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Opening Match: 1-2-3 Kid v Hakushi: Feeling out process to start, with lots of stalemates. Hakushi takes control in the corner, and hits a cross corner whip, then puts Kid down with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Another cross corner whip sets up the handspring backelbow, and Hakushi dives at him with a bronco buster. He strikes at Kid with some kicks to the leg, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope pump-splash for two. Nervehold, and Hakushi delivers a backdrop before spinkicking Kid out of the ring. He dives after him with the space flying tiger drop, and nails a flying shoulderblock for two on the way back in. Bodyslam sets up a flying headbutt, but Kid rolls out of the way, and he starts mounting a comeback. Dropkick sends Hakushi to the outside, so Kid dives with a springboard bodypress, and a slingshot legdrop is worth two on the way back inside. Kid with his own bodyslam to set up a flying frogsplash for two, but a spinheel kick is countered with a slam, and Hakushi gets three at 9:29. Big letdown, as it felt like they were on totally different pages here, and couldn't really come together. * ¾ (Original rating: * ½)
Bob Holly v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: Holly comes at him with a bodyslam right away, so HHH hides out in the ropes. That allows him to pop Bob with a cheap shot, and he goes to work in the corner, but runs into an elbow while trying a cross corner whip. Holly with a cross corner whip of his own, but HHH counters the resulting charge with a hotshot, and unloads in the corner. You know, I'm surprised they didn't go with the racecar driver gimmick with Harley Race when he had his WWF run. Helmsley with a backbreaker and a kneedrop for two, and he delivers a vertical suplex to set up a second kneedrop for two. Chinlock, and this match is so exciting that we cut to a split screen to watch Davey Boy Smith arriving at the arena. Helmsley tries an abdominal stretch, but Holly reverses, so HHH hiptosses him over the top. Back in, Holly manages a DDT, followed by a dropkick, and he hits Helmsley with an inverted atomic drop to set up a clothesline. Backdrop follows, and a corner whip sets up another dropkick. Another backdrop, but Holly telegraphs it, and the Pedigree finishes at 7:12. This was fine, but felt like it belonged on TV, not pay per view. * (Original rating: ½*)
The Smoking Gunns v The Blu Brothers: Billy Gunn starts with Jacob Blu, and he gets knocked around to start. Over to Eli Blu for a bodyslam to set up a pair of elbowdrops, then back to Jacob, but Billy manages a schoolboy for two, and adds a rocker dropper before tagging. Bart Gunn comes flying in with an axehandle, but Eli snaps his throat across the top rope in a cheap shot. Bart fires back with a bodypress for two, and tags Billy a tandem move, but Billy gets caught in the wrong corner, and hit with a tandem powerbomb for two. The Blu Brothers cut the ring in half on Billy, but Jacob runs into a facebuster during a criss cross, and Bart gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door! The Blu's try to double up, but end up getting their heads bashed together, and the Sidewinder finishes up at 6:07. Another one that didn't really feel pay per view worthy in this era. It's like we've time traveled back to the late 80s, when any two name guys fighting was important. Except that it's actually 1995, and we'd already grown accustomed to seeing matches with at least something of a back-story behind them on pay per view undercards. ½* (Original rating: DUD)
Skip v Barry Horowitz: Horowitz charges right in to blitz Skip, beating the Bodydonna all around the ring, before getting suckered into a cheap shot in the corner. Skip tries a cross corner whip, but gets reversed, and Horowitz rolls him up for two. Barry with a vertical suplex over the top to the floor, so Sunny throws in the towel, begging the referee to stop it. He ignores her, telling her that 'this isn't boxing.' No wonder Bob Backlund snapped! Sunny goes to plan-b, and trips Horowitz up as he comes off the ropes, allowing Skip to take control. He hits a snap suplex to set up a 2nd rope flying legdrop, and a gutwrench slam sets up a 2nd rope flying fistdrop. Skip with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, but Barry manages to roll out of the way, and hit a shoulderblock for two. Another shoulderblock gets two, and a sunset flip is worth two, but Horowitz runs into a clothesline before he can keep coming. Skip grounds him in a mat-based abdominal stretch, but Barry escapes with a Thesz-press for two, so Skip powerslams his ass, and delivers a series of three sliding legdrops for two. Criss cross sees both men try dropkicks at the same time, so Skip tries to go to the top, but Horowitz crotches him up there. Superplex, but Skip manages to block, and he dives with a flying splash for two. Piledriver, but Horowitz counters with a backdrop, and sticks a dropkick. He goes up, so Sunny shakes the ropes to crotch him on the top, and Skip brings him down to earth with a vertical superplex. Meanwhile, Hakushi makes his way down to ringside, and the distraction allows Barry a small package for his one and only pay per view victory at 11:21. I get why, but damn, I hated that finish. Fun match though, with both guys working hard. ** ½ (Original rating: * ¼)
WWF Women's Title Match: Alundra Blayze v Bertha Faye: Ah, right, the Bertha Faye era. Blayze throws a few quick strikes to start, but gets run over by the larger challenger. Faye with a pair of legdrops for two, but Blayze manages a victory roll for two, so Faye thumps her again. Bodyslam gets two, so Alundra comes at her with a series of three matslams, but Harvey Wippleman distracts the referee to prevent a pin. Alundra chases him around before getting back to Bertha with a crucifix for two, and a rana is worth two. A pair of 2nd rope flying dropkick connect, but a third is less successful, and Faye grabs the gold with a sitout powerbomb at 4:37. Sometimes I bitch that they should combine the RAW and Smackdown women's divisions onto one show today so that they wouldn't be so thin on each side, but I should stop and remember the mid-90s, when the entire 'division' was all of two or three people at a time. If that. ½* (Original rating: DUD)
Casket Match: Undertaker v Kama: Undertaker attacks him at the bell, and tosses
Bret Hart v Isaac Yankem: This is Yankem's in-ring debut, after months of build. Yankem comes hard at the Hitman, but Bret is able to stick and move. Hart with an inverted atomic drop and a pair of clotheslines, then a third to send Isaac over the top! Hart dives after him with a plancha (with Yankem not doing a great job of catching him, and Bret nearly cracking his neck), and the Hitman takes him back inside for a pointed elbowdrop. 2nd rope flying clothesline sets up the Sharpshooter, but Yankem blocks, so Hart headbutt drops him in the groin instead. Hart with a turnbuckle smash and a rollup for two, followed by a backslide for two. Bodypress, but Yankem counters by press-dropping Hart into the ropes, in sloppy fashion. Bret landed with his arm in the ropes instead of his throat. Yankem with a cross corner whip, and he grabs a vicious looking hangman, but Bret manages to backflip into a small package for two. That hold looked great, but they went to the counter too soon, before they milked the heat. Yankem sends Hart over the top with a clothesline, and he follows out to ram Bret back-first into the post. Bret always made any bump involving the post (inside or outside) look brutal. Yankem drapes him over the top rope for a flying legdrop to the back of the head on the way back in, and he hooks the leg for two. Lawler is in all his glory calling this on commentary. Yankem with a short-clothesline for two, but he bumps to the outside off of the kickout (not sure why, as it wasn't especially forceful), so Bret dives after him with a plancha. That was a sloppy transition. Back in, Hart bulldogs him for two, and a Russian legsweep gets two. Backbreaker sets up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop, and he gets the Sharpshooter applied this time, but Lawler helps Isaac to the ropes. That distracts Bret enough for Yankem to recover, but Hart backdrops him over the top when he charges. Yankem lands on his feet, however, and he pulls Bret to the floor for a whip into the steps. Yankem goes to the top on the way back in, but Bret slams him off, and corners the dentist for a ten-punch count. Bret slides to the outside and sweeps Yankem down in the corner, tying his feet together using some cable, and putting the boots for the dentist. Cue a distraction from Lawler, and as Bret beats the piss out of him on the outside, Yankem dives with a flying axehandle! Back in, Hart manages to win a criss cross with a forearm, but Lawler trips him up, and Isaac sneak attacks again - hanging Bret in the ropes for a double team until the referee disqualifies him at 16:08. Yankem didn't really look ready for prime time at this point, but the match was structured well enough that a mannequin could have made those last few minutes work with Bret guiding them. Weak finish, but I get why, as it wouldn't make sense to beat Yankem in his first match, and I get not wanting to job Bret to a dentist either. * ¾ (Original rating: **)
WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels v Razor Ramon: Dok Hendrix takes over for Lawler here, and for the rest of the show. To say expectations were high for this would be a massive understatement. I can only imagine the pressure both guys must have been under, and how getting the last minute curveball that they couldn't use the ladder as a weapon must have added to that. Razor was really phoning in his outfits for the bulk of '95, wasn't he? They go right at each other to start, and Razor manages to avoid the Superkick during a furious criss cross. Shawn jabs him in the corner, but nearly gets caught in the Razor's Edge during a reversal, but manages to hit the deck to block. Shawn bumps to the outside following a corner whip, so Razor hops out to grabs the ladder, but Michaels dives onto him in the aisle before he can reach it. Shawn tries to suplex him back into the ring, but Ramon reverses to the outside, with Michaels smacking his ankle into the guardrail on the way down! Ouch! Still, he crawls for the ladder, but Ramon easily catches up to him, and takes him back into the ring. Razor's Edge, so Shawn counters with the Superkick, but Ramon manages to block, and both men end up looking up at the lights following a double clothesline. Ramon with a pair of corner whips, leaving Michaels flat across the top rope, so Razor brings him down with a fallaway slam off the middle! Razor goes out for the ladder, and manages to get hold of it this time, as we see that Sycho Sid is watching from backstage on a monitor. Ramon gets the ladder to ringside, so Shawn tries a baseball slide, but Razor dodges. Nice callback to the WrestleMania match there. Razor gets the ladder in and climbs, but Shawn manages to tip him over, as the crowd freaks out! Shawn picks up the ladder and accidentally hits Ramon with it while trying to set it up (you can hear the nerves in Vince's voice as it looks as if he may use it as a weapon), but Ramon tips him off to stop a climb. Shawn ends up with his leg wedged in the ladder, and Razor stomps it in there a few times. Razor then bashes Shawn's leg into the ladder a few times, and uses the ladder to sweep the leg - he 'slipped,' according to the announcers. Ramon bodyslams Michaels onto the ladder, but a whip into a corner wedged ladder fails because Shawn's knee is so battered that he collapses half way. Ramon responds by trying for a figure four, but Shawn uses his free leg to shoves Ramon into the wedged ladder. The knee prevents him from following up, however, so Razor picks his ass up, and drops him knee-first into the ladder! He keeps absolutely destroying the leg, with Shawn of course selling it all like death, and working in his hope spots at the right times. He finally makes another climb attempt, but despite all of the abuse, Shawn manages to get himself to the top rope, and dive at Razor with a flying axehandle to stop the climb. Razor responds by trying a slam, but Shawn manages to shove him into the ladder to block, and this time Ramon isn't recovering quite as quickly as before. He still manages to climb the ladder, but he's moving slowly, and Shawn is able to side suplex him down off of it! Shawn is up first this time, and he cross corner whips his challenger into the ladder a couple of times, then bodyslams him. He climbs up for a flying moonsault press off of the ladder, then back up with a flying splash to try and finish things, but Razor rolls out of the way! Again, nice callback to WrestleMania X, where Shawn landed that one. Both men stagger up opposite sides of the ladder for a slugfest, with Ramon dominating, so Shawn tips the ladder to crotch Razor across the top rope to save himself. I mean, he gets crotched TOO, but better than losing, right? It's like a war of attrition. Shawn tries charging with the ladder, but Razor ducks, and Michaels goes crashing out of the ring with it. Michaels recovers first, and climbs, but Ramon pulls him off with the Razor's Edge! Razor climbs, but Shawn starts scaling a second ladder, and hits Ramon with a Superkick at the top! That leaves him alone up there, but the ladder is too far over, so Shawn tries leaping for the belt - but falls short, and crashes to the canvas! Ramon is up first and tries the Edge again, but Shawn counters with a backdrop over the top. He climbs, but fails to get the belt unhooked, and crashes down! That was supposed to be the finish, and Shawn is not shy about freaking out over the botch. He gets it together, climbs again, and Michaels retains at 24:58. This was tremendous! Even the botched finish didn't ruin it, because it just added some more drama. The original is still the better of the two, but this is another bonafide classic, and managed to deliver even with the insanely high expectations and hype surrounding it. People talk about how Shawn Michaels was the standout great performer of 1995, but other than this classic, I can't think of any matches he had that year that broke four-stars. I know people will disagree, but I've always thought of 1995 as the year Bret Hart saved. Yes, he did have some of his weakest major matches that year, and most of his feuds were really shitty (both of which are probably why people probably don't think of him), but between the two Diesel matches, the Bulldog match in December, and the Hakushi match on TV, I think he put up more than Shawn overall. Not to say that I wasn't a huge Michaels mark in 1995 (maybe even more so than for Bret), but I think a lot of it was the development of his character, and great angles, more than purely ring work. **** ½ (Original rating: ****)
Main Event: WWF Title Match: Diesel v Mabel: You gotta feel bad for these two having to follow that last one. At least when Yoko/Bret had to do it the year before, they did it with the benefit of being a huge feel good moment attached to it. Mabel pounds him in the corner to start, with the crowd sitting on their hands. Diesel comes back with a pair of corner clotheslines, and he throws some elbows before knocking Mabel to the outside with a jumping shoulderblock. He follows after the challenger with a plancha, but a whip into the post gets reversed, and they head back in. Diesel throws forearms to get Mabel in the corner for some knees, but Mabel manages a scrapbuster for two, and he delivers a sit-down splash to the back of the champion. That actually nearly got Mabel fired backstage after the match, as Diesel had specifically asked Mabel not to drop onto his bad lower back, and Mabel went ahead and did it anyway. Diesel just kind of lays around for a while as he probably tries to get some of the feeling in his back again, but manages to dodge an elbowdrop. The referee gets bumped, which brings Mo in to double team, but Lex Luger runs in to make the save. Diesel thinks he's attacking HIM, however, and clotheslines Luger over the top. Well, you can't blame him, considering Davey Boy Smith turned heel on Diesel during the buildup to this. Luger recovers and takes out Mo to make his intentions clear, as Mabel hits the champ with a belly-to-belly suplex for a dramatic two count. He tries a 2nd rope flying splash, but Diesel moves, and dives at his challenger with a 2nd rope flying forearm smash to retain at 9:15. It's not like they weren't trying, but this wasn't going to get properly over at this level no matter what they did. And it wasn't helping Diesel's reign to have the show stolen from underneath by either Michaels or Hart every month. ½* (Original rating: DUD)
BUExperience: Yeah, so this is a pretty terrible SummerSlam. And it’s not like they didn’t know it, either. They literally scrapped Shawn Michaels versus Sycho Sid at the last second to give us the Ladder match, simply because they knew the show was going to suck, and wanted it to suck less. That kind of says it all, doesn’t it? And it did suck less. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t still suck.
*
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