This review is being done courtesy of the WWE Vault, which is fast becoming the best YouTube channel out there, around a month ago they posted this event in its entirety. The broadcast should last just under 2 hours and 20 minutes, with adverts I’ll let you know what the real length is.

Survivor Series 1990 took place on 22 November 1990 from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut

Current Champions

  • WWF Champion: The Ultimate Warrior
  • Intercontinental Champion: Texas Tornado
  • Tag Team Champions: Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart)

We left things at SummerSlam with Ultimate Warrior successfully defending the WWF Championship in a Steel Cage against ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude, while Hulk Hogan overcame Earthquake.

Vince McMahon voices the opening video detailing all the different Survivor Series teams including their unique names such as the Vipers versus the Visionaries. On commentary, we have Gorilla Monsoon and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper for this Thanksgiving tradition. They have good and bad news. Good news is that they introduce the Match of Survival where all the Survivors will compete in the main event, which I think is a concept that should have been repeated every year, and the bad news is the hatching of a giant ‘brontosaurus’ egg.

The Perfect Team vs. The Warriors

We begin with Mr. Fuji leading Demolition to the ring, followed by captain Mr. Perfect alongside Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan. Gene Okerlund is backstage with The Warriors. I do quite like Animal dedicating the match to the little Warriors, the little Tornados and the little Doomers. These two teams are superb in their own way. LOD, the Intercontinental Champion and the WWF Champion. Perfect has all three of Demolition. Jesus, Warrior gets a huge pop. Little details go a long way like Demolition remaining in the ring for their opponents’ entrance while Perfect takes a powder. Animal takes down Smash to begin the match. He gets pummelled by all four adversaries. Team captain Mr. Perfect tags in briefly, then it goes back to Smash. Powerslam by Animal. It breaks down for a moment with all eight men in before the referee regains control. Tornado is in and he’s up against Ax. Tag to Warrior, he splashes Ax and eliminates him. Crush gets a shot in on Warrior. He comes off the top rope with an athletic knee drop for a man of his size. Hawk tags in, as does Perfect. Perfect posts for an elevated choke by Hawk. Perfect tries an irish whip reversal but Hawk isn’t on the same wavelength. Double team by Demolition on Hawk. It’s noticeable that the LOD aren’t giving Demolition much offence before they turn things around. A pinfall attempt on Smash is broken up by Crush and both tag teams brawl. The referee disqualifies all four. That leaves Perfect against both Kerry Von Erich and Ultimate Warrior. Perfect wants the Texas Tornado and now the energy level increases. Tornado’s discus punch sends Perfect all the way over the top rope and then he gets clotheslined over the far side. Warrior sends Perfect into Heenan and ‘The Brain’ gets tossed over the barricade. Perfect eliminates Tornado with the Perfect-Plex, then dominates Warrior before succumbing to the WWF Champion. Ultimate Warrior is the sole survivor. [***]

Ted DiBiase is with Sean Mooney along with Virgil, Jimmy Hart, Rhythm & Blues. Their mystery partner is yet to be revealed but DiBiase cuts a superb promo breaking down his rival Dusty Rhodes and the Dream Team.

The Dream Team vs. The Million Dollar Team

Dusty has no polka dots but he does have Koko B. Ware and the Hart Foundation. Piper dedicates the match to Bret’s brother Dean, who passed away shortly before the Survivor Series. Rhythm & Blues are a great act consisting of Honky Tonk Man, the Colonel Jimmy Hart and ‘Boxcar’ Greg Valentine. DiBiase introduces his mystery man, accompanied by Brother Love – the Undertaker. Roddy Piper does a great sell. Undertaker begins with Bret Hart, which is a precursor to some great matches several years later. Neidhart tries to his fare with Undertaker and gets slammed back in the Dream Team corner. Koko’s dive gets sidestepped and takes the most awkward Tombstone Piledriver you’ll ever see to send him back to the showers. Just check out the reaction to it on the Six Feet Under podcast. Dusty Rhodes goes up against Valentine. Both are wearing very similar trunks, black with a red trim. Rhodes of course has lost ‘Sweet’ Sapphire after DiBiase paid her off but by this point, Sapphire has departed the WWF. Honky Tonk Man is the next man out courtesy of a powerslam by the ‘Anvil’. Dusty busts out a dropkick. Double team by Rhodes and Neidhart, two big powerhouses. Virgil trips Neidhart and he’s pinned by the ‘Million Dollar Man’. Undertaker tags himself in and goes at it with the ‘American Dream’. Undertaker takes a small walk along the top rope and delivers a double axe handle to Rhodes to get the three count. Brother Love puts the shoes to Rhodes on the outside. Undertaker goes out to rescue his manager and gets counted out, despite not being the legal man. Much like Perfect earlier, Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart eliminates one of his remaining two opponents in Valentine but then is defeated by DiBiase. Ted DiBiase is the sole survivor. Another good bout. [***]

The Vipers led by Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts are in the shower with ‘Mean’ Gene. Shawn Michaels looks as nervous as I’ve ever seen him and Jake has an issue with his eye, which I assume is due to Rick Martel and his ‘Arrogance’ perfume.

The Visionaries vs. The Vipers

Team captain Rick Martel is joined by the Warlord, Slick, Power and Glory. The Vipers are Jake, the Rockers and ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka. Lots of agility against brute force in this one. Great counter to a hiptoss by Michaels during a sequence against ‘The Model’ Rick Martel. Marty Jannetty gets caught trying a crossbody attempt off the top and Warlord slams him for three. Michaels with a hurricanrana on Warlord and tags in Jake. So far there’s been lots of covers with the man on his back shoving the opponent high in the air to kick out. Shawn Michaels gets some frequent flier miles off a back body drop. Martel pulls the tights to get a pinfall on Snuka. It’s down to four-on-two. I can’t take my eyes off the very small trunks Hercules is wearing. Roberts calls for the DDT on Hercules but he scurries to the outside. Cheap shot by Martel from the apron puts Jake at a disadvantage. Michaels gets the tag and a chance for revenge on Paul Roma. Atomic drop by Michaels and Roma makes a blind tag to Hercules, that proves to be Shawn’s downfall as he never truly recovers. Power-Plex and it’s down to Jake Roberts against four men. ‘The Snake’ has one eye and no partners, despite Piper wanting him to bring Damien into the fray. It’s futile though as Roberts is overpowered. He gets counted out chasing Martel after he tries to spray ‘Arrogance’ in his face again. For the first time in Survivor Series history, one team pitches a shutout. Martel, Warlord, Power and Glory are added to the Match of Survival. Sluggish in parts compared to the opening two matches but still decent quality. [**1/2]

The Royal Rumble will take place on 19 January 1991 as the first big event of the new year.

Sean Mooney is with the Hulkamaniacs and it’s a classic promo this one all about the word ‘survival’. Hogan has assembled himself, Jim Duggan, Tugboat and the Big Boss Man. Tugbout is apparently just like the Battleship Missouri. Good for the lad. They’re dedicating their match to the armed forces in the Middle East. Lots of dedications tonight.

The Natural Disasters vs. The Hulkamaniacs

I do love Howard Finkel adding Dino Bravo as Earthquake’s partner as something of an afterthought. Haku is part of the team, reportedly replacing Rick Rude, as if Barbarian. The Hulkamaniacs get their own entrances. Tugboat is supposedly the inspiration behind Hogan returning to the WWF. So far it’s DiBiase, Martel, Warlord, Power and Glory against Ultimate Warrior in the grand finale. ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan on fire to begin with against Haku. Lots of praise for Hogan selecting this team. Personally I’d have had Texas Tornado and Warrior over Duggan and Tugboat but that’s just me. Jimmy Hart has an amazing airbushed Survivor Series jacket. Haku is out thanks to the Big Boss Man. Heenan gets sent into the turnbuckle by Big Boss Man. Suplex and a beauty by the Barbarian. Duggan uses his yellow ribboned 2×4 to get himself disqualified. Now it’s Hogan against Earthquake. Big slam on the Canadian. Small package on Dino Bravo eliminates him. Boss Man goes to town on Earthquake. Earthquake catches Boss Man coming off the top, that was impressive. Barbarian with a kick from behind on Boss Man and he takes two huge elbow drop from Earthquake. Three count. Hogan and Tugboat are left against Earthquake and Barbarian. Tugboat has hardly been in this match and finally gets a tag. Tugboat is up against his future partner Earthquake. They brawl outside and we have a double count out. Barbarian goes after the ‘Hulkster’ with a piledriver but duly takes the fall for Hogan to advance into the Match of Survival, joining Warrior. [***]

‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund introduces ‘Macho King’ Randy Savage, who has to duck as he’s carried to the staging area on his throne. Savage is there to challenge Ultimate Warrior to a title match.

The Alliance vs. The Mercenaries

Slaughter and his partners all have camouflage paint on their faces. Okerlund gets a word with Sgt Slaughter on the way to the ring and he cuts an anti-USA promo. Saddam Hussain is being booked as the biggest heel on the WWF roster. Boris Zhukov is Nikolai Volkoff’s former partner, who has become pro-USA to counter Slaughter. Volkoff is joined by Tito Santana and the Bushwhackers on his Alliance team. Early pinfall on Zhukov by Tito Santana thanks to a flying forearm barely a minute in. Saito is pinned by one of the Bushwhackers. Tito Santana now defeats Tanaka after another flying forearm. Slaughter is left in there against four men just as ‘The Snake’ was earlier. Wicked clothesline by Slaughter turns the tide against Volkoff. Things are very slow with Sgt Slaughter on offence. He pins Nikolai after a dropkick. Double slam by Luke and Butch but Slaughter kicks out at two. Gutbuster on Luke and he’s done. Slaughter takes Butch down with another clothesline and he’s evened things up. Santana in the match for the first time and he picks up the pace. Swinging neckbreaker by Sarge. Tito gets the flying forearm in but General Adnan comes in to nail Santana with the Iraqi flag. Camel Clutch and the referee waves it off. Slaughter is disqualified and Santana is the sole survivor. Arriba! As per Gorilla, Slaughter is bent out of shape or what. [**]

Sean Mooney talks to Ted DiBiase and the entire Visionaries team. The ‘Million Dollar Man’ is offering a lot of incentive money to survive one more time. He says Santana might be a great athlete but then recalls Hogan versus the Warrior at WrestleMania XI.

We go from a good promo from DiBiase to an awful piece of business as the gigantic egg hatches. The funny story of course is that Mark Calloway thought he was going to be egg-man as he prepared for his debut at this event. Okerlund isn’t sure, you can see it in his eyes. Gorilla Monsoon isn’t even selling this mess. He’s not wrong there. The crowd reaction to the Gobbledy Gooker is deathly silent. Gooker and Gene dance in the ring. Poor Hector Guerrero. Piper is trying to say that the kids are going nuts but there’s noticeably few crowd shots. Is he a wrestler? Is he a mascot?

Now Sean Mooney has caught up with the three men of Hogan, Warrior and Tito Santana preparing to face five men. Interestingly, Mooney refers to the trio as Hogan’s team. At least Hogan knows Santana’s catchphrase, Warrior calls him ‘Arrivederci’.

Ted DiBiase & The Visionaries vs. Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior & Tito Santana

It’s Hulk Hogan who comes out last for his team, even though he’s teaming with the WWF Champion. It’s all a power play. Early pinfall as Tito Santana gets three on Warlord. DiBiase sends Santana back to the dressing room. Quick pace to this Match of Survival and that’s somewhat unexpected given that its their second match of the night. Hogan kicks out of the Power-Plex with authority. Hogan gets rid of Paul Roma. Tag to Warrior. He lights up ‘The Model’ Rick Martel. Earlier Warrior was wearing tights that said ‘the only survivor’ on the backside, he’s now switched to his usual attire. Big boot and a clothesline sends Martel out through the ropes. ‘The Model’ gets himself counted out as DiBiase fumes. It’s now two-on-two for Hogan and Warrior against DiBiase and Hercules. Leg drop eliminates the ‘Million Dollar Man’ and Hulk turns things over to Ultimate Warrior. Hercules is a sitting duck. Flying shoulder block, then the splash and it’s over. Slick gets tossed out by Hogan and Warrior. Hogan then holds the ropes open for Warrior, who says he’ll hold the ropes open for Hogan. Both men pose on the ring apron. This one went at a hell of a pace and while on one hand that cheapens the eliminations, its understandable given that it was effectively a bonus match. [***]

The Verdict: The Match of Survival was a brilliant concept and due to the changes in how Survivor Series was presented, not always possible. In 1999 for example you’d have been left with Big Show, Val Venis, Godfather, D’Lo and Mark Henry against Hardcore Holly. Not that Bob would have backed down. Despite some top heels waiting in the wings like Savage, DiBiase and Slaughter, it’s still hard to see past Hogan versus Warrior at WrestleMania in a rematch. Total watch time with YouTube adverts just over 2 hours and 28 minutes. Another good show with a recommendation, just skip the hatching of the egg because there’s nothing that can be salvaged there.