WWF SummerSlam 1992 (Version II)

Original Airdate: August 31, 1992

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

Opening Match: Money Inc v The Legion of Doom: Ted DiBiase starts with Hawk, and Ted tries to rattle him with chops, but Hawk ignores them, and DiBiase bails to the outside. Animal helps him back in, where Hawk is ready with a clothesline right back over the top - Animal then blasting him with his own clothesline on the outside. Tags all around, and Irwin R. Schyster throws a knee at Animal, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Animal press-slams him for two. Back to Hawk for a wristlock, but IRS quickly rakes the eyes to escape, and grabs a sleeper. Yeah, I'm not so sure a hold where Hawk has a chance to fall asleep is the most brilliant idea. He escapes (a miracle!), but misses a flying clothesline, and goes bumping all the way to the floor! DiBiase slams him out there, and then back in, Money Inc cut the ring in half. A very obvious bit of clipping I'd never noticed before: DiBiase is going for a suplex, and you can see a bunch of kids hanging out on the stairs in the crowd (out of their seats), but then they switch to a different camera angle as Hawk blocks, and the kids are long gone (probably sent back to their seats by security). Anyway, Animal gets the hot tag, but IRS saves Ted from the Doomsday Device, so Hawk knocks him out, and Animal powerslams Ted at 12:00. Good choice for an opener, though now I'm going to wonder how much was clipped out. * ¾ (Original Rating: * ¼)

Virgil v Nailz: Nailz goes right to choking Virgil at the bell, until Virgil manages to get in a few right hands and a clothesline. A dropkick rattles Nailz, but he shoves Virgil back into the corner for more choking. Virgil escapes again and tries a sunset flip, but Nailz blocks, so Virgil reroutes with a schoolboy for two. Nailz responds with more choking, and he tosses Virgil over the top for a beating on the floor. Back in, Virgil manages to get in some more right hands, but he eats a clothesline, and Nailz puts it away with a sleeper at 3:17. Nailz as atrociously bad here, but Virgil bumped around well, and kept the pace up. DUD (Original Rating: DUD)

Shawn Michaels v Rick Martel: Hitting in the face is barred, per special request by Sensational Sherri. Feeling out process to start, with both guys playing to Sherri. Martel manages to get control in the corner, but a 2^nd rope twisting bodypress misses, and works a wristlock. Martel reverses, and they both threaten to hit each other in the face before Rick tosses him over the top. Sherri runs to console him, so Rick responds by coming over and hugging her while Shawn is still down. Back in, Martel hits a backdrop, but Shawn hooks a rollup. The referee busts him for holding the tights, and Martel reverses - only to also get busted for holding the tights. Cute. Superkick (to the stomach) gets two, but Shawn gets busted using the ropes while trying a cradle in the corner, and Martel schoolboys him for two. Both guys start to get heated, and decide to slap each other (in the face - the horror!), but when it looks to lead to fists, Sherri collapses! Shawn heads out to the floor to try and resuscitate her, but Martel shoves him out of the way so that he can try. That leads to a brawl up the aisle (with fists flying) for a double countout at 8:06. The work between them was fine, but I found the angle to be silly. ½* (Original Rating: ½*)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Natural Disasters v The Beverly Brothers: The challengers attack before the bell, but the Disasters quickly shrug them off, and clean house. The dust settles on Typhoon and Blake Beverly, with Typhoon knocking him around, but missing a legdrop. Blake stupidly tries to bodyslam him, but gets toppled for two. I know, Fred Ottman toppling over... I'm surprised too. Typhoon hits an avalanche, but Earthquake ends up hitting his own partner with an avalanche thanks to interference by Beau Beverly. Serves them right. If you're a typhoon, you're a typhoon. Stop trying to infringe on snows territory. The Brothers cut the ring in half on Typhoon, but Earthquake manages to get the hot tag (great, now they're infringing on fire's gimmick!), and Roseanne Barr the door! The champs hit a tandem avalanche (STOP IT!!), and the Earthquake Splash finishes at 10:30. Well, at least it was the right natural disaster that did it. Nothing special, but it was energetic enough, and the crowd was hot, though it overstayed its welcome a bit. * (Original Rating: ¼*)

Crush v Repo Man: Man, they sold a ton of those foam fingers for this show, didn't they? Repo attacks from behind, but Crush no-sells everything, and delivers a five-alarm press-slam to send him to the outside. Seeing Barry Darsow dressed as Repo is such a departure from his look as Smash that it's almost hard to believe he could ever have been at all intimidating, let alone a badass. It's also hard to believe he was only in his twenties during the Demolition days, because he always seemed older. Repo manages to get a single move in in the form of a side suplex, but Crush no-sells, and hits a backbreaker to setup a flying kneedrop - which misses. The tape then cuts to Crush making his comeback (Repo likely hammered the knee for a minute there), and the head crusher finishes at 4:52. ¼* (Original Rating: ¼*)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v Ultimate Warrior: They shake hands to start, but don't trust each other. Savage shrugs off an early power display by the Warrior with a pair of clotheslines, but a flying axehandle ends badly, and the challenger atomic drops him. An inverted version follows, and Warrior throws a big clothesline for two. Pair of shoulderblocks setup an elbowdrop, but Macho moves, and kneedrops him for two. Man, they're not wasting any time getting down to business here. Randy works a chinlock, but Warrior quite quickly escapes with a stunner, and he adds a facebuster for two. Losing all the extra muscle mass seems to have made Warrior a lot less susceptible to blowing up after only a few minutes of action. He hammers Savage in the corner, and a short-clothesline is worth two. Randy manages to drop him into the turnbuckles to fight off another attack, and he follows up by clothesling his challenger over the top. Back in, Randy hooks the leg for two, and another try at the flying axehandle connects, but doesn't take Warrior off of his feet. Another one does for two, but a flying bodypress is countered with a backbreaker for two. Warrior with a series of cross corner whips to setup a bearhug, but he quickly lets off to cover for two. Wow, Warrior has had two chances to hang out in restholds, and both lasted a combined ten seconds - which is insane for him! Warrior with a sidewalk slam for two, so Macho tries a small package for two, and delivers a swinging neckbreaker for two. Macho snaps his throat across the top rope for two, but he can't muster the strength for a vertical suplex, and Warrior capitalizes by hammering the back. Warrior with his own vertical suplex for two, but a charge misses, and he goes crashing out of the ring. Savage capitalizes with a flying axehandle out there (aided by a great camera angle), and he sends his challenger into the steps, then the post for good measure. Inside, that gets two, and Randy tries a piledriver, but gets backdropped - hanging on into a sunset cradle for two. Warrior throws a clothesline for two, as Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect make their way down the long aisle. Warrior with a bodyslam to setup a splash, but Savage lifts his knees to block for two, as Flair and Perfect arrive at ringside. Criss cross ends in a double knockout spot, as the crowd sits on the edge of their seats waiting to see what Flair and Perfect are going to do. Randy is up first, but gets tripped up by Perfect as he runs the ropes, and that allows Warrior to attack. The referee gets bumped in the process, and there's no one to count when Warrior delivers a bodyslam and a flying axehandle. The referee recovers to make a dramatic two count, which Warrior argues - allowing Savage to attack with a high knee that takes the referee out a second time. Macho follows up with a piledriver, but there's no one to count. He goes to the outside to revive the official, allowing Perfect to come into the ring to help Warrior up - only to hold him for Flair to nail with some brass knux! Savage didn't see any of it, and with the battered official back in play, he bodyslams Warrior to setup the Flying Elbowdrop for another dramatic two count! Randy keeps hammering, but now Warrior is starting to no-sell everything, and he mounts his comeback. Jumping shoulderblock leads to the press-drop, but Flair hits him with a chair as he runs the ropes to add the splash! Savage didn't see it, but he's no fool, and he knows something is amiss there. He questions the referee, but he didn't see anything. Warrior is down and beat, and now Randy is faced with a dilemma. He goes up for another Flying Elbowdrop, but has a change of heart, and dives out after Flair instead! That ends badly when Ric swats him out of the air with the chair, and Macho is counted out at 26:15. Afterwards, Flair and Perfect assault the champion, but Warrior saves, and they make nice. This was a great match, coupled with a great angle. Tons of hard work here from both men (Warrior especially was performing way beyond his pay grade, so to speak), loaded with fantastic near falls throughout, keeping a good pace for over twenty five minutes, and telling a terrific story. Like their WrestleMania VII match, the actual move set was very basic, but the way they told the story made up for whatever it lacked in shooting star presses. Savage especially was just masterful at getting the well booked angle over, and while the finish was a letdown, the overall match delivered. And, besides, the finish made sense within context. Savage hitting the Elbow and taking the cheap win would have been totally out of character, and diving after Flair was a very Macho Man thing to do. Still a classic, even all these years later. **** ¼ (Original Rating: **** ¼)

Undertaker v Kamala: Undertaker controls early on, and hits the ropewalk forearm right away. Another one, but Kamala pulls him down, and they spill to the outside for a brawl around ringside. Back in, Kamala controls with some weak chops, but a clothesline misses, and Undertaker chokeslams his Ugandan ass. The timing throughout here has been terrible. Jumping clothesline and the Tombstone looks to finish, but Kimchee runs in for the DQ at 3:39. I realized that I've seen this match probably, at a minimum, ten times over the last twenty five years, and that's about nine times too many. -½* (Original Rating: DUD)

Main Event: WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart v Davey Boy Smith: Davey Boy has Lennox Lewis with him as a flag bearer. Feeling out process to start, with Bulldog bringing the power, but Hart able to outwrestle him to control. Bret hooks a rollup for two and an inside cradle for two, and he grabs a headlock, but Smith counters to a hammerlock. Hart responds by rattling him with an elbow instead of a wrestling counter, but Bulldog is able to reverse a wristlock, and they continue feeling each other out. Smith with a slingshot into the corner and a crucifix for two, but he runs into a knee as they criss cross, and Bret heels it up a bit by putting the boots to him. Legdrop and an inverted atomic drop rattle the challenger, so he tries to go back to the well with another crucifix, but Hart counters with a Samoan drop for two. Davey escapes a chinlock and hits a monkeyflip, but hits boot on a corner charge, and the Hitman adds insult to injury by bulldogging the Bulldog. He goes up, but Smith slams him down off the top - only to miss a flying splash follow-up. Knowing everything that's come out about this match since, it's very interesting to watch just how much Bret really does carry Davey. I mean, he's basically wrestling himself at points. Reversal sequence ends in Bulldog getting knocked out of the ring, and the Hitman dives out onto him with a nasty plancha. He follows up with a ram into the post before bringing it back in for a Russian legsweep for two. Bret with a few European uppercuts to setup a dropkick, and he backdrops his brother-in-law for two. Smith is just on another planet here. Hart seems to think so as well, as he grabs a chinlock for a chat session. Bret with a snap suplex for two, but another uppercut is countered with a backslide for two. Davey has no follow-up though, and Bret pointed elbowdrops him, then hits a backbreaker to setup a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Hart keeps heeling it up with some right hands, and a snapmare sets up another chinlock. Bret being forced to slow things down and take it back to the mat between every two moves is killing this, though he's obviously doing everything he can with what he has to work with. Sleeper looks to finish, but Smith gets into the ropes, with Bret taking his sweet time to release the hold. Back to the sleeper away from the ropes, but Davey powers out, and tries a press-slam - only to drop the champion into the ropes! Smith keeps coming with a corner whip and a series of clotheslines for two, and a proper press-slam is worth two. Hanging vertical suplex gets two, and a cross corner whip (chest-first) gets two. Bulldog hits the Running Powerslam to finish, but Bret gets a shoulder up at two! He's battered, however, and has to fight to avoid falling out of the ring. Smith looks to capitalize with a vertical suplex, but Hart counters with a well executed bridging German suplex for two. Vertical suplex, but Davey counters with a superplex for two! Criss cross ends in a double knockout, and Bret manages to apply the Sharpshooter from down on the mat! He's got it hooked on, but Davey gets the ropes to save himself. Bret goes for the kill with a sunset flip, but Bulldog drops down to cradle the legs, and we have a new champion at 25:11. I thought I might have underrated this one the first time, but I still don't see this as even four stars, let alone five. And I’m really not trying to be too cool for the room as the one guy who doesn’t think this is an all time classic – I’m pretty much the biggest Bret Hart fan you'll ever meet. I just don’t see what everyone else does with this one. No argument that it is a monumental performance by Hart, but having to stop and chinlock Davey Boy every two minutes messed with the flow a lot for me. *** ½  (Original Rating: *** ¾)

BUExperience: Pretty much the perfect blend of wrestling and sports entertainment. Sure, it's basically a two match show, but both of those matches are very strong (even if I don’t think as highly of Bret/Bulldog as everyone else seems to, it’s still unquestionably a very good match), and at the level (as well as length) where one alone could carry a show. Couple that with the great atmosphere (the stadium venue and a hot crowd), and you've got not only a winner, but one of my all time favorite shows.

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