*SPOILERS*The year before, there was only one survival match, pitting two teams no one cared about against each other. And one great match, as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels took their house feud into the pay per view realm. Otherwise, it was mediocre or less, with a tag team main event that should have been much better than it was.This one had the same recipe that the previous years provided: lots of exciting, unpredictable matches that you could enjoy and forget about tomorrow. The opening match was vintage Survivor Series: a mixture of big names and second-tier stars, with the big names leaving early and the second-tier stars (Jannetty and the Kid) surviving. For the first time, every member of one team made an elimination.The Harts-Knights match was pretty good, as Owen Hart finally got his chance to rise to the occasion as one of the WWF's best all-around wrestlers. He was dominant, even if he was the only Hart brother who didn't survive. From this point on, he became one of the premiere WWF stars.The Smoky Mountain match was a little slow, but the Doinks match was genius.How they came to the conclusion that the Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission should be the 4 Doinks is beyond me, but it resulted in the most entertaining Survivor Series match since the 20-man tag team matches from the first two years. Plus, the Bushwhackers finally got to have their first moment to shine in a Survivor Series.The main event was OK, although the Steiners could have done better.Not the best, but again, better than '92.

The Survivor Series exploded from the sold-out Boston Garden on the eve of Thanksgiving on November 24, 1993. I saw this event live, and thought it was decent at best. I will give you the recap in succession: Spoilers ahead, BEWARE!!! The first match pitted Razor Ramon's team vs. IRS's team. The Razor took out IRS in the medium, and then was later knocked off by IRS. That was rather strange, and even lame to an extent. At the end, the 123-Kid and Marty Jannetty pull roll-up pins on Rick Martel and Adam Bomb in a matter of seconds. That Stinks! It could've gone longer and should've been better edited at this point. Most of the action is at the early stages, and they're not very interesting. Rating CThe Second match features "The Hart Family vs. "Shawn Michaels and 3 Knights". This match was okay, but rather dull in the beginning moments of the bout. No one cares for these three men with masks, and nobody gives a damn about loser brothers helping Bret and Owen (the only stars on the good side, with Shawn Michaels on the heels). However, after the knights are gone, Shawn Michaels is left all by himself, until things go amiss, and Owen is rolled up into a pin, wounding up as the only Hart brother eliminated from the encounter. Later, Bret and the crew pound Michaels into oblivion and the Heartbreak Kid finally bails, and runs from the ring, ending up a count-out as the end result. The crowd boos, but hey, Shawn Michaels wasn't about to let the Hart brothers destroy his pretty face. He took a good enough beating anyway, and besides, it leaves more to be desired knowing that Michaels got off the hook. Now, back to the match, Bret and two brothers survive, but Owen is p**sed for being the only brother taken out and makes it known. Rating C+The Smokey Mountain tag-team title match stunk, and it was boring. I'm not gonna even bother covering the details of this match. It bores me to even think about it. Rating D-The four Doinks in the form of the Bushwhackers and M.O.M against the team of Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Boogar and the Headshrinkers also was poorly scripted. None of the so-called Doinks were eliminated! What kind of crap is that! They weren't that good a team, and where was the real Doink at anyway! This was awful. Rating FThe All-Americans vs. The Foreign Fanatics makes for a better climax sorely needed to salvage a lackluster event. The Steiners are knocked off by the bad guys, and the Undertaker and Yokozuna battle it out to the delight of the crowd. This set up the much anticipated Royal Rumble between the Undertaker and Yokozuna for the world title in the months to come. Back to the action, Ludvig Borga and Lex Luger get it on at the end, and though Luger suffers greatly, he manages to regain his composure and defeat Borga to close out the match as the sole survivor. Suddenly, Santa Claus runs out with a present to give the winner. Don't know what that was about. Rating B

1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Razor Ramon and Randy Savage vs. Irwin R. Schyster, The Model, Diesel and Adam Bomb Survivors: 1-2-3 Kid and Marty JannettyBret Hart, Owen Hart, Keith Hart and Bruce Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, the Black Knight, the Red Knight and the Blue Knight Survivors: Bruce, Keith and Bret HartThe Heavenly Bodies defeated the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the Smoky Mountain Tag Team ChampionshipLuke Doink, Butch Doink, Mo Doink and Mabel Doink vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, the Headshrinkers and Bastion Booger Survivors: Luke Doink, Butch Doink, Mo Doink and Mabel DoinkThe Undertaker, Lex Luger and the Steiner Brothers vs. Yokozuna, Jacques Rougeau, Crush and Ludvig Borga Survivor: Lex LugerOverall Mark: C+

First off, the main event was supposed to be Lex Luger, the Steiners and TATANKA vs. Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Jacques and PIERRE. For reasons that I don't know, Tataka was "injured" and replaced by the Undertaker, and Pierre was taken out to make room for Crush. I am guessing that the reason is that the Undertaker was one of the biggest superstars in the WWF and they needed to put him somewhere (sort of a setup for the 1994 Royal Rumble match: Undertaker vs. Yokozuna), while they possibly put Crush in to try to get him to become more of a "bad guy" (he had just turned heel after being a face).The first match was supposed to be Razor Ramon, Mr Perfect, Marty Jannetty, and the 123 Kid vs. IRS, Diesel, Adam Bomb and Rick Martel, but due to injuries, Mr. Perfect was replaced by Macho Man Randy Savage. The WWF did not make this clear until just before the match began.The whole family feud began when Jerry the King Lawler insulted the Harts and this set the match between Lawler and his Knights vs. 4 Hart brothers, but weeks before the Survivor Series Lawler took some time away from the WWF and they used Shawn Michaels in his place, and acted as if Lawler never existed!Another funny thing about this match is that only 3 of the 8 participents were WWF superstars at the time! Keith and Bruce Hart had a 1 time deal, and the 3 Knights (Greg Valentine, Barry Horowitz and Jeff Gaylord) only did this one time with the gimmicks to my knowledge.Funny thing about the match advertised as 4 Doinks vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastian Booger and Headshrinkers is the fact that no Doink was involved. The Bushwackers and Men on a Mission fought this match wearing Doink masks and make up!I'm not going to spoil the results for you, but I will say that I don't think that this was the greatest Survivor Series. But, hell, this IS a WWF Survivor Series, and i give it a 9 out of 10!