WWF Survivor Series 1987 Review

WWF Survivor Series 1987 Review
September 21, 2013 (Edited March 8, 2025)
By Ryan Porzl

VHS Cover

Event: Survivor Series 1987
Tagline: The Biggest Event Since Wrestlemania III
Date: November 26, 1987
Location: Richfield, Ohio
Live or Tape: Live
Arena: Richfield Coliseum
Attendance: 21,300
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Interviewers: "Mean" Gene Okerlund & Craig DeGeorge
Broadcast: Pay-Per-View

Most people by now know the story behind the first Survivor Series. In case you don't, it was created not only to cash in on a Hulk Hogan/Andre the Giant rematch but also to allow Vince to enjoy his favorite pastime of screwing other promotions over. In this case, Jim Crockett Promotions decided to have their Starrcade 1987 event on Pay-Per-View and bank on it the same way Vince did with Wrestlemania. Realizing this, Vince decided to counter program with the first Survivor Series. The situation got uglier when Crockett tried to move Starrcade to the afternoon but Vince countered by threatening cable providers who carried Starrcade that they would not get Survivor Series 87 or Wrestlemania IV. To no surprise, the WWF won and Starrcade was DOA with only a few providers honoring their deal with Crockett.

We start with The Fink welcoming everyone to the Survivor Series and introducing Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon. Monsoon and Ventura walk to the broadcast table and welcome everyone to the event as we go to the intro. I don't know why but I like seeing Monsoon and Ventura come out and welcome us instead of already being out which is normal for wrestling shows.

Before the matches begin, Monsoon and Ventura explain the rules for the Survivor Series matches and the ways of being eliminated from the match. Obviously eliminations occur when a wrestler gets pinned, submitted, disqualified, counted out, or injured.

Craig DeGeorge interviews the Honky Tonk Man and his team. I should point this is the beginning of a series of horrible segments with the interviewer speaking to the team captain or the manager while the rest stand in the background yelling and babbling. I suppose the purpose is that the WWF wanted them to come off as a sports team that pumps themselves up before going to battle but it's lost here. Instead we get a bunch of morons yelling like drunk jackasses who need to shut the hell up. Anyway, Honky says he's got the best team ever assembled at Survivor Series, they are ready, and they will play a tune at Survivor Series. We then get clips from SNME XII where Honky hit Savage with the guitar as Honky says anybody who gets in their way will be shoved down one by one. Honky says he's the greatest IC Champion and warns Elizabeth not to get in the ring or he'll shake, rattle, and roll her. Solid promo from Honky but the background noise hurts it.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and his team. Steamboat says they have scores to settle which is why they are here and they are survivors. Duggan says the King (Harley Race) will fall as we get clips of Race hitting Duggan with his 2x4 on the November 7, 1987 Superstars of Wrestling. Savage arrives with Elizabeth and brings up Honky pushing Elizabeth and embarrassing her. He says his team is psyched to the max and it will be a bad time in the dangerzone. Elizabeth's facial reactions are hilarious like she's worried about Savage's blood pressure. Good promo and thankfully not as much background noise.

Survivor Series Elimination: Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Brutus Beefcake, & Jim Duggan (w/Miss Elizabeth) vs. The Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, Danny Davis, Ron Bass, & Harley Race (w/Jimmy Hart & Bobby “the Brain” Heenan)- The main story here is Savage and Honky with the story being Savage taken exception to Honky proclaiming himself the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time which slowly led to a babyface turn for Savage. Things escalated on Saturday Night's Main Event XII in October when Savage challenged for the title but won on a DQ thanks to the Hart Foundation attacking Savage and then delivered a 3-on-1 attack until Elizabeth brought Hogan out for the save thus forming the Megapowers. Steamboat and Roberts also had issues with Honky due to Honky upsetting Steamboat for the Intercontinental title on the June 13, 1987 Superstars and cheating to beat Roberts at Wrestlemania III. Despite not feuding with him at the time, Beefcake would start a feud with Honky in 1988. Duggan is really the only one who doesn't have any issues with Honky as he's feuding with Race after the two had a confrontation on the October 24, 1987 Superstars which saw Duggan steal Race's crown and cape only for Race to lay out Duggan with his 2x4 and regain it on the November 7^th Superstars. Outside of Race, the other three are honestly just bodies to fill up Honky's team. We get a funny bit when Honky's team comes out as Ventura tells Monsoon to listen to the crowd. When Monsoon mentions the boos, Ventura shrugs it off and says you can't please everybody. The place erupts when Savage and his team come out.

Beefcake & Hercules start with a tie up that no one wins. Beefcake struts which annoys Hercules for some reason. Hercules hits a knee to the stomach and an elbow. Herc gets a snapmare and chinlock but Beefcake gets back up and snapmares Herc off. Beefcake misses a fist drop and Hercules gets a side headlock. Beefcake whips him to the ropes but Hercules knocks him down with a shoulder block. Hercules comes off the ropes, Beefcake leapfrogs, and catches Hercules with a sleeper to a good pop. Hercules starts to make his way to his corner so Beefcake lets go. Tag to Davis as Beefcake hip tosses Herc, Davis, and Bass. It's getting crazy as no one knows who's legal. Eventually the refs decide it's Davis and Beefcake slingshots him into the ring and hits a bodyslams. Tag to Roberts who gets a pop as he punches Davis and works over the wrist. Tag to Savage who gets a pop and applies an arm wringer before ramming Davis into Steamboat & Beefcake's boots. Tag to Steamboat who comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving chop. Steamboat gets an arm wringer and nails a reverse thrust kick. Davis gets whipped into the corner but catches Steamboat charging in with his knee. Tag to Race who gets a shoulderbreaker. Race whips Steamboat to the corner but Steamboat jumps on the second turnbuckle and comes off with a diving chop to a small pop. They go back and forth until Race tries to throw Steamboat over the top rope but Steamboat holds on and skins the cat. Race tries again but Steamboat skins the cat again. A third attempt is reversed and Race get tossed. Race comes back in and hits a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. Steamboat crawls between Race's legs and tags Duggan. Duggan starts hammering away on Race. Duggan comes off the ropes and clotheslines Race out of the ring and follows out. The two continue to fight on the outside which only means one thing. Yup, both are counted out and eliminated at 4:33.

Back in the ring, it's Roberts and Bass as the two work over each other. Bass gets a bodyslam but misses an elbow. Tag to Savage who hits a running knee to the back which sends Bass to the corner. Savage whips Bass into another corner and catches him with an elbow. Savage gets a snapmare and knee drop for 1. Savage bodyslams Bass and hits Honky in the corner with a bionic elbow but that allows Bass to catch Savage turning around with a clothesline. Tag to Honky who lands a few kicks but Savage quickly comes back with punches. Honky being Honky heads back to the corner and tag Bass. Bass hits Savage with a forearm. Bass whips Savage to the ropes and catches him with an elbow. Bass drops an elbow for 2. Bass whips Savage to the ropes, Bass misses a clothesline, and Savage comes off the ropes with an elbow. Bass comes back with a punch and looks to go for a piledriver but Savage back body drops out and tags Beefcake. Bass gets whipped to the ropes by Savage, Savage drops down, Bass jumps over, and Beefcake catches him with a jumping knee which eliminates Bass at 6:58.

Beefcake bodyslams Hercules but Hercules comes back by headbutting Beefcake in the stomach. Hercules stomps Beefcake several times. He follows by applying an arm wringer and dropping elbows on the arm. Honky tags in and continues to work over Beefcake's arm. Honky taunts Savage in while applying an armbar. Fans rally behind Beefcake. Honky eventually tags Hercules who continues the arm work. Beefcake eventually fights out but Hercules traps Beefcake's leg with his own and tags Honky. More arm work as Honky gets some armbars and arm wringers until Beefcake ducks a punch and hits an atomic drop to a good pop. Beefcake works over Honky with punches and forearms. Beefcake rams Honky in the corner and hits a few chops. Beefcake tries to come off the ropes but Davis hits him in the back which allows Honky to hit Shake Rattle and Roll to eliminate Beefcake at 10:47 to boos.

Savage runs in but Honky tags to Hercules and bails. Herc jumps Savage and starts pounding on him in the corner. Herc instigates Roberts in which distracts the ref allowing Honky to work over Savage. Tag to Davis who works over Savage with punches and kicks. Savage muscles him to the ropes but Davis tags Honky who comes in and hits a forearm on Savage. Honky whips Savage to the ropes but misses a clothesline and Savage comes off with an elbow. Tag to Roberts who hits a few jabs. Roberts tries for the DDT but Honky slips out. Honky headbutts the stomach. Roberts whips Honky to the corner as the fans chant “DDT” but Honky gets his boot up on a charging Roberts. Honky gets a few punches and Davis illegally chokes Roberts on the apron. Tag to Hercules who jabs Roberts until dropping him. Hercules tries for several pins but gets 2. Hercules hits a knee. Tag to Davis who punches Roberts and headbutts him in the stomach. Davis argues with the ref which allows Honky to get a cheap shot in. Davis works over Roberts in the corner as the fans chant “DDT”. Roberts begins to no-sell his attacks and comes back with punches. Roberts gets the short-arm clothesline and nails the DDT to finish Davis and send him packing at 15:06.

Hercules comes in and jumps Roberts with a clothesline. Herc drops an elbow and another for 2. Roberts get stomped on. Tag to Honky as Herc rams Roberts into the top turnbuckle and holds Roberts for Honky to punch. Honky taunts Savage which results in Savage coming and distracting the ref which allows Hercules to choke Roberts. Honky works over Roberts and snapmares him. Fist drop gets 2 and Honky applies a chinlock. Roberts eventually fights out and comes off the ropes hitting a kneelift. Honky tags Hercules but Roberts is stopped from tagging out as Herc drops a knee on the back. Hercules applies a chinlock. Roberts eventually escapes with a armdrag but Hercules gets it on again. Fans rally behind Roberts as he finally escapes with a jawbreaker. Hot tag to Steamboat who comes in and cleans house with chops and even catches Honky with one. Steamboat climbs to the top and nails a diving chop. Steamboat follows with a bodyslam and drops a chop. Tag to Savage who climbs the top and comes off with the diving elbow to eliminate Hercules at 20:56 to a big pop.

This leaves Honky 3-on-1 with the three guys who each have a bone to pick with him. Savage goes medieval on his ass until he misses a charge in the corner. Honky starts working over Savage in the corner. Honky whips Savage to the ropes but misses a clotheslines and Savage comes off with a bionic elbow. Tag to Steamboat and Honky gets chopped. Honky reverses an irish whip but Steamboat slides between his legs and nails another chop. Tag to Roberts who gets his licks in. Roberts whips Honky to the ropes but lowers his head to early which allows Honky to attempt a sunset flip but Roberts punches him off. The fans are once again chanting for the DDT. Tag to Savage who comes off the rope with a second rope diving double ax handle. Savage hits an elbow and a bodyslam as he goes to the top for a diving double ax handle. Atomic drop sends Honky flying to the floor. Honky decides he's had enough and heads to the back where he gets counted out leaving Savage, Steamboat, and Roberts as the survivors at 23:38.

Thoughts: ***1/2 Very good opener with great talent and everything went well. The action was good though the heel beatdown parts were a little dull. The crowd was into it and very hot. We saw a bit of Duggan and Race going at it to keep that feud going along with back & forth action while the count out allows them to continue. The finish was well done with Honky getting his clocked cleaned for a bit to the delight of the crowd and then being the chickenshit heel and getting counted out instead of fighting till the end. The ending also allowed the WWF to continue the feud with Savage & Honky since Savage didn't get to finish the job and Honky ran away to fight another day.

Craig DeGeorge interviews Andre the Giant and his team. Heenan claims Andre tasted victory at Wrestlemania III when he “pinned” Hulk Hogan and guarantees it'll happen again. Andre claims he did it once and he'll do it again. Slick says this team of gentleman will not act like gentleman but cruel, sadistic animals. Heenan says as each of his team is eliminated one by one and Hogan is left he'll have to deal with Andre. Andre tells everyone to shut up (thank you Andre) and says he's here for Hogan's soul and tonight, he'll be the survivor. Good interview. Heenan said the most and was the best. Slick and Andre were short and to the point. Andre gets bonus points for telling everyone to shut up.

We now go to a merchandise plug with Okerlund telling us for a limited time we can get a limited edition Survivor Series t-shirt with the card on the back. We can also get the program as well. I'll be honest, as a t-shirt fan, I love this shirt. I kind of wish I could order it.

Survivor Series Elimination: The Fabulous Moolah, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin' Robin, Itsuki Yamazaki, & Noriyo Tateno vs. Sensational Sherri, Donna Christanello, Dawn Marie, Leilani Kai, & Judy Martin (w/Jimmy Hart)- I can never get used to Howard Finkel announcing the women's weight during introduction. I think most are aware of most of the women here like Moolah, Sherri, Glamour Girls, Jumping Bomb Angels, Robin, and Velvet. Donna was a long time vet trained by Moolah in the 1960s and made here and there appearances in the WWWF/WWF since then as well. She mostly enjoyed success as a tag wrestler winning the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship four times. I believe she also helped train women wrestlers as well including Sherri. Dawn Marie is obviously not the later ECW/WWE valet of the 1990s/2000s but a different talent. I can't find much information on her but apparently she turned pro in 1983 and retired in 1998 while having worked in Japan and smaller American promotions. This was only her second and last appearance in the WWF. The big story was Moolah/Sherri as Sherri beat Moolah in July for the Women's Championship thus ending Moolah's stranglehold on the belt as well as reign of terror. Another feud beginning was between The Glamour Girls (Kai and Martin) and The Jumping Bomb Angels (Yamazaki and Tateno) over the Women's Tag Team Championship.

Sherri starts by jumping Velvert and ramming her into the corner twice. Sherri whips Velvet to the ropes and catches her with a clothesline. Sherri whips Velvet to the ropes again but misses the clothesline and Velvet hits a high crossbody for 2. Tag to Moolah and the crowd starts to boo which I can't blame them. Moolah gets a few punches and kicks. Two snapmares follow. Tag to Donna with Moolah pulling Donna into the ring and hits a slingshot. Tag to Itsuki who slingshots in with a kick but misses a dropkick. Tag to Velvet who whips Donna to the ropes and gets an elbow. Velvet hits a dropkick and bodyslam get 2. Velvet gets a chop and a snapmare. Velvet gets a victory roll to eliminate Donna at 1:57.

Leilani comes in and goes to work on Velvet. Leilani whips Velvet to the ropes and catches her with a kick. Leilani whips McIntyre to the corner but McIntyre catches Kai charging in with a flying head scissor. Velvet follows with a single leg dropkick. Tag to Robin but Leilani is able muscle Robin into her corner and tags Dawn who slams Robin face first on the canvas. Tag to Judy who whips Robin to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and Robin comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. Robin hits a dropkick and snapmare but Judy reverses with a pin for 2. Judy whips Robin to the ropes and hits her with a kick. Tag to Sherri who whips Robin to the ropes and connects with a dropkick. Sherri rams Robin into Dawn's knee. Tag to Dawn who whips Robin to the ropes and catches her with a forearm. Robin reverses a whip to the ropes and catches Dawn with a clothesline. Robin comes off the ropes with high crossbody to eliminate Dawn at 4:12.

Leilani comes in and jumps Robin. Leilani whips Robin to the ropes and catches her with an elbow. Tetano tags in but Leilani gets a bodyslam. Leilani goes for the pin but Tetano bridges out of it. Tetano leapfrogs and pins Leilani with a sunset flip for 2. Tetano gets a casadora victory roll type pin for 2. Judy tags in but Tetano hits her with a running jumping knee. Tetano comes off the ropes with another running jumping knee. Tetano comes off the ropes with a high crossbody get 2. Tag to Itsuki who climbs to the top turnbuckle and comes off with an armdrag. Leilani tags Sherri and Itsuki pulls her into the ring. Itsuki whips Sherri to the ropes and gets an elbow. Butterfly suplex gets 2. Robin tags in and hits a few elbows. Elbow drop gets 2. Sherri comes back with a punch to the stomach and tags Leilani. Robin reverses an irish whip in the corner and hits a sloppy monkey flip. Leilani comes back by ramming Robin in the corner and tags Sherri who works over Robin and hits a bodyslam. Sherri hits a suplex to eliminate Robin at 6:55. Don't worry, Robin would get her day with Sherri a year later.

Itsuki comes in and hits Sherri with two dropkicks. Tag to Judy who whips Itsuki into the corner but misses the charge. Itsuki misses her own and Judy slams Itsuki face first to the canvas with her hair. Tag to Velvet who gets whipped to the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. Tag to Leilani but Velvet pulls her in and hits a slingshot. Tag to Moolah who gets a monkey flip and follows with a dropkick. Judy tags in but thrown by her hair. They go back and forth until Judy whips Moolah to the ropes and hits an elbow for 2. Moolah gets a roll up for 2 and tags Tetano. Martin grabs Tetano and tags Leilani who climbs to the second turnbuckle but gets thrown off. Tetano misses a dropkick. Leilani whips Tetano to the ropes and nails a nice jumping double ax handle. Tetano gets dragged to the corner and Leilani tags Sherri who rams Tetano's face into the canvas. Another ram to the canvas gets 1 as Tetano gets her foot on the rope. Tetano is able to tag Moolah and Sherri tags Judy but Itsuki comes in only to get thrown through the ropes. Moolah gets dragged in. Moolah kicks her off and whips Judy to the ropes with Moolah getting a weak clothesline. Moolah gets a snapmare followed by a bodyslam and then a headlock takedown. Martin whips Moolah to the ropes and the Glamour Girls hits a double team clothesline to finish Moolah at 10:55.

Itsuki comes in and irish whips Judy to the ropes but Judy comes off the ropes a kick. Judy whips Itsuki to the ropes and goes for another kick but Itsuki grabs her foot and levels her with a punch. Itsuki drags Judy to her corner and tags Tetano who works over the leg and sets Judy's leg on the ropes. Tetano jumps on it and tags Velvet. More legwork and a boston crab. Velvet tries to transition into a bow and arrow but Judy gets to the ropes. Velvet whips Judy to the ropes and connects with a one legged dropkick which knocks Judy to her corner and Sherri tags in. McIntyre pulls her in but Sherri gets a punch and slams McIntyre face first into the canvas. Sherri follows with a leg drop and something that looks like a piledriver though Monsoon and Ventura refer to it as a suplex. Tag to Leilani who throws Velvet across the ring with her hair. Itsuki come in but gets the same treatment. Leilani whips Itsuki to the ropes and catches her with a bodyblock. Leilani hits a butterfly suplex but gets 2 as Itsuki bridges out but the timekeeper fucks up and rings the bell. Tag to Velvet but gets caught in the heels corner. Sherri tags in but gets caught and Velvet gets a giant swing. Sherri whips Velvet to the ropes but Velvet jumps on the second rope. Sherri follows but Velvet catches her in a victory roll and eliminates Sherri at 14:56.

Judy comes in and works over Velvet but Itsuki tags in. Itsuki gets whipped to the corner but stops herself and comes off the second rope with a sunset flip for 2. Itsuki whips Judy to the ropes and catches her with a somersault headbutt Itsuki can't get a bodyslam and tags Tetano who gets a butterfly suplex for 2. Leilani tags in and takes Tetano down but gets caught in a bodyscissor. Leilani gets out and hits a slingshot. Tag to Velvet who whips Leilani to the ropes and hits an elbow. Velvet gets a roll up for 2. Velvet tries for another victory roll but Leilani slingshots her off the ropes and hits an electric chair drop to eliminate Velvet at 17:24. Nice spot.

All four are now in the ring as the Girls get whipped into each other. The Angels hit stereo bodyslams on the Girls and Judy gets slingshot onto Leilani. Leilani reverses an irish whip and Judy catches Tetano on the apron with a knee. Leilani hits a bodyslam and climbs the top turnbuckle but misses a diving splash. Itsuki tags in and eliminates Leilani with a diving high crossbody at 18:38.
Judy comes in but Itsuki stops her. Judy reverses an irish whip and catches Itsuki with a kick. Itsuki gets rammed to the canvas. Judy put Itsuki in a firemen's carry and drops her. Judy pins but Itsuki's foot reaches the rope. Judy whips Itsuki to the ropes, Judy misses a clothesline, and Itsuki gets a waistlock before picking Judy up and dropping her on her ass. Tags to Tetano as Itsuki bodyslams Judy and Tetano comes off the top with a diving knee drop. The Bomb Angels double team Martin with a double team backbody drop. Jimmy Hart jumps on the apron but Yamazaki dropkicks him off to the crowds delight. Tetano comes off with a diving clothesline to win at 20:17.

Thoughts: ** Decent match but make no mistake about it, this was the Glamour Girls/Jumping Bomb Angels show and for good reason. Outside of them, there wasn't a lot of great stuff. Moolah had no business wrestling at 64 years old though to be fair she wasn't bad. Donna and Dawn were barely in it, Robin was sloppy, and Velvet got repetitive. Speaking of repetitive, that was an issue in this match with a lot of the same moves repeated though I guess that played a good story with Velvet as she had success with the victory roll but tried it too many times and paid for it. The Bomb Angels were the stars as they were ahead of their time with the stuff they were pulling off and had no equal in this match. Them winning made sense since it set up a title match at the Royal Rumble. The commentary doesn't affect the match rating obviously but I figure I bring it up. For the most part, Monsoon and Ventura were great in putting everyone over, especially the Bomb Angels. That said, it's kind of lame they really didn't know the names of the Bomb Angels. I love Monsoon and Ventura and I don't expect them to have Mike Tenay like knowledge on Japanese Wrestling especially 80s Joshi but you think they do their homework on the names. This would be it for Moolah as she finally retired, at least full time, only doing a few here and there matches for the remainder of the 80s. Sadly, she would eventually reemerge with Mae Young during the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras doing some of the most putrid attempts at comedy I've ever seen.

DeGeorge interviews the Hart Foundation and their team but Bobby Heenan does most of the talking. He says it'll be a piece of cake as no one has been more ready then this team and the other team should be ready for the beating of their lives. DeGeorge asks Neidhart if what happened to Jimmy Hart is a bad omen but Jim Neidhart says what happened with Jimmy Hart wasn't a bad omen but bad luck but this Motley Crew doesn't need luck. Jimmy Hart runs in upset as he tries to change his jackets and says somebody is going to get hurt because nobody does this to him. DeGeorge notices the Bolsheviks aren't there but Heenan says they're in the ring as they're going to sing the Russian National Anthem while they're getting ready to survive. Good promo from Heenan while Neidhart and Hart were short but to the point.

Slick introduces the Bolsheviks as Nikolai Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem with Ventura even standing for it.

Okerlund interviews Strike Force and their team. Tito Santana says they're going to win while Rick Martel says they're motto is unity to victory and they'll stick together for survival. He says the only way out is for their team to be the winning team. Bland promo but I expect nothing less from Strike Force.

Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination: Strike Force, The Killer Bees, The Young Stallions, The Rougeau Brothers, and the British Bulldogs vs. The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, The New Dream Team, Demolition, and the Bolsheviks (w/Jimmy Hart, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, “Luscious” Johnny V., Mr. Fuji, and Slick)- This is a tag team elimination match which means when one member gets eliminated then both go. It's kinda fascinating how every heel tag team has a manager. The biggest story here was the Harts lost the Tag Titles to Strike Force on the November 7^th edition of Superstars of Wrestling. The Harts did have issues with all the teams though by cheating the British Bulldogs out of the tag titles earlier in the year and having a minor feud with the Stallions over their theme song “Crank it Up” which Jimmy Hart claims to have wrote for the Harts. They also had a series of matches with the Rougeaus and the Bees. Other rivalries included the Rougeaus/Dream Team, Rougeaus/Harts (which included an unrecognized title win for the Rougeaus), Strike Force/Islanders, and the soon-to-be silly British Bulldogs/Islanders feud.

Strike Force largely came about due to the end of Martel's team the Can-Am Connection following Tom Zenk's exit from the WWF in the summer. The New Dream Team was Dino Bravo replacing Brutus Beefcake following Wrestlemania III although the team imploded shortly after this due to the fact Bravo & Greg Valentine didn't get along backstage. The Bolsheviks was a team comprised of Nikolai Volkoff and AWA import Boris Zhukov. Zhukov was brought in to replace the Iron Sheik as Volkoff's partner after Sheik was fired by the WWF. Nothing against Zhukov but the team was a big step down for Volkoff. Demolition were beginning to come into their own by this point after going through so much growing pains throughout the year with a VERY weird pairing with Johnny V. to bad face paint designs to Barry Darsow replacing Randy Colley as Smash because Krusher Khruschev was not as recognizable to the fans as Moondog Rex. Speaking of Demolition, I love how the heels come out to their theme as the entrance has a bad ass feel and gets you pumped.

Anyway, on with the match. Martel and Volkoff start off with Volkoff gaining the advantage with his size and muscle. Volkoff goes to press Martel up but Martel escapes. Martel gets an O'Connor roll for 2. Martel punches away at Volkoff. Martel whips Volkoff to the ropes but Martel lowers his head and Volkoff comes off with a kick. Volkoff stomps the stomach. Volkoff lifts Martel by the throat with one hand before letting go. Volkoff bodyslams Martel and hits a jumping stomp. Tag to Zhukov who misses the elbow drop and Martel gets a dropkick and comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 1. Martel whips Zhukov to the ropes and hits a back body drop. Tag to Santana who tries to pin Zhukov but gets 1. Zhukov comes back and starts hammering away on Santana. Santana gets whipped to the ropes, Zhukov misses a clothesline, and Santana hits the flying forearm to eliminate the Bolsheviks at 1:45. See what I mean about this being a step down for Volkoff? The Sheik was never a jobber. Well except when he was Colonel Mustafa.

Ax comes in and nails a few double ax handles. Ax hits a bodyslam but the elbow drop misses. Tag to Jacques who nails a few punches, whips Ax to the ropes, and nails a leaping elbow. Tag to Bravo as Jacques welcomes him in with a dropkick. The babyfaces do some quick tags which culminate with Davey Boy Smith nailing a headbutt. Tag to Smash who gets a knee to the stomach and an arm wringer but Smith tags Santana who punches Smash and rams him into Dynamite Kid's boot. Dynamite tags in and works over Smash but not for long as Smash gains control and rams him into Ax's boot. Tag to Haku who works over Dynamite with chops.The two go back and forth with Haku eventually winning the exchange thanks to an eye rake. Tag to Jim Brunzell who takes Haku gets down and Brunzell works on the leg. Tag to B. Brian Blair as the Bees double team Haku with a double team leg hyperextention. Blair kicks the leg a few times, Tag to Jim Neidhart who comes in and Blair catches him with a drop toe hold. Roma tags in and briefly double teams with Blair with the two hitting a wishbone. Roma drops the leg on Neidhart's leg and then an elbow. Neidhart comes back with a bodyslam. Tag to Smash who bodyslams Roma. Tag to Ax who nails a few forearms and a bodyslam. Tag to Haku who whips Roma to the ropes and hits a clothesline. Tag to Tama as the two go back and forth until Tama nails a headbutt and Roma tags Powers. Powers immediately gets his ass kicked as Tama drags him to his corner and tags Smash. Powers tries to fight back but Smash doesn't sell it. Tag to Ax who bodyslams Powers into his corner. Tag to Jacques but Ax kicks him coming in. Jacques gets whipped to the ropes but Ax lowers his head too soon and Jacques back flips off of Ax. Jacques punches Ax and attempts to whip him in the corner. Ax reverses but Jacques stops himself, jumps on the second turnbuckle, and misses a second rope high crossbody which allows Ax to get the pin and eliminate the Rougeaus at 5:49. Come on WWF. Why did the Rougeaus have to be eliminated that early?

Dynamite comes in with a headbutt and hits a snap suplex. Tag to Tama as Dynamite catches him and rams him into the corner. Dynamite whips Tama to another corner but Tama catches Dynamite with a kick. Tama gets some forearms but Dynamite tags Powers. Powers punches Tama in the corner. Powers whips Tama to another corner but catches Powers with a clothesline as Powers comes in. Tag to Neidhart as Powers tries to fight back but his punches have no effect. Neidhart gets Powers in a Canadian Backbreaker and tags Haku who comes off with a diving double ax handle in a sweet spot for 1. Powers makes the tag to Roma who comes in with punches but Haku regains control with an eye rake. Haku whips Roma to the corner but misses the elbow. Tag to Ax as he comes in with a double ax handle. Roma fights back with punches and whips Ax to the corner but Ax catches him running in with a boot. Roma gets rammed into Valentine's boot. Tag to Valentine who hits a shoulderbreaker gets 2. Suplex gets 2. Tag to Bravo who gets a gutwrench suplex and leg drop get 2. Smash and Blair tag in. Smash whips Blair to the corner but misses a charge. Tag to Dynamite who whips Smash to the ropes and catches him with a clothesline for 2. Dynamite whips Smash to the ropes but this time lowers his head and Smash comes off the ropes with a kick. Smash gets Dynamite in his corner and starts hammering away with Dynamite on the apron. The referee tries to the separate them but Smash pushes the referee which disqualifies Demolition at 9:11 to a good pop. That didn't last as the fans would eventually get behind the Demos by Wrestlemania.

Bret comes in and drops an elbow. Bret nails a piledriver for 2. Bret nails a few European uppercuts and stomps away but misses a charges in the corner with Bret crashing shoulder first in the post. Tag to Powers who tries to take advantage. Powers whips Bret to the ropes but lowers his head too soon and Hart comes off the ropes with a kicks. Tag to Tama but Powers gets him in the corner and works him over. Tama reverses an irish whip in the corner and catches Powers coming out of the corner with a leaping clothesline which looked cool. Tama hits a bodyslam but misses a vader bomb to a pop. Tag to Martel who whips Tama to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop to a pop. Tama goes to the corner with Martel pulling him out of the corner and dropping him backfirst on the canvas. Martel whips Tama to the ropes and connects with a dropkick. Boston Crab is applied but Tama tags Neidhart who breaks it up with a clothesline from behind. Neidhart covers but gets 2. Neidhart whips Martel to the corner but charges into Martel's boot. Tag to Santana as he punches away at Neidhart. Neidhart reverses the irish whip to the ropes but Santana comes off the ropes with the flying forearm. Santana goes for the pin but Bret drops an elbow from the second turnbuckle and Neidhart pins Santana to eliminate Strike Force at 12:04.

Roma comes in and gets Neidhart to the corner where he tags Powers. Powers whips Neidhart to the ropes and attempts to dropkick him coming of but Neidhart grabs the ropes to stop himself and Powers crashes to the canvas. Tag to Haku who whips Powers to the ropes and catches him with a dropkick for 2. Powers gets rammed to the corner. Tag to Valentine who gets some elbows in the corner. Valentine whips Powers to the ropes, lowers his head too early, and Powers comes off the ropes with a sunset flip but Valentine fights out. Bodyslam and a fist drop follow. Valentine attempts a few pin attempt with Valentine kicking his legs up, Powers gets his knees up and Valentine gets crotched during one attempt. Tag to Neidhart who gets a hot shot on Powers. Tag to Haku who hits a superkick and a pendulum backbreaker for 2. Tag to Valentine as they whip Powers to the ropes and hit a double chop for 2. Suplex is blocked and Powers gets his own to a pop. Since Valentine is fresher, he recovers first and drop toe holds Powers into his corner. Tag to Bret who gets a pendulum backbreaker as Tama comes off the top rope with a diving knee drop. Bret hits a suplex for 2. Bret tries to prevent Powers from tagging but he still does as he makes the hot tag to Roma. Roma comes in and works over Bret in the corner but Bret regains the momentum with a thumb to the eye. Tag to Neidhart who hammers Roma with a few forearms and rakes the eyes. Tag to Valentine who hits a bodyslam. Valentine climbs the top and comes off with a diving forearm for 2. Roma tags Powers with Jesse rightfully bringing up the fact that the Stallions keep tagging each other despite being beat up and having the Bulldogs & the Bees to tag to. To no surprise, Powers is still too beat up which allows Valentine to chop him. Tag to Bret who whips Powers to the rope but misses the dropkick as Powers holds on to the ropes and Bret crashes to the canvas. Tag to Dynamite who whips Bret to the corner with Bret doing his chest first bump which gets 2. Dynamite hits a belly-to-back suplex for 2. Tag to Roma for some reason. Once again, Ventura questions it and I can't argue. Seriously WWF, enough of the Young Stallions. Anyway, Roma whips Bret to the ropes and gets an elbow. Roma misses the elbow drop which allows Bret to tag Haku and Roma to tag Blair. Blair goes to works on Haku. Blair whips Haku to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Blair rams Haku into Dynamite's head and then follows with clothesline. Tag to Smith as he & Blair whip Haku to the ropes and hit a double team elbow. Smith headbutts Haku which actually works. I guess Tongan heads aren't as thick as Samoan heads. Tag to Powers who gets a headbutt and starts punching. Haku gets rammed into the turnbuckle and whipped to another corner. Powers misses the charge and Haku gets control. Tag to Neidhart who hits a few forearms. Tag to Bret who hits a headbutt but Powers tags Smith who gets a gorilla press slam to a pop for 2. Smith starts nailing forearms but Hart is close to his corner and tags Haku. Smith hip tosses Haku in and nails the running powerslam for 2. Tag to Dynamite with Smith hitting a suplex and Dynamite hitting a second rope headbutt but hurts himself more. Haku recovers and nails a superkick on Dynamite to eliminate the British Bulldogs at 19:57. Wait a minute, everyone has been headbutting Haku and now it doesn't work? Ok, this was bizarre.

Roma comes in and quickly hits a dropkick. Roma whips Haku to the ropes and connects with another dropkick. Haku rakes the eyes and hits a bodyslam. Tag to Bravo but he misses an elbow drop and Roma tags Powers who punches Bravo into the corner and whips him to another corner. Monkey flip is blocked as Bravo hits an inverted atomic drop. Bravo whips Powers to the ropes and hits a kick. Tag to Valentine who gets a bionic elbow and hits a hot shot. Tag to Bravo who gets some offense and rams Powers into Neidhart's boot, Tag to Neidhart with Neidhart and Bravo whipping Powers to the ropes and catching him with a double team chop. Tag to Bret who rams Powers into the turnbuckle and sets him up in a tree of woe where he stomps away. Brunzell and Roma come in but are sent back to their corner. Valentine comes in as Powers tries to fight back but no dice as Valentine gets Powers back to his corner. Tag to Bravo who whips Powers to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Bravo hits a hot shot. Bravo whips Powers to the ropes and nails him with a kick. Bravo hits the Side Slam (which Monsoon always incorrectly called a side suplex) but chooses to tag Valentine. Valentine goes for the figure four but Powers kicks him off. Powers makes the tag to Roma but Valentine doesn't see it and once again tries for the figure four but Roma comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving sunset flip to eliminate the New Dream Team at 23:39 to a pop.

Neidhart comes in but deals with some quick tags from the babyfaces with Blair eventually tagging in. Blair whips Neidhart to the ropes and catches him with a punch to the stomach. Small package gets 2. Tag to Brunzell as Neidhart gets whipped to the ropes and the Bees get a double team elbow. Brunzell whips Neidhart to the ropes and hits a jumping knee for 2. Brunzell tries to whip Neidhart to his corner but Neidhart muscles his way to his corner and tags Bret. Brunzell takes Bret down and starts dropping knees on the leg. Tag to Roma as he and Brunzell do a more leg work while fans chant “Weasel” at Heenan. Bret regains control with a side headlock. Roma whips Hart off to the ropes, drops down to the canvas, Bret jumps over, Bret comes off, Roma leapfrogs and Bret stops to catch Roma turning around with a punch. Tag to Tama as Hart holds Roma which allows Tama to come off the top rope with a headbutt. Tama hits another headbutt. Tag to Haku with the Islanders hitting a double team whip to the ropes and catches Roma with a double team elbow. Heenan yells to finish them as Haku hits a bodyslam. Haku comes off the ropes but misses the leg drop. Tag to Brunzell who hits a bodyslam and actually succeeds in the leg drop for 2. Brunzell hits a scissors stomp and hip tosses for 2. Haku tags Bret but Brunzell kicks Bret and nails him with european uppercuts. Brunzell rams Bret to the turnbuckle. Tag to Roma who hits a bodyslam and comes off the second turnbuckle with a fist drop for 2. Bret comes back with a double leg down and stomps Roma in the stomach. Bret hits a belly-to-back suplex for 2. Tag to Tama who gets a few eye rakes as the fans chant “Weasel” and tags Haku. Double team headbutt gets 2. Haku rams Roma into the turnbuckle and whips him to the corner. Haku charges but misses and Roma hits an armdrag takedown. Haku fights out and now we get to the best spot of the night. Haku hits a standing dropkick and tags Neidhart. Monsoon says he wants to see the Anvil try it and then he actually does hit his own dropkick! Neidhart pins but Roma gets his foot on the rope. Anvil flattener gets 2. Tag to Bret and he starts to work over Roma. Roma gets whipped to the ropes but somersaults between Bret's legs and tags Brunzell. Bret gets rammed to the turnbuckle. Brunzell goes for the irish whip but Bret reverses, Brunzell comes off the ropes, dodges Bret, and both collide. Both are down. Neidhart tries to come in which results in Blair coming in but the ref forces Blair back. While this is going on, Brunzell picks Bret up, Tama dropkicks Brunzell with Bret falling on top but Brunzell reverses and pins Bret to eliminate the Hart Foundation at 30:27 to big pop as Haku is too late to break it.

Haku jumps Brunzell as he's celebrating. Tag to Tama as he comes off the top with a diving double ax handle while Haku holds Brunzell. Tama starts choking Brunzell as the fans chant “Weasel” at Heenan. Snapmare and Tama follows with a trapezius hold. Fans rally as Brunzell fights out and runs the ropes but gets caught with an elbow. Tag to Haku who hits a shoulderbreaker and a stomp for 2. Haku tries a snapmare but Brunzell escapes. Another attempt works and Haku applies a double trapezius hold as the fan cheer for Brunzell. Haku hits an elbow and tags Tama. Brunzell tries to fight back but nothing as Tama remains in control. Snapmare and another trapezius hold. Brunzell tries to fight back to his corner but Tama throws him back to the Islanders corner. Tag to Haku who whips Brunzell to the ropes, misses a clothesline, and Brunzell comes off with a sunset flip for 2. Haku regains control and hits a suplex for 2. Haku whips Brunzell to the ropes but lowers his head too early and Brunzell hits a knee. Tag to Powers who unloads on Haku. Powers whips Haku to the ropes and connects with the back body drop. Tag to Roma who whips Haku to the ropes, Powers drops down, Haku jumps over, and Roma catches him in a powerslam but Tama breaks the pin at 2. Illegal double team allows the Islanders to gain control as the referee sends Blair back. Haku whips Roma to the corner but misses the charge. Hot tag to Blair who comes in but Haku gains the advantage and rams Blair into Tama's foot. Tag to Tama and he continues to work over Blair. Tama whips Blair to the ropes and hits a jumping elbow to big boos. Tama hits a bodyslam and comes off the ropes but misses the elbow. Tag to Brunzell who whips Tama to the ropes and gets a shitty back backdrop. Haku comes in but Brunzell bodyslams him. Noggin knocker on the Islanders which is kind of pathetic. I understand Haku is Tongan but Tama is Samoan and that never works on Samoans. Brunzell whips Tama to the ropes and nails him with the dropkick but Haku breaks the pin at 2. The Stallions come in to get rid of Haku while Blair puts on his bee mask. Tama whips Brunzell to the ropes but lowers his head and Brunzell hits a sunset flip. Tama reaches the ropes but Blair gets a slingshot sunset flip to illegally eliminate the Islanders and allow the Killer Bees and the Young Stallions to survive at 37:14. After the match, Brunzell puts his bee mask on to prevent the referee from telling them apart. Ventura is hilarious on commentary as he thinks that's a bunch of CRAP! Seriously, somebody should get a soundbite of Ventura saying that.

Thoughts: *** Pretty good elimination match but TOO FUCKING LONG! I understand time issues, filling three hours, and the fact there was 20 guys but this match didn't need to go 37 minutes. A lot of it was good but we didn't need the match to be so long that eliminations were sometimes nearly spread 7-8 minutes apart. The first 12 minutes were good and everything flowed well but after Strike Force's elimination, the match just dragged a lot. If this match was 25 minutes, it would've been great but the length damaged the match. I also don't agree with the Bees and the Stallions being the survivors. By this point, the Bees were fallen down the ladder and the Stallions meant nothing in the long run nor were they interesting for me to care. The British Bulldogs and The Rougeau Brothers would've been better choices. The choices for the eliminations felt questionable as teams like the Rougeaus, Demolition, and Strike Force were arguably gone too soon. Meanwhile, the New Dream Team were done after this and could've went out earlier and the Young Stallions were too dull to survive. At times, they were in the ring too much to the point where it got obnoxious. Other than that, the match was good with some nice moves and some of the booking was well done. The Harts eliminating Strike Force was a good move since it allowed the Harts to show they were still a threat in the tag team division despite losing the titles. Demolition getting disqualified was good since they didn't lose any of their heat and the WWF clearly had big plans for them in the next few months. Though, I don't agree with the Bulldogs getting eliminated, it did sow the seeds for their eventual feud with The Islanders. This would be it for The New Dream Team. As mentioned, Valentine and Bravo didn't get along in real life nor did they think they had chemistry together. The team broke up after Survivor Series with Valentine reuniting with Jimmy Hart by the weekend Superstars of Wrestling while Bravo would be paired with wrestler turned manager Frenchy Martin and Johnny V would work as a jobber until he left in early 1988.

We now go to Ted Dibiase clip as he talks about Thanksgiving. He says the way to survive is money and tons of it. He says people asks if he's thankful for anything and he likes the money and how it makes people do anything for him to get it. We're treated to a clip of his greatest moments including offering a kid money if he can do 10 pushups and of course the kid only gets to 9. We also get the famous moment where he challenges a kid to dribble a basketball 15 times and then kicks the ball away after 14. The kid doesn't get the money but he does learn a valuable lesson in life: “When you don't do the job right, you don't get paid.” We then see a woman get on her knees and bark like a dog but not good enough. Guess Trish Stratus wasn't the first. We also get a young 15 year old Rob Van Dam kissing Dibiase's foot. Finally we get another famous bit where he turns a public pool into a private pool. Dibiase drives his car as he says that the kids are thankful he didn't buy the pool for the whole summer. Dibiase finishes with a nice message: “Everybody's got a price for the Million Dollar Man even on Thanksgiving.” Eh, this was a fine way to kill time and got Dibiase on the show, even though it was mostly past clips.

Monsoon and Ventura talk about the previous matches. Ventura claims Honky did the right thing in walking out since he was in a 3-on-1 situation and if he got injured he would have to forfeit the Intercontinental Title. Monsoon asks if maybe Jimmy Hart suggested to Honky to leave with Ventura saying he could've. Ventura says the Glamour Girls are in trouble and he was impressed by the Jumping Bomb Angels. Ventura puts on his pilgrim hat as he complains of the tag team elimination match and the Bees using their masks. Monsoon mentions how Andre hasn't stepped in the ring since Wrestlemania III. Nice way to kill time and good way to recap stuff.

DeGeorge interviews The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart in the arena. DeGeorge says this isn't a night he'll want to remember. Honky says he was a survivor which gets him booed out of the building. 3-on-1 and he wasn't defeated. He says if you line them up then he'll knock them down one by one and will accept the challenge of anyone. He says Hogan is jealous and will put the IC belt against him anytime. Honky says he never wants to see Savage again cause Savage can't beat him before saying he's the Entertainment package. DeGeorge tells Hart Honky walked out but Hart says Honky is the greatest. Short promo but served it's purpose in killing more time and Honky got good heat.

Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan and his team. He mentions how hungry they are and he has his policy including the Strongest Man in the World (Ken Patera), the Magnificent One (Don Muraco), the fire (Bam Bam Bigelow) in case he has to burn down the whole jungle, and the most unpredictable animal (Paul Orndorff). Orndorff says he's hungry and he'll survive. Patera says the strong shall survive. Muraco says the training is over and he's here for a good time. Oliver Humperdink says it's all been said and now they need to go out. Bigelow says it's time to burn the building down. Solid promo from Hogan while everyone else was short and too the point. Again, the background yelling was annoying.

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, The One Man Gang, Butch Reed, & Rick Rude (w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan & Slick) vs. Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, & Bam Bam Bigelow(w/Oliver Humperdink)- Yes, Hogan & Orndorff are friends again and even Monsoon & Ventura on commentary wonder if Hogan can trust Orndorff. And you thought Undertaker & Kane's relationship was complicated. Muraco is replacing “Superstar” Billy Graham due to Graham being forced to retire due to hip replacement surgery a year earlier and having to get his ankle fused before this event. The replacement came after the WWF did a storyline where the One Man Gang attacked Graham during a match against Butch Reed a few weeks earlier on the November 14^th edition of Superstars of Wrestling with the two “injuring” Graham with Muraco eventually coming to his aid. The attack was the storyline reason for Graham's retirement.

The big story coming into this match was Hogan defeating Andre at Wrestlemania III and Andre & Heenan spending the next eight months claiming that Andre actually won the match when he fell on Hogan following a failed bodyslam. This is billed as Andre's first match since Wrestlemania III. Close but Andre did work a dark match during the SNME XI tapings on 4/28 teaming with Hercules against Hogan and Patera. Other stories included Muraco's problems with Reed and Gang over the situation with Graham and Paul Orndorff & Ken Patera quitting the Heenan Family with Patera believing that Heenan sold him down the river when he legit went to prison while Orndorff was angry at taking a backseat to Rick Rude. Speaking of Rude, his pants were cool as they had street signs on them which doesn't seem right for his character. Finally, am I the only one who's suspicious about Don Muraco? How convenient that Muraco saves Billy Graham, Graham later becomes his on-screen manager, and now Muraco looks ripped and chiseled. Apparently, Graham gave Muraco more than manager advice and tye-dye t-shirts. But hey, Graham was retired so he probably didn't want his supplements to go to waste.

Anyway, Muraco and Rude start with a tie up with Rude muscling Muraco in the corner. They trade punches until Rude rakes the eyes. Rude whips Muraco to the corner but Muraco gets his boot up and catches Rude charging in. Tag to Orndorff who comes off the top rope with a diving bionic elbow to a pop. Orndorff whips Rude to the ropes and catches him with a punch to the stomach and follows with a knee lift. Orndorff rams Rude into Hogan's boot. Tag to Hogan much to the crowds delight who whips Rude to the ropes and comes off the other side with an ax bomber. Hogan drops a few elbows. Tag to Bigelow as Hogan bodyslam Rude while Bigelow comes off the ropes with an assisted splash (with Hogan helping) and the crowd is cheering loudly. Bigelow hits a gorilla press slam. Tag to Patera who comes off the top rope with a diving ax handle but it knocks Rude into his corner. Tag to Reed but Patera catches him coming in. Patera whips Reed to the ropes and catches a clothesline. Patera hits a bodyslam. Reed tries to tag but Patera rolls him up for 2. Tag to Muraco as Patera gets an arm wringer and whips Reed to the ropes which allows Muraco to hit a dropkick. Muraco rams Reed into Orndorff's knee. Tag to Orndorff who whips Reed to the ropes and hits a dropkick. Another dropkick follows and Orndorff punches Bundy for the hell of it. Orndorff gets Reed in the corner. Reed reverses an irish whip in the corner and charges in but misses. Orndorff rams Reed into Hogan's knee. Tag to Hogan with Hogan and Orndorff getting a double team whip that sends Reed to the ropes and Reed gets knocked down with a double elbow. Hogan comes off the ropes with the leg drop to eliminate Reed at 3:06 to a big pop.

As Hogan is high fiving his team, Andre comes in. Hogan and Andre is teased but referee Joey Marella considers Hogan's high five to Patera a tag so the fans have to wait a little longer. Cute trick from the WWF. Andre's not interested in Patera so he tags out to Bundy as the fans are pissed. Patera hammers away on Bundy and rams him into two corners. Patera whips Bundy to the ropes and catches him with a clothesline. Tags to Orndorff and Gang with the Gang working over Orndorff into the corner. Orndorff fights out and knocks Gang into the corner to a pop. Gang gets whipped to another corner but catches Orndorff charging in with a knee. Tag to Rude who nails Orndorff with some elbows and punches. Orndorff reverses an irish whip and hits a clothesline. Ventura rightfully points out Rude isn't having a very good night. Orndorff hits a bodyslam and drops an elbow for 2. Tag to Muraco as Orndorff whips Rude to the ropes and drops down with Rude jumping over Orndorff and running into a Muraco clothesline. Hogan gets a punch and Muraco follows with a mongolian chop. Rude thumbs the eyes. Tag to Gang who whips Muraco to the corner but misses the charge and Muraco somersaults to his corner to tag Patera who punches away at Gang until Gang rakes the eyes. Gang whips Patera to the ropes,misses the clothesline, and Patera comes off with a high crossbody for 2. Patera whips Gang into the corner and hits a jumping knee. Patera continues to punch until Gang rakes the eyes. Patera gets sent to the heels corner as they work on him. Patera tries to make it back to his corner but can't as Gang ties him into the ropes as the fans, I think, chant “Andre sucks”. Patera gets trapped in the heel corner again. He tries to make it his corner but the Gang blocks him with a front facelock. Patera starts to fight back and whips Gang to the ropes. Both collide into each other as they both try for a clothesline and Gang falls on top to eliminate Patera at 8:45.

Hogan comes in and punches Gang. Hogan whips Gang to the ropes and follows with a clothesline. Hogan chops Gang in the corner. Tag to Bigelow and the fans dig him. Hogan and Bigelow double team irish whip Gang in the corner and hit a double big boot. Bigelow forearms Gang into a corner and whips him into another corner but both collide with Bigelow charging in and Gang coming out. Tags to Rude and Orndorff with Orndorff kicking Rude's ass and ramming him into the turnbuckle. Orndorff hits a suplex and an elbow drop. Orndorff whips Rude to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Orndorff gives the signal for the piledriver but Bundy comes and cheap shots Orndorff which allows Rude get the roll up and use the trunks to eliminate Orndorff at 10:25.

Rude poses like an idiot which allows Muraco to hit him with an atomic drop and clothesline. Tag to Bigelow who nails Rude with a superkick and suplex. Tag to Hogan who whips Rude to the ropes and hits a jumping knee. Tag to Muraco as Hogan whips Rude to the ropes, drops down, and Muraco catches him coming in with a powerslam to eliminate Rude in 11:20 to a big pop which even things up.

Bundy comes in and rakes Muraco's eyes. Bundy whips Muraco to the ropes and catches him an elbow but misses the knee drop. Muraco kicks the leg which knocks Bundy down. Muraco hyper extends the leg and legdrops it. Bundy rakes the eyes and forearms Muraco. Muraco gets rammed to the turnbuckle. Tag to Gang who works over Muraco until Muraco fights back. Gang gets whipped into the corner but Muraco stupidly tries to slam him as he comes out of the corner but Gang falls on top for 2. Gang whips Muraco into Andre who nails him. Gang comes off the ropes with the 747 Splash to eliminate Muraco at 12:56.

Bigelow and Hogan roll Muraco out of the ring which allows Gang to jump Bigelow. Gang whips Bigelow to the ropes but lowers his head and Bigelow tries for the sunset flip but Gang sits on him. Tag to Bundy who drops a knee. Bundy whips Bigelow to the ropes and hits a clothesline which allows Bigelow to do the Rikishi sell job. Bundy hits a knee drop for 2 as Hogan breaks the pin. Fist drop gets 2 and Bundy tags Gang. Bigelow tries to fight back but Gang thumbs the eye and chokes Bigelow on the ropes. Tag to Bundy who whips Bigelow to the ropes and catches him with a knee to the stomach. Bundy drops a double ax handle as the fans rally behind Bigelow. Tag to the Gang as he works over Bigelow. Gang whips Bigelow to the ropes and catches him with an elbow. Tag to Bundy as he nails a forearm but misses an elbow drop. Despite this, he continues to work over Bigelow. Bundy pins for 2. Tag to the Gang who kicks Bigelow and then FINALLY tags Andre. Nice to see Andre finally grace us with his presence. Andre tries to punch Bigelow but Bigelow somersaults out of the way and makes the hot tag to Hogan. The two go back in forth with chops as the fans are going apeshit. Hogan starts winning and rams Andre to the turnbuckles and then to the babyface corner. Hogan nails Bundy and Gang off the apron. Hogan hits an elbow and runs the ropes but Bundy trips him coming off and pulls Hogan out of the ring. Hogan starts fighting Bundy and Gang off. Hogan body slams Gang. Hogan tries to get back into the ring but Bundy stops him and gets bodyslammed for his troubles. But the distraction pays off as Hogan gets counted out and eliminated at 18:05. The fans hate that to say the least. Hogan wants Andre but the referees won't allow it. Hogan protest but ring announcer Howard Finkel announces if Hogan doesn't leave than Andre's team will be awarded the match. Hogan grabs his championship and leaves in disgust.

Bundy tags in with Bigelow jumping Bundy. Bigelow whips Bundy to the ropes and catches him with a clothesline. Bigelow drops an elbow for 2. Bigelow continues to hammer away and comes off with a running shoulderblock. Bigelow drops a headbutt for 2. Bigelow hits a standing dropkick and takes Bundy down with a double leg takedown. Bigelow follows with an elbow drop to the leg. Bundy reverses an irish whip into the corner but misses the avalanche. Bigelow goes to the apron and slingshots back in with a splash to eliminate Bundy in 20:32 to a big pop.

Gang comes in and unloads with forearms. Gang hits a short arm clothesline for 2. Fans rally for Bigelow as Gang rams Bigelow into Andre's boot. Gang climbs the top rope but misses the top rope 747 Splash and Bigelow gets the pin to eliminate Gang in 22:52 to a big pop.

Andre comes in to pick the bones as he forearms Bigelow and hits the headbutt. Big right hand from Andre. Andre whips Bigelow to the ropes but Bigelows holds on. Andre tries to grab him but Bigelow keeps somersaulting out of the way. Bigelow charges but Andre moves and Bigelow crashes into the corner. I fail to see how you miss such a big slow target but whatever. Andre gets a few shoulder thrusts in the corner. Shitty butterfly suplex eliminates Bigelow and allows Andre to be the first sole survivor at Survivor Series at 24:07. Immediately after the match, Hogan comes in and nails Andre with the WWF Championship to send Andre out of the ring. Hogan wants Andre back but Heenan doesn't want Andre back in. Hogan starts to pose to send the fans home happy.

Thoughts: **** Great match. Everybody for the most part did a good job except Andre. Declining health or not, Andre did jack shit in this match. I expect this from 1990 Andre but not 1987 Andre. Was it too hard for him to do a few minutes of stuff in a 24 minute match? Seriously, he didn't even tag in till 15 minutes in. But in the end, it was probably for the best. The booking was great again as Andre being the sole survivor allowed him to even things with Hogan. The count out was also brilliant since it allowed the WWF to have Hogan and Andre go at it but like the opening match, nothing was settled and it allows the WWF to do another match. The end was also well done as Bigelow looks awesome fighting the odds, eliminating Bundy and Gang but the numbers eventually become too much for the Bammer. This is a classic trick WWF loves to do at Survivor Series. The WWF was also smart for this one with guys most of the deadweight from the heels like Andre and Bundy were kept to a minimum while Reed, Rude, and Gang did most of the work on the heel side. The babyfaces were all good but with Patera past his prime and he & Orndorff being injured, it was best they were eliminated first. Like most of the matches, this one flowed well as 20 minutes was enough and elimination weren't spread so far. This was it for Orndorff as he finished up doing live events until leaving in January 1988 due to his bicep injury.

Okerlund interviews Andre the Giant and Bobby Heenan. Heenan says Hogan can have Andre if he puts his name on the line. Andre says he said he would be the survivor. Another short but sweet segment that did what it accomplished.

Monsoon and Ventura sign off with Ventura being glad he's leaving Cleveland.

We get stills of the event to close the show.

Final Thoughts and Verdict
Survivor Series 1987 is like Wrestlemania I in many ways both good and bad. The good being the matches are good and it's recommended just for historical reasons alone. The bad in that there isn't any blow off matches or the end of major feuds but with Royal Rumble 1988 and The Main Event I on the horizon, it makes sense. While there are no Match of the Year Candidates, all the matches are mostly in the “good” category while the main event was great so you should enjoy watching them, especially if you like Elimination Matches. The event does have some more history as it marks the last official match of the New Dream Team, the last WWF match of Fabulous Moolah till 1999, and Paul Orndorff's last televised match. The only nitpick was the promos were mostly terrible with the background noise. A good way to spend three hours.

Recommended

Survivor Series 1987 Facts-
First Survivor Series to be held on Thanksgiving. Every Survivor Series would be held then until 1991.

First Survivor Series to be held at the Richfield Coliseum. The coliseum would host Survivor Series again 1988 & 1992.

First Survivor Series to have a Women's Elimination Match. It would be the last time until the 1995 Survivor Series.

First Survivor Series to have a Tag Team Elimination Match.

Andre the Giant was the first Sole Survivor in a Survivor Series match.

Bam Bam Bigelow and King Kong Bundy were on opposing teams at the 1987 Survivor Series. Ironically, the next time they were both on a Survivor Series card, they would be on the same team in 1994.

The Fabulous Moolah wrestled her last WWF match until September 1999

The New Dream Team wrestled their last match as an official team at Survivor Series 1987 though they occasionally reunited here and there in 1989

Paul Orndorff wrestled his last televised WWF match at Survivor Series 1987