Summerslam Count-Up – 1996: Breaking Is Up Is Hard. Like an Urn.
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1996
Date: August 18, 1996
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 17,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect
Steve Austin vs. Yokozuna
The opening video is about monsters like Vader and Mankind wearing masks but heroes standing up to them no matter what.
Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega
Post match Justin Hawk Bradshaw comes out to lay out Vega once again.
Tag Titles: Smoking Gunns vs. New Rockers vs. Bodydonnas vs. Godwinns
Rating: D-. This was so boring I could barely keep my eyes open. The tag title scene was so barren at this point that there were practically zero interesting acts at all. That would be the case for over a year when the New Age Outlaws FINALLY brought the division back to life for a few years. Terribly boring match.
Post match Sunny insults the women in the audience and unveils a huge poster of herself to make the arena prettier.
Video on the Summerslam festivities in the city this weekend.
Sycho Sid vs. British Bulldog
The managers keep arguing post match.
Video on Shawn.
Goldust vs. Marc Mero
A clothesline and a backdrop put Goldust down again and a million dollar kneelift does the same. Goldust counters punches in the corner and they both tumble to the floor but Mero slides back in and hits a running flip dive. A slingshot legdrop gets two followed by the debut of the Shooting Star Press, called the Wild Thing. Since this is 1996 WWF, it only gets two. A few seconds later Goldust hits the Curtain Call (reverse forward suplex) for the pin.
Goldust stalks Sable post match until Mero makes the save.
We recap Jake Roberts vs. Jerry Lawler. Jake claimed to have sobered up and was speaking at churches about how Jesus helped him overcome his demons. Lawler claimed that Roberts was a fraud (which was the case in real life as he was still hooked on crack) and tonight is the showdown.
Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts
Roberts finally comes out so Lawler pulls a huge bottle of booze from the bag. Jake pulls the snake out of his own bag to scare Lawler to the floor and the bell finally rings. Lawler looks for a microphone but Jake sends him face first into the steps and hammers away back inside. Back to the floor with Lawler being sent into various hard objects until he steals a drink from a fan to blind Jake. Henry: “So what is the fan going to drink?” Lawler gets one of the bottles from ringside but has to block a DDT attempt. Another DDT is countered and Jerry hits him in the throat with the bottle for the pin.
Bob Backlund campaigns for President.
Paul Bearer comes to the ring. The next match will be won by retrieving the Urn from his hands.
Undertaker vs. Mankind
Undertaker comes back with a trashcan lid to the head and they brawl around the room with Mankind in control. The announcers have stopped talking as Mankind stuns Taker across a wooden stand. A stiff right hand puts Taker down and Mankind chokes away. The camera cuts out for a few moments so something can be edited and we come back with a trashcan shot putting Taker down.
With Taker still inside Mankind barricade the door but Taker kicks it in anyway. They fight up the aisle with jobbers watching from the doors. Taker shoves him across the coffee area, allowing Mankind to get ahead a bit. He throws hot coffee onto Undertaker and crawls into the arena to give the fans something to see in person. Taker catches up with him and pounds away but Mankind keeps him out of the ring.
WWF World Title: Vader vs. Shawn Michaels
Vader is challenging after pinning Shawn in a six man tag at In Your House #9. He pounds Shawn in the face to start before taking his head off with a clothesline. Shawn catches a big boot and leg sweeps Vader down before hitting a low dropkick to stun Vader. Michaels fires off rights and lefts from his knees and Vader bails to the floor. A HUGE dive takes him down again as the fans are finally waking up a bit.
Shawn agrees to get back in but Vader punches him down on the floor. Cornette pops Shawn in the back with the tennis racket and a belly to belly gets two for Vader. Michaels punches his way out of the powerbomb and hits the forearm/nip-up combo. He tunes up the band but Cornette throws in the racket, only to have Shawn intercept it and blast Vader for the DQ.
Ratings Comparison
Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega
Original: B+
Redo: C
Smoking Gunns vs. Bodydonnas vs. New Rockers vs. Godwinns
Original: B-
Redo: D-
British Bulldog vs. Sycho Sid
Original: D
Redo: D+
Marc Mero vs. Goldust
Original: C+
Redo: D
Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts
Original: C-
Redo: D
Mankind vs. Undertaker
Original: A-
Redo: B
Vader vs. Shawn Michaels
Original: A-
Redo: B+
Overall Rating
Original: A
Redo: C
Did I owe this show money a few years ago? My jaw is hanging open as I read these ratings again.
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/30/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1996-mick-foley-has-arrived/
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