WWE Survivor Series 1987 Review: The First Survivor Series

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Five-on-Five Survivor Series Elimination Match: André the Giant, One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed, and Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan and Slick) versus Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow (with Oliver Humperdink)

Result: Team André defeated Team Hogan

Survivor: André the Giant

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

André hadn’t wrestled a match since his loss at WrestleMania III, but his feud with Hogan was far from over.

Under the guidance of his manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, André’s team consisted of other Heenan Family members King Kong Bundy and Rick rude, as well as One Man Gang and Butch Reed.

The bad blood between these competitors was all over the place, and Bobby Heenan was at the root of most of it. Outside of Hogan and André, the Brain had a fair share of foes:

Paul Orndorff recently fired Heenan because Heenan brought in Rick Rude to replace Orndorff. The Brain didn’t like that.

Bam Bam Bigelow—the hot free agent at the time—burned Heenan by signing with Heenan’s rival, Oliver Humperdink, instead of Heenan. The Brain didn’t like that.

Lastly, Ken Patera—another former client of Heenan—was mad at Heenan because Heenan “sold him down the river” while Patera was in prison for beating up a police officer outside of a McDonald’s. After getting out of the clink, Patera got his revenge by wrapping a belt around Heenan’s neck and throwing him around the wrestling ring (Patera was the good guy here). Heenan really didn’t like that.

A win over Team André was considered a win over Heenan, so the competitors on Team Hogan were all “hungry”—as they proclaimed before the match—to defeat the opposition.

The match began with Rick Rude squaring off against the original Rock, Don Muraco. Team Hogan gained momentum immediately, Hulkamania surging through the veins of each team member. Hogan got a quick elimination on Butch Reed after a leg drop, and it looked like the world was about to see Hogan face off against André, but a high-five between Hogan and Patera was deemed to be a legal tag, forcing Patera into the match.

Team Hogan maintained control for several minutes after that by cornering off Rick Rude, but One Man Gang found his way into the match and proved to be an equalizer when he eliminated Patera with a clothesline.

The Hulkster entered the ring and brought One Man Gang back down to Earth, leaving the scraps to the rest of his team. Orndorff, was feeling the vibes, getting Hulked up while in the ring with Rick Rude, but a cheap shot from King Kong Bundy and a dirty pin by Rude took Orndorff out of the match.

No worries, though: Hogan to the rescue. Quickly he kneed Rude in the face, setting up the Rock to connect with a powerslam for another elimination. The Rock’s victory would be short-lived, though. André punched him in the face, followed by One Man Gang connecting with a splash to eliminate Muraco.

Three-on-two now, Hogan and Bigalow were left to hold down the fort against André the Giant, King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang. To make matters worse, Bam Bam was a beating from all three members of Team André.

With Hogan in the match, however, the odds could never seem too stacked. A brief burst of energy allowed Bam Bam to roll away from André and tag in Hogan. André and Hogan were alone in the ring! Shades of WrestleMania III!

But wait.

Out of nowhere, King Kong Bundy pulled Hogan out of the ring and distracted him long enough to get Hogan counted out. Hogan got removed from ringside, and Bam Bam Bigelow officially became the sole survivor of Team Hogan.

Bam Bam emerged as a force to be reckoned with, and following a slingshot splash, he pinned Bundy. Two to go.

One Man Gang, however, proved to be more formidable than his predecessor, keeping Bam Bam on the mat for a few more minutes. It again wasn’t looking good, but One Man Gang missed a splash from the top rope and also got pinned by Bam Bam.

There was now only one man left for Bigelow to beat… Well, a giant… A really big giant.

Go figure, Bam Bam was no match for André and was pinned a minute later after André connected with a butterfly suplex.

The bell rang; Hulk Hogan raced down to the ring. Hogan clocked an unsuspecting André with the WWF Championship, and the crowd went wild. A shaken André the Giant, satisfied by actually winning the match, headed back to the locker room to celebrate his victory as Hogan posed for the audience.

1987.

Next: Aftermath and Final Thoughts