SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 20:28 Min.
From the Rosemont Horizon in suburban Chicago, IL, on November 23, 1989, this four-on-four elimination tag match would conclude the WWF/WWE’s 3rd Annual Survivor Series.
Captaining his self-named quartet is WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior, who has recruited The Hart Foundation’s Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and The Rockers: Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels.
Led by André the Giant, the Heenan Family consists of: Haku, the Brain Busters’ Arn Anderson, and, as a supposed last-minute substitute, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan himself. Despite Tully Blanchard’s image being advertised during the show, it is later conveyed to viewers that he had angrily left Heenan’s stable earlier that same night.
Providing the match commentary are “Gorilla” Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura.
Notes: Unlike what is implied on-screen, Blanchard had been quietly released by the WWF in early November 1989. Having given the same previous notice as Blanchard, Anderson left the WWF almost immediately thereafter.
REVIEW:
With Hulk Hogan’s main event scheduled before intermission, this Ultimate Warrior showcase ending the show is better than expected.
Upon André’s instant exit (copying his 1989 I-C Title house show series flopping for the Warrior), this match’s enjoyment falls upon Anderson, Haku, and the Rockers. Their combined workhorse sweat goes far compensating for Blanchard’s regrettable absence. To a lesser degree, the same applies to Neidhart and even a game Heenan (his pratfalls are still impressive), as far as shielding the Warrior’s limited stamina.
While Anderson & Haku concoct a formidable makeshift tag team (far surpassing Haku & André’s Colossal Connection), the ultra-athletic Rockers reciprocate as high-caliber adversaries. Also, the Neidhart-Anderson match-up is fun to watch, as far as imagining the classic tag title feud that the Hart Foundation should have had with the Brain Busters. Despite lacking Sting’s talent, even the Warrior, in short bursts, looks good keeping up with his fellow performers.
Inevitably, the match’s worst sequence comes at the end pitting the mighty Intercontinental Champ against a befuddled Heenan. Even if their lame 1988 ‘weasel suit’ matches were pitched as pure comedy relief, the concept was still barely watchable. This rehash is no different, as Jesse Ventura’s scripted assessment acknowledges that the Warrior’s gleeful bulldozing of the conniving manager is unimpressive and hardly heroic.
Echoing Heenan’s traditional ‘heat’ with fans, the supposedly humorous finish was what the WWF thought its audience wanted. Unfortunately, for viewers, the match’s MVP (Anderson – with plenty of welcome help from Michaels and Haku) had already exited ringside.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
