What the World Was Watching: SummerSlam 1993

Merry Christmas to all of the readers of the Blog of Doom!

The Lex Express is shown pulling up to the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, live from Auburn Hills, Michigan. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the card drew a crowd of 14,100 but other reports like Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer put the attendance far higher at 23,954. The show drew a buyrate of 1.30 (250,000 buys), a decline from the previous year’s buyrate of 1.50 (280,000 buys). This was the fourth straight year that fewer fans bought SummerSlam.

Opening Contest: Razor Ramon (21-3-2) pins Ted DiBiase (1-3) after the Razor’s Edge at 7:30:

DiBiase tries to get a jump on Ramon but ends up on the floor a couple of times after taking a punch and clothesline. The match goes through the motions and DiBiase appears checked out as he does some rest holds and only adds a swinging neckbreaker and suplex to his arsenal. He never goes for the Million Dollar Dream, preferring to take the corner turnbuckle off to get an edge. However, Ramon reverses going into the exposed steel and hits his finish, with Heenan making a great call of “Teddy no!” to overlap McMahon’s celebratory declaration that Ramon is using the Razor’s Edge. This would turn out to be DiBiase’s last WWF match as he injured his neck in All Japan a few months later and would never return to in-ring competition. Rating: **

Todd Pettengill interviews the mother of the Steiner Brothers and their sister Crystal. The mom just goes along with whatever Pettengill says while the sister breaks kayfabe by talking about her brothers “Rob and Scott.”

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Steiner Brothers (Champions) (31-0) beat the Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (5-0) when Rick pins Jimmy Del Ray after a Scott Frankensteiner at 9:30:

Cornette is wearing a neck brace to sell an angle in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. The Bodies follow Ted DiBiase’s example in the opener and attack the champions before the bell. Rick is overeager during the attack, going up too early for a double suplex and nearly taking a double flapjack bump on his neck when he thinks of rolling through it rather than going down on his chest. The match has good energy as the Bodies bump well for the Steiners’ comeback and the Bodies keep the action going on their end as Jimmy Del Ray moonsaults onto Scott on the floor and Cornette blasts Scott with his tennis racquet. The Bodies nearly win the titles when Tom Prichard throws Scott over the top rope and hits Rick in the back with the racquet but Rick kicks out. Scott then pulls his brother out of the way of Del Ray’s moonsault, producing heel miscommunication, and Scott hits his finish so that the Steiners remain undefeated on television and retain. Each team maximized the time they were given and this should have been the opener. Rating: ***½

Joe Fowler, a television personality who also worked as a sports reporter in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, interviews Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels and Diesel. Fowler was meant to be a replacement for Gene Okerlund but his high-pitched voice was not easy to listen to. The company would have been best served using Boni Blackstone in this role. Michaels refutes the idea that Diesel has allowed him to win and keep the Intercontinental title and Diesel does his first promo, saying that his only role is to keep women away from the champion.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Shawn Michaels (Champion w/Diesel) (24-5-1) beats Mr. Perfect (28-2-2) via count out at 11:19:

Heenan puts over Diesel’s knockout power, hinting that Diesel may be transitioning into an in-ring role after the pay-per-view. Michaels’ weight gain is more pronounced than Wrestling Challenge, which Michaels has ascribed to trying to keep up with Diesel’s diet on the road. These two had a great match in 1991 before WrestleMania VII but this match suffers because of a flipped babyface-heel alignment that takes away crowd excitement from Michaels trying high-flying moves. This match is also sloppier than that one as the two have a handful of miscommunications. All of this is compounded by Michaels falling into his recent trap of working a body part at the expense of the match’s momentum. In today’s match he works Perfect’s back. McMahon and Heenan overlook adding context about Perfect’s back problems that forced him to leave the ring for more than a year. The crowd does not bite on near-falls during Perfect’s comeback but they do think he is about to win the title when he traps Michaels in the Perfectplex after Michaels flips out of a backslide attempt. However, Diesel reaches into the ring and trips Perfect, pulling him to the floor. From there the finish is convoluted as Perfect attacks Diesel; Perfect and Michaels fight on the floor and Perfect rolls Michaels into the ring, an act that takes out referee Earl Hebner; Diesel takes advantage of that to whip Perfect into the ring post; and that lets Michaels retain via count out. As one would expect, the crowd hates that finish and boos it. Rating: **½

After the match, Perfect attacks Diesel but cannot fight two men. Michaels holds Perfect in place so Diesel can knock him out with a punch. That appears to transition the Perfect-Michaels feud to one between Perfect and Diesel, which is another downgrade for Perfect. Pettengill intercepts Michaels and Diesel on their way to the locker room and Michaels puts himself over as the greatest Intercontinental champion. When Michaels and Diesel go through the curtain, Perfect wakes up in the ring and rushes backstage, the second time he has had to do that on pay-per-view this year.

Fowler talks with the 1-2-3 Kid, who promises to give 110% against Irwin R. Schyster.

Irwin R. Schyster (0-1) pins the 1-2-3 Kid (10-2-1) after the Write Off at 5:40:

IRS tells fans before the bell that Detroit has gone from the “Motor City” to the “Tax Cheat City.” As expected, the hot portions of the match come from the Kid’s speed and agility. The crowed is awed by the Kid’s unique offense, popping any time he goes for a cover, producing some hot near-falls throughout from a spinning heel kick, a roll up after he lands on his feet after getting flipped into the ring, a moonsault, and a La Magistral cradle. Unfortunately, the match has a flat finish as the Kid runs the ropes and is wiped out by IRS’ Write Off, which the crowd thinks is a transition move. According to Sean Waltman, he was booked to lose this match because he was developing an ego backstage. But giving IRS the win made sense if the plan was to continue Razor Ramon’s feud against Money Incorporated as he defeated the Kid, something Ted DiBiase failed to do. Rating: **

After the match, Heenan uses the Brain Scan to draw a “1040” on the screen to make fun of the Kid losing.

Pettengill talks with Bruce and Owen Hart. Bruce says that Stu and Helen Hart are not in attendance because Stu just had reconstructive knee surgery. Owen blames that on Jerry Lawler because Stu was so angry over what happened on Monday Night RAW when Lawler made fun of him that he twisted his knee leaving the Manhattan Center.

For the next match Jerry Lawler comes out on crutches and an ice pack on his knee. He tells Pettengill that he was looking forward to snapping Bret Hart’s neck but he ended up in a car accident because his rental car had no brakes and an old lady could not drive and pulled out in front of him. Doctors would not let him compete despite his wishes to fight on one leg so Doink the Clown, his “self-appointed court jester,” will wrestle Bret instead. Doink comes to the ring with two buckets. He throws confetti out of one bucket on some fans at ringside and then throws the other bucket full of water on Bruce. No one told Bruce it was going to happen so he legit tries to get at Doink even after the match gets started and WWF officials keep him from entering the ring. According to Bret, Owen warned Doink that if he got any water on him he was going to relentlessly rib him on the road for months.

Bret Hart (6-2) beats Doink the Clown (w/Jerry Lawler) (24-6-3) via disqualification when Lawler interferes at 9:00:

It takes a while for the crowd to get into the match because they wanted to see Bret wrestle Lawler. There is some good back and forth between the competitors, but Bret treats Doink like a midcard television opponent, absorbing a good amount of offense and surviving the stump puller even though Doink uses the ropes for leverage. After Doink’s flying butt splash eats knees, Bret goes into an abbreviated moves of doom, not bothering with any covers. He applies the Sharpshooter and Lawler abandons his injury charade to charge into the ring and blast Bret over the back of the head with a crutch. Rating: **

Lawler continues to hit Bret with the crutch as WWF officials keep Bruce and Owen from getting into the ring. Lawler helps Doink to the locker room but is intercepted by WWF President Jack Tunney in the aisle. Ring announcer Howard Finkel informs the crowd that Lawler must wrestle Bret or face a lifetime ban from the WWF. Before Lawler can decide, Bret takes matters into his own hands and punches Lawler back toward the ring, hitting him with Doink’s metal bucket along the way.

King of the WWF Match: Jerry Lawler (3-0) defeats Bret Hart (7-2) via reverse decision at 6:35:

Bret destroys Lawler to the crowd’s delight, using one of Lawler’s crutches against him on the arena floor. However, that gives Lawler the idea to get a piece of the crutch and use it as a weapon to get the advantage. Bret stops selling after stealing Lawler’s “pull down the straps and show that I am mad” gimmick. A piledriver sets up the second rope elbow drop and Bret locks in the Sharpshooter. That gets a submission but Bret refuses to release the hold. In desperation, road agents urge Bruce and Owen to get in the ring and talk to Bret, who does release the hold. However, it costs him the match when referee Bill Alfonso reverses the decision. According to Bret, he leaned back as much as he could during the long Sharpshooter sequence to get back at Lawler for giving him a stiff beatdown at the end of June’s King of the Ring. If one rates the match, it grades as a bit above average because of the crowd heat. However, that does not adequately capture how entertaining Lawler’s promo work, Doink’s antics, and the post-match antics were. Rating: **½

Officials succeed in getting Lawler out of the ring and on a stretcher, but only get him away after Bruce gets in a shot and Owen flies off the apron with a blow. In a great piece of heel work, Lawler raises his hand in victory as he is whisked away. Clearly, this feud is not over.

A video of Ludvig Borga walking through a run-down portion of Detroit airs. Borga calls out Lex Luger, saying that pollution and welfare in America are nothing to defend or be proud of. He promises to take his opportunity in the WWF to show people what he is all about.

Ludvig Borga (5-0) beats Marty Jannetty (18-3-1) via submission to a torture rack at 5:15:

Since Borga is getting a rocket push, the outcome of this bout is never in doubt. Unfortunately, since Borga is going over strong that means that Jannetty’s opportunities to turn this into an interesting match are nil. The crowd hates that, with a few audible “Boring!” chants ringing out. Borga does use an interesting move, throwing Jannetty into the air off the ropes and punching him in the gut on the way down. It is a move reminiscent of a special move in Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. Jannetty lands a few superkicks but that is the only offense he can produce as Borga uses a slam to counter a flying body press off the second rope. A long torture rack, apparently Borga’s new finisher, gives him his first WWF pay-per-view victory. The match went too long, hurt by Jannetty wrestling on a fractured ankle. Rating: ¾*

McMahon announces that this year’s Survivor Series will return to tag team elimination competition after last year’s event departed from the formula to disappointing results.

Rest in Peace Match: The Undertaker (10-0-1) beats Giant Gonzalez (w/Harvey Wippleman) (3-2) after a flying clothesline at 8:04:

Howard Finkel solves the mystery of what the match is by telling fans that it will be a no disqualification, no count out affair that must have a winner. Wippleman has the urn because of Mr. Hughes’ firing. Since it is supposed to be the source of the Undertaker’s power, it is a dumb idea to bring it anywhere near the Dead Man. Gonzalez uses a chair to put the Undertaker on the defensive, with the Dead Man selling more than usual against his massive opponent. Paul Bearer returns, bringing a black wreath to ringside and clotheslining a charging Wippleman to regain possession of the urn. That helps the Undertaker sit up after a body slam and the former WWF champion takes his opponent down with a flying clothesline off the top rope after a series of clotheslines fail to knock Gonzalez off his feet. The match was terrible but Bearer’s return got a big pop as did his interaction with Wippleman. That saved this from being a bigger disaster. Rating: ½*

After the bout, the Undertaker puts a black wreath by Gonzalez’s body, doing a proverbial burial of his opponent. When the Undertaker and Bearer leave the ring, Gonzalez gets mad at Wippleman for failing him and chokeslams him. The crowd barely reacts to that, not helped by Gonzalez barely getting Wippleman up for the move even though Wippleman is much smaller.

Fowler interviews WWF Champion Yokozuna, Jim Cornette, and Mr. Fuji. After Cornette complains about the Heavenly Bodies losing earlier to the Steiner Brothers, he argues that the biggest surprise of the show is Fowler’s employment. When it comes to the main event, Cornette reiterates that Yokozuna has no compassion for anyone and that means bad things for Lex Luger in less than an hour.

Tatanka & the Smoking Gunns beat Bam Bam Bigelow & the Headshrinkers (w/Luna Vachon & Afa) when Tatanka pins Samu with a schoolboy roll up at 11:15:

This is a rare case of a pay-per-view rematch of a syndicated show feature match as Bigelow and the Headshrinkers beat Tatanka and the Gunns a month ago. That is all ignored, though, as McMahon wonders if the heels can function as a unit despite evidence saying they can. The crowd is not as engaged as earlier in the show, an indictment of how the Tatanka-Bigelow feud has cooled and the lack of overness of the Gunns. As participants cycle in the heels dominate. Bart gets no shine as Samu destroys him and places him in peril. A failed Bigelow avalanche provides a hot tag to Tatanka, who gets a near-fall from a flying body press and the match kicks into another gear. Tatanka goes on the warpath, which Bigelow intelligently ends with a kick to the back of the head. The heels throw the Gunns to the floor, give Tatanka a triple headbutt, and then try an insane triple flying headbutt spot. In 1993 that would kill Tatanka so he moves and after the heels wipe out, Tatanka schoolboys Samu for the winning pin as the Gunns pescado onto Fatu and Bigelow. For a long time this match was pedestrian but after the Tatanka hot tag it became something memorable. One just wishes the finish was better. Rating: ***¼

Fowler chats with Hank Carter, who has been driving the Lex Express over the last two months. He talks about Lex Luger’s compassion and how children in a Philadelphia children’s hospital were happy to see him. Carter says that Luger is going to win the title in the main event.

Todd Pettengill talks with a fan named Bruce who is wearing a red, white, and blue toga. The segment shows that Pettengill is better at these interactive segments than the recently hired Fowler.

The crowd boos during the singing of the Japanese national anthem by Kyota Suzuki as former Orient Express member Akio Sato holds the Japanese flag. That is followed by Randy Savage escorting Aaron Neville to the ring to sing the national anthem.

WWF Championship Match: Lex Luger (23-0-1) beats Yokozuna (Champion w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (25-2) via count out at 17:57:

Luger gets a strong reaction in his first babyface appearance, although one could argue it was not as loud as Bret Hart received earlier in the show. Still, the crowd has embraced the anti-foreign element of the feud and “USA” chants occur throughout the contest to will Luger to victory. Luger is also leaner than his Narcissist days. The big question that the match revolves around is whether Luger can slam Yokozuna again. Even though Yokozuna’s offense is slow, Luger carries his end of the bout and then some by using unconventional moves like a flying forearm off the top rope and clothesline to the back of the head to nearly win the title. A desperate Yokozuna uses Fuji’s wooden bucket but Luger kicks out of that to a big pop. Luger barely kicks out of a belly-to-belly suplex, back suplex, and leg drop and then avoids the Banzai Drop and an avalanche to start his last comeback. He succeeds in slamming Yokozuna and knocks Fuji out on the apron. However, he makes a fatal error in knocking Yokozuna to the floor with his running forearm and decides to punch Cornette, who has also hopped on the apron, rather than roll Yokozuna into the ring. That gives him a win by count out. McMahon tries to put this over as a big victory and the Steiner Brothers, Tatanka, and Savage come into the ring to celebrate but the crowd is less than enthusiastic because they did not see a title change. McMahon tries to cushion the blow for viewers by saying that Jack Tunney will book a rematch even though Luger signed a contract that said he only got one crack at the title. The disappointing outcome keeps the match from being as memorable as it deserved to be. Rating: **½

The ”I’ll Be Your Hero” music video closes, although Luger failed to be the hero by not leaving the Palace with the WWF Championship. When the camera returns to the ring, Yokozuna is still out cold on the arena floor. Jim Cornette tries to revive him.

The Last Word: Most of the show continued the tradition of strong SummerSlam pay-per-views. The tag team matches were entertaining and Bret Hart’s work with Jerry Lawler is something that would be taught in a graduate course on Southern wrestling. However, the show was marred by another questionable booking decision as Vince McMahon decided not to pull the trigger on Luger winning the title despite sending him on an expensive, cross-country bus tour all summer. McMahon reasoned that there was more money in the chase and that he could extend the program to WrestleMania. However, sometimes striking when the iron is hot is better. Luger not winning the title and celebrating like he did afterward cut the knees off his character. It was something he never recovered from. It would be akin to the WWF deciding to give Hulk Hogan a count out win over the Iron Sheik in 1984 to keep that program going in the Northeast for six more months. At a time when the WWF product needed a major shot in the arm, especially in the post-Hogan era, they botched it and it turned a fun show into a disappointing one.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 4!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1992 WWF, 1993 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!