It’s November of 1988 and the WWF’s second annual Survivor Series is right around the corner. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are your commentators.

Ultimate Warrior v. Super Ninja
I don’t know who this Super Ninja was under his mask, but he was so bad that the Warrior actually carried him in this match! Yes, you heard this correctly. We all thought that Ultimate Warrior carrying anyone in a match, amounted to a major oxymoron. But it’s true.

The Ninja is in the ring, and with the beginning of the Warrior’s music we see the current Intercontinental Champion sprint to the ring and almost immediately be attacked by the Ninja. Warrior doesn’t feel a thing as the Ninja chops away at the champ. Ninja goes for a super kick, which Warrior easily catches. Unfortunately, the Ninja loses his balance and falls over while the Warrior still has his leg, thus spoiling what should have been the Warrior throwing the Ninja backwards. This looked so silly, that even the announcers took notice, with both Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura openly questioning the skills of the Super Ninja. Something that the heavily heel biased Ventura never does.

The Ninja makes it back to his feet and squares off again with the Warrior. They re-do the superkick spot and this time, the Ninja keeps his balance when the Warrior catches his foot. Warrior then throws the Ninja backwards onto his head. This of course would have looked better had the Ninja gotten it right the first time, as the crowd was more into it, and had since died down a little. Anyway, the Ninja runs off the ropes, Warrior leapfrogs over him, ducks a clumsy clothesline attempt and boots the Ninja in the face, sending him outside the ring. Warrior then goes outside and gorilla presses the Ninja back into the ring. Warrior presses the advantage ramming the Ninja into the turn buckles before whipping him to the ropes for an elbow. Another irish whip, and the Warrior blasts the Ninja with a clothesline. From there, it’s as good as over, as the Warrior gorilla presses the Ninja and splashes him for the 3 count, putting the Ninja out of his (and the viewing audience’s) misery.

This match was a comedy of errors without the comedy. And unlike most Ultimate Warrior matches, it wasn’t the Warrior that made it bad. The Warrior did what he was supposed to do, which was no-sell everything and throw clotheslines. The Super Ninja seemed to have trouble doing everything, and generally made this one painful to watch. Fortunately the Ninja was wearing a full face mask, making it impossible for anyone to identify him. Whoever the Ninja was under the mask, he can easily deny that he had any part of this fiasco.

Virgil v. Hercules
The story here, is that recently, Ted DiBiase purchased the contract of Hercules from Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. The catch though, is that DiBiase purchased Hercules to be his own personal slave! Yes, of course we know that the slave trade has been over for a while now, but this is wrestling, so keep that belief suspended and go along with me here. Footage is shown of DiBiase purchasing Hercules, and Herc being none to pleased about it. Hercules argues with Heenan and is then attacked by DiBiase. And with that, Hercules joins the ranks of the babyfaces, and sets up our current match.

Wait, there’s a question. If DiBiase purchased Hercules, why is Virgil the one wrestling him, you ask? Well that one is simple. DiBiase doesn’t dirty his hands disciplining the “help”. For menial tasks like this, he gets Virgil to take care of things.

With this said, DiBiase still lends his assistance, as both he and Virgil attack Hercules before the opening bell, but Herc takes control with a clothesline on both the Million $$$ Man and his bodyguard. Ted finds himself on the receiving end of several right hands that send him out of the ring, but Hercules is then attacked from behind by Virgil. Who whips Herc to the ropes. Herc reverses it though and backdrops Virgil. Hercules follows it up with a clothesline that takes Virgil over the top rope and outside of the ring. Hercules follows Virgil outside and chases DiBiase back into the ring. Virgil uses this opportunity to return to the ring and attempt a clotheline on Herc, but receives another backdrop for his trouble. Herc follows up with several right hands, and an irish whip to a back elbow. Hercules drops an elbow on Virgil and then punches away at the stunned bodyguard. Hercules goes after DiBiase again, and Virgil once more, goes on the attack. Unfortunately, Hercules is having none of it as Virgil’s blows have no effect. Herc with another irish whip, into a punch to the gut. Herc then nails Virgil with a knee lift, followed by 2 clotheslines. Herc is still enraged, and challenges DiBiase to get back in the ring. Hercules goes back to work on Virgil, who thumbs Herc in the eyes for his only successful offensive move of the match. Virgil attempts another irish whip, but you guessed it, it’s reversed by Hercules who delivers yet another clothesline.

Hercules appartnely gets tired of this and picks Virgil up into a running powerslam for the easy pinfall victory. Herc then presses the defeated Virgil and throws him out of the ring on top of DiBiase before celebrating a not so hard fought victory in the ring to the delight of the crowd. An extremely pissed off DiBiase yells at Virgil and berates him repeatedly as they go to the back.

Randy “Macho Man” Savage v. Andre the Giant
In the previous episode of SNME, Andre was nearly scared to death by Jake Roberts, who unleashed his Boa Constrictor on the Giant. Andre has made it his mission to make Roberts pay, but tonight, has his sights set on the Macho Man, who still the current WWF Champion, having won the WWF Title at Wrestlemania 4 earlier this year.

The match begins, and it Savage on the warpath as he runs right over and attacks Andre. It doesn’t do him much good though, as Andre fails to register the attack and begins to work the Macho Man over in true Giant fashion with punches and chokes. Savage responds by going right back on the attack, using his speed to nail the Giant with several punches before Andre takes control again, using his size to brutalize Savage. Andre has Savage backed in the corner, and repeatedly rams the champ with his ass (and that is one giant ass, folks). Eventually though, Savage manages to get his feet up to kick Andre in the back. Savage follows up with a knee to Andre’s back, but doesn’t get away in time as Andre puts Savage in a front face lock to slow the match again. With the ref out of position, he doesn’t see Andre wrap his singlet around Savage’s throat in a choke. Savage tries to fight free, but is still trapped by Andre’s singlet around his throat, and can’t escape the choke. With Savage trapped, Andre has his way with him. Savage eventually gets free and once again goes back to work on the Giant, even attempting a bodyslam. The attempt fails of course, and Andre goes back on the offensive. Andre drops Savage with a headbutt, followed by a blatant choke on the ropes. The ref repeatedly warns the Giant, who breaks the choke at the count of 4, only to immediately re-apply it. Savage tries to fight free, but Andre traps Savage’s arms. Savage headbutts Andre in the chin to break the hold and begins hammering at Andre in the corner. Andre once again regains control, but not for long as Savage fights back again with several rights, a running ax handle, and an elbow from the second rope. Andre is stunned here, as Savage continues to press the advantage with his speed. Meanwhile, who should come down to ringside, but Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts! Jake puts the bag with his snake Damien under the ring, as Bobby Heenan argues with the referee. Savage leaves the ring and pleads with Jake to go back to the lockerroom.

Jake goes to the back, but without his bag. Savage attacks a still distracted Andre, as Heenan is searching frantically for Jake’s bag. Andre is trying to help Heenan find the snake, and is repeatedly attacked by Savage, as the Giant is too distracted now, to keep his mind on the match. Andre to his credit, seems to have little trouble keeping the Macho Man at bay while he continues to order Heenan to find the Snake. Savage changes tactics and goes outside the ring to chase Heenan around. Andre uses this opportunity to attack Savage again. Meanwhile Heenan finally locates the Snake, and at Andre’s urging attempts to take it to the back. Jake comes back out and chases Heenan back into the ring, and right into the arms of Randy Savage. Savage throws Heenan out over the top rope and then ties Andre up in the ropes, and invites Jake and Damien into the ring. Jake takes his snake out, but Andre manages to free himself and sets the record for the 50 yard dash, running away from the ring, and collapsing half way to the back having just managed to escape a second encounter with Damien.

Savage celebrates in the ring with Elizabeth and Jake Roberts, as the match is obviously over with no chance of continuing.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan v. Boris Zukov
It’s the USA versus Russia, as The winner of this one will get to wave his flag in the ring after the match.

The match begins with both men trading right hands. Duggan gets the better of it and floors Boris. Duggan follows with an atomic drop and a clothesline sending the Russian out of the ring. Both men lock up again and struggle for advantage with Boris attempting an irish whip. It’s reversed, but when Duggan goes for a back drop, Boris kicks him and then drops an elbow on him. Boris pounds away on Duggan, but Hacksaw responds with several forearms of his own. Hacksaw telegraphs another backdrop, but when Boris goes to kick him, Duggan gets out of the way. Duggan goes for an elbow drop of his own, but Boris gets out of the way as well. Boris presses the advantage, raking Duggan’s face and ramming him into the turnbuckle, followed by several right hands. Boris whips Duggan to the corner, but Duggan rebounds with a big clothesline. Duggan bodyslams Zukov, and then nails him with his 3 point stance clothesline for the pin. With the match over, Duggan salutes as the American Flag is lowered and the National Anthem is played.

Next up, is an in-ring episode of the Brother Love show, as Love interviews Slick. Together the both of them gloat about the beating that the Big Bossman gave to Hulk Hogan several weeks ago. An enraged Hogan comes down to the ring to confront both Brother Love and Slick. The 2 heels face down Hogan with an inexplicable bravado, considering that the Bossman isn’t with them. Hulk Hogan finally loses his cool and beats up both men, handcuffing Brother love to the ring ropes before celebrating in the ring.

This match was only mildly better than Warrior v. Super Ninja.

The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers v. The Young Stallions
After 2 years of spinning their wheels in the WWF as babyfaces, Jacques and Raymond Rougeau are now heels and managed by The “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart. The Rougeau Brothers were just one of a large assortment of tag teams that the WWF had at its disposal back in the late 80s. It’s a shame that there was only one Tag Team Title to go around. With teams like the British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Rockers, Brainbusters…..Put it this way, there were so many tag teams in the WWF, that at the 1988 Survivor Series, they were enough teams to have an elimination match where there were 5 babyface teams on one side and 5 heel teams on the other. I don’t think there was ever a time since then, when the WWF had so many tag teams at its disposal.

The Young Stallions were Paul Roma and Jim Powers. They were a babyface team that existed only to put over the bigger heel teams. This is not to say that they weren’t any good. If they were in the WWF during the mid-90s, when we were forced to watch teams like the Bushwhackers, Men On a Mission and the Body Donnas, the Stallions would have easily been the Tag Team Champions. They were just cursed to be a good tag team that was surrounded by nearly a dozen better tag teams. As a result, they got lost in the shuffle and were put at the bottom of the tag team totem pole.

It’s Powers and Jacques starting things off. A shoulder block sends Powers down. Jacques runs the ropes, and Powers drops down. Jacques hits the far ropes and ducks as Powers leapfrogs over him. Jacques hits the ropes again, and when Powers ducks down for a back drop, Jacques back flips over him and nails Powers with a great drop kick! Jacques and Raymond celebrate in their corner. Locking up again, Rougeau backs Powers into the corner. The ref forces the break, but Jacques gets in a cheap shot at the last second. Jacques tries to whip Powers to the far corner, but it’s reversed. Powers charges in and mounts the second rope punching Jacques repeatedly, before Jimmy Hart hits Powers with his megaphone, breaking his momentum. Jacques tags in his brother Raymond and holds Powers in an abdominal stretch while Raymond hits Powers in the gut. Raymond then picks Powers up and drops him onto Jacques’ extended knee. Raymond sends Powers to the ropes and knees him in the back before tagging Jacques back in. Raymond whips Powers to the ropes, and Jacques nails him with an elbow. Jacques attempts to send Powers to the ropes, but it’s reversed. Jacques has the presence of mind to jump to the second turnbuckle, but when he attempts to rebound with a cross body block, he gets nothing but air as Powers ducks out of the way. This gives Powers the opportunity to finally make the tag to his partner Paul Roma.

Roma explodes on both Jacques and Raymond who just tagged in. Roma hits a running powerslam on Jacques and then comes off the second rope with a forearm. Roma then clotheslines Raymond and follows up with a drop kick from the top rope. Roma covers Raymond for the pin, but Jacques breaks it up, drawing Powers back into the ring. Despite allowing both Rougeaus in the ring earlier, the ref will not allow Powers to stay, and pushes him back to his own corner. This allows Raymond to pick Powers up in a bear hug, and Jacques to come off the top rope with a Thesz press, allowing Raymond to cover Roma for the pin.

This wan’t too bad. You didn’t go into this match expecting the Young Stallions to win, or to even look very good for that matter. They were cannon fodder here. The Rougeaus did a good job showcasing their talents as a tag team, and got some good heel heat in the process.

Following the match, Jesse Ventura interviews Andre the Giant, who promises to get revenge on Jake Roberts for twice attacking him with his snake. Jake responds in his own interview that Andre hasn’t seen the last of Damien. Hulk Hogan is then interviewed, and promises to get the Big Bossman back for the beating he took the previous month.

My score for this month’s episode of SNME is a 7.5. Like last month’s show, this episode of SNME covered a couple of running feuds, but was mostly filler, with not much going on in the way of storyline progression. This was something that the WWF did extremely well during 1987, but was falling short on during 1988. There were several episodes of SNME this year, but little in the way of things that were very memorable. Our next episode of SNME will take place in January of 1989. I’ll of course be giving you all the juicy details, as well as a re-cap of the 1988 Survivor Series, as just about every match had some significant development in the biggest feuds in the WWF, including the Powers of Pain & Demolition executing the WWF’s first double face/heel switch and the first signs of friction between The Megapowers, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.

As always, feel free to drop me an email at gnagus@comast.net and let me know how you liked the review. I’m having a blast putting these shows back in the DVD player and re-living some great classic old-school action. The current WWE product has been definitely lacking in great oldschool style matches. And unfortunately with the death of Eddie Guerrero last week, there will be one less old school wrestler to watch. As a result, I’ll be falling back a bit more on my classic DVD collection.