WWE Survivor Series 1989 (1989)

You won't be disappointed!

Sorry, this movie sucks

So much average

Let's be realistic.

The first two Survivor Series events had not impressed me at all. I was bored by the tag-only format and they just didn't seem all that exciting.This 1989 edition, however, really turned things around and made the event watchable to me (for the first time in its existence) for a couple of reasons:-The match pairings seem more logical this go-round. Each matchup is usually comprised of two dueling tag teams paired up with rival WWF superstars. I could see a clear "angle" in every match. -This event may be the peak of the Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura announcing team. The announcing table is oh so important to these events, and in my mind there may not be any better than right here. -Even the production values (in terms of graphic and presentation) seem better in '89.I won't go into the individual matches here, but suffice it to say that they are all entertaining. I had considering dropping this event altogether in my watching of classic WWF pay-per-views, but was re-energized by this '89 edition.

*SPOILERS*This Survivor Series was kind of strange. The atmosphere was just kind of... off, but in a good way. This was the first time we had 4-on-4, rather than 5-on-5, matches, and not enough tag teams for a 20-man match. I think it made the matches better and faster-paced, plus we got 5 matches rather than 4. With matches of this type, that's a big difference, and you can tell.The opening match was memorable for Brutus Beefcake continuing his short-lived hot streak, eliminating both Honky Tonk Man and Rick Martel. This was one of the best performances up to that point, behind only the Macho Man the year before and Bam Bam Bigelow at the first Series. He survived and overshadowed his team captain, Dusty Rhodes. It was also fun to watch Bad News Brown abandon his team for the second year in a row. Think about how much different this match, as well as his match from the year before, would have been had he stayed. While the Ultimate Warrior would have beaten him, BNB might have put up a good fight against Rhodes and Beefcake. But why did they need him to replace Akeem? Was he injured?The second match was marred by some inexplicably low heat. It was simply a squash from the beginning, never mind Duggan eliminating Valentine. Toward the end, Earthquake, Dino Bravo, and the Macho King cut the ring off and wear Bret Hart down for about 5 minutes before Macho eliminates him. The same thing happens right afterward, as they beat Duggan to a pulp and he gets counted out. Very anticlimactic. I have never seen a match this one-sided at a pay-per-view.Then came the supposed main event, which is memorable to me because it is the Powers of Pain's one pay-per-view highlight. Then-tag champs Demolition simply jobbed to the Warlord and Barbarian, continuing the Survivor Series' 15 minutes of fame tradition. And Hulk Hogan gets a lot of hype, even though he only eliminated one opponent. The rest of the Million Dollar Team was disqualified.Not much to say about the next match, except for Roddy Piper and Rick Rude's feud is highly underrated today.The Ultimate Warrior got the last match, probably to see if he could handle main event status. He did this time. He was instrumental in all his team's eliminations, and survived. This was one of Shawn Michaels' best performances in his pre-Heartbreak Kid days.Funny how there were no tag team feuds in this event. If you look at it, all the opposing tag team feuds were leftovers from early '89. And I was disappointed at how the Hart Foundation jobbed. Neidhart was just a piece of meat.

Dusty Rhodes, Brutus 'the Barber" Beefcake, Terry Taylor and Tito Santana vs. Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown, Rick Martel and Honky Tonk Man Survivors: Dusty Rhodes and Brutus BeefcakeRandy Savage, Dino Bravo, Earthquake and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Bret "Hitman" Hart, Hercules and "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin Survivors: Earthquake, Dino Bravo and Randy SavageHulk Hogan, Demolition and Jake "the Snake" Roberts vs. Ted DiBiase, Powers of Pain and Zeus Survivor: Hulk HoganRick Rude, Mr. Perfect and the Rougeau Brothers vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and the Bushwackers Survivor: Mr. PerfectThe Ultimate Warrior, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and the Rockers vs. Andre the Giant, Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, Arn Anderson and Haku Survivor: Ultimate WarriorOverall Mark: C

This was the third annual Survivor Series and just as good as the previous two events.This time round we had teams of four against teams of four because back in the 80's the WWF had enough great wrestlers to book an event like this. And as usual, it was good VS evil.(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)The Dream Team battled The Enforcers in the opening match and it was quite a brutal affair. Then we got to see The King's Court VS The 4x4's in a classic match up. The third match was superb. Hulk Hogan teamed up with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Demolition to face top heel Ted DiBiase, the unstoppable Zeus and the devastating Powers of Pain. This was another brutal affair in which good triumphed over evil. Then came a wild brawl between The Rude Brood captained by the late Rick Rude and Roddy's Rowdies captained by Roddy Piper. The main event featured the Ultimate Warrior leading his team to victory against a team headed by the monstrous Andre the Giant.If you want action then this is the video for you.