Welcome back to a series of nostalgia, cheesy intro videos and of course TAG TEAM MATCHES playa. This is so far the Summerslam I’ve looked forward to doing the least. If you have never heard of the Lex express or ever seen him slam Yokozuna on July fourth then go check it out its worth the look. At this time we are fully past the Warriors and Hogans of the world dominating the main event scene and now we have narcissist turned all American Lex Luger leading the charge against the evil foreign villain. All in all I’m sure there is a gem or at least a remnant of one somewhere in this pay per view. However lets go ahead and kick this show off with a tag te…. Wait.. Summerslam for the first time to date is opening the show with a singles match.
Razor Ramon vs. Ted Dibiase: This match is based around the 1.2.3 Kid defeating Razor Ramon in a pair of matches and Dibiase called Ramon’s career over because of the loses. Heel tactic 101 in full effect with Dibiase attacking Ramon before he could get his vest off kudos WWF. This is your typical opener of a match that will ultimately lead to Razor winning just watch. Dibiase ends up hitting the exposed buckle that he set up instead of Razor and we get a Razor’s edge for the victory. Paint by numbers win for Razor Ramon.
Backstage promos: We get a plug for the Summerslam hotline oh boy. Also we have Todd Pettingil… ahh Todd Pettingil… how I miss Todd Pettingil… the original Michael Cole looking reporter. We are in in the hometown of the Steiner brothers and Todd is in the crowd to interview the Steiner’s mom. We are interrupted by Jim Cornette to announce the Bodies.
Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies ( Tag Title Match): With them being in the Steiners hometown and Vince making a big deal out of it, I’m not sure momma Steiner is going to like the outcome. The Heavenly Bodies went to the same heel school as Ted Dibiase and attack the Steiners before the match begins. Scott Steiner has some electric offense if you remember me talking about early Bulldog in these reviews Scott Steiner is really looking like the star of the four in the ring. The bodies begin to take back over until Rick gets a hot tag and goes full dog face gremlin on EVERYBODY. Slams and steinerlines for everyone. We get a tennis racket sighting and what do you know it works however Rick Steiner kicks out before the three count. We now have a lot going on and we have Scott who hits a frankensteiner, which is so impressive for a dude Scott’s size and Rick gets the pin-fall. Momma Steiner is happy afterall! Steiners win and looks like Jim Cornette may have pooped his pants at the end.
Mr Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Title Match): I don’t remember this match and while I have high expectations since I don’t’ remember it I’m worried. There is no way that this can be a bad match….right? We get the two beginning to try and out wrestle one another. We have a pretty bad botch as they collide and look at each other like what the hell just happened. Diesel had such a good look back as Shawn’s “insurance policy” I’m digging that. Shawn is flipping and selling all over the place like a crazy person… not Hogan match levels or anything. This match has picked up after a slow and sloppy start and we are getting the type of match we would expect. Diesel distracts Perfect on the outside and Shawn attacks him from behind and rolls back into the ring for the win. Wow… kind of a letdown just because of the names in this match.
123 Kid vs. IRS: This match starts with the Kid on fire hitting all sorts of spinning kicks and jumps and craziness. The one thing sticking out to me from this match is IRS trying to keep up with the Kid and is sweating like a crazy person. IRS gets control of the match pretty quickly and the Kid takes a nice looking bump off the apron. The fans are clearly behind 123 Kid right now and it definitely shows how great of a worker he is. IRS ends up getting catching 123 Kid with the Tax Write Off lariat for the win. Man these matches seem really short.
Doink vs. Bret Hart: This was supposed to be Bret vs. Jerry Lawler however Lawler came out on crutches saying he was unable to compete and introduced Bret’s opponent for the night Doink the Clown. Now if you don’t remember or have never seen Doink in 1993 it’s a pretty good character as far as over the top characters go. Also during 93 and 94 Bret seemed to feud with every mid card guy on the roster to try and get them over. One thing you can bet during a Hart match early in his singles career is that he will play the baby face in peril with an injured limb every time. Doink and Hitman actually have a pretty good match until whoa you guessed it Lawler CAN WALK WITHOUT CRUTCHES. He interferes when Hart puts on the sharpshooter and Hart defeats Doink via disqualification in yet another match under ten minutes.
Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler: Think about this Lawler is one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of southern wrestling and he is taking on Bret Hart arguably the greatest Canadian wrestler of all time in a feud that includes crowns and clowns. The referee is distracted at ringside by more Harts which allows Lawler to use the crutch on the Hitman. Hart hits Lawler with a low blow and puts on the Sharpshooter and its over ladies and gentlemen… or so we think by the way yet another match under ten minutes. Hitman won’t let go of the hold and the referee reverse the decision and Jerry Lawler wins via disqualification. That’s right three of the last four decisions were not by pin-fall or submission.
Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga: Borga comes out the gate with some major punches and more punches and well more punches. Luckily for Borga, Jannetty is a selling fool and doing his best to make Borga look strong. This match is the shits and its weird to see someone use the torture rack other than Luger especially when he’s on the roster. Borga wins via submission. Yawn.
Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez (Rest in Peace No DQ Match: The match that was so great at Wrestlemania we had to get it again at Summerslam. At this time Harvey Whippleman is with Giant Gonzalez and they have possession of the urn. You remember as a kid thinking that damn urn has special powers? We get some big man offense between the two and during a beat down by Gonzalez a gong hits. It’s the return of Paul Bearer, Whippleman goes at him however it doesn’t work out well for Mr. Harvey Whippleman. Bearer gets possession of the Urn again and it allows Undertaker to sit up after some Gonzalez offense. Undertaker hits a clothesline off the top rope for the win. In another match UNDER TEN MINUTES! After the match Whippleman begins to berate the giant and well that doesn’t work out well for him either and gets a choke slam for his worries.
The Smoking Guns & Tatanka vs. The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam Bigelow: There is some serious talent in this match distracted with some silly gimmicks. I still think the headshrinkers gimmick was pretty awesome even now. Wait… was this Vince trying to be funny teaming Cowboys and an Indian together? Anyway some quick action with the heels getting the upper hand. Man Billy Gunn is a really athletic dude and is doing it wearing some tight blue jeans. We get lots of heel corner work and cutting off the ring after Bart Gunn gets in. Once again regardless of the teams the early nineties and eighties did tag team psychology so well. Bigelow hits his enzuigiri spot on Tatanka and man that’s impressive even though I’ve seen in a lot. Really cool spot here at the end with the Headshrinkers and Bam Bam going to the top for triple flying headbutts however Tatanka moves the Guns knock out the illegal men and Tatanka rolls up Samu with the divas finisher for the win. A MATCH OVER TEN MINUTES!! Good match here I can’t complain.
Yokozuna vs. Leg Luger (WWF Title match): Finally the main event. You guys owe me for going back and watching this one. I’m reaching to find a match that even comes CLOSE to any of the top matches for any Summerslam prior to this. At this point Yokozuna is on fire after winning the title at Wrestlemania and demolishing the competition including Jim Duggan just before this PPV. On the other side Luger had been rolling with the Lex Express all over the place and I will say as a kid I can vividly remember Luger being a big deal. In 1993 I was seven years old and remember my buddies and their dad loving Luger and thinking he’s the greatest thing ever. Man does that sound silly knowing what we know now. This match is completely build on Luger being able to slam Yokozuna yet again much like Hogan and Andre back at Wrestlemania. I think I have an idea for an upcoming Re-Writing the book with “what if Luger won the title at Summerslam ‘93”. Luger is moving really well in the ring and the guy looks like a million dollars its crazy that he never fully got over. The fans are behind their American hero and I’m really talking myself into he winning the title as I’m watching this match. Yoko misses an ass splash in the corner and staggers out into a Luger BODYSLAM! Fuji jumps on the apron Luger gets rid of him and then Luger his Yoko with the steel plated forearm. For those that don’t remember Luger had a steel plate in his arm from an accident he was in and the WWF played it up. Cornette tries to help and he gets his for his troubles. Yoko has rolled to the outside after the forearm and won’t be able to answer the ten count. AMERICA WINS! Well sort of… I mean like they won but didn’t win the title. This match nearly goes twenty minutes and it had my attention the most of any match on the card. Luger wins via DQ.
Summerslam 1988 Review
Summerslam 1989 Review
Summerslam 1990 Review
Summerslam 1991 Review
Summerslam 1992 Review
This is hands down the worst Summerslam so far I’ve reviewed. Way to many non-finishes and Dq’s and count-outs. Looking back at it now I think they should have had Luger win the title here only for him to drop it back to Yokozuna a few weeks later. The match of the night is Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger and it’s not very good everyone. This Summerslam ranks at the bottom and it’s kind of like Rocky five let’s just not even acknowledge it exists. Until Summerslam ’94 be awesome.
