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Cook’s WWF SummerSlam 1993 Review

July 18, 2022 | Posted by Steve Cook
Lex Luger SummerSlam 1993 Image Credit: WWE
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Cook’s WWF SummerSlam 1993 Review  

1993 in the World Wrestling Federation was dominated by one man. Yokozuna held the WWF Championship for most of the year, laying waste to nearly everyone in his path. Billed at 568 pounds, the surprisingly agile sumo wrestler represented a country that Americans were afraid would take over the world, at least financially anyway. It seemed like everything was made in Japan during that time period. With Mr. Fuji as his manager & Jim Cornette as his American spokesperson, Yokozuna seemed unstoppable. Especially after regaining the championship from Hulk Hogan and sending him away from the WWF for what ended up being nearly nine years.

Fuji claimed that Yokozuna couldn’t be bodyslammed, which seemed fair as even Hogan couldn’t do it, and that guy was known for bodyslamming giants. An event was held on the U.S.S. Intrepid on Independence Day where people would try to slam the WWF Champion. Wrestlers, football players & other athletes tried & failed, and it seemed like Yoko would get the last laugh on America’s most sacred day. That is, until Lex Luger showed up.

Up until July 4, Luger had been getting jeered by fans for his narcissistic ways. Nobody had any idea he was such a patriot until he showed up at the Intrepid on a helicopter wearing an American flag themed golf shirt. Luger removed the shirt, slammed Yokozuna, and the rest was history. The fans fell in love with their American hero, who toured the country on a bus during the leadup to the 1993 edition of SummerSlam, where he would receive a shot at the WWF Championship. It was the biggest push a new top babyface had received since 1984, when Hulk Hogan defeated the Iron Shiek.

SummerSlam was held at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit, Michigan. Luger vs. Yokozuna was obviously the main issue of the day, but there were some other things going on:

-Bret Hart had won the King of the Ring tournament in June. Jerry Lawler, who had arrived in late 1992 to serve as an announcer/occasional wrestler, took offense to somebody else in the WWF being given a crown and named “King of the Ring”. After all, he was the one and only King of Wrestling. Lawler attacked Bret at the coronation ceremony and began constantly making fun of the Hart Family on shows he commentated on. A match was made for SummerSlam to determine who the true King was.

-The 1-2-3 Kid gained the attention of WWF fans when he upset Razor Ramon on an episode of Monday Night Raw. Ted DiBiase thought the whole thing was hilarious until the Kid got a victory over him due to a Razor Ramon distraction. Ramon & DiBiase would face off at SummerSlam while the Kid would get his first PPV match.

Cook’s WWF SummerSlam 1993 Review

THE LEX EXPRESS & the Call To Action Campaign is making its way to Auburn Hills!

Vince McMahon & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan are at ringside.

“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon: Ted’s wearing his summer white suit for this one. He attacks Razor while the man removes his gold chains. DiBiase with chops in the corner, a whip gets reversed and Razor backdrops DiBiase before delivering a fallaway slam. Now Ramon can remove his vest as DiBiase ducks outside. DiBiase takes control back in the ring, landing some shots in the corner. He walks into some Razor clotheslines though, and takes another fall to the floor. Ramon brings DiBiase back inside, who does the classic beg-off. Ramon falls for it, as DiBiase yanks him into the middle turnbuckle. DiBiase chokes Ramon on the ropes while I continue to no-sell Heenan talking about “domestics” on commentary. Backbreaker gets a two count for DiBiase. Clothesline sends Ramon down for another two count. DiBiase goes to the rear chinlock. Referee uses both arms of Ramon on the arm-drop spot, which I don’t think I’ve seen before. Ramon fights out, but DiBiase delivers a kitchen sink knee. Modified neckbreaker then the vertical suplex by DiBiase, who then motions for the Million Dollar Dream. Razor fights that off, then clotheslines DiBiase down. He’s still woozy though, and DiBiase rams his head into the turnbuckle. Ted then goes to another corner and removes the turnbuckle pad like he’s George Steele or something. At least he didn’t bite it, that’d be way out of character. DiBiase ends up hoisted by his own petard, as it’s Ramon bouncing DiBiase’s head off the exposed turnbuckle. A Razor’s Edge finishes things.

Winner: Razor Ramon (7:32)
Match Rating: **

Honestly I expected a bit more from this one. Two of my childhood favorites just didn’t really mesh and didn’t get enough time to do so. These things happen. This would be DiBiase’s last match with the WWF. He went to All Japan for a few months, re-forming a popular team he had with Stan Hansen in the mid-1980s, but a neck injury would end his in-ring career.

Todd Pettengil is at ringside with the Steiner Brothers’ mother and sister. The mom blows off Todd’s lame joke while the sister mentions “Rob & Scott”. The sister at least showed as much personality as Diana did at SummerSlam 1992.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) vs. The Steiner Brothers (c): Cornette’s wearing a neck brace due to “problems in the Smoky Mountain area” per Vince. Research tells me that it stems from a lumberjack match Cornette had with Bob Armstrong in Knoxville where Armstrong gave him two piledrivers. I know JC’s all about old school and believability, and bless his heart for it, but he really shouldn’t have booked himself to take two piledrivers just before doing SummerSlam. Hell, if he was a woman he wouldn’t have let himself work the show! Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray attack Rick & Scott before they can remove their Michigan jackets. Scott gets dumped outside. Rick gets double suplexed then flapjacked. Scott gets knocked to the outside again, but comes back to assist his brother. Del Ray gets whipped into Prichard in the corner. Prichard eats a double hip toss, Del Ray gets clotheslined in the corner, Prichard gets a belly to belly suplex. Del Ray gets a tiltawhirl suplex from Scott and the Bodies bail to the floor while Cornette throws a temper tantrum. Scott & Dr. Tom start the 1 on 1 portion of the match, and Prichard gets press slammed into the lights, then backdropped. Rick tags in so the fans can bark. Rick blocks a hiptoss and clotheslines both Bodies. Del Ray gets slammed and the Bodies need more time to regroup. Prichard & Del Ray both get inverted atomic drops, but recover to hit a combination bulldog on Scott. Prichard hits an enziguri & tosses Scott outside so Jimmy can hit a flipping cannonball onto him. Back in the ring, Del Rey delivers a double axehandle and does some dancing. Del Ray hits the floatover DDT that The Rock would utilize in his matches a few years after this. Prichard opts for a chokehold and some punches instead of going for a pin, but keeps Scott on their side of the ring so Del Ray can drop a knee on his head. Scott gets whipped off the rope and runs into a savate kick that gets two. Prichard tags in, applies the dreaded back rake. Then Cornette gets a cheapshot in with the racket! Bobby Heenan refuses to believe such a thing could have happened. Del Ray goes for that DDT again, but Scott reverses into a Northern Lights suplex. Dr. Tom cuts Scott off before the tag, but gets double underhook suplexed for his trouble. Jimmy can’t stop the tag this time, and Rick’s Steinerlining and bodyslamming whoever’s in his way. Scott delivers two dropkicks. Rick hits the top rope bulldog, but Tom breaks it up. Scott gets dumped outside, Rick hits a powerslam on Jimmy. Cornette tosses the racket, Dr. Tom gets it and whacks Rick! Jimmy covers, but it’s only a two count! Shenanigans! Del Ray accidentally takes Prichard out with a moonsault, Scott hits a Frankensteiner on Jimmy & Rick covers for the three count.

Winners: The Steiner Brothers (9:28 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/4

That was some fun stuff! The Bodies are one of my favorite “overlooked” tag teams of all time, and this match is a pretty good taste of what they could deliver. They’d get a spot with the WWF, but they wouldn’t get many more opportunities like this one. Mostly because they wouldn’t be wrestling teams like the Steiners, who’d be gone six months after this show.

We’re introduced to Joe Fowler, who apparently was a sportscaster for the Fighting Minnesota Screaming Eagles. I can only assume Vince was trying to make a Coach reference, at any rate, Joe is with Shawn Michaels & Diesel. Shawn says that tonight we’ll find out who the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. I didn’t know he was wrestling the Honky Tonk Man! Diesel says he’s here to keep the chicks off of the champ.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Diesel) vs. Mr. Perfect: We see Jim Ross & Gorilla Monsoon up in the rafters calling the action for Radio WWf. I’m sure Gorilla was telling the listeners about all the fans hanging right next to him. Michaels takes Perfect down with an armwringer and talks some junk. Perfect with a snapmare. Michaels with a headlock. Some reversals by Michaels leads to…I’m not sure what, but Perfect takes control. Hammerlocks exchanged, headlock takeover into a headscissors, Michaels misses an elbowdrop. Tieup into the corner, Michaels punches but Perfect responds with some chops. Up and over by Michaels, Perfect avoids going under but doesn’t avoid an elbow from Michaels. Back in the corner, Michaels moonsaults out, then Perfect hits a clothesline for two. Perfect goes to the armbar. Perfect misses in the corner, Michaels goes up top and jumps into an arm drag. Another one gets a two count, and Perfect goes to a short-arm scissor. Michaels goes for a dropkick, Perfect evades and catapults Michaels to the outside. Diesel keeps Perfect from doing anything outside, and the distraction leads to some Sweet Chin Music. Michaels then hits a double axehandle and rolls Perfect back inside. Michaels targets Perfect’s back, which was injured the last time Perfect was in an IC title match at SummerSlam. Michaels whips Perfect hard into the turnbuckle a couple of times. Perfect with some profanity as Michaels sits on his back. Backbreaker and a stretch by Michaels. Perfect punches his way out of it. Perfect fights back with a dropkick, then the ol’ back body drop. Knee lift! Inverted atomic drop gets a two count for Perfect. Chop, then a clothesline by Perfect for two. Perfect blocks the hiptoss and goes for a backslide. Michaels flips out, but Perfect hits the Perfectplex! Diesel yanks Perfect’s leg and drags him outside! Perfect fights back against Diesel, Michaels dives into a shot from Perfect while the referee administers the count. Michaels rolls back in, tripping up the referee so he can’t see Diesel ram Perfect into the steps. The referee picks up the count where he left out and counts Perfect out, giving Michaels the victory.

Winner: Shawn Michaels (11:20 via countout)
Match Rating: **1/2

The action wasn’t terrible, but they could have used more time and a better finish. This match was tremendously disappointing at the time to hardcore fans. They were expecting a Match of the Year candidate and didn’t get one. I saw some signs while watching this that these two could have had that classic match, but obviously that never happened. Probably would have worked better with the face/heel alignment reversed, but by the time Michaels was a popular babyface champion, Perfect was doing commentary. One of those what-ifs, I suppose.

Perfect attacks both men from behind after the bell, but the math doesn’t work out for him. Diesel decks him with that black glove. Pettengil says Michaels can’t be happy, but Michaels looks and sounds pleased with himself. Perfect jogs backstage.

Joe Fowler talks to the 1-2-3 Kid, who is also at his first PPV. He’s got butterflies in his stomach and is so nervous he can’t even talk. He spits out a few more sports cliches. Joe says the Kid is quiet and shy, but is also a hero!

Irwin R. Schyster vs. The 1-2-3 Kid: The Kid beat Ted DiBiase heading into this show, so the other half of Money Inc. gets their shot here. IRS hits the first few blows, but Kid gets a spinning heel kick for a two count. IRS drops Kid right on his chest. IRS misses a clothesline and Kid gets a dropkick for two. Kid runs into an elbow. IRS tosses Kid outside, then knocks him back off the apron with a forearm. A big punch, Kid flips back into the ring and rolls IRS up for a two count. Another back elbow from IRS, then an elbowdrop for two. Abdominal stretch! I wanna hear Gorilla explaining the finer points of the hold to folks listening to Radio WWF, but no such luck on the Peacock. We just see IRS move to a chinlock and the fans starting a 1-2-3 chant. Kid fires back in the corner with some kicks, then IRS goes down after being whipped into the turnbuckle. Kid’s moonsault only gets two, as does a La Magistral. IRS blocks the spin kick, doesn’t block the reverse kick that gets a two count. Off the ropes, IRS hits a left arm clothesline on the Kid for the three count.

Winner: IRS (5:44 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **

I didn’t have high expectations for this, but it was good enough for government work. Not sure why IRS got the big win over Kid when folks like Ramon & DiBiase were slipping on banana peels. Heenan uses his Brainscan art gimmick to write 1040 on the screen. Jerry Lawler used the gimmick better later on, as he actually had artistic ability.

Todd is with Bruce & Owen Hart. Bruce says that Stu isn’t here due to reconstructive knee surgery. Owen explains that Jerry Lawler assaulted Stu at an episode of Raw. I remember Stu getting verbally assaulted, not so much physcial, but might as well give King the credit.

King of the Ring Championship Match: Bret “Hitman” Hart (k) vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler Doink the Clown: Lawler comes out on crutches with quite the brace and icepack on his left knee. He’s gutting it out though, bless his heart. Jerry explains to Todd that the biggest night of his life has been ruined. He hates Bret and the entire Hart family and can’t wait to snap Bret’s neck. However, on his way to the venue, his Michigan-made automobile malfunctioned and a blue-haired lady wrecked him and ten other cars. He had to pull himself out of the wreckage, and people begged him to go to the hospital but he had to make it here to get his hands on Bret. He can beat Bret with one leg, but the doctors in the back told him he wouldn’t be able to participate in any wrestling event tonight. Bret’s not going to get off easy, though. Bret’s a hated man in the WWF, and all the other wrestlers begged King to take his place. Lawler has self-appointed a court jester, Doink the Clown, to take care of Bret! Don’t worry folks, it’s the evil version played by Matt Bourne, so this shouldn’t be horrendous. This was one of the best renditions of the “heel wrestler got mysteriously injured and can’t wrestle right now” routine I’ve seen, Lawler was on his A-game here, especially compared to the other people given promo time so far on this show.

Anywho, Evil Doink music is playing and Doink has two buckets with him. He empties one bucket of confetti on the fans! That loveable scamp! Then he goes over to the Hart section of ringside, and empties a bucket of water on Bruce! Bruce probably had it coming, but Bret takes offense and attacks Doink before he can remove his jacket. Bruce is trying to fight off the referees and isn’t doing so well, meanwhile Doink gets clotheslined to the outside by Bret. Bruce gets a cheapshot in on Doink before Bret gets out there and throws the clown into the ringpost. When I write “the clown” I mean Doink, for the record. Bret fires away on Doink in the ring. Bret blocks a kick in the corner, spins him around and punches him out to the floor. Doink with a shoulderblock on the apron, heads up to the top rope, gets crotched on the top turnbuckle. Bret grabs the green hair and yanks Doink down to the mat. Owen talks some smack to the camera and Bret invites Lawler into the ring. Bret gets the upperhand of a slugfest with Doink, then goes after Lawler on the outside. Doink attacks from behind, then rams Bret’s head into the steps. Back into the ring, Doink hits a double axehandle. I think Bobby fell into the reason why divorce is more common now than it was back in the day while making a joke about Stu & Helen. People had more kids back then, and you needed at least two people to raise them all. Probably more than two, but that presents other legal issues. Doink hits a kneebreaker on Bret, then wraps that left knee around the ringpost. Bret kicks out at one, but then Doink locks in an STF. Bret gets his leg out so Doink transitions to a chinlock. Bret goes off the ropes and Doink knees him in the gut. Elbowdrop gets barely two. Doink locks in the Stump Puller! Doink has a hand on the rope, which the referee doesn’t see for a second but eventually makes him break the hold. Doink slams Bret to the mat, then goes for the Whoopie Cushion. Bret raises the knees, changing the momentum. Bret fires back, hits that Canadian legsweep, then the driving forearm off the second rope. Here comes the Sharpshooter! Vince: “If anybody can counter the Sharpshooter, it’s Doink!”. Shoulda booked him in late 1997. Doink doesn’t counter, instead Lawler comes into the ring and breaks a crutch over Bret’s back!

Winner: Bret Hart (9:05 via disqualification)
Match Rating: **1/2

Lawler helps Doink out of the ring and up the entranceway once he finishes wearing Bret out. Hold on a second, it’s Jack “On The Take” Tunney! He’s telling Lawler something while Bret is trying to fight his way up the aisle. Tunney comes down to ringside & talks to Howard Finkel, who informs us that if Jerry Lawler doesn’t come back to the ring to wrestle Bret Hart, he will be banned from the World Wrestling Federation for life! Jeez, and Cincinnati Reds fans think that Pete Rose’s banishment from Major League Baseball for betting on games is draconian.

King of the Ring Championship Match: Bret “Hitman” Hart (k) vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler: Bret attacks Jerry right away, as he should considering all the things the King has said about his family. Hart hits a headbutt and starts biting away in the corner. A punch knocks Lawler silly, then he gets backdropped. Short legdrop from Bret, then a headbutt to the lower nutsac region. Bret hits Jerry with his own crutch on the outside, then rolls him back into the ring. Lawler rolls back out, then jabs Bret with a crutch. He chokes Bret with a crutch while the referee talks to the other Harts. Then Jerry rams Bret’s crotch into the ringpost like he’s Tommy Rich in 1987. I’ve just noticed that the referee here is Bill Alfonso, and that explains this entire match. Lawler jabs his crutch into the throat of Bret Hart. Lawler drives Hart’s head into the turnbuckle, Hart kicks Lawler low and Alfonso misses it because of course he would. Bret’s got both straps down now, which would mean something in Memphis but nowhere else in the world. Bret unloads on Lawler in the corner, delivers a headbutt and a backdrop. Backbreaker gets a two count. Piledriver by Bret! Driving forearm off the second rope, then Bret gives a thumbs down. Time for the Sharpshooter! Lawler submits! Alfonso calls for the bell, but Bret refuses to release the hold! Danny Davis has joined in the effort, and here comes Tim White & Joey Marella, but Bret still won’t release the hold! More officials and agents come in, and Bret keeps sitting in the hold. Bruce is wandering around in the ring for some reason. Owen comes in to try and speak reason, and finally Bret releases the hold. Howard Finkel announces that the referee has reversed his initial decision. Therefore, as a result of a disqualification, the undisputed King of the Ring is Jerry “The King” Lawler!

Winner: Jerry “The King” Lawler (6:32 via disqualification)
Match Rating: **1/4

Bret goes after Jerry again! Jerry rolls onto a stretcher, and Bruce tries to attack him. Jerry raises his arm in victory whilst exiting the arena! Play Bret’s music, even though he obviously lost the match. This was all very fun and good classic pro rasslin. The feud would continue whenever Lawler was around over the next couple of years.

Ludvig Borga is out here talking in front of crumbling buildings. I feel like this promo would have worked more in 2022.

Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga: Ludvig attacks from behind. Clotheslines Marty out of the corner. Some knees in the corner. Off the ropes, Ludvig does an early version of Claudio’s uppercut off of a backdrop and we act like it worked. Borga lands some shots on Jannetty. Borga misses a corner charge. Marty gets clotheslined out of his boots. Marty tries for a sunset flip, Borga gouges out of it. Bearhug! Marty tries to fight out, he does, then gets clotheslined out of his boots. Marty does a sunset flip, Ludvig fights out, Marty lands a crescent kick. Another one. Ludvig crashes Marty onto the mat. He lifts Marty into a Torture Rack, and gets a submission.

Winner: Ludvig Borga (5:15 via submission)
Match Rating: 1/4*

Just horrendous. We couldn’t have a random Ric Flair match last year, but we could have this random nonsense nobody asked for.

Rest In Peace Match: Giant Gonzalez (w/Harvey Wippleman) vs. The Undertaker: Easy for Gonzalez to look ginormous in the ring with Wippleman & Finkel. Undertaker attacks Gonzalez right away with thrusts. Chokehold! Undertaker gets distracted by Harvey, so Gonzalez lands some offense. Taker tries some clotheslines, runs into something. Taker sits up. Gonzalez tosses Taker outside. Taker goes into the steps. Gonzalez hits Taker with a chair! He sends Taker into the steps Cactus Jack style. Taker tries to rise up, Gonzalez throws him into the ring. Gonzalez lands some shots. Taker takes a hard whip into the corner. Undertaker’s dong rings, and here comes Paul Bearer with a black wreath. Bearer clotheslines Wippleman and regains possession of the urn. Gonzalez slams Taker down. Bearer makes Taker do the zombie sit-up. Taker hits some clotheslines. Taker hits a clothesline off the top rope and that gets a 3 count.

<b<Winner: Undertaker ( 8:04 via pinfall)
Match Rating: 0 stars

Gonzalez is mad at Harvey afterwards, chokes him and slams him. I don’t remember the Giant Gonzalez face turn leading anywhere, but very well could have blocked it out of my memory.

Joe talks to Jim Cornette, who has a laundry list of excuses why his team failed earlier and why Yokozuna won’t fail later.

The Smokin’ Gunns & Tatanka vs. The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Afa & Luna Vachon): Tatanka teaming with cowboys was obviously the WWF’s attempt at white-washing. Bam Bam & the Shrinkers take the advantage immediately. Tatanka hits a dropkick on Bam Bam, then a backdrop. Then a double cross-body takes them both out. Billy & Fatu go at it. Billy reverses a suplex, then bulldogs Fatu off the top before getting shoulderblocked down. Another doubleteam sends Billy outside.Samu superkicks Billy into a tag from Bart. Bart gets knocked silly by Samu. BBB tags in, hits a dropkick for two. Some continuity from the Headshrinkers & Bam Bam while the cowboys & Native American can’t communicate. Not shocking. Fatu clothesliness Bart out of his boots. Bart gets beat up in the corner. Bam Bam & Samu do a double team. Bam Bam misses in the corner, and Tatanka tags in. Some chops, then Bam Bam gets slammed. DDT to BBB, then Tatanka hits a crossbody. Broken up by Samu. War Dance! That gets put down pretty quickly. Samu hits a headbutt for two! Things are breaking down. Triple headbutt to Tatanka. The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam go up top, they all miss. Tatanka rolls up Samu for a three count.

Winners: The Smokin’ Gunns & Tatanka (11:15 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2

Kind of just there, but still a pretty big step up from the previous matches.

Joe is out here talking to the driver of the Lex Express. Lex is a genuine and compassionate person!

Howard Finkel asks the crowd to show some respect as the Japanese National Anthem is played. They don’t. Finkel introduces the “Master of Ceremonies for the main event”, “Macho Man” Randy Savage along with Aaron Neville. This was during the time period where Vince didn’t want Savage to wrestle anymore, so he had him announcing on Raw and doing things like this. Savage introduces Neville’s singing of the American National Anthem.

WWF Championship Match: Yokozuna (c) (w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) vs. Lex Luger: Finkel introduces Yoko while Savage gives Luger an introduction as “the next WWF Champion”. No pressure, Lex! Vince saying Yoko weighs about 100 pounds less than he was announced at is a stunning bit of self-awareness. Staredown! Fuji sneaks onto the apron, distracting Lex enough to go over there, Yoko tries to attack but that doesn’t work. Punches are exchanged, Luger tries an O’Connor roll but Yoko elbows out of it. Yoko misses a legdrop and Lex targets said leg. Yoko gets kicked to the mat, Luger hits an elbowdrop for two. Luger goes off the ropes into a slam, but evades a Yokozuna elbowdrop. Lex with some punches and kicks in the corner. Yoko gets whipped into the corner and Luger comes in with a clothesline. Luger hits some punches in the corner, then gets knocked down. Yoko chokes away in the corner. Fuji sneaks up with some salt, but misses! Luger fires away on Yoko, then goes for the bodyslam. Yoko doesn’t go for it, and savate kicks Luger down. Luger gets knocked outside. Yoko headbutts Luger back to the floor, follows him out and chokes Luger with a cord. He then sets Luger up against the ringpost and squishes him. Yokozuna gets a chair, but Luger evades the shot and punches away on Yoko before rolling him back in the ring. Cornette’s been sneaking around the ring for awhile now, acting like he’s going to do something. It looks funny. Yoko stays on his feet after two double axehandles off the top rope, but the controversial padded forearm takes him down for a two count. Luger clotheslines Yokozuna from behind for another two count. Double clothesline sends both men down. Cornette gets up on the apron to distract the referee, and Fuji tosses Yoko a bucket to hit Luget with. The eventual cover gets two. Yoko delivers some chops. A belly to belly suplex from Yokozuna gets another near-fall. Luger gets choked on the ropes as Yoko maintains the offensive. Another suplex gets a two count, then Yoko applies the Vulcan Death Grip before switching to a basic nerve hold. The fans eventually awaken, as does Luger. Luger tries the slam, but Yoko falls on top for a two count. Hogan legdrop gets the two count. Yoko drags Luger to the corner for the Banzai Drop, but Luger moves! Yoko’s first up and fires away on Lex in the corner, but misses a corner splash and Lex slams him! Fuji gets knocked down on the apron. Luger lowers his forearm pad while the referee is distracted and knocks Yokozuna out of the ring. Cornette gets punched on the apron while the referee finishes the ten count!

Winner: Lex Luger (17:58 via countout)
Match Rating: **1/2

The Steiners, Tatanka & Savage join Luger to celebrate his victory. Ballons and confetti fall while the announcers talk about how the title didn’t change hands. Vince insists that Luger will get his rematch and the title will eventually change hands. Uh huh. A music video plays recaping the Lex Express tour & Luger’s big countout victory. I guess they really thought the money was in the chase and wanted to keep that going as long as possible. Hindsight being 20/20, it’s pretty easy to see that was a bad idea. Heck, I thought it was a bad idea when I was nine. Luger’s momentum went right into the toilet after this and never really recovered.

Yokozuna’s still laying on the floor when we return from the video. Back in the locker room, Joe talks to Luger about it. Tatanka is wearing a towel for some reason. Ludvig Borga comes in to tell Luger he’s not impressed by him, his friends or his country. He will crush Luger! A good note to end the show on, indeed.

5.5
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
Outside of the Tag Team Championship match and the Lawler hilarity, there just wasn't much here of value. One can dispute whether Luger going over would have made a tremendous impact on the business, but the countout killed whatever chance there was of his actually becoming the next Hulk Hogan, or even a second-rate Hulk Hogan. You can tell Vince McMahon did learn from this, as he went from giving up on pet projects too fast to sticking with them longer than anybody thought possible. Skippable show, though the Heavenly Bodies & Jerry Lawler did Southern style rasslin proud with their performances.
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WWE Summerslam, Steve Cook