Jimmy Korderas was a WWE referee for more than 20 years. He wrote a new blog on CSRWrestling.com remembering working the very first Survivor Series and the travel woes. Here’s an excerpt:
Throughout my 20 plus years with the WWE, I have been privileged, honored, and maybe just a tad bit lucky to have been a part of some firsts. Being that Survivor Series is fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to tell you a little story about my first Survivor Series experience. It just so happens that it was also the first ever Survivor Series.
The date, Wednesday November 25th 1987, I was absolutely thrilled that I was booked to be a part of this historic event which took place at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. Since Richfield was not that far from Toronto, where I live, I decided it would make more sense to drive to the event than flying. After all, it was a one shot deal. It was the only show I was booked for that week as there was no TV the next day. One small problem, my car was acting up so I ended up borrowing my mom’s K-car to make the trip. For those of you who remember this classic vehicle, stop snickering! For those of you who don’t, google it so you too can snicker along. It had less than 20,000KM (or 12,000 miles for you Yanks) on it so it was still relatively new.
The drive to Ohio was really uneventful. Of course I did have to make my obligatory Micky D’s pit stop along the way. It took right about 5 hours for me to make it from my driveway to the Holiday Inn located next to the Richfield Coliseum. After checking into the hotel, I got a quick bite to eat, had a few pops with the boys then called it a night rather early. Yeah, I’m such a party animal.
The day of the Survivor Series back then was actually on Thanksgiving Day, I arrived at the building around noon to take advantage of the WWE’s catering. Hey, free food is free food and their catering was generally pretty good. It was a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. After making a total pig of myself, it was time to get to work. I didn’t have to help set the ring up that day so I concentrated on my referee duties. That is when I found out that each match would have 2 referees assigned to officiate it. I was paired with the late Joey Marella. We were assigned 2 matches that night. The Women’s Survivor Series match featuring Team Sherri Martel VS Team Fabulous Moolah. For this match I would be the inside referee and Joey was the outside referee. The other match we were assigned was the Main Event headlined by Team Hogan VS Team Andre. Joey was the inside referee and I was assigned the outside.
I thought the women’s match went fairly well except for 2 small hiccups. The first faux pas occurred when the time keeper prematurely rang the bell during a pin attempt. I stood up and waived it off and the match continued. The second mishap occurred when one of the ladies, Velvet McIntyre, accidentally hit her head on the canvas. She was in obvious pain but continued on until she was eliminated. The highlight of the match was the Jumping Bomb Angels. They literally stole the show. For those who have never had the pleasure of watching them perform, do yourselves a favor and look them up, you won’t be disappointed.
Speaking of not being disappointed, being a part of the main event was definitely the biggest moment in my career thus far. Getting to read the riot act to Hulk Hogan and getting tossed into the ringside barricade by Andre the Giant further added to make my first Survivor Series experience unforgettable.
Unfortunately, being a part of the main Event was not the only unforgettable part of my journey. As I mentioned earlier, I had borrowed my mom’s K-Car to make the trip. The drive home the next morning should have only taken about 5 hours or so just like the drive down, but mom’s car had other plans for me.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the blog with the travel woes heading home!
