If you listen to my weekly podcast with my wife, Married with Movies, you know that I’ve been getting plenty of incredulous questions about how I’m STILL watching wrestling PPVs in the year 1995. I’ve addressed it before, but it’s really starting to wear on me.
Here we are in a new calendar year and I still have three more PPVs to watch in this godforsaken year before I can start saying “1996” out loud. Once that happens, it will be even worse than 1996 in terms of redundant shilling for the project. I honestly won’t care because that year is MUCH better for a variety of reasons.
If I’m being honest, 1995 hasn’t been AS BAD as I was expecting. Spoiler alert: this PPV will support that theory. It’s nice to the year off with a good show and it will be even better to have a week off because the Flairiod recap is next.
Anything to get my wife off my back. Except if she wants to be on it if you know what I mean.
PAY PER VIEW NUMBER 96- WWF SURVIVOR SERIES 1995
Written on 12/27/21
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE: Live in the arena, Howard Finkel introduces Mr. Perfect! The entrance window rolls up and he appears in a tuxedo with his name bedazzled on the back. He gets a decent reaction. That’s how you start a PPV: with a good surprise! Then, the opening video is a tense recap of Bret Hart and Diesel’s accomplishments. Diesel won all three titles in one calendar year and Bret is the only man to win all three titles at least twice. Both of their previous matches ended without a winner, so this match will only have pins or submissions. THIS is how you build a match. Milton Bradley Karate Fighters presents Survivor Series in Washington, DC! Is this 1995 or heaven? Vince McMahon welcomes us alongside Perfect and Jim Ross. Both President Clinton and Mr. Backlund are in attendance campaigning.
-Marty Jannetty and the Underdogs! What a band name! Hakushi is passed by a running Bob Holly and Barry Horowitz. The rumor is that Holly replaced Avatar in this match because he bitched about his booking and threatened to leave to WCW. Okay…so just quit. Sunny gets some mic time leading the Bodydonnas out. At this moment in time, she was my everything. Rad Radford acts buddy buddy with Skip and Tom Prichard is randomly teaming with them (and it won’t be random for much longer). Their final partner is the 123 Kid, freshly turned with Ted DiBiase. He gets louder boos than I have heard in quite some time. He just fits as a shitty, cocky heel. Ted paid off Jean Pierre Lafitte for his spot apparently. Razor Ramon angrily comes down and tries to get the Kid, but is held back by officials. The turn during Razor’s match with Sid from Raw last week is shown. Yo, this match should be pretty good.
MATCH NUMBER ONE: SURVIVOR SERIES ELIMINATION MATCH- The Underdogs (Barry Horowitz, Hakushi, Bob Holly and Marty Jannetty) vs The Bodydonnas (Skip, 123 Kid, Tom Prichard and Rad Radford) w/Ted DiBiase and Sunny
-Dr. Tom and Marty start. The former Rocker survives a 4 on 1 in the corner and is a total “house of fire” according to a game Vince so far.
-Radford vs Holly now. This is 1995 WWF personified, but Bob hits a sweet headscissors and catching powerbomb when Rad tries the same move. Perfect is our first LVP sadly by making bad puns and simply referring to things as “not perfect.”
-Hakushi gets a good pop entering the match. Radford hits a beautiful spinebuster and the BOOOOOOOOOs rain down upon Kid’s frog splash when he tags in.
-Holly and Skip have a great back and forth. Fuck, I think Sparky is our first MVP. The crowd is chanting for Barry. Prichard hits a powerbomb, but misses a moonsault. TOM PRICHARD is the 1st man eliminated at 5:38 by a Bob Holly top rope cross body. Immediately after, BOB HOLLY is the 2nd man eliminated at 5:45 with a Skip roll up.
-What the hell just happened: Skip hits a top rope Frankensteiner, then Flair flops for a double down.
-Hakushi is an amazing babyface and SUPER over. He becomes another MVP option, then naturally misses a springboard splash and takes a sneaky spin kick to the back of the head by Kid. HAKUSHI is the 3rd man eliminated at 8:31 after Radford pins him. Razor is shown looking on backstage in disgust.
-Horowitz finally gets in the match and gets beaten down quickly to quell any excitement. Radford keeps picking him up on pin attempts including after a gutwrench and Northern Lights suplex. He does some push-ups and that costs him. RAD RADFORD is the 4th man eliminated at 11:47 with the three-quarter nelson roll up of Barry.
-After another sneak attack kick and leg drop by the Kid, BARRY HOROWITZ is the 5th man eliminated at 12:47. Razor is held back by Undertaker’s team backstage.
-Skip and Marty have a nice little match in the middle of this one including an early Code Red and Rocker Dropper by Marty. Perfect makes a joke in poor taste about that move being able to break your neck, solidifying his LVP status.
-Marty is crotched on the top rope, but he must have balls of steel because he responds in epic fashion. SKIP is the 6th man eliminated at 15:24 after a SUPERBOMB. Holy shit. Skip deserves credit, but Jannetty is definitely another MVP in this match.
-Kid comes in quick and there’s a good false finish after a top rope legdrop and stiff dropkick in the corner. A top rope senton misses for a double down and Marty gets the advantage upon getting back to his feet.
-Sid comes down when another Rocker Dropper lands. Kid barely gets his foot on the rope. DiBiase distracts the ref and Sid intervenes with a Stun Gun. MARTY JANNETTY is the 7th man eliminated after that interference.
WINNER: The 123 Kid survives at 19:07
-Both men sell the end of the match wonderfully, but Kid leaping into Sid’s arms like a child to celebrate is absolutely amazing. That vaults him into the MVP lead. Kid flashes the Too Sweet symbol and Razor destroys a table and monitor backstage.
FINAL WORD: That was a fantastic opener with underused talent and some great pieces of storytelling.
-Todd Pettengill interviews Jim Cornette, Mr. Fuji, Dean Douglas, Owen Hart and Yokozuna backstage. Razor’s Wild Card teammates are concerned. Cornette cuts his typically great promo while Bertha Faye’s music plays in the arena. Owen and Dean get some words in as well. Dean is particularly bad.
-Back in the ring, the heel women are already in the ring amidst darkness. There’s no introduction for them either. Alundra Blayze is the champion again and she has her name pyro still. It’s for the last time because she’s about to throw that thing in a garbage can. Her three Joshis run out with her. JR says this will be an “oriented” and I’m fearful he means that they way it sounds. Aja Kong is promoted as she should be and given a solid background.
MATCH NUMBER TWO: SURVIVOR SERIES ELIMINATION MATCH- Bertha Faye, Lioness Asuka, Aja Kong and Tomoko Watanabe vs Alundra Blayze, Chaparita Asari, Sakie Hasegawa and Kyoko Inoue
-Asari gets destroyed with Asuka’s spin kick and giant swing within 45 seconds. Perfect makes an “old man at the bar” joke.
-Sly Twister Press right on Lioness’ face! It’s very noticeable that JR is saying everyone’s name slightly wrong, especially accentuating the “u” in Asuka. Speaking of which, LIONESS ASUKA is the 1st woman eliminated in 1:42 by a German Suplex by Alundra Blayze.
-Blayze is trying her best so far and the crowd is being respectful, too. Hasegawa hits several butterfly suplexes without letting go and the people dig it. Watanabe hits a great senton. Perfect is being openly offensive in this one.
-Kong gets dumped on her head twice with suplexes, but a kick to the abs and a backdrop driver of her own means SAKIE HASEGAWA is the 2nd woman eliminated at 3:56. Asari comes in and gets obliterated with a body block. CHAPARITA ASARI is the 3rd woman eliminated at 4:25 after a second rope splash. That was a fucking squash.
-Kyoko has an awesome Ultimate Warrior look to her and hits some good clotheslines. Of course, that means KYOKO INOUE is the 4th woman eliminated at 5:02 with an Aja Kong butt drop. The count seemed to be a botch. Hennig just claimed the only thing a woman can do is cook dinner. Maybe if you’re Betty Draper (is it finally time for a Mad Men reference challenge?)
-The ref help Alundra get out of a 3 on 1. I’m not sure if there’s a language barrier, but counts keep getting screwed up. TOMOKO WATANABE is the 5th woman eliminated at 6:31 with a piledriver that was supposed to be a powerbomb. I’d make here an LVP nominee, but Perfect is going to be hard to catch already.
-The bigger girls collider and BERTHA FAYE is the 6th woman eliminated at 7:12 with a German Suplex. It’s down to Aja and Alundra and their kickboxing rivalry is mentioned. More awkward counters and suplexes. Perfect won’t call them ladies and is wrong when he says this is the first women’s match at Survivor Series. JR corrects him.
-Nice standing moonsault by Blayze, but she can’t pin Kong. Aja loves taunting the crowd with her tongue out. Curt is literally calling them “dames” now.
-Two body blocks and then BAM! ALUNDRA BLAYZE is the 7th woman eliminated after the spinning back fist she didn’t look happy taking.
WINNER: Aja Kong survives at 10:03
-Naturally, she has the Orient Express’ never appropriate theme. The crowd is deflated while Kong claims to be number one and motions that she wants the belt. The replay of the back fist is awesome. Vince wants to see Mike Tyson versus her.
FINAL WORD: Aja Kong terrifies me. The match itself was also a little terrifying for good and bad reasons.
-Pettengill interviews the Bill Clinton impersonator. Do they have this guy on speed dial? He confuses Bam Bam Bigelow with the kid from the Flintstones and that leads to jokes about the Democratic Party being out of touch. Bigelow’s fire pyro goes off and the “Secret Service” covers him up. Very poor comedy.
-Speaking of poor comedy, here’s Goldust. He walks to the ring with another tepid, poorly light entrance. A pre-taped promo quotes Planet of the Apes. It’s much better and focused and creepy and sexual. The commentators get a chuckle while arguing over who Goldust was winking at. His extravagant entrance and exit are part of his contract. The theme literally restarts; that’s how long this takes.
MATCH NUMBER THREE: Bam Bam Bigelow vs Goldust
-Bigelow looks disgusted at the bell and Goldust hits some sloppy strikes to start. He bails on the first sign of trouble. A sign in the crowd just reads “Goldust is Dustin Rhodes.”
-Goldust has to figure out that dick in the gear situation. It’s distracting.
-Clotheslines and feeling himself up are the extent of Goldust’s offense. Perfect points out that Bam Bam has never won a title in WWF. It’s weird seeing Bam Bam thrown over the top so easily.
-I feel like Bigelow doesn’t really want to work this match. I feel that way after a missed heabutt and totally messy shooting the half roll over. They squirm around before another rest hold. Bigelow uses two different belly-to-backs at two different points as cut offs.
-A splash in the corner is missed and what a glorified squash on your way out after being in the main event of WrestleMania. Shades of the Natural, though.
WINNER: Goldust in 8:20 with a bulldog
FINAL WORD: That was the definition of oil and water: a gimmick suffering from growing pains and a disgruntled star.
-The finish is replayed amid gold dust falling from the ceiling. Todd is still with “Clinton” and Mr. Backlund is his “invited guest.” He refuses a handshake and gets mocked over putting his name into the race. I love that Bob takes this seriously! The impersonator does not, so Todd and Vince laugh it all off. Time to pivot into the King Mabel and Undertaker story starting back at King of the Ring. Then, the injury is shown from Raw last month. How many returns is Undertaker going to have?
-Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and Hunter Hearst Helmsley are in the ring already. Jerry puts over their royal status and introduced Mabel, still being carried out. Ross has the nerve to put over his agility for his size. He’s still trying to do his job. Savio Vega’s theme leads the Dark Side sans Taker out to virtually no reaction. In fact, someone threw a beer at Henry Godwinn. The Caribbean dancing of all three men is amazing. GONG and The Dead Man’s return gets a big reaction. He’s bathed in purple light and commentary wisely just shuts up and lets this breathe until the lights are raised and Vince beautifully puts this over. He’s been an MVP on this show. Mabel sells the first glimpse of the cool mask great.
MATCH NUMBER FOUR: SURVIVOR SERIES ELMINIATION MATCH- The Royals (King Mabel, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry Lawler and Isaac Yankem) w/ Sir Mo vs The Dark Side (Undertaker, Fatu, Henry Godwinn and Savio Vega) w/Paul Bearer
-Mabel’s mohawk gets a close up for…reasons? The faces seem uneasy with their captain. Fatu and Hunter start with a curtesy and mock/butt slap in response. The Pedigree is attempted, but gets scared off by Taker’s face. Yeah, he’s not the guy here because he scurries away and tags Lawler. He immediately tags Isaac in to face HOG.
-Great strength and elevation on a hip toss by Henry on Yankem. Perfect calls him “Triple H” for the first time. It’s funny that he’s been so bad and starts something so important. European uppercuts and high knees lands before a LONG press slam by Godwinn.
-Lawler’s mock dancing of Savio will be burnt into my head forever like Pete and Trudy Campbell doing the Charleston that one time (and I have one more to go).
-Mabel misses his first splash, but responds with a sidewalk slam on Savio. He also hits a decent modified suplex.
-Yankem hits a good dropkick and Perfect is impressed by him. So am I compared to his first appearance. Mo’s shirt makes me think that he’s another ref on the floor.
-Vega kicks out of Jerry’s fucking piledriver. He’s such an anti-threat now. Then, Savio hits HHH with a fucking Rock Bottom! Perfect is yelling “Triple H.” I’m in awe.
-Totally odd piledriver block before Undertaker is finally tagged in. The heels all leave Lawler out to dry twice when he tries to tag out. JERRY LAWLER is the 1st man eliminated at 12:22 with a Tombstone (looked and sold like death because I’m still tracking that).
-Yankem takes a big clothesline right away because Taker isn’t working by the hour. ISAAC YANKEM is the 2nd man eliminated at 12:53 by another deadly looking Tombstone. Get ready to take a lot of those over the course of your life, Glenn.
-Trips tries to leave, but gets stopped by Godwinn. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY is the 3rd man eliminated at 13:38 after a chokeslam from the apron halfway into the ring. I’ve never seen him do that before, so that has to count for something.
-Mabel comes right in with a belly-to-belly and leg drop. He cockily dances and Taker sits up. That freaks the king out and he runs away as Mo comes in take a chokeslam. KING MABEL is the 4th man eliminated by countout. The crowd loves them some Taker and a clean sweep.
WINNERS: The Dark Side survives at 14:27
FINAL WORD: Had Taker done more, he’d be the surefire MVP. That was a crowd pleaser, but mostly unimpressive.
-The faces celebrate, then the commentators talk the WWF Title match. JR picks Diesel before a Bret Hart promo where he claims to not worry about the match with British Bulldog next month if he wins. He also feels like Wayne Gretzsky. I’ve never noticed how much he says “you know” when he talks. Tonight, “the truck stops here.” Diesel cuts a cool, collected and fairly tame promo. He admits stamina will be Bret’s advantage and sounds very wooden as a face.
-Pettengill interviews DiBiase, Sid, Davey Boy and Cornette, the latter being pointed out as playing both sides in his typically sleazeball way. Shawn Michaels interrupts and calls them all lazy. AHMED JOHNSON has arrived and Shawn calls him his “back door”? I don’t want to know what that means. Another miscast baby. Yokozuna and Owen Hart are in the ring already and Dean Douglas enters with his robe basically off already. Razor Ramon enters as the sole face and champ. I thought he changed his gear for a second, but it was just the lighting.
-The other Wild Card team begins to enter with Bulldog. He’s really concerned with the crowd touching and yelling at him. Sid is next, looking extra paranoid. The announcer makes note that this is Ahmed Johnson’s PPV debut and the crowd is receptive already. Look how fucking cool this guy is! He’s already slammed Yoko on Raw, so Lex Luger can get fucked. Signs reading “Bring Back Teddy Long” and “Howard Stern Rules” cover up the end of his entrance. Perfect calls him “big nose.” Sexy Boy makes the girls go wild and he dances in the tunnel for his big return. Hennig is particularly upset over him, trying to set himself up for a match if he can come back in the future. It’s the most passion he’s shown all night. The strip routine gets pyro.
MATCH NUMBER FIVE: SURVIVOR SERIES ELIMINATION MATCH- Dean Douglas, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Yokozuna w/Ted DiBiase and Jim Cornette vs British Bulldog, Owen Hart, Ahmed Johnson and Shawn Michaels w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette
-Razor is left out of the huddle and Sid yells at HBK. JR compares this to Newt Gingrich and Bil Clinton getting along. Yoko takes almost two full minutes to get out of the ring so we can finally start with Shawn and Owen. It’s as fantastic as you’d expect and ends with Cornette getting spanked with his racket.
-Dean focuses on Shawn’s head with strikes. Ahmed almost falls off the apron every time someone hits those ropes. After a standing moonsault from the top, Ahmed tags in and hits some WILD scissor kicks. One of them is a knee to Owen’s face. This is going to be fun.
-Razor noticeably helps the heels cheat behind the ref’s back in the corner on Ahmed. He rebounds with a powerslam on Dean and sticks his tongue out of way too long. Shawn causes a bail with a Sweet Chin Music tease and that causes Razor to jaw at him on the floor. Strikes are exchanged. DEAN DOUGLAS is the 1st man eliminated at 7:33 with a Shawn Michaels roll up.
-Owen and Davey shake hands and try to punch each other as soon as they do. They have a nice little exchange before Shawn and Razor square off. They waste a lot of time just standing off, but have a decent back and forth. Ramon eventually hits the Edge and Ahmed breaks up the pin. Three straight, patented Scott Hall double downs follow.
-Sid is blind tagged by Shawn and he unleashes some poor axe handles and strikes to Razor. His hip toss is bad, too. How can you be an LVP in so few moves? Yoko randomly runs in to help.
-Another double down off clotheslines, then Sid gets caught off the top rope like Ric Flair. Sid hits the chokeslam, but wants Sweet Chin Music instead of the powerbomb. Razor moves and HBK hits Sid. Shawn hilariously shrugs it off. Bulldog tries to intervene and leg drops his partner on accident. SID is the 2nd man eliminated at 16:17. He powerbombs Shawn, who is an expert at making every move look like it impacts his injured head. Razor crawls over, but Michaels still kicks out.
-Yokozuna pummels Shawn and causes a vicious corner flip. Perfect says this is “shades of Syracuse” and Vince explains it away. The typical Yoko nerve hold takes place at 19:08. JR calls this a mismatch like Julia Robert and Lyle Lovett.
-Michaels finally tags out after a missed top rope headbutt by Hart. Ahmed’s strikes are ALL OVER THE PLACE. OWEN HART is the 3rd man eliminated at 21:48 with the Pearl River Plunge (still called the Tiger Bomb). Then, Johnson stumbles too far away after a boot in the corner for Razor to hit the second rope bulldog and he has to get down and give a regular bulldog. Perfect laughs. I’m refusing to give him LVP because he’s too cool…for now.
-He’s making it hard: after a spinebuster, Ahmed poses for too long and ends up taking the Razor’s Edge. Bulldog blind tags when Sid and the Kid walk down. One trip means one punch (and Kid totally eating shit on said punch) and one mistake. RAZOR RAMON is the 4th man eliminated at 24:07 with the Bulldog’s running powerslam.
-It’s down to Yoko and he sells Shawn’s punches great, but stays on his feet. The Banzai Drop is set up, but misses. Ahmed tags in and slams the big guy again!
-Bulldog stupidly breaks up the pin and gets knocked out by his face partners. YOKOZUNA is the 5th man eliminated by a combo of Sweet Chin Music and a shrieking splash. You can guess who gave what.
WINNERS: Ahmed Johnson, Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog survive at 27:24
-Cornette could be an MVP with his goofy celebration on the side with Bulldog after the match. The faces also celebrate while the final sequence is replayed.
FINAL WORD: That was a fun concept and it was executed well. I still understand why they didn’t do it again.
-Pettengill is still with Clinton, now with Sunny sitting on his lap and feeding him popcorn. He’s watching the “perfect match” and blatantly pours food into her cleavage. He wants to go over positions with her later. Ha ha ha.
-Another video recap for Bret versus Diesel focusing on their previous matches. Bret was Jackknifed both times, but keeps on ticking. Diesel doesn’t get paid by the hour or win on points. Perfect picks Bret and catches his pen. Vince thinks this will be like the classic “boxer vs puncher” bouts. The analysis is interrupted by Bret’s music. He enters to big pyro and a big ovation. Diesel comes out all confident, still popular, but getting a few boo birds. JR has typically good analysis and Hart makes funny eyes at the crowd when the belt is shown to him by the ref.
MATCH NUMBER SIX: WWF TITLE NO DQ OR COUNT OUT MATCH- Bret Hart vs Diesel (Champ)
-Both men remove turnbuckle pads to start and psyche the other out. It’s hard for Perfect to sit and watch this because he was never champ. You are excused then.
-Diesel pummels Bret early and causes the challenger to bail. He follows him and continues to punish by throwing him throat first on the rail. It’s all Diesel early with deliberate brawling and a throw into the steps.
-Hart takes a chair to the back and Vince picks up that it’s a call back to their previous match. He might have quietly earned MVP throughout this show by being solid throughout.
-“I think we know what time it is,” Diesel calls out. Bret holds his leg in a unique way to avoid the Jackknife, then bites the arm and head to take over.
-Nash gets grounded and his legs are pounded. The Figure Four is applied in the center of the ring and it’s sold wonderfully. He gets to the ropes and Bret hangs on because there’s no DQ. The Sharpshooter is thwarted by an eye rake and a kick into the exposed buckle. It’s brilliantly sold as usual by the MVP approaching Bret.
-Bret send Big Daddy Cool’s leg into the post, then ties it with a microphone cord. He can’t get away from a second rope attack. He’s able to block a chair attack with a big boot from the other leg. He’s still taking shots to his back and leg.
-A top rope chair attack is stopped and Diesel finally unties himself. He hits a sidewalk slam and whips Bret chest first into the exposed buckle.
-JR calls this Bret’s 41st PPV match and he’s off by a few. Great detail as Nash is unable to run for his rope squish. Snake Eyes is hit once, but blocked the second time and reversed into the exposed buckle.
-Bret’s gotta be approaching the MVP lead for putting this one together. It’s the little things like rolling over on the leg sweep for a pin and getting faked out on a plancha and eating shit.
-Both guys are limping and unable to stand. Bret gets onto the apron and FLIES THROUGH THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE. This gets a HUGE reaction and becomes the first time I’ll feel bad for Hugo Savinovich out of many because he’s down and out. That locks Bret as MVP.
-The mood of this one has changed immediately. Diesel hammers Bret some more and he doesn’t seem to know what else to do.
-Back in the ring, the Jackknife is called for, but Bret slumps down. The champ takes a step back and tries again and Bret was playing possum.
WINNER: Bret Hart at 24:53 to win the title with a small package
-That’s one loud and pronounced “MOTHERFUCKER” by the now former champ. He sells the loss so well. He throws the ref down, Jackknifes Bret and strikes every other ref that runs into the ring. He hits a second Jackknife, grabs the belt and taunts over Hart’s body before throwing the belt on him.
FINAL WORD: That was a great story, but took a little longer to get there than I wanted.
-Diesel high fives black gloves on his way out and gets booed before his exit is cut off by a recap video of the PPV. The whole finish of the main event is replayed right down to the post-match attack. The commentators speak as Bret is checked on. Vince is using his serious voice. Perfect is smiling and liked what he saw. One more awful Perfect pun and we say good-bye.
THE LAST IMAGE: Diesel and Bret Hart
THE WRAP UP
FINAL MVP of PPV: I feel bad for the 123 Kid being runner-up yet again, but Bret Hart is consistently the only guy who can get matches like that out of Diesel. His selling is legendary and that table bump will change things forever.
FINAL LVP of PPV: How was Mr. Perfect in his color commentary debut? NOT GREAT, BOB (and our reference challenge is done). In all seriousness, he’s no Jerry Lawler or even Ted DiBiase or any other former wrestler in the booth. He’s offensive, super behind on the stories and wrestlers and falls back on the same tired “Perfect” schtick.
MY FAVORITE MATCH: The Bodydonnas vs The Underdogs
MY LEAST FAVORITE MATCH: Goldust vs Bam Bam Bigelow
FINAL THOUGHTS: This Flairiod was bookmarked by the two best shows of WWF in 1995. This would indicate some positive momentum for the company because the show felt edgier, blurred some lines and had great in-ring action and advancing stories. The elimination matches were all solid and only a few stinky things made this a good time. Less cartoon, more cool. MULLET RECOMMENDS
NEXT TIME: We are almost done with 1995, but we’ve reached our recap point. Who will rank at the top of the sixth Flairiod?