WWF SummerSlam 1993

As the summer of 1993 rolled around, the WWF found itself in need of a hero. With Hulk Hogan leaving the promotion after losing the WWF Title to Yokozuna at the King of the Ring, Vince McMahon needed a new, All-American challenger for the kids to cheer against his foreign heel champion. While the kids (and their parents) were already cheering for former WWF Champion Bret Hart in an increasingly vocal manner, the WWF decided to turn Lex Luger face by having him bodyslam the mammoth Yokozuna during a bodyslam challenge on July 4. After the hasty face turn and announced SummerSlam main event between the two, the WWF sent Lex Luger from coast to coast in a patriotic tour bus (dubbed the ‘Lex Express’) to drum up support on his way to battling Yokozuna for the title at SummerSlam.

From Auburn Hills, Michigan; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan.


Opening Match: Ted DiBiase v Razor Ramon: This came about when heel Ramon lost to (a still jobber-level) 1-2-3 Kid on RAW, and was teased about it by DiBiase - who then offered him a job as his houseboy. Naturally, that triggered a face turn, since gainful employment is STUPID! DiBiase jumps Razor while he's taking off his ridiculous amounts of gold chains (he was asking for it), but had the decency to let him keep his hot pink vest on while he chops him. Into the ropes, but Ramon reverses, and backdrops him. Blockbuster sends DiBiase scurrying to the outside, and he hangs out there for a bit to kill the momentum. Back inside, Razor forces him into the corner off of a collar-and-elbow tie-up, and levels him with a lariat coming out. Another pair of clotheslines sends Ted crashing over the top, and a slingshot brings him back in, so DiBiase begs off - and suckers an overconfident Ramon into the turnbuckle. Ted chokes away, and catches him with a solid backelbow coming out of the ropes. Backbreaker gets two, so DiBiase tries a chinlock to ground the Bad Guy. Razor fights up to a vertical base, but DiBiase catches him with a kneelift coming out of the ropes, and gives him a swinging neckbreaker followed by a suplex. He calls for the Million Dollar Dream, but Ramon sidesteps him, and whips him into the ropes for a clothesline. He can't turn the tide, however, and gets dumped to the floor to allow DiBiase to pull off one of the top turnbuckle pads. Razor reverses him into it, of course, and the Razor's Edge finishes things at 7:32. This actually ended up being DiBiase's final match, as settled into managerial duties by 1994. And he went out like a man - doing a clean job for the next guy. * ½

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Steiner Brothers v The Heavenly Bodies: The Bodies jump them at the bell, but they clearly didn't learn anything from DiBiase earlier, as you can't beat a guy down if he still has his entrance gear on. And, indeed, the Steiner's destroy them with suplexes to clean house, until Scott Steiner starts with Tom Prichard to get us officially underway. Scott quickly press slams him, and tags Rick Steiner in for a short-clothesline. Prichard bails to regroup with partner Jimmy Del Ray and manager Jim Cornette, but I guess the chat didn't go too well, 'cause he walks right into an inverted atomic drop from Scott as he reenters. A cheap shot from Del Ray turns the tide, however, and hits a flying axehandle. DDT follows, and Prichard tags in as the Bodies start cutting the ring in half. Scott manages a double-underhook powerbomb to get the tag off to Rick, and he's a doghouse of fire to trigger a four-way brawl. The Bodies try their darndest to cheat and double-team their way to the titles, but Scott catches Del Ray with a Frankensteiner for the  pin at 9:28. Basic Midnight Express/Road Warriors 80s-formula here, down to the transitions and timing of the comebacks. *

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Mr. Perfect: These two had been pissing on each other's legs since WrestleMania IX, when the two got into a backstage altercation. The WWF also spent a significant amount of time promoting this as a classic between the two greatest Intercontinental champions in history - banking on these two to deliver a memorable performance. Shawn wins the first lockup with a takedown, but lets off Perfect to go showboat for bodyguard Diesel in the corner. That allows Perfect to take the cocky (cokey?) Michaels down with a snapmare, and he hooks a hammerlock on the mat. Shawn forces it back to a vertical base, but can't reverse, so he runs the ropes to take Perfect down with a side-headlock - only for Perfect to grab him in a headscissors to break. Frustrated, Shawn backs off, and tries closed fists as they tie-up again. A backelbow puts Perfect in the corner, but he dodges Michaels coming in, and takes him to the mat in an armbar. Shawn tries a dropkick, but Perfect sidesteps, and sends him flying over the top with a slingshot. Diesel distracts him out there for Shawn to superkick, and Michaels dives after him with an axehandle off of the apron. Inside, Shawn drives a series of knees to the back, and then drops a series of elbows - his tights looking about ready to explode due to his weight gain during this period. He must have felt them start to give, too, as he slows down, and hammers the back with stomps instead. Backbreaker holds into a submission, but Perfect slugs free, and dropkicks him. Backdrop and a kneelift set up an inverted atomic drop for two, and he hits the Perfect-plex, but Diesel breaks up the count, and Perfect gets counted out brawling with him on the floor at 11:18. Not a bad match, but certainly not the classic they were promoting it as, with both guys trying to push way too hard to make it a classic - like pointless reversal sequences (that didn't build to anything) and faux psychology, with Shawn's weight gain not doing them any favors. It was almost as if they had sat down and watched tapes of stuff like Flair/Steamboat or Savage/Steamboat, and ended up with a diluted copy. Meanwhile, on commentary, Vince and Bobby sell it as one of the greatest matches they've ever seen. Hell, it wasn't even the best Intercontinental Title match that year, let alone ever. * ½   

The 1-2-3 Kid v IRS: Kid catches him with a spinheel kick right away for two, so IRS backs off to stall him. It works well, as Kid charges his way into a kneelift, and gets flapjacked out of the ropes. IRS tries it again, but Kid counters with a well executed dropkick for two. That just serves to piss the taxman off, however, and he launches Kid to the floor in response. Slingshot back in, but Kid somersaults into a rollup for two. Again, it only serves to anger IRS, and he hooks the Kid in a rope-assisted abdominal stretch. Kid comes back with lightning kicks, and a flying moonsault gets him a two count. Magistral cradle gets two, and an enzuigiri for two, but a criss cross gets him blasted with the Write Off at 5:44 - deflating the crowd. Very odd booking there, as they had been getting behind pushing Kid as an underdog favorite in the weeks leading up to this (starting with his shock victory over Razor Ramon on RAW), and IRS didn't need the win nearly as much. Despite the booking, the match was still well worked, and energetic. *

Bret Hart v Doink: This was originally scheduled as Hart/Jerry Lawler (stemming from Lawler's attack on Hart when he won the King of the Ring two months prior), but poor Lawler comes out on crutches and goes into a long, funny story about how he got into a tragic car accident and can’t wrestle - with Bobby Heenan hilariously backing him up on commentary. The end result is that Lawler offers up court jester Doink the Clown to take his place, and Hart accepts 'cause he's already got a hard-on, and he might as well use it. Bret destroys him at the bell - unloading a series of closed fists, and clotheslining him over the top. Bret keeps clown bashing on the outside, so Doink begs off on the way back in - but no luck, as Hart keeps pounding him. He drives Doink's face into the mat from the top rope, and stops to taunt Lawler, but he's so pissed that even that isn't enough to allow Doink to take over. Hart headbutts the clown to make sure he doesn't interfere, and goes for Jerry on the floor, but Doink jumps him from behind, and rams him into the steps. Doink with a flying axehandle on the way back in, and a kneebreaker leaves Bret on his back. Doink wastes no time posting the knee (Lawler gleefully cheering him on from the floor), and hooks the leg for two. Doink ties him up in an STF, but Bill Watts isn't booking, so it doesn't work. Stump puller, but they're in the ropes, so that doesn't get him. Bret's still too battered to capitalize, however, so Doink slams him, and heads up for the Whoopee Cushion - only to hit raised knees. Hart unloads a Russian legsweep and 2^nd rope elbowdrop to set up the Sharpshooter, but Jerry Lawler makes a miraculous recovery to run in and whack Hart with the crutch for a disqualification at 9:05. Lawler goes ballistic on him with it, but his pranks backfire when WWF President Jack Tunney enters the picture, and tells Lawler to showdown with Hart in a match then and there, or face permanent suspension. And the battle of the sex maniacs is a go! As for this match, it was total TV fare - though Doink's psychology coupled with Hart's selling was good stuff. * ¼  

Bret Hart v Jerry Lawler: Bret doesn't give him a chance to think it over, instead jumping Jerry in the aisle, and beating him into the ring. Bret with a backdrop, and a low blow to Lawler to the floor, where Jerry uses the crutch to turn the tide. Lawler chokes him with it (with great facial expressions from Hart to sell it), and he dick rams him into the post as a receipt for earlier. Lawler brings the crutch inside (the crowd losing their minds in the process), and leaves Bret slumped in the corner from the beating. Bret pulls down both straps in frustration, and starts firing off right hands before hitting a backbreaker for two. Piledriver sets up a 2^nd rope elbowdrop, and Hart locks on the Sharpshooter. That gets a quick submission at 6:32, but Bret isn't satisfied, and won't let off the hold after the bell - the referee eventually forced to reverse the decision, and calling in a horde of Officials to get him off. Not a great match, but really entertaining segment, and a satisfying blowoff. *

Ludvig Borga v Marty Jannetty: Borga destroys him in the corner with a Vader-like series of forearm shots, then flapjacks him - adding a gut-punch on the way down to punctuate it. More body shots in the corner (I guess Marty must have misunderstood, and signed up for all the shots possible), but he figures it out and starts to slug back - only to get clotheslined coming out of the ropes. Bearhug, but Marty gets uppity again, so Borga blasts him with another clothesline, and locks him in a torture rack for the submission at 5:15. Jannetty was just a couple of months removed from his Intercontinental Title run, but this was just a complete, total, and unapologetic squash. ¼*

Rest in Peace Match: The Undertaker v Giant Gonzalez: This came about when their negative four star classic at WrestleMania ended indecisively. 'Rest in Peace' is fancy talk for no disqualification rules, though they don't bother clarifying that until the ring introductions, since it's so underwhelming they knew it wouldn't sell. 'Taker shoves him into the corner with a chokehold, but gets distracted by Gonzalez manager Harvey Wippleman (who had stolen the coveted urn during the buildup), and Gonzalez throws him around. They end up on the floor for a slugfest, and Gonzalez nails him with a chair to soften him up for a whip into the steps. Gonzalez 'hits' him with the loosest forearm shots this side of Heroes of Wrestling, and drags him around inside the ring, as Paul Bearer (making his return, after suffering a kayfabe injury at the hands of another Wippleman client, Mr. Hughes a few months prior) comes down the aisle. Gonzalez keeps massaging Undertaker in the corner as Bearer steals back the urn from Wippleman, but that distracts the Giant long enough for the Undertaker to make a comeback with a series of clotheslines. Flying clothesline spices things up, but that's more workrate than Gonzalez can handle, and it's over at 8:04. This was essentially the end of Gonzalez's run (he stuck around on TV until October, doing nothing of note), and I'm still surprised they didn't book this as a retirement match considering he was done anyway. The match was better than their WrestleMania battle, but that's like saying cancer is better than AIDS. -** ½

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Tatanka and The Smoking Gunns v Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers: Tatanka starts with Bigelow, and Bam Bam slams him with a shoulderblock. Tatanka with one of his own, and a dropkick dazes Bigelow enough to backdrop. Criss cross ends when both men try a bodypress and collide in midair, and crawl for tags to Billy Gunn and Fatu. Gunn wins that showdown with a facebuster and flying clothesline, but Samu tags in to headbutt Billy down. He fails to cut the ring in half, however, and that's a tag to Bart Gunn. He comes in hot, but loses a criss cross, and gets his face slammed into the mat. Tag to Bigelow with some headbutts of his own, and a dropkick gets two. Fatu tags to help cut the ring in half on Bart, but Bigelow misses an avalanche, and Tatanka tags. He's a teepee of fire, but Bigelow blasts him with an enzuigiri, and passes to Samu for a 2^nd rope falling headbutt. That triggers a six-way brawl, but the heels miss a visually impressive triple flying headbutt, and Tatanka schoolboys Samu for the pin at 11:15. Fun match, making good use of quick tags during the heat segment, and building to a nice ending - the triple flying headbutt bit still fantastic. *

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Yokozuna v Lex Luger: Despite the colossal PR campaign, Luger failed to properly catch on with WWF fans as the new Hulk Hogan-like super babyface - though he does get a good reaction here, by default. Yokozuna has the Japanese National Anthem performed live during the entrances, but he can’t do that! This is the land of the free! Luckily, Aaron Neville is there to save the day with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before an innocent bystander is exposed to any of that nasty 'culture' stuff. Big staredown gets Yokozuna manager Mr. Fuji nervous, and he tries to distract Luger for Yoko to avalanche, but Lex dodges, and slugs away. He goes after the leg to try and take the champion down, but when that only gets middling results, he goes with a sure fire low blow. Elbowdrop gets two, but Yoko gets back to his feet, so Luger railroads him into the corner for some more closed fists. Cross corner clothesline into a ten-punch count, but Luger gets leveled with a lariat as Yoko charges out of the corner. Fuji tries to add a handful of salt to make sure, but Luger dodges him, and goes for a bodyslam - but his back gives out, and Yoko blasts him with a savate kick. Headbutt leaves Luger crawling on his hands and knees, and another sends him tumbling to the outside for Yoko to choke-o with a handful of electrical cable. He props Lex up against the ringpost for an avalanche, but an attempt at a chair shot misses, and Luger rolls him in for a 2^nd rope axehandle. Flying version still can't take Yoko off of his feet, but a flying forearm does the job, and gets the challenger a two count. Running forearm to the back of the head gets two, but another try ends in a double knockout spot. Fuji passes Yoko is wooden salt bucket to take control with, but Yoko is too battered (see: winded) to properly capitalize, and it only gets two. Belly-to-belly suplex gets two, and Yoko is running out of gas quickly - plodding around the ring on offense. A side suplex gets two, and Yoko hits a wall, and takes a break with a nervehold. Luger powers up for another bodyslam attempt, but gets toppled for two, and Yoko drops a leg for two. Banzi Drop, but Luger rolls out of the way, and FLAGS UP!! Fists of Fury! Bodyslam! Running Forearm Smash! (with the elbow pad pulled down to expose the steel plate in his arm!)! but that knocks Yoko to the floor, and Luger gleefully counts along with the referee - getting a victory by countout, and therefore not winning the title at 17:58. Afterwards, Randy Savage and a group of babyfaces run in to celebrate with Luger, as balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling like it's a political convention. Which it sort of is – one campaigning for your vote for Lex Luger in the rematch. Or, like, a proper celebration if he had actually won the title. The extraneous celebration led to years of rumor that the ending was botched, and that Luger was supposed to have gotten him back in for the real win, but that was actually the original booking - supposed to build to Luger getting the title later. Unfortunately, the fans never got behind Luger enough to justify a WWF Title run (if anything, they became more indifferent after this), and for many who remembered Luger's previous career in WCW, it just solidified his reputation as a choker. Yokozuna doing practically anything for eighteen minutes sounds horrible (eating contest sounds awesome), but both guys worked honestly hard, kept the resting to a minimum, and this worked as a decent monster/superhero style match. **

BUExperience: After all the success Vince McMahon had with Hulk Hogan over the years, you really can’t blame him for trying to recapture that lightning (especially with business down), but Lex Luger wasn’t getting near the type of response needed to justify the money being spent on his PR. Meanwhile, Bret Hart was blowing the roof off the joint in the midcard, but the WWF would continue to have Luger chase Yokozuna for a few more months before finally giving in, and giving the fans Hart as champion again.

As for the show, it was completely solid from top to bottom (with one notable exception), but nothing particularly notable, memorable, or historically significant – with  bad ending. This wasn’t well received in 1993 (critically or commercially), and time hasn’t been kind to it – essentially a forgotten show, and for good reason. *