When there is too much wrestling.

https://www.smarkdownsblog.com/wrestling-oversaturation

Evolve
Date: July 1, 2026
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Peter Rosenberg, Blake Howard

We’re done with Succession III and the big story coming out of the show seems to be Timothy Thatcher’s security going into business for themselves. It’s going to be a little while before we find out about that though as Thatcher is gone this week, with KevOnStage in his place. We also have a six person elimination tag so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

KevOnStage recaps Succession III and previews tonight’s show.

Opening sequence.

Layla Diggs vs. Gianna Capri

Masyn Holiday is with Diggs. Capri misses an early pump kick so Diggs grabs a headlock. Diggs’ sitout gordbuster and a Shining Wizard combine for two but Capri is back with some knees to the ribs. A belly to back suplex gets two but Diggs avoids another pump kick. Diggs kicks her into the corner for a running knee so Capri hits her in the back again. Hold on though as Anya Rune offers a distraction from the VIP section and shoves her hands at Capri, which she calls punishment (I believe it’s a Dragon Ball Z thing). Diggs knocks Capri down and drops a moonsault (that thing looks great) for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. So was that the nerd version of Danhausen’s curse? Other than that, the match felt like it was in slow motion with both of them looking like they were trying to remember their next step. Diggs is quite the athlete and she’s already doing more on NXT, though this wasn’t the best work from either of them.

Post match Diggs and Holiday dance but Braxton Cole pops up with the NXT Rule Book, saying that there is nothing that can make him have a No DQ match with Harlem Lewis. Cue Lewis to jump him from behind and sends him into the steps as we take a break.

Braxton Cole vs. Harlem Lewis

No DQ. We come back with the opening bell and Lewis hitting him in the back with a cookie sheet. Said sheet is put into the corner so Cole can whip Lewis into it for the big crash. Cole finds a cane in the VIP area and hammers Lewis down as they go outside again. Somehow Cole finds a belt in the crowd for some whipping before Lewis punches him in the face. That lets Lewis get the belt for some whipping of his own but Cole gets in a sheet to the throat.

A hanging neckbreaker to the floor drops Lewis again and Cole whips out a pool cue of all things. Some more shots to the ribs have Lewis in even more trouble and Cole uses the stick to tie Lewis to the post. That just gets the stick broken but Cole is back with a Crash Landing onto the sheet for two. Cole busts out a trashcan full of more weapons, including a large mop. Said mop is broken over Lewis’ back but another mop is used to hit Cole low. That makes Cole beg off so Lewis puts the mop into Cole’s face. The Boom Slang finishes for Lewis at 7:11.

Rating: B-. I liked this well enough, with Lewis desperately wanting to prove himself and then doing just that, as he absorbed everything Cole threw at him and then won. That’s the story that they set up and then paid it off here, which is always appreciated. Cole got in some nice shots of his own, but this was all about Lewis and that’s how it wound up going.

Post match here is Aaron Rourke to congratulate Lewis on his win. Rourke thanks him for helping him against the Mog Squad, which Rourke never even asked him to do. He thinks they’ve developed some respect for each other so he wants to give Lewis a proper thank you. The fans get ahead of Rourke by asking for a title shot and Rourke is going to try to get it made, but at least for now, he offers a sincere thank you. They shake hands and part in peace, with Lewis staring at the title. That was the logical way to go and it’s nice to see them taking the simple path.

Sloane Jacobs praises Nikkita Lyons for her title win last week. It was Lyons in “her full luminosity.” She wants to thank Lyons so next week it’s going to be a huge championship celebration.

Here is Kale Dixon for a chat. Dixon talks about how he left his ego at the door during his first time in NXT and that got him nowhere. He came from college baseball and turned down MLB contracts to be here. Now he knows that everyone in the back is scared because he is going straight to superstardom. Everyone is jealous of him because they don’t possess the athleticism and abilities that he has.

Chuey Martinez goes to end the interview but Dixon isn’t done, saying it’s not over until he says it’s done. Martinez asks about the woman who was with him last week and she pops up next to them, saying Evolve is about to change forever. Cue Darkstate’s Cutler James, who doesn’t seem to be on the same page as the two of them.

Cutler James vs. It’s Gal

Gal runs in to jump James from behind and we’re ready to go anyway. James sends him into the corner for an eye rake across the rope but Gal gets in an enziguri. Back up and James grabs a swinging backbreaker before cutting off a comeback attempt. A giant swing sends Gal swinging and a pop up uppercut gives James two. The abdominal stretch lets James rip at Gal’s sunburn (DUDE TOO FAR!) but Gal reverses into one of his own. Gal’s clotheslines get two but James buckle bombs him rather hard. Dark Matter finishes for James at 4:51.

Rating: C+. I’m trying to get over the pain of messing with the sunburn, which is just pure evil. James could use the rehab assignment after Darkstate crashed out so hard as there is definitely something for him to do. At the same time, I have no idea what Gal is supposed to do, as he’s little more than a quirky jobber at this point and that isn’t the brightest future.

Elijah Holyfield doesn’t think much of Brooks Jensen cheating to beat him and they’re far from done. In Holyfield’s family, if you don’t fight, you don’t eat, so he’s ready to knock Brooks silly on sight.

Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins come in to see Timothy Thatcher (Why is he here?) and want to get rid of Tate Wilder for good. Thatcher will talk to Robert Stone and figure something out. Viktor Zanov and Shida Ash come in to chase them off but Thatcher yells at Zanov and Ash for going too far last week. They’re fired as security and no they aren’t wrestling, as that would be a reward for their behavior. Zanov and Ash say they know how to do what they want.

Mog Squad vs. Sam Holloway/Cappuccino Jones/Marcus Mathers

Elimination tag and Max Abrams is here with the Squad. Holloway has very banged up ribs after last week so Mathers starts with Rivera. Mathers doesn’t like being backed into the corner to start so he headlocks Rivera down without much trouble. A headscissors doesn’t get Rivera very far as Mathers slams him down and drops a jumping elbow. Mathers’ jumping kick to a seated Rivera gets two and it’s off to Holloway for a springboard elbow

The ribs are banged up again though and Jones has to come in instead. Ball charges into a nice dropkick and Holloway crotches Valor against the post. Back in and Ball hits a dropkick of his own and it’s off to Valor for some quick shots to the throat. Naturally Abrams gets to play cheerleader on the floor but Jones gets over to Mathers for the springboard crossbody comeback. A cutter hits Ball and a superkick puts Valor down, allowing Mathers to moonsault outside onto all three of them. Back in and Ball kicks Mathers in the face, setting up Valor’s Sling Blade Hart Attack for the elimination at 5:24.

Holloway comes in for a heck of a big boot to Rivera and an atomic drop but the ribs are banged up again. Holloway fights out of trouble and makes the tag to Jones to pick up the pace. The Froggy Brew gets two with Valor making a diving save. Holloway distracts the referee like a goof and Rivera gets in a Codebreaker, meaning it’s another Sling Blade Hart Attack to pin Jones at 8:16.

We take a break and come back with Holloway down 3-1 and Valor’s Chaos Theory getting one. A chokeslam drops Valor but Rivera distracts the referee to prevent the count. Ball rolls some gutwrench suplexes for two but Holloway gets in a desperation chokeslam. Rivera cuts off the count AGAIN though and comes in with a sitout Slapjack for two of his own.

Back up and Holloway chokeslams Valor and Rivera at the same time but they both roll outside. Abrams offers a distraction so Holloway punches him down and hits a big flying dive to take out all four of them at once (that looked awesome). The trio gets back inside though and a pop up spear finishes Holloway at 13:05.

Rating: B-. The big thing here is that this match told a story. You had the ID guys trying as hard as they could but not really being a unit. That let the Squad take over and cut them down one at a time, with Holloway having to fight out of desperation. It made for a good ending and the Squad got a much needed win. Nice job here, though it’s frustrating to see Mathers lose so quickly again.

Overall Rating: B-. This show walked a pretty nice line between dealing with fallout from last week and doing a bunch of stuff this week. I liked the wrestling for the most part and there are things set up for the future. It was back to the normal nicely done Evolve and as usual the time went by and they had a good mixture of stuff to keep the show interesting. In other words, it’s the kind of show that makes Evolve one of the better watches of the week. Oh and what was the point of KevOnStage?  I don’t think he was ever around after the opening segment and Thatcher was there anyway!

Results
Layla Diggs b. Gianna Capri – Moonsault
Harlem Lewis b. Braxton Cole – Boom Slang
Cutler James b. It’s Gal – Dark Matter
Mog Squad b. Sam Holloway/Cappuccino Jones/Marcus Mathers last eliminating Holloway

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Dynamite
Date: July 1, 2026
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Forbidden Door (thank goodness) and it’s time to get ready for Redemption, the pit stop in July, on the way to London for All In. Will Ospreay and Mercedes Mone are in line for title shots, but first up is Mark Briscoe challenging MJF for the World Title tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

We get a clip from after Forbidden Door with Will Ospreay being rather happy with his win. Ospreay then ran into Jon Moxley and asked what Moxley meant about seeing something in him. If Moxley could explain it in words, he would explain it to anyone. This place could be something special but if Ospreay wants the Death Riders’ patch, he has to ride with them

Ospreay went on to see Kenny Omega, who praised him for his win but not being wild on the Death Riders tease. MJF came in to mock them both, with Omega threatening to come after the title and MJF not really caring. With MJF gone, Omega seemed to suggest that everything was fine with Ospreay.

AEW World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and insists on being announced from the Best Coast, the east coast. Briscoe knocks him down to start but MJF is right back up to rip the bandage off of Briscoe’s head. MJF bites at the cut but Briscoe flips out of a backdrop, meaning it’s time for Red Neck Kung Fu.

Briscoe gets crotched on top but knocks MJF down, with the Froggy Bow getting two. Another shot sends MJF outside for the dive, followed by the chair step up flip dive for a bonus. The table is set up on the floor but Briscoe takes too long and knocks him off the top. That lets him return the table under the ring and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe winning a slugout and knocking him out to the floor, with Briscoe pulling the pads back.

MJF is able to backdrop him onto the concrete but can’t hit a Tombstone, instead getting slammed on the concrete. The Bang Bang Elbow on the floor and a Cutthroat Driver connect for two back inside, allowing Briscoe to set up the table again. Once again it takes too long but once again Briscoe cuts MJF and gives him a Blockbuster on the floor.

The Froggy Bow puts MJF through the table for two, as the foot on the rope saves the title. MJF goes to the eye but gets clotheslined for a double down. Another Froggy Bow connects and the Jay Driller gets a rather near fall. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Briscoe so he tries another Jay Driller, which is countered into an Alabama Slam. The Heatseeker retains the title at 18:23.

Rating: B. Well, that was quite the use of Briscoe’s title shot after building it up for a good while. I was expecting this to be at Beach Break but I guess they want to clear the way for Ospreay for the next month and a half. The match wasn’t an instant classic but it was physical and hard hitting, with Briscoe being so easy to cheer for to make it better.

Post match MJF loads up the Diamond Ring and knocks him silly. He loads up another shot but Kenny Omega runs in for the save. Omega wants a title shot tonight but MJF shoots that down, saying he’s beaten Omega before. MJF will face Omega next week, but if MJF wins, Omega can never challenge for the World Title again (note that MJF did not say Omega had to win the title). Omega has until the end of the night to decide.

Post break, MJF promises that payback is coming for Andrade El Idolo. With that out of the way, he lists off all of the names he has beaten, including Cody Rhodes, with Kenny Omega being 0-2 against him. He knows Omega won’t agree because MJF is gutless. Will Ospreay comes in to ask why the stipulation, with MJF saying it’s because he’s the champion. MJF will see Ospreay at Wembley.

He is Andrade El Idolo for a chat. He is done with the Don Callis Family and wants the World Back Title. How you know? Cue the Family to jump him from behind and the big beatdown is on. Don Callis wants Andrade out of here for Kevin Knight’s match.

Mercedes Mone brags about winning the Women’s Owen Hart Cup because she is the conversation no matter where she was going.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Lio Rush

Only Knight is defending. Rush scares him to start and throws Knight a backpack, containing…a black version of the ROH TV Title. Knight is freaked out so Rush sends him into the ropes, with Knight bailing to the floor. Rush does his run around the ring for the suicide dive and we take a break.

We come back with Knight hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but banging up his knee on a springboard attempt. Rush grabs a weird choke (as in Rush looks like he’s trying a cutter but just holds on when they’re on the mat) until Jake Doyle pulls Knight outside. Back in and Knight hits a sitout spinebuster, followed by a Rock Bottom to retain at 8:45.

Rating: B-. The match was fine, but did they really need to have Rush lose here? Rush is A, on fire with his new gimmick and B, a champion in ROH. Bandido and Athena have already lost recently and it would be nice for the ROH champions to be something other than jobbers to the main roster stars. I get that they’re beneath the AEW stars, but there are so many people in AEW/ROH who aren’t champions who could lose just as well.

Post match Darby Allin comes out to say he wants the TNT Title shot or the same things are going to keep happening to Knight. That has Knight ready to agree but Callis cuts him off because Allin was a criminal at Forbidden Door. Allin says that’s Knight digging his own grave.

We look at Chris Jericho beating up JD Drake and mocking Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa calls Jericho a bully but Jericho jumps him from behind. They go outside, where Ciampa rolls a shopping cart at him and then tries to stab Jericho in the head with a drill. Security tries to break it up but Jericho dives out of a truck to take out both Ciampa and some guards. The drill was dumb but I want to see these two fight.

Kenny Omega talks to the Young Bucks about the stipulation but Omega hasn’t made a decision just yet. He didn’t like what he had to do to win the title in the first place and wants to do it on his own. The Bucks have his back no matter what but Omega still hasn’t decided.

Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley vs. The Swirl

The Swirl jumps Moxley to start fast and seem to hurt his knee. Moxley fights back like he’s Jon Moxley and they’re the Swirl, allowing him to roll over for the tag to Ospreay. A running hurricanrana sends Christian outside and there’s the running flip dive to take the Swirl out again.

We take a break and come back with the Swirl’s Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination getting two on Moxley. Marina Shafir beats up Jay Lethal on the floor and Moxley makes the comeback, allowing Ospreay to come back in. Johnson gets beaten up in the corner and Christian springboards into a cutter. The Paradigm Shift into the Hidden Blade finishes Johnson at 9:15.

Rating: C+. On one hand, I get the idea of Ospreay and Moxley as the unlikely super team, but at the same time, I’m still not sure why they’re together in the first place. In theory Ospreay got the help that he needed and now wants to see how far they can take him and Moxley is happy with getting the new member of the team. I guess that’s the story and while it makes sense, I’m not sure I buy Ospreay just suddenly being cool with the Death Riders. Or Moxley being cool with him for that matter.

After retaining their Tag Team Titles, Christian Cage and Adam Copeland weren’t sure about Jay White. Cage still doesn’t like him and Copeland isn’t sure what to think.

Here is the Bang Bang Gang for a chat. Jay White says they have waiting for well over a year to do this and he’s glad to get to say the catchphrase again. He remembered people not liking the Death Riders but now they’re hanging with the biggest fraud in wrestling. That aside, he wants to talk about the Dogs, who he doesn’t like because of things that happened in New Japan.

White remembers joining the New Japan Dojo with David Finlay, who is a fourth generation wrestler and raising a fifth generation star. Finlay has wrestling in his blood but he’s still a whiny little boy. White is still the catalyst of wrestling and this is still his era. If the Dogs, or anyone, has a problem with that, Guns Up. I still like White a lot and he can talk very well, but he has to prove that he can go more than a few months without a major injury.

Shane Taylor Promotions want the Bang Bang Gang in an eight man tag on Collision.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Maika vs. Harley Cameron vs. Persephone vs. Queen Aminata vs. Hikaru Shida

Survival Of The Fittest (six way elimination match) for the vacant title. It’s a brawl to start with Persephone standing tall but Shida takes her down with a rollup for two. Cameron is back in with a Shining Wizard to Maika before hammering on Aminata in the corner. Persephone sneaks up on Cameron for a Razor’s Edge and the elimination at 2:33. Well there goes the crowd favorite. Statlander Angle Slams Persephone and we take a break

We come back with Maika and Statlander slugging it out until Shida comes in with the kendo stick. Maika drops Shida with a discus clothesline but Statlander takes away the kendo stick. Shida hides behind the referee and rolls Maika up for the elimination at 7:52. We’re down to four and it’s Aminata coming back in to slug it out with Shida. Aminata’s fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two but she misses a top rope double stomp. The big headbutt sends Shida into the ropes for the running knee, only for Persephone to roll Aminata up for the pin at 9:49.

Persephone actually does the L on her forehead to mock Aminata as we take another break. We come back again with Statlander’s Blue Thunder Bomb getting two on Persephone. A bridging German suplex drops Statlander for two but Shida is back in, only for Statlander to chop Shida and Persephone. Staturday Night Fever is broken up but Statlander cradles Persephone for the pin at 15:30.

Shida kicks Statlander in the head, only for Statlander to grab the Falcon Arrow for two more. They fight over a rollup until Shida gets the ankle lock, with Persephone getting in a belt shot (fine with the referee). Shida grabs the leg and adds a choke to the out cold Statlander for the title at 17:27.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a strange match as there wasn’t a heavy betting favorite coming and a few different people could win the thing. Shida certainly fits the description, as she has a long history of winning titles so this is a nice fit. She might not be champion for a long time (though it wouldn’t be crazy), but beating her means enough that it could be a big moment.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision and next week at Beach Break.

Will Ospreay tries to talk Kenny Omega out of making a bad decision but Omega says if he’s going out, it’s with guns blazing.

Here is Omega for his big decision. Omega talks about how he has been doing this for over half of his life and he always gives this everything he has. He has a career that he could hang his hat on and be proud about but there is a part of him that believes he still has it. If the Elite can believe and the people can believe, then he knows he can be a champion AEW can be proud of one more time. At Wembley, against Will Ospreay.

All he has to do is put everything on the line against MJF, but Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page have done the same thing. He is still the best bout machine and yes the match is on and he’ll be ready for whatever MJF has for him. MJF runs in for the brawl but Omega fights back, with security breaking it up to end the show. That’s a huge match and they’re throwing it out there pretty quickly, but the result feels far from certain, which helps a lot.

Overall Rating: B. There was a lot on this show but the best part about it is that the show flew by. Nothing felt like it was dragging here and I had a good time with the show. It set up something big for next week and gave us the MJF vs. Briscoe match, even if it came and went rather quickly. There’s a new TBS Champion as well so that gap is covered, making this a pretty eventful night for the Forbidden Door follow up. See how nice it is when AEW can focus on AEW?

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Mark Briscoe – Heatseeker
Kevin Knight b. Lio Rush – Rock Bottom
Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley b. The Swirl – Hidden Blade to Johnson
Hikaru Shida won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating Kris Statlander

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Mid-South Wrestling
Date: November 9, 1984
Location: Irish McNeil Boys Club, Shreveport, Louisiana
Commentators: Boyd Pierce, Bill Watts

Apparently this is something that is being released weekly, at least for the time being and I can think of worse things. You never know what you’re going to get on something like this but the first few weeks have been rather good. There have been some rather good stories taking place, with the biggest being Jim Duggan’s attack at the hands of Ted DiBiase two weeks ago. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Again this is presented in its most complete form. This show is a few minutes shorter and I’d bet on a music video of some sort missing.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card and explains that we can write in via postcard to pick the main event we want to see on TV. I don’t buy it as legit but that’s a cool idea as a way to tie the fans into the show. This is what is edited out of the WWE Vault version.

Commentary recaps the Rock N Roll Express’ issues with the Midnight Express, featuring Ricky Morton putting Robert Gibson in a straitjacket to demonstrate what they had planned for Jim Cornette. They really earned the beating that Cornette (still in a mask) and the Midnights put on them as a result.

Back in the arena, commentary talks about how brave the Rock N Roll are before throwing it to Jim Ross (who gets a nice bio of his own) to reveal the real stipulation.

Ross and the Rock N Roll are on top of a scaffold (uh oh) and want the match up there so Cornette can’t interfere. Ricky Morton admits that he’s scared as Robert Gibson throws a melon down to the floor for quite the visual.

Jack Victory/Dale Veasey vs. Rock N Roll Express

Non-title and the double dropkick finishes Victory at 27 seconds.

Here are Skandor Akbar, the masked Jim Cornette, Buddy Landell and Hercules Hernandez for a chat. Akbar gets right to the point: he has purchased Hercules from Cornette (this just keeps happening to him), who is happy with the deal. As a bonus, Hercules can even be a sheik, but he has to wait on the harem.

Hercules was Cornette’s bodyguard to protect Cornette from Jim Duggan but Duggan was beaten up so Cornette feels safe. Landell tries to take credit for this but Akbar tells him to stay out of it. Oh and why is Landell wearing that watch when he hasn’t delivered as promised yet? Akbar promises that he and his army will crush everyone because he is now Mr. Mid-South. Good, logical way to get Hernandez away from Cornette and on to something else.

Butch Reed vs. Jim Horton

Hold on though as here is Buddy Landell to talk to Reed. That doesn’t work for Reed, who rants about being the man. Reed doesn’t need anyone because he is the #1 man in Mid-South. Landell says he taught Reed everything he knows but Reed only let Landell hang around out of pity.

Landell offers Reed the watch, which sends Reed even further over the edge. Reed throws the watch down and stomps on it, sending Landell into hysterics. Landell shoves Reed, who drops him with a big right hand. Skandor Akbar and company come out to talk in peace, with Akbar talking about how he should have talked to Reed man to man. He is ready to give Reed the offer of a lifetime but Reed says he stands alone.

Akbar makes it clear: Reed is either with them or against them so Reed starts swinging. The brawl is on and Reed is beaten down, with poor Horton getting beaten up for standing in the wrong place. Jim Duggan makes the save with the 2×4 to a ROAR. So I guess we’re not going to have a match. How rude.

Post break Duggan and Reed are at the commentary desk and say they need to talk to each other. The reality is they both want to stand alone but Duggan respects Reed after years of fighting him. They’ve given each other everything they have and come back for more. They have to do something to stop Akbar and even if they’ll keep an eye on each other, they can do it together.

Reed returns the respect and shouts about how something has to be done, with Duggan saying he doesn’t need the board. Instead he needs a fired up Hacksaw Butch Reed. OUTSTANDING stuff here as this was a crazy hot promo, with both guys coming together after a long time fighting. In other words, standard wrestling booking with people the fans cared about and respected. That’s why Mid-South worked so well.

Hector Guerrero/Chavo Guerrero vs. Shawn Michaels/Mike Jackson

Michaels, with short hair and in black tights and an MTV shirt, debuted less than a month before this was taped so he couldn’t have had more than a handful of professional matches. Chavo works on Jackson’s arm to start and hands it off to Hector (my goodness does he look like Eddie) to stay on said arm.

The take turns on the arm with Hector hitting a splash but Jackson manages to trip him down for an elbow drop. It’s off to Michaels, who is snapmared down and gets in a single right hand to no avail. A dropkick and double back elbow sets up a spinning splash to give Hector two. Michaels fights out of the corner and hands it back to Jackson for some dropkicks before Chavo avoids another one. A full nelson brings Jackson down and Chavo adds a Swanton for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. It says a lot when Jackson, who had one of the longest in-ring careers ever, is the least interesting person in a match. Obviously the appeal here is a 19 year old Michaels and he looked like a 19 year old who had been in the business for about a month would look. There was nothing at all to him here and no reason to believe he would one day become a huge star. You also have the Guerreros, who are a totally underrated team who was doing stuff that no one could pull off at this point. Quite the fascinating match here, for a bunch of reasons.

Ted DiBiase vs. Lee Ramsey

DiBiase hammers away to start and gives him a slam, followed by a backdrop. The powerslam and Figure Four finish Ramsey at 1:32.

Master G./Brickhouse Brown vs. Midnight Express

Jim Cornette handles the Midnights’ entrance (of course) and we’re ready to go. The Midnights jump them on the way in but get sent outside for some yelling from Cornette. Eaton and Brown start things off with Eaton’s right hands not getting him very far. A backdrop puts Eaton down and it’s off to G. for the running shoulders.

Condrey comes in off a blind tag and stomps on G. as the Midnights get to take over in the corner. G. fights out of trouble though and it’s back to Brown as everything breaks down. Cornette trips Brown so Condrey goes up top, with the referee not letting him dive (as it’s illegal). Like a good villain, Eaton uses the distraction to drop a top rope elbow for the pin on Brown at 4:03.

Rating: B-. The more I see of Brown, the more I like him. The more I see of G., the more it makes me want to see Brown. On the other hand you have the Midnights and they really are as great as they’re advertised as being. There is such an amazing teamwork between them and stuff like that ending made them look like they were smart to go with athletic. Very fun stuff here.

Ernie Ladd/Buddy Landell vs. Tony Falk/Bill Dundee

Hold on though as Magnum TA comes in to take Falk’s place so Ladd walks out, refusing to face Magnum and let him try to steal the title back. Dundee is down to face Landell one on one but Landell walks out instead. No match.

Here’s how to pick your dream match again.

Steve Williams has his football helmet and accuses Jim Duggan of being a coward for bring out his 2×4. Williams wants to face Duggan next week if Duggan isn’t a coward.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B+. The wrestling here was your usual collection of squashes, plus that snappy Midnights match. That’s not the important part here, as this was all about the Duggan/Reed/Akbar stuff, as Duggan and Reed gave some of the best fired up promos you’ll ever see. I barely watch this promotion and I want to see them get their hands on Akbar and company in a big fight.

That’s what you should want from a big face turn and my goodness did it work. Definitely check out some Duggan and Reed from this era as they’re two big guys who could fight but now they’re fighting a common enemy. Really fun show here and I’ll be watching whatever they put up from Mid-South.

Results
Rock N Roll Express b. Jack Victory/Dale Veasey – Double dropkick to Victory
Hector Guerrero/Chavo Guerrero b. Shawn Michaels/Mike Jackson – Swanton to Jackson
Ted DiBiase b. Lee Ramsey – Figure Four
Midnight Express b. Brickhouse Brown/Master G. – Top rope elbow to Brown

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Summerslam 1995
Date: August 27, 1995
Location: Pittsburgh Civic Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 18,062
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

So it’s time for the annual redos and for some reason, my readers decided to have me watch one of the worst Summerslams of all time. I’m so thrilled. Anyway this is built around Diesel vs. King Mabel in one of those moments where Vince McMahon was considered completely insane. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the big matches tonight, including Diesel vs. Mabel, Jerry Lawler sending his evil dentist (that will never sound normal) against Bret Hart, Kama Mustafa vs. Undertaker (over the again stolen urn) and the sequel to the ladder match (which was added because the company knew they were dead in the water otherwise).

I still love the big flying blimp in the arena. The fans behind it must be so thrilled. Now am I being sarcastic on that one?

Dean Douglas, the annoying teacher, is in the back to critique all of the matches. I’m not a Shane fan, but to go from the Franchise to this is a shame.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi

Vince: “The Kid is ready for WWF action!” You mean this isn’t the Boggle tournament? Hakushi’s White Angel look is way too awesome for a show like this. Kid grabs a headlock to start but gets taken down by the hair, with a fan opposite the hard camera being VERY upset by the cheating. A trip takes Hakushi down but he kicks Kid away, giving us a double nipup.

Back up and they both miss spinning kicks for another early standoff. Hakushi finally sends him into the corner for the handspring elbow and the fans aren’t sure what to think of it (fair enough as he’s a heel, but an awesome heel). The Bronco Buster hits Kid (so that’s where he got it) and it’s time to kick at his leg. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Hakushi sends him outside and hits a cartwheel into a backdrop over the top for your YOU DO KNOW IT’S 1995 spot.

Back in and a top rope headbutt to the standing Kid gets two but a top rope splash misses. Kid dropkicks him to the floor and hits his own dive, followed by a slingshot legdrop for two. Kid’s top rope splash connects for the patented 1-2-He Got Him NO! Back up and Kid tries a spinwheel kick but gets caught in something like a belly to back suplex to give Hakushi the pin at 9:28.

Rating: B-. This was WAY ahead of its time with stuff like the Space Flying Tiger Drop of all things being far more than you would expect from a WWF match in 1995. The Kid was very good as well and fought from underneath with his own high flying. Good stuff here, though I’m worried about what else they have for the rest of the night.

Dok Hendrix is WAY too excited to know about Mabel’s master plan. You’ll just have to wait, exactly like Big Daddy Fool. And that’s before he even gets in the ring people.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bob Holly

Helmsley is brand new here and still an undefeated blue blood. There’s no contact for the first minute so Holly grabs him for a slam and an armdrag sends Helmsley into the corner. Holly charges at him though and gets caught in a Stun Gun to let Helmsley take over. Vince talks about wanting to see Lawler in a go kart or bumper cars as Holly gets whipped hard into the corner.

The chinlock goes on and we cut to British Bulldog arriving, even though he has nothing to say. Back in and arena and Holly’s abdominal stretch is countered with a hiptoss over the top. Holly is right back up with a DDT and the dropkick with the backdrop completing the jobber level comeback. A missed charge lets Helmsley finish with the Pedigree at 7:10.

Rating: D. Oh come on. I know it’s a different era but this made Summerslam? I can get behind the idea of a match to make a newcomer look good but this wasn’t entertaining on any level. Helmsley was clearly someone they wanted to push but this would have been boring on Raw and we get it on a pay per view. At least it was short, but that’s all I’ve got.

Some wrestlers and firemen had a charity tug of war. Nothing wrong with that.

Blu Brothers vs. Smoking Gunns

Jacob (of Jacob and Eli Blu, which sounds conspicuously like Jake and Elwood Blues) gets caught in an early armbar from Billy. It’s off to Bart in a hurry but Eli snaps his throat across the top to take over. A quick crossbody gets Bart out of trouble though and Billy comes back in.

The yet to be named H Bomb (when they would become the Harris Twins that is) plants Billy for a delayed two and it’s off to the also yet to be named Tree of Woe (1995 needs to catch up with the times already). Lawler: “I bought five copies of Windows 95 and I don’t even have a computer.” After that random line, Eli gets two off a powerslam as the second Raw level match continues. Billy gets in a dropkick and brings in Bart to clean house. Heel miscommunication lets the Sidewinder connect for the fast pin on Eli at 6:11.

Rating: D-. At least in the Helmsley vs. Holly match (something that has never been said) they were pushing someone new and fresh. Here it’s a win for the Gunns, who had been around for years and were former Tag Team Champions. And against the Blu Brothers? That’s the best they can put together for what should be the second biggest show of the year? Thank goodness we were only a few weeks away from Nitro because this is some horrible planning.

We recap Barry Horowitz vs. Skip in a rematch of the huge upset of Barry pinning Skip. Barry then won by surviving a ten minute challenge, meaning it’s time for a third match. The idea here is that Barry hasn’t won a match in years but managed to pull this one off. How this is supposed to make me want to watch isn’t clear, as Barry is only going to be known to long time fans who are going to be watching in the first place.

Barry Horowitz vs. Skip

Sunny is out with Skip and does her trademark great rant about how they were cheated twice but it won’t happen again. Barry charges to the ring (with the awesome rock version of Hava Nagila) and hammers away to start with a clothesline putting Skip on the floor. Back in and Barry gets two off an O’Connor roll before suplexing Skip over the top again. Sunny tries to throw in the towel but is told that it’s not boxing and doesn’t count. Uh, it counted for Bob Backlund in 1983.

The distraction works well enough for Skip to jump Barry from behind, meaning it’s time for some jumping jacks. For some reason, this turns into a discussion of who would win in a fight between Siskel and Ebert. Barry is back up with some shoulders for two and a sunset flip for the same. Skip runs him over again though and it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well and Horowitz goes old school with a Thesz press of all things for two more.

Skip pulls it back to the mat for legdrops and a chinlock but Barry jobbers up. They trade dropkicks and it’s a double knockdown as this keeps going. Another dropkick from Barry crotches him on top but Skip knocks him backwards. The Swan Dive gives Skip two so Barry hits another dropkick and goes up. This time it’s Sunny crotching him down for a change, which draws out Hakushi of all people. The distraction into a rollup lets Barry get his third straight win at 11:23.

Rating: D. AND??? Am I really supposed to get behind Horowitz after this? The guy has a career win/loss record somewhere lower than mine and now he’s getting a win on Summerslam? Somehow this is the best that they can do and that sums up a lot of the problems they were having around this point.

Dean Douglas uses a telestrator to talk about the previous match in big words. Barry gets an S for Slacker.

Shane throws it to Vince but we get Todd Pettengill instead, who gives us a look at the Wrestlemania X ladder match. Shawn Michaels says you can’t prepare for a ladder match but Razor isn’t taking his title again tonight.

Women’s Title: Bertha Faye vs. Alundra Blayze

Faye, with Harvey Wippleman, is challenging and her gimmick is that she’s large and not very attractive. This is one of those gimmicks that was bad then, worse later and horrible today. Blayze kicks her down to start and sweeps the leg for a bonus. More kicks have Bertha in trouble but she runs Blayze over, because she’s big you see.

The middle rope splash misses and Blayze gets two off a victory roll. Some running head slams get no cover as Harvey has the referee. Instead Blayze goes after him but can’t get the German suplex on Faye. A hurricanrana gives Blayze two and a missile dropkick has Faye reeling. Another dropkick misses though and it’s a sitout powerbomb to give Faye the pin and the title at 4:37.

Rating: D-. You can hear Vince laughing at this one and doing so all by himself. This gimmick isn’t funny and it’s a waste of someone as talented as she was. Is there any reason why they felt the need to humiliate someone that they brought in? There was nothing that the women could do when Faye was only allowed to use the “I’m big” offense in a short match. Terrible stuff here and it’s not on the wrestlers.

Post match Faye says she’s the beauty now and has the belt. Blayze would get it back in about two months.

We recap Undertaker vs. Kama Mustafa, who is the latest person to steal the urn (and melted it down into a big gold chain because reasons) as part of Undertaker vs. the Million Dollar Corporation, which felt like it went on forever. Kama even beat up some of the Creatures of the Night, meaning he’s gone too far. Therefore, it’s a casket match because what else could it be.

Paul Bearer and Undertaker promise to finish Kama.

Undertaker vs. Kama Mustafa

Casket match with Ted DiBiase in Kama’s corner to counter Bearer. Undertaker isn’t wasting time and picks Kama up for some choking and then throws him onto the casket. Something close to a Stinger Splash (THEY’RE DOING THE MATCH!!!) and Old School connects. The casket is opened revealing the Casket Cam as Kama is knocked in.

That goes nowhere this early and Kama is right back up with a top rope clothesline. Undertaker’s second Stinger Splash is caught with a powerslam and of course he sits up again. DiBiase offers a distraction so Kama can hammer and kick away. A clothesline puts Undertaker on top of the closed casket and a suplex does it again. Kama can’t piledrive him on the casket though and Undertaker backdrops him inside.

That’s fine with Kama, who hits a powerslam for a cover, checking off your required “I forgot this is a casket match” box. We hit the chinlock for a good while as the match just stops as they lay there. A belly to back suplex finally gives them something to do and the comeback is on.

The jumping clothesline connects but it’s a Cactus Clothesline to put them both in the casket. They come out and it’s a prototype of the famous shot of Shawn Michaels being dragged back in as Kama is put inside again. Back in and Kama grabs a swinging neckbreaker to put them both down again. The chokeslam connects though and it’s a Tombstone to finish Kama for good at 16:26.

Rating: D. It wasn’t even that it was bad but it was WAY too long with all of the laying around and Kama being the least believable opponent Undertaker has had in a long time. Kama felt like the villain in the fourth edition of an action movie series that has gone on too long and the star needed a paycheck. Really dull stuff here and the last thing the show needed.

Lawler is very excited about the idea of Isaac Yankem removing Bret Hart’s teeth.

Video on Yankem, who really is an evil dentist and we really are supposed to believe this as something threatening. Lawler vs. Hart has been going on for over two years now and has offered some awesome stuff, but as soon as Todd says “the King recruited a dentist”, it loses me a bit. Yankem is of course better known as Kane and his story of hearing that he was being brought in to be an evil dentist is rather funny.

Bret is ready to shut Lawler’s mouth. Bret to Yankem: “I don’t care if you’re a dentist.” Words never spoken in wrestling before or since.

Isaac Yankem vs. Bret Hart

Lawler handles Yankem’s entrance. As a bonus pun, Yankem is billed from Decay-tur, Illinois. Lawler is on commentary for a bit of a surprise as Bret gets shoved down to start. Yankem misses a big elbow but is fine enough to send Bret hard into the corner. Bret is back with an atomic drop and a clothesline for a trip to the floor. Back in and Bret hits a middle rope clothesline, followed by the headbutt to the abdomen.

The backslide gets two as Lawler is saying only Vince needs to be impartial tonight. Another hard whip into the corner takes Bret down again and Isaac chokes on the ropes until the referee drags him away by the hair. More choking ensues as Yankem doesn’t have the highest variety in his offense so far.

Bret is back up and sends him outside for a suicide dive as the comeback is on. Back in and it’s time for the Five Moves Of Doom but a Lawler distraction breaks up the Sharpshooter. Lawler stays up to cheer on Yankem’s beating (as he should) but Bret gets in a slam off the top for a rare power display.

In a change of pace, Bret ties Yankem’s legs around the post and stomps away until the referee unties Yankem’s feet. Lawler would do it but he’s too busy getting beaten up by Bret. The distraction lets Yankem hit a top rope ax handle to the back and Lawler helps him tie Bret’s neck in the ropes for the DQ at 16:10.

Rating: C+. Bret was doing everything he could here but Yankem wasn’t there yet and there’s only so much you can do as an evil dentist. The match felt straight out of Memphis with someone wanting to get at Lawler but he brought in his latest monster for protection. It’s a perfectly usable story and the match wasn’t bad, so I’ll take what I can get here.

Post match Lawler and Yankem pull at the still trapped Bret until referees break it up.

Razor Ramon isn’t scared of Shawn Michaels and he’ll take every chance he can get. If Shawn is ready to dance, Razor leads.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon

Shawn is defending in a ladder match, which was added due to “fan demand”, which is a rather accurate definition of what happened (originally scheduled to be Shawn vs. Sid before the company woke up and saw the rest of the card). The title is raised but hang on because Shawn isn’t happy with the way it’s attached to the hook (likely a problem with how the finish was supposed to go). Dok Hendrix has replaced Lawler on commentary.

They both look up at the title and then go to the slugout, as they should have done. The threat of an early superkick has Razor grabbing the ropes in a smart move. A Razor’s Edge attempt has Shawn looking worried so Razor throws him outside without much trouble. It’s time to go for the ladder but Shawn cuts Razor off from getting it. I’ve never gotten that but I guess it’s a pride thing.

They head back to the ring instead with Razor suplexing Shawn outside but Shawn’s leg hits the barricade in a nasty looking crash. Dok: “I might suggest that’s it.” Vince: “Uh yes that’s it.” Back in and Shawn escapes the Edge again but misses another superkick, meaning it’s a double clothesline to put them both down. Razor is up first and hits a super fall away slam as he continues the early dominance (they’re building things up here and that’s going to pay off in the end).

Now the ladder is brought in as we see Sid watching in the back. Shawn makes a fast save though and it’s his turn to grab the ladder, but he would rather hit Razor than climb. Razor breaks up a climb by pulling the tights down and then shoves the ladder over in a smart move. Replays show Shawn’s leg getting caught in the ladder on the way down as the focal point continues to grow.

The leg gets crushed in the ladder again and the fans aren’t pleased. Razor slams him legs first onto the ladder and then puts the ladder on the middle rope in the corner. That gives Razor another place to drop Shawn’s knee onto the ladder and it’s time to go into the Ric Flair cannonballs onto the leg. Shawn kicks him to the floor for a breather but that just lets Razor wrap the knee around the post. Back in and the knee gets wrenched again The ladder is set up in the middle of the ring but Shawn suplexes Razor back down for a double knockdown.

Shawn puts the ladder in the corner and whips Razor into it and bring the cheers back. A moonsault off the ladder lets Shawn hammer away but he misses the huge splash off the ladder (call back tot he previous match) and they’re both down again. They both make the slow climb and crash back down for a double crotching on the top. A missed charge with the ladder has Shawn falling out to the floor and Razor goes down with him. Shawn goes back in and sets up the ladder but Razor brings in a second ladder (a new concept at the time).

Razor drops his though and hits the Razor’s Edge off the original ladder for the big knockout shot. He can’t follow up though and they’re both down again. Both ladders are set up for a double climb but Shawn superkicks him down. Hang on though as Shawn isn’t under the belt so he jumps for it, meaning another crash down onto the bad leg. Another Razor’s Edge attempt is countered with a backdrop to the floor, allowing Shawn to go up and grab the title….but he falls again without the belt coming down. A ticked off Shawn goes up and pulls the title down to retain at 25:09.

Rating: A. Yeah this was outstanding and you could argue it’s better than the original. The big difference here was having the match involve a ladder instead of being about a ladder. They had a heck of a match with Razor working the leg and Shawn having to find a way around the power game. The teasing of finishers until the end was a great addition as well and the whole thing was a blast with big spots and awesome action throughout. Check this out and then go watch the first one again because you really could say either of them is better.

Post match Razor grabs the belt but hands it to Shawn for the nice moment.

Douglas doesn’t like Razor calling himself the Bad Guy when Razor comes in to knock him down with one punch.

Diesel isn’t worried about Mabel. You know, because he’s Mabel.

WWF World Title: King Mabel vs. Diesel

Mabel, with Sir Mo, is defending and the story here is finding out his Royal Plan. We get the trash talking before the bell and my goodness Mabel’s crown looks pitiful. It looks like it’s made of paper or cheap plastic and comes off like a toy instead of something serious. Kind of like his whole push in a way.

Mabel runs him over to start and chops away in the corner but Diesel forearms him back. The big slam doesn’t work so Diesel hits some clotheslines to put Mabel on the floor. Diesel actually manages a dive over the top (not terrible either) to take Mabel down but the fans just do not care. Mabel charges into a big boot but is back in with a….I guess Boss Man Slam, but he shoved Diesel down instead of picking him up. To mix it up a bit, Mabel sits on Diesel’s back but misses a backsplash.

The referee gets bumped so Mo comes in (which seems to be the Royal Plan), drawing out Lex Luger for the save. Well the attempted save at least as Luger is knocked outside, leaving Mabel to drop the leg on Diesel on the floor. Luger takes care of Mo (Did Luger just come out early or something? Also, that would be his last appearance in the company as he would debut on Nitro eight days later), leaving Mabel to hit the belly to belly for two. Mabel misses a middle rope splash though, allowing Diesel to hit a middle rope clothesline to retain at 9:16 (admittedly to a big pop).

Rating: D-. Oh come on what else were you expecting here? It’s freaking MABEL. Diesel is someone who can have a great match with the right opponent but Mabel is so far away from being the right opponent that he’s the left one. There’s no way to make this work as Mabel was nothing more than the big guy with a lame lackey. There was no way this was going to work, the match was terrible and they got them out of there almost as fast as possible. What else could this have been?

Overall Rating: D. There are some bright spots in here, but aside from the classic ladder match, this could have been any given house show. The opener was good, Bret vs. Yankem could have been a lot worse and the ladder match is awesome. Other than that, there is no reason to think of this as a special show in any way and that was very clear throughout. I know it’s a dark time for the company, but this was them putting out whatever they had because they had to do a show instead of trying to put on a great show. Terrible for the most part, with a few bright spots sprinkled in.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

So as you’ve probably noticed, the site has had issues with things like “insufficient storage” and other such errors.  They’ve been driving me crazy but since I’m not a tech guy, I’ve had no idea how to fix them.  Now though, I think I’ve figured it out and I’ll be trying to fix it.  I’m not sure how well this will work and I ask for a bit of patience while I tweak things.  It should work, but I’m not sure how long that will take.  I’ll be posting as usual, but hopefully with fewer site errors slowing me down.

Thank you as always,

KB

NXT
Date: June 30, 2026
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with the Great American Bash and the big story coming out of the show was Lola Vice losing the Women’s Title to Kendal Grey. We’ll get to see where things go for the new champion going forward, probably in the form of meeting a new challenger. Other than that, Tony D’Angelo turned back a challenge from Naraku and he’ll be needing a new challenger of his own. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Great American Bash if you need a recap.

We open with a long Great American Bash recap.

Here is Kendal Grey for a chat. She’s more nervous to be out here now than she was in the main event on Sunday. Ever since John Cena picked her to be in the Women’s Iron Survivor, her life has been crazy. No one puts pressure on her like she does and she kept dropping the ball. This Sunday, she proved she belonged here, even though she doesn’t look like a normal champion.

No she isn’t going to dress like a Barbie but when the bell rings, she’ll be wrestling like a champion. Sooner or later, everyone is going to find out they can’t keep up with Kendal. Cue Wren Sinclair with a cake but before they can celebrate, here is Kelani Jordan to say she wants the title shot she has earned. Tatum Paxley pops up out of the crowd to dive onto Jordan as Wren and Kendal have cake.

Keanu Carver has attacked El Hijo del Vikingo, saying the title match is off.

Izzi Dame is complaining about how she doesn’t have a title but Zaria isn’t pleased with her issues. Lizzie Rain comes in and annoys both of them with loud music.

Kelani Jordan complains about everything to Robert Stone, who has no time for this. Stone gives her Tatum Paxley in tonight’s main event before going to deal with Keanu Carver. Thankfully Carver is a few feet away and says that he doesn’t like being overlooked. His reward: a match with EK Prosper tonight. WWE is getting annoying with announcing things and then changing them lately.

Tag Team Titles: Vanity Project vs. Galeno/El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.

The Project is defending. Baylor shoves Galeno into the corner to start and gets punched by Wagner as a result, with Wagner hitting a big running flip dive to take the champs out. We take a break and come back with Wagner enziguring his way out of the corner and bringing Galeno in again. House is quickly cleaned, including a toss dropkick to send Wagner up for a dropkick to Smokes.

The Project is right back with a dropkick Hart Attack for two on Wagner but Galeno’s reverse suplex connects for the same. Wagner climbs onto Galeno’s shoulders for a splash on Baylor but Galeno accidentally backdrops Smokes onto the cover to break it up. Jackson Drake offers a distraction as well and a top rope double stomp/reverse DDT combination to Wagner retains the titles at 10:10.

Rating: B-. This worked well enough for a team of guest stars popping in for the sake of a one off title match. It’s not like there is any story to the match and the Project are seen as weak enough that they could lose the titles at any time. It wasn’t great but it was the Project getting to capitalize on a mistake, which does make sense for them. Or anyone really.

A bunch of tag teams want a title shot so Robert Stone makes a four team #1 contenders match next week. Romeo Moreno/Noam Dar are left out as Stone says they need to build up their resume first (fair and accurate).

Mason Rook vs. Jackson Drake

The rest of the Vanity Project is here with Drake. Rook blocks an early headlock takeover attempt and gets two off an early powerslam. Hold on though as Kam Hendrix calls Booker T. to say he’s about 60% cleared to return to the ring and will be back soon. But did he get a new sling to cut down on the chaffing?

Anyway Rook misses a backsplash but does a Samoa Joe sidestep of a springboard moonsault. Rook’s second backsplash attempt connects and Drake rolls outside as we take a break. We come back with Drake getting two off a cutter but Rook drops him with a toss Blue Thunder Bomb. The cannonball crushes Drake in the corner but he avoids a sitdown splash.

Drake hits a Lionsault double stomp (OUCH) for two, only for Rook to slam him down again. Another powerbomb is countered into a heck of a Code Red to give Drake two. Back up and Rook’s sitout powerbomb gets two more and the fans are (rightfully) losing it over this stuff. The Project gets up for a distraction though and Drake gets a Backstabber, with Myra Lockwood holding Rook’s foot for the pin at 11:51.

Rating: B+. Well where in the world did that come from? These two just happened to have great chemistry together and I was wondering where this was going. This was a couple of guys trading one big move after another and while Rook has been treated like a big deal since he debuted, I didn’t know Drake had this in him. Shockingly awesome match here and I could go with a rematch.

Post match Rook wrecks the Project.

Tate Wilder gives EK Prosper a pep talk.

Kali Armstrong comes in to Robert Stone’s office and wants a chance. He tells her that actions speak louder than words.

EK Prosper vs. Keanu Carver

Carver powers him into the corner to start and grabs an early armbar. Prosper is up with a dropkick and a low bridge to the floor, naturally setting up the big running flip dive. Back in and a top rope splash gives Prosper two and we take a break. We come back with Prosper fighting out of a chinlock and seeing Carver hitting a great looking release German suplex during the break.

Carver’s powerslam is countered into a Stunner (that was different) but he cuts off a dive to drop Prosper onto the announcers’ table. Cue Hank to knock Carver through the barricade (in revenge for Carver attacking Tank at the Great American Bash) for nine, leaving Prosper to hit a moonsault for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: C+. There is something to be said about having Carver run through people but getting taken out as a result of his own actions. That’s a far cry from Carver slipping on a banana peel or getting cheated unfairly as it also keeps him strong. Prosper is looking good too and it is nice to see him getting a chance of his own, including being the kryptonite to Carver.

Kendal Grey is in Robert Stone’s office where he announces a four way Women’s North American #1 contenders match next week. Nattie and her new friends come in with Nattie praising them and then asking for a title match. Stone and Grey are in so the match is set for next week.

Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic

Nattie, Layla Diggs and Nikkita Lyons are here with Petrovic. Parker powers her into the corner to start and grabs a quickly broken headlock. Back up and Parker sends her into the corner for the Tear Drop but a Nattie distraction lets Petrovic drop Parker onto the apron. Petrovic stomps away inside and a suplex sends Parker flying for two. Parker reverses a kick to the chest into the Rings Of Saturn, sending Petrovic straight to the rope. A baseball slide drops Petrovic so Nattie and company get in some cheap shots. Back in and Parker shrugs it off, setting up the Hipnotique and Deja Vu for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. I would hope that we’re not going to see Parker run through Nattie’s group to get at Nattie because I don’t want to see Nattie around that long. I do like Petrovic getting a chance to do something but losing in about five minutes is hardly some big upgrade. At least Parker got a win, and her getting even more would be a nice thing to see.

Shiloh Hill and Tatum Paxley talk about enjoying fun and knowing how to turn into their dark versions when necessary. Paxley leaves and Niko Vance comes in, saying they need to get rid of weak stars one by one. Hill doesn’t like the implication that Paxley is weak and Vance says the toothless look makes for a nice smile.

Sean Legacy comes up to Dorian Van Dux (who wasn’t in the tag team meeting earlier) and says they need to be on the same page. Dux says they will be.

Myles Borne and Wren Sinclair are happy with their wins on Sunday but Tavion Heights comes in. Heights says that no matter what, friends stay together no matter what, in an effort to erase what he had said to Borne. It doesn’t quite work, as Borne says that’s what he’s been trying to tell Heights all along before leaving.

Here is Tony D’Angelo for a chat. When you do things every day, you start taking them for granted. Last week he got his eye burned and had to sign a document before he was able to fight at the Great American Bash. That made him stop for a second, because he wasn’t sure if he was going to risk his health to defend the NXT Title. Of course he was, and that’s why he gave it his all against Naraku.

There is no one in that locker room willing to swim deep enough to take the title from him. And that’s that, with Kendal Grey coming out for the main event but Naraku comes in to chair D’Angelo down. An STO onto the chair leaves D’Angelo down. I’m really not getting the reason for this feud continuing when D’Angelo beat him clean.

After a break, we see Naraku backstage before the attack, where he misted D’Angelo to leave him completely blinded before laying him out. That’s a nice touch that didn’t come across earlier.

Tatum Paxley vs. Kelani Jordan

They fight over a lockup to start and go to the mat, with Jordan taking over. Jordan’s headlock doesn’t last long as Paxley is up with a dropkick to the floor. Jordan is right back up but misses an Asai moonsault, allowing Paxley to hit a superkick to the chest. We take a break and come back with Paxley forearming away and seeing Kali Armstrong jumping Kendal Grey on commentary right before the break.

With Grey gone, Paxley strikes away at Jordan, including a step up kick from the floor to the head. Paxley misses a 450 though and tweaks her ankle (which was also banged up during the break). Jordan stomps her down and cranks on the leg, with Paxley rolling her out to the floor. The Cemetery Drive is countered and Jordan goes after the leg to set up something like an Angle Slam. One Of A Kind finishes Paxley at 12:20.

Rating: B-. I’m not happy to see Paxley losing here but at least Jordan’s push towards the big showdown for the title is being built up. It might not be interesting, but at least it’s coming together. Paxley is in a weird place as she doesn’t have much to do right now and she’s on a losing streak, which is hardly a great sign for her future.

Post match Jordan leaves but a woman (Vic: “We all know who that is!”) comes in to jump Paxley and lay her out to the end the show. Naturally commentary never said the newcomer’s name but it’s Nikki Blackheart.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show for the most part as it followed a logical path, save for Naraku vs. D’Angelo continuing. You can see where a lot of these feuds are going and I want to see how some of those stories play out. This was a bit of an upgrade over the last few weeks of NXT and I’m glad to see that, as the Great American Bash was only so interesting. Throw in the rather awesome Rook vs. Jackson match and it was a nice show this week.

Results
Vanity Project/Galeno/El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. – Top rope double stomp/reverse DDT combination to Wagner Jr.
Jackson Drake b. Mason Rook – Backstabber with assist from Lockwood
EK Prosper b. Keanu Carver – Moonsault
Jaida Parker b. Karmen Petrovic – Deja Vu
Kelani Jordan b. Tatum Paxley – One Of A Kind

Head over to my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com with thousands of reviews from around the world and throughout wrestling history.

Summerslam 1994
Date: August 29, 1994
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

This is the old review of the year and that’s an interesting choice. The show has a double main event of WWF World Champion Bret Hart defending against his brother Owen to continue their awesome feud, plus the wholly unawesome Undertaker vs. Fake Undertaker match. It’s the best of both worlds you see. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Randy Savage to welcome us to the show, held in the brand new United Center. Somehow, this is the only pay per view the company has ever run from the arena.

Jerry Lawler has some breaking news: Shawn Michaels and Diesel have become the new Tag Team Champions after defeating the Headshrinkers last night. What an odd time to do a title change, but 1994 was an odd time.

IRS/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

IRS and Bigelow have Ted DiBiase in their corner and this was originally going to be a title match. The Headshrinkers (Samu/Fatu) have Afa and Lou Albano with them, just to crank up the bizarre state of the show so far. Bigelow runs Fatu (not Samu Vince, though to be fair it’s a pretty easy mistake to make) over with a shoulder but eats the superkick for two. Fatu avoids a very early top rope headbutt and a double superkick puts Bigelow down again. Samu comes in, so Vince says Samu is now in, after saying Samu started.

Vince really wasn’t great at this whole thing. Samu starts cleaning house and ducks an IRS charge to send him outside. Back in and Bigelow low bridges Fatu to the floor but it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. The hot(ish) tag brings Samu back in for a BAAAACK body drop and a headbutt to Bigelow, which works because Samoans have hard heads. The middle rope headbutt gets two on IRS with Bigelow making a save. With Bigelow being knocked to the floor, the double Stroke sets up the Superfly Splash but Bigelow goes after Albano. That’s enough to draw Afa in for the DQ at 7:18.

Rating: D+. Pretty lame opener here with the lack of the titles taking away the little interest this match had. The Headshrinkers are good in their roles but Bigelow and IRS are a pretty generic team who don’t have much to do here. I’m still not sure what the point is in having the titles change early. Why not just do it the next night on Raw?

They brawl to the back.

And now, for your comedy of the show. The detectives from the Naked Gun movies are trying to find the Undertaker, complete with a bunch of puns and sight gags. Such gems include “we’re both on the case” as they stand on a briefcase.

Women’s Title: Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze

Blayze is defending and Nakano has Luna Vachon in her corner. For those of you of a younger age, Nakano is a rather terrifying Japanese monster and Blayze’s archnemesis. We get the ceremonial flower presentation but Vachon throws hers at Blayze to really be a jerk. Nakano kicks her in the ribs instead of shaking hands but it’s too early for a powerbomb. A knee to the ribs cuts the champ off and Nakano throws her down by the hair.

We hit the chinlock (with Nakano’s back to the camera because she doesn’t know how to work) until Blayze makes the rope, which isn’t an escape you see that often. The yet to be named hurricanrana gives Blayze two but Nakano pulls her down into a Boston crab with both legs under one arm. With that broken up, Nakano puts on what would become Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock.

Since Blayze hasn’t been tortured enough yet, Nakano switches to a cross armbreaker. Back up and three straight running sleeper drops have Nakano in trouble but she powers out of a piledriver attempt. A powerbomb gets two on the champ as the pace has picked WAY up out of nowhere. Blayze avoids the guillotine legdrop though, kicks Vachon down and grabs the German suplex to retain at 8:17.

Rating: B. For 1994, this was some insane stuff in America, especially for a women’s match. Blayze really was good but Nakano was one of the best of the era. She was big, strong, could wrestle on the mat and had the submission skills to be that dominant. Unfortunately these two pretty much the entire division for a long time so it could only go so far.

Shawn Michaels and Diesel brag about winning the titles because the Heartbreak Hotel needed some more gold. Diesel says Razor Ramon isn’t taking one of his two titles tonight. Razor has had a bunch of chances and tonight isn’t going to change anything.

Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Razor is challenging and has NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton in his corner to balance out Shawn. The white boots are a weird look for Razor. Shawn talks trash to Payton to start and Razor fires off the right hands, which look very good against someone Diesel’s size. Back in after a quick trip to the floor and Diesel gets in his own punches to take over. A sleeper slows Razor down even more and Diesel throws him outside.

Shawn goes for the turnbuckle pad but Payton chases him off, allowing Shawn to forearm Razor behind the referee’s back. I could watch Shawn outsmart people for days. Back in again and the referee stands in front of the exposed buckle but Shawn’s second distraction allows Razor to be whipped in. Diesel hits Snake Eyes onto an unexposed buckle as Lawler thinks the pad fell off the other one. A chinlock with a knee to the back keeps Razor in trouble and a big boot knocks his head off.

We hit the abdominal stretch, which at least looks more painful than a chinlock with a knee in the back. Diesel grabs the rope, making me wish we had Bobby Heenan there to explain why it’s more to avoid a hiptoss counter than to add more leverage. Razor gets out and sends Diesel ribs first into the exposed buckle, sending Lawler into hysterics as it should.

The middle rope bulldog (the Hall Buster) gets two and there’s a right hand to knock Shawn off the apron for a great over the top sell. A flying shoulder gives Diesel a breather so Shawn goes after the belt. Payton goes after him again and of course the referee yells, allowing Shawn to superkick Diesel by mistake. Shawn gets pulled outside and Razor finally crawls over for the pin to get the title back at 15:01.

Rating: B-. I’ve always had a mixed reaction to this one as the match itself is pretty good but Payton being out there was just a celebrity cameo that could have been anyone. Razor getting the title back was the right call as Shawn and Diesel are already having issues. They could have cut a few minutes out here, but what we got was still good enough and didn’t get sunk by the extra time.

Diesel yells at Shawn all the way to the back.

Savage talks about what we just saw.

Lex Luger and Tatanka are in the back. A fan poll has 54% saying that Luger sold out to Ted DiBiase and Tatanka is tired of hearing Luger deny it. We see a montage of DiBiase and Luger getting very close, but Luger still swears there’s nothing going on because DiBiase is lying. Tatanka is going to prove his story in the ring tonight.

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

There’s no DiBiase to start. Feeling out process to start with Luger running him over but not following up. Tatanka’s armbar has no effect so Luger puts him down again, only to miss the jumping elbow (as always). That means we get more of Tatanka’s lame offense, including the top rope chop to the head. The second attempt gets punched out of the air and Luger starts in with the clotheslines. Cue DiBiase with a gym bag as Luger hits a powerslam. DiBiase pulls money out of the bag as Luger yells at him, allowing Tatanka to grab a rollup for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: D. This was all about the storyline instead of the wrestling and that’s not surprising. Neither Luger nor Tatanka were going to have a good match at this point so the story was the only way this was going to work. Tatanka was a fine midcard hand but if he had even a slightly better offense, he could have been a much bigger deal. There comes a point where you need the wrestling to back up the character and that just wasn’t the case for him.

Post match Luger kicks the money out of DiBiase’s hands so Tatanka jumps him from behind, revealing that he sold out. I’ve always liked that story, as bad as the match was. What I don’t like is how long this goes on, as Tatanka beats him up three different times, capped off by the Million Dollar Dream. We get the money in Luger’s mouth for a little old school touch.

Gorilla Monsoon is aghast at what we just saw. Agreed. That money must be filthy.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

This is going to be a disaster. During the entrances, Vince and Jerry debate the detectives’ skills and if Lawler has any rhythm. Mabel tosses away a wristlock attempt (Jarrett’s sell is quite good) and drops the big elbow when Jarrett tries a drop down. A clothesline puts Jarrett on the floor so he shoves the rapping Oscar. That’s not going to get him booed as Oscar isn’t very good. Back in and Jeff scores with some middle rope ax handles but Mabel crushes him in the corner.

The spinwheel kick (the one good thing that Mabel could do) gets two as Abe Knuckleball Schwartz (the Brooklyn Brawler as a baseball player) is on strike in the crowd. This adds nothing and isn’t funny or interesting, but it’s a thing that happens. Sounds like 1994 as a whole. They head outside with Oscar getting in a slap and Mabel splashing Jeff against the post. Back in and the middle rope splash misses, followed by a missed sitdown splash to give Jeff the pin at 5:57.

Rating: F. Oh what were you expecting here? Mabel was fat and useless while Jarrett wasn’t exactly someone who was going to carry anyone at this point, especially someone that big. This should have been on Raw at best and comes off as terrible filler here. Mainly because that’s what it was.

Vince introduces the detectives in the aisle, blowing their cover. Undertaker’s silhouette appears in the entrance but they don’t see him. Because they’re bad at their jobs you see.

We recap Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. This started way back in 1993 when Owen was the only Hart eliminated at the Survivor Series, which he blamed on Bret. Owen and Bret then teamed up to try and win the Tag Team Titles, but Bret wouldn’t tag out when injured, leading to a referee stoppage.

They went on to have a classic at Wrestlemania X with Owen pinning Bret clean. Bret won the WWF World Title later in the night and the feud was on for the rest of the summer. Owen even won the King of the Ring (just like his brother the previous year) to earn another title shot. Tonight is the big blowoff inside a cage. This really was a great feud as you could see Owen’s point all along and it built up perfectly over time.

Earlier today, Owen and crony Jim Neidhart (Bret’s former partner) were in the cage and promised to destroy Bret once and for all tonight.

Bret is going to forget they’re family tonight because Owen will be crying a river of tears, just like he did when he was a baby.

The Hart Family, including Davey Boy Smith, is at ringside and Helen can’t believe this is happening. Stu hopes the best wrestler wins and sounds as only he can. Lawler accuses both of them of causing all of this and thinks Smith will turn on Bret again. Lawler: “Wouldn’t you love to be in there with Bret again tonight?” Smith: “Uh, not really.” Neidhart is behind Smith and says we’ll see Owen prove that he’s the better man once and for all. Bruce Hart spins around and says stay out of this.

Bret, recovering from strep throat, says his condition won’t change anything tonight. What we’re going to see tonight is barbaric and nothing like what they did when they were kids. Everyone wants things to end tonight and Bret is going to finish it to heal his family.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Bret is defending in a cage with escape only to win. Owen goes right at him to start and hammers away during the entrances, followed by some hard right hands to the head. You can see Helen panicking over the whole thing and a DDT by Bret makes things even worse. It’s too early to escape though and Owen scores with some headbutts, followed by an enziguri to really rock Bret. He’s fine enough to suplex Owen off the cage and it’s a double knockdown.

Owen goes for the door so Bret bends him around the ropes for a save and drags him right back in. They’re setting up a good feel here with both of them going for the escape and being pulled back for more punishment. That ties in the idea of wanting to hurt each other but wanting to be the better man even more, which is really what this is all about. They both wind up on the top rope and slug it out with Owen knocking him down.

Instead of getting the easy climb out though, Owen comes back with a missile dropkick into a nipup. Both make some fast climbs up the cage but get pulled down for a crash each. A collision gives us another double knockdown as they’re taking their time building the drama, mainly because they’ve got the time to do so. It’s still too early for Owen to get out the door as Bret pulls him out, only to get pulled back down from the top for a hard crotching.

Bret is up fast enough for the headbutt between the legs but Owen pulls him down again. Owen gets closer to getting out than any other attempt yet, even getting his feet and legs out of the cage. Bret pulls him back in and sends Owen face first into the cage for a big knockdown. This time the climb is cut off by a belly to back superplex as the crashes and falls are getting bigger and bigger. A good piledriver plants Bret but he’s fine enough to catch a tired Owen again.

They both fall off the ropes this time for a breather until Bret catapults him face first into the cage. Owen has to literally dive over for a save and sends Bret into the cage, with the champ coming up holding his knee. The knee is fine enough to climb up and kick Owen away but he gets pulled back down by the arm.

Owen gets out again and you can feel the fans quiet down as he gets close. He’s pulled back in yet again and Bret kicks him down to the mat but it’s Owen’s turn for a last second save. Bret catches him in the corner and pulls Owen back down with a huge superplex (Bret always had a great one) and they’re both down again. Owen is up first with a Sharpshooter but Bret reverses into one of his own.

A little cranking has Owen down but, say it with me, he lunges over for the save by pulling Bret down hair first. They both climb and this time make it over the top, leaving them hanging on the side. Bret hits him in the ribs, causing Owen to slip and get tied up in the cage wall. That’s enough for Bret to drop down and retain at 32:18.

Rating: A+. I’ve had to say this about several Bret matches before but the wrestling isn’t the point here. This was all about telling a great story and that’s what we got. The thing to remember here is that they don’t hate each other but rather Owen wants to prove he’s better and Bret wants to shut Owen up. It explains why they weren’t trying to kill each other in what is usually a violent match. Instead, they were trying to win, which should be the case in most matches and especially one like this. Notice how the match ends: not with a big spot, but with Bret being one step better than Owen, which is the point of the feud.

It is slower paced and it does feel like they’re doing the same things over and over, but it’s a case of WHY they’re doing the same things over and over. They’re not trying to destroy each other and it really is about being the better man. Owen has gone off the deep end with trying to beat Bret, but it never felt like he wanted to hurt him. That might not make for the most exciting match, but it’s how things should have gone when you think about it.

Post match Neidhart jumps the barricade and clotheslines Davey, knocking him into his wife. Neidhart locks himself inside the cage and the double beatdown is on as Owen has completely snapped. The Hart Brothers storm the cage (always cool) but Owen keeps knocking them off. Davey finally punches Owen down (for a great bump) and gets in, sending Owen and Neidhart running as the rest of the brothers get inside as well.

In the back, Owen and Neidhart yell about how Owen should be the winner and Davey isn’t family. Owen: “Let’s go celebrate my victory!”

Survivor Series ad, making fun of football. Considering how meh that show was, I wouldn’t go that way.

We recap the Undertaker vs. Undertaker. Back in January, Undertaker was destroyed by about a dozen guys and put in a casket. Not to worry as he ascended out of the casket in one of the most ridiculous things you’ll ever see in wrestling. After being gone for several months (aside from some sightings, including by a young child in school), Ted DiBiase said he had seen Undertaker. Paul Bearer said no way but DiBiase brought him back, only to reveal that it was a fake Undertaker (played by Brian Adams, better known as Chainz). The lack of about three inches was a, ahem, dead giveaway.

With Undertaker succumbing to the power of money, Bearer went to the graveyard and said he had the real Undertaker again. After the lights went out one night on the King’s Court (Todd Pettengill: “Look at that brain surgeon Jerry Lawler.”), the real Undertaker said he was back and not with DiBiase. He would be around this coming Monday (at Summerslam) against whatever DiBiase had with him. This video gets well over five minutes as we need to get rid of the cage.

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll identify them by the colors of their gloves: gray for the fake one and purple for the real. DiBiase brings his man to the ring but Bearer comes out with just a casket. There’s nothing inside though and the casket is wheeled to the back. Instead Bearer opens the Urn to reveal a light….and here’s the real Undertaker. That certainly seems to be worth the wait for the fans.

Purple shrugs off some forearms to the back and leapfrogs (!) gray, who falls to the floor. Gray stalks Bearer and gets suplexed back inside for his troubles, only to be sent right back to the floor. A Stunner over the top staggers Purple but Old School just isn’t happening. The real Old School connects and now Lawler believes Bearer has the real thing.

Purple misses a charge and falls to the floor as Vince defends the silent crowd. More right hands from gray don’t have much effect but a good looking chokeslam gets….no cover. Gray goes with a Tombstone for no cover again as he spends too long pointing at DiBiase. Purple hits a Tombstone of his own, followed by a second for good measure. A third finally gives purple the pin at 9:10.

Rating: F. Well what was that supposed to be? The biggest problem here is the match was really, really bad with the Tombstone being the only thing worthwhile from the fake Undertaker. That leaves you with about eight minutes of lumbering forearms and right hands as the fans had no idea what to make of anything because there was nothing to get excited about. This would have been much easier to sit through if it didn’t come after twenty minutes of build and a great cage match. For the life of me I’m not sure how they thought this was going to work, but it failed miserably.

Gray gets put in the casket and purple poses before the Urn’s flashlight.

Savage wraps the show up but throws it to the detectives, who find a briefcase. “The case is closed.” That ends the show. Summerslam mind you, ends on a sight gag. I remember watching this live and my dad tried to explain the joke to me because at six years old, this went flying over my head. What a great way to end a show.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s certainly not the worst show as there’s enough good stuff to carry it past horrible, but my goodness they didn’t do themselves any favors here. There’s a reason that 1994 was one of the worst years in company history and this show was a good example. With the fake main event being such a mess, they’re lucky to have an instant classic in the real main event to bail it out. It’s watchable, but be ready to fast forward a lot.

Ratings Comparison

IRS/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

Original: C+
2013 Redo: D+

2018 Redo: D+

Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C

2018 Redo: B

Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Original: B-

2013 Redo: C+

2018 Redo: B-

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D

2018 Redo: D

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D-

2018 Redo: F

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Original: A

2013 Redo: A+

2018 Redo: A+

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

Original: B

2013 Redo: F

2018 Redo: F

Overall Rating

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D+

2018 Redo: D+

I still don’t know how I got a B out of the main event before and I really liked the women’s match more this time around. Other than that, it’s about the same all around.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/28/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-1994-from-great-matches-to-leslie-nielsen/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/07/30/summerslam-count-up-1994-the-last-great-cage-match/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 29, 2026
Location: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with the Saudi Arabian excursion and the big story for the red people is Oba Femi and Iyo Sky winning their respective crowns. Sky has already announced that she is challenging Liv Morgan at Summerslam but Femi has a choice to make. Other than that, Roman Reigns is back so let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a long Night Of Champions recap, capped off by Sami Zayn getting the long awaited WWE Title win.

Here is Femi to get things going. He appreciates the chants but those are for a ruler. Now he deserves a reaction for a king. Lady Destiny is not done with him and a choice has to be made…and here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. Lesnar actually handles his own introduction and says that while he doesn’t watch the show, he knows that being King Of The Ring is an accomplishment.

Heyman has told Lesnar that Femi has a big decision to make and maybe Lesnar can help him with that. Lesnar understands that Femi called him a coward and a b**** while he was gone. Heyman has said that Femi is a h*** of a promo and Lesnar could never do that, which is why he has Heyman around.

As the saying goes though, talk s***, get hit, so it’s a low blow and F5 to leave Femi laying. Heyman: “NOW THAT WAS A GREAT PROMO!” The two of them go to leave but Femi calls Lesnar a b**** one more time. He wants to fight Lesnar at Summerslam to settle the score. That’s fine with Lesnar….who wants it in the Cell. Heyman panics as you would expect. That’s a heck of a match, but dang I hope they don’t just pull a bait and switch with the King Of The Ring title shot.

Post break we recap what we just saw.

Heyman is in the back with Adam Pearce, saying that the match was just given to him (imagine the t-shirt sales). They have the biggest match of all time in the Summerslam main event. Austin Theory comes in to say that he didn’t know Heyman was back and he has a match tonight. Heyman: “Well now you know.” Heyman goes off and Pearce goes to talk to Femi, who says he can get the title shot later. I really, really hope they aren’t just going to say that the King Of The Ring means nothing and that we wasted all of our time on it.

Ethan Page vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio picks up the pace to start and knocks Page down but gets caught up top. Page stomps away in the Tree Of Woe, followed by a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle. We take a break and come back with Mysterio trying a sunset flip, resulting in Page punching the mat by mistake.

Page is sent outside for the sliding splash and Mysterio rains down some right hands inside. A reverse sitout powerbomb gives Page two of his own and a big boot gets the same. Mysterio is fine enough to grab a super hurricanrana, setting up the 619. The frog splash finishes Page at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Mysterio’s ability to have these matches at his age and after all of those injuries is nothing short of remarkable. He’s nowhere near what he once was (of course) but he’s still having absolutely watchable and acceptable matches out there. Page losing clean isn’t the best sign, but at least it gives Mysterio some revenge.

Judgment Day goes to find Danhausen in a search for their money and steal something New York Knicks related.

Here is Joe Hendry for a concert, with special guests the Street Profits. They’re very happy with their title win last week and Ford thanks the fans for always believing in them. They also thank Seth Rollins and call last week’s win a beautiful song. That’s enough for Hendry to sing about how we have new champs and how pathetic the Vision happens to be.

This brings out Austin Theory, who calls the Profits thieves. The rematch is officially set for next week and the Profits approve, but they’re not sure if Bron Breakker is healthy enough. For right now though, Theory wants to face Hendry, who seems to approve. Theory already said he had a match tonight so why is this a surprise?

Joe Hendry vs. Austin Theory

We’re joined in progress with Hendry in trouble but he fights up with the Hit Single (discus lariat). Graves wants to know who declared that a hit as Theory gets in a hard forearm for two. The Last Shot gives Theory two more and he slugs away, only to charge into a Side Effect to give Hendry the pin out of nowhere at 3:34.

Rating: C. That was kind of a sudden finish but I’ll take Hendry getting on the show and getting to do something after weeks of pretty much nothing. They set this up last week as Hendry goes after what is left of the Vision and the song makes it even better. Hendry is still finding his place around here and this is a good enough spot to start, even in a short match.

Raquel Rodriguez complains to Adam Pearce and gets a match with Maxxine Dupri tonight. Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez come in with Morgan going on about her problems but Rodriguez says she has Morgan’s back. Perez didn’t get to say a word.

Here is Queen Of The Ring Iyo Sky, who is very grateful to be back here with the crown. Sky celebrates her win but Liv Morgan interrupts. Morgan is tired of hearing from Sky and promises to win at Summerslam, where she will remain the greatest Women’s Champions of allllllll (this goes on for about ten seconds) time.

Until then though, Sky is in trouble and here is the rest of the Judgment Day, who are quickly cleared out. An Oblivion attempt is countered and Sky grabs a German suplex. A big kick to the head looks to set up Over The Moonsault but Rodriguez is there to put Sky in the Tree Of Woe. The team works on Sky’s knee and Morgan gets the half crab until agents and referees break it up. They’ve got a long time to build to the match and Sky taking out Morgan’s friends is a good enough way to go.

We recap LA Knight turning down Solo Sikoa’s offer of teaming up from Smackdown.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey Uso is here with Jimmy so Knight goes outside to yell at him for a bit. Back in and Knight grabs a headlock but gets switched into an armbar. Knight stomps Jimmy in the corner, with a running shot getting two. Jimmy is back up with an enziguri and high crossbody for two, followed by the suicide dive.

We take a break and come back with Knight striking away, followed by the jumping neckbreaker out of the corner. Knight misses something off the top though and Jimmy hits a spear for two. The Superfly Splash is countered as Knight runs the corner for the top rope superplex and the big crash. Knight takes out Jey and hits his jumping top rope elbow on Jimmy. Jey offers a distraction though and Jimmy grabs a rollup for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. And then Sikoa will help Knight after the match and it feels like I’ve seen this story a few dozen times now. This is hardly anything that original and I could really go for Knight not losing so often. He still feels like he’s just on the cusp of breaking through and the kind of thing isn’t helping him. At least he’s doing something though, much like Jimmy for a change.

Post match the beatdown is on but Solo Sikoa runs in for the save. That’s enough for Knight to come back up with a BFT.

We look at Gunther and Nick Aldis getting into a shoving match after Night Of Champions. Aldis and Gunther have been sent home and the former is on administrative leave. For now, Adam Pearce is running both shows.

Jey Uso wants to face Sami Zayn for the title at Summerslam. Jacob Fatu is off to do something about it. Jimmy Uso: “Group text!”

Lyra Valkyria isn’t sure why people are getting on her for turning on Bayley. The anger got the better of her ONE TIME but she isn’t letting it get her down. She wanted to bring Bayley up with her and never hurt her. Last week felt so good though just because she got to close the gap.

Maxxine Dupri passes Chad Gable without saying anything but stops and says she’s sorry, which Gable says isn’t necessary. He wishes her luck in her match.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Dupri has to pull a Matrix to avoid an early big boot and they’re quickly on the floor. Rodriguez pulls her down by the hair and hits a slingshot Jackhammer. The back and forth elbows in the corner have Dupri in more trouble and Rodriguez grabs a torture rack. With that broken up, a hard clothesline drops Dupri again. She’s right back up with a kick and the straps come down, only for Rodriguez to counter a second attempt into the Tejana Bomb for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C. The Dupri experiment seems to be over as Rodriguez shrugged off everything Dupri threw at her here and won in the end. That very well might put Rodriguez on the path to a title shot and there are certainly worse ideas. As for Dupri, she’s got the Theory deal to keep her busy and that should be enough for the time being. It’s probably better for her anyway.

Danhausen finds his lab ruined and his Knicks gift missing. Liv Morgan comes in and Danhausen accuses her of doing this, with Morgan saying it was all of the Judgment Day. She wants their money back and the curse lifted as Morgan flips her hair in his face and leaves.

Chad Gable vs. JD McDonagh

Dominik Mysterio, in the stolen Danhausen jersey, is here with McDonagh. They fight over technical control to start with McDonagh working on the arm. Gable fights up and grabs a backdrop into an armdrag as McDonagh is in trouble. Mysterio has to save McDonagh fro the ankle lock and McDonagh uses the distraction to send Gable into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Gable rolling German suplexes, followed the rolling Liger kicks in the corner. McDonagh is back up with a standing Spanish Fly for two, with Gable rolling him up for the same. A brainbuster gives McDonagh two more but Gable suplexes him into the corner.

The ankle lock goes on again before Gable goes up top, where Mysterio offers a distraction. That lets McDonagh hit a super Spanish Fly for two and here’s Danhausen, complete with a briefcase. That gets a chase from Mysterio, allowing Gable to lock the ankle again for the tap at 11:36 (Gable is favoring his hamstring as he leaves so hopefully that’s nothing).

Rating: B-. Right now it isn’t a question of whether Gable will get to do something but rather what and when. Gable is on fire coming back from Mexico and it seems that they have stripped away a bunch of the stupid stuff and let him be himself. I’d like to see what he can do and right now it seems like he could be in for some kind of a story, which has me hopeful for Summerslam and beyond.

Post match Judgment Day goes for the briefcase, which sprays smoke in their face. Danhausen pops up to steal the jersey back. Danhausen declares that he won but Raquel Rodriguez shows up to jump him and steal the jersey again.

Austin Theory comes up to Maxxine Dupri and doesn’t like what she said to Chad Gable. If Dupri wants to go back down that road, maybe this isn’t working out. Theory leaves and the Alpha Academy come in to ask if she’s ok. Dupri doesn’t know and leaves on her own.

Here are Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu for a chat. Reigns hits the catchphrase and here is Seth Rollins to interrupt immediately. They stare at each other for a long time until Rollins says “hello my brother”. They have been tied together for fourteen years and Reigns is in possession of something that belongs to Rollins. Yes his brother, it is time to collect. Reigns says Rollins is the back of the line but Rollins says he owns Reigns no matter what.

Rollins lists off some of the times he’s been one step ahead of Reigns over the years, going all the way to the chair shot that ended the Shield. Reigns may be as great as the people think he is but he has never beaten Rollins. This may be Reigns’ last chance to do this because they cam through the crowd together and made this place their own together.

Now there is a new generation ready to come in and take over so this may be their last chance to do this together. Reigns is one of the best ever but if he doesn’t accept this challenge, he may never escape Rollins’ shadow. Reigns says that’s the first truth he’s heard from Rollins in a long time and he needs to beat him. The match is set. This was hardly a big shock but Rollins sold the match rather well.

Overall Rating: B. This was the SUMMERSLAM AHOY show as Night Of Champions is basically forgotten about and we’re on to the build to the big show next month. On one hand I can go for that, but at the same time I’m not wild on seeing the King Of The Ring deal just dropped for the sake of a grudge match. The action here wasn’t great but that wasn’t the focus for the most part, as this was all about setting the stage for later. Good enough show here, but they definitely have a new focus and that’s nice to see.

Results
Rey Mysterio b. Ethan Page – Frog splashes
Joe Hendry b. Austin Theory – Side Effect
Jimmy Uso b. LA Knight – Rollup
Raquel Rodriguez b. Maxxine Dupri – Tejana Bomb
Chad Gable b. JD McDonagh – Ankle lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Summerslam 1993
Date: August 30, 1993
Location: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 23,954
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

A lot has changed in the last year. Bret won the WWF Title about three months after the last Summerslam but lost it at Wrestlemania to the monster Yokozuna. Yoko went on a path of destruction through the WWF over the summer, but it was WCW signee Lex Luger who stood up for the USA on the 4^th of July in a body slam challenge and is challenging for the title tonight. Hogan is gone, so America’s hopes rest on Luger. Let’s get to it.

We see Luger’s Lex Express bus arriving earlier today. Luger had gone around the country in a bus to get fan support for the match against Yokozuna. Why he didn’t stay in the WWF and win matches to get a title shot is beyond me.

Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon

The match starts fast as DiBiase jumps Razor coming in. Razor comes back with a quick backdrop and a slam, sending DiBiase running to the floor. Back in and DiBiase takes it into the corner for some chops, only to be reversed on a whip and clotheslined out to the floor again. Razor pulls him back in but Ted chokes away on the top rope. I love basic heel moves like that. You never see those anymore because it’s all about attitude or whatever nonsense WWE tells you now.

Heenan makes jokes about the 1-2-3 Kid, who recently defeated Ramon and triggered his face turn. A clothesline gets two for DiBiase and it’s off to the chinlock. It’s clear that DiBiase is WAY past his prime here but his prime was so good that this is still totally watchable. Razor’s arms stay up on the third drop but DiBiase takes him back down with a swinging neckbreaker. Ted sends him to the floor and rips off a turnbuckle pad, only to be sent into it himself. The Razor’s Edge is good for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but DiBiase was nothing more than a jobber to the stars by now anyway. This would actually be the last match in the WWF for DiBiase as he would do a quick run in Japan before retiring by the beginning of the year. The match wasn’t bad but it could have been the main event of any episode of Raw.

Todd Petingill interviews some of the Steiners’ relatives as we’re in their hometown. The sister calls Rick by his real name of Rob here.

Tag Titles: Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies

Jim Cornette manages the challengers, who are Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Pritchard. This is part of the cross promotion with SMW. Heenan sings Cornette’s praises, which was how Cornette got over as a heel. He had debuted not long before this and Heenan immediately hugged him. Since Heenan was a heel and Cornette was a friend of his, Cornette was instantly hated. No shades of gray, no thought to it, just basic heel work. I miss stuff like that so much.

The Bodies jump the champions and send Scott out to the floor early on. A double flapjack puts Rick down and Scott is knocked back to the floor, but the Bodies spend too much time double teaming. All four are in now with the Steiners cleaning house to the delight of the crowd. I’m sure it has nothing to do with them wearing University of Michigan colors. A tilt-a-whirl slam (called a suplex by Vince) puts Del Ray down and the Steiners stand tall.

We officially start with Pritchard vs. Scott and Tom is slammed down in a BIG gorilla press. A backdrop puts Del Ray down and it’s off to Rick vs. Pritchard. Rick cleans house with Steiner Lines to send the challengers to the floor. Back in the and the Bodies finally start cheating, allowing Pritchard to hit an enziguri to send Scott to the floor, followed by a Del Ray moonsault press to wipe Scott out.

Back in and Del Ry hits a Rocky Maivia spinning DDT but doesn’t cover like the schnook that he is. Heenan has the match 1112-9 in favor of the Bodies. A powerslam gets two for Del Ray and Cornette jabs Scott in the throat with his tennis racket. Scott finally comes back with a belly to belly out of nowhere and makes the hot tag to Rick.

Everyone gets Steiner Lines (Heenan: “Mrs. Steiner just gave her daughter a Steiner Line!”) but the top rope bulldog only gets two on Del Ray thanks to a save. Cornette throws in the racket but a shot to Rick’s back is only good for two. Del Ray misses a moonsault and the Frankensteiner retains the belts.

Rating: C+. This was as by the book of a tag team match as you can get but it was still good stuff. I don’t think anyone cared about the Heavenly Bodies but that’s where a good manager like Cornette can come in handy: the fans are going to boo anyone he’s out there with, including a tag team who never did anything of note in the WWF.

A new interviewer named Joe Fowler (he didn’t last long) is with Shawn and Diesel, with the former saying he’s the best IC Champion ever. Diesel says he’s there to keep the chicks off the champ. Fowler wasn’t bad actually.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is defending. This match was literally months in the making with the WWF basically saying “this is going to be the match of the year, guaranteed.” To continue the theme of things that just aren’t the same today, Perfect is trying to become the first three time IC Champion. We also have Radio WWF with JR and Gorilla Monsoon doing commentary. Wrestling used to be broadcast on the radio back in the day, with legendary sportscaster Bob Costas doing commentary at one point.

Shawn easily takes it down to start but Perfect snapmares him down as well. Perfect takes over with an armdrag and drives some knees into the arm. Shawn comes back with a headlock out of the corner but Perfect avoids an elbow and we have a stalemate. Some LOUD chops in the corner snap Shawn’s head back and a clothesline turns him inside out for two. Back to the armbar on the champion but Shawn escapes and goes up top, only to dive into an armdrag.

Perfect puts on another armbar before catapulting Shawn out to the floor in a great crash. Perfect goes to the floor but has to stare at Diesel, giving Shawn an opening for the yet to be named Sweet Chin Music. Shawn hits an ax handle of the apron to Perfect’s back before heading back inside to drop knees onto the back. A hard whip into the corner puts Perfect down again and Shawn drops down onto Perfect’s back.

Off to a backbreaker with Shawn bending Perfect’s back over Shawn’s knee. A stiff right hand gets Perfect out and a running dropkick puts Shawn down again. Perfect gets two off an atomic drop before countering a backslide into the PerfectPlex, only to have Diesel pull the leg for the save. Diesel gets punched in the face before both guys brawl on the floor. Shawn slides back in to distract the referee, allowing Diesel to post Perfect for the countout.

Rating: C. This was ok and nothing higher than that. The ending was lame and the match was a bunch of arm/back work with no heat segment or drama at all. It was a one off match that collapsed under the weight that the company put on it by saying it would be a classic and all that jazz. Not much to see here.

Perfect gets beaten down post match with Shawn claiming to be the best ever. Perfect gives chase and catches up with Shawn during an interview with Gene. The fight winds up being Perfect vs. Diesel in a match I don’t think ever happened, unless it was on some random Raw or Superstars.

1-2-3 Kid is nervous for his PPV debut.

I.R.S. vs. 1-2-3 Kid

The Kid is relatively new at this point, having shocked the world by beating Razor Ramon in May. He also beat IRS’ partner DiBiase recently so IRS is here for revenge and to stop the Kid’s lucky streak. The Kid is launched into the air and bounces off the mat for early control but he dropkicks IRS out of the air on a second attempt. Nice psychology there, but IRS knocks him to the floor a few seconds later.

Kid comes back in with a sunset flip for two but gets caught in an abdominal stretch to drag the match out even longer. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Kid takes him to the corner for some kicks and a moonsault press for two. A side roll gets two as Heenan is losing his mind. Kid dropkicks him down for two more, but IRS hits a flying clothesline for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D. What in the world was that? The Kid had been undefeated since May and you have him lose to a jobber to the stars in IRS? I don’t get the thinking here at all and it would continue to make little sense as the Kid would only lose one more singles match this year, and not again until next June. Yet he loses to IRS here? I don’t get it.

Owen and Bruce Hart say their dad is at home recovering from knee surgery but they’re here to support Bret.

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

This is the blowoff to a MAJOR feud which started at the King of the Ring. Bret won the tournament but Jerry attacked him during the coronation, saying he was the only real king in professional wrestling. Jerry comes to the ring on crutches with a big ice pack on his knee. He claims an injury from a car wreck (going into hilarious detail about a blue haired lady causing a ten car pileup) so Bret’s new opponent is the court jester.

Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown

This is evil Doink, meaning he’s AWESOME. Doink comes out carrying two buckets, one of which contains confetti to throw at the fans. The other is full of water which is thrown on Bruce Hart in the old Harlem Globetrotters trick. Bret jumps Doink on the floor and we get things going inside. Doink is punched back to the floor before he can even get his jacket off before Hart sends him into the post. Heenan talks about how Lawler was in an 18 car pileup, crawled out of the car and into a school bus, saved 40 kids from the bus and bought them all hamburgers before coming to the arena tonight. Vince’s stunned reaction is great.

Doink gets in a shot and goes up, only to be crotched on the buckle. Heenan: “He’s been de-Doinked!” Bret offers Lawler a chance to come in before dropping Doink with an atomic drop. Another Lawler distraction lets Doink hit a knee to the back before sending Bret into the steps. Doink starts working on the leg and wraps it around the post with Lawler cheering him on.

The Clown puts on an STF and Heenan swears Bret gave up. Doink transitions into a lame chinlock before putting on a stump puller (you sit the other guy down and push his head down while pulling up on a leg) to stay on the leg and neck. Bret comes back with a right and the Five Moves of Doom. He hooks the Sharpshooter but Lawler runs into the ring and breaks the crutch over Bret’s back for the DQ.

Rating: C+. The match was your usual good Bret match when he had a good opponent to work against. Lawler pretending to be injured is the perfect action for him as he’s such a slimy coward most of the time. The Bret vs. Lawler feud had incredible heat to it as the fans wanted to see Lawler get beaten up…….and then there’s this.

President Jack Tunney stops Lawler in the aisle and says get in the ring right now.

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

Bret blasts him in the head with one of Doink’s buckets before the bell. They head inside and Bret immediately pounds Lawler down and gets in a crutch shot for good measure. Lawler gets in a crutch shot to the throat and chokes away as the referee (ECW’s Bill Alfonzo) is trying to restrain the Hart Brothers.

Bret gets crotched against the post, allowing Lawler to tell the referee to go yell at the Brothers again. The distraction lets Lawler get in more crutch shots in a classic simple heel move. He stops to tell the booing fans to shut up but Bret is ready to fight. Hart destroys Lawer and even throws in a piledriver before putting on the Sharpshooter for the academic submission. He won’t let go though and the decision is reversed.

Rating: B. The match itself isn’t much from an action standpoint, but the story was perfect (Bret wants revenge) and it’s a short form clinic on how to work a crowd from Lawler. Those subtle things like distracting the referee and sneaking in weapon shots and telling the crowd to shut up are so basic and easy but you NEVER see them today. Today’s writers need to watch some Lawler matches and they’ll learn how to have a crowd eating out of a heel’s hand in no time.

It takes about ten referees plus two Brothers to pull Bret off of Lawler. Bret is told that Lawler is the undisputed King so he goes after Jerry again as Lawler is put on a stretcher. Bruce Hart gets in some shots as well but Lawler is finally wheeled off, raising his arm in victory like the true villain he is.

Unfortunately we never got the planned blowoff to this feud as some 15 year old accused Lawler of rape (she admitted she made the whole thing up and Lawler was acquitted) so the Hart Brothers vs. Jerry and three hired goons at Survivor Series never happened. That’s a shame as the reaction for Lawler being destroyed by the whole family including Stu would have been a sight to behold.

Ludvig Borga is on the streets of Detroit to show us the country that Lex Luger wants to stand up for.

Bret and his brothers say Lawler deserves a broken leg.

Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga

Borga is basically the original Antonio Cesaro but from Finland. Marty fires away to start but gets punched in the corner by the former boxer. A hard clothesline puts Jannetty down before Borga throws him into the air for an uppercut (much like Cesaro). More punches in the corner have Jannetty in trouble and a clothesline stops his comeback dead. Borga blows his nose on Jannetty before putting on a bearhug. Marty escapes and makes a quick comeback with a pair of superkicks but gets caught in a powerslam and a torture rack for the submission.

Rating: D-. This was one of the lamer squashes I can remember in a long time. Borga looked slow and limited in the ring but the rack looked good. Other than that though, Borga came off as much more flash than substance. He would get better, but at the end of the day he never quite did anything in the company.

Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker

This is a Rest in Peace match, which means No DQ and No Countout, or a street fight as we would call it. Gonzalez has been tormenting Undertaker all year and lost to him via DQ at Wrestlemania. Gonzalez is a legit 7’7 and his manager Harvey Whippelman has stolen the Urn. Paul Bearer is absent for reasons that aren’t quite explained. The Giant pounds on Taker to start but Taker comes back with some clotheslines. A single elbow takes the Dead Man down and they head outside with the Giant in control.

Gonzalez hits some of the weakest chair shots you’ll ever see before whipping Taker knees first into the steps. Back in and Undertaker hits some uppercuts but keeps reaching for the Urn. Taker is still down when the gong rings and Paul Bearer makes his return with a black wreath. Whippelman goes after him and gets decked, allowing Paul to get the Urn back. The Giant stares down at him, Undertaker sits up, hits five clotheslines and a sixth frm the top for the pin. Seriously, that’s it.

Rating: G. As in I long for Great Khali. You often hear bad wrestlers said to be as bad as Giant Gonzalez and there’s a good reason for that: the guy is HORRIBLE. I understand the idea of the guy being huge and not needing to do much, but Gonzalez couldn’t do even the most basic stuff without screwing it up. Having seen a good deal of both, I can safely say that Gonzalez makes Great Khali look like Bret Hart.

Post match Harvey turns on Gonzalez and gets laid out.

Cornette says his men have been ripped off all night but that won’t happen when Lex Luger faces his Yokozuna. All those people Luger has seen over the country aren’t going to be able to help him now because it’s just Luger vs. Yokozuna, and the last thing Luger will hear is BANZAI!

Smoking Guns/Tatanka vs. Headshrinkers/Bam Bam Bigelow

Aren’t cowboys and Indians supposed to fight? The heels have Afa and Luna Vachon with them. The Samoans run over the Guns to start and we have Bigelow vs. Tatanka to get us going. Tatanka fires off a shoulder block and a dropkick followed by an impressive backdrop. Both guys try cross bodies and Tatanka actually gets the better of it. For a gimmick wrestler Tatanka had some good success around this time.

A double tag brings in Billy vs. Fatu (Rikishi) with the Samoan hitting a quick superkick. Billy comes back with a top rope clothesline as Vince tells us Billy went to college on a rodeo scholarship. That actually exists? Another superkick from Samu knocks Billy into the tag to Bart who is slammed face first into the mat for his troubles. Bigelow comes in with a dropkick for two before it’s back to Fatu for a wicked powerslam. The Samoans take turns double teaming Bart with headbutts and chops as the heat segment goes on for a good while.

Bigelow misses a charge and hits the post, allowing Bart to make the hot tag off to Tatanka. The Indian chops every heel in sight and takes Bigelow down with a DDT and a high cross body for two. Tatanka goes on the war path but walks into an enziguri from Bam Bam. Sometimes there’s no better solution than to kick a guy in the head. Everything breaks down and Tatanka is left all alone against the three monsters. A TRIPLE HEADBUTT puts Tatanka down and all three go up for a triple flying headbutt, but Tatanka rolls away and rolls up Samu for the pin.

Rating: B-. Where in the world did this come from??? This was a shockingly good tag match with everyone moving fast and some great looking spots from Bigelow. Tatanka was one of those guys that the fans just liked and there’s no way you can fake that. Good stuff here and a very nice surprise.

To fill in time, we talk to Luger’s bus driver. The guy is so valuable he gets to sit in the bus and watch the show on a monitor. He talks about how great Luger is and how he visited a bunch of kids.

Pettingill asks some fans who they like in the main event and the answer is obvious.

Some guy sings the Japanese national anthem.

Randy Savage is master of ceremonies for the main event and comes out with some country singer who sings the American national anthem.

WWF Title: Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna

Remember, this is Luger’s ONE title shot. It’s a long staredown to start before Lex has to knock Mr. Fuji down. Lex starts pounding away but a single shot from the champion puts him down. Luger comes back with more right hands and down goes Yoko. A big elbow drop gets two for Luger and he avoid one from Yoko. Luger hits a running clothesline in the corner before pounding away on the champion’s head in the corner. Yoko will have none of that though and takes Luger down with a single chop.

Luger gets in some right hands but can’t slam Yoko again. Instead he gets kicked in the face and knocked to the floor with some headbutts. Out to the floor they go with Yoko choking Luger with a mic cord. A splash crushes Luger against the post but Yoko misses a chair shot. They head back inside where Luger hits two ax handle shots off the top and middle rope before a top rope forearm gets a very close two count.

A double clothesline puts both guys down and things slow down even more. Fuji throws in his bucket which Yoko uses to knock Luger out cold but only for two. A big belly to belly suplex and side slam get the same results as the champion is getting frustrated. Off to a nerve hold by the champion which eats up several minutes.

Luger fights up again but gets clotheslined down for two. To show you how impressive he is, Heenan actually compliments Luger. I don’t think I ever remember him cheering for a good guy before. Yokozuna loads up the Banzai Drop but Luger rolls away at the last minute. They fight into the corner again but Yoko misses a charge. Luger slams him down and hits the loaded forearm, knocking the champion out to the floor. Unfortunately for Luger, he also knocked Yokozuna out cold, earning Luger a countout win.

Rating: D+. This was long and slow without being very good. Luger got good reactions though, especially for the slam. It was clear that his character was nothing but warmed over Hogan leftovers but at least the fans hadn’t entirely realized that yet. This wasn’t a terrible match, but it certainly was nothing of note either. The ending wasn’t great but it was necessary to continue the story being told.

Luger celebrates with his friends to end the show despite not winning the title. We even get a music video of his push, which would be WAY more effective if Luger had, you know, WON THE FREAKING TITLE. Heenan: “This was his ONE shot!” Vince: “Don’t worry he’ll get another one!” Heaven forbid we pay attention to storylines that PPVs are built around.

Overall Rating: C+. With a Luger title win, this would have been a very solid show. There are some bad matches on here but the majority of the show works amazingly well with Bret vs. Lawler and the six man being highlights. Much like last year it’s a show where the overall show is better than its individual parts which made for a good show. Why Luger didn’t go over here continues to elude me.

Ratings Comparison

Razor Ramon vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: B-

Redo: C

1-2-3 Kid vs. I.R.S.

Original: F

Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown

Original: B

Redo: C+

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

Original: B+

Redo: B

Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga

Original: D+

Redo: D-

Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez

Original: C+

Redo: G (As in I long for Great Khali)

Tatanka/Smoking Gunns vs. Bam Bam Bigelow/Headshrinkers

Original: F+

Redo: B-

Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C+

……I had no idea what I was doing back then did I?

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/27/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1993-i-still-dont-get-the-ending/