Survivor Series 1988

Survivor Series 1988
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Tagline(s)	Teams of Five Strive to Survive
Date	November 24, 1988
Venue	Richfield Coliseum
City	Richfield, Ohio
Attendance	13,500
Last Event	SummerSlam
Next Event	Royal Rumble

Survivor Series 1988 was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on Thanksgiving Night, November 24, 1988 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum, in Richfield, Ohio.

The main event was a Survivor Series match that featured a 5-man team captained by The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage) against a team captained by The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man). Hogan and Savage were the only survivors in the match, making Randy Macho Man Savage the first man to become a two time Survivor Series winner. The entire undercard featured three Survivor Series matches between mid-card wrestlers.

Background

The main feud heading into Survivor Series pitted The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage), Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim against The Twin Towers (Akeem and Big Bossman), Ted DiBiase, Haku, and The Red Rooster. Hogan and Savage formed this alliance at WrestleMania IV in March 1988 after Hogan helped Savage in defeating DiBiase in the tournament final for the vacant WWF Championship. DiBiase and André the Giant faced Hogan and Savage at the inaugural SummerSlam in August where the Mega Powers won. DiBiase had bought the contract of André from Heenan at the inaugural Royal Rumble in January. In late 1988, DiBiase bought another contract from Heenan of Hercules, who was a powerful force in the WWF. Hercules refused to become DiBiase's slave and turned babyface and started feuding with DiBiase. DiBiase and other heel wrestlers joined Twin Towers against Mega Powers and other babyface wrestlers. Another major feud pitted Jake "the Snake" Roberts against André the Giant. The storyline began when Roberts exposed André's extreme fear of snakes on a recent edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. Roberts had thrown his snake, Damien, on the frightened André, who suffered a mild (kayfabe) heart attack. André vowed revenge, but Roberts constantly used Damien—either in their matches or by coming to the ring with a sack containing the snake during André's matches against other wrestlers—to gain a psychological edge. The major tag team feud pitted WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition against the Powers of Pain, two teams known for their use of face paint and power brawling style of wrestling. The other main feud pitted WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior vs. The Honky Tonk Man, the former champion who was determined to regain his title.

Event

The first match of the event was a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match between the team of WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Sam Houston, The Blue Blazer in his pay-per-view (PPV) debut, and Jim Brunzell and the team of The Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Danny Davis, Greg Valentine, and Bad News Brown. Don Muraco was originally scheduled to be a part of Warrior's team but left WWF, so he was replaced by Jim Brunzell. Beefcake used the sleeper hold on Davis, who submitted at 1:18 mark leaving 4 members on Honky's team. Brown hit Brunzell with a Ghetto Blaster and pinned him, leaving 4 members in both teams. His teammate Valentine accidentally hit him. This angered Brown and he walked away, thus getting counted-out in the process. This left Honky's team with 3 members. Bass hit Houston with a running powerslam and pinned him as 3 members were left in both teams. The high-flying superhero Blue Blazer faced Greg Valentine. Blazer used his quick moves but eventually fell victim to a Figure-four leglock and was forced to submit. Warrior's team had only 2 members now, Brutus Beefcake and Warrior himself. Beefcake brawled with the opponent team's captain Honky Tonk Man. The duo brawled to the outside and both men were counted-out, leaving Warrior to fend himself against Bass and Valentine. He hit Bass with a double axe handle and pinned him to eliminate him. Warrior and Valentine were left and he hit Valentine too with the double axe handle and pinned him to win the match for his team.

The second Survivor Series match was a 10-on-10 variation of tag teams where if a wrestler from a tag team was eliminated, his partner was also eliminated. The match featured the Powers of Pain (The Warlord and The Barbarian), The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty), the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid), The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), and The Young Stallions (Paul Roma and Jim Powers) against WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition (Ax and Smash), the Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov), The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond) and Los Conquistadores (Uno and Dos). Hart pinned Raymond with a small package, eliminating The Fabulous Rougeaus from the match. Zhukov hit a reverse diving crossbody on Powers and pinned him to eliminate The Young Stallions but shortly after, he was pinned by Jannetty with a sunset flip, thus eliminating The Bolsheviks from the match. Hart hit a German suplex on Blanchard but the referee saw his shoulders down, so he counted the pinfall eliminating The Hart Foundation. The Rockers began brawling with Blanchard and his partner Anderson. The Rockers and the Brain Busters were both disqualified due to brawling in the ring and were eliminated. Dynamite hit Smash on the mat and went to the top rope. He tried to hit a diving headbutt but Smash got up and clotheslined him and then pinned him to eliminate the British Bulldogs. Smash was unable to handle the powerful Barbarian of the Powers of Pain. When Mr. Fuji thought that his team could not beat the Powers of Pain, he opened the rope causing Smash to get counted-out, thus eliminating Demolition. Ax confronted Fuji but Fuji whacked him with his cane. Demolition beat him and turned babyfaces. For over 5 minutes, Demolition and the Powers of Pain brawled before Demolition left. The Powers of Pain turned heels after they placed him in their corner. Barbarian hit Uno with a headbutt and pinned him to eliminate Los Conquistadores and this made the Powers of Pain the sole survivors for their own team.

The third Survivor Series match featured André the Giant, Rick Rude, Dino Bravo, Mr. Perfect, and Harley Race against Jim Duggan, Jake Roberts, Scott Casey, Ken Patera, and Tito Santana. Junkyard Dog was originally scheduled to be a part of Roberts' team but left WWF. Brian Blair replaced JYD to be a part of the team but he also left WWF, so he was replaced by Scott Casey. Rude hit Patera with a Rude Awakening at 8:18 mark and pinned Patera to eliminate him, leaving Roberts' team with 4 members. A minute later, André's team member Bravo hit Casey with a side suplex and pinned Casey to eliminate him. Roberts' team was left with only 3 members while André's team had still 5 members. However, Santana hit Race with a flying forearm smash and then pinned him to eliminate Race, leaving André's team with 4 members. Opponent team captain André came himself and he used his tall height and heavy weight on Santana. He sat on Santana, knocking him out. Roberts' team had only 2 members, Jim Duggan and Roberts himself. Duggan used his 2x4 on Bravo, getting disqualified in the process. Roberts was now the only member in his team. He managed to fight 4 wrestlers as he hit a DDT on Rude, eliminating him. André applied a chokehold on Roberts and refused to release it, getting disqualified in the process. Before André left, he headbutted Roberts. Perfect took advantage and pinned Roberts to win the match. Perfect and Bravo became the sole survivors for their team.

The main event featured The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage), Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim against The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man), Ted DiBiase, Haku, and The Red Rooster. Savage hit a Savage Elbow on Rooster and pinned Rooster to eliminate him, leaving 4 members in Twin Towers' corner. The big Akeem overpowered Hillbilly Jim and hit him with a 747 Splash and then pinned Hillbilly Jim to eliminate him, leaving 4 members in Mega Powers' corner to even the score. Akeem's partner Boss Man hit Koko with a Boss Man Slam and pinned him to eliminate Koko, leaving 3 members in Mega Powers' corner. DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil distracted Hercules, allowing DiBiase to pin him with a schoolboy, leaving 2 members in Mega Powers' corner, Hogan and Savage - the Mega Powers themselves. Savage immediately pinned DiBiase with a schoolboy to eliminate him, leaving 3 members in Twin Towers' corner. Boss Man handcuffed Hogan to the ropes. The referee counted out Boss Man, eliminating him and both teams had 2 members. Akeem was also eliminated at the same time because of shoving the referee and illegally double-teaming Savage. The captains of their team, Hogan and Savage were still in the match while Haku was the only member from the other team. He managed to handle his opponents for the next four minutes, before Hogan hit him with a leg drop and pinned Haku to eliminate him and win the match as Hogan and Savage survived the match for their team.

Results

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

(c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.

• The Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, The Blue Blazer, Sam Houston & Jim Brunzell defeated The Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Greg Valentine, Danny Davis & Bad News Brown (w/ Jimmy Hart) (17:50)
• The Powers of Pain (The Warlord & The Barbarian), The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid), The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty), The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) & The Young Stalliions (Jim Powers & Paul Roma) defeated Demolition (Ax & Smash) (w/ Mr. Fuji), The Consquistadors (Uno & Dos), The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) (w/ Bobby Heenan), The Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov & Nikolai Volkoff) (w/Slick) & The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau & Ray Rougeau) (w/ Jimmy Hart) (42:12)
• Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude & Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan & Frenchy Martin) defeated Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Tito Santana, Scott Casey & Ken Patera (30:03)
• The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage), Hercules, Koko B. Ware & Hillbilly Jim (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Twin Towers (Big Bossman & Akeem), King Haku, Ted DiBiase & The Red Rooster (w/ Slick, Bobby Heenan & Virgil) (29:10)

Survivor Series elimination matches

¹

Elimination #	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Elimination move	Time
1	Danny Davis	Brutus Beefcake	Sleeper hold	1:18
2	Jim Brunzell	Bad News Brown	Pinfall after Ghetto blaster	5:12
3	Bad News Brown	None	Count out (Valentine accidentally hit Brown and he walked out)	7:50
4	Sam Houston	Ron Bass	Pinfall after Power Slam	10:09
5	The Blue Blazer	Greg Valentine	Submission by Figure-four leglock	12:29
6A	Brutus Beefcake	None	Count Out	15:44
6B	Honky Tonk Man	None	Count Out	15:44
7	Ron Bass	Ultimate Warrior	Pinfall after Double Axe Handle	17:30
8	Greg Valentine	Ultimate Warrior	Pinfall after Double Axe Handle	17:50
Survivor:	The Ultimate Warrior

²

Elimination #	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Elimination move	Time
1	Raymond Rougeau	Bret Hart	Pinfall by Small Package	5:22
2	Jim Powers	Boris Zhukov	Pinfall after a Reversed Crossbody	15:20
3	Boris Zhukov	Marty Jannetty	Pinfall with Sunset Flip	18:09
4	Bret Hart	Tully Blanchard	Hart applied a German suplex to Blanchard, but Hebner counted Hart's shoulders	27:03
5	The Rockers & The Brain Busters	None	Double DQ after brawling in the ring	27:57
6	Dynamite Kid	Smash	Pinfall after Clothesline after Dynamite missed a headbutt off the top	36:02
7	Smash	None	Count Out	39:33
8	Uno	Barbarian	Pinfall after Headbutt	42:12
Survivors:	The Powers of Pain

³

Elimination #	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Elimination move	Time
1	Ken Patera	Rick Rude	Pinfall after a Rude Awakening	8:18
2	Scott Casey	Dino Bravo	Pinfall after a Side Suplex	9:27
3	Harley Race	Tito Santana	Pinfall after a Flying Forearm Smash	13:19
4	Tito Santana	Andre the Giant	Sat on Santana's chest	14:40
5	Jim Duggan	None	DQ (Used his 2x4 on Dino Bravo)	21:22
6	Rick Rude	Jake Roberts	Pinfall after DDT	28:45
7	Andre the Giant	None	DQ (Refused to release his chokehold on Roberts)	29:39
8	Jake Roberts	Mr. Perfect	Pinfall after an Andre the Giant headbutt	30:03
Survivors:	Mr. Perfect & Dino Bravo

⁴

Elimination #	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Elimination move	Time
1	Red Rooster	Randy Savage	Pinfall after a Flying Elbow Drop	6:11
2	Hillbilly Jim	Akeem	Pinfall after a 747 Splash	9:59
3	Koko B. Ware	Big Boss Man	Pinfall after a Boss Man Slam	11:45
4	Hercules	Ted DiBiase	Pinfall with a Schoolboy after distraction by Virgil	16:35
5	Ted DiBiase	Randy Savage	Pinfall with a Schoolboy	16:57
6	Big Boss Man	None	Counted out (While handcuffing Hogan to the ring rope)	25:09
7	Akeem	None	DQ (Shoving referee and illegally double teaming Savage)	25:09
8	Haku	Hulk Hogan	Pinfall after a Leg drop	29:10
Survivors:	Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan

Other on-screen talent

Commentators Gorilla Monsoon Jesse Ventura Interviewers Gene Okerlund

Ring announcer Howard Finkel Referees Earl Hebner Tim White Joey Marella Pat Patterson

See also

• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• WWE Event History
• Survivor Series

DVD & Video Releases

• Tagged Classics - Survivor Series 1987 / 1988 DVD

External links

• Survivor Series 1988 Official Website
• Survivor Series 1988 at CAGEMATCH.net
• Survivor Series 1988 at Online World of Wrestling