SURVIVOR SERIES 1991
TEAM FLAIR: Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Jake The Snake, Sgt.Slaughter
VS
TEAM HOGAN: Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice, Macho Man, Rowdy Roddy Piper
I consdiered calling Team Flair "The Four Horseman of The Apolcalypse" as it combines the Four Horseman reference to Flairs days in NWA with the evil apocalyptic mentality of his 3 psychotic teammates. But NWA probably has a trademark on The Four Horsmen so I doubt it would be possible. So Team Flair it is.
There was a Funeral Parlor segment that would have been the perfect catalyst for this match. In it Hogan was being interviewed by Paul Bearer only to be interupted by Ric Flair. The Undertaker attacked Hogan from behind. Flair and Taker double teamed Hogan until Piper and Savage came to Hogan's aid. And that's your setup. Throw in a heel Slaughter, whom Hogan fougth at Mania and Summerslam to round out the heel side, and Sid Justice, who came to Macho Man's aid when he was attacked by Jake and Taker at Summerslam.
Jake and Macho not being included on this ppv was a huge f u to the fans. Savage should have been reinstated before this event thus allowing him to compete. Survivor Series suffered in 1991 mostly because it served as nothing more than a launching pad for another event "This Tuesday In Texas" which is arguably the least creative name for a ppv in wrestling history.
Quick note on Slaughter turning face in late 1991. No explanation was given other than Sarge pleading for forgivness all the while not doing anything to warrant being forgiven. The gulf war had come to an end and WWF had booked itself into a corner, so without any use for the heel Slaughter character they changed him back to GI JOE without any rhyme or reason. And of course, fans being as stupid as they were back then, just went along with it. I bet Vince misses the days when he could simply tell the crowd what to think.
IF Mr.Perfect had been healthy I would have had him on Flair's team instead of Slaughter, but unfortunately he was injured at the time of the event. Anyway, here's how I'd book the match.
1)Hogan eliminates Slaughter rather quickly. Sarge walks away dejected. This loss and the scorn from his teammates makes him realize he's on the wrong side. This is the beginning of a slow road to redemption for Sarge as sees the error of his ways as he has aligned himself with people who do not have his back.
2) Flair eliminates Piper. These two had a great feud, but Piper is the lowest on the pecking order on team Hogan and needs to go out first on his side. This evens the odds not only team wise, but also in terms of Hulk and Ric each having eliminated someone in there own personal game of one upsmanship.
3)Jake/Macho brawl to the back. Double countout. Throughout the match every time Jake is in the ring and Savage gets the tag, Jake, being the cowardly snake that he is, quickly tags out thus not giving Macho or the crowd what they want. Eventually Macho does get his hands on Jake but it results in an all out brawl with both men being disqualified. Feud is only gettting started at this point and doesn't need a clean finish yet. That should come at Mania.
4)Sid Justice walks out on Hogan. Perhaps a miscommunication occurs or Sid simply snaps and reveals his true colors. Either way Sid's heel turn could have happened at Surivor Series instead of on SNME and been that much more effective as it leaves Hogan all alone and at the mercy of Flair and Taker.
5)Flair disqualified for using the big gold belt as a weapon. At the time Flair was claiming his title was the only REAL worlds championship, so I think involving it in the match seems appropriate. Plus it's a good way to get Flair eliminated without him being pinned and further progresses the feud between he and Hulk that shoul culminate at Mania 8.
6)Taker eliminates Hogan via a tombstone on to a chair that is slid into the ring by Ric Flair. Same finish as the Taker/Hogan singles match that happened at this actual event only its incorporated into a Survivor Series match instead of a title match. BUT Taker pinning the champion would make him the number one contender where he would face Hogan for the title in his homestate at "This Tuesday In Texas". Of course it would still be a controversial finish that results in the title being vacated and held up at the Rumble. So nothing changes in that capacity.
SOLE SURIVIVOR and new #1 Contender: The Undertaker
THE LEIGON OF TEAMS: Leigon Of Doom, The Rockers, New Foundation, Bushwackers
VS
THE NASTY DISASTERS: Natural Disasters, Nasty Boys, Beverly Brothers, Orient Express
(Rules: If a member of a team is pinned, both members are eliminated.)
1)Disasters eliminate Bushwackers in a quick squash.
2)LOD eliminate Orient Express
3)Nasty Boys eliminate New Foundation
4)The Rockers eliminate the Beverly's (shawn gets the pinfall)
(This narrows it down to the 4 important teams with The Rockers and The LOD on one side against the Jimmy Hart teams Nasty Boys and Natural Disasters)
5)Shawn Michaels is dominating the match after eliminating the Beverlys. He's hitting moves on every heel in sight, doing lots of high flying spots. Eventually he makes the tag to Marty who is soon after pinned by one of the Nastys. Shawn is furious. After all his effort he has to leave the match simply because Marty got pinned too. Shawn refuses to leave seeing as how he was never pinned and shouldnt have to quit just because his partner couldnt cut it. He gets in Marty's face while the ref triest to explain the rules to Shawn. Shawn leaves upset while an apologetic Marty triest to reason with his partner.
I feel Marty being eliminated and that resulting in Shawn having to leave the match with him would have been a better way to drive a wedge between the two of them rather then a simple accident where Marty inadvertantly hit Shawn in the face resulting in Shawn's being pinned (which is the way they actually went at Surivvo Series 1991). This way Shawn is that much more angry because he legitimately was never eliminated. This is when Shawn realizes he's better off without Marty as if he hadn't tagged out, in his mind, he would have gone on to win the match.
6)Disasters are disqualified. While double teaming one of the LOD, the Disasters don't break the 5 count and are dq'd from the match. But the damage is done and the injured LOD member now has to someone make a hot tag to his partner or the match is over.
7)LOD eliminate the Nastys via the doomsday device. The hot tag is eventually made and the LOD hit their devesating finishing move for the win.
SURVIVORS: Tag Team Champions: The Liegon Of Doom
MONEY INCORPORATED: Ted Dibiase, I.R.S, Repo Man, The Mountie
VS
THE HITMEN: Virgil, Bossman, Bret Hitman Hart, The British Bulldog
(I like the team of Dibaise, IRS, Mountie and Repo as all 4 claim to be morally rigteous and none of them see themselves as villians. Dibiase is feuding with Virigl, Bossman is feuding with Mountie as well as IRS. Mountie is also challenging Bret Hart for his IC title. The Bulldog had some minor feuds with Repo and Mountie also. Bulldog's biggest feud in 1991 was against the Warlord, who I considered adding to the heel side but that feud had essentially played itself out with Bulldog having two clean victories over Warlord at Mania and Summerslam. So I see no reason for the feud to continue. Plus Warlord doesn't really fit personality wise with the other 4 guys on the heel side.)
1) Repo man eliminated by Bossman. Natural enemies.
2)Bossman eliminated by IRS who uses his briefcase as a weapon
3)Bret Hart eliminates IRS. The Hitman makes the Taxman tap out to the sharpshooter.
4)Ted Dibiase eliminates Virgil
5)Mountie eliminates British Bulldog via the use of his shock stick thus leaving Bret against Dibaise and Moutnie.
6)Bret eliminates The Mountie via the sharpshooter
7)Bret eliminates Ted DiBiase. Same finish as Mania 8 against Piper and Survivor Series 96 against Austin, here we see Bret reverse the million dollar dream submission into a pinning combination for the 1-2-3
SOLE SURIVOVR: Intercontinental Champion: Bret Hitman Hart
The roster was getting thin in late 91 with the injury to Perfect and the absence of major names like Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude and Demolition. So I only have 3 matches taking place at the event which may not seem like a lot, but back in 91 ppv's were two hours long and these 3 matches feature multiple superstars so if each match was 30 minutes you could easily stretch these 3 matches to a 2 hour ppv. Plus, this is the one event where less is more. Because there are so many guys in each match, it's almost better to just have 3 as it gives each participant more time to put on a quality match. Unfortunately, due to the depleted roster there's no Grande Finale this year which was a concept I really liked from 1990 but to make it work you need a pretty bloated roster.
TEAM FLAIR: Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Jake The Snake, Sgt.Slaughter
VS
TEAM HOGAN: Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice, Macho Man, Rowdy Roddy Piper
I consdiered calling Team Flair "The Four Horseman of The Apolcalypse" as it combines the Four Horseman reference to Flairs days in NWA with the evil apocalyptic mentality of his 3 psychotic teammates. But NWA probably has a trademark on The Four Horsmen so I doubt it would be possible. So Team Flair it is.
There was a Funeral Parlor segment that would have been the perfect catalyst for this match. In it Hogan was being interviewed by Paul Bearer only to be interupted by Ric Flair. The Undertaker attacked Hogan from behind. Flair and Taker double teamed Hogan until Piper and Savage came to Hogan's aid. And that's your setup. Throw in a heel Slaughter, whom Hogan fougth at Mania and Summerslam to round out the heel side, and Sid Justice, who came to Macho Man's aid when he was attacked by Jake and Taker at Summerslam.
Jake and Macho not being included on this ppv was a huge f u to the fans. Savage should have been reinstated before this event thus allowing him to compete. Survivor Series suffered in 1991 mostly because it served as nothing more than a launching pad for another event "This Tuesday In Texas" which is arguably the least creative name for a ppv in wrestling history.
Quick note on Slaughter turning face in late 1991. No explanation was given other than Sarge pleading for forgivness all the while not doing anything to warrant being forgiven. The gulf war had come to an end and WWF had booked itself into a corner, so without any use for the heel Slaughter character they changed him back to GI JOE without any rhyme or reason. And of course, fans being as stupid as they were back then, just went along with it. I bet Vince misses the days when he could simply tell the crowd what to think.
IF Mr.Perfect had been healthy I would have had him on Flair's team instead of Slaughter, but unfortunately he was injured at the time of the event. Anyway, here's how I'd book the match.
1)Hogan eliminates Slaughter rather quickly. Sarge walks away dejected. This loss and the scorn from his teammates makes him realize he's on the wrong side. This is the beginning of a slow road to redemption for Sarge as sees the error of his ways as he has aligned himself with people who do not have his back.
2) Flair eliminates Piper. These two had a great feud, but Piper is the lowest on the pecking order on team Hogan and needs to go out first on his side. This evens the odds not only team wise, but also in terms of Hulk and Ric each having eliminated someone in there own personal game of one upsmanship.
3)Jake/Macho brawl to the back. Double countout. Throughout the match every time Jake is in the ring and Savage gets the tag, Jake, being the cowardly snake that he is, quickly tags out thus not giving Macho or the crowd what they want. Eventually Macho does get his hands on Jake but it results in an all out brawl with both men being disqualified. Feud is only gettting started at this point and doesn't need a clean finish yet. That should come at Mania.
4)Sid Justice walks out on Hogan. Perhaps a miscommunication occurs or Sid simply snaps and reveals his true colors. Either way Sid's heel turn could have happened at Surivor Series instead of on SNME and been that much more effective as it leaves Hogan all alone and at the mercy of Flair and Taker.
5)Flair disqualified for using the big gold belt as a weapon. At the time Flair was claiming his title was the only REAL worlds championship, so I think involving it in the match seems appropriate. Plus it's a good way to get Flair eliminated without him being pinned and further progresses the feud between he and Hulk that shoul culminate at Mania 8.
6)Taker eliminates Hogan via a tombstone on to a chair that is slid into the ring by Ric Flair. Same finish as the Taker/Hogan singles match that happened at this actual event only its incorporated into a Survivor Series match instead of a title match. BUT Taker pinning the champion would make him the number one contender where he would face Hogan for the title in his homestate at "This Tuesday In Texas". Of course it would still be a controversial finish that results in the title being vacated and held up at the Rumble. So nothing changes in that capacity.
SOLE SURIVIVOR and new #1 Contender: The Undertaker
THE LEIGON OF TEAMS: Leigon Of Doom, The Rockers, New Foundation, Bushwackers
VS
THE NASTY DISASTERS: Natural Disasters, Nasty Boys, Beverly Brothers, Orient Express
(Rules: If a member of a team is pinned, both members are eliminated.)
1)Disasters eliminate Bushwackers in a quick squash.
2)LOD eliminate Orient Express
3)Nasty Boys eliminate New Foundation
4)The Rockers eliminate the Beverly's (shawn gets the pinfall)
(This narrows it down to the 4 important teams with The Rockers and The LOD on one side against the Jimmy Hart teams Nasty Boys and Natural Disasters)
5)Shawn Michaels is dominating the match after eliminating the Beverlys. He's hitting moves on every heel in sight, doing lots of high flying spots. Eventually he makes the tag to Marty who is soon after pinned by one of the Nastys. Shawn is furious. After all his effort he has to leave the match simply because Marty got pinned too. Shawn refuses to leave seeing as how he was never pinned and shouldnt have to quit just because his partner couldnt cut it. He gets in Marty's face while the ref triest to explain the rules to Shawn. Shawn leaves upset while an apologetic Marty triest to reason with his partner.
I feel Marty being eliminated and that resulting in Shawn having to leave the match with him would have been a better way to drive a wedge between the two of them rather then a simple accident where Marty inadvertantly hit Shawn in the face resulting in Shawn's being pinned (which is the way they actually went at Surivvo Series 1991). This way Shawn is that much more angry because he legitimately was never eliminated. This is when Shawn realizes he's better off without Marty as if he hadn't tagged out, in his mind, he would have gone on to win the match.
6)Disasters are disqualified. While double teaming one of the LOD, the Disasters don't break the 5 count and are dq'd from the match. But the damage is done and the injured LOD member now has to someone make a hot tag to his partner or the match is over.
7)LOD eliminate the Nastys via the doomsday device. The hot tag is eventually made and the LOD hit their devesating finishing move for the win.
SURVIVORS: Tag Team Champions: The Liegon Of Doom
MONEY INCORPORATED: Ted Dibiase, I.R.S, Repo Man, The Mountie
VS
THE HITMEN: Virgil, Bossman, Bret Hitman Hart, The British Bulldog
(I like the team of Dibaise, IRS, Mountie and Repo as all 4 claim to be morally rigteous and none of them see themselves as villians. Dibiase is feuding with Virigl, Bossman is feuding with Mountie as well as IRS. Mountie is also challenging Bret Hart for his IC title. The Bulldog had some minor feuds with Repo and Mountie also. Bulldog's biggest feud in 1991 was against the Warlord, who I considered adding to the heel side but that feud had essentially played itself out with Bulldog having two clean victories over Warlord at Mania and Summerslam. So I see no reason for the feud to continue. Plus Warlord doesn't really fit personality wise with the other 4 guys on the heel side.)
1) Repo man eliminated by Bossman. Natural enemies.
2)Bossman eliminated by IRS who uses his briefcase as a weapon
3)Bret Hart eliminates IRS. The Hitman makes the Taxman tap out to the sharpshooter.
4)Ted Dibiase eliminates Virgil
5)Mountie eliminates British Bulldog via the use of his shock stick thus leaving Bret against Dibaise and Moutnie.
6)Bret eliminates The Mountie via the sharpshooter
7)Bret eliminates Ted DiBiase. Same finish as Mania 8 against Piper and Survivor Series 96 against Austin, here we see Bret reverse the million dollar dream submission into a pinning combination for the 1-2-3
SOLE SURIVOVR: Intercontinental Champion: Bret Hitman Hart
The roster was getting thin in late 91 with the injury to Perfect and the absence of major names like Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude and Demolition. So I only have 3 matches taking place at the event which may not seem like a lot, but back in 91 ppv's were two hours long and these 3 matches feature multiple superstars so if each match was 30 minutes you could easily stretch these 3 matches to a 2 hour ppv. Plus, this is the one event where less is more. Because there are so many guys in each match, it's almost better to just have 3 as it gives each participant more time to put on a quality match. Unfortunately, due to the depleted roster there's no Grande Finale this year which was a concept I really liked from 1990 but to make it work you need a pretty bloated roster.
