On Nov. 17, 1996 the WWF returned to Madison Square Garden to host the 10th installment of Survivor Series. Little did Vince McMahon and company know that this show would be incredibly important for the WWF and would put the wheels in motion for the Attitude Era to begin.

   This show is remembered for two things: The fantastic match between Bret “Hitman” Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and the boyhood dream of Shawn Michaels ending by Sycho Sid’s hands, to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

   However, the undercard of this one is fantastic, featuring another worthy addition to the Mankind-Undertaker rivalry, and three Survivor Series elimination matches that range from inoffensively decent to pretty good.

   This was a stacked show, and one that I was excited to watch going in, so let’s get down into the nitty-gritty of how everything stacked up:

Doug Furnas, Phil Lafon and The Godwins vs Owen Hart, British Bulldog and The New Rockers

   We start the night off with a traditional elimination tag team match. This is the debut of Furnas and Lafon, a team that came to the WWF following a stint in Japan. I haven’t seen any of their Japan matches, but have heard they were very good. And they certainly shined in this match.

   It started off slow, with everyone feeling each other out and finding weaknesses. The Godwins struck first with Henry eliminating Marty Jannetty (who was looking especially stoned) in eight minutes, only to immediately be hit by an Owen Hart spinning heel kick and eliminated.

   Phineas Godwin was eliminated by The British Bulldog’s powerslam a short time later, leaving Furnas and Lafon at a 3-2 disadvantage. However, the two rallied and eliminated Leif Cassidy by hitting a second rope inverted suplex. A nice move that doesn’t get pulled out much during this time.

   We are then treated to a nice seven-minute mini-match between the Harts and Furnas and Lafon. After withstanding the assault by the Harts, Lafon schoolboys Bulldog, and Furnas hits a release German suplex for the win in 20 minutes.

   This was a really solid match that gave a lot of time and spotlight to Furnas and Lafon, who were the sole survivors. These guys didn’t get much love from the crowd, but pulled off some moves that were new to the WWF in 1996.

Rating: 3.5 German suplexes out of 5

Undertaker vs Mankind

   This was the culmination of the Mankind-Undertaker feud. After being buried alive and immediately rising from the grave, Taker spent a month tormenting Paul Bearer and company. In this match, Bearer was suspended high above the ring in a shark cage, to discourage outside interference.

   The Undertaker made his first appearance since Buried Alive, making a spectacular rappelling entrance complete with bat wings. He had also changed his gear, as the purple gloves were gone and the black leather outfit would be donned by Taker for the rest of the decade.

   This match also showed a change in the deadman’s style of wrestling. He did more regular wrestling maneuvers and wasn’t no selling nearly as much as he had before.

   The match was your typical Mankind-Undertaker affair, with several nice sequences and moves pulled out by both men. At one point, Bearer throws brass knuckles down for Mankind to use, but it only gets him a two count.

   After 15 minutes of solid action, Taker hits a tombstone for the win. However, before he can get his hands on Bearer, The Executioner appears and causes enough of a distraction for the keeper of the urn to escape.

   As usual, you can’t go wrong with an Undertaker vs Mankind match, and this was a lot of fun. I can’t wait for next month, when we get Take vs The Executioner (shudders).

Rating: 4 shark cage gimmicks out of 5

Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, The Stalker and Rocky Maivia vs Jerry “The King” Lawler, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Goldust and Crush

   Next up is the second traditional Survivor Series elimination match of the night. This one wasn’t as good as the opening contest, and goes around 10 minutes too long. Sunny is on commentary and when Rocky comes out, all three commentators go absolutely nuts for him.

   As an aside, Vince McMahon does some of the worst dancing I’ve ever seen when Sunny walks to the booth, which JR calls out in a very funny way. However, during the whole match JR goes into annoying mode and constantly interrupts the match to talk down to Sunny.

   One thing that irks me in all their encounters is JR taking digs at Sunny’s intelligence, despite the fact that her character is someone smart and is always looking for a new charge to manage to the top. She takes advantage of situations and knows when to drop a client when they aren’t getting the job done. She also speaks articulately and confidently in interviews and commentary, but all JR wants to talk about is how “dumb” she is.

   If he wants to take shots, talk about how she uses underhanded tactics to help her clients win matches, or uses her sex appeal to take advantage of people and situations. But he can’t call her dumb. She plays a really smart character, which makes her very compelling, and JR tries to undercut that at every turn. End rant.

   It isn’t until 10 minutes in when we get our first elimination, where Jake Roberts hits the DDT on Lawler, finally ending their feud that hit a little too close to home. The Stalker (who is a face for some reason) is eliminated next by Goldust’s curtain call.

   Later, after avoiding him all match, Hunter Hearst Helmsley is finally eliminated courtesy of Marc Mero’s moonsault around the 19-minute mark.

   Then, for some reason Crush eliminates both Mero and Roberts with the dreaded Heart Punch right after this. It might be the dumbest maneuver in wrestling.

   Now it’s 2 on 1, and Rocky Maivia takes punishment for about two minutes straight, then mounts a comeback. At the 23-minute mark a crossbody on Crush and a shoulder breaker on Goldust is all it takes for Maivia to be the sole survivor.

   Once again, commentary gushes about him and Sunny sees a new athlete to manage. And to be fair, the crowd is into it. They were probably just happy that they didn’t have to see another damn heart punch.

   All in all, this wasn’t a bad match, it was just too long, at 23 minutes, it’s the second longest match on the show and the long segments of Crush killing people with the heart punch took me out of it. Nothing bad, but nothing great either.

Rating: 2 heart punches out of 5

Bret “Hitman” Hart vs “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

   Now business is picking up. This is the match that had been building since September and everyone wanted to see the trash talking, chaos causing Steve Austin face off with the returning “Excellence of Execution” Bret Hart.

   A lot was riding on this match for both men. Austin had been on fire ever since winning the King of the Ring, but this was his first chance to really show his skills in a hugely promoted match against one of the WWF’s top guys. Hart had returned from a six-month hiatus and wanted to prove to the world that he was still the best.

   The match started with Austin going right after Bret, and brawling all over the ring and ringside area. At this point Austin was just starting to master the style of mixing brawling and technical wrestling and made it dynamic. He moved with no wasted motion, and everything he did had a purpose, and worked for his character.

   Hart played his part well, countering some of Austin’s moves into his own, and outshining him in the technical department.

   In the end, after 24 minutes of fantastic action, Austin gets cocky, and applies the Million Dollar Dream on Hart. He reverses it into a pinning combination like the cool and collected pro he is, and pins Austin for the three.

   This match is tremendous. It still holds up today, and I’ve seen quite a few times over the years. It tells a great story, Austin is the new up and comer that will go to any length to make a name for himself, sometimes getting reckless and making small mistakes in the process, like not getting out of the submission hold.

   Meanwhile, Hart weathers the storm, and stays calm, capitalizing on the holes in Austin’s game. And like a pro, all it takes is one small opening for Hart to win.

   This match seems to be overshadowed by their bout at WrestleMania 13, due to the double turn and the awesome moment at the end with Austin refusing to submit, but I think this one is just as good.

   They’re two totally different matches, so it’s difficult to compare them. But if anything, that’s a positive. These guys had such great chemistry that they had two different matches that were both great. Go out of your way to watch this one if you haven’t seen it.

Rating: 5 double birds out of 5

Fake Diesel, Fake Razor Ramon, Faarooq and Vader vs Flash Funk, Jimmy Snuka, Savio Vega and Yokozuna

   This is the third and final Survivor Series elimination tag match of the night, and they did not save the best for last. Flash Funk makes his debut (shudders) as the first incarnation of Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls.

   It’s embarrassing to watch, as he was a great wrestler in ECW as 2 Cold Scorpio. But here he’s the usual shucking and jiving black man stereotype McMahon loves, as he dances along for the second time tonight.

   Also making a re-debut of sorts was Faarooq, now wearing his militant outfit and being flanked by Clarence Mason, three other unnamed men and the team of PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D) two white dudes rapping.

   This was the first appearance of the Nation of Domination. Thank God Ron Simmons doesn’t have to wear that stupid gladiator outfit anymore.

   This match doesn’t have a lot to write home about, there’s some good back and forth action and then it breaks down as soon as it gets going. Vega gets eliminated by a fake Jackknife Powerbomb and then a minute later fake Razor gets the Superfly Splash.

   Then, around the 10-minute mark, everyone just brawls with each other and the match gets so out of the control the refs waive everything off and no one wins.

   Obviously this had a tough act to follow, but honestly it’s probably a good thing this one went so short. I would’ve had Vader clean house and be the sole survivor, but that’s just me. The WWF weren’t gonna throw The Mastodon a bone at all during this time.

Rating: 2 Funkets that can’t dance in time together out of 5

Sycho Sid vs Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship

   This match was built on the lack of trust between the two men. They would often save each other from 2 on 1 beatdowns, and one of them would inadvertently hit the other, causing tension.

   Sid made his entrance, with the great sparklers spelling out his name in the middle of the ring. He was more of a tweener, but got a lot of cheers from the fan. Then, Michaels made the walk down the ramp with his championship and manager, Jose Lothario in tow.

   The two men worked a really solid match, with Sid targeting Michaels’ shoulder and Michaels attacking Sid’s legs in the early going. At one point the action spills to the outside, and Sid throws a cameraman to the ground.

   They keep going back and forth, and at one point Sid counters a superkick and hits his one-handed chokeslam to a tremendous pop. This is around the time when the crowd turns on Michaels, and boos his offense.

   After a few more minutes of good action and great selling by Shawn, Lothario gets on the apron and Sid decides to hit him with a camera. After this, Michaels manages to hit Sweet Chin Music, but leaves the ring to check on his mentor.

   He then goes back to the ring, accidentally hits a crossbody on Earl Hebner, and checks on Lothario again. This time, Sid recovers and hits Michaels in the back with the camera, puts him back in the ring and hits a powerbomb for the win and his second WWF Championship.

   This was a really good match with a silly finish. It was super convoluted, but at least this will be the last we see of Lothario, and we’re going to get some fun Sid promos in the future.

Rating: 4 Broken WWF cameras out of 5

   Overall, this is a very important show in WWE history. The Undertaker begins his transition to being a good wrestler and acting like an actual wrestler. The Rock makes his debut and begins his path to being one of the biggest stars in wrestling.

   Stone Cold gives the effort of his career and makes a name for himself with this match. It also jumpstarts the Hart-Austin feud, which is one of the best things from this time.

   Then we see the boyhood dream run of Michaels end, and the squeaky clean character he played during this time died on this night. From this point on we start getting the drug-addicted, super cocky, fit throwing, smile losing prima donna wrestler we’ll see for the next year and a half.

   Plus, every match is good and there are no real stinkers here. It’s a nice bonus to the historical significance of this pay-per-view. Very good stuff here.

PPV Rating: 4 Rocky Maivia pineapple haircuts out of 5

Henry Wolski
Executive Editor