Shining a Spotlight 8.16.12: SummerSlam 92

With SummerSlam upon us, there’s naturally a lot of looks back at shows of the past. I’ve touched on those myself in recent years but find myself intrigued by what this year’s anniversary show is. It makes me feel old to remember a time when you only had four PPV’s a year for WWF but that made them stand out more. Such was the case with an event that really showed the international appeal of WWF and how they were able to continue onward without their biggest star.

SummerSlam ’92. August 29th, 1992, Wembley Stadium, London, England

It had been a few months since Hulk Hogan left WWF, seemingly for good. Naturally losing the man you had built your company around for the last decade was a shake-up and WWF was trying to prove they could still maintain their dominance. With Randy Savage as WWF champion and Bret Hart tearing it up as IC champ, the company was doing a good job there. There were real-life distractions with accusations of sexual misconduct in the company and the beginnings of the federal case against Vince. But with WCW slumping under Bill Watts’ mismanagement, WWF was leading the way. Still, the decision to have one of the key shows of the year take place outside of the U.S. and in the heart of London was seen as a risk. But WWF was smart enough to make sure to stack the card well to give the fans something to see.

Sadly, it was about this time Vince (then just the on-air announcer) decided to push himself onto the PPV’s rather than Gorilla Monsoon. Vince’s skills weren’t the best then, going over the top and not seeming to know much about the actual wrestling and fans missed the great banter between Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. The show kicked off with Money Inc facing the Legion of Doom, a belated grudge match from Money Inc stealing the tag titles from the LOD months before. The LOD made a great entrance on motorcycles, led by longtime manage Paul Ellering and Rocco the Dummy. Oh yes, Rocco, a character I fully expect to see pop up on Are you Serious? any week now. After getting everyone excited about Ellering finally reuniting with his charges, WWF did a video bit of Ellering trying to get the Warriors back to their roots by walking around a garbage dump. Finding an old ventriloquist dummy amid the wreckage, Ellering suddenly decided it was somehow a sign of a new advisor for the team. Yes, the most fearsome tag team in wrestling history were now taking advice from a dummy held by their manager. Kind of puts some of today’s stuff in perspective, huh? That said, the entrance was fun with Rocco at the head of Ellering’s bike so Heenan could yell “the dummy is driving the bike!” A fun story is how Hawk parked his cycle too close to Animal’s resulting in the latter burning his leg on the engine getting off.

Money Inc is a great example of two guys just thrown together who ended up forming a great team. DiBiase and Rotunda were great technical workers and awesome heels with Rotunda managing to make the IRS character work beautifully. Plus, you have to give props to how a guy continued to wrestle in suspenders and a tie. Hawk and DiBiase started off, DiBiase trying to stall on the floor but thrown in by Animal so Hawk could pound him around. Animal and IRS went at it with Animal grabbing the tie to pound on him, Hawk tagged in to get into a sleeper with the crowd chanting “LOD” to urge him out of it. After a running clothesline, Hawk took to the ropes but missed a flying clothesline to hit the floor. DiBiase slammed him on the floor before rolling him back into the ring, allowing Money Inc to do some quick tags to beat him around. The two even resorted to the “phantom tag” that you just don’t see any more to sell themselves as dicks. It has to be said that Hawk clearly wasn’t in a condition to shine here, taking the beatings because of Animals’ bad back but seemed that his personal demons were coming calling. Hawk hit a clothesline back but was cut off before he could make the tag, IRS choking him with the rope while the Ref was distracted. When DiBiase cut a front facelock on, Hawk managed to pick him up and ram him into his corner to finally tag in Animal only the ref was distracted and missed it. But Hawk got the tag again so Animal could come in pound on both guys with clotheslines and instigate a four-way brawl. They went for the Doomsday Device on DiBiase but IRS dropkicked Animal to stop it so Animal just hit a powerslam on DiBiase for the pin. A pretty poor opener despite the crowd hot for the LOD and no surprise the team would soon part ways.

Backstage, Gene Okerlund was interviewing Ric Flair to set up the main story of the night. When it was announced that Savage would be defending the WWF title against the Ultimate Warrior, Flair got pissed, saying he should have the shot as former champ. This set up a great bit of Mr. Perfect teasing being in the corner of one of the guys, Flair and Perfect clearly playing Savage and Warrior off each other and Flair telling Okerlund that Perfect was in “the winner’s dressing room.”

Next was Virgil taking on Nailz, who had been introduced as supposedly an ex-con at the prison the Big Bossman had worked at, out for some payback. He’d taken the Bossman out in an attack with a billy club and Virgil wanted to avenge his buddy. Virgil went for some fast moves of dropkicks and a sunset flip but Nailz was pained at the big powerhouse shaking it off. Vince actually got a fun character touch as when Nailz rolled under the ropes, Vince emphasized he was “escaping.” Virgil just got destroyed by chokes and blows before Nailz got in a chokehold to knock him out then beat on him with the nightstick until officials dragged him out.

Alfred Hayes looked for Savage but his dressing room door was locked to push his storyline. Okerlund then interviews Sensation Sherri about her deal in the Shawn Michaels/Rick Martel match. While managing Michaels, Sherri had been approached by “the Model” who flirted with her during matches, Sherri seeming to return the feelings. Sherri played it cool while stating that the duo’s match had the stipulation of neither man able to hit the other in the face. A heel vs heel match was unique for the time and the crowd was pretty hyped for it with Shawn coming out accompanied by Sherri. Martel hit a dropkick to the face, Heenan asking if that counted against the stip but the match went on. The dynamic was great of the guys mocking each other, each pulling on hair, which they acted like was a horrific move and ready to punch the other but holding back at the last moment. Martel riled Shawn up by going to the outside to hug Sherri as she seemed to hug back. Shawn sold a great backdrop, rolling Martel up but the ref saw him pulling the tights so wouldn’t make the count. Martel reversed it with his own tight pull and again the ref ignored it so we got a few more reversals allowing both guys to flash their ass (with Sherri matching them with her specialized fishnet bottoms). Shawn hit his superkick (then not quite Sweet Chin Music) at Martel’s chest, a fun bit, going for the pin but the ref saw him using the ropes for leverage. Each man finally got ticked off and started slapping each other in the face and were ready to go at it when Sherri did a quite obvious faint on the apron. Shawn went to check on her but Martel pulled him off to give Sherri chest compressions. They finally started punching each other, oblivious to the ref counting them both out. As they fought up the ramp, Sherri sat up, watched them and gave a “hey, what about me” look before flopping back. Shawn came to pick her into his arms and carry her back but Martel attacked him to send Sherri to the ground. He then started to bring her back but Shawn attacked and the crowd was laughing at how Sherri was getting some abuse after her whole act. Finally, Shawn started to carry her only for Martel to run out and dump a bucket of water on Sherri, leaving her soaking as he and Michaels fought. An okay match but better for the great comedy antics of the three egotists clashing.

Backstage, Shawn Mooney was interviewing Jimmy Hart, who was with the Nasty Boys, the Nasties pushing their manager to get them a shot for the tag titles but Hart was favoring Money Inc, setting up the Nasty Boys turning face a few months later. The belts were on the line as the Natural Disasters defended against the Beverly Brothers. After being betrayed by manager Hart, Earthquake and Typhoon had turned face and, after months of chasing Money Inc, had won the titles in June. The two were an impressive team as it’s pretty hard to pin a couple of guys weighing 500 pounds each. The Beverly Brothers were another case of two guys dumbed down for WWF as Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom had been good as AWA tag champs the Destruction Crew but their gimmick in WWF were a pair of blonde guys managed by Lanny Poffo. It was a big mismatch, proven as the Brothers attacked the Disasters, trying to whip them together but of course, failed to budge them. The Disasters dominated easily, Blake trying to slam Quake but couldn’t do it. However, Earthquake missed a charge in the corner and accidentally hit Typhoon (that’s something you almost never see with the face tam) letting the Brothers take over. Bobby Heenan was salvaging things on commentary with the announcement “Shawn Michaels has left Wembely Stadium.” Typhoon was dominated as the Beverlys smartly used quick tags to wear him down, bringing back the old “choke with the tag rope” that they really need to bring back. Finally, Typhoon caught Blake but Beau hit a dropkick to knock him back, Blake on top for a two-count. The Genius tossed his scroll in the ring, not sure how effective a weapon that can be but it seemed to work as Typhoon was knocked down with Quake breaking up the pin. To show how dead things were, Earthquake was the one picking up the pace once tagged in, pounding both guys down before hitting a Quake splash to pin and the Disasters roughed the Genius up too. Slow match overall, showing how counting on the Disasters as long-term champs wasn’t in the cards.

The Bushwhackers were interviewed (no idea why) and then Hayes went to the Warrior’s dressing room, convinced Perfect was inside but couldn’t get in. Back in the ring, Repo Man was facing Crush which, as long-time fans knew, was the showdown between former Demolition partners. Barry Darsow deserves credit for making the goofy idea of an “evil repossession agent” work by going so over the top with it, you couldn’t help but watching. Free of makeup and with blonde hair, Crush was being set up as a big face to come, which he never quite reached. Repo went on the attack but was slammed so went to slinking around the ring as only he could. Crush chased, mowing Repo with a clothesline and into the ring, putting him on the top rope to punt at his gut and then a one-handed backbreaker. Being manhandled, Repo hit a thumb to the eye and a couple of punches but that was about it as Crush hit another backbreaker and went to the top but Repo rolled out of the way of a flying knee. When Crush went for another backbreaker, Repo smartly grabbed him and rammed his head into the mat to break it up. Repo went off the top only to be caught in a powerslam and then Crush’s two-handed vice crush to end the match.

Thankfully, things improved with the next battle as Savage and the Warrior were ready to go at it. Both men came out alone, surprising everyone but adding to the heat for the battle. As ever, Savage deserves credit for his obsession of planning out major matches in detail, something the Warrior needed. Smartly, they avoided the flow of their classic Wrestlemania VII match to give the fans something different. Savage offered a hand and after accusing him of siding with Perfect, the Warrior shook it. They started a power battle which the Warrior easily won, flustering Savage and that meant good things as Savage was always better when royally pissed off. He nailed several clotheslines on the Warrior, going to the ropes for the old double axhandle but Warrior caught him with a blow to the midsection. Two atomic drops, one regular, one inverted, followed and a clothesline got two. Rolling out of the way of an elbow drop, Savage mounted the Warrior to pound him with rights. A chinlock was broken by a jawbreaker as the Warrior sent Savage flying into the corner and several punches, the Warrior even stomping on Savage like an early Stone Cold with the crowd counting along. Savage grabbed the tights to pull the Warrior into the buckle to break it up, then clotheslined him off the top. After rolling the Warrior back in, Savage hit the axehandle but the Warrior just stood there. So Savage hit it again, this time sending Warrior down for two. Savage tried for a third but was caught and dropped into a backbreaker. After tossing Savage around, Warrior got him in a bear hug but before you could groan over a time-wasting move, he released it for a pin attempt. He tried for a slam only to be small packaged for two and the crowd was eating this up with a spoon. The Warrior went for a backbreaker only for Savage to grab him into a swinging neckbreaker for two. He then clotheslined Warrior over the top and tried to suplex him in but his back was hurting from the earlier abuse. Sensing this, Warrior got his own suplex off for two. He charged Savage, who played possum and yanked Warrior over the top, following with an axehandle off the top rope.

They started to brawl in the aisle, Warrior nailed head first on the stairs, a pretty extreme move for 1992. When Heenan said Savage would keep the belt if they got counted out, McMahon made the actually great observation that keeping the belt wasn’t enough for Savage, he had to prove he could beat the Warrior, a brilliant character touch. It was at this point that Perfect and Flair (in robe and trunks despite not being on the card) came wandering down the ring, instantly getting everyone wondering who they were backing. At first, Savage and Warrior didn’t notice, heading back into the ring, Warrior hitting a clothesline, a slam and going for the big splash but Savage got his knees up on time. A double clothesline sent both down as Perfect and Flair reached the ring. Savage got to his feet first, heading to the ropes but tripped by Perfect so McMahon and Heenan yelled about Warrior selling out to Flair. With Savage distracted yelling at Perfect, the Warrior got up to choke him with both hands and then down to the mat. He swung Savage to the corner but took the ref out in the process. So when the Warrior hit his own axe handle off the top, the ref was only able to crawl to count to two. Savage actually hit a good piledriver, going to wake the ref as behind him, Perfect lifted up the Warrior so Flair could punch him with brass knuckles. Savage turned as they got out of the ring and hit his flying elbow yet Warrior kicked out at two, sending Savage into a fit (although let’s face it, if five of those couldn’t put Warrior away at WMVII, what’s one going to do?). Warrior began shaking the ropes to fire himself up and mowed Savage with clotheslines, flying shoulder block and the Gorilla press. He went to the ropes for the splash only for Flair to nail him in the back with a chair so everyone finally realized Flair and Perfect had been playing everyone. On his feet, Savage glared at Flair and Perfect as if realizing what they were doing but was still going to the top for another elbow. But after a moment, he leapt off to hit Flair on the floor. Flair and Perfect double-teamed him, smashing his leg with the chair as the ref counted Savage out. Rolling him into the ring, Flair got the figure four on until the Warrior recovered with his own chair to chase them off. After a pause, Warrior and Savage shook hands, embraced and celebrated together. A great match with amazing psychology although the rumor is that Warrior was supposed to win and turn heel. It ended up adding to the Flair/Savage story as Flair would beat a weakened Savage a few weeks later to regain the title.

The cool-down for that ended up being pretty good as Kamala was to face the Undertaker. In one of the absolute most awesome visuals you can imagine, Taker came out standing on the back of a hearse framed by the night sky and looking totally bad-ass as both Heenan and McMahon were freaked at the entrance. England has always had a fascination with the macabre so Undertaker went over huge with the crowds. Even Kamala looked freaked as Kim Chee and Harvey Whippleman tried to calm him down. He attacked but Taker no sold it, doing the top rope arm blast (not old enough to be called Old School). Kamala sent him over the top, Taker landing on his feet to grab both Whippleman and Kim Chee before Kamala broke it up. They got back inside, Kamala eating a chokeslam and a leaping clothesline. Taker went for the Tombstone but Kim Chee ran in to hit him and get Kamala disqualified. Kamala attacked Taker, hitting him with splashes off the first, middle and top ropes. Taker seemed crushed as Kamala left, turning the corner around the ring just as Paul Bearer slapped the mat and the Undertaker sat right up. A lucky cameraman caught the utterly priceless look of horror and disbelief on Kamala’s face as the Undertaker got up and started to stalk him down the aisle. The match was poor and short but the post-match was wonderful as Kamala literally tripped over himself escaping the silent Undertaker and Heenan got the chance to give his great reaction of “that man is not human!”

Another cool-down had Roddy Piper making a surprise appearance to join a Highland band playing “Scotland the Brave” on bagpipes. Then we came to the moment that makes this show so memorable, what WWE themselves recently voted the greatest match in SummerSlam history. After feuding with Shawn Michaels for the IC belt all summer, it had been expected Bret Hart would defend it against Michaels here. But when the show was announced to be in London, WWF decided instead to provide a better challenge in the form of Davey Boy Smith. The two were no strangers, of course, from Stampede to the Hart Foundation/British Bulldogs feud. But WWF were adding to it by acknowledging how Davey Boy was married to Bret’s sister, Diana. Thus the pre-match interviews had Diana talking about the tension in the family and adding to the heat of the match. The bout itself has been discussed a lot with most saying Bret was carrying it along and Bret’s own versions differ a bit; in his 2005 DVD, he says Smith never got enough credit for handling the bout but in his 2007 autobiography, he says Davey Boy was out of it and Bret had to call all the spots. Regardless, the two were ready as the Bulldog came out to a massive pop, accompanied by boxer Lennox Lewis carrying a Union Jack, the crowd also making some respected cheers for Bret. A fun bit was Bret going outside the ring and surprised to see a kid he’d promised his sunglasses to at a meet-and-greet the day before so lived up to his word giving them over.

The two stared off first before Bulldog controlled with a headlock, shoved off by Bret, who leapt over a charge that ended up sending him to the floor. Back inside, Bret grounded the Bulldog with a side headlock, Bulldog powering out to try a slam but Bret slid off and rolled him up for two. It was practically the Olympics two decades earlier here with the crowds waving flags and blowing horns at every move. Bret smartly kept to the headlocks to try and maintain the advantage and neutralize Smith’s power. They traded some arm locks with Davey Boy doing a nifty jump over Bret to get out of one. Bret sent Smith into the ropes to leap at him but was caught and flung into the corner. Smith went back to the armbar, lifting Bret right off the canvas for it. Bret snaked around for a crucifix for two as Bulldog slapped on the armbar again. Bret tried to slam his way out of it but Smith kept holding on so it just increased the pain on Bret, great psychology there. Bret finally broke free, sending Davey Boy to the ropes and catching him with a wicked knee to the midsection. He got on a chinlock, Bulldog elbowing his way out of it, trying for a shoulder block with Bret hitting a cool back elbow to knock him down. Another elbow followed with a reverse atomic drop, Bulldog sent to the ropes, trying for another crucifix but this time Bret slammed him down for two. Another headlock followed and watching it on video, you can clearly see Bret using these to tell Davey Boy what to do next.

Fighting out, Bulldog dropped Bret with a monkey flip and his special headbutt that staggered Bret into the corner. He charged with Bret getting his feet up to knock him back then hit Bulldog with a bulldog. Bret then pulled a Flair by heading to the top so Davey Boy could slam him off. Smith went to the top for a leap but Bret rolled out of the way. A roll-up attempt sent Davey Boy to the floor and Bret went aerial by using the ropes to launch himself at him and hit an inverted DDT that Bret later said didn’t work as well as planned. Back in the ring, Bret kept it up with a snap suplex and neckbreaker, some dropkicks but Bulldog kept fighting out. So we got psychology of Bret getting flustered but still keeping things clean as he could, slapping on a sleeper. Davey Boy made a few breaks, Bret putting it on again so Smith rammed Bret into the corner hard. He went for a press slam but couldn’t quite hold it so Bret went onto the ropes. A few running clotheslines followed before the ever-awesome delayed suplex only Davey Boy could pull off. He sent Bret flying chest first into the corner then got Bret into his running powerslam. The crowd were roaring so understandable how shocked they were when Bret kicked off so Davey Boy got flustered.

Now tempers were flaring between them as Heenan was egging on in commentary over seeing the favorites torn apart as the cameras cut to a concerned Diana, seeming unsure whether to cheer for her brother or husband. Bulldog nailed Bret, who responded with a sweet German suplex for two. They started to fight at the top rope with Bulldog hitting a superplex for two. They ran the ropes to clothesline each other down and after a few moments, Bret managed to get the Sharpshooter on. The crowd was frantic cheering Davey Boy as Bret had it parked in the middle of the ring, keeping on the pressure but Davey Boy hanging on. After some well-sold struggling, Smith managed to get to the ropes to break the hold, Bret upset over that. Bulldog ran Bret to the ropes, bending for a backdrop, Bret rolling over him for a sunset flip and after a few seconds, Davey Boy leaned forward, locking Bret’s legs up, pinning his arms down and holding fast as the ref made the three count. Wembley erupted in the biggest cheers you’ll hear there outside of a soccer match as even Heenan and Vince were silent in awe over the spectacle they’d witnessed. Bret sulked a bit, making it seem as if he was leaving but eventually decided to shake hands with Davey Boy. Diana entered the ring to hug both men as they all joined together as family with fireworks shooting off.

The match may have been carried by Bret but still ranks as possibly the best in SummerSlam history with its flow and psychology. The card itself had rough points but the two title bouts were both amazingly done and still a few other things like the Undertaker sold as a monster and the fun of the Martel/HBK encounter. But more importantly, the show stood as a showcase for WWF, that it didn’t need Hogan to succeed. Bret showed himself big time so just two months later, Vince decided to pull the trigger and let him have the big belt. But that amazing atmosphere helped the entire show out, watching an international crowd embrace WWF big-time and the heat during the main event was unbelievable. It still stands as one of the best cards in the show’s history thanks to that crowd and a main event where two men put on a bout of a lifetime and got a big reward for it.

For this week, the spotlight is off.