What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling “SummerSlam Spectacular” Special – August 23, 1992

WWF Champion Randy Savage says that the Ultimate Warrior is not macho or the champion and he will beaten at Wembley Stadium. The Warrior rebuts that he will be leaving with the gold.

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, taped from Nashville, Tennessee. Heenan is dressed like Sherlock Holmes to discover who Mr. Perfect will manage at SummerSlam. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this show took place at a Wrestling Challenge taping on August 11, drawing a crowd of 7,500, of which 3,700 paid.

This show is the first where the WWF has a video screen for entrances. The screen is located to the left of where wrestlers are making their entrance.

Opening Contest: Ric Flair (w/Mr. Perfect) (7-1) beats El Matador (25-2-1) via submission to the figure-four leglock at 13:52 shown:

Surprisingly, El Matador dominates most of the match, surprising Flair with a drop toe hold and applying a figure-four multiple times. Flair’s shoulders go down for several two-counts but he gets to the ropes with Perfect’s help. After a commercial break, Flair goes for his own figure-four but El Matador small packages him for two, throws him off the top rope, and then hits El Paso del Muerte but Perfect pulls El Matador out of the ring before the three count. Flair goes for an O’Connor roll when El Matador confronts Perfect but El Matador rolls through for another near-fall and schoolboys Flair for another two count. The crowd tries to will El Matador to victory through all of this, popping for every close pinning sequence. Flair gets clotheslined to the floor and suplexed into the ring for two and an El Matador body press off the ropes gets two as well. Perfect trips El Matador when he runs the ropes and then grabs a chair, smacking El Matador in the left knee. Flair immediately pounces with a figure-four and El Matador tries to fight through it but cannot get to the ropes and submits. The match put over how Perfect could tip the scales in a competitive bout and took the audience on a nice ride. Rating: ***¼

Gene Okerlund does the SummerSlam Report. The Beverly Brothers and the Genius put themselves over as successful people who do not lose. WWF Tag Team Champions the Natural Disasters tell the Beverlys that they had better be at their best if they want to beat them for the titles.

Call 1-900-454-SLAM to get updates about SummerSlam ’92!

Tatanka (26-0) beats Kato (w/Mr. Fuji) (0-15) after the Samoan Drop at 8:40:

This match again? What makes this one different is Mr. Fuji returns to Kato’s corner, presumably to scout Tatanka before SummerSlam, and Kato wears his red Orient Express tights instead of the black ones that have relegated him to jobber status throughout the year. Kato gets control after throwing Tatanka over the top rope and Fuji hits Tatanka with his cane but his offense is too basic to keep his opponent down. Tatanka fights out of two chinlocks and goes on the war path, dazing his opponent with a flying chop and finishing with the Samoan Drop. Rating: *½

After the bell, Fuji gets in the ring but Tatanka lays him out with some chops.

Okerlund interviews the Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart. Hart is excited that his team is booked to face Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior. The Nasties vow to nastisize their opponents. Mr. Perfect stops by and promises to give the Nasties some secrets to help them in tonight’s bout.

Nailz (10-0) defeats Ken Wayne via submission to the chokehold sleeper at 3:28:

Wayne was the son of wrestler and promoter Buddy Wayne, entering the business in 1976 after being trained by Mario Galento. Much of his work took place in Tennessee, although he later made stops in Stampede, Georgia, and Central States Wrestling. In Memphis he became part of a tag team with Danny Davis called the Nightmares. The duo held the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship three times and the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship once. After 1988 he did enhancement work for WCW. And in 2016 he was sent to prison on child pornography charges.

Nailz slams Wayne’s head into the apron a few times and chokes away. They work in a spot where Nailz tosses Wayne over the top rope and Wayne’s head gets caught between the top and middle rope, which gets the crowd’s attention. After that both men should have gone home to emphasize its impact but the match drags for another minute until Nailz wins with the chokehold sleeper. Afterward, Nailz beats up Wayne with a nightstick until he tosses Wayne to the floor.

Okerlund interviews the Undertaker and Paul Bearer. Heenan floats the idea that the Undertaker might be in the urn. Bearer wonders whether Kamala should be buried with his mask and spear and whether Kamala will be buried in a big hole with Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee or whether three separate holes should be dug for their graves. The Undertaker promises to destroy Kamala with the Tombstone and take the souls of the three men.

A video package recaps the last few weeks of tensions between WWF Champion Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (19-1) beat Randy Savage & the Ultimate Warrior via count out at 9:16 shown:

The Warrior is wearing flesh colored tights that make it appear that only paint covers his nether regions. Savage gets a mixed reaction as many fans buy into the story he has talked with Mr. Perfect. The match layout sells how tensions are high between Savage and the Warrior as the WWF champion jaws with the Warrior and neither can agree on who should start the match so referee Earl Hebner makes the decision for them in telling Savage to exit the ring. The Warrior decimates the Nasties with clotheslines and a double DDT before tagging in Savage, who tries to match what the Warrior did by taking out the former tag team champions with bodyslams and flying double axe handles. Savage turns his back to the Warrior on the apron and the Nasties knock Warrior into Savage, who flies off and thinks the Warrior attacked him of his own volition. The chaos allows the Nasties to double team Warrior, who does not like to sell for much. After a commercial break, Savage is tagged but whips Brian Knobbs into the corner, where Hebner gets taken out. Jerry Sags hits Savage in the back with Hart’s motorcycle helmet and Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect come to ringside, attacking the Warrior with chops and a chair as the Nasties lay out Savage with a chair and elbow drops. The Warrior follows Flair and Perfect to the locker room and Heber is revived to count Savage out. The booking where an established tag team goes over was a nice swerve and the heel beatdown at the end was nicely done by all parties. Rating: **

After the bell, Savage grabs the motorcycle helmet and lays out the heels.

Okerlund talks with an angry Ultimate Warrior, who is convinced that Savage sent Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect to ringside to attack him. The Warrior warns Savage that his payment to Flair and Perfect guarantees that he will fully experience the Warrior’s rage at SummerSlam.

Rick Martel (20-5-1) defeats Joey Maggs via submission to the Boston Crab at 2:44:

Maggs began wrestling in 1987 for the Georgia-based Deep South Wrestling where he won the company’s heavyweight title. He worked in the USWA between 1990-1991, winning the tag team titles with Rex King as part of a duo called the Dirty White Boys and also winning the USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship. In 1988 and 1991 he wrestled for WCW as an enhancement talent and he was wrestling for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain promotion at the time of this match.

McMahon does a hard sell for SummerSlam, arguing that no one does pay-per-view like the WWF and that it is a great three hours of family entertainment. Sensational Sherri comes to ringside, which pleases Martel, who flexes for her. That almost costs him the match when Maggs traps him in an O’Connor roll. Sherri retreats as Martel breaks Maggs’ back and submits him to the Boston Crab for a fifth-straight win.

Okerlunds interviews WWF Champion Randy Savage, who alleges that the Ultimate Warrior is the one who has cut a deal with Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect. Okerlund says that makes no sense because Flair and Perfect attacked him but Savage insists that it makes “dollars and cents” and it is a great way to throw those who are feeble minded off the scent.

Kamala (w/Harvey Wippleman & Kim Chee) (13-0) pins Burt Stiles after the splash to the back at 2:30:

Stiles does some nice bumps, going chest-first into the corner and having a good snap after taking a double chop off the ropes. McMahon talks up Kamala’s chances at SummerSlam but fans need to see it to believe it. After the bell, Kamala goes to the top rope but is talked down by Wippleman and Kim Chee. That may be a spot for SummerSlam as McMahon insists that the Undertaker would be finished if Kamala dived off the top rope onto him.

Money Incorporated (w/Jimmy Hart) (19-1) defeat the Bushwhackers (6-5) when Irwin R. Schyster pins Luke after a knee to the back at 5:49:

Before the match, Ted DiBiase tells the crowd that he has never stole anything in his life and IRS lets people know that they should stop cheating on their taxes. Money Incorporated attack the Bushwhackers before the bell but just end up whipped into each other and having their keisters bitten. The Bushwhackers clear the ring a second time but celebrate too long and that causes Butch to be placed in peril. A double clothesline and knockout bit allows Luke to get a hot tag and the Bushwhackers do a Battering Ram to IRS but DiBiase breaks up the fall. Hart hops in the ring and that distracts Luke long enough to allow IRS to recover and knee Luke in the back for the victory in a decent television bout. The finish was weak but it is the Bushwhackers so that is to be expected. Rating: **

Non-Title Match: Bret Hart (Intercontinental Champion) (26-1-1) beats Skinner (8-10-1) via submission to the Sharpshooter at 5:51:

Skinner carries a three-match losing streak into this match but continues his formula of using his alligator claw to grab an early advantage. Bret catches Skinner’s dive off the top rope with a fist to the gut and then goes into the moves of doom for some near-falls. A blind charge eats boot, though, and Skinner tries to leg drop Bret’s groin but Bret does the Mr. Perfect counter from SummerSlam last year and submits his opponent. Skinner got too much offense and the finish was weird because Skinner never did leg drop moves like that. Rating: *

Okerlund talks with Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect, who refuse to say what corner Perfect will be in.

The Last Word: This was a nice setup show for the pay-per-view, continuing to develop the WWF Championship angle. The WWF is banking on that to draw the buyrate for its first pay-per-view outing without Hulk Hogan, evidenced by it receiving more segments than anything else. There was also some good in-ring action on this show, especially the opener, so the WWF was doing what it could to attract interest after a boring spring season.

The WWF’s house show circuit through Florida in West Palm Beach and Palmetto was disrupted by the effects of Hurricane Andrew. As a result, it was only able to run a couple of house shows in New York before departing for England. Here is the result of one of those cards, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Rochester, New York – The War Memorial – August 23, 1992 (3,000): Koko B. Ware & Virgil (substituting for Owen Hart) beat Double Trouble at 12:36…The Big Bossman beat Nailz via disqualification when Nailz used a nightstick as a weapon at 6:00…Shawn Michaels pinned El Matador with the Flair pin at 10:26…The Ultimate Warrior beat Kamala with three powerslams and a splash at 6:49…Bob Backlund pinned the Brooklyn Brawler with a roll up at 10:00…Tatanka beat Rick Martel with a roll up at 14:27…The Nasty Boys & the Mountie beat the Legion of Doom & Sergeant Slaughter when Jerry Sags pinned Slaughter after Brian Knobbs elbowed Slaughter in the back of the head off the top rope.

Backstage News*: SummerSlam Spectacular drew a 2.7 rating on Sunday night and a 2.3 rating for its replay on Monday, the lowest ever for a WWF pay-per-view special. The rating was 23% lower than last year’s SummerSlam Spectacular and down 32% from 1990. Despite this, the WWF thinks enough buzz has been generated by the Randy Savage-Ultimate Warrior angle to draw a buyrate that would be equivalent to WrestleMania VIII.

-Owen Hart is suffering from torn knee ligaments. It is unclear when he will return to action, with some speculating that he could be out for a year.

-In talent relations news, Konnan has been fired by the WWF for not showing up to the television taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as well as having creative differences with the company. Paul Diamond is going to be repackaged in Konnan’s space costume as a way to salvage something of the gimmick since the WWF paid a lot for it. The WWF is said to have made a play for Sting out of the belief that he might be unhappy working for Bill Watts in WCW but Sting is making more than $700,000 in guaranteed money and his contract does not expire until early 1995. Ted DiBiase is said to have talked with WCW but it is not thought of to be serious. Additional rumors continue to float about Bret Hart and Ric Flair wanting to jump to WCW but a lot of people think Jim Ross is pushing this to drive up calls to the WCW Hotline. Terry Taylor reached out to the WWF for a job but was turned down.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 1 and 7.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for August 29!