I'm counting down to the 30th annual Survivor Series by looking back at my ten favorite teams in the history of the event. Survivor Series ranks among my favorite events every year and if you've read this blog in the past you know I'm a fan of the traditional elimination matches. In 1995 WWE tried something different for Survivor Series. This was the first year the event aired on a Sunday night. Previous Survivor Series shows were on Thanksgiving or the night before. Also that year, good guy teams vs. bad guy teams were tossed out the window. One match featured so-called Wild Card teams.
When rivals have to be partners
Courtesy: WWE
Interim WWF President Gorilla Monsoon made rivals team up and take on their friends. Shawn Michaels was forced to captain a team with Ahmed Johnson and his enemies, Sid and Davey Boy Smith. That foursome faced Razor Ramon, Yokozuna, Owen Hart and Dean Douglas. As you might imagine, the teammate loyalty ran then and Shawn helped eliminate Sid after a serving of Sweet Chin Music. Once the dust settled it was Shawn's team that won, with HBK, Johnson and The Bulldog standing tall as the survivors.
Teamwork
Courtesy: WWE
At the time of this match, Davey Boy was one of my favorites. He had recently turned heel and was being managed by Jim Cornette. I had previously been a fan of the heel HBK, and Ahmed Johnson was growing on me. I'll admit it here, I liked Sid too, so this team had it all. The "Wild Card" concept didn't become a consistent idea, but it did return from time to time.
When I worked in Alabama as a TV reporter and anchor I had a couple of opportunities to meet a handful of wrestling greats. In 1998 I interviewed a handful of wrestlers at a WCW Thunder event in Huntsville. Buff Bagwell, Goldberg, Bobby Heenan and the late Ray "Big Bossman" Traylor all spent some time with me.
About a year later, a local gym owner and wrestling promoter were hosting a show with Sid Vicious as one half of the main event. Because he knew I was a huge fan, the promoter extended an invitation to me to attend the show. I took a chance and asked if Sid would be available for an interview for the newscast. I was excited to learn that he was.
Sid in action
Sid wanted to do the interview before his match. I was ushered back to a hallway where Sid was pacing back and forth. We shook hands and exchanged hellos. My intent was to ask Sid a few questions about his career (this was after his championship run with WWE but months before he showed up in WCW and won their title).
Meeting the big man
I mounted the camera on my shoulder and held the microphone up to the big man. Before I even finished asking my first question, Sid snatched the mic out of my hand and proceeded to cut a wrestling promo for me. He did this at the top of his lungs, screaming until his face was beat red. Bottom line, the "interview" was nothing I could use for the newscast, but it was quite awesome being in the presence of the wrestling legend.
When he returned to town a few months later, Sid came into our studio for a sit down interview on the newscast. This time he was much more subdued and didn't yell. It was one of the most surreal moments of my career. Those encounters with Sid were some of my favorite memories working in "the Shoals."
The 1997 Royal Rumble match has one of my favorite endings. For those who don't remember, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was a rising star in the company. He had drawn number five and had gone on two total elimination runs, leaving just himself in the ring.
Waiting for more victims Courtesy: WWE
Then Bret "The Hitman" Hart came out and the action intensified. The two had a great feud going at the time and I think the rub from Hart helped to build the Stone Cold character. The two battled for about 90 seconds until Jerry "The King" Lawler left commentary and entered the ring. He was eliminated about four seconds later, courtesy of Hart.
Stone Cold wins Courtesy: WWE
They battled it out alone until the ring slowly filled again. In the end it was The Undertaker, Vader, Hart, Austin and Diesel. Hart tossed Austin over the top rope, but because the referees were distracted by Terry Funk and Mankind brawling on the floor, Austin slipped back in the ring. He pushed Undertaker and Vader over the top as Bret threw Diesel out. Of course Bret thought he'd won, only to to be thrown over by Austin. Since the refs hadn't seen the prior elimination Austin was declared the winner. As a Stone Cold fan, this made me happy. Nineteen years later it's a textbook example of how to help get a guy over even more.
Despite Austin winning the Rumble, he did not get the "guaranteed" championship match at Wrestlemania that year. The newly crowned champion Shawn Michaels gave up the belt and Bret won it in a special four man match at the In Your House pay per view, only to lose it the next night to Sid thanks to Austin's interference. That set up the Mania match between Austin and Hart and Sid defended against The Undertaker.
Here are some other ramblings about the 97 event...
Vader roughing up Rocky Courtesy: WWE
Toward the end, I thought it was cool watching it today and seeing all the future mega stars in the ring with established Superstars and legends. Terry Funk, Vader, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, "Diesel" (now Kane), Rocky Maivia (The Rock), and Mankind were in there together.
JR made the same joke I did about Flash and Terry Funk not being related. Of course more people heard Ross than me...
Mil Mascaras
There was more inconsistency with the eliminations as Mil Mascaras jumped off the top rope and to the floor. When Randy Savage did a similar move in 1992, he was allowed back into the match.
Faarooq also eliminated himself trying to escape Ahmed Johnson who had eliminated himself earlier in the evening. I never understood why guys not involved in the match could do this, but I digress.
Bottom line as Stone Cold would say, I enjoyed this Rumble and think the ending is second only to Ric Flair's historical win in 1992.
I debated doing this as a Friday Fail as it saw someone suffer a serious injury. But one of our readers (and a friend of mine), Weston made the argument that a fail happens when you attempt to do something and it doesn't go according to plan. Maybe it wasn't the best idea for a 6'7" monster to climb the top rope.
I'll be honest, I can't even go back and look at the footage of the accident. It happened at the WCW pay per view SIN in 2001. Sid was wrestling Scott Steiner, Animal, and Jeff Jarrett. Sid went to the top rope and to say he landed wrong is an understatement. He landed on his leg the wrong way and it snapped like a twig.
The break was so graphic and horrific in my opinion, I was shocked that Sid eventually was able to get back in the ring and wrestle. He was no spring chicken at the time of the accident and to see him still active today is a testament to his determination. I interviewed Sid once before the accident. He talked about all the training he goes through to stay in such great shape.
I'm doing a new feature each Friday here, based loosely on a segment we do on the newscast I anchor, called Friday Fail. In that weekly feature we look at stupid things that people (mostly criminals) do.
The Friday Fail here on My 1-2-3 Cents will of course feature something from the wrestling world. Yeah, it's similar to the WWE's YouTube show "Are You Serious?", but I plan to find stuff that they haven't done yet.
That being said though, the first one is actually one of my favorite bloopers of all time. The wrestler known as Tugboat and Typhoon in the WWF had jumped ship to WCW in 1993. His debut was much hyped as he was to appear with Sting, Dustin Rhodes, and Davey Boy Smith in a War Games matchup against Sid, Vader, and Harlem Heat. "Shockmaster" was to make his debut during a "Flair for the Gold" talk show segment. He barrelled through the wall, but because he was wearing a storm trooper helmet spray painted with glitter paint, Shockmaster's vision was limited. He apparently got tripped up on the debris and came tumbling through, and his helmet bounced right off his head. He scrambled to get it back on and then got up quickly, but stood awkwardly for a few seconds. It was a site to behold.
This all happened live during a Clash of the Champions show. No retakes, and you never know what's going to happen on live TV. Shockmaster's momentum was killed before it ever really even started. I am going to assume that his fall from grace (if he had any at that point) was to blame. If you listen closely you can hear mumbling. I'm not sure if it's the commentators or the wrestlers on the set. Allegedly Booker T and Davey Boy Smith dropped the f-bomb after the incident, but it was edited out later.
Years later, WWE spoofed the incident with DX, Dusty Rhodes, Arn Anderson, and Santino Marella. It's obviously not as funny as the original. But really, what is.
What are some of you favorite fails in wrestling? Let us know here or on Facebook. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter. We're @my123cents, @kevinhunsperger, and @chadsmart.
