Survivor Series

One would think that a three-star rating for Survivor Series 1994 would be considered a disappointment. However, after how inconsistent of a product WWF had become by the end of 1994, it is actually almost a bit refreshing to see an event just be "okay" and not utterly plagued by issues.

The tag matches here are exactly what you'd expect from SS. If you are into tag matches you'll love it. If not, the FF button will be utilized frequently.

The two featured matches of the event are: -Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart: I should hate this dumb angle, but for some reason it works for me. I wish Vince McMahon would have concocted the angle a bit less over-the-top and instead played it more straight, but Backlund is still just odd enough to create some intrigue. -Casket Match: Yokozuna vs. The Undertaker. Yokozuna was pretty much played out by this point (those big boys not named Andre have such limited shelf lives), but Taker gives a great performance as per the usual.

Overall, the '94 Survivor Series was an okay event. Not among the greats, but enough entertainment to keep you from being bored. At this point in WWF history, that is progress.

This Survivor Series event was very good after the mediocre events from 1992/93.

For the first time since the 1988 event there were some matches pitting teams of 5 against each other. The Bad Guys captained by the ultra cool Razor Ramon battled The Teamsters captained by Jeff Jarrett. This was a superb match spoiled only by it's ending.

Major enemies Lex Luger and Tatanka captained opposing teams in another entertaining brawl.

Doink led 3 midget clowns against Jerry Lawler and 3 midget kings. This was a comedic match which I enjoyed very much and was probably enjoyed by anyone who was under 5 at the time.

Bret Hart faced Bob Backlund in a match that lasted over 30 minutes. It was a technical match and very intense at times.

In the main event The Undertaker fought Yokosuna in a Casket Match which was refereed by Chuck Norris. This was a reasonable match which brought an entertaining card to an end.

A poor year ends here. In the year were a ladder match would stand the test of time to still be considered one of the best matches. No PPV holds up well what I would say is. There no improvement in the wrestling but story telling was better and definitely better than last years survivor series which isn't saying much as it was the worse one. The Hart family story was good example because without it. It's just two guys on the canvas for a long time. I don't want to spoil anything but some good twists and turns.

1. Diesel/Shawn Michaels/Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart/Jeff Jarrett Vs. Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid/British Bulldog/Fatu

This wasn't a great match but it was all about the angle at the end and that's fine. Sadly, this is the best thing on the show.

2. Jerry Lawler w. His 3 Dwarfs Vs. Doink w his 3 Dwarfs

Didn't see it, don't want to. Next.

3. WWF Heavyweight Title Match Bob Backlund Vs. Champ-Bret Hart

This one is infamous but I'd like to talk about it anyway. I'm fine with the ending as a concept. However, not even Vince Mcmahon himself knew what was going on. First it's a submission match, ok that's fine. Then both men have a man in the corner who can throw in a towel. That's fine too, it fit the story. However, the announcers say that throwing in the tower is the ONLY way to finish the match. In other words, the wrestlers in the match can't stop the match themselves. How does that make sense? Later, when Backlund holds Bret Hart in the chickenwing for nearly 10(!) minutes Vince Mcmahon suddenly says that Bret Hart can indeed stop the match if he just says "I Quit". That would have been fine if it was explained properly. But then Owen gets all upset because his brother could get injured and no one can stop it. But he can stop it. So how is this different than any other match? Why are you so upset now? The reason being that if he wasn't than the ending wouldn't make any sense. It's written that way. Either way, none of this made any sense whatsoever. This could have been a good angle but the execution is terrible.

4. Tatanka/Bam Bam Bigelow/King Kong Bundy Vs. Lex Luger/Mabel/Adam's Bomb/Smoking Guns

I'm sure this is fine but there's no reason to care about this.

5. Yokozuna Vs. The Undertaker.

I don't like Yokozuna. I'm sorry. Yes he moves well for a 600 pound guy but what does that mean? He still moves like a 500 pound guy, how is that better? Undertaker has proven in later years that he is indeed a great wrestler but in 94 he was still working the gimmick of a dead man, with the stiffness of a zombie. I know he's a legend and the man himself deserves the credit but I never liked the gimmick and any of his matches up until this point. Both of those things would become a lot better.

Anyway, about the match itself. It's the same thing as all of Yoko's matches. A lot of lying around, extreme overbooking and chenanigans, and nothing means anything. I mean, Yoko's supposed to be the immovable object, unbeatable, yet he needs the help of dozens of guys to win every match he's ever in. It feels like Gilberg could beat him if he didn't have a whole stable behind him. And why would anyone help a guy like that? This match had less run-ins then normal but that made yokozuna's shortcomings all the more visible.

3/10 and I'm being very generous.