Survivor Series (1991) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Promotional poster featuring Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker
|
||||
Tagline(s) | The Gravest Challenge | |||
Information | ||||
Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | |||
Date | November 27, 1991 | |||
Attendance | 17,500 | |||
Venue | Joe Louis Arena | |||
City | Detroit, Michigan | |||
Pay-per-view chronology | ||||
|
||||
Survivor Series chronology | ||||
|
Survivor Series (1991) was the fifth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 1991, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first Survivor Series to feature a singles match of any kind, where in the main event The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
Due to Ric Flair's involvement in the events leading to The Undertaker's WWF World Heavyweight Championship victory over Hulk Hogan, a rematch was immediately signed for the This Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view event, contested December 3 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. WWF president Jack Tunney was present at ringside to make sure there was no outside interference. During the match, Flair once again attempted to interfere on The Undertaker's behalf, but – in a chaotic series of events that saw Tunney get knocked out – Hogan was able to pin The Undertaker after throwing ash from manager Paul Bearer's urn in his eyes. The following weekend, Jack Tunney vacated the WWF Championship due to the controversial finishes of the last two matches between Hogan and Undertaker, and put the title up for grabs at the 1992 Royal Rumble. Meanwhile, Hogan and Flair began wrestling in a series of matches that had been highly anticipated since the late 1980s.
Dissension had been brewing for weeks between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty of the Rockers, and at their Survivor Series match the two argued after Jannetty caused Michaels to be eliminated by accidentally slamming one of the Nasty Boys into him. In a segment of Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake's "Barber Shop" talk show segment taped December 2 and aired several weeks later, the two aired their grievances before seemingly resolving to stick together and work through their difficulties. However, Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a plate-glass window that was part of Beefcake's set, cementing Michaels' heel turn. A feud was commissioned, but Jannetty was fired in January 1992, shortly before their first match was to take place; the two eventually met in a series of matches in 1993, when Jannetty returned. However, for Michaels, the "Barber Shop" segment and the superkick jumpstarted a career that would skyrocket exponentially, and during the 1990s and 2000s he became one of the biggest superstars in professional wrestling history.