The Mega Powers (w/ Miss Elizabeth), Hercules, Hillbilly Jim, and “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware vs. the Twin Towers (w/ “The Doctor of Style” Slick), “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil), King Haku, and the Red Rooster (w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan)
As we head into the second annual Survivor Series and the end of what has been a pretty hot year, there was some shaking up at the top of the card after being pretty consistent throughout the year. The main feud of the year has been between the Mega Powers of Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan facing the team of Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant, but as we come into this show they have now moved onto another mega heel team. This time it is the newly formed team of the Big Bossman and the man once known as the One Man Gang though now he is Akeem, and they have been dubbed the Twin Towers by their manager Slick. It was a good show of faith for Bossman to be pushed up to the top of the card so quickly after debuting and while the Akeem character was a bit out there, it was a unique character to say the least and freshened up the Gang who was floating a bit since Wrestlemania. It was also a good team for Hogan and Savage to feud with and give them someone new to feud with going into the new year, and while Dibiase was now shuffled down into a feud with Hercules he was still considered a top name to be included in this match. The rest of the teams for this match were pretty much here to fill them out as we have Haku who was doing his thing as King, Jim and Ware who were pretty much working the lower end of the card, and the former Terry Taylor who had been rechristened the Red Rooster by Bobby Heenan. This was an interesting collection of talent for the main event of this show and it would be interesting to see how the match would play out considering everyone that was involved.
The buildup for the match itself began on the 10/1 Superstars when Dibiase announced that he had purchased Hercules from Bobby to be his personal slave, and Hercules would go after Bobby only for Dibiase and Virgil to attack him. Hogan would begin a house show feud with Bossman at the beginning of October and on the 10/22 Superstars, Hogan appeared on the Brother Love Show only for Bossman and Slick to attack him with the nightstick.. Slick would then pair Bossman with Akeem as the Twin Towers and then it was announced that this match would take place here as both teams would cut promos on each other going into this show. On the 10/29 Saturday Night’s Main Event, Hogan would defeat Haku and he would continue to feud with Bossman on the house shows while Hercules and Dibiase also continued their feud on the house shows. While we haven’t seen many physical interactions between these 10 men on TV in the lead up to this show, there was still plenty of hype for it and it would again be interesting to see how the match would play out.
Both teams give good promos before the match and the Twin Towers’ team were pretty hot as heels while the Mega Powers’ team get big pops from the crowd. Savage starts off the match with Dibiase and they lock up with Savage hooking a headlock and he knocks Dibiase down, but Dibiase comes back with a clothesline and he pounds on Savage in the corner. Both men attempt to reverse the whip as Dibiase sends Savage back into the corner only to miss a charge, and he pounds on Dibiase and hits a hooking clothesline before tagging Hercules only for Dibiase to tag Rooster. Hercules chases Dibiase out of the ring and back into the ring only for Rooster to stomp on him and he pounds on him before hitting a jawbreaker, but Hercules blocks a Scorpion Deathlock by nailing Rooster only for Rooster to get a kick in though Hercules blocks a hiptoss and hits a clothesline. Rooster begs off as Ware tags in and he hits a headbutt on Rooster before whipping him into the corner, but Rooster catches him with a boot to the face and tags Akeem who pounds on Ware in the corner. Haku tags in and knocks Ware down before stomping on him and he hits a slam only to miss the legdrop, and Hercules tags in and they lock up with Hercules getting a knee in as they trade blows with Hercules gaining control. He grabs the arm and tags Hogan who kicks at Haku and he pounds on him before hitting a clothesline, and he drops a pair of elbows on Haku and rakes his boot across his face before ramming him into Jim’s knee. Jim tags in and they hit a double big boot on Haku for a two count as Jim hits a headbutt, but Haku no-sells it and kicks at Jim before pounding on him and he tags Akeem who pounds on Jim in the corner. He rams Jim into Rooster’s knee and tags him in only for Jim to block a slam attempt and he hits one of his own, and Jim stomps on Rooster and tags Ware who pounds on Rooster and he hits a powerslam for a two count. Rooster gets a kick in and rams Ware into the buckle twice though he no-sells it and he rams Rooster into the buckle, but Rooster reverses a whip into the other corner and Ware leaps to the middle rope as he fakes Rooster out before going up top and hitting a missile dropkick for a two count. Hogan tags in and Rooster freaks out as Hogan knocks him down and he hits the big boot, and Savage tags in and goes up top as Hogan hits a slam on Rooster and Savage hits the flying elbow which gets the three and Rooster is eliminated. The Towers’ team regroup on the floor as Bobby berates Rooster and apologizes to the team, and Haku comes in and they lock up with neither gaining an edge and they lock up again with Haku shoving Savage back. They lock up a third time with Haku backing Savage into the ropes and Hogan tags in as they trade blows until Haku rakes the eyes, and he hits a dropkick on Hogan and stomps on him before pounding on him. Hogan reverses a whip into the corner and splashes him before hitting a slam and tagging Hercules, and he drops a pair of elbows on Haku for a two count before stomping on him and pounding on him. He hooks a headlock only for Haku to escape with a back suplex and he tags Akeem who pounds on Hercules before hitting a slam, but he misses the elbow as Jim tags in and he fires up on Akeem before hitting a headbutt and he pounds on him in the corner. Akeem reverses a whip into the other corner and Jim catches him in a headscissors before getting a kick in, and he pounds on Akeem and hits a big boot before hooking a bearhug only for Akeem to ram him into the corner. He splashes Jim in the corner and Jim reverses a whip into the other corner only for Akeem to catch him with a clothesline, and then he hits the 747 Splash which gets the three and Jim is eliminated. Akeem celebrates as Ware comes in and hits a dropkick to the back before pounding on him in the corner, and Hogan tags in and he pounds on Akeem before ramming him into the buckle twice and he tags Savage who goes up top and hits an axehandle on Akeem. Savage nails a pair of elbows and tags Hercules who pounds on Akeem and gets a knee in before hitting a back elbow, and Ware tags in and pounds on Akeem before hitting a dropkick only to miss a dive in the corner. Bossman tags in and hits the Bossman Slam on Ware which gets the three and Ware is eliminated, and Hogan comes in and have a staredown with Bossman as the crowd pops big since this was the featured feud of the match.
They lock up with Bossman raking the eyes only for Hogan to pound on him and he hits a clothesline on Bossman, and he hits an atomic drop on Bossman who falls into the corner and Hercules and Savage get a shot in from the apron. Hogan pounds on Bossman and whips him into the corner before splashing him and he bites him in the face, and he hits a big boot on Bossman before getting a kick in and he hits a big slam on Bossman. Hogan knocks him back only for Bossman to catch him in a spinebuster and he tags Akeem, and they hit a double back elbow on Hogan and Haku tags in as he pounds on Hogan and hits a headbutt for a two count. Bossman tags in and kicks at Hogan before pounding on him and he slams down on Hogan’s back, and he chokes Hogan on the mat with his boot and tags Dibiase who kicks at Hogan and he pounds on him. He hits a clothesline on Hogan and drops a trio of fists on him for a two count as Hogan starts to hulk up, and he pounds on Dibiase and hits an atomic drop before tagging Hercules who fires up on Dibiase in the corner. He whips Dibiase hard into the other corner and hits a backdrop before continuing to pound on him and he hits a running kneelift, and he hits a pair of clotheslines on Dibiase only for Virgil to trip him up from the outside. Hercules pulls Virgil onto the apron and chokes him as Dibiase knees him in the back and hooks a rollup which gets the three and Hercules is eliminated, and Dibiase taunts Hercules as Savage comes in and surprises him with a rollup which gets the three and Dibiase is eliminated. Haku comes in and they lock up with Haku getting a knee in and he pounds on Savage before knocking him down, but he misses a diving headbutt as Savage kicks at him and Haku reverses a whip only for Savage to grab the rope and tag Hogan. Savage dives at Haku’s leg and trips him up as Hogan stomps on him and pounds on him only for Haku to catch him ducking with a blow to the back, and he hits a superkick on Hogan and tags Bossman who pounds on Hogan before hitting a series of headbutts to the back. He pounds on Hogan and hits a slam for a two count before pounding on him and tagging Akeem, and he pounds on Hogan and hits a series of axehandles before tagging Haku who pounds on Hogan and hits a suplex for a two count. He continues to pound on Hogan and stomps on him before hooking a submission on, and Hogan tries to fight to his feet only for Haku to take him back to the mat and continues to grind down on him. Hogan fights to his feet and tries to break the hold only for Haku to rake the eyes and tag Bossman who pounds on Hogan and hits the Bossman Slam, and Bossman goes up top only to miss the splash and Savage gets the hot tag as he stomps on Bossman. He nails Bossman with an elbow and also nails Akeem and Haku as they come in before hitting a back elbow on Bossman, but then Slick nails Savage in the back with his cane from the floor and Bossman pounds on him before hooking a bearhug on. Slick goes after Elizabeth and yells at her before grabbing her and trying to take her backstage, but Hogan comes over and knocks him down only for Akeem to nail him from behind as Bossman comes out as well. Haku gets in the ring and pounds on Savage while the Towers hold Hogan and Slick pulls out the handcuffs, and they cuff Hogan to the rope as the ref counts Bossman out and Bossman is eliminated. Haku chokes Savage on the mat and stomps on him as Bossman grabs the nightstick and nails Hogan with it repeatedly, and he chokes Hogan with the stick and continues to pound on him as Akeem comes in the ring and stomps on Savage before going after Hogan. Savage gets a shot in on Haku and nails Akeem in the back before pounding on him until Bossman nails him in the back with the nightstick, and he comes in the ring and chokes Savage with the nightstick as Haku pounds on Hogan on the outside and Akeem shoves the ref down. Akeem hits the 747 Splash on Savage as the ref announces that Akeem has been disqualified and he is eliminated, and the Towers head to the back as Haku comes in and pounds on Savage before knocking him down. Haku hits a back elbow on Savage for a two count as Slick taunts Hogan with the keys and Haku hits a slam on Savage only to miss the elbow, and Savage crawls to his corner though there is no one to tag and Haku drives the elbow into the head. He rakes Savage’s eyes only for Savage to avoid a dropkick by grabbing the ropes and he again crawls to his corner though Hogan is still not there to tag, and he pounds on Savage as Elizabeth tries to help Hogan and the refs come over to force her back. Slick gets on the apron and holds Savage for Haku only for Savage to move and Haku nails Slick with a superkick by mistake, and Hogan knocks Bobby down as Elizabeth comes over and takes the keys out of Slick’s jacket. Haku hits an atomic drop on Savage as Elizabeth uncuffs Hogan and he gets back to his corner as Haku hits a falling headbutt on Savage, and Haku hits a slam on Savage before going up top and hitting a splash for a two count. Haku hits a superkick on Savage who falls into his corner and Hogan gets the hot tag as he fires up on Haku, and he hits a big boot and a slam on Haku before hitting the legdrop which gets the three and the Mega Powers are the sole survivors. After the match, Hogan celebrates and tries to help Savage back to his feet as Elizabeth gets in the ring to help Savage, and then Hogan hugs Elizabeth and holds her up which Savage sees and he gets a confused look on his face as Elizabeth raises their arms in victory.
The match itself was very good as both teams worked hard and put on a pretty fun Survivor matchup. As I had mentioned earlier, this was a very interesting matchup in that there was a unique array of talent involved in the match and they all had good chemistry together which made for a good match. Obviously, the showcase feuds were between the Mega Powers and Twin Towers as well as between Hercules and Dibiase, so it was natural that they got the most shine while Rooster, Jim, and Ware were knocked out within the first 10 minutes. It made sense that Dibiase gets a cheap win on Hercules to keep that feud going while at the same time having Savage pin Dibiase to put the final bookend on that feud though it was weird that Dibiase lost so quickly. However, the real story begins when Hogan gets cuffed and the Towers leave their mark as both get eliminated without getting pinned to keep them strong going into 1989. It was also good for Haku to get a good shine here as he ends up lasting until the end before getting beat and it doesn’t hurt him to lose to the Mega Powers. But it was clear that this match was not just to further the feud between the Powers and Towers, but also to sow some potential tension within the Powers which did start back at Summerslam and continues here as Savage is left bewildered by Hogan embracing his manager. But again, it’s just subtle enough that you don’t think much about it though it would obviously grow into something bigger when 1989 starts. The crowd was red hot for the whole match and popped for the Powers when they won. The Powers are the sole survivors for the match though their issues with the Towers are far from over.
Final Grade: ***1/2
