wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF SummerSlam ’93
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written 10.22.25
-I actually reviewed this show for 411 14 years ago. That’s enough time to do another one. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Vince McMahon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
-Aug. 30, 1993
-Attendance: 23954
-PPV Buys: 250000
-Jim Ross already taken off PPV duties and instead is with Monsoon doing WWE Radio coverage. I tried to listen once and I think I was able to hear a little bit on a radio, but it was kind of static and keep coming in and out.
”The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase vs. Razor Ramon
-Ted was nearing the end of his in ring career as this was his last televised WWF match. Razor is now a super over baby face as well. Also, we have a battle of future nWo members here. Ted jumps Razor as he is trying to take his gold chains off. Ted throws chops in the corner and lays in right hands. Crowd is very hot to start which is a good sign. Razor reverses a whip and gets a backdrop. SOS Slam and a right hand sends Ted to the floor. That allows Razor get his vest off. Back in the ring Razor lands a series of clotheslines and a third one sends Dibiase to the floor. Back in the ring Ted uses the tights to pull Razor into the ropes and then chokes with the top rope. Ted goes to a straight choke and makes sure to break at four each time. Clothesline gets two! He follows with a reverse chinlock which Vince thinks is a choke hold. Bobby explains it’s only a choke because Razor has an “overzealous Adam’s Apple.” That made me laugh! Razor elbows his way out, but runs into a knee to the gut. Slow developing swinging neckbreaker from Dibiase. He powers Razor up for a suplex and sets for The Million Dollar Dream. Razor lands an elbow and hits a clothesline which leaves both men down. Ted is still in better shape and sends Razor into the buckle where he spills to the floor. As the ref counts, Ted removes the cover from the buckle. It backfires though as Ted gets sent head first into it and Razor’s Edge finishes at 7:30.
Winner: Razor Ramon via pin at 7:30
-This was okay as it gave Razor a win over a heel that was at the top of the card with the previous generation. Ted was looking slow out there and sadly, he was forced to retire not long after this match. **
WWF Tag Team Championship: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Heavenly Bodies
-I just listened to Cornette’s review of Mox/Darby. It’s exactly as you would expect. The Bodies attack before the bell which makes two matches in a row. Double suplex to Rick and a double flapjack as they are keeping Scott out of the ring. It takes three tries, but Scott is in and The Steiners start to dominate. Scott with a tilt-a-whirl suplex to Del Ray. Prichard in and Scott catches him with a Gorilla Press Slam. Ray back in and backdrop from Scott. Rick gets the tag and we hear the dogs barking. Steiner-line for Tom and one for Jimmy as well. The Bodies regroup on the floor with Cornette again. Prichard in and Scott has no trouble with him. Jimmy back in and he gets caught with an inverted atomic drop and another. The crowd starts a “Let’s Go Blue” chant. I should note The Steiners are wearing University of Michigan colors. The Bodies gain control as they double team Scott and get a bulldog. Enziguiri from Prichard and he pitches Scott to the floor. Del Ray dives off the apron with a cannonball. Back in the ring he floats over Scott and hits a DDT for a two count. Superkick from Del Ray gets two! Prichard back in and he rakes the back and pulls the ref away so Cornette can land a tennis racket shot. Heenan was getting a diet coke and had his backed turned, so he can’t believe that would happen. Funny! Del Ray tries another float over DDT, but Scott is ready this time and dumps him with a suplex. Prichard in and Scott counters a backdrop with a double under hook bomb. Hot tag to Rick and he goes crazy with Steiner-lines and suplexes. Top Rope Bulldog, but Prichard makes the save. Everyone in the ring for a second, but Scott gets dumped to the floor. Rick with a powerslam on Del Ray, but Prichard gets the racket and waffles him. It only gets two! Del Ray accidentally hits Prichard with a moonsault and The Frankensteiner gets the pin at 9:28.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 9:28
-Fun match! They obviously blended well together and gave us a taste of late 80s NWA here. ***1/4
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Mr. Perfect
-They promised us an all time classic here and is part of the reason people were questioning that same promise being made when Shawn and Kurt had their first match at Mania 21. One didn’t meet expectations and one far surpassed them. I’m sure you know which is which. Shawn with a side headlock and he uses the hair to maintain the hold. I guess technically, this is also a battle with two future nWo members. Perfect works a hammerlock and they take turns reversing the hold. Shawn climbs the ropes and gets a headlock to the mat, but Perfect rolls with him and escapes. That annoys Shawn! Shawn lands an elbow in the corner as I think they wanted to do something else and were kind of on different pages. They go back and do what I think the play was and Perfect ends up getting a two count. Shawn heads up, but Perfect catches him with an arm-drag on the way down. That gets a two count, so Perfect hooks a short arm scissors. He transitions to a standing armbar. Perfect ducks a series of clothesline and catches Shawn in catapult position. Shawn goes flying over the top and to the floor as only he can. Diesel teases getting involved which gets Perfect’s attention. That lets Shawn hit a superkick and then he comes off the apron with a double axe. Shawn goes to work on the back with stomps and then he sends Perfect hard into the corner. Another hard whip into the corner. Shawn continues the back work as Perfect wants our Lord to damn it. Diesel is crushing the quiet, menacing look on the floor. Perfect with a leap frog and hits a dropkick. Shawn goes flying off a backdrop and starts bumping like Sid or Hogan are in the ring. See, it may not be as exaggerated, but the man has a history of bumping like this when he’s a heel. Heavy right hand gets a two count. They battle for a backslide and Shawn flips over, which lets Perfect hit a Perfect-plex. Diesel pulls Perfect to the floor (again, nWo members fighting) and Perfect is able to fight him off. Shawn tries to help and gets bumped into the ref, so Diesel sends Perfect into the post and steps. That causes Perfect to get counted out at 11:19.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels via count-out at 11:19
-Nowhere near a classic and not even what I would call good. It was kind of boring to start and started to pick up, but we get a crappy ending. Not sure what was up with this as you would think they could deliver in their sleep. **
IRS vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
-More nWo on nWo violence! I knew the kid from Global when he was The Lightning Kid. I think it’s the first time I remember seeing someone start on a lower level show and pop up in the WWF or WCW. I guess that would make him the first indie darling I remember watching. IRS nails a knee to ribs and just tosses Kid in the air and lets him fall on his face. Brain: “He slam dunked The Kid”. He tries again, but Kid counters into a dropkick on the way down. Irwin lands another elbow and pitches Kid over the top to the floor. Forearm to the chest and Kid bounces to the floor. IRS tries a sling shot to bring Kid back into the ring, but he lands on his feet. Small package, but Irwin is out at two. He lands another back elbow and drops an elbow for a two count. Abdominal Stretch and IRS uses the ropes which Heenan clarifies it’s for balance. “Cheating is only cheating if you get caught”. We get a 1-2-3 chant as Irwin holds a chinlock. Kid rallies and starts firing off kids. He heads up top and hits the moonsault press for two. Roll-up into a crucifix pin gets two. Kid lands a spinning kick for another two count. IRS ducks down and hits a leaping clothesline for the pin at 5:42. Weak!
Winner: IRS via pin at 5:42
-Weird to put IRS over here as Kid was gaining traction and IRS had been a tag wrestler for over a year and was about to lose his partner for good. The ending was weak too as Kid was rolling and IRS just hits a clothesline out of nowhere for the pin. *1/2
Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
-Jerry Lawler is out on crutches and tells Todd that he hates Bret Hart, his father, mother, and brothers. He runs down the city of Detroit and tells the fans he hates all of them as well. He tells Todd to shut up for good measure. Apparently his rental car, made in Detroit, was a piece of crap and a blue haired old lady called a 10 car pileup. Lawler refused a trip to the hospital because he wants this match so bad and he can beat Bret on one leg, but those crooked doctors in the back wouldn’t clear him. Heenan: “What a shame.” Truth! Lawler then names Doink The Clown as his replacement. Vince isn’t buying Lawler’s story, but Heenan was there and can vouch for The King.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Doink The Clown
-Doink throws a bucket on confetti on some kids in the front row and then a bucket of water on Owen and Bruce Hart. Bret attacks on the floor and this match is under way. Doink gets sent into the ring post as Bret is just a tad angry in this one. Heenan has me in tears as he talks about seeing Lawler crawl from the wreckage and rescue a bus full of kids. Heenan nearly crying while he tells the story is amazing! Doink lands a shoulder to the gut and heads up top. Bret throws a body shot and Doink falls on his dink. Bret drops him face first on the mat and then invites Lawler to get into the ring. Doink and Bret trade blows and Bret wins with a head-butt. Bret tries to go after Lawler and that lets Doink bury a knee to the back. He runs Bret into the steps as Heenan cracks some Stu/Helen jokes. Lawler yells from Doink to “kill” Bret and you can tell Vince isn’t a fan of him saying that. Lucky for Jerry that he never has to worry about Vince being in his ear. Doink wraps the knee around the post and hooks a STF. Nice! Bret is able to force a break and tries to get moving, but Doink cuts him off with a knee. Doink drops an elbow for a two count. Stump Puller is hooked and Vince thinks Bret might have submitted. Like he would know if Bret ever gave up? The ref catches Doink using the ropes for leverage and forces a break. Doink with a slam and he heads up top. Whoppie Cushion is blocked as Bret gets his knees up. Ouch! Bret starts rolling with the usual and hooks The Sharpshooter. Lawler in the ring and he decks Bret with a crutch for the DQ at 9:10 or so. No bell, but we know the result. The refs are holding back Owen and Bruce as Bret beats the piss out of Bret with the crutch. This crowd is pissed!
Winner: Bret Hart via DQ at 9:10
-The match was okay, but is just a part of this whole deal. **1/2
-We aren’t done yet as Lawler helps Doink to the back, but they are stopped by WWF President Jack Tunney. He tells Lawler people paid to see him wrestle and Lawler immediately starts selling the knee again. Bret is trying to fight through a group of referees as Tunney heads to ringside. He has Fink inform everyone that if Lawler doesn’t wrestle, he will be banned from the WWF for life.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
-Bret beats Lawler back to the ring and cracks him with one of the buckets left behind by Doink. The bell sounds as we are back in the ring and the crowd is loving all of this. Backdrop to Lawler! Bret drops a leg and then attacks the mid section. Right hand as we see Owen and Bruce cheering from the front row. Bret uses a crutch right in view of the ref, but no DQ. Lawler gets his hands on the crutch and uses as to make things even. Vince notes that Lawler hates the Hart Family. Heenan: “Well, who don’t?” Lawler pulls Bret balls first into the post and it looked brutal. You think that would be the most brutal thing Lawler would ever do to someone’s balls, but then Tommy Dreamer came along a few years later. Lawler sends Bret into the corner and flexes to crazy heat from the crowd. He flexes too much and Bret hits a mule kick to the balls. Bret pulls down the straps in a wonderful little touch. Lawler pulls his straps down, but Bret hits a backdrop. Backbreaker follows for two as the ref was late getting into position. JUMPING PILEDRIVER! He stuck Lawler there! Bret off the middle ropes with an elbow and he asks the crowd for a thumbs up or down. Of course it’s a down and Bret hooks The Sharpshooter for the submission at 6:34.
-Bret refuses to release the hold and checks the invisible watch on his wrist. Somewhere in Chicago a young CM Punk is watching. More refs hit the ring as they are trying to pull Bret off Lawler. No dice as he is out for blood! The crowd just keep roaring the longer he keeps The Sharpshooter locked. We have officials in suits and Bret is not budging. Heenan is losing it on commentary and starts swearing. We are approaching three minutes since the bell rang to end the match. Bruce and Owen are in the ring as the officials want them to talk sense into Bret and he finally releases the hold after 3:15. Fink lets us know that the ref has reversed his decision due to Bret not releasing the hold.
Winner and Undisputed King of the WWF: Jerry “The King” Lawler via DQ at 6:34
-This was just a genius way to let Lawler keep the crown while Bret got his revenge. Okay, the two matches on their own are just solid matches. This whole thing though is absolutely brilliant and is just a fantastic piece of business. It has been kind of forgotten about over the years, but do yourself a favor and check out all of it. They work the crowd in impressive fashion and Bret comes out looking great and Lawler doesn’t lose anything after taking that beating and can lay claim to being The King. **3/4 for this match. A million billion stars for the entire thing.
-Bruce and Owen attack Lawler as he is wheeled out on a stretcher. Lawler holds his hand up in victory as he is wheeled to the back. This was all just glorious and everyone needs to see this at least once. Just a clinic on working the crowd and telling a story without killing themselves.
Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga
-There was a Dark Side of The Ring episode about Borga, which I reviewed. Just throwing it out there. This is his WWE PPV debut and they have massive plans for him. He falls into the same category as later signings with big plans: Heidenrich, Nathan Jones, Mordecai, Tensai, etc.. Borga sends Marty into the air with a backdrop and punches him in the gut on the way down. Cool! He lifts him off the mat with a double choke and breaks before the five count. He continues to work the body with right hands. He misses a splash in the corner to give Marty a hope spot, but he runs into a clothesline. Marty tries a sunset flip, but that gesture blocked with a right hand. Bear-hug from Borga, but Marty fires off punches to break. He can’t follow up though and a clothesline sends him spinning around in a 360 sell. Borga misses a punch which lets Marty hit a pair of super kicks. He tries to come off the middle ropes, but Borga catches him and hits a World’s Strongest Slam. Torture Rack finishes at 5:14.
Winner: Ludvig Borga via pin at 5:14
-The point was to have Borga SMASH a former Champion and that’s what happened. The power moves looked good and credit to Jannetty for knowing how to bump and sell for them. Basically a SQUASH, but not kind of a boring one at times. 1/2*
Rest in Peace Match: The Undertaker vs. The Giant Gonzalez (w/ Harvey Wippleman)
-Rematch from WrestleMania IX as this feud has been going on since January. Rest in Peace Match means no DQ and no count-out and there must be a decisive winner. Taker starts fast with shots to the throat and he climbs the ropes to choke away. Wippleman on the apron to distract Taker which lets Giant land a boot to the chest. Head-butt follows. Taker ducks a clothesline and hits a series of them, but Gonzalez knocks him down with a shoulder. Taker basically throws himself to the floor to help Gonzalez out. They brawl out there and Gonzalez goes to the eyes. He runs Taker into the apron and then into the ring steps. Gonzalez cracks Taker with a chair shot to the back. Good sound on that one! Taker gets sent into the stairs again as he has to bump all over the place for Gonzalez in this one. It draws good heat from the crowd as they are pissed at Gonzalez. Taker crawls back into the ring and tries to get to the urn, but Gonzalez cuts him off. Taker lands a few blows and goes for the urn again, but Harvey pulls it away. Whip to the corner and Taker comes bouncing other and falls to the mat where he starts crawling for the urn again. DONG! Paul Bearer makes his way down as Heenan freaks out about him being alive. Paul has a black wreath with him and sets it at ring side. Harvey wants to throw down and runs into a clothesline to pop the crowd. Paul gets his hands on the urn to a big pop. Gonzales is still dominating as he lands a slam. Gonzalez turns his attention to Bearer, who raises the urn and Taker does the zombie sit-up as Vince tells us the power has transferred from the urn. Taker with triple clotheslines and nothing. Two more plus a right hand knocks Gonzalez to one night. Taker off the top with a clothesline for the pin at 8:04.
Winner: The Undertaker via pin at 8:04
-Weak for a DQ match. The crowd was into the spectacle of it, but it was’t a good match. I’ll give it the benefit over the last match because at least the crowd was invested. *
-Gonzalez with a choke slam on Harvey back in the ring as I think they were going to run him face. He actually gets a pop for beating up Harvey.
The Smoking Gunns and Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers
-The Guns and Tatanka charge at the bell and get mowed down with clotheslines in a cool spot. We start proper with Bammer and Tatanka. Clothesline ducked and Tatanka gets a shoulder tackle and then a backdrop. They end up hitting each other with a cross-body and you would assume Tatanka would get the worst of that exchange. Each man crawls and makes a tag so we have Billy and Fatu throwing heavy right hands. Fatu lands a sweet superkick, but Billy comes back by planting him on his face. Off the top with a clothesline, but Fatu runs him down with a clothesline. Samu in and he tosses Billy to the ropes where Fatu decks him. That looked like it sucked for Billy. Samu superkicks Billy into his corner, where a tag is made to Bart. He gets a cross-body for two and then an arm-drag. Samu misses a clothesline and Bart just throws himself at Samu and that doesn’t work. Bigelow back in and he hits a dropkick for two. Fatu back in with a nice powerslam for two. Back to Samu and he rakes the face. Heenan gives us the joke we have all been waiting for as he notes Cowboys and Indians never get along. Bigelow back in with a shoulder tackle as I guess Samoans and guys from Jersey are kindred spirits. Bart gets sent head first into the heads of The Shrinkers. Fatu sets too early on a backdrop and gets slammed down on his head, but he just bounces up and decks Bart. Samu in and pulls the ref away so we get some clubbering in the corner. Samu and Fatu head-butt each other for fun. Bigelow and Samu with a double back elbow as Heenan starts singing Happy Trails. Bigelow misses a splash in the corner and seemingly hit the post. Hot tag to Tatanka and he runs wild with chops. He shows some power with a slam and sticks Bigelow with a DDT. He heads up top and gets a cross-body for two. Tatanka questions the ref which lets Bigelow land a shot to the throat. Tatanka starts to go through his War Dance, but Bigelow cuts it off in a funny spot. Samu in and he drops a head-butt from the middle ropes for two. Bart makes the save and Fatu catches him with a superkick. Everyone in the ring as they are just going for it here. Tatanka gets left alone and Bigelow gets an assisted splash in the corner. TRIPLE HEAD-BUTT! Awesome! THREE POST MASSACRE but sadly The Guns roll Tatanka out of the way. The Guns are back in and Bart hits a sling shot dive to the floor. LUCHA COWBOY! Tatanka gets a roll-up on Samu for the pin at 11:17.
Winners: Tatanka and The Smoking Guns via pin at 11:17
-This rocked and was better than you would think. No rest holds and just a fun 6 Man Tag where the heels beat the crap out of someone and look like monsters. The baby face fires up and we get some chaos before the finish. This would classify as a hidden gem. ***3/4
-We get an interview with The Lex Express Bus Driver and he puts over Lex as a great man who spends time with kids with terminal diseases. Poor Lex was just pigeon holed into the Hogan spot and nobody was following in those boots. -We get the singing of The Japanese National Anthem and the crowd boos. Cheap heat tactic, but I would not have booed. Just me, but I can’t boo someone’s anthem.
-Randy Savage gets introduced and is joined by Aaron Neville. I guess Savage is the Master of Ceremonies for the Main Event. I guess that counts as a precursor to a Guest Host. Neville sings The Star Spangled Banner in only the way he can. The vibrato effect is cool!
WWF Championship: Yokozuna (c) (w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette) vs. Lex Luger
-So here it is! Luger was flown by helicopter onto the deck of The USS Intrepid where he slammed Yokozuna on July 4th. He was now covered in the US Flag from head to toe and given a monster push where he went cross country on a bus to get this Title Match. The arena is decked out in Red, White, and Blue and now it’s just a formality. Savage gives Lex a special ring intro and Luger now uses Stars and Stripes Forever as his entrance music. This poor man was just getting set up to fall so hard here that we all should have seen it, but I was 12 and not a cynic. They stare each other down to start as Fuji sneaks behind Luger. Lex catches him, but that let’s Yoko land the first blow. Lex responds with a series of punches and he hits a back elbow that rocks Yoko. Luger tries a roll-up, but that’s dumb and Yoko lands a back elbow. Big leg misses and Luger goes UFC as he throws leg kicks. He even works in a low blow as he kicks the ropes as Yoko was trying to bail to the floor. Luger drops an elbow for a two count. He charges at Yoko and gets caught with a slam. Elbow misses as Luger is able to avoid the big offense again. USA chant breaks out from the crowd. Luger hits a running clothesline in the corner and gets the mounted punches in the corner. He walks into a karate thrust to the throat. One shot from Yoko has turned the tide in this one which is a point Vince drives home on commentary. Fuji tries the salt, but Luger blocks. He fires off right hands and tries for the slam, but not this time. Yoko slugs him down and we get big boos from the crowd. A head-butt sends Lex to the floor and Yoko seems contest with taking the count-out win. Guess not as he eventually makes his way out and uses a camera able to choke Luger. He sets Luger against the post and hits a splash. Ouch! Yoko grabs a charge and swings for the fences, but Luger ducks and the chair finds steel. Back in the ring Lex comes off the middle ropes with a double axe. He heads all the way up this time and hits another double axe. Up a third time and he drops Yoko with the forearm and that gets two. Good near fall there! Another forearm to the back of the head gets two. Double clothesline leaves both men down. Heenan: “It’s like a divorce, nobody wins.” Cornette jumps up on the apron so Fuji can throw Luger his salt bucket. One shot to the head, but Yoko is too spent to cover immediately. He gets there eventually but Luger is out at two. Belly-to-belly suplex next and Vince is sad because to him that’s the end. Lex is out at two though. Yoko chokes on the ropes and then hits a belly-to-back suplex for two. Oh goodie! A nerve hold! I was think we would be avoiding that hold. Heenan does his thing where he acts like he can’t hear Vince (or Gorilla) due to the crowd being loud, but this match doesn’t have the heat I expected. They start to get into it though as Lex fights to his feet and then elbows out of the nerve hold. He goes for a slam, but Yoko falls back on him for a two count. There’s the leg drop that beat Hogan, but Lex kicks out at two. Banzai Drop is next, but Luger rolls and Yoko crashes on his ass. Now the crowd is fully into this one as Luger starts his comeback. He fires off elbows and forearms between Yoko ramming his head into the buckle. Chop from Yoko but he misses a back splash in the corner. Lex gets the slam to pop the crowd huge and then decks Fuji. He removes the protective guard and hits the loaded forearm. That knocks Yoko out cold but on the floor and we get a count-out at 17:58.
Winner: Lex Luger via count-out at 17:58
-The match is better than you probably remember, but man does that ending suck. Give it a proper ending and I have no issue calling this a good match. This match only added to the idea that Luger was a choker after all the times he couldn’t beat Flair for the World Title. Good thing for Lex is he finally did win the big one 4 years later in this same arena. **1/2
-Luger celebrates with the American Flag after the match. The Steiners, Savage, and Tatank are out to put Lex on their shoulders and parade him around the ring as confetti and balloons fall from the ceiling. A little over the top for a count-out win where THE WWF TITLE STAYS WITH YOKOZUNA!
-We then get an inspirational video with the moon landing, children, military men, JFK, and MLK Jr imposed over The Lex Express. Man, they are just laying it on so thick to make you forget the fact that YOKOZUNA IS STILL THE WWF CHAMPION. I mean, I get the idea in that they wanted to push it off to Mania and have the crowd continue to get behind Lex, but this was not the way to get there. Don’t book this match and let Yoko murder like Savage at SummerSlam and then go from there. Guess it worked out for the best though as by the time they got to Mania they found the guy to beat Yoko. Though that is kind of the problem with delaying to pull the trigger on a guy you want as your next Hulk Hogan.
-After the video we see Yoko still knocked out on the floor. We head to the back where Luger is still celebrating, but Ludvig Borga storms in and is not impressed. I don’t blame him as it was a count-out win. He will crush Luger like America is crumbling. Luger beats the Champ but gets placed into a feud immediately with the new foreign heel. Makes sense.
-Thanks for reading!
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