Survivor Series (1994) - Background

Background

Several storylines formed the background for the opening match, which saw the fan favorite team of The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon, the 1-2-3 Kid, Davey Boy Smith and The Headshrinkers) square off against the villainous team of The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart). Razor Ramon had been feuding with Shawn Michaels since September 1993 when Ramon won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Michaels, the former champion, had been stripped of the belt. WWF President Jack Tunney scheduled a battle royal, in which Ramon and Rick Martel were the final participants remaining. They faced each other on Monday Night Raw, and Ramon won the match and was awarded the title. Michaels claimed that he was the rightful holder of the belt and refused to acknowledge Ramon as the champion. Diesel was serving as Michaels' bodyguard but soon became an active wrestler and carried on Michaels' feud with Ramon. In the months leading up to Survivor Series, Ramon had also developed a feud with Jeff Jarrett, and the two faced each other several times with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. Ramon's friend, the 1-2-3 Kid, took Ramon's side in these feuds, and the two formed an occasional tag team. The Headshrinkers had also been feuding with Michaels and Diesel since dropping the WWF Tag Team Championship to them on August 28. The Headshrinkers had several rematches but were unable to regain the belts. Finally, Davey Boy Smith was involved in a feud with his real-life brother-in-law Owen Hart and Hart's other brother-in-law, Jim Neidhart. Owen Hart had turned on his brother Bret at the 1994 Royal Rumble, after which Smith got involved on Bret's side and Neidhart took Owen's side.

Although Jerry Lawler and Doink the Clown had a storyline rivalry that dated back to when Doink turned on Lawler by dumping a bucket of water on him following SummerSlam 1993, the feud had rarely been mentioned since then. On the September 10, 1994 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, however, Lawler provoked Doink by popping balloons carried by Doink's midget sidekick Dink. The rivalry soon led to Lawler introducing a midget named Queasy, who dressed like Lawler. Doink and Lawler then introduced several more midgets over the following weeks. An elimination match was booked for Survivor Series, with Lawler, Queasy, Sleazy and Cheesy facing Doink, Dink, Wink and Pink.

Bret Hart's feud with Bob Backlund dated back to the July 30, 1994 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling. Backlund believed that he had won the match and the WWF Championship by defeating Hart. The match had not ended, however, and Hart pinned Backlund. When Hart tried to shake Backlund's hand after the match, Backlund turned on him and performed the crossface chickenwing on Hart. Following the match, Backlund acted quite differently than he had when he portrayed a face. He claimed that he had never truly been beaten for the WWF Championship on December 26, 1983, as the match ended when his manager, Arnold Skaaland, threw a towel into the ring rather than allowing Backlund to submit to the Iron Sheik's camel clutch. A submission match was booked between Hart and Backlund for Survivor Series with the stipulation that the match could only end when a wrestler's cornerman threw a towel in to the ring. Hart's cornerman was his real-life brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith. Backlund's cornerman was Bret's brother Owen Hart, who had a long rivalry with Bret since turning on him during a tag team match at the 1994 Royal Rumble.

The central feud in the match between Guts & Glory and The Million Dollar Team was between Lex Luger and Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. During 1994, DiBiase had "purchased" the contracts of several wrestlers to form a heel stable. Among the members to join were Bam Bam Bigelow and King Kong Bundy. Prior to SummerSlam 1994, DiBiase claimed to have added Luger to the group. Luger denied having joined, despite Tatanka claiming that he had evidence that Luger had "sold out" to DiBiase. Luger and Tatanka faced each other at SummerSlam, where it was revealed that the storyline was a swerve, as Tatanka turned on Luger to join the Million Dollar Corporation. Bigelow and Adam Bomb had also been feuding since the September 10, 1994 episode of Superstars of Wrestling. Bigelow attacked his opponent, a jobber, before the match. DiBiase then claimed that the company was not providing suitable competition, and he challenged any wrestler to face Bigelow. Bomb responded, and the two brawled briefly. Leading up to Survivor Series, Bomb and Bigelow faced each other at several house shows. The Heavenly Bodies were not members of DiBiase's stable, but they competed on behalf of the group. At the time, they were involved in a feud with The Smokin' Gunns as a result of a match on the September 3 episode of Superstars of Wrestling. The Heavenly Bodies attacked the Gunns prior to the match and stole the Gunns' cowboy hats. They put on the hats to mock the Gunns and then threw them on the ground and stomped on them. To get revenge, the Gunns stole The Heavenly Bodies' ring robes and tore the wings off them.

The feud between The Undertaker and Yokozuna began at Survivor Series 1993. During an elimination match, Yokozuna was unable to injure The Undertaker, despite slamming The Undertaker's head into the ring steps and performing the Banzai drop on him. A match was booked for Royal Rumble 1994, in which The Undertaker would challenge WWF Champion Yokozuna for the title in a Casket match. During the match, which featured a no-disqualification clause, Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna's manager, hired nine other wrestlers to interfere on Yokozuna's behalf. Yokozuna won the match after opening The Undertaker's urn, which, according to the storyline, contained the secret to The Undertaker's powers. After the match, The Undertaker appeared on the video screen and vowed to return to the World Wrestling Federation one day. He was not seen for several months, although, in reality, he was taking time off wrestling to allow injuries to heal. The Undertaker returned at SummerSlam 1994, defeating an impostor pretending to be The Undertaker. A rematch against Yokozuna was scheduled for Survivor Series. This was also to be a Casket match, but Chuck Norris was brought in as a special outside referee to prevent interference.