WWF Superstars (July 29, 1995)

 

Original Airdate: July 29, 1995 (taped July 25)

From Evansville, Indiana; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix

Fatu v Rad Radford: Fatu slugs him down to start, and a clothesline sends Rad over the top. Fatu follows, so Rad tries a whip into the post, but Fatu reverses. Inside, Fatu throws a headbutt for two, and a hiptoss follows. Fatu with a clothesline for two, and a cross corner whip works, but the charge in misses. That allows Rad a swinging neckbreaker and a clothesline, followed by a 2nd rope axehandle for two. Rad with a somersault neckbreaker for two, and he goes to a chinlock. Fatu escapes, and tries a criss cross, but walks into a dropkick for two. Sleeper, but Fatu reverses, so Rad throws an elbow to escape. Into the ropes, but Fatu reverses, and manages a powerslam. Radford tries turnbuckle smashes to keep control, but that goes nowhere, and Fatu makes a comeback. Rad counters a backdrop with a DDT, but Fatu no-sells, and pops up with a small package at 5:48. This was just a solid match. Nothing special, nothing beyond basic, but solid work throughout. * ½ 

Todd Pettengill is in the studio for the SummerSlam Insider. ‘Report’ is too plain for them now? So, we’ve got Diesel/Mabel already announced, which really feels like a weak main event for the second biggest show of the year. Especially in this era, when that actually still meant something. Even as a kid, I had a really hard time buying into it, and started wondering if maybe I was growing out of wrestling, because suddenly I wasn’t super into what they were presenting. No, young me, it’s not you, it’s them. You’d have been more into it if it wasn’t a shit main event. And if Bret Hart wasn’t booked against a dentist. Thank goodness for Shawn Michaels to keep me engaged through this down period

Mabel v Gary Scott: We get a fan doing the guest ring announcing here, and the kid announces Mabel being accompanied to the ring by… Mabel. Wrong SummerSlam, son. Mabel with a belly-to-belly suplex at 2:22. DUD

Goldust teaser

Bob Backlund is campaigning in the stands

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, and Savio Vega v Jacob Blu, Eli Blu, and Uncle Zebekiah: The babyfaces charge in to clean house, and the dust settles on Razor and Eli. Razor dominates, and he passes to Savio to work the arm. Quick tag to Kid for a dive, and he hits a series of strikes before passing back to Ramon, but Eli fights off a wristlock with a clothesline. Eli with a cross corner whip, but the charge in hits a boot, and Razor dives with a 2nd rope bulldog. He fails to cut the ring in half, however, and Jacob tags in. Razor meets him with a drop-toehold, and he passes to Vega for a hiptoss and a dropkick. Vega tries a wristlock, but Jacob fights him off, so Savio throws a spinheel kick for two. Tag to Kid for another series of kicks, but he gets distracted by Zebekiah, and Jacob clobbers him. That allows the heels to take control, and they go to work on the Kid. Eli misses a pair of elbowdrops to allow the tag to Razor, and he runs wild, but a cheap shot from Jacob allows Eli a big boot. The heels work on Ramon now, until a miscommunication ends in Zebekiah eating a big boot, and Kid getting the hot tag! Kid hits Zebekiah with a spinkick for two, so Eli comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Kid lands a spinheel kick on Zebekiah during the chaos, and with his partners holding the Blu twins at bay, it’s enough for the pin at 11:23. Pretty peppy contest here. * ¼ 

Dean Douglas vignette. Dead on arrival with this one. The character/gimmick isn’t a bad one, but this vignette was death. Would be an instant channel change 

Waylon Mercy v Major Yates: We have a weird entrance set for Superstars this week, with no video wall, and just a steel frame. That set was already around here and there, but I don’t recall it appearing on Superstars before this. Mercy with a sleeper at 1:56. DUD

Pettengill is back with a second SummerSlam Insider. Poor Todd even sounds embarrassed to announce Bret v dentist as an actual match on the second biggest show of the year

Jerry Lawler is in Isaac Yankem’s office, very excited about what his dentist is going to do to Bret at SummerSlam. They keep cutting away to the announcers every time Yankem injects his patient, so I’m guessing there was some edict from the network there. Probably too close to stabbing, or whatever

Hendrix brings Skip and Sunny out to discuss Skip’s match with Shawn Michaels next week. Dude, you were jobbing to Barry Horowitz on the reg, who are you kidding?

BUExperience: SummerSlam may look pretty cold thus far, but they came out guns blazing here. Solid episode.