Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart are calling the action, taped from Portland, Maine.
Opening Contest: The Legion of Doom (13-0) defeat Kerry Davis & Bob Wiseman when Hawk pins Wiseman after the Doomsday Device at 2:46:
In a move that probably did not make Sid happy in the locker room, Animal plants Davis with a powerbomb less than a minute into the match. After that, Davis intelligently tags Wiseman to take the rest of the beating in the match. In the split screen, WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart repeat that the no disqualification, no count out stipulation at SummerSlam benefits them.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report segments recaps Jake Roberts’ turn on the Ultimate Warrior. Roberts does a new taped promo, saying that the Ultimate Warrior will see a snake again.
Big Bully Busick (w/Harvey Wippleman) beats Mario Mancini via submission to a stump puller at 1:15:
Busick was a trainee of Mike Padiousis and began wrestling in 1977. He had been with the WWF before, working as a preliminary wrestler between 1978 and 1981. A police officer outside of the ring, Busick wrestled in Georgia in the 1980s and then worked for the Global Wrestling Federation in its formative months before signing with the WWF.
Wippleman was making his debut as a WWF manager in this match. Trained by former WWWF International Tag Team Champion Geeto Mongol, he made a name for himself in Memphis as Downtown Bruno by the mid-1980s. It was there that he befriended Sid, who helped secure his entry into the WWF.
Busick’s character is that of a neighborhood tough guy, sporting a mutton chop beard. In the split screen, Wippleman puts the WWF notice that he is there to take whatever he wants and that the Bully is going to help him. One can see that the WWF had a lot of faith in Mancini as a worker as he was Skinner’s opponent when Skinner debuted on Superstars a week ago. Busick beats down Mancini with basic moves before applying a stump puller and winning by submission. The lack of vignettes or build to Busick’s arrival was not a good sign for him. Even Wippleman’s promo spent more time putting over Wippleman than the guy he was managing.
Buy the new edition of Bodybuilding Lifestyles with Mike Christian on the cover!
The Texas Tornado (25-0) pins Paul Perez after the discus punch at 1:39:
Perez had done some jobs for the WWF a year prior, resuming the act at this taping.
The Tornado easily mows through Perez, giving him a two-match lead over the Undertaker for best record in the company to this point in the year.
The Beverly Brothers (w/Coach) (8-0) beat Duane Gill & Barry Hardy when Beau pins Hardy after the Shaker Heights Spike at 2:10:
One notable part of the squash is that Coach has abandoned his red pants and sweatshirt and opted for a blue-white look, which is more aesthetically pleasing. The Beverlys have nice moves and Gill and Hardy bump well for them, but the company is still failing to establish a clear gimmick for the team. Their finisher finally gets a name, though, as Heenan dubs it “The Shaker Heights Spike.”
The British Bulldog (25-2-1) pins Dave Millison after the running powerslam at 1:42:
To kill time, Monsoon and Heenan argue over Ric Flair and whether he is the real world champion and who will attend SummerSlam. The Bulldog gets another squash win with his power offense, popping the crowd with the running powerslam.
Sergeant Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan appear on the Barber Shop. Slaughter makes fun of Beefcake’s haircut, leading to Beefcake telling Slaughter that Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior will destroy him at SummerSlam. Slaughter argues that he is not worried because of the beating he gave Hogan at “SummerSlam Spectacular” and how the Warrior is recovering from a snake bite. He adds that the duo have already experienced hell, so they will go there one more time. This was arguably the best promo that Slaughter gave for this program but only a young fan under the age of seven would think they had any chance at SummerSlam.
Okerlund does the SummerSlam Report. The Bushwhackers and Andre the Giant give their usual promo about how they are going to vanquish the Natural Disasters.
Ted DiBiase (w/Sensational Sherri) (17-2-1) beats Phil Apollo via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 1:46:
Apollo started wrestling in 1986 after being trained by WWF Hall of Famer Killer Kowalski. He worked for International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW) in Boston, winning the promotion’s heavyweight title in 1987. He spent some time in World Class, where he was managed by Gary Hart, and then returned to IWCCW, becoming a tag team champion with Eric Sbraccia.
In the split screen, Virgil does a funny promo with sound effects about pulling a slot machine lever and winning the Million Dollar Championship Belt at SummerSlam. As that goes on, DiBiase makes short work of Apollo and wins an eleventh-straight match with the Million Dollar Dream. After the bell, DiBiase puts $100 down Apollo’s throat and Sherri steals it back.
The Last Word: This show did its job in trying to sell SummerSlam on the last day before the big show, saving a good Sergeant Slaughter promo to build the “Match Made in Hell.” The debut of Big Bully Busick also gave this episode unique content, so that is another mark in its favor.
Here is a sampling of WWF shows in the week leading up to SummerSlam, with results courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Houston, Texas – The Summit – August 23, 1991 (3,800): Bret Hart pinned Irwin R. Schyster…The Dragon beat the Barbarian…The Berzerker pinned Koko B. Ware…The Warlord pinned Jimmy Snuka…Ted DiBiase beat Virgil…The Natural Disasters defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Texas Tornado when Earthquake pinned Duggan…The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker in a body bag match.
Auburn Hills, Michigan – The Palace of Auburn Hills – August 24, 1991 (4,000): Kok B. Ware pinned Tanaka…Hacksaw Jim Duggan wrestled the Berzerker to a double count out…The British Bulldog pinned Smash (substituting for Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect)…The Beverly Brothers (substituting for WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys) beat Marty Jannetty & Jim Powers (substituting for Shawn Michaels) when Beau pinned Powers…Greg Valentine pinned the Barbarian…The Warlord defeated the Texas Tornado with the Flair pin…Sid Justice (substituting for Roddy Piper) pinned Ted DiBiase with a powerbomb at 7:28 in a match where Randy Savage was the special guest referee.
Albany, New York – Knickerbocker Arena – August 25, 1991 (3,000): Marty Jannetty beat Tanaka…The Dragon defeated the Barbarian…Irwin R. Schyster defeated Bret Hart…Ted DiBiase beat Virgil after Sensational Sherri interfered…Kato defeated Jim Powers…The Natural Disasters beat Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the British Bulldog via disqualification…The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker in a casket match.
Up Next: SummerSlam ’91!