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Survivor Series (1988)
Encyclopedia
Survivor Series 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. The entire undercard featured three Survivor Series matches between mid-card wrestlers.
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.
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
; as such, this match was mainly among Intercontinental Championship contenders, and low- to mid-card wrestlers. Don Muraco
was originally scheduled to be a part of Warrior's team but left WWF, so he was replaced by Jim Brunzell. Beefcake scored the first victory of the night for Warrior's team, using a sleeper hold to force Davis to submit at the 1:18 mark. Brown evened the odds for the heel team about four minutes later, hitting Brunzell with a Ghetto Blaster, a type of kick to the back of the head. Not long thereafter, Valentine and Brown were setting Houston up for a double-team move when Houston dodged a running forearm club by Valentine, who instead struck Brown. Brown—playing up his character as an uncooperative loner—was angered and walked out of the match, getting himself counted out. Bass pinned Houston after a running powerslam, evening the sides at 3-apiece. The Blue Blazer used his speed to daze Valentine, but while attempting to finish the veteran Valentine off with a top-rope move, Honky ran over and pushed Blazer off the ropes; Valentine quickly applied a figure four leglock to force the submission. Beefcake then got the upper hand over Honky and locked on the sleeper hold, but Honky got to and slipped through the ropes, taking Beefcake with him; both men were ultimately counted out, leaving Warrior as the lone member of his team. Bass and Valentine worked over Warrior for awhile, but Warrior dodged a double-clothesline attempt and knocked both men down, quickly pinning both men back-to-back—first Bass, then Valentine—with double axe handles to win the match and be the sole survivor.
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 fall from the ring and get counted out, thus eliminating Demolition. Afterward, Ax confronted Fuji but when Ax turned his back, Fuji struck him with his cane. Demolition beat him and turned babyfaces
. The Powers of Pain turned heels
after they placed him in their corner. Moments later, the Barbarian hit Uno with a diving headbutt
and pinned him to eliminate Los Conquistadores, making the Powers of Pain the sole survivors. After the match, Demolition ran back to the ring and ran Warlord and Barbarian from the ring.
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 three members while André's team had still five members. However, Santana hit Race with a flying forearm smash and then pinned him to eliminate Race, leaving André's team with 4 members. Heel team captain André came in and quickly used his massive height and weight to crush and eventually pin Santana, leaving the heels with a 4–2 advantage. Later, Duggan used his 2×4 on Bravo, getting disqualified in the process. Roberts, the only member left on the face team, held his own and when Rude cockily attempted to tag one of his partners into the ring, he caught Rude from behind and hit with a DDT
, eliminating him. André quickly got into the ring, applied a chokehold
on Roberts and refused to release it, getting disqualified in the process. Before André left, he headbutt
ed Roberts. Perfect took advantage and pinned Roberts to win the match. Perfect and Bravo became the sole survivors for their team. After the match, Roberts recovered, retrieved Damien and chased Andre, Perfect and Bravo from ringside.
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 to pin and eliminate him, giving the Mega Powers an early edge. The big Akeem quickly evened the two sides after overpowering Hillbilly Jim and striking him with a 747 Splash for the pin. Akeem's partner Boss Man hit Koko with a Boss Man Slam to give the Twin Towers a 4-3 advantage. DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil
distracted Hercules, allowing DiBiase to pin him with a schoolboy, leaving just team captains Hogan and Savage in the Mega Powers' corner. As DiBiase was taunting Hercules, Savage immediately pinned him with a schoolboy to eliminate him, leaving three members in Twin Towers' corner. Shortly thereafter, Slick
(the manager of the Twin Towers) grabbed Elizabeth and—while pulling her away from ringside—began screaming threats at her, prompting Hogan to come to her rescue; Akeem and Boss Man intervened, hitting Hogan before Boss Man handcuffed Hogan to the ropes. In the process, Boss Man (the legal man in the ring) was counted out while Akeem was disqualified for shoving the referee
and illegally double-teaming Savage. Haku, left as the only member of the heel team, dominated Savage for several minutes as Slick (who remained at ringside) taunted both Hogan and Elizabeth. Eventually, Haku accidentally kicked Slick from the ring apron (after a mistimed illegal double team on Savage) while Hogan clotheslined Heenan. After Elizabeth grabbed the key to unlock his handcuffs, Hogan was tagged into the match after Haku kicked an exhausted Savage into his corner. Hogan quickly dominated Haku and pinned him with a leg drop
to score the win for the Mega Powers. After the match, Hogan began acting friendly toward Elizabeth, clearly upsetting Savage, whose reaction was known to the crowd and television audience but not acknowledged by Hogan; pro-heel color commentator Jesse "The Body" Ventura
also picked up on this and interviewed him later about the incident.
were a powerful tag team
throughout 1988 but their domination began to end as misunderstanding occurred between Hogan
and Savage
in early 1989. This all began on January 7, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event
, Hogan was mercilessly beaten by The Twin Towers after his match with Akeem
. Savage came out and cleared the ring with a steel chair. Elizabeth took Hogan to the backstage area which angered Savage. He thought that he was a third wheel and this was the beginning of the breakup of Mega Powers as Savage was angry as to why his wife Miss Elizabeth
was used by Hogan as his manager
. He confronted her about the issue but she took Hogan backstage. Problems increased further in the Royal Rumble match
where Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage as he was trying to eliminate Bad News Brown
. On February 3 edition of The Main Event
, Hogan and Savage faced The Twin Towers (Akeem
and The Big Boss Man
) in a tag team
match, filled with controversy. During the climax of the match, Akeem threw Savage on top of Elizabeth, knocking her out cold. Hogan picked her up and took her backstage, leaving Savage alone to face the Towers while Hogan tended to Elizabeth. When Hogan came back, Savage slapped him in the face and took the belt in his hand and turned heel
by abandoning Hogan. Though, Hogan managed to pick up the win. Mega Powers disbanded as Hogan and Savage feud
ed with each other. At WrestleMania V
, Hogan defeated Savage in a match what was billed "The Mega Powers Explode" to win the WWF Championship
ending Savage's reign of 371 days.
The feud between Demolition and the Powers of Pain took on its new twist, as now Demolition was the face team and the Powers of Pain were the villains. Mr. Fuji constantly interfered in his team's matches against Demolition, and eventually, a 2-on-3 match was signed for WrestleMania V, with Fuji joining the Powers of Pain. At WrestleMania, Demolition was able to gain their final revenge on Fuji when—after his mistimed attempt to throw salt in Ax's eyes—he was caught in Demolition's finishing move, the Demolition Decapitation.
2
3
4
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
event produced by the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF). It took place on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
Night, November 24, 1988 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum
Coliseum at Richfield
The Coliseum at Richfield was an arena located in Richfield Township in Summit County, Ohio, roughly halfway between Cleveland and Akron...
, in Richfield, Ohio
Richfield, Ohio
Richfield is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2000 census. The village and the adjacent Richfield Township are approximately equidistant between the downtown areas of Akron and Cleveland...
.
The main event was a Survivor Series match that featured a 5-man team captained by The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
(Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
) against a team captained by The Twin Towers (Akeem
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
and The Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
). Hogan and Savage were the only survivors in the match. The entire undercard featured three Survivor Series matches between mid-card wrestlers.
Background
The main feudFeud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
heading into Survivor Series pitted The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
(Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
), Hercules
Ray Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim
Hillbilly Jim
Jim Morris , best known to fans as Hillbilly Jim, is an American professional wrestler and disc jockey. He was one of the World Wrestling Federation's most popular wrestlers of the mid-to-late 1980s.-Career:...
against The Twin Towers (Akeem
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
and Big Bossman
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
), Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
, Haku, and The Red Rooster
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
. Hogan and Savage formed this alliance at WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
in March 1988 after Hogan helped Savage in defeating DiBiase in the tournament final for the vacant WWF Championship. DiBiase and André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
faced Hogan and Savage at the inaugural SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1988)
SummerSlam was the first annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, located in New York, New York. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival...
in August where the Mega Powers won. DiBiase had bought the contract of André from Heenan at the inaugural Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1988)
Royal Rumble was the first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
in January. In late 1988, DiBiase bought another contract from Heenan of Hercules
Ray Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
, who was a powerful force in the WWF. Hercules refused to become DiBiase's slave and turned babyface
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
and started feuding with DiBiase. DiBiase and other heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
wrestlers joined Twin Towers against Mega Powers and other babyface wrestlers.
Another major feud pitted Jake "the Snake" Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
against André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
. 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
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
against the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
, 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
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
vs. The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
, the former champion who was determined to regain his title.
Event
The first match of the event was a five-on-five Survivor Series match between the team of WWF Intercontinental ChampionWWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
, Brutus Beefcake
Edward Leslie
Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend...
, Sam Houston
Michael Smith (wrestler)
Michael Maurice Smith is a second generation professional wrestler who is best known for competing under the ring name Sam Houston in the 1980s...
, The Blue Blazer
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
(in his pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) debut), and Jim Brunzell; and the team of The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
, Ron Bass
Ronald Herd
Ronald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:...
, Danny Davis
Dan Marsh
Dan Marsh is a former professional wrestling referee and wrestler most famous as Danny Davis of the World Wrestling Federation. He also competed in the WWF for several years as Mr. X, a masked wrestler....
, Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
, and Bad News Brown
Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
; as such, this match was mainly among Intercontinental Championship contenders, and low- to mid-card wrestlers. Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
was originally scheduled to be a part of Warrior's team but left WWF, so he was replaced by Jim Brunzell. Beefcake scored the first victory of the night for Warrior's team, using a sleeper hold to force Davis to submit at the 1:18 mark. Brown evened the odds for the heel team about four minutes later, hitting Brunzell with a Ghetto Blaster, a type of kick to the back of the head. Not long thereafter, Valentine and Brown were setting Houston up for a double-team move when Houston dodged a running forearm club by Valentine, who instead struck Brown. Brown—playing up his character as an uncooperative loner—was angered and walked out of the match, getting himself counted out. Bass pinned Houston after a running powerslam, evening the sides at 3-apiece. The Blue Blazer used his speed to daze Valentine, but while attempting to finish the veteran Valentine off with a top-rope move, Honky ran over and pushed Blazer off the ropes; Valentine quickly applied a figure four leglock to force the submission. Beefcake then got the upper hand over Honky and locked on the sleeper hold, but Honky got to and slipped through the ropes, taking Beefcake with him; both men were ultimately counted out, leaving Warrior as the lone member of his team. Bass and Valentine worked over Warrior for awhile, but Warrior dodged a double-clothesline attempt and knocked both men down, quickly pinning both men back-to-back—first Bass, then Valentine—with double axe handles to win the match and be the sole survivor.
The second Survivor Series match was a 10-on-10 variation of tag teams where if a wrestler from a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
was eliminated, his partner was also eliminated. The match featured the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
(The Warlord
Terry Szopinski
Terry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett...
and The Barbarian
Sione Vailahi
Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...
), The Rockers
The Rockers
The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World...
(Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Marty Jannetty
Marty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...
), the British Bulldogs
British Bulldogs
The British Bulldogs were the team of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Tom Billington , professional wrestlers who competed through most of the 1980s in both North America, England, and Japan and is by many considered one of the top tag-teams in history.-Early years :In the 1970s, Dynamite Kid and Davey...
(Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
and Dynamite Kid
Dynamite Kid
Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
), The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
(Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
and Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
), and The Young Stallions
The Young Stallions
The Young Stallions was a professional wrestling tag team composed of Jim Powers and Paul Roma who competed in the World Wrestling Federation from 1987 to 1989.-Career:...
(Paul Roma
Paul Roma
Paul Roma is a professional wrestler who is known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling primarily as a tag-team wrestler alongside such partners as Jim Powers, Hercules, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff.-World Wrestling Federation :Paul Roma entered...
and Jim Powers
Jim Powers
James Manley , better known by his ring name Jim Powers is a retired American professional wrestler. He most notably wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s...
) against WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
(Ax
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...
and Smash
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
), the Brain Busters
Brain Busters
The Brain Busters was the World Wrestling Federation name for the professional wrestling tag team of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Anderson and Blanchard adopted this name after joining the WWF in 1988 from Jim Crockett Promotions, where the two men had wrestled as part of the Four Horsemen...
(Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
and Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
), The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although...
(Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
and Boris Zhukov
Jim Barrell
James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
), The Fabulous Rougeaus
The Fabulous Rougeaus
The Fabulous Rougeaus was the professional wrestling tag team of real-life brothers, Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau, best known from their time in the World Wrestling Federation , from 1986 to 1990....
(Jacques
Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career...
and Raymond
Raymond Rougeau
Raymond "Ray" Rougeau is a former Canadian professional wrestler and French language television presenter and commentator.-Career:...
) and Los Conquistadores (Uno and Dos
Jose Estrada, Sr.
Jose Estrada, Sr. is a semi-retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler who was a longtime mainstay of the World Wrestling Council as well as having stints in North American promotions including International World Class Championship Wrestling and the World Wide Wrestling Federation holding the now...
). 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
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
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
Harry Fujiwara
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
thought that his team could not beat the Powers of Pain, he opened the rope causing Smash to fall from the ring and get counted out, thus eliminating Demolition. Afterward, Ax confronted Fuji but when Ax turned his back, Fuji struck him with his cane. Demolition beat him and turned babyfaces
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
. The Powers of Pain turned heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
after they placed him in their corner. Moments later, the Barbarian hit Uno with a diving headbutt
Headbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
and pinned him to eliminate Los Conquistadores, making the Powers of Pain the sole survivors. After the match, Demolition ran back to the ring and ran Warlord and Barbarian from the ring.
The third Survivor Series match featured André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
, Rick Rude, Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
, Mr. Perfect
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, and Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
against Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan
James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
, Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
, Scott Casey
Scott Casey
Scott Casey is a retired American professional wrestler who is probably best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation between 1987 and 1990. His brother, Steve, was also a wrestler who appeared in the National Wrestling Alliance in the late 1980s and for the Global Wrestling...
, Ken Patera
Ken Patera
Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...
, and Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...
. Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
was originally scheduled to be a part of Roberts' team but left WWF. Brian Blair
Brian Blair
Brian Leslie Blair is a local politician in Florida, who gained fame as a professional wrestler especially as a part of the Killer Bees.-Career:...
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 three members while André's team had still five members. However, Santana hit Race with a flying forearm smash and then pinned him to eliminate Race, leaving André's team with 4 members. Heel team captain André came in and quickly used his massive height and weight to crush and eventually pin Santana, leaving the heels with a 4–2 advantage. Later, Duggan used his 2×4 on Bravo, getting disqualified in the process. Roberts, the only member left on the face team, held his own and when Rude cockily attempted to tag one of his partners into the ring, he caught Rude from behind and hit with a DDT
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
, eliminating him. André quickly got into the ring, applied a chokehold
Chokehold
A chokehold or choke is a general term for grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air or blood from passing through the neck of an opponent. The restriction may be of one or both and depends on the hold used and the reaction of the victim...
on Roberts and refused to release it, getting disqualified in the process. Before André left, he headbutt
Headbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
ed Roberts. Perfect took advantage and pinned Roberts to win the match. Perfect and Bravo became the sole survivors for their team. After the match, Roberts recovered, retrieved Damien and chased Andre, Perfect and Bravo from ringside.
The main event featured The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
(Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
), Hercules
Ray Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim
Hillbilly Jim
Jim Morris , best known to fans as Hillbilly Jim, is an American professional wrestler and disc jockey. He was one of the World Wrestling Federation's most popular wrestlers of the mid-to-late 1980s.-Career:...
against The Twin Towers (Akeem
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
and The Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
), Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
, Haku, and The Red Rooster
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
. Savage hit a Savage Elbow on Rooster to pin and eliminate him, giving the Mega Powers an early edge. The big Akeem quickly evened the two sides after overpowering Hillbilly Jim and striking him with a 747 Splash for the pin. Akeem's partner Boss Man hit Koko with a Boss Man Slam to give the Twin Towers a 4-3 advantage. DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil
Mike Jones (wrestler)
Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant...
distracted Hercules, allowing DiBiase to pin him with a schoolboy, leaving just team captains Hogan and Savage in the Mega Powers' corner. As DiBiase was taunting Hercules, Savage immediately pinned him with a schoolboy to eliminate him, leaving three members in Twin Towers' corner. Shortly thereafter, Slick
Ken Johnson (wrestling)
Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation...
(the manager of the Twin Towers) grabbed Elizabeth and—while pulling her away from ringside—began screaming threats at her, prompting Hogan to come to her rescue; Akeem and Boss Man intervened, hitting Hogan before Boss Man handcuffed Hogan to the ropes. In the process, Boss Man (the legal man in the ring) was counted out while Akeem was disqualified for shoving the referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
and illegally double-teaming Savage. Haku, left as the only member of the heel team, dominated Savage for several minutes as Slick (who remained at ringside) taunted both Hogan and Elizabeth. Eventually, Haku accidentally kicked Slick from the ring apron (after a mistimed illegal double team on Savage) while Hogan clotheslined Heenan. After Elizabeth grabbed the key to unlock his handcuffs, Hogan was tagged into the match after Haku kicked an exhausted Savage into his corner. Hogan quickly dominated Haku and pinned him with a leg drop
Leg drop
A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area...
to score the win for the Mega Powers. After the match, Hogan began acting friendly toward Elizabeth, clearly upsetting Savage, whose reaction was known to the crowd and television audience but not acknowledged by Hogan; pro-heel color commentator Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
also picked up on this and interviewed him later about the incident.
Aftermath
The Mega PowersThe Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
were a powerful tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
throughout 1988 but their domination began to end as misunderstanding occurred between Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
in early 1989. This all began on January 7, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event
WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8 EST time slot...
, Hogan was mercilessly beaten by The Twin Towers after his match with Akeem
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
. Savage came out and cleared the ring with a steel chair. Elizabeth took Hogan to the backstage area which angered Savage. He thought that he was a third wheel and this was the beginning of the breakup of Mega Powers as Savage was angry as to why his wife Miss Elizabeth
Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late...
was used by Hogan as his manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
. He confronted her about the issue but she took Hogan backstage. Problems increased further in the Royal Rumble match
Royal Rumble (1989)
Royal Rumble was the second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , and the first one to be held on pay-per-view. It took place on January 15, 1989 at The Summit in Houston, Texas....
where Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage as he was trying to eliminate Bad News Brown
Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
. On February 3 edition of The Main Event
WWF The Main Event
The Main Event was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was a spin-off of the show WWF Saturday Night's Main Event and occasionally aired on NBC on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final...
, Hogan and Savage faced The Twin Towers (Akeem
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
and The Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
) in a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match, filled with controversy. During the climax of the match, Akeem threw Savage on top of Elizabeth, knocking her out cold. Hogan picked her up and took her backstage, leaving Savage alone to face the Towers while Hogan tended to Elizabeth. When Hogan came back, Savage slapped him in the face and took the belt in his hand and turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
by abandoning Hogan. Though, Hogan managed to pick up the win. Mega Powers disbanded as Hogan and Savage feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
ed with each other. At WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
, Hogan defeated Savage in a match what was billed "The Mega Powers Explode" to win the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
ending Savage's reign of 371 days.
The feud between Demolition and the Powers of Pain took on its new twist, as now Demolition was the face team and the Powers of Pain were the villains. Mr. Fuji constantly interfered in his team's matches against Demolition, and eventually, a 2-on-3 match was signed for WrestleMania V, with Fuji joining the Powers of Pain. At WrestleMania, Demolition was able to gain their final revenge on Fuji when—after his mistimed attempt to throw salt in Ax's eyes—he was caught in Demolition's finishing move, the Demolition Decapitation.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (wrestler) Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior... , Brutus Beefcake Edward Leslie Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend... , Sam Houston Michael Smith (wrestler) Michael Maurice Smith is a second generation professional wrestler who is best known for competing under the ring name Sam Houston in the 1980s... , The Blue Blazer Owen Hart Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The... , and Jim Brunzell James Brunzell James "Jumping Jim" Brunzell is a retired professional wrestler. Best known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21 year career.-American Wrestling Association:... defeated The Honky Tonk Man The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee... , Ron Bass Ronald Herd Ronald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:... , Danny Davis Dan Marsh Dan Marsh is a former professional wrestling referee and wrestler most famous as Danny Davis of the World Wrestling Federation. He also competed in the WWF for several years as Mr. X, a masked wrestler.... , Greg Valentine Greg Valentine John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:... , and Bad News Brown Allen Coage Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division... (with Jimmy Hart Jimmy Hart James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional... ) |
Five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match1 | 17:50 |
| 2 | The Powers of Pain Powers of Pain The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:... (The Warlord Terry Szopinski Terry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett... and The Barbarian Sione Vailahi Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers... ), The Rockers The Rockers The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World... (Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December... and Marty Jannetty Marty Jannetty Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time... ), The British Bulldogs British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were the team of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Tom Billington , professional wrestlers who competed through most of the 1980s in both North America, England, and Japan and is by many considered one of the top tag-teams in history.-Early years :In the 1970s, Dynamite Kid and Davey... (Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling... and Dynamite Kid Dynamite Kid Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s... ), The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada.... (Bret Hart Bret Hart Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College... and Jim Neidhart Jim Neidhart James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya... ), and The Young Stallions The Young Stallions The Young Stallions was a professional wrestling tag team composed of Jim Powers and Paul Roma who competed in the World Wrestling Federation from 1987 to 1989.-Career:... (Jim Powers Jim Powers James Manley , better known by his ring name Jim Powers is a retired American professional wrestler. He most notably wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s... and Paul Roma Paul Roma Paul Roma is a professional wrestler who is known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling primarily as a tag-team wrestler alongside such partners as Jim Powers, Hercules, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff.-World Wrestling Federation :Paul Roma entered... ) defeated Demolition Demolition (professional wrestling) Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign... (Ax Bill Eadie Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar... and Smash Barry Darsow Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully... ), The Brain Busters Brain Busters The Brain Busters was the World Wrestling Federation name for the professional wrestling tag team of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Anderson and Blanchard adopted this name after joining the WWF in 1988 from Jim Crockett Promotions, where the two men had wrestled as part of the Four Horsemen... (Arn Anderson Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW... and Tully Blanchard Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen.... ), The Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although... (Nikolai Volkoff Nikolai Volkoff Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation... and Boris Zhukov Jim Barrell James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:... ), The Fabulous Rougeaus The Fabulous Rougeaus The Fabulous Rougeaus was the professional wrestling tag team of real-life brothers, Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau, best known from their time in the World Wrestling Federation , from 1986 to 1990.... (Raymond Raymond Rougeau Raymond "Ray" Rougeau is a former Canadian professional wrestler and French language television presenter and commentator.-Career:... and Jacques Jacques Rougeau Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career... ), and The Conquistadors (Uno and Dos Jose Estrada, Sr. Jose Estrada, Sr. is a semi-retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler who was a longtime mainstay of the World Wrestling Council as well as having stints in North American promotions including International World Class Championship Wrestling and the World Wide Wrestling Federation holding the now... ) (with Mr. Fuji Mr. Fuji Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers... , Bobby Heenan Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation... , Slick Ken Johnson (wrestling) Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation... , and Jimmy Hart Jimmy Hart James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional... ) |
Tag team Survivor Series elimination match2 | 42:12 |
| 3 | André the Giant André the Giant André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride... , Rick Rude, Dino Bravo Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:... , Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World... , and Harley Race Harley Race Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times... (with Bobby Heenan Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation... and Frenchy Martin Jean Gagné Jean Gagné is a Québécois retired professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, he was known for his trademark sign that read "USA is not OK"... ) defeated Jim Duggan Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan , better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling... , Jake Roberts Jake Roberts Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith... , Scott Casey Scott Casey Scott Casey is a retired American professional wrestler who is probably best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation between 1987 and 1990. His brother, Steve, was also a wrestler who appeared in the National Wrestling Alliance in the late 1980s and for the Global Wrestling... , Ken Patera Ken Patera Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter... , and Tito Santana Tito Santana Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation... |
Five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match3 | 30:03 |
| 4 | The Mega Powers The Mega Powers The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet... (Hulk Hogan Hulk Hogan Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... and Randy Savage Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a... ), Hercules Ray Fernandez Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules... , Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim Hillbilly Jim Jim Morris , best known to fans as Hillbilly Jim, is an American professional wrestler and disc jockey. He was one of the World Wrestling Federation's most popular wrestlers of the mid-to-late 1980s.-Career:... (with Miss Elizabeth Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late... ) defeated The Twin Towers (Akeem George Gray (wrestler) George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:... and The Big Boss Man Ray Traylor Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in... ), Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career... , Haku, and The Red Rooster Terry Taylor Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation... (with Slick Ken Johnson (wrestling) Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation... , Bobby Heenan Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation... , and Virgil Mike Jones (wrestler) Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant... ) |
Five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match4 | 30:10 |
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 DDT (professional wrestling) In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat... |
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 Mike Jones (wrestler) Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant... |
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 Leg drop A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area... |
30:10 | |
| Survivors: | Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan | ||||
Other on-screen talent
Commentators
Interviewers
Ring Announcer
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Referees
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