wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF SummerSlam ’94
Photo Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 4.27.26
-Source: Netflix
-Run Time: 2:48:06
-Plugs: I did the show many years ago!
-Announce Team: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
-Aug 27, 1994
-United Center, Chicago, IL
-Attendance: 23,000
-PPV Buys: 300,000
-Randy Savage is out to basically welcome us to the show and hype the crowd before handing off to Vince and Lawler. This would be Savage’s last WWE PPV appearance.
-Lawler breaks the news that we have new Tag Team Champions as Shawn Michaels and Diesel beat The Headshrinkers at a house show in Indiana.
Million Dollar Team (Bam Bam Bigelow and IRS) (w/ Ted Dibiase) vs. The Headshrinkers (w/ Afa and Capt. Lou)
-This was supposed to be a Tag Title Match, but as noted, The Shrinkers were Kliqued last night. I always liked the way The United Center look and it was a brand new arena at this point. The House That Jordan Built, though he was still playing baseball at this time. Fatu starts with Bigelow and drops him for a two count. Slam attempt, but Bigelow falls back for a two count. Enziguiri connects, but the top rope headbutt misses. Clothesline from Fatu and he tags in Samu. Double superkick gets two! Whip to the corner, but Bigelow catches Samu with an elbow and tags IRS. The crowd is all over him with Irwin chants. Samu with a slam and gets another two count. IRS misses a clothesline, but Samu misses a cross-body. IRS then misses and ends up on the floor. A lot of missing here like the Rams did on their draft picks this past weekend. BANG BANG NINER GANG! Bigelow low bridges Fatu and he crashes to the floor. Back in the ring IRS drops a series of elbows for two. Bigelow back in and he stomps away. Clothesline misses and we get a double clothesline to leave both men down. Hot crowd for this one which is nice to hear. Tags on both ends and Samu with a backdrop. One for Bigelow as well. Headbutts for everyone and then a slam to IRS. Samu to the middle ropes and hits the falling headbutt but Bigelow breaks the count. Fatu in and Bigelow gets sent to the floor. Double headbutt and Double Stroke by The Shrinkers. Fatu off the top with the splash but Dibiase has the ref. Bigelow sends Samu into the steps and then decks Albano, who was on the apron. Afa in and he attacks Bigelow which is a DQ at 7:23.
Winners: IRS and Bam Bam Bigelow via DQ at 7:23
-Crowd was into it, but they were just kind of going through the motions. I assume they were bummed at the title switch last night and I don’t blame them. Not getting a proper ending in the opener was weak too. I assume they didn’t want the Shrinkers taking a loss right after losing the Tag Titles, but didn’t want to beat Dibiase’s new team. *3/4
-They continue to fight in the aisle and Dibiase walks off as he is done with this. The crowd is enjoying the brawl and it is a chaotic scene with officials trying to separate them. Vince is confused by the ref’s decision. I mean, Afa jumped in and attacked Bigelow. Pretty cut and dry!
-Lesley Nielsen is still looking for The Undertaker! This all seemed weird to me as a kid.
WWF Women’s Championship: Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano (w/ Luna Vachon)
-Bull gets The Orient Express music. Little girls present both Bull and Alundra with flowers. Luna steals Bull’s flowers and hits Blayze with them. Handshake, but Bull kicks Blayze in the gut. Blazye back with a dropkick, but misses a second one. Bull throws her across the ring by the hair in a spot that always looked impressive. Alundra throws weak punches from her knees as she is fighting up against the monster. Leg Drop from Bull gets two. Bull hooks a reverse chinlock and again, this crowd is right there with them. Blayze gets her foot on the ropes to force a break. The crowd starts a USA chant so Bull slams Alundra face first into the mat. Cool! Blayze with a rana for two. She connects with a spinning kick but misses a second and Bull gets a two handed choke before slamming Alundra down. Boston Crab with one arm and Blayze fights and crawls her way to the ropes to the force a break. Bull with another submission as she has Alundra tied up like a pretzel and it gets a good reaction from the crowd. Luna gets involved which ticks off the crowd. Blayze with a flash roll-up, but Bull is out and two and goes to a cross armbreaker. Blayze rolls to get Bull on her back and a two count, but Bull maintains the hold. She releases and just stomps Alundra in the face. Sling Blade from Blayze and another and another for two. Piledriver, but Bull backdrops out as Lawler was worried about Bull’s hair breaking. Slam from Bull, but Blayze slides out. Clothesline from Bull, but she gets caught in the corner with a backslide for two. She charges and Bull catches her with a powerbomb for two. Slam from Bull and she heads up top. Leg Drop misses and Blayze kicks Luna off the apron. German Suplex into a bridge gets the pin at 8:18.
Winner and Still WWF Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze via pin at 8:18
-Wonderful little match in a time when they were trying to rebuild the women’s division. It didn’t work but they were on the right track here. The crowd was into it which is part of the battle. They weren’t given a ton of time, but at this point they would take whatever they were given on PPV. This was enjoyable. ***1/4
-Todd is backstage with our new Tag Team Champions, Shawn Michaels and Diesel. As mentioned, they won them from The Headshrinkers the night before in Indianapolis. These two dudes got a bit of an attitude.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Diesel (c) (w/ Shawn Michaels) vs. Razor Ramon (w/ Walter Payton)
-Diesel won the IC Title from Razor on an episode of Superstars earlier in the summer. I am digging the look of Razor’s gear. White boots look weird on him though. Razor throws his toothpick at Diesel, which gets the big man flustered. Razor throws right hands and Diesel ends up on the floor to regroup with Shawn. Back in the ring, Diesel buries a knee to the gut and throws forearms to the small of the back. Razor back with a right hand, but Diesel mows him down with a short arm clothesline. Razor back with his own clothesline, but gets caught with an elbow in the corner. Nash chokes with his foot in the corner while Shawn pulls Razor’s hair from the floor. Cool! Sleeper! Razor breaks with a belly-to-back suplex. Razor charges, but Diesel sidesteps and Razor goes flying over the top rope. As the ref counts Razor, Shawn removes the covering from the buckle in the corner. Walter forces Shawn back to his corner and the crowd is eating that up. The ref goes out to stop Walter and that lets Shawn dive off the steps and catch Razor with a clothesline. Diesel is happy to take the count-out by Razor crawls back into the ring. The ref notices the exposed buckle and blocks but Shawn distracts him. That lets Diesel send Razor back first into the exposed corner. That gets two! Snakes Eyes, but to a corner with the padding still on the buckle. Weird choice! Shawn pulls Razor’s hair as they have him doing whatever he can to help out with this one. Diesel drops an elbow to the back for two. The crowd is way into this one as they start a “Razor” chant. Razor fights out of a reverse chinlock, but gets caught with a big boot to end that rally. Abdominal stretch and Diesel smartly uses the top rope to cheat. This goes on for a bit before the ref catches Diesel cheating. He tries to go back to the hold, but Razor gets his own. It only lasts for a few seconds as Diesel escapes with a hip-toss. Snakes Eyes to the exposed buckle, but Razor slides out and shoves Diesel chest first into the exposed buckle. That gets two and the crowd was ready to celebrate. Razor finally gets on track and he pulls Diesel balls first into the post. Off the top with a bulldog for two. Shawn goes to get involved and Razor decks him. Diesel lands an elbow in the corner and sets for the jackknife, but Razor backdrops out. Razor’s Edge called for that brings Shawn up to the apron to distract. Leaping shoulder tackle from Diesel but it leaves both men down. Shawn tries to get involved but Walter pulls the tag title away. The ref goes to Walter and that gives Shawn a chance to hit a superkick, but Razor ducks and Diesel eats the superkick. Shawn tries to break up the cover, but Walter pulls him back out and Razor gets the pin at 15:03.
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon via pin at 15:03
-Good match as Diesel was working his way up the ladder in the company and was still putting things together in the ring. Working with a good friend helps and Shawn was out there to bump around and add to the match. The crowd was way into this one and dug the stuff with Walter as well. ***
-Diesel is PISSED and storms after Shawn as they head up the aisle. I’m sure they are fine!
-Todd is backstage with Tatanka and Lex Luger. The story is Tatanka thinks Lex has sold out to Ted Dibiase, but Lex denies it. Sting would believe Lex! They actually had fans call to vote and 54% voted that Lex sold out.
Lex Luger vs Tatanka
-Watching back now it’s pretty clear to see where this is going because Tatanka is being a dick. He keeps yelling that Lex sold out and won’t hear the man out. Lex should have learned from this and learned to trust Sting a few years later and it would have saved WCW. Lockup and they jockey for position around the ring. Lex gives a clean break in the corner. Another lockup and Lex gets a side headlock. Shoved off, but he runs Tatanka down with a shoulder and there are some boos for Lex. They exchange wrist holds and Tatanka gets the advantage. Tatanka ducks a clothesline and gets a crossbody for two. Small package by Luger for two. Tatanka with a chop and Luger just stares him down as my man has years of getting chopped by Flair and Steamboat. Hip-toss from Luger gets two, but he misses an elbow. Vince notes the crowd isn’t sure what to make of this match-up. They are just waiting for Dibiase so this can play out. Tatanka starts on the warpath and hits a series of chops for two. He comes off the top with another chop for two. Another slam and Tatanka up top again. This time he misses and Luger gets a running clothesline and another one. Here comes Ted Dibiase and now the crowd is invested. Powerslam from Luger! Ted has a bag full of cash and offers it to Luger. Tatanka gets a roll-up from the distraction for the pin at 6:02.
Winner: Tatanka via pin at 6:02
-Basic match which is fine as they only had six minutes and the match was here to pay off the story they had been telling. **1/4
-Luger gets in Tatanka’s face and truth be told, Tatanka was in the right there as the match was still happening. Luger turns to Ted and kicks the bag of money away, but then Tatanka attacks. He shows some great aggression and hits the End of the Trail. He then hugs Dibiase and the crowd is not happy. Lawler makes sure to note Tatanka’s ancestors sold out Manhattan for $24. Dibiase sends Tatanka back in and he hooks The Million Dollar Dream. This was a really good heel turn and beating to sell it. He then stuffs a hundred dollar bill in Luger’s mouth.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel (w/ Oscar)
-It’s Country vs. Rap! Years later, WCW runs the same angle and it births “Rap is Crap.” Personally, I love both! For the record Tim McGraw is my favorite country artist Eminem by favorite rapper (and artist overall). If Nelly was a thing during this time, he could have brought these two together and produced a BANGER. The black boots look weird with the light blue and gold Jarrett is rocking. Lawler makes Barney The Dinosaur jokes about Mabel. JJ uses his speed to stay away but gets stupid and struts, which gets him lifted off his feet with a double choke. JJ tries a drop down and Mabel just squashes him. He gets a slam and sends JJ to the floor with a clothesline. JJ shoves Oscar into the steps and then trips Mabel. He rushes back in to stop away and drops a first from the middle ropes. JJ off the middle ropes with a double axe. Up again and he hits another one as he tries to get Mabel off his feet. JJ off the top, but gets caught with a bearhug. JJ goes to the eyes to break. He jumps on for a sleeper but gets run into the corner. JJ jumps on again and Mabel drops to a knee. He fights back up and runs JJ into the corner again. Spin wheel kick gets two! Knuckleball is striking in the crowd as I forgot MLB was on strike this summer and we didn’t have a World Series. Poor Expos! The All Star Game was in Pittsburgh before the stoppage. JJ goes to the eyes again and then goes after Oscar. Mable saves and Oscar slaps JJ in front of the ref, but no DQ for reasons. Mabel misses a splash off the middle ropes in the ring. JJ covers for two, but Mabel kicks out with force. JJ tries a sunset flip and Mabel tries an ass bomb, but JJ moves and covers for the pin at 5:58.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett via pin at 5:58
-Funny enough Mabel ends up in the Main Event of this show a year later. The story was fine as JJ was cheating and doing whatever he could to avoid. He then caught Mabel making one mistake and got the win. *
-We get a tease of The Undertaker as he pops up in the entrance way behind Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy. Leslie and George had been on the case of trying to find The Undertaker after he rose to the heavens at The Royal Rumble.
-Video recap of Owen vs. Bret to kill time as they set up the blue steel cage that we all grew up watching. It is rather amazing it took WWF years to realize they could hang the cage from the roof and lower it when needed. NWA/WCW had been doing it for years at this point.
WWF Championship: Steel Cage Match: Bret Hart (c) vs. Owen Hart
-Stu and Helen are at ringside and get interview by Vince. The other brothers and sisters are sitting around them as well. Bulldog is there and Diana is with him, but we are a few years away from her being an on camera talent. Anvil is in the crowd as well and obviously, he is pulling for Owen.
-Todd with backstage with Bret and I just realized he was given the big win at Mania to make up for what happened at Mania IX, but he didn’t get to Main Event a single PPV in this second run as WWF Champion. He was stuck in the middle of the show with Piper/Lawler, Taker/Taker and Taker/Yoko on top. Weird!
-Owen attacks as Bret comes through the door and beats him down in the corner. To the next corner and Owen pounds away with right hands from a mounted position. Bret gets a reverse atomic drop and hits a clothesline to slow down the Owen onslaught. Owen goes to the eyes and back to throwing punches. Vince notes this is escape rules. Bret blocks being sent into the cage and hits a DDT. They slug it out and Bret wins this exchange. He starts to climb, but Owen cuts him off. Vince notes that Bret is suffering from strep throat coming into this match. Owen hits the enziguiri and starts to climb, but Bret pulls him down to the top rope and brings him back into the ring with a belly-to-back suplex. Bret tries to go out the door, but Owen pulls him back in by the leg. Whip to the corner and the cage make a great sound just by the ring shaking. Bret with a bulldog out of the corner and they fight to get out the door and we get some great teases that freaks out the crowd. Both men diving for the door, but getting caught is sweet. Bret rips at Owen’s mouth to slow down his crawl and pulls him back into the ring. Bret tries to climb, but Owen grabs him by the leg and slams him back to the mat. I like that both men are going for the win any chance they can. Owen starts to climb and gets over the top of the cage, but Bret grabs him by the hair and pulls him back inside the cage. They start trading right hands on the top rope and Bret loses this exchange as he falls to the mat. Owen comes off with a shotgun missile dropkick and kips up before trying to sprint up the cage. Bret makes the save again and tries to climb over his brother to escape. Bret kicks at Owen, but gets yanked down and BOUNCES BALLS FIRST off the top rope. Anvil is laughing as he celebrates in the crowd. Owen starts to crawl for the door and the crowd is really freaking out but Bret makes the save. Bret drops a head-butt to the abdomen as we see Bulldog cheering on Bret in the crowd. Bret comes off the second rope, but misses an elbow. Owen climbs and again, I can’t praise this crowd enough with the way they are buying every escape attempt. Owen is over the cage again, but Bret has him by the and we get the visual of Owen dangling from the cage. Bret gets him back into the ring and goes for his own escape, but Owen stops that and Bret gets crotched on the top of the cage. Suplex bring Bret back to the mat as we near 16:00 and it is flying by. Owen climbs, but he gets stopped and is the first one to be run into the cage. This is 1994 WWF, so there will be no blood. Bret over the cage and the crowd explodes as they think he is about to win, but Owen brings him back by the hair and then hits his own belly-to-back suplex. Owen is still in the best shape and drills Bret with a piledriver! Owen gingerly climbs as both men are selling the affects of this match. Bret meets him up there and again they start trading right hands. Owen knocks Bret down, but he’s too tired and falls off the ropes as well. Bret crawls to the door and is nearly out, but Owen pulls him back in. Bret goes crazy with punches and lunges out the door again, but gets stopped. Now Owen gets to go crazy with right hands and nearly gets himself out of the door. Bret with a slingshot that sends Owen into the cage to a big pop. We have people in the front row giving them a standing ovation. Bret crawls to the wrong corner to sell the exhaustion and when he gets to the door, Owen is there to cut him off. Nice! Hard whip to the corner by Owen. Bret goes for a slam, but Owen slips out and gets a go behind. Bret runs towards the cage and Owen goes face first, but Bret hits his knee as well. Bret climbs with one good leg and hobbles over the top of the cage. Owen scrambles to stop Bret and forces Bret upside down as he pulls him back into the ring. Spin Wheel Kick from Owen and he slowly climbs. Bret gets up to stop him and pulls Owen back into the ring by the hair. Owen gets the better of this exchange with right hands. The crowd starts a “Lets Go Bret,” chant and he responds by kicking Owen off the cage. We get another double down spot as they crack heads. They take their time in selling the damage before Owen makes the first move to climb. Bret meets him up there and brings Owen back into the ring with a superplex. Awesome! Not as visually impressive as Hogan/Boss Man, but still awesome! Bret actually has Owen covered and this would be over if we had a ref involved. Bret crawls towards the door as the drama increases. Owen grabs Bret by the boot and drags him back into the ring. Owen with a sharpshooter which ticks off the crowd. Bret powers his way out and reverses the hold. Bret releases and starts to climb as he feels Owen is done. Bret is all the way over, but Owen lunges and grabs him by the hair. Both men battle and then both fall back to the mat from the top rope. The race is on again and both men end up over the top of the cage. They battle on the outside of the cage and it’s a race to the bottom. Owen gets rammed into the cage and falls backwards, but his legs get caught. That lets Bret drop down for the win at 32:22.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Bret Hart at 32:22
-Amazing match with a ton of drama and I loved that they both just kept going for the win whenever possible. They weren’t in there to just destroy the other. That was something Bruno would do as he would beat his challenger until they couldn’t move and then walk out of the cage satisfied. For Hogan it was about keeping others out and getting revenge to blow off a feud. He would then climb out the cage. This was different as they knew the rules and were looking for any way to get out and win as soon as possible. I shortchanged this match a bit on my initial review nearly 20 years ago. This match has aged fantastically and tells a great story. It went over 30 minutes but flew by and they had the crowd with them the entire time. *****
-We aren’t done as Anvil decks Bulldog from behind. He attacks Bret and sends him back inside the ring. Owen joins him so Anvil chains the door shut. Owen and Anvil beat the piss out of Bret as the other Hart brothers start swarming the cage. Owen plays defense as he knocks each brother off the cage. Eventually, the numbers are too great, and they make their way inside the cage to save Bret. Bulldog is the first one in as he punches Owen in the face repeatedly. Owen knows it’s time to go and bails over the top of the cage. Anvil joins him and gets booed out of the building. Great stuff to add more heat to Owen and set up more down the line.
-Recap of Yokozuna and his merry men stuffing Taker in a casket at The Royal Rumble. Taker then ascends to the heavens and we haven’t seen him since. The big story over the summer was people having Taker sightings. Ted Dibiase then claimed he got Taker back on his side and Paul Bearer called him out as a liar. Ted then brings out his Undertaker and you could easily tell it was the not the same guy. Brian Lee did as well as he could though. Paul Bearer then said he would have the real Taker back when he saw Ted’s Taker was motivated by money. Yes, we are getting this long recap so they can tear the cage down.
Undertaker (UF) (w/ Ted Dibiase) vs. Undertaker (UT) (w/ Paul Bearer)
-The Brian Lee fake Taker is wearing the original gray gloves and tie. Paul Bearer is out next and has druids bringing down the casket from The Royal Rumble. Inside is an oversize urn with a spotlight in it and we get all kinds of theatrics and lighting tricks. The real Undertaker makes his return and is sporting a purple look. They go face-to-face and the original Taker is a little bit taller. UF throws the first punch, but UT catches his hand. They collide in the middle of the ring and neither budges. UT lands a big boot and chop sends UF to the floor. UF stalks Paul Bearer on the floor, but UT grabs him by the hair from inside the ring. UT with a suplex back into the ring. Goozle next and he tosses UF over the top to the floor. UF drops UT throat first on the top rope. He goes or the rope walk, but UT tosses him across the ring. UF does the zombie sit-up, but UT stays on him and goes Old School. Ugly looking hot shot from UF. Vince notes the crowd is in awe. Yeah, awe. That’s it! UF misses a leg drop and UT starts firing off clotheslines and strikes. UT misses a clothesline that sends him to the floor. UF follows and sends UT back first into the ring post. Into the steps and back into the ring where UF beats UT down in the corner. This is just so slow and plodding! Chokeslam and that’s the high point of the match so far as UF spiked UT there. UT sits up to a weak pop. Tombstone from UF, but UT kicks out. He goes for another, but UT counters and hits one of his own. He isn’t satisfied though and hits a second one and then a third one for the pin at 9:10.
Winner: The Undertaker via pin at 9:10
-Slow and plodding and the 9 minutes here seemed longer than the 32 in the Cage Match. They were in a bad spot and did what they could. They at least delivered on a match and gave us two Takers. People like this gimmick though because we have had duplicates of others many times since: Sting, Kane, El Grande, Sin Cara, etc. 1/2* for the chokeslam
-Dibiase runs off to probably take notes to use the same gimmick in WCW years later with Sting. Underfaker gets tossed in the casket and wheeled away by druids.
-Randy Savage is wrapping up the show but throws it to George and Leslie. They open the casket and nothing is inside. They do find a case and it’s closed. Yep!
-Thanks for reading!
