Thanksgiving just isn't what it used to be if you grew up a WWF fan in the 1980s and early 1990s. If you fit that bill, you knew that along with that big, beautiful bird and pumpkin pie, you'd get to carve into nearly three hours of WWF action each Thanksgiving. As most of you know, the WWF slowly the Survivor Series away Thanksgiving, first by making it on Thanksgiving Eve starting in 1991, and then a week apart from Thanksgiving starting in 1995. And as all of you know, WWE decided to ax the event entirely as of 2010.But let's not lament what's no longer. Let's focus on what was. And there's really no better way to do that than to check out one of the Survivor Series events from the days when it truly was the Thanksgiving Night tradition.
So it's 1989 and even though the WWF is less than a year away from jumping the shark (i.e. the attempted shift from Hogan to the Warrior), the promotion is packed with some real star power. Hulk Hogan is doing his thing, The Ultimate Warrior is seemingly the heir apparent to Hogan's top spot, and there's some healthy heel competition in the form of Randy "Macho King" Savage, The Big Boss Man, and Ted DiBiase.
There's also a strong second tier of superstars such as Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Rick Rude, Brutus Beefcake, and Mr. Perfect. The tag team division, though not what it was two or three years prior, is still a strong showcase for tag team action thanks to Demolition, The Rockers, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, and to an extent, The Hart Foundation (I say "to an extent" only because they were not teaming at the time of this event).
So with this much star power, an event like the Survivor Series is really what the doctor ordered. You find a way to wedge all of them onto the same card, along with dozens of other competitors, all in the name of team action.
Now, I must confess that this event is quite dear to me. It's not beloved by alleged smart fans, but it's a sentimental favorite of mine. Without getting too long winded, I'll say that if you rewind a couple of decades, you'll find me in a video rental joint down the street from my house. I'm wandering around, even though I probably can't rent anything that isn't in the children's section. During my travels, I come across the sports section. I see a row of pro wrestling videos. I've never seen a match before, but I've heard of this Hulk Hogan guy that's on so many of the front covers for these videos. I pick up one that has him standing on the front with a couple weird looking dudes with face paint and another guy with a python wrapped around his neck. I've got to rent this. And that, ladies and gents, is how my illustrious relationship with pro wrestling started.
So don't you want to own the very video that got *me* hooked? Sure you do. It's right here. Enjoy!
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