STW - Survivor Series 1996 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

This week we’re discussing one of the most talked about pay-per-views in the history of the World Wrestling Federation…Survivor Series 1996.

This is the in-ring return of Bret Hart to the World Wrestling Federation…the show where Vader was supposed to win the WWF World Title…and the in-ring debut of what will turn into the greatest crossover star in professional wrestling history…The Rock.

But first let’s discuss how we got here Bruce.

Coming off Buried Alive which we covered last month we have one of the most memorable couple weeks of WWF TV. Bret Hart returns in Fort Wayne, Indiana to sign his new WWF deal and launch the Steve Austin program. We’ve discussed this in length before and be sure to check it out in the Archives…one of our legendary episodes where we go almost 5 hours regarding Bret Hart in the WWF…but was Bret returning something that was necessary for a shot in the arm in your battle against WCW?

How different is pro wrestling if Bret Hart signs with WCW instead of agreeing to the now infamous 20 year deal with Vince?

From the Observer: “The original plan was for Vader to beat Sid at the Buried Alive show and to beat Michaels for the title at Survivor Series. Vader and Faarooq were both told they had to switch the original plans and not give them the belts because J.J. Dillon was at the meetings where those long-term plans were made, and since he worked for the opposition, they had to change all the storylines he knew.”

OK Bruce…what really happened here?

Curt Hennig returns on Raw after Buried Alive as a competitor except it never actually happened as he ends up swerving Marc Mero and turns heel to be Triple H’s new second. Then…he just kind of disappears and no-shows other appearances. What was going on with Mr. Perfect at this time and how much of this was about wrestling/not wrestling?

Flash Funk makes his debut. Who came up with the gimmick for the former Too Cold Scorpio and was he ever given a chance with it?

Did Vince cast the Funkettes himself?

Coming off Terry Gordy’s debut as the Executioner at Buried Alive…was it known real quick this wasn’t the Terry Gordy of old?

Was the thought that putting him & Mick together was that Mick could help get him over and possibly use the two as a tag team?

Here’s an interesting note I found in my research from the Observer: “Achim Albrecht in camp already hates taking bumps so they have put a mattress in the ring for him to learn the moves on.”

The future Brakkus didn’t last long in the WWF. Was this a sign? Was your brother part of his training and what did he report back to you?

Roddy Piper debuts with World Championship Wrestling at the end of their Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. We’re you caught off guard about this? Was Vince?

Something never really reported but after Piper disappears over the summer…what was his contract status and did he even have one?

Was there ever a conversation that was had about bringing Roddy back after his summer run?

The classic Steve Austin - Brian Pillman angle on Superstars happens to put Pillman on the shelf for another ankle surgery. When is it known Brian needs to go back under the knife? The progression of Austin breaking Pillman’s ankle on Superstars to the gun angle on Raw…how did we get there?

The Fort Wayne tapings have a scary incident as Chief Jay Strongbow had what was thought at the time a heart attack when he was found slumped over while sitting in a chair. What do you remember of this and how was Strongbow?

There’s a lot of moving talent between ECW and WWF at the time. Chris Candido quits the WWF after it’s asked for him to stay on as a teacher but being 24 years old he decided to leave. Was that the whole story or did Shawn Michaels and the Clique have a lot to do with that?

Phil LaFon & Doug Furnas finish up in ECW to join the WWF. Why LaFon & Furnas and how bad was Jim Ross pushing for them?

The Raw show that has the Brian Pillman - Steve Austin gun angle is actually the first Raw at it’s new 8PM time slot to combat Nitro. Tell me about the move in time slot and why it was necessary?

You’ve discussed the angle in the past in our Brian Pillman episode in the archives but I recently did a watch along with JR of this episode and man it’s crazy to watch this type of angle 25 years later. Internally did anyone step up and say…ya know…maybe this is too far and too much?

Do you remember backlash from fans or the USA Network because within a week they were distancing themselves from the angle and the language used?

Shotgun Saturday Night is in it’s formulating stage of being put together. Where does the idea come from and were you ready for it?

The story is that Mark Henry breaks his leg in training when bouncing off the ropes and has to miss the Survivor Series. What do you remember of this and was there worry this early in the deal that Mark wasn’t going to make it?

Your running vignettes for the debut of Rocky Maivia highlighting his family’s history in the business. How big a deal to Vince is that Rocky is a 3rd generation superstar?

Rocky’s first appearance on WWF TV was being at ringside for a Marc Mero vs. Razor Ramon match on Raw. Kind of anti-climatic for that isn’t it?

From the Observer: “In his first show as commentator on Superstars, Jim Cornette told a joke about how a burglar broke into Sable's house and she screamed "Rape" and the burglar screamed "No." A few minutes later, Jim Ross apologized for the joke saying Titan doesn't want to make light of domestic violence. Cornette then very sarcastically apologized saying he'd never want to ever offend anyone, and thanked Ross for taking him off Live Wire, which he called the "My Mother the Car" of wrestling TV shows.”

Seriously Bruce was Cornette trying to get fired at this point?

Cornette fills in for Perfect on commentary due to him no-showing the recording. How hot is Vince over Curt?

The plan all along was for Shawn to drop the title at Survivor Series to win it back at the Royal Rumble in San Antonio is that correct? Was the switch from Vader to Sid in the match ever have anyone say maybe not Sid?

It’s reported in the Observer that there were talks and discussions with Randy Savage but the sides were far apart on terms. From the Observer: “The feeling is that Titan is so fearful of raids that they only want guys that they sign for three to five-year contracts and the feeling is that Savage may help in the short run because of his name, his guarantee would be so high and they wouldn't want him on top for long so it makes no sense to sign him long-term, but they don't want him on TV for one year and then have him go back to WCW when the deal is up either.”

Was there really talks between the WWF and Randy at this point?

The night before Survivor Series was the Hall of fame induction at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. This isn’t the event that is now but how big a deal is this for Vince to have this ceremony? This is the first time fans were offered to attend…who made the decision to make that change?

Gorilla Monsoon inducts “Baron” Mikel Scicluna.

Joe Franklin, a radio host, inducts “Captain” Lou Albano.

Don Muraco inducts Jimmy Snuka.

Arnold Skaaland inducts Johnny Rodz.

Triple H inducts Killer Kowalski.

Bret Hart inducts Pat Patterson.

Shane McMahon inducts Vincent J. McMahon posthumous.

British Bulldog & Owen Hart induct the Valiant Brothers…Jimmy & Johnny as the first tag team inducted.

The Shane McMahon induction is the one most remembered but Pat being inducted has to be a big deal in your memory. What do you remember of this event?

MSG is just short of a sell out for the show Bruce. 900 tickets short but still 18,647 in the building for a $529,522 gate which is the second largest gate in North America. You have to be happy with that correct?

On the pre-show…listen to this…Jesse James, Aldo Montoya, Bob Holly & Bart Gunn defeat The Sultan, Justin Bradshaw, Salvatore Sincere & Billy Gunn…main event anywhere right Bruce?

The show itself is well received. 67.7% thumbs up from the Wrestling Observer readers.

The actual show opens with The Godwinns, Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon defeating Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Leif Cassidy & Marty Jannetty in 20 minutes. From the Observer: “The match was designed to get LaFon and Furnas, who were billed as former Asian tag team champions, over as the new top contenders for the tag titles. There was some nice wrestling early, particularly when Cassidy was in. Jannetty was limping badly having suffered some kind of a foot injury, which may have been a broken foot but wasn't confirmed at press time. Henry Godwinn pinned Jannetty in 8:12 after the slop drop. Hart pinned Henry in :06 after a spin kick. Smith pinned Phinneus in :46 with a powerslam. LaFon pinned Cassidy in 4:39 with a backwards superplex where LaFon flipped Cassidy all the way over on his face on the way down. This left the tag champs vs. the new team with the new team winning in straight falls. LaFon pinned Smith with a sunset flip in 3:39. On the way out, Smith clipped LaFon, so he sold for Owen for a while. Finally he made the hot tag to Furnas who hit an overhead belly-to-belly, his specialty dropkick and his hoist german suplex where he flips the opponent over onto his head on the way over in 3:19. ***¼”

Any issues with Owen & Davey putting LaFon & Furnas over so heavy? What was it about LaFon & Furnas that just didn’t connect with the audience? We’re they just stuck in their ways from working in Japan all those years?

In what is kind of a forgotten match of this fued, Undertaker defeats Mankind with Paul Bearer in a cage hung above the ring. If Taker wins he gets 5 minutes with Paul Bearer. I’m sure Cornette had nothing to do with this right Bruce?

. From the Observer: “Undertaker came out with a new ring costume, dropping from the ceiling in a ring outfit with bat wings, and with a new haircut as well as a way to debut a new Undertaker who does more wrestling. This match made psychological sense, but was nowhere close to the level of some of the previous matches these two have had. Also, after doing boiler room matches and buried alive matches where Undertaker was all but killed, it's hard to put the two guys in a regular match and get people jazzed about it. Most of the way it was Undertaker working on Mankind's fingers. Mankind took a backdrop over the guard railing as they were fighting in the stands, back into the ring area. At one point Undertaker had Mankind by the throat for the choke slam but Mankind got the mandible claw at the same time. Because the hands had been worked on, the claw didn't work to its normal level of effectiveness and Undertaker was able to hit a choke slam. Mankind came back using a foreign object but Undertaker hit the tombstone for the win. Bearer was lowered into the ring, but before Undertaker could do anything to him, The Executioner nailed him from behind. Taker came back and ran Executioner off in a weak sequence. **¼”

The new look Undertaker. Creative services? Did Taker have any input? What was it about this match that just didn’t…click? Was it the fact it’s coming off all the gimmick matches to just a “normal” match?

Next up we have another Survivor Series match and it’s a big one: the debut of Rocky Maivia teaming up with Marc Mero, Barry Windham & Jake Roberts against Crush, Jerry Lawler, Triple H & Goldust. From the Observer: “Maivia was given the huge push and came in early and Lawler did a great job of carrying him. Maivia, who is 24 years old, showed a ton of athletic potential and looks to have a chance to be what they want him to be, which is one of the top guys in the company, but they'd better be careful and not to shove him too fast as he's not there yet. Lawler mocked Roberts as being a drunk and Roberts hit the DDT on him for the pin in 10:01. Goldust pinned Windham in 2:43 with the curtain call. Mero pinned Helmsley with the Mero-sault in 6:36. After Mero missed his flip plancha, Crush pinned him in 1:13. Crush pinned Roberts with a heart punch in :21. This left Crush and Goldust in with Maivia and the fans started chanting "Rocky, Rocky." At this point, without a magician like Lawler, Maivia looked a lot more human. Crush went to heart punch him but he moved, and Goldust got the blow. Maivia pinned Crush with a crossbody in 2:18 and then pinned Goldust with a shoulderbreaker to win the match in :32. **”

The experience Rocky got in Memphis working with Lawler obviously helped him dramatically. It’s brilliant booking looking at it. Pat’s idea?

Meltzer gives a warning about Maivia which ends up becoming reality and he’s able to overcome it. Almost like he knows the business a little bit?

The match is over…Maivia gets some big pins over some decent big names…you have to be excited about the idea of Rocky right?

Is Triple H just kind of floating right now with all the issues with Curt Hennig?

OK the match that starts it all and really sets the tone for the WWF for the next year. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin takes on Bret “the Hitman” Hart.

From the Observer: “This is a textbook example of how to build a long match of the year calibre performance without doing any suicidal moves. Austin came out to mainly cheers, although Hart's cheers were much louder and he was clearly the crowd favorite once the match started. They started with tremendous matwork, with Austin's stun gun being the first hot move. The first signs of brawling came at 10:00. For the rest of the way the two went back-and-forth with big moves and near falls turning it into a very good match. After a top rope superplex by Austin, Hart caught him in a cradle for a great near fall. There was super heat at this point with fans chanting "Let's Go Hit Man." After a Stone Cold stunner, Hart became the first to kick out of the hold. Austin went for a Texas cloverleaf but Hart made it to the ropes. Hart went for a sharpshooter but before it was applied, Austin made the ropes. Finally Austin clamped on the cobra, or Million Dollar Dream, but Hart climbed the turnbuckles and kicked off and landed on top of Austin for the pin. ****½”

I know everyone talks about Austin 3:16 and the King of the Ring interview but this is the moment for Steve right Bruce?

Do you think Hart working those European tours at the time were crucial for Bret to come back here and not show any signs of ring rust or was Bret just that great that was never a concern?

Did you think at this point you had a long term babyface (Hart) and the ability to have a top heel (Austin) that could go together for a long time let alone the next year of programs that came out of this?

Well after this we get our let down match…but also the beginning of something that’s going to be real big sooner than later.

Razor Ramon, Diesel, Vader (man what a drop this is…) and the re-designed Faarooq and with PG-13 as his hype men in the first sign of the Nation of Domination against Flash Funk, Yokozuna, Savio Vega & the mystery partner of Jimmy Snuka.

Snuka is 53 here by the way which is amazing when you look at it now.

Vader have any objections considering what his original role on the card was supposed to be?

Where did PG-13 come from to be part of this? Was this their attempt to stay on the roster and transition into wrestlers?

What did Ron think of the gimmick? He like it a lot better than the blue Spartacus helmet?

From the Observer: “Yokozuna, who looked to weigh about 720 pounds and could barely walk without blowing up, used a uranage on Vader and Vader landed on his shoulder and was injured to the point he couldn't work the next night. Fans booed Diesel as he did the old Diesel mannerisms and this wasn't heat in any kind of a positive way. Vader did a good job protecting Snuka's legendary status by selling for him and going up for a slam for him. Finally Diesel pinned Vega in 8:39 with a jackknife after Vader rammed his back into the post. Snuka did the splash off the top at :49 on Ramon for the second fall. At this point everyone hit the ring and began swinging chairs and it was ruled a double DQ at :20 and the match was stopped. It appeared to be a rush job to end the thing as the show was running long. Match itself was fair but the finish really sucked. *”

This is…not good Bruce. It’s the last time we see Yokozuna on WWF TV. What is there to say about this?

Now we’re onto the main event and man what a New York reaction this is Bruce. Shawn Michaels vs. Psycho Sid for the WWF World Title. From the Observer:

“A couple of stories in this match. Michaels did an incredible job carrying Sid to probably the best match in his career. He should be given a lot of credit for professionalism because we've seen guys on the night they've had to drop the strap really pout and be babies about it, killing their match. The other story was just how much the crowd turned on Michaels during the match. It started with light booing early but as the match went on, the booing was huge every time Michaels did any offense. Michaels let it affect him visibly even if it didn't affect his performance, as he gave the crowd dirty looks, and spit and swore at ringsiders that were booing him. This turned into a very good match with Michaels using flying and speed moves and Sid using power moves. They went back-and-forth with near falls toward the end, each teasing their big moves but getting it stopped by the other. Early in the match, a camera man got in Sid's way on a spot which built up the finish. At the end, Sid got the camera and nailed Jose Lothario with it. Lothario took a delayed bump and began clutching his chest and the announcers acted as if Lothario was suffering a heart attack. Michaels hit the superkick but instead of going to pin Sid, jumped out of the ring to help Lothario. Sid finally got up and hit Michaels with the camera as he hovered over Lothario, and threw him in the ring and pinned him after a power bomb. Michaels crawled out of the ring and again began hovering over Lothario, with Michaels selling the idea that what was happening with Lothario was a lot more important than losing the title. ***¾”

A lot to unpack here Bruce. By far the best Sid match ever in my opinion. Was that just how good Shawn was?

Any idea the New York crowd was going to react in this way?

What’s the reaction in the back when it happens and then Shawn cursing and spitting on fans at ringside because of the heat?

The finish - is it tacky to speculate the heart attack or was it just needed?

The pop when Sid wins…my goodness Bruce. Any thoughts on role changes or was it just…ya know…New York.

In terms of historical significance this has to rank up there doesn’t it Bruce?

Was this the first time the New York crowd showed a heel edge or was it always like this just never to the degree on a big show like this?