WWE Survivor Series 1988 (1988)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

After watching/reviewing the first edition of the Survivor Series recently, I gave it a rather average rating with the caveat that it needed to add something to the simple tag-team format. Unfortunately, the 2nd Annual Survivor Series (1988) stagnates instead, adding absolutely nothing to the proceedings.If you like tag-team action, you'll like this event more than I. The tag format just isn't may favorite, and may prevent me from watching subsequent installments of this event.What drags this '88 edition down even further is that I didn't really even get the feeling that too many character arcs were being advanced or created here. It just seemed like place-holding. The WWF still had some great personalities at this time in history, so it isn't a completely train wreck, but this is coasting in its highest form.Thus, overall I was disappointed in the second installment of Survivor Series. If the event doesn't throw a few new things into the mix or find a fresher overall formula, I may not be tuning into subsequent installments.

1. The Demolition/The Bolsheviks/The Brainbusters/The Rougeaus Brothers Vs. The powers of Pain/The Hart Foundation/The British Bulldogs/Jim powers Team/ The Rockers - Noooo The winners are OMG variation on Road Warriors :/ Tss. 6/10 2. Brutus Beefcake/The Blue Leader/The Warrior/Jumping Jim Vs. Honky Tonk Man/Bad News Brown/Cowboy/Greg Valentine/Denny Davis - Please no more Mr. of 1000 Gimmicks Brutus Beefcake with gay outfit. Hate this man. 5 /10 3. Jake Roberts/Patera/Santana/Hacksaw/Scotty Moustache Vs. Dino Bravo/Harley Race/Curt Hennig/Rick Rude/Andre The Giant - Finally, Mr. Perfect! And with victory! 6/10 4. Barry Windham/KingHaku/Ted DiBiase/Big Boss Stiff/Idiot Vs. Machoman/Bob/Hercules/Hulk Hogan/Koko B. Ware 6/10

Survivor Series made a return in 1988 and found itself in a world of Million Dollar Men and Mega Powers, a world of Rockers and new superstars who were "absolutely perfect." It found itself in 1988 and the WWE were building to one of their most successful angles ever.Now, last year's Survivor Series PPV had started with a Survivor Series match built around the Intercontinental Championship rivalry and so it would be this year. The Ultimate Warrior was in a feud with the Honky Tonk Man around this time and so they got teams together and had a match. And it was the Ultimate Warrior who was the only man standing as his team of the Blue Blazer (Owen hart making his PPV debut), Brutis Beefcake, Sam Houston and Jim Brunzell defeated the Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine, Danndy Davis, Ron Bass and Bad News Brown. It came down to the Warrior taking on Bass and Valentine, but he took out both of them to win the match for his team.Next up is another one of those twenty men tag team matches with a lot of cool spots that lasted forever. Powers of Pain The Warlord and The Barbarian, The Rockers Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, The British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid, The Hart Foundation Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, and The Young Stallions Jim Powers and Paul Roma defeated Demolition Ax and Smash, The Brain Busters Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, The Bolsheviks Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov, The Fabulous Rougeaus Raymond and Jacques, and The Conquistadors Uno and Dos. The Powers of Pain were the sole survivors, meaning the good guys won, but the match is just as well known for Demolition beating up Mr Fuji and becoming good guys.The next match on the card was a combination of other feuds gong on in the WWE at that time. The evil team of Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo, Rick Rude, Harley Race and Mr. Perfect defeated the good guy team of Jim Duggan, Scott Casey, Jake Roberts, Ken Patera and Tito Santana. It came down to Roberts left against Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo and Mr Perfect. Roberts was able to fight off all four, pinning Rude, Andre was then disqualified for not breaking a chokehold. He head butted Roberts as he left leaving Perfect to pin Roberts, making Bravo and Perfect the survivors. Evil triumphed. What a downer.The final match of the night was built around the rivalry between the Mega Powers Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase. But heat was added to rivalry in the build up with DiBiase's former slave Hercules, turning on his old boss and siding with the powers. DiBiase bought together his evil forces to take on he Mega Powers and their friends.And it was the Team of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Hercules, Koko B Ware and Hillbilly Jim who pulled out the victory defeating the team of Ted DiBiase, Haku, The Red Rooster and The Twin Towers Big Boss Man and Akeem (formerly the One Man Gang). Hogan and Savage were the survivors. Bossman and Akeem both got themselves disqualified and Hogan (who was earlier handcuffed to the ring ropes by the Big Boss Man) and Savage were able to double team Haku, eventually putting him away with a Hogan legdrop. The Mega Powers had won again! Savage lifted Elizabeh on his shoulders and we were left wondering once again, who would be able to stop the Mega Powers? Within the next couple of months we would know the shocking answer.

I gave this one a 7, because I love the opening tag teams' match, but the 2 mid card matches were edited severely for VHS. About 3/4 of those matches were cut!The tag match was great, because all teams were exceptional, even the Bolsheviks. The Powers of Pain, however, weren't. This is another example of their mediocrity. They survived the match, but all they had to do was beat the Conquistadors! The real story of this match was Bret Hart, who made 2 eliminations, although one was overturned. And the face turn of Demolition wasn't handled right. This is true because the fans didn't react the way they were supposed to. I'd like to know how Demolition was able to make the turn successfully.Hacksaw Jim Duggan continued his tradition of eliminating himself and not caring, while Tito Santana was decent. Jake the Snake did surprisingly well when he was left alone against Andre, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Dino Bravo (I just realized that all four men have passed since then). His elimination of Rude was the highlight of the night.Hulk Hogan was mediocre again in his second Survivor Series, eliminating Haku, someone who no one doubts he can beat. The real hero of this one was the Macho Man, who got rid of Terry Taylor (I loved the angle of him losing all the time and Heenan kicking him out for it) and Ted DiBiase. This match was good but could have been better; they used the Mega Powers-Twin Towers feud here for the sake of spectacle rather than substance. Did anyone want to see the Twin Towers blatantly get themselves disqualified?No feuds were settled, except maybe the one between the Young Stallions and the Bolsheviks. But the role reversal of Demolition and the Powers of Pain was good for historians. And the matches were solid.