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(More customer reviews)Since its inception in 1988, SummerSlam has become one of the premier events on the WWE calendar behind The Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and (of course) WrestleMania. For this review, because they were WWF for many of these events in this set, I will refer to the titles with the WWF tag line. Only SS events when they became WWE will I call them such.
Anyway, let's get to it. I will do it by volumes and I hope you people reading this don't mind if I throw some brief history tibits in too:
SUMMERSLAM, VOL. 2:
SummerSlam 1993
By this time, Yokozuna had become a two time WWF champion having defeated both Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Hulk Hogan within a span of 3 months. He would face a stiff test in the form of Lex Luger but that wasn't the only thing going on at this SS!
"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase Vs. Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) - In his final PPV apperance in America, Ted DiBiase took on Razor Ramon in a very good opener. Ends with Razor finishing Ted off with his "Razor's Edge" powerbomb for the victory! DiBiase would shortly retire due to neck injuries while on tour of Japan that same year.
The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Heavenly Bodies (WWF World Tag Team Title Match) - Good tag team match with plenty of moves and action from both teams! At this time, WWF had a deal with the now defunct Smokey Mountain Wrestling organization and would occassionally exchange talent. THB came to challenge the mighty Steiners and while they would have their moments, Rick and Scott prevailed over them.
Shawn Michaels w/Diesel Vs. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - Classic contest marred by the interference of Diesel (Kevin Nash). Up until that point, these two had a good match going. Too bad there wasn't an on-going program between these two. Definitely worth a look!
Irwin R. Schyster Vs. 123 Kid (X-Pac) - In his first PPV appearance, The 123 Kid was looking to add to his upset column with a win over IRS. While he did come close, it was not to be as IRS put him down with a devestating looking flying clothesline off of the ropes.
Bret "HitMan" Hart Vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler - This match actually started out as Hart Vs. Doink The Clown (Matt Bourne at this point) as Lawler claimed he had a leg injury and couldn't compete. The ruse was exposed however when Bret applied the "sharpshooter" to Doink and Lawler jumped in and nailed him with a crutch! At that point, WWF President Jack Tunney (RIP) ordered Lawler to wrestle Hart or be suspended for life! The end of this match was a screwjob but Bret got his revenge on Lawler nonetheless. Decent bout and pretty entertaining.
Marty Jannetty Vs. Ludvig Borga - Pretty much a squash for Borga! Not much to review here.
The Undertaker Vs. Giant Gonzales (Rest In Peace Match) - In the history of SummerSlam, The Undertaker has made 15 SummerSlam appearances. Of those appearances, he's only lost 4 times. This match against Giant Gonzales ISN'T one of those losses THANK GOD! This match was terrible! The only good part was that UT won! Watch once just to see how bad it is and skip!
The Smoking Guns & Tatanka Vs. The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam Bigelow (RIP) - Like some of the six-man's in years past, this one was a good one as The Guns and Tatanka took a royal beating from Samu, Fatu and "The Beast From The East." Still, they show fighting spirit and it ends with Tatanka getting the win.
Yokozuna (RIP) Vs. Lex Luger (WWF World Title Match) - This bout will NOT go down as a classic but it was a classically put together main event as the build-up to it was tremendous. Too bad the actual match didn't live up to the hype. While not a bad match, it wasn't as good as the WWF hype machine would lead you to believe. Ends when Luger nails Yoko with his "loaded" forearm smash but knocks him out of the ring, causing a countout! Luger wins the match BUT he doesn't win the title! Yoko retains. Still, the celebration fit the theme of SummerSlam which was patriotic.
Overall, the MUST SEE's here are DiBiase/Ramon, Michaels/Perfect and Hart/Lawler.
SummerSlam 1994
As far as SS cards go, this one was average BUT it had three good matches (one of which is a "lost classic" in my view) and a memorable moment though the match itself was average.
Bam Bam Bigelow & Irwin R. Schyster Vs. The Headshrinkers - Good opener as Ted DiBiase returns in a manager's capacity to lead the team of Bam Bam Bigelow & IRS as "The Million Dollar Corporation" with a new member that comes out later in the card.
As for the match itself, it was surprisingly stiff (especially for WWF/WWE in those days)! Plenty of hard hits and bumps. Ends when Afa (the uncle of both Samu and Fatu) interferes after BBB hits the late Captain Lou Albano (who was also at ringside). The ref DQ'es the 'Shrinkers and gives the bout to BBB & IRS.
Alundra Blayze (Madusa Miceli for long time wrestling fans) Vs. Bull Nakano (WWF Women's Championship Match) - For this era, this match was one of the best women's matches in WWF/WWE history! Alundra took a beating in this one as Bull had a big size advantage AND she had Luna Vachon at ringside! Ends when one of Luna's attempts at interference backfires, allowing Alundra to hit her patened German suplex for the victory.
Razor Ramon w/the late Walter Payton Vs. Diesel w/Shawn Michaels (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - Wanna see a good Hall Vs. Nash match? Here it is! Before they became the Outsiders and charter members of the nWo in WCW, these two fought for the I-C title in 1994. Add to the fact that Diesel came into the match as not only the I-C champion but also one half of the WWF World Tag Team Champions with Shawn Michaels, the momentum was certainly in the favor of "Big Daddy Cool."
Diesel held the advantage for much of the contest, even without Shawn's interference. That interference backfired when, as the referee and the late NFL legend Walter Payton were arguing, Shawn superkicked Diesel instead of Razor! Payton then neutralized Shawn long enough for the referee to count down Diesel and give Ramon his second I-C title! This match would play into the long program that would see Shawn and Diesel split up, Diesel win the WWF World title and for these two to have a showdown at WrestleMania 11.
Tatanka Vs. Lex Luger - The backstory of this bout was that Luger had seemingly sold out to "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and his corporation stable with Tatanka as his main accuser. As for the match itself, it won't go down as a classic but not too shabby, not too shabby at all. Ends when Luger's attention is diverted by DiBiase, allowing Tatanka to get the pin on Lex. The aftermath reveals that it wasn't Luger that sold out, but Tatanka as he gave Lex a savage beating afterwards!
Jeff Jarrett Vs. Mabel - The future founder of TNA Wrestling would face off against the massive and surprisingly agile Mabel. This one, like the previous bout, won't go down as a classic BUT it wasn't bad at all. Ends when Jarrett capitalizes on a mistake by Mabel and gets the three count.
Bret "HitMan" Hart Vs. "King Of Harts" Owen Hart (WWF World Title in a cage) - This is often a forgotten classic in the careers of both Bret and Owen and proof positive that a cage match doesn't have to be a bloody massacare to be good! It's a long match but worth every minute to watch! Ends when both brothers try to escape the cage but Bret manages to hang up Owen and escape first! Bret wins but then is attacked by long time partner Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart as both he and Owen beat Bret down. Bret is saved by brother in law The British Bulldog as well as a few of Bret's other brothers. Overall a great contest! Also available on WWE Bloodbath - The Most Incredible Cage Matches
The Undertaker (Mark Calloway) Vs. The Undertaker (Brian Lee) - In this doppleganger match, these two men were almost mirror images of the other! Not a great match but the theatrics and spectacle of it all is what makes this match memorable. Ends when UT (Mark) tombstones the fake 'Taker three times to ensure the end of the UnderFaker! LOL!
As I said earlier, this one tends to be forgotten but it had its moments. MUST SEES on this one is Blayze/Nakano, Ramon/Diesel & Bret/Owen!
SummerSlam 1995
This one was actually not a good SummerSlam BUT it had one memorable match to see and its moments.
123 Kid (X-Pac) Vs. Hakushi - A good opener as both of these guys were speed demons and risk takers! I forgot how it ended but I know Hakushi wins this one.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Bob Holly - The future "Game" and "Hardcore" were decidedly a bit softer during this era of their careers. HHH playing more of a snob character while Holly portrayed a car racer, thus the nickname "Spark Plug." This is more of a squash for HHH as he does his soon to be legendary finisher "The Pedigree" for the victory.
Jacob & Eli Blu w/Uncle Zebakia (sp?) Vs. The Smoking Gunns - An average tag team match. Nothing that sucked but nothing spectacular. The Gunns, in my view, were very underrated though as they had good tag team chemistry. Anyway, worth one look.
Alundra Blaze Vs. Bertha Faye w/Harvey Wippleman (WWF Women's Title Match) - Alundra (Madusa Miceli) was into her second reign as WWF Women's Champion. Bertha Faye looked like someone that just came out of Flower's Bakery here in Bluefield, WV! LOL! Still, she could move surprisingly well for her size (she had to be pushing at least 250lbs. though)! This match went well and was very good. Ends when Bertha nailed Alundra with a sit-out powerbomb (Batista Bomb...Read more›
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WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2 1993-1997
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