Survivor Series Showdown 1993

November 21, 1993

Farrell Hall, Delhi, New York, and Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania

Announcers: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, and Jim Ross.

The Setup

This was four days before the Survivor Series PPV, which aired on the USA Network. Despite not being on opposite teams, Yoko defended the WWF title against Bret Hart, a rematch from that year’s Wrestlemania. Crush was in a squash match against Virgil, but the other two matches had members of opposing Survivor Series teams. 

The Business

The show was part of two different sets of TV tapings. It also drew a 2.9 cable rating, slightly down from the 2.98 Raw averaged on the USA Network in 1993. Even a WWF title Wrestlemania rematch didn’t move the needle. 

The Results 

Doink the Clown def. Bastion Booger in 6:35 1/2*

Crush (w/ Mr. Fuji) def. Virgil in 7:54 *1/4

Irwin R. Schyster (IRS) def. Marty Jannetty in 12:35 **

Yokozuna (C) (w/ Mr. Fuji) def. Bret Hart by DQ in 15:50 **3/4

Notable Happenings

Owen Hart came down to “save” His brother Bret, but slapped hands with fans before he got there and interfered when it looked like Bret might regain the title. It was subtle in that it wasn’t obvious he was turning, but you knew something wasn’t entirely on the level. 

The main event babyface and heel teams for Survivor Series each cut live promos on the big platform, which didn’t amount to much. 

Best, Worst, and Most Underrated of the Night

Best: Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart. Despite the DQ finish, this was the lone highlight of the special. You can argue about the non-finish, nugb

Worst: Doink and Bastion Booger was just goofy, poorly-performed nonsense. 

Most Underrated: Marty Jannetty. IRS worked a pretty slow and methodical match, but Jannetty looked really good, including taking an awesome bump on the clothesline finish. 

Backstage Notes

This special was taped across two separate days—November 8, 1993, at Fernwood Resort and November 10, 1993, at Farrell Hall. 

Rating: 3.0/10

The show had only one real highlight, with everything else ranging from average to horrible, including the promos. They didn’t do much to sell the PPV, aside from the aforementioned platform team promos and a very light tease of dissension between Owen and Bret. This felt like a real waste of time outside of the main event. 

The Video