corner, but Helmsley goes to the midsection with a kick. He shoots him to the ropes, Savio surprises The Connecticut Blue Blood with a uranage, Helmsley crawls to a tag, The King steps in and sets for another Piledriver, but Vega absorbs it and falls into a tag.

The Undertaker comes in and Lawler tries to beg him off, looks to tag out and his partners all bail, The Deadman lifts him in the air by the throat, then drops him to the canvas. King looks for another tag and nobody wants it, Taker spikes him with a Tombstone, crosses the arms over and ends his night. Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler has been eliminated. Yankem storms into the ring and attacks Undertaker from behind, sends him to the ropes for a clothesline, The Phenom ducks under it and scores with a flying clothesline of his own. He muscles Isaac up, drives him down head-first with a Tombstone, crosses the arms and gets another 3 count. Isaac Yankem, DDS has been eliminated.

Helmsley tries to sneak in behind The Deadman, Undertaker quickly notices him, The Connecticut Blue Blood retreats to the outside and starts to walk towards the aisle to exit. Godwinn is there waiting for him with his slop bucket, Undertaker reaches over the ropes and drags him onto the apron, brings him back into the squared circle with a Chokeslam and picks up the pinfall. Hunter Hearst Helmsley has been eliminated. Mabel is all on his own now, surprises The Undertaker with a belly-to-belly suplex, squashes him with a leg drop, starts to celebrate a little too early and The Phenom sits up. King Mabel quickly escapes to the floor and sprints to the back, Sir Mo tries to attack Undertaker from behind, but it has no effect as Mabel gets counted out.
Winners & Sole Survivors: The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Henry O. Godwinn & Fatu

• After The Bell: Taker grabs Sir Mo and plants him with a Chokeslam.
• EA’s Take: Eh, I could have lived without this, the match really didn’t get exciting until The Undertaker finally got into the ring and laid waste to everyone, but that was the whole point. This is most notable for the famed ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ style protective mask Undertaker wore as a result of Mabel legitimately fracturing his orbital bone. You did have smaller feuds like Helmsley/Godwinn, but the focus was certainly surrounding The Deadman all the way. He would get his one-on-one chance for revenge on King Mabel the following month at In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings.

Video: Earlier today, Bret Hart spoke about the winner of his match against Diesel tonight for the WWF Title will face The British Bulldog next month, but he’s focusing on one battle at a time. The Hitman says he’d be lying if he wasn’t worried about facing Diesel, reminding us he’s already had two hard-hitting matches against him. Bret compares himself to Wayne Gretzky because he’s that great at what he does and tonight, the truck stops here. Diesel wants us to look at the facts and if it wasn’t for Bret, The Bulldog wouldn’t even have a shot at the title. Big Daddy Cool thinks things work in weird ways since he has to go through The Hitman to get to Bulldog, agrees Bret might have the advantage the longer it goes, but he doesn’t get paid by the hour. Diesel says he’s looking for big impact, high powered maneuvers because that’s what he does, talks about how the WWF has been on ‘Diesel Power’ for a year now and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

Backstage: Todd Pettengill is standing by with Sycho Sid, The British Bulldog, ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase & James E. Cornette. Pettengill alludes to seeing Cornette with the opposing team in tonight’s match earlier, Cornette acts as if he’s been on The Bulldog’s side the whole time. DiBiase informs Cornette he doesn’t care who’s on his team as long as his team brings home the cash, but warns him not to double-cross them. Shawn Michaels & Ahmed Johnson walk in and The Heartbreak Kid sarcastically tries to get them to stop arguing, says they better stick together because he and Ahmed will be.

Match #5 is a Wild Card Survivor Series Elimination Match: Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Dean Douglas & WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon w/Mr. Fuji vs. The British Bulldog, Sycho Sid, Ahmed Johnson & Shawn Michaels w/James E. Cornette & ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase
Both teams are still trying to get things in order at the bell, Michaels & Owen will start us off, they lock-up and Shawn grabs a side headlock, gets pushed off to the ropes and scores with a shoulder knockdown. He goes back to the ropes and The King of Harts catches him with a hip toss, The Heartbreak Kid quickly kicks him away, hits the ropes, slides out of a body slam attempt, but gets tossed over the top rope. HBK hangs on and pulls himself up into a headscissors, Owen spills to the floor, Michaels skins the cat back inside, leaps to the outside, Cornette tries for a cheap shot with the tennis racket, but it’s off-target.

Shawn buries a kick to Cornette’s breadbasket, picks up the racket and smacks him on the backside, avoids Hart trying to ambush him and sends him back into the squared circle. He looks to shoot Owen to the ropes, it’s reversed, The King of Harts delivers an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, then makes a tag. Dean steps in and batters Shawn with right hands, hooks him for a delayed vertical suplex, puts the boots to Michaels, then peppers him in the corner with punches. Irish whip across is reversed, The Heartbreak Kid sends Douglas from pillar-to-post, hits the ropes for a flying forearm, scales the corner to the top and connects with a double axe handle for 2. He whips Dean into the corner and charges in, Douglas catches him with a boot to the jaw, scoops him up for a body slam, looks to slingshot off the 2nd rope with a splash, but Michaels rolls out of harm’s way.

He heads upstairs and scores with a moonsault for a cover, Owen comes in to break the count at 2, celebrates a little too early, Shawn tagging out. Ahmed takes the ring and flattens Dean with a clothesline, elevates The King of Harts charging in with a back body drop, connects with a scissors kick to Douglas, then drop Owen with a knee lift. Yoko steps into the ring and Johnson looks to slam him to no avail, a 3-1 assault ensues, The Mighty One remains in the squared circle, clobbers him with headbutts and rakes him across the back. Douglas gets the tag and looks to wear Johnson down with a chinlock, rakes the eyes and gets caught, breaks the hold for a cheap shot on The Bulldog and baits him into the ring. Owen swaps out behind the ref’s back, decks Ahmed with a barrage of clubbing shots, corners him and distracts the official, his teammates all doing a number on Johnson.

The King of Harts tags back out, sends Ahmed to the ropes with Dean, they deliver a double clothesline for a count of 2, Douglas tries to shoot him back to the ropes, Johnson reverses it and surprises him with a powerslam. HBK tags in, Ahmed presses him over his head, launches him onto Dean for a crossbody, Michaels gaining a near fall. He measures for Sweet Chin Music and Dean ducks outside to avoid it, Razor drops off the apron to have a word with him, Douglas pushes him away, slides back inside and Shawn rolls him up from behind. Dean switches the momentum, grabs a handful of tights for a 2 count, gets sent towards the ropes off the kick-out, The Bad Guy drills him with a right hand, The Heartbreak Kid follows with a schoolboy and gets the 3 count. Dean Douglas has been eliminated.

The King of Harts quickly rushes in and gets tripped up by a drop toe hold, tag to Davey Boy, he goes face-to-face with his brother-in-law and a shoving match ensues. Bulldog calls for a handshake, Owen accepts and they both try to clock each other, Davey Boy gets the better of it, sends him to the ropes, leapfrogs over and launches him with a monkey toss. He goes to shoot Hart back to the ropes, Owen reverses, drops down, explodes back up with a spinning wheel kick and gains a count of 2. They both tag out, HBK & Ramon take the ring, they lock-up, Razor grabs a side headlock, gets sent away to the ropes and runs him over with a shoulder block. He goes back to the ropes for another, tries it a third time, Shawn side-steps him, sends The Bad Guy over the top, Razor lands on his feet on the floor, slides back in and levels Michaels with a clothesline.

He whips him to the ropes for a hip toss, The Heartbreak Kid blocks it for one of his own, Ramon blocks back, swings wildly with a clothesline that misses, rebounds off the ropes and runs into a back elbow. HBK sends him for the ride back to the ropes, attempts a clothesline, Razor ducks it, they collide in the center of the ring, but Shawn kips back up to his feet. He sends Ramon back to the ropes for a back body drop, The Bad Guy puts on the brakes, sets for the Razor’s Edge and hits it, hooks the leg, but Ahmed is there to break it up at 2. Both guys struggle back to their feet, Shawn reverses a whip to the ropes, ducks down for a back body drop, The Bad Guy counters with a knee lift and they go down again. They stumble back up once more and Ramon hooks on a side headlock, Shawn shoves him away to the ropes, drops down, comes back to his feet and they collide heads, then double down again.

Michaels makes it to his corner and slaps Sycho Sid on the back for a tag, the big man steps inside and clobbers Ramon with double axe handles to the spine, corners him and buries fists to the breadbasket. He proceeds to choke The Bad Guy, launches him across the ring, puts the boots to him, but Yoko comes in to attack from behind. The referee forces The Mighty One back to the apron, Sid continues to hammer Razor across the back, The Bad Guy starts fighting back, reverses a whip to the ropes and ducks a clothesline, both guys then score with a clothesline and go down. Sid crawls to the apron and climbs to the top turnbuckle, Ramon clips him with an uppercut, press slams him to the mat for a 2 count, then fires away with haymakers.

Sid ducks one, plants him with a Chokeslam, tags The Heartbreak Kid and holds The Bad Guy up for him. Michaels measures for Sweet Chin Music, Razor avoids it and Sid gets clocked instead, HBK acts like he could care less and The Bad Guy makes a cover. The Bulldog hits the ring to deliver a leg drop and break it up, Ramon goes right back into a lateral press and the official counts to 3 anyways. Sycho Sid has been eliminated. Davey Boy charges in and flattens Razor with a clothesline, Sid grabs HBK and pulls him into the ring, plants him with a Powerbomb, them finally takes his leave. The Bulldog puts the boots to Ramon, the official forces him back to the apron, puts the standing 10-count on Shawn & The Bad Guy, Razor rolls over and drapes the arm over for a cover, but can’t put it away.

He reaches to his corner and The King of Harts tags in, swiftly puts the boots to Michaels, cracks him with a backbreaker, then sends him to the ropes for a back body drop. He tags out, Yokozuna unloads with right hands in the corner, shoots him across, The Heartbreak Kid gets turned inside-out, The Mighty One snapmares him over, then slaps on a nerve hold to the trap muscle. Shawn fights to a standing position, hits the ropes and ducks a clothesline, doesn’t avoid the back elbow, Yoko brings Owen back in for a double headbutt and The King of Harts scores with a snap suplex. He heads to the high-rent district for a diving headbutt, nobody’s home and Michaels reaches for a tag, Johnson steps in and delivers a clothesline, Razor comes in and catches one for his troubles, Ahmed cleans house on all his opponents, but Owen surprises him with a rake of the eyes.

He shoots him to the ropes for a back body drop, Ahmed puts on the brakes, delivers a tiger bomb and picks up the pinfall. Owen Hart has been eliminated. Razor wastes no time in coming into the ring, unleashes a series of punches, irish whip to the corner is reversed, Johnson follows him in, runs into a boot to the jaw and The Bad Guy goes to the 2nd rope. Ahmed staggers across the ring, Ramon drops down, plants him with a running bulldog, catches Shawn & The Bulldog coming in with right hands, looks to send Johnson to the ropes, it’s reversed and Ahmed delivers a spinebuster. He climbs the ropes to celebrate, The Bad Guy grabs him from behind for the Razor’s Edge, Davey Boy makes a blind tag, ambushes Ramon from behind and clobbers him into the mat.

‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, Sycho Sid & The 1-2-3 Kid make their way down to ringside, Razor reverses a whip to the ropes, swings wildly with a right hand, The Bulldog avoids it and tries a crossbody, but gets caught in mid-air for a fallaway slam. Razor goes into a lateral press for a near fall, hits the ropes and flattens Davey Boy with a clothesline, goes to the ropes for another, The Kid hooks him by the foot, climbs up to the apron and The Bad Guy decks him with a haymaker. He turns around, Davey Boy muscles him up for the Running Powerslam, hooks the leg and that ends Ramon’s night. Razor Ramon has been eliminated. Bulldog tags out as Yokozuna steps inside, they lock-up and The Mighty One backs Shawn to the corner, HBK battles his way out with punches and gets the big man reeling.

Yoko finally blocks a shot and returns fire with a palm strikes, plants Michaels with a body slam, hits the ropes for a leg drop, then drags him to the corner for a Banzai Drop. The Heartbreak Kid just barely avoids it, crawls towards his corner to tag out, Johnson steps in, scoops Yoko up for a body slam and covers, but Davey Boy breaks the count at 2. Michaels argues with The Bulldog, Ahmed gets in his face, they deck Davey Boy with right hands, then deliver a double clothesline to the outside. Shawn turns around and connects with Sweet Chin Music to Yokozuna, Ahmed hits the ropes for a splash and finishes it off.
Winners & Sole Survivors: The British Bulldog, Ahmed Johnson & Shawn Michaels

• EA’s Take: By this time the Survivor Series Elimination Match concept was very tired and repetitive, so I appreciate that they tried something different by mixing heels and faces on the same teams. It was a first for the WWF even though WCW had done it prior, but nevertheless made for more interest in this one. A lot of sloppiness though, it felt very disorganized at times and you could see how green Ahmed Johnson was at the time. This was just after Shawn’s return from his beating at a Syracuse bar, so the concussion stuff was still pretty prevalent and would ultimately lead to an angle where he would tease retirement. However, we all know that would not be the case and he would return at the Royal Rumble.

In The Arena: Todd Pettengill is back in the Presidential Box with ‘President Bill Clinton’ who is being fed popcorn by Sunny. Clinton says there’s nothing he likes better than sitting back, enjoying some popcorn and watching a ‘perfect match’, but looks directly at Sunny’s chest. He asks if she might be open to a position in his cabinet, Sunny stating she is the perfect candidate for ‘under the table work’.

Video: Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart speaks about tonight’s match against WWF Champion Diesel, admitting that both times they faced off, it was a brutal fight. The champion believes he delivered the Jackknife both times to the challenger, wondering why he can’t seem to beat The Hitman. Bret thinks he’s like a Timex watch and keeps on ticking, claims big guys start to run out of steam the longer a match goes, but Diesel says he doesn’t get paid by the hour and plans to go out to do what he does best, beating people up.

Match #6 is No Disqualification for the WWF Championship: Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart vs. WWF Champion Diesel
The bell rings and Diesel exposes a top turnbuckle, Bret goes to the opposite corner and does the same, they exchange words, stare each other down, the challenger ducking the opening lock-up. He goes for the leg and backs the champion to the corner, Big Daddy Cool clobbers him across the back, turns the tables and unloads with the heavy artillery in the corner, Hart tries to slip away, but Diesel continues to throw him back in for more punishment. The Hitman finally rolls to the outside to regroup, Big Daddy Cool steps out in pursuit, hammers him across the spine, drops him face-first on top of the barricade, then drives Bret head-first off the apron.

He launches the challenger into the ring, The Hitman rolls right back out, Diesel stays on him and chokes Hart with the bottom of his boot. The champion tosses Bret back in, The Excellence of Execution begins battling back, they trade-off shots, Diesel gets the better of it and sends him to the floor with a big right hand. Big Daddy Cool goes out after him, shoots the challenger into the steel steps, rams him spine-first into the ring post, grabs a chair and smashes Bret over the back. He throws Hart into the squared circle, whips him hard into the turnbuckles, levels Bret with a short-arm clothesline, then calls for the Jackknife. The Hitman hangs onto Diesel’s leg to block it, Big Daddy Cool keeps going for it, but The Excellence of Execution bites his arm, then sinks his teeth into the champion’s face.

He jumps on Diesel’s back and tears at his eyes, begins targeting the left leg with kicks, takes him down with a single-leg and drops down with elbows and knees. Hart props the bad leg on the ropes and jumps down with all his weight, drags Big Daddy Cool to the middle of the ring, then locks on a figure four. The champion gains the ropes, Bret releases the hold, continues punishing the knee, tries for the Sharpshooter, but Diesel prevents it with a poke to the eyes. The Hitman goes for it again and gets pushed into the corner, hits the back of his head off an exposed turnbuckle, Big Daddy Cool batters him across the back, Hart rolls away to the floor, reaches in and sweeps the legs.

He drags the champion under the bottom rope in the corner, drives the left knee into the steel post multiple times, ties a cord around the post, then slides in and knots it around Diesel’s foot. The Excellence of Execution goes to the 2nd rope, the champion can’t move out of the way, Bret comes off with an elbow, goes outside for a chair and charges Diesel, but runs into a boot the chops. The champion reaches for the chair, gets cut off by Hart, The Hitman drives it down into the leg knee numerous times, drops multiple elbows, then cracks him with a backbreaker. Bret rolls outside and heads upstairs with the chair, Diesel catches him with a right hand to the breadbasket, The Hitman gets crotched on the top turnbuckle, then launched down to the canvas.

Big Daddy Cool unties himself, chokes The Excellence of Execution with the cord, plants him with a side slam and gains a count of 2. He hauls Bret up, shoots him sternum-first into the exposed buckle, props him throat-first across the 2nd rope, then jumps on his back with a seated senton. The champion powers Hart up over his shoulder, drops him face-first on the top turnbuckle, tries it again on the exposed turbuckle, The Hitman slides off, then drives Diesel face-first into it instead. He peppers Big Daddy Cool with right hands, hits the ropes for a clothesline, goes into a lateral press for a near fall, then climbs to the 2nd rope. He comes off with a bulldog and gets another 2 count, hits a side russian leg sweep that still doesn’t finish it, then rocks Big Daddy Cool with more fists.

He gets the big man staggering near the ropes, clotheslines him over the top to the floor, looks to slingshot outside with a crossbody, but nobody’s home. The champion pulls himself back into the ring and to his feet, The Excellence of Execution crawls up to the apron, Diesel pushes him back off and Bret crashes through the spanish announce table. Big Daddy Cool goes outside and bludgeons Hart across the back, deposits him into the ring, gingerly makes his way in and calls for the Jackknife again. He tries to drag Bret into position, the challenger slumps back to the mat, Diesel tries to pick him up, gets surprised by a small package and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WWF Champion: Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart (Small Package)

• After The Bell: Big Daddy Cool can’t believe it and shoves the ref to the canvas, plants Bret with a Jackknife, more referees come down to the ring and Diesel lays them out with right hands. He muscles The Hitman up for another Jackknife, takes the title away and drops it next to Bret before taking his leave.
• EA’s Take: I remember watching this live at a friend’s house and to this day, I still love this match. It was entirely different from anything ever seen to this point in the WWF, showed a truly aggressive side of The Hitman and was such a beautifully told story that didn’t need a frenetic pace. Easily the best match on PPV the WWF has put on since WrestleMania X, either Razor/Shawn or Bret/Owen, take your pick. Of course this is the big heel turn for Diesel as his WWF Title reign, the longest of the 1990’s, finally comes to an end, however he would remain a tweener before fully turning just prior to WrestleMania. Speaking of which, Mania is already being thought about with this title change as plans for an iconic match for Bret are in place, while Big Daddy Cool would also receive a high-profile bout.

EA’s Finisher: There are definitely some glaring weaknesses in this event, but it has to be the best Survivor Series pay-per-view in some time, if not to this point. The Wild Card Elimination Match was a little sloppy in areas, but it felt like a fresh concept and boosted intrigue. Then of course, you have one of the better main events the company has had in a while and a cast of young faces in the business opening the show with a surprisingly entertaining match. There would be some more roster turnover following this as Bam Bam Bigelow and Alundra Blayze would both leave, but you still have all your top dogs in the company…at least for a few more months.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Diesel vs. Bret Hart
2 – The Bodydonnas vs. The Underdogs
3 – Wild Card Elimination Match

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