Sage Cortez
I remember looking for WWF SummerSlam 1992 when I was a kid, and actually trying to track it down for months before finally going to a video store a few miles from my house to check it out. This show doesn’t have only a special appeal to me, but a special appeal to many people. The outdoors aspect of it, mixed when the characters used, made for a perfect WWF PPV event. Of course, there were disastrous aspects about doing a show in Europe, mainly that certain guys disappeared after doing the show and the WWF was unable to find them. Regardless, it’s one of my favorite shows, in large part because I don’t care about that stuff. The WWF taped the event for PPV, and the live gate was an immense success.
– August 29th, 1992, from Wembley Stadium in London, England
The opening video advertises IcoPro, which is really scummy and stupid. Then, they interviewed a bunch of British people and got them to make comments on certain parts of the show. Weird opening for any WWF event. Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are on commentary for this one, which was held in Old Wembley Stadium, not to be confused with the new, very cool version.
Money Inc. (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Legion of Doom (w/Rocco and Paul Ellering)
Pre-Match Thoughts: They should have completely forgotten about Rocco forever. The walk to the ring in this outdoor stadium was endlessly long, but there was certain infrastructure they couldn’t bring overseas. Like the rings to transport wrestlers, for example. Maybe they just forgot about them. Or they were broken. It gives me a ton of time to write during their entrances, so I’m not complaining. I remember Animal saying that he was forced to get off the bike on the wrong side and scalded his leg. Some crazy fans in this crowd, that’s for sure. Ted DiBiase looks so strange wearing white trunks and boots.
Match Review: DiBiase will start this off with Hawk, and his chops do pretty much nothing. Hawk looks absolutely drugged up. He teases a punch, and DiBiase ducks to the outside to kill time. Animal attacks DiBiase from behind, tosses him into the ring, and Hawk clotheslines DiBiase back over the top. Animal clotheslines him on the floor/platform, and sends him back in. Animal makes a tag in there, as does IRS, who rams Animal into the buckles. Animal throws IRS hard into one, then picks him up for a great looking press slam that gets 2. Hawk tags in and takes IRS down with a wristlock, only to wind up in a sleeper. This sleeper goes on for a long time, until Hawk drives IRS into the corner. Hawk clotheslines him in the corner too, then heads up top, coming down with a flying clothesline that misses and causes Hawk to roll all the way out of the ring. DiBiase slams Hawk on the floor, then sends him back in. IRS and DiBiase trade some tags, and IRS drops elbows on Hawk as a result of those tags, covering for 2. More exchanges, then IRS goes to a chinlock. He and DiBiase trade places a few times while maintaining the hold, and DiBiase finally lets go to drop a knee for 2. Hawk hits IRS with a running forearm, but can’t tag out yet. This match is having a hard time holding my interest. IRS chokes Hawk with the tag rope, then DiBiase goes for a suplex only for Hawk to start pushing him towards his corner. Hawk makes the tag, but the referee doesn’t see it. So, IRS grabs Hawk, and they clothesline each other. Animal finally makes the tag in, and he hits DiBiase with a big shoulder. IRS gets dropkicked, then he attacks Animal from behind. Animal hits them with a double clothesline, and all four guys wind up in the ring. Animal atomic drops IRS over the top, then clotheslines DiBiase in the corner. LOD signals for the DOOMSDAY DEVICE, but IRS dropkicks Animal to stop that. DiBiase takes a big bump, then IRS winds up on the apron for DiBiase to run into him. Animal drops DiBiase with a powerslam, and it picks up the victory for LOD after 12:00.
My Thoughts: I have no idea what WWE’s fascination with this match is, nor why they’d put it on two DVD sets. Nothing will ever be able to explain that to me. The match is not any good, and Hawk looks fucked up as all get out. It’s actually impossible to not notice it. DiBiase and IRS didn’t do a whole lot in the match, because really, how could they? Nobody wants to get hurt by somebody who isn’t ready to wrestle. *1/4.
Ric Flair is with Mean Gene for an interview, and he’s still quite unhappy about not being part of the title match. He wouldn’t answer the question of which corner he’d be in for the upcoming title match.
Nailz vs. Virgil
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m sure Virgil has a great chance to win this match. I understand the point of showcasing talent on PPV, but I can’t pretend to be interested about it. I’m not interested when they do it now either. Virgil got some promo time before the match, as Nailz was being dubbed as the CRUELEST MAN IN THE WWF. Not a good promo, really. Nailz got a jobber entrance and simply stood in the ring looking menacing.
Match Review: Nailz grabs Virgil and starts choking him, which looks quite convincing if I’m being honest. Virgil nearly clotheslines Nailz down, then a dropkick fails to put him down. Nailz chokes Virgil again, and when Virgil tries a sunset flip, Nailz punches the canvas. Nailz dodges a roll up somehow, then it’s back to the choking. He throws Virgil over the top, rams him into the apron, and waits for him to get back in. Nailz eats boots on a charge to the corner, but comes back with a clothesline. Nailz applies a sleeper that looks quite a bit like a choke, and out Virgil goes at 3:55, not to wake up. Nailz then decides to beat Virgil up with Boss Man’s night stick, and for some reason the referee doesn’t reverse the decision.
My Thoughts: This match was awful, but you’d probably guess that. Can’t say a whole lot about it, all Nailz did was choke Virgil. Even after the Boss Man feud, I have no idea what they could have done with him. DUD.
Lord Alfred Hayes is in the back looking for Mr. Perfect, and thinks he’s in the Macho Man’s dressing room. He said he won’t stop looking.
Rick Martel vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) WITH NO PUNCHING IN THE FACE
Pre-Match Thoughts: Sherri wanted both men to promise not to hit each other in the face. You can make of that what you will. It was extremely strange for a WWF match to feature two heels getting after each other and feuding. Sherri was interviewed before the match, and they showed the happenings of the feud during that. I reviewed a lot of those happenings as well. One I didn’t, was Rick Martel watching one of HBK’s squash matches and winking at Sherri only for her to wink back. Then, during Martel’s squash match, Sherri walked out to the ring to watch. Haha. Martel was the recipient of a jobber entrance this time, and it was necessary due to the long entranceway. I’m obligated to point it out. Michaels got an initial babyface pop of sorts. I’m shocked they let Sherri walk out there in a thong. Vince’s suggestion that Sherri would leave with the winner makes some sense on the surface.
Match Review: The guys finally lock up, and Martel has Michaels in a headlock. Michaels goes for a monkey flip, but Martel cartwheels away and does some jumping jacks. Michaels comes back with a dropkick, and Martel attacks him while he mugs to the crowd. Martel misses a cross body from the second rope, and Michaels goes to work with a wristlock. Martel teases hitting him in the face after Michaels pulls hair, but instead Martel pulls hair in response. Martel throws Michaels over the top for a big bump, then he walks over to Sherri and encourages her to stop checking on Michaels. Martel hugs Sherri, then she smiles. This is really funny. Martel backdrops Michaels when they get in the ring, but Michaels comes back with a cradle. Both guys pull tights on the reversals, that was amusing too. Michaels superkicks Martel in the chest for 2, and lands some body punches for a bit. Michaels blocks a charge to the corner and covers Martel with his feet on the ropes, getting 2 only for the referee to notice it. Martel rolls Michaels up and holds the tights for 2, then they shove each other. Michaels slaps Martel, who returns the favor! Sherri’s on the apron and sees them about to punch each other, so she faints. Michaels walks over and knocks her off the apron, and she lands on her face like a real professional. Michaels and Martel now start fighting over who’s going to give Sherri CPR. Michaels clocks him in the face first, and the referee counts until they’re both counted out at 8:06.
Sherri moves like she’s waking up and fixes her hair, then falls back down like nothing happened. SHE FAKED IT ALL. Referees come out to break Michaels and Martel up, JJ Dillon among them. Michaels grabs Sherri and picks her up over his shoulders, which leaves a…half moon visible to everyone. Martel runs back to Michaels and hits him, which makes him drop Sherri. So, he’ll carry her. Michaels wakes up, and it’s his time to stop that. Martel then grabs a pail of water, and he teases throwing it at Sherri to wake her up. He does, and SHE HAS BEEN REVIVED. Shawn drops her again and chases Martel to the back, so this entire plan she had failed, whatever that was.
My Thoughts: This entire thing was more funny than it was a quality match. It’s definitely one of my favorite things to happen on the show, as well as the year in wrestling. They gave these three about 15 minutes between the interview and the entrances to work with, and they all did a fantastic job getting over the story. Obviously, this was something that Vince wanted to see done. The jokes he and Heenan were making during the match show that pretty well. They executed it very well too. ** as a match, better as an angle.
The Nasty Boys had a promo before this match, and they were very happy to see Sherri embarrassed. Now they’re mad that they don’t have a title shot. Jimmy Hart evaded the questions over the title shot, and straight out lied to them in the end.
The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) vs. The Natural Disasters for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Sadly, we are going to be forced to see the Disasters defend their titles. Not that anyone should be surprised by that. They didn’t have many better opponents than the Beverly Brothers, seeing as the objective was to save the Nasty Boys matches for house shows. Thus far, this card has done a great job of showcasing exactly what was wrong with the WWF roster. I will explain at the end.
Match Review: The Beverly Brothers attack to get this going, only for the Disasters to clothesline them each and crush them both with double team splashes. Typhoon winds up in there with Blake, and hits him with a hard back elbow. A bodyslam follows that, then Typhoon stands on him. Typhoon misses a leg drop, so Blake goes for a bodyslam. Typhoon falls on top for 2, then throws Blake into the corner for an avalanche. Earthquake tries to do the same, but accidentally hits his partner with one. Now the Beverlys are in control. Beau is thrown in the air for a splash that gets 2, then we have an announcement. SHAWN MICHAELS HAS LEFT WEMBLEY STADIUM. Blake tags in for a flying headbutt, then drops a leg on Typhoon for 2. Beau tags in, and he leaps onto Typhoon’s back. Time for an illegal switch, and there’s more leaping onto Typhoon’s back. Beau goes up top, hits Typhoon with a double axehandle, and distracts the referee so Blake can choke Typhoon with the tag rope. Blake tags in and does the double axehandle attack himself, then hits Typhoon with a hard headbutt for 2. Blake has Typhoon in a front face-lock, and when the tag is made, the official doesn’t see it. Beau lands another double axehandle, and there’s some choking. Blake gets in there, and Typhoon clotheslines them both. Blake still cuts Typhoon off from the tag, but Typhoon catches his cross body, only for Beau to jump off the top with a missile dropkick to his partner that gets 2 for them. Typhoon grabs Blake’s hair and drives his face to the mat, so Beau has to distract Earthquake and the referee. Blake his the SCROLL, hits Typhoon in the back of the head, and Quake gets in there to break the cover with an elbow drop. Quake finally makes the hot tag in, and he hip tosses Beau. A belly to belly suplex follows that, then he signals for the finish. The Beverlys try a double team, but Quake shoulderblocks them both. Beau winds up in there all alone, and gets avalanched by Quake in the corner. A big powerslam follows that, then the BUTT SPLASH, and that’s it at 10:21. The Disasters then pick the Genius up, drop him out of the ring, and celebrate with their titles.
My Thoughts: This match was nothing special, but I think it was better than the earlier tag match, as blasphemous as that may sound. Typhoon was in the match for far too long, but it was impossible for these guys to have a match that was actually good. *1/2, about what you’d expect. Not a big fan of either of these teams.
Mean Gene is with the Bushwhackers, who were talking about the WWF title angle. Gene made fun of them after that, and it seems the only reason they were part of this PPV was to remind people they existed.
Lord Alfred was at the Ultimate Warrior’s locker room, and he said he was going to surprise him. He nearly got in, but Warrior slammed the door shut on him.
Repo Man vs. Crush
Pre-Match Thoughts: I guess we could say this is one last squash match before the matches that actually mattered. Crush looked entirely different than he did was part of Demolition. The only true similarity was the name. Vince clearly wanted to push him hard, given the commentary. His outfit was way outdated, he looked like a Dynamic Dude. THESE FORMER PARTNERS COLLIDE!
Match Review: Repo Man attacks, but Crush no-sells everything. He picks Repo up and press slams him, then clotheslines Repo as he walks on the floor outside the ring. Crush catches a cross body attempt, then puts him on the turnbuckles for some punishment. Crush gives him a backbreaker, but Repo comes back with a back suplex. Crush doesn’t sell ANYTHING. He drops Repo with a belly to belly, then slams him and heads up top. Down he comes with a knee drop, but he doesn’t even sell that. Repo’s facebuster gets a bit of selling, and he covers for 2. Repo heads up top, but Crush catches him for a powerslam. It’s time for the HEAD CRUSH, and that gets the submission at 4:03.
My Thoughts: This was another nothing match, hard to review those. Crush looked good, and it was obvious he was going to get a big push. Repo Man was on the way out, and he didn’t get another chance to come up with a gimmick, either. * and lets move on.
The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: This was getting the build of a huge match, so it’s a bit strange that this would be in the middle of the card. I do understand why, it’s just how it feels. I find it strange that in the bunch of videos they showed, they didn’t show anything from the retirement match at WrestleMania VII. They showed all of the interview segments and the finish of the tag match with the Nasty Boys, though. Perhaps surprisingly, Mr. Perfect was with neither man!
Match Review: These two talk quite a bit of trash before this starts, but Savage wants to shake hands. Warrior shakes, but they pull each other together and it’s time to rumble. Warrior looked so skinny, it’s a bit unreal. They finally lock up, and Warrior shoves Savage across the ring. Savage comes back with a clothesline, or rather two of them, getting heat the whole way. That’s interesting. Savage heads up top, and gets hit in the gut on the way down. Warrior atomic drops him, and follows with an inverted atomic drop. Warrior clotheslines Savage for 2, then hits him with a few shoulderblocks, leading to a missed elbow drop. Savage drops a knee for 2, then puts a chinlock on him. Warrior gets out with a jawbreaker, and sends Savage’s face into the canvas for 2. Warrior kicks Savage in the corner, and clotheslines him again for 2. Savage grabs Warrior’s singlet and rams him into the buckle, that was a little dirty. Savage then clotheslines Warrior over the top, and follows him to throw him back in for a cover that gets 2. Savage goes up top, and comes down with a double axehandle. Warrior isn’t selling that, so Savage goes up for another one that gets 2. Savage goes up top, and comes down with a cross body that Warrior catches for a backbreaker that gets 2. Warrior throws Savage from buckle to buckle for a bit, then knocks him down for 2. Warrior picks Savage up for a side slam that gets 2, and Savage comes back with an inside cradle for 2. Savage follows with a swinging neckbreaker, and clotheslines Warrior with the top rope for another near fall. Savage tries a suplex, but his back is messed up. Warrior works on that back, but his neck hurts too. He suplexes Savage for 2, then charges at him for a clothesline, misses, and flies over the top. Savage heads up top, and there’s the big double axehandle. He sends Warrior into the steps, then posts him. Back in the ring, and here comes Perfect and Flair! Savage tries a piledriver, but Warrior backdrops him instead. A Warrior clothesline gets 2, then he bodyslams Savage. Warrior tries his big splash, but Savage gets the knees up. Savage and Warrior clothesline each other, but Warrior gets up first to cover for 2. Savage returns the favor for 2, then Perfect trips Savage as he runs the ropes! WARRIOR SOLD OUT! Warrior attacks Savage from behind to give some legitimacy to the theory, and the boos are headed his way now. Warrior picks Savage up with a choke lift, then they do a whip reversal that leads to Hebner going down. Warrior picks Savage up and slams him, then heads up top for a double axehandle of his own. He covers, but there’s no referee for too long. Savage knees Warrior from behind and knocks the referee out this time, then piledrives Warrior. Savage goes out to the referee wo wake him up, then Perfect gets in the ring to wake Warrior up. Now he holds Warrior in place, and Flair wallops him with brass knuckles! Now everyone thinks that Perfect is working for Savage. Savage drops Warrior with a bodyslam, then heads up top for the FLYING ELBOW! Savage covers, but Hebner is still out of it and can only count 2. Warrior starts his big comeback by shaking his body and the ropes, and the crowd is going nuts. He hits Savage with some clotheslines, then hits Savage with the flying shoulderblock. Warrior signals for his finisher, and drops Savage with a press slam. He goes for the BIG SPLASH, and Perfect tries to trip him, creating the distraction for Flair to crack a chair over Warrior’s back. Savage is curious about what’s happened, and he decides not to accept the easy pin. Perfect trips Savage again, then Savage considers going up top for the win. He looks at Warrior, then hops down at Flair only for Flair to wreck him with a chair on the way down. Savage grabs his knee, seeing as that’s where he was hit, and gets counted out at 26:17.
Flair and Perfect go on the attack, with Flair putting the FIGURE-FOUR on Savage outside the ring. Perfect and Flair do their job for a little bit, but Warrior wakes up and stops Flair from hitting Savage again with the chair. Warrior runs Flair and Perfect all the way to the back, then walks back toward the ring with the chair in hand. He teases continuing to beat up Savage, even grabbing Savage’s title belt. Instead, he helps Savage up, gives him his belt, and helps him to the back as well. WE HAVE NEW MEGA POWERS.
My Thoughts: I love this match. I don’t think it was either man’s best match, and it was overbooked beyond belief, but I have an affinity for it. It’s a bit shocking that the crowd was so into booing Savage as opposed to Warrior. Maybe there’s something I’m missing there. I thought Warrior’s neck selling was comical, and Savage selling his back didn’t really factor into the match at all. They were selling Warrior vs. Flair matches very strongly, and those didn’t really go down, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. This match featured a lot of good work, somehow not that many big spots, and a lot of interference. Yet it was still good. ***3/4. The angle at the very end was to establish an injury for Savage heading into his title defenses back in the States.
Flair and Perfect are in the back, and Mean Gene is PISSED. He said THERE WAS NO DEAL, but Perfect tells him that they had to go with PLAN B. Then, they sell Warrior matches as hard as they possibly can.
Kamala (w/Harvey Wippleman and Kimchee) vs. The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer)
Pre-Match Thoughts: I think it’s awful that the Undertaker was stuck with these kinds of opponents for the better part of four years until Mankind came along. Sure, there were some spurts where he’d face good workers, but the matches against Yokozuna got totally botched and bungled in nearly every way. Kamala was really incapable of having a great match with Taker, but he had to fill in for Sid Justice, who I think would have been in this spot instead. In a truly awesome spot, they had Taker be driven to the ring by a hearse! Wonder who had that idea.
Match Review: Kamala tries to attack from behind, but Taker works him over with a series of punches and starts choking him. Kamala misses a splash in the corner after a whip to the other side, then Taker walks the ropes for OLD SCHOOL. Taker goes for a second one, but gets distracted and arm dragged down. Kamala clotheslines Taker over the top, at which point he starts choking both of Kamala’s managers. Kamala and Taker brawl on the outside, and Kamala rams him into the steps. Back in they go, and Taker picks him up for a CHOKESLAM. Taker’s flying clothesline follows that, then he signals for the TOMBSTONE. Taker picks the big guy up for it, and Kimchee runs in to hit him with his hat, getting Kamala disqualified at 3:42. Taker knocks Kimchee out of the ring, then gets splashed in the corner a few times. Kamala slams Taker, then splashes him. Up to the second rope, and he splashes him again. Now up top, and there’s a REALLY BIG SPLASH. Right as Kamala leaves, he looks back at the ring, and Taker sits up to start chasing him towards the back.
My Thoughts: I think it’s hilarious to see the way they were pushing Taker as basically a zombie. He’d wake up no matter how he was attacked. That was the entire point of this match, really. 1/2*, nothing in the match mattered at all.
Before the main event, they had a bagpipes playing spot, because I presume they thought this was in Scotland or something. Or rather, this was a chance to get Roddy Piper, a kayfabed Brit involved in the show somehow. The crowd liked that.
The British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Bulldog had a promo before this match, and he said that there’s a lot of family pressure going on at this time. He said that he’s done everything he could to win a title in the WWF, and that it was his time for a title shot. He’ll act like he doesn’t know Bret, according to him. I’m somewhat surprised they used the family angle, but they needed to get juice on the match. Bret had his own promo, and he’s not too worried about the pressure. He is offended by Bulldog’s assertion that Bulldog won’t know him when the match starts. Diana Smith is interviewed after that, and makes the whole thing sound quite legitimate. Bret’s stories about this match have always been excellent, and given that nobody doubts them, I think we can consider them to be fact. To a large extent, this match gave Vince a reason to push him to the top. Having Lennox Lewis in the spot of waving the flag for Davey’s entrance was a big get. He was about to become a hell of a lot bigger deal.
Match Review: Theye have a bit of a staredown, then get to shoving each other. Bulldog shoulders him all the way out to the floor, and Bret comes back in with a headlock takeover. Bulldog tries a press slam, but Bret cradles him up twice, each getting 2 counts. Back to the headlock, which Bulldog reverses with a hammerlock. Bret elbows his way out of that, then holds onto a wristlock for a bit. Bulldog reverses to his own, then sends Bret into the ropes, taking him down for a catapult to the corner. Bulldog holds the arm for a while, then uses a crucifix on Bret, getting 2. Back to the hammerlock for Bulldog, which Bret tries to get out of with a bodyslam, but he can’t. He gets out eventually, knees Bulldog in the gut, and mugs for the crowd. Bret drops the leg, then applies a chinlock. Bulldog gets out, but Bret nails him with a back elbow. Bret gives Davey an inverted atomic drop, and follows that up with a Samoan drop on a reversal of Bulldog’s crucifix. Back to the chinlock again, only for them to get up and Bulldog monkey flip Bret across the ring. Bulldog shoots Bret into the corner, but Bret blocks his charge and follows up with a…bulldog. A bulldog on the Bulldog. Bret goes up top, but Bulldog slams him down. Bulldog goes up top himself, and down he comes with a massive FLYING HEADBUTT, only to miss. Bret goes for a bodyslam, but Bulldog goes behind, only for Bret to run him out of the ring as he had done when he was a heel five years before this. Bret goes for a PLANCHA, and Bulldog forgets to catch him, nearly breaking his own neck. Bret takes Bulldog and rams his back into the post, then brings him into the ring. Bret drops him with a Russian leg sweep, which gets 2. Bret hits Bulldog with a nice dropkick, then backdrops him for 2. Bret locks on the chinlock yet again, eventually snapping off a suplex for 2. To the chinlock once more, hopefully for the last time. Bulldog uses a backslide for 2, and Bret clotheslines him. Bret goes for a backbreaker, then goes up to the second rope for an elbow smash that gets 2. Bret grabs Bulldog by the hair and throws him around a little bit, then goes to…the chinlock. This is a fantastic match, but all the completely necessary chinlocks do take away from it. Bret puts a sleeper on Bulldog instead, but Bulldog makes the ropes. Bret starts kicking him in the face, then it’s back to the sleeper. Bulldog isn’t sleeping yet, so he picks Bret up on his back and takes him into the corner. Bret goes back to it, and the same thing happens, finally breaking it for good. Bulldog goes for a press slam, and he nearly kills Bret with it, dropping him on the middle rope instead of the top. Bulldog clotheslines Bret a few times, and covers for 2. Bulldog press slams Bret easily this time, and gets 2 on the cover. Bulldog follows that up with his delayed vertical suplex, which also gets 2. Bulldog throws Bret hard into the corner for another 2 count, then signals for his finisher. This was becoming far more common, I’ve noticed. He picks Bret up for the POWERSLAM, and drops him with it for 2! Crowd could not believe that. Bulldog pushes Bret out to the apron, and he picks him up to suplex him in, only for Bret to use a BRIDGING GERMAN SUPLEX for 2. Bulldog blocks a suplex attempt, then puts Bret on the top rope for a SUPERPLEX that gets 2. The guys then clothesline each other, but Bret locks on the SHARPSHOOTER while they’re both on the canvas! Bulldog makes the ropes, so Bret wants to get up and shoot him to the other side. Instead, Bulldog does, blocks Bret’s sunset flip by sitting on him, and becomes the BRAND NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION AT 25:13!
The crowd goes absolutely ballistic, rendering this an obvious case of perfect booking. Bret teases leaving without shaking hands, but he couldn’t keep that tease up for long. Of course, Bret shakes hands and hugs his brother-in-law, sending the crowd home as happy as a crowd could possibly be sent home. Diana gets in the ring and hugs them both, then raises both their hands as fireworks go off.
My Thoughts: This match hasn’t aged as well as I’d remembered it a few years ago, but it’s still a fantastic match. The chinlocks are the main thing that gives me that opinion, but otherwise this was built perfectly. They also had to use the chinlocks because Davey had forgotten the match. It is certainly a classic, perfectly built to the finish. I can see why people love this match so much. This is one of the best carry jobs ever, Bulldog didn’t do a hell of a lot at all. Bret was trying to have the best match ever and did his absolute best. ****1/4, I don’t know what rock you’ve been living under if you haven’t seen this. No offense. So many good moves, a good psychology with guys resorting to the biggest things they could to put each other down, and Bret bringing subtle heel tactics.
This was a very good show carried by two very good, arguably great matches. It wasn’t a great show for an assortment of reasons, namely the lack of depth on the roster. It was really noticeable, and even though some guys didn’t make the PPV portion of the card, none of them would have been a big addition to the card. I actually didn’t notice it, but it was pointed out that Hulk Hogan wasn’t mentioned a single time on the show. That’s crazy, you know. The outdoor feel of this show, the big raucous crowd, all those things make the event a special one. Waiting so long to see it for the first time all those years ago felt like it was worth it, and it was nice to revisit it now. Next, I’m going enter new ground, watching Clash 20. Never checked that out before!
Wrestling Time: 1:33:37. This show was certainly wrestling heavy, and it was also edited for there to be less downtime. Definitely a factor.
Best: Bret vs. Davey. One of the best matches on WWF PPV for years, it was also a good sign that the quality of matches would get even better.
Worst: Nailz vs. Virgil was so bad I paused it about 7 or 8 times during a match less than four minutes.
Card Rating: 7.5/10. Even though it’s not the best show ever, it’s one of my favorites.
