WWF SummerSlam 1992

With the World Wrestling Federation becoming increasingly popular in Europe during the early 1990s, the WWF decided to take their annual summer spectacular abroad for the first time – all the way to Wembley Stadium in London. Originally, SummerSlam was set to take place in Washington DC, but after the success of UK Rampage in April, the WWF hastily rebooked the show for London – a gutsy move when they had a large stadium to fill.

It ended up becoming a tremendous success (drawing some 80,000 fans), and making for a great live atmosphere. As I kid, I once met John Tenta (Earthquake, who performed on the card), and (after hearing a silly internet rumor that the crowd was actually much smaller), asked him ‘how’ they made the place look so big. He assured me that it ‘really was,’ and it really was! In a first, due to the time difference the event took place in August 29, but didn’t air until two days later in the United States – a trick they would never be able to pull off in today’s iPhone world, but which worked wonderfully in 1992.

The biggest change other than venue (though, it was a direct result of it) was from the original booking that had Shawn Michaels capturing the Intercontinental Title from Bret Hart in the WWF’s first ladder match (one they rehearsed for at TV tapings over the summer) – the change delaying Shawn’s title for a couple of months, as ‘British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith challenging brother-in-law Hart for the title was deemed a better draw.

From London, England; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Match: Money Inc v The Legion of Doom: The LOD ride their motorcycles down to the ring - this the source of the infamous story from Bret Hart's book where Hawk was so high before going through the curtain, that there was concern he'd plow it right into the stands. Ted DiBiase starts with Hawk, but gets quickly overpowered, and bails to the floor to break the momentum. Animal blasts him with a clothesline out there, however, and DiBiase scurries to tag IRS. Hawk responds by bringing in Animal to press slam him for one, when DiBiase breaks the count. Tag to Hawk with a flying axehandle, but a whip into the ropes ends with IRS locking a sleeper. Hawk does the arm drop routine before powering out, but a flying clothesline misses - sending him crashing to the outside for DiBiase to slam. Hey, fair is fair - they did it to him earlier. Money Inc cut the ring in half on Hawk with their usual brilliant heel tag tactics (assisted holds, switching without tags behind the referees back, distracting the referee when Hawk makes a successful tag), until IRS misses a clothesline, and gets leveled with a lariat - only for DiBiase to cut the tag off, and laugh gleefully in Animal's face. They keep working Hawk over, but a double knockout allows him to make the real tag, and Animal is a house of arson. Four-way brawl has them going for a Doomsday Device on DiBiase, but IRS dropkicks Animal to break it up. Unfortunately, that electric chair's DiBiase in the process, and Animal powerslams him for the pin at 11:58. Fun opener - well paced, and filled with great heel work from Money Inc. * ¼

Virgil v Nailz: Nailz wastes no time shoving him into the corner with a chokehold, so Virgil fires back with a clothesline - only to get shrugged off, and choked again. To the floor, Nailz rams him into the ring apron, and hits a clothesline on the way back in. Sleeper hold finishes things at 3:22. Complete, unapologetic squash - Virgil barely getting a word in edgewise. DUD

No Hitting in the Face Match: Shawn Michaels v Rick Martel: The angle here is that Martel had been hitting on Michaels' valet, Sherri, and since she thinks they're both total cuties, she doesn't want to see their faces to get messed up. Okay, all well and good, but the real question is why two good looking guys were wasting time fighting over Sherri? Shawn goes for him at the bell, but Martel hooks a standing side-headlock. Criss cross ends in Shawn trying a monkey flip, but Rick dodging him with a cartwheel, and another ends in Shawn dropkicking him. Showboating for Sherri gets him rammed from behind, but Martel misses a 2^nd rope bodypress, and they trade wristlocks - both trying to slug free before the stipulations stop them. Martel wins the exchange by launching him over the top, and with Michaels down, goes after Sherri on the floor. Now fully erect, Martel rolls Shawn back in for some fun, starting with a backdrop. Both guys pants each other while trying to hook the tights during a pinfall reversal sequence, and Shawn superkicks him for two. Shovefest ends with both guys slapping each other across the face, and they're about to come to blows when Sherri faints on the apron after the realization that both are gay. They stop to go check on her, but end up fighting over who gets to give her mouth to mouth (again, really?), and it's a double countout at 8:00. After the bell, both try to carry her to the back, but each keeps knocking the other over, and Sherri ends up taking a couple of nice bumps in the aisle as a result. The final result? Martel dumps a bucket of water on Michaels. What the hell kind of revenge is that? What is he, the Wicked Witch of the West? It’s August, you’re outside in the sun, you're shirtless anyway, and you’re pissed that you’ve had water put on you? Most people pay thousands of dollars for that shit, and call it a pool. The match never got going, and wasn't helped by a weak ending, and the stupid stipulations. ½*

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Natural Disasters v The Beverly Brothers: The Beverly's try to jump them before the bell, but the Disasters use their size advantage to stop that effort, and sandwich them between their guts. Typhoon starts with Blake Beverly all official-like, but misses an elbowdrop. Blake stupidly tries a slam to follow, but gets toppled for two, and avalanched in the corner. Another gut-sandwich ends in miscommunication to put Typhoon down, and Beau Beverly splashes him for two. They cut the ring in half, but Typhoon can't be bothered to give them more than just some perfunctory selling before passing to Earthquake. He gets his cardio for the day in by throwing both Beverly's around, and the running buttsplash pins Beau at 10:25. I was bored by this one as a kid, and perspective hasn't changed anything. ¼*

Crush v Repo Man: Repo tries to jump him at the bell, but Crush just glares at him, and hits a triple pump press slam. Repo bails to the floor to regroup, but Crush chases him out with a clothesline, and rolls him in for a backbreaker. Repo with a quick eye rake to slow him down, and a side suplex hits - but Crush no-sells, and belly-to-belly suplexes him. Another backbreaker, but a flying kneedrop misses - Crush still not selling. Repo tries a flying bodypress, but gets powerslammed on the way down, and Crush hooks a headvise for the submission at 5:00. Energetic squash. ¼*

WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v The Ultimate Warrior: Great angle here, as Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect stuck their noses into the face/face showdown by announcing that one of the guys would have Mr. Perfect in their corner at SummerSlam, and then sitting back to let them kill each other. The crowd is INTO it, too - cheering Warrior wildly when he comes out alone, and then booing Savage until seeing that he's alone as well. Savage offers a handshake before they get underway, but it quickly turns into a hand crushing showdown, and the crowd is rabid as they lockup. The first one ends in Savage giving him a clean break against the ropes, but the second sees Warrior shove him clear across the ring. Randy responds with a hangman's clothesline for two, but a flying axehandle gets him gut-punched and atomic dropped. Inverted atomic drop and a clothesline get two, but an elbowdrop misses, and Savage mounts him with punches before dropping a knee for two. Chinlock, but Warrior quickly stuns his way out (good for him!), and hits a facebuster for two. He props Savage up in the corner for a series of right hands, and a short-clothesline gets two. Warrior keeps coming, but Savage hooks the tights to ram him into the turnbuckle, and beautifully clotheslines him over the top. Savage quickly rolls him in for a two count, and a flying axehandle hits, but Warrior's BLOWING UP!! Another flying axehandle hits, but a third gets Randy caught in a backbreaker for two. Warrior whips him from corner to corner, and with the back weakened, hooks a quick bearhug for two. Sidewalk slam gets two, but a backdrop is countered into a swinging neckbreaker for two. Savage snaps his neck across the ropes for two, but his back is still too battered to pull off a suplex - leaving him slumped on the mat. Warrior goes right for it with forearm shots, and manages a suplex of his own for two - actually selling the damaged neck on the way. He desperately charges Savage, but ends up going flying to the floor, and Macho follows up with a flying axehandle. He makes sure to post him out there, and rolls him in for two - as Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect start making their way down the aisle. Savage hasn't noticed, and tries a piledriver, but Warrior powers into a clothesline for two. Bodyslam, but a splash hits the knees as Flair and Perfect make it to ringside. That gets Savage another two count, and a criss cross ends in a double-knockout - allowing the crowd the time to properly freak out at Flair and Perfect's presence. Savage to his feet first, but Perfect trips him up as he bounces off the ropes, and the crowd turns on Warrior as he wallops Savage with a closed fist. Chokeslam, but a cross corner whip bumps the referee, and Warrior slams Savage as the crowd starts buzzing in anticipation of Flair and Perfect getting involved again. Instead, Warrior hits a flying axehandle for a delayed two count, but wastes time arguing with the referee, allowing Savage to catch him with a kneelift. He successfully hits the piledriver on the bad neck, but the referee is down again, and Perfect heads into the ring to revive Warrior as Savage tries to revive the official. With Savage busy on the floor, Perfect pulls Warrior to his feet - only to hold him for Flair to deck. The crowd vocally turns on Randy as he slams Warrior (I think the audience had an easier time distrusting Savage because he had already worked so successfully as a heel only a few years prior, as opposed to career babyface Warrior), and they're not pleased as he hits the Flying Elbowdrop for a dramatic two count - even hooking the tights for good measure. Warrior starts having a seizure again, and hits a series of clotheslines to set up his diving shoulderblock. Press slam, but Flair wallops him with a chair as he comes off the ropes with the splash, and Savage positions him for another Flying Elbow. He starts to realize that Flair and Perfect have been acting on his behalf, however, and changes course before leaping onto Warrior, instead diving at Flair with a flying axehandle. Ric is ready and waiting with the chair, however, and Savage gets counted out at 26:30. Afterwards, Flair and Perfect immediately attack Randy, but Warrior makes the save, and they makeup now realizing that they were being messed with. Absolutely fantastic match here, filled with drama, near falls, and epic-style booking. Both men sold wonderfully throughout, and shockingly went over twenty five minutes without a single resthold - something unheard of in Warrior matches half as long. And even more impressive when you consider that Warrior again chose to RUN down the super long aisle - which blew him up when he tried that stunt at WrestleMania VI. Just a great, hard hitting match, and done without having to rely on weapons, brawling through the crowd, or going through tables. Interestingly, this was originally booked as Warrior turning heel and getting the title, but he backed out at the last minute - probably for the better, since getting the title off of him and onto Bret Hart likely would have been a nightmare. **** ¼

The Undertaker v Kamala: Now that Undertaker was a babyface, this served as the first of the epic 'big fat guy fights the Undertaker' feuds that would carry him from here until about the end of 1995. Most ended in casket matches (Kamala, Yokozuna, Mabel), and some were over the urn, but one thing that they all had in common: they sucked. They may not have brought back the motorized ring carts for this show, but Undertaker makes up for it by riding a hearse in. He goes right after Kamala, and hits the ropewalk forearm within the first minute. Another, but Kamala drops backwards, and pulls him off. He clotheslines 'Taker to the floor for some forearms, and rolls him in for some chops - only to get chokeslammed. Jumping clothesline, and the Undertaker goes for the Tombstone - but Kamala handler Kim Chee runs in for the disqualification at 3:41. Any longer and this would have fallen into negative stars, though it was well placed on the card - between the two big title matches. DUD

Main Event: WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart v Davey Boy Smith: Bret immediately settles into playing the heel by giving Davey a shove as they stare each other down, and when Davey responds in kind, the place blows up in support. Smith tries a side-headlock, but Hart forces it into a criss cross - only to get shoulderblocked nearly into the front row. Back in, Hart wins a lockup with a side-headlock, but Davey keeps countering, so Hart cradles him for two. Small package gets two, and he takes the charging Bulldog back to the mat in a headlock. Meanwhile, Davey has blown himself up (the result of spending weeks smoking crack in Florida with Jim Neidhart as 'training'), and Bret leads him through a reversal sequence ending in Hart holding a wristlock. Davey somersaults into a reversal, but Hart forces a criss cross again, this time ending in Davey firing him into the corner with a slingshot, and going back to the mat with an armbar. Hart tries another criss cross, but again Smith gets the better of it - countering a Samoan drop into a crucifix for two. Armbar, but this time Hart catches him with a kneelift as he starts a criss cross, and drops a leg on his challenger. Chinlock, so Davey tries to force a criss cross of his own - but gets leveled with a backelbow. Hart with a well executed inverted atomic drop, so Smith tries the crucifix again - this time Hart countering with a Samoan drop. Another criss cross allows Davey a monkey flip, but a blind charge into the corner gets him a face full of boot, and Bret bulldogs him. To the top rope for Davey to catch him with a slam, but a flying splash hits the mat. Hart rubs his nose in it for good measure, but a bodyslam is countered into a waistlock, so Hart hits the deck, and uses Smith's momentum to send him tumbling through the ropes. Vicious looking plancha looks like it nearly broke Davey's neck, and Hart adds a shot into the post for fun. Inside, Bret hammers the posted back, and hits a Russian legsweep for two. Series of uppercuts leaves Davey punch-drunk for a dropkick, and Bret backdrops him for two. Chinlock, but Davey forces to a vertical base, so Hart gives him a nice snap suplex for two. Back to the chinlock, but he can't hold Davey down long, and an attempt at a wild haymaker allows Smith to counter into a backslide for two. He can't turn the tide, however, and Hart hits a backbreaker. 2^nd rope elbowdrop gets two, and a hairpull slam has the crowd ferociously booing the Hitman. Bret responds by hammering Davey with another series of right hands, and he hooks a sleeper. Smith falls into the ropes to break, so Hart blasts him full on with a kick to the face before reapplying the hold. Davey powers out instead of using the ropes this time, and press slams Hart into the ropes out of a quick criss cross. Smith with a series of clotheslines for two, and another press slam gets two. Hanging vertical suplex gets two, and Bret takes his chest-first cross corner bump for two. Davey calls for the Running Powerslam, but it's only good for two - shocking the crowd. Davey tries another suplex to finish him, but Hart counters into a German suplex for two. Bret with a suplex of his own, but Smith reverses into a superplex for two - the crowd now losing their minds. Another criss cross ends in a double knockout, but lack of consciousness only slows Hart down a tad - crossing Davey's legs while they're on their backs, and maneuvering into the Sharpshooter. The crowd is freaking out, but Davey makes the ropes to give them a breather. Not for long, however, as Hart tries a sunset flip, only for Davey to drop to his knees and cradle the leg for the title at 25:20. Afterwards, Bret teases walking out, but ends up shaking hands, as Diana Hart-Smith joins in the celebration to close the show. This is match is pretty much universally loved (both by fans, and the WWE), and it's certainly well worked, dramatic, and hard hitting – but it tends to be overrated; Smith’s blowing up forcing a parade of restholds hurting it a lot. I liked this far more as a youngster, but not unlike erections, I was much less choosy back then, while these days I need something a bit more to get me going.  *** ¾

BUExperience: This show has everything going for it. From the big, majestic, open top stadium show atmosphere, to good booking (keeping the bad stuff short, and giving the big matches time), to a couple of well remembered classics on top – it’s easily one of the better WWF shows from the period. The Intercontinental title match has been beaten into the ground by the WWE putting it on nearly every DVD they release (much like Cracked.com’s ‘Die Hard rule,’ if you pick ten WWE DVDs at random, you’re likely to find the Hart/Smith match), but Warrior/Savage has been somewhat forgotten for political reasons, and it’s a shame, because it’s a classic that could have carried a show of this caliber on its own. ****