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SURVIVOR SERIES 1996
by Matt Shalk
November 17, 1996
Location: New York, New York
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 18, 647
RESULTS:
► Doug Furnas, Phil LaFon, & The Godwinns (Henry & Phineas Godwinn) defeated "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart, & the New Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy) in a team elimination match. Clarence Mason accompanied "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart to ringside. Hillbilly Jim accompanied Henry & Phineas Godwinn.
Eliminations: Henry Godwinn pinned Marty Jannetty following a Slop Drop. Owen Hart pinned Henry Godwinn. The British Bulldog powerslammed Phineas Godwinn and made the pin. Phil LaFon pinned Leif Cassidy following a superplex. LaFon then pinned The British Bulldog with a small package. Doug Furnas pinned Hart following a German suplex to win the match for his team.
Survivors: Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon
► The Undertaker defeated Mankind following a tombstone piledriver.
The Undertaker made a unique ring entrance, as he descended from the ceiling wearing wings. Paul Bearer, managing Mankind, was suspended over the ring in a cage during the match. By virtue of his win, the Undertaker was allowed five minutes alone in the ring with Paul Bearer, but The Executioner (Terry Gordy in a mask) ran in and made the save before the Undertaker could lay a beating on his former manager.► "Marvelous" Marc Mero, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, "The Stalker" Barry Windham, & Rocky Maivia defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Goldust, Crush, & Jerry "The King" Lawler in a team elimination match. Sable accompanied Marc Mero to ringside. Marlena accompanied Goldust. Sunny joined the commentary team for the match.
Eliminations: Jake Roberts pinned Jerry Lawler following a DDT. Goldust hit Barry Windham with the Curtain Call and made the pin. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley following a moonsault. Marc Mero was counted out. Crush pinned Jake Roberts following a heart punch. Rocky Maivia hit a high crossbody and pinned Crush, then pinned Goldust following a shoulder breaker to win the match for his team.
Survivors: Rocky Maivia
► Bret "Hitman" Hart pinned "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in an excellent match. The finish saw Austin lock Hart in the Million Dollar Dream sleeper, but Hart pushed off the ropes and fell backwards on Austin for the pin. This was Steve Austin's Survivor Series debut.
► Faaroog, Vader, Razor Ramon II, & Diesel II fought to a draw with Savio Vega, Flash Funk, Yokozuna, & Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka in a team elimination match. Jimmy Snuka was promoted as a "mystery partner" on the team. Jim Cornette accompanied Vader to ringside. The original Nation of Domination accompanied Faarooq.
Eliminations: Diesel II pinned Savio Vega following a jackknife power bomb. Jimmy Snuka pinned Razor Ramon II following a Superfly Splash off the top rope. Diesel II brought a chair into the ring, and everyone started to brawl. The referee called for the bell and disqualified all of the remaining participants.
Survivors: None
► Sycho Sid defeated Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Championship. Jose Lothario, Shawn's mentor, was at ringside. The end of the match saw Sid hit Lothario with a television camera. Michaels responded by hitting Sid with Sweet Chin Music, but opted to check on Lothario instead of trying for the pin. The referee was out in the ring, so Sid hit Michaels with the television camera as well. Sid threw Michaels back into the ring and hit a power bomb, the referee recovered, and Sid made the pin to win his first WWF Championship. Sid, despite being a heel, received a great response from the live crowd.
CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE: Mark Henry was originally scheduled to compete as a member of the Marc Mero's team, but injured his leg prior to the event and was unable to participate. Jake "The Snake" Roberts replaced him on the team.
NOTES: Vince McMahon & Jim Ross did commentary for the event. Carlos Cabrera and Hugo Savinovich did Spanish commentary. Todd Pettingill, Dok Hendrix, & Kevin Kelly handled backstage interviews. Howard Finkel was the ring announcer....Bart Gunn, Jesse James, Bob Holly, & "Portuguese Man-O-War" Aldo Montoya defeated Billy Gunn, Salvatore Sincere, The Sultan, & Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw in a Survivor Series elimination match featured on the live "Free-For-All" pre-show prior to the pay-per-view. Bart Gunn was the sole survivor on his team....Promotional materials for the event featured Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid, Bret "Hitman" Hart, & "Stone Cold" Steve Austin....Shawn Michaels was booed out of the building, despite being the babyface in the main event. The finish, using the television camera was used just the night before at ECW's November to Remember.
Buck Woodward: This was the only Survivor Series card that I attended live and in person. ... I was shocked when Bart Gunn was given the win in the dark match, since it was obvious, even then, that Billy was going to get the push. ... Surprise number two was them putting Lafon and Furnas over so strong. ... Undertaker's entrance was awesome. ... Much like Undertaker years before, who knew what Rocky Maivia was going to become. ... Hart vs. Austin was fantastic, and a match that often gets forgotten, since their Wrestlemania 13 match is so celebrated. ... It was cool to see Snuka do the Superfly splash in Madison Square Garden in person. ... What was Flash Funk/2 Cold Scorpio thinking with that yellow and red outfit? ... It was wild to hear the MSG crowd totally turn on Michaels and cheer Sid in the main event.
Mike Johnson: I attended this show live and had seats that were so horrible on the floor that my friends and I actually snuck halfway up the building to WORSE seats so we had a better view of the ring....This was probably the only show where Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon came off looking like stars during their WWF tenure. I really expected a lot out of them here, especially since I loved Furnas' work, but it wasn't to be.....2 Cold Scorpio's debut set the pace for his WWF run as well, as he never really got out of the gate with the Flash Funk character....I'm pretty sure this was the last big WWF appearance for Yokozuna....Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin was awesome and worth whatever I paid for the ticket to the show. Just great stuff that set the stage for Austin's rise to prominence in the WWF.
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