I was still a big WWF fan when I began fifth grade, with the events of SummerSlam '91 still fresh in the minds of the Federation's followers. That event boasted an instant classic match in Bret Hart's victory over Mr. Perfect, and still holds together as an entire card.
Nothing, however, could prepare me, or anyone really, for September's big development: the arrival of Ric Flair.
By September 1991, the "Nature Boy" was already regarded as a living legend, much like his opposite number in the WWF, Hulk Hogan. Hardcore fans often speculated throughout the 1980s as to who would win between the two in a veritable "dream match." Flair's signing with the World Wrestling Federation finally opened up that possibility, and despite quickly rekindling an old feud with Rowdy Roddy Piper from their National Wrestling Alliance days, Flair and Hogan's paths were destined to cross.
Hogan was also fated to meet a rising star within the company, one who had amassed an impressive undefeated streak in just under a year with the company. He was given a title shot at Survivor Series 1991, facing the Hulkster with his "gravest challenge."
That rising star was the Undertaker.
The Survivor Series is WWE's Thanksgiving tradition. Originally held on Thanksgiving, then on Thanksgiving Eve, it's now usually scheduled for the Sunday before Thanksgiving. At the time, it was a unique concept: a pay-per-view event consisting entirely of massive tag team elimination matches.
The rules were simple: Teams of four or five (it's fluctuated over the years, but in 1991, there were four to a team, with an exception) battled it out in tag team matches, except that rather than go to one fall, each match would continue until one team was eliminated entirely. Wrestlers could be eliminated via pinfall, submission, disqualification or count out. The winners were called "the survivors."
The biggest value of Survivor Series was seeing one's favorite wrestlers fighting side by side in these huge matches. Babyfaces who didn't usually team up were suddenly banded together, against similarly teamed heels. The format and rules led to matches of potentially epic length and caliber.
1991's Survivor Series didn't really have a lot of those matches, but like SummerSlam before it, the lineup of talent involved was astounding, with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at the top of the list.
The main purpose of Survivor Series was to further a couple of key angles.
First, there was the matter of Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. Surely, they couldn't immediately go after each other, as that dream match between the two was like a blank check for McMahon to cash so long as he cashed it judiciously. But you couldn't have two top dogs in one company without them noticing each other. Fortunately, the depth of the Federation roster was ridiculous at the time, and you had a guy like Undertaker with a lot of heat, who posed a legitimate threat to Hulk Hogan's title reign. Not since Andre the Giant challenged the Hulkster in 1987 had there been that kind of a monster heel to place in front of Hogan.
On the opposite hand, Flair needed an initial focus for his attention, which came in the form of Roddy Piper, who instantly took offense to Flair's posturing and proclamation that he was the "real World Champion." Their program was a natural fit for the two veterans, the unruly, working class fan favorite versus the cocky and cultured heel.
The other big storyline going into Survivor Series actually began immediately after SummerSlam ended. Following the pay-per-view, the Savages invited all of the Federation's faces to the reception, which was the social event of the year. Laughs were had and gifts were brought...but one gift was more suspicious than the others. Bobby Heenan earlier mentioned that Jake "the Snake" Roberts and the Undertaker were spotted at the Garden, but it was at the reception that they made their presence felt. As Elizabeth and Randy opened their wedding presents, one box exploded open in the bride's hands--a cobra was inside, waiting to strike at the happy couple. Were it not for the quick actions of Sid Justice, the blessed union would have had a quick and tragic end.
As a result, Randy Savage campaigned for fans to deluge the Federation with calls asking for his reinstatement, as he was retired following a career match loss to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII. This effort picked up after Roberts attacked Savage on an episode of Superstars and had his cobra bite Savage's arm. (Ironically enough, the venomless cobra died shortly after biting Savage. Go figure.) Savage was reinstated by WWF President Jack Tunney (a ceremonial figurehead whose function was a human deus ex machina) shortly after the incident, and immediately targeted the Snake.
However, Savage and Roberts would not meet at the Survivor Series. Roberts was originally to lead a team against Sid Justice, but when Sid suffered an injury in a singles match against Roberts, that match was changed to a three-on-three encounter. Roberts and Savage's grudge match was booked for an event the following Tuesday in San Antonio (titled Tuesday in Texas), and their feud was represented through interviews with each man (and Miss Elizabeth) at Survivor Series.
The rest of the Survivor Series was booked in fairly solid fashion. Following a replay of the cobra incident, the card opened with Ric Flair's team, featuring the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, the Mountie and the Warlord, against Rowdy Roddy Piper's team of Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and Virgil. Davey Boy and the Warlord were eliminated midway trough the match (by Flair and Hart, respectively), but it was Flair who emerged as sole survivor after a giant in-ring brawl ended in everyone's disqualification save for the Nature Boy. Conveniently, he was outside the ring at the time, having been thrown out by Piper.
Sergeant Slaughter and Hacksaw Jim Duggan led their team, which included Tito Santana (who had been re-branded "El Matador" prior to the event) and the "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich, into battle against Colonel Mustafa (formerly and again since, the Iron Sheik), the Berzerker, Hercules and the Skinner. Slaughter and Mustafa were once allies, when Slaughter betrayed his American allegiances for Iraq, but shortly after SummerSlam '91, the good Sarge turned face once again. Strangely, this turn was detailed mainly in a WWF Magazine article, rather than onscreen. Screw it, I was just happy to have Slaughter back on our side, as were the fans in attendance.
The rest of Mustafa's team deserves some mention, as their gimmicks were pretty bad. Hercules was a WWF veteran, but the Berzerker and Skinner were relatively new. The Berzerker was a Viking managed by Mr. Fuji, who defeated opponents usually via count-out. Seriously, he would throw guys out of the ring and scream "Huss! Huss!" while the referee would count them out. Not surprisingly, he never won a title while in the WWF. As for Skinner, he was just a tracker who liked to chew a lot of tobacco. (In actuality, Skinner was Steve Keirn, a former member of the classic tag team known as the Fabulous Ones, who later became the second man to play Doink the Clown.)
It took barely fifteen minutes for the good guys to eliminate everyone on Mustafa's team without taking any losses.
Situated in the middle of the card was the main event, the "Gravest Challenge" title match between Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker. This was the first time the WWF Championship was contested at Survivor Series, and the first singles match at the Series, for that matter. For Hogan, it was the first time he really sold fear, and to his credit, he put the Undertaker over reasonably well. The Hulkster and the Deadman, at the time, were pretty evenly matched in terms of size and power.
However, it still took interference to put him down for good, which brings us back to Ric Flair. The Nature Boy styled and profiled his way to ringside, where he grabbed a chair and slid it into the ring while 'Taker's ghastly manager Paul Bearer distracted the referee. Undertaker had Hogan set up for another Tombstone piledriver (the champion had kicked out after earlier Tombstones), and this time delivered it onto the chair, knocking Hogan out to seize the belt.
Shortly after that match, Jack Tunney apppeared to announce that while the referee's decision could not be reversed, he would book a rematch between Hogan and Undertaker at Tuesday in Texas, a rematch he would personally oversee at ringside. The stage was set for a pay-per-view no one had even heard about until days prior.
The rest of the card was pretty anti-climactic, although a notable angle continued during the next match. The Rockers and the Bushwhackers teamed to face the former tag team champions, the Nasty Boys, along with the Beverly Brothers. The Beverly Brothers were a blond, buff duo managed by the Genius (Randy Savage's brother Lanny, whose greatest gimmick was reciting his poetry before matches), while the Rockers were one of the Federation's most popular teams, consisting of Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels.
Michaels and Jannetty were having friction up to that point, however, with Jannetty causing accidents which cost Michaels potential victories. During the course of this match, Jannetty had Nasty Boy Jerry Sags in his arms for a slam, but swung him around, accidentally hitting Michaels with Sags' foot. Michaels fell backwards, and Sags' partner Brian Knobbs took advantage and rolled him up for the pin. The Rockers argued among themselves extensively before an agitated Michaels left his partner to face the Nasties alone. Of course, Jannetty lost, though not without a valiant fight.
In reality, a backstage dispute between the Rockers caused Vince McMahon to put them on a collision course with each other, which ultimately spawned one of the greatest solo careers in professional wrestling. That's a story for a later time, however.
The final match saw the Big Boss Man team with the Legion of Doom to face Irwin R. Schyster and the Natural Disasters. Sid Justice and Jake Roberts were to be the respective captains, as mentioned before, but an injury forced the captains to drop out. The Disasters and L.O.D. were feuding after the events of SummerSlam, when Hawk and Animal came to Andre the Giant's aid against the Disasters. I.R.S., on the other hand, was auditing Big Boss Man. Sometimes I wish I was making this up.
Schyster eliminated the Boss Man after hitting him with his briefcase, but when he tried the same trick later, he accidentally beaned Typhoon. Earthquake escorted his partner backstage and deserted I.R.S., leaving him at the mercy of the Legion of Doom, who prided themselves on having none. At one point, Schyster tried to get himself counted out as well, but the Boss Man came back from the locker room to ensure he finish the match, which he did by taking a flying clothesline from Hawk.
With that match, and a closing interview with the Undertaker and Paul Bearer, Survivor Series 1991 was in the books. While none of the matches were all that "epic" in scope and execution, it was still a good showcase for some of the best grapplers in professional wrestling history, and furthermore, it continued and also created threads that would come to head around and during the next big pay-per-view, one of truly majestic proportions.
You can check out the complete Survivor Series 1991 event here!
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