August 8, 1994
From the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, OH
Your hosts are Vince McMahon and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
The show has an opening where we see a surgeon about to perform surgery but it ends up turning on RAW instead.
Tonight, we have Tatanka & Doink vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & IRS
The Undertaker w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Butch Banks
The announcers talk about Undertaker vs. Undertaker at SummerSlam as Vince promises us it will be a match we will only see once. Ain’t that the truth. Also, DiBiase and Paul Bearer will be guests on next week’s “King’s Court.” Undertaker methodically beats on Banks as DiBiase laughs on the outside. Vince also talks about DiBiase’s power and asks who will sell out to DiBiase next. Undertaker continues to beat on Banks at a snail’s pace then plants him with a chokeslam for the win (3:07). After the match, Banks is stuffed inside of a body bag.
Thoughts: Hype for the Undertaker vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania as Vince makes a shoot comment about us only seeing the match once. According to the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” the decision was made to drop the feud after the PPV due to the fact it was not getting over. More about this as the timeline continues.
The clip of Leslie Nielsen traveling the world trying to solve the case of The Undertaker airs.
We see the announcers debate as to whether or not Lex Luger has sold out to DiBiase and are shown a clip of Luger’s appearance this weekend on “Superstars” during the Heartbreak Hotel segment where he denied being bought off by DiBiase but also admitted he met with DiBiase and was given a lucrative offer.
Lex Luger vs. Chad Miller
On his way to the ring, DiBiase comes down the aisle and waves money at Luger then gives him the “ok” symbol and leaves. We are shown a split screen with DiBiase backstage as DiBiase tells us he told Luger not to worry about a thing. Luger works the arm as Vince wonders if Luger has in fact sold out while telling us that Tatanka is completely convinced this is the case. Luger goes back to the arm then hits a clothesline and follows with a running forearm smash for the win (2:59). Luger poses after the match with the spotlight on him as the announcers plug his match against Tatanka at SummerSlam.
Thoughts: The story of whether or not Luger has joined The Corporation continues.
SummerSlam Report with Todd Pettengill.
IRS & Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Doink the Clown w/ Dink & Tatanka
Before the match, IRS tells us that The Corporation is growing rapidly while Money Inc. is alive and well. Savage makes a Woodstock joke about having to rush home and get tickets because there are only 90,000 left while Vince takes a dig at the MLB over the players strike. IRS takes down Tatanka then drops an elbow for two. He misses a charge in the corner and Tatanka chops away then runs wild. Tatanka grabs IRS by the tie and swings him around before using a clothesline for a nearfall. Doink tags in and works the arm briefly then misses an elbow drop as Bigelow tags into the match. Bigelow and Doink go back-and-forth for a bit until Doink works the arm on the mat. The announcers now put over the Tag Team Title match at SummerSlam as Tatanka is back in and also works the arm of Bigelow. Tatanka beats on Bigelow until he is tossed outside then we go to break after IRS attacks Tatanka on the outside. We return with Tatanka using a sunset flip for a nearfall then IRS decks Doink to run interference so Tatanka can get hit with a double clothesline. IRS now uses a chin lock then tags out as both Bigelow and Tatanka collide in midair while attempting crossbody blocks. Both men are down then tag out as Doink runs wild on IRS. Tatanka yells at the ref and that allows Bigelow to hit an enziguiri from behind and IRS finishes off Doink with the Write Off Clothesline for the win (8:02) *1/2. After the match, Tatanka goes after IRS as Doink gets tossed outside. Bigelow attacks Tatanka from behind and its 2 vs. 1 until Luger runs out. IRS and Bigelow bail then DiBiase enters with a handful of cash as DiBiase shoves it on his hand. Bigelow then tries to attack but Tatanka makes the save. Tatanka then sees Luger with the money in his hand and yells how he sold out and throws the money in Luger’s face, unaware that Luger came out to help him out. Tatanka starts his war dance and continues to scream as several refs run in to separate both men.
Thoughts: The match itself was dull and forgettable. However, the post-match sequence at least somewhat validated Tatanka’s claims, which were very much baseless beforehand. The only segment so far in this storyline that came off well, IMO. They also did more subtle stuff such as Bigelow protectively backing up Luger during the confrontation.
We get a hype video for next week’s 1-2-3 Kid vs. Owen Hart match.
King’s Court with guests Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart. Owen tells us how Bret would tease and bully him as kids inside of the 15-foot bamboo walls in their dungeon until Owen got bigger and beat him but now, the WWF World Heavyweight Title is on the line. Owen says Neidhart is the only family member he can trust and wishes he was his big brother. We see a clip of Owen beating Bret at WrestleMania X then winning the King of the Ring Tournament but now the whole family will be in attendance at SummerSlam but that they are now all on his side because Bret is a loser. We now see Bruce Hart come out to the ring as Lawler makes fun of him for looking a lot bigger on the Lucky Charms box. Bruce tells us what Owen said is a “bunch of crap” and how no one is on his side. Bruce also calls Neidhart a “flat-topped moronic geek” that was jealous of Bret’s success and once again calls Owen a family disgrace. Owen tells Bruce to watch his mouth because no one is here to protect him but Bruce tells Owen that no one will be there to protect him inside of the cage. Bruce cuts off Neidhart and said he was always jealous of Bret until Lawler interjects himself and demands Bruce show respect then the segment ends. Excellent job here by Bruce. He got cut off at the end and that’s for the best because less is more with that guy. The main point here was to really stress how the whole family will be at ringside for the cage match.
The New Generation ad airs.
Bob Backlund vs. Kevin Kruger
Vince talks about Backlund making the comeback two years ago to become champion once again. Kruger does not bite on a handshake attempt and gets taken down. Backlund uses a few amateur moves to take down Kruger and celebrates wildly each time as the announcers talk about the craziness Backlund has shown of late. Vince talks about Backlund living in the past as Backlund maintains control of the match. The crowd chants for Bret as Backlund gets angered and taunts them back. Vince tells us that a camera has been sent backstage to follow Luger then Backlund uses the crossface chickenwing for the win (3:53). Backlund maintains the hold after the bell then finally releases and looks at his hands as Vince tells us that Backlund has snapped once again.
Thoughts: I liked how Backlund’s match came after the New Generation ad. According to Bruce Prichard on his “Something to Wrestle With” podcast they had Backlund be against the New Generation because in reality, Backlund did not care for most of the current wrestling. Anyway, Backlund continues to do well in his role, especially when he “snaps.”
We now see Luger bust into a locker room to see Nikolai Volkoff. Luger yells as Volkoff smiles and says its nice to see him again. Tatanka then appears and calls Luger a “turncoat” as Luger and Tatanka scream at each other until the show goes off air. I liked how Volkoff said it was nice to see him again to make it seem like Luger is always with The Corporation.
Final Thoughts: Most of the show revolved around the Luger/Tatanka angle and it was by far and away the best they’ve done with this storyline since it has started. The other big news was Bruce Hart confronting Owen & Neidhart and telling them they were full of shit to hype up Bret/Owen inside of the cage at SummerSlam. This was a storyline-driven show with next week having a promising match between Owen and the 1-2-3 Kid to look forward too as SummerSlam is just three weeks away.