WWF: Survivor Series: 5th Annual [VHS]

Look: The first match is good, the Undertaker wins the title (only to lose it 6 days later) and lousy wrestling happens. If you're interested in the 'Taker title win, I'd recommend the "This is my Yard" DVD instead. The match is mercifully clipped and you Hell in the Cell '97 and the inferno match to boot.

I remember watching this PPV live & just remembering that this was nothing more than a 2.5 hour informercal to promote another PPV that WWF was having less than a week later. The two main attractions that people wanted to see for this event were nothing more than bait to have you turn into that event & WWF seemed to put more focus into that "Tuesday In Texas" event than their yearly tradition of Survivor Series because alot of the matches weren't as good in quality as the years before with some booking that just looked stupid in the end. At least watching this on tape years later, you know what these plot twist are & how the event shaped up afterall but this years Survivor Series was just a plain disappointment. By the way, a message was scrolled across the bottom of the screen whenever the "Tuesday In Texas" PPV was mentioned to let people know that the matches are available on the 1993 Supertape VHS.At the start of the show, Jack Tunney announced that Randy Savage would face Jake Roberts at the "Tuesday In Texas" PPV & neither man would be in the main event match at Survivor Series. WWF teased that Savage would replace the injured Sid Justice leading to the Roberts/Savage confrontation at Survivor Series but WWF did the bait & switch."Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, The Mountie & The Warlord defeated "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Bret "Hitman" Hart, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, & Virgil - This was the best elimination match as everyone really worked well together & it had segments of comedy, brawling, and straight wrestling at various times. However, the ending of this match really took away from the match itself as all the remaining participants except Flair (Bulldog & Warlord were already eliminated earlier) were disqualified for brawling while Flair was on the floor leaving him the sole survivor. Also, a funny "watch out for this" moment is that WWF were doing a storyline where they were distorting Ric Flair's World Title belt (the current World Championship in WWE & "big gold belt" used in WCW & NWA) but if you look closely at Flair's entrance when they're distorting the belt...he's holding up the Tag Team Championship & not the other belt."Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, "El Matador" Tito Santana, & "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich defeated Colonel Mustafa, Hercules, The Berzerker, & Skinner - This match is very similar to the Team DX vs. Team RKO match that would happen 15 years later at Survivor Series where the faces completely did a clean sweap on the heel team & weren't put in danger one time during this match.WWF Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Undertaker - They were back & forth as Hogan looked like the hero he always does but Undertaker was just unstoppable. In the end because of interfearence by Ric Flair, Hogan lost the title to Undertaker after being tombstoned on a chair. After this match, Jack Tunney set up a rematch because of the outside interfearence by Ric Flair & the fact that the referee's decision is final. The rematch would happen at...TUESDAY IN TEXAS!This match is also available on the Undertaker's Anthology DVD. The "Tuesday In Texas" rematch is also available on Hulk Hogan's DVD sets (Hulk Still Rules & Ultimate Anthology)Rockers & Bushwackers vs. Nasty Boys & Beverly Brothers - This was another good match that was given enough time to become something better than expected but the main story of this match would be the tension between Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty that teased the eventual breakup of the Rockers.Legion Of Doom & Big Boss Man vs. I.R.S. & Natural Disasters - Because of the decision regarding Savage & Roberts, most of the heat for this match was gone & the match itself was really lackluster after that as the eliminations of the Natural Disasters killed off whatever heat was left for the match before Legion Of Doom eventually won it.Overall, this was an average PPV that was ruined by constantly trying to plug another PPV instead of focusing on the PPV that people payed for that night along with pulling the bait & switch regarding Savage/Roberts after it was teased for weeks. This is only good for a rental as the most memorable match on here is available on Undertaker's DVD that you can find for a cheaper price.

Jack Tunney opens the PPV to talk about the Savage/Roberts incident. He should have wrestled in the main events because they both appeared to be fine as they'd both give interviews live at the event. It was just a way to sell the upcoming Tuesday in Texas, which was a very smart idea.Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Virgil, and Davey Boy Smith VS Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Mountie, and Warlord: This was a very good match. The ending was a typical, cheap Survivor Series finish. Piper throws Flair over the top rope and then all the remaining superstars fight in the ring and the ref disqualifies all of them. Flair was on the outside and is declared the winner. Very enjoyable but the ending sucked.Sgt Slaughter, Jim Duggan, Texas Tornado, and Tito Santana VS Col Mustafa (Iron Sheik) ,The Berzerker, Skinner and Hercules: A pretty crappy matchUndertaker VS Hulk Hogan: A good match up with Flair helping Undertaker win. This match would set up the PPV Tuesday in Texas, which was less then a week after this event. It was a rare move back in the 90's but now it's nothing new nowadays.Beverly Brothers and Nasty Boys VS Rockers and Bushwackers: I skipped this match because I could really careless about any team but the Rockers.Legion of Doom and Bossman VS Typhoon, Earthquake, and IRS: This match took place as a 3-on-3 elimination match due to what took place between Roberts and Savage earlier. It was a decent match with Typhoon and Earthquake turning good in the end.The end of the PPV has an awesome promo with Undertaker and Paul Bearer.Overall, besides two crappy elimination matches this was still a very good PPV and i'd recommend watching it.

The Hogan V.S. Undertaker was, for its time, one of the better promoted matches that the WWF (now WWE) was capable of. Undertaker had come in at the 1990 Survivor Series as a mystery partner for Ted Dibiase's team, and had gotten the Superman push on TV ever since. It's hard for wrestling fans not to notice a wrestler who is given permission to blow off all his opponents moves, making it look like none of it hurts. Typically, a wrestler has to "sell" his opponents' moves, making them look good in the process; not so for the 'Taker. Hogan was, of course, the big name in wrestling, as the previous year's attempt to replace him with the Ultimate Warrior proved unprofitable. So the Undertaker and Hogan clashed. The match was not great, but high on drama, and if not for the botched finishing piledriver, it would have been passable. The rest of the card was solid.

This PPV had so much wasted potential. The bad certainly outweighed the good. Let me start of with the GOOD. The openeing match between Piper's team and Flair's Team was excelent, except for the ending. The Hogan/Undertaker match is a historical classic that should be watched for the sake of watching it. The BAD. The final match was a waste. Sid was hurt so Macho Man was to take his place as team captain. Unfornately, the WWF decided to save him and Jake Roberts for the PPV in 6 days since they had a fued going. The result was a lackluster mainevent. Also the whole PPV felt like a comercial for the Tuesday in Texas PPV. Too little emphasis on the night at hand.

This PPV was pretty cool, but the reason it was 4 stars is because of TAKER VS. HOGAN. In true old school fasiion, The Undertaker Beat Hulk Hogan to capture his 1st WWF Title. One of the Best Matches ever

This was a great one. Second best in 1991 to Summerslam