What the World Was Watching: WWF SummerSlam 1994

Randy Savage, making his last WWF pay-per-view appearance, welcomes fans and then hands the broadcast off to Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.

McMahon and Lawler are commentating, live from Chicago, Illinois. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a sellout crowd of 23,000, 19,500 of whom paid to attend. On pay-per-view, the card generated a buyrate of 1.30 (300,000 buys). That was slightly more than the previous year’s 250,000 buys, stopping a four-year decline in homes that purchased the show. This would be the last SummerSlam to air on a weekday.

Lawler announces that Shawn Michaels & Diesel won the WWF Tag Team Championship last night from the Headshrinkers. He also calls attention to the British Bulldog sitting at ringside.

Opening Contest: Bam Bam Bigelow & Irwin R. Schyster (w/Ted DiBiase) (4-0) defeat the Headshrinkers (w/Afa & Captain Lou Albano) (23-0) via disqualification when Afa interferes at 7:20:

According to backstage reports, Bigelow and IRS were supposed to win the Tag Team titles here to bolster the reputation of DiBiase’s Corporation. So instead, Bigelow is facing men he teamed with at last year’s SummerSlam in a match with few stakes. IRS is the odd man out of what could have been a hard-hitting match. Bigelow breaks up two late near-falls when Samu does a flying headbutt off the second rope and after the Headshrinkers do the Fatu splash off the top rope. This leads to a confrontation with Afa in the ring, leading to the bell ringing and the teams fighting to the locker room. Ring announcer Howard Finkel announces that the Headshrinkers have been disqualified, handing them their first loss since 1994. Rating: **

Leslie Nielsen is backstage, following signs that say “The Undertaker’s Trail.” He is accosted by some ushers who do not know who he is. When they let him go he comes across a man with his back turned who he thinks is the Undertaker but it ends up being George Kennedy. Nielsen utters a “By George!” for comedy and is told by Kennedy that he is also on the case. They agree to team up and go their separate ways to solve the Undertaker mystery.

WWF Women’s Championship Match: Alundra Blayze (Champion) (3-0-1) pins Bull Nakano (w/Luna Vachon) (1-0-1) with the German suplex at 8:18:

Nakano gets a bigger reaction than Blayze, owed partly to her unique look. In a ritual borrowed from Japan, Blayze and Nakano receive flowers from some young fans before the bout. Vachon tries to use the flowers as a weapon against Blayze before the bell but that does not go anywhere. The two women pick up where they left off on Monday Night RAW earlier in the month as Nakano asserts her power. There is some good mat wrestling and reversals when Nakano applies a cross armbreaker, as well as some hot near-falls when Blayze floats over a blind charge and rolls Nakano up and Nakano counters a hurricanrana with a powerbomb. Nakano tries to finish with a flying leg drop but it misses and Blayze knocks Vachon off the apron and hits a German suplex to retain. A fun match that could have been even better if given more time. Rating: ***

Todd Pettengill interviews WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Diesel. Michaels gloats about their recent win over the Headshrinkers. Diesel argues that everything he touches turns to gold and that Razor Ramon is not taking his Intercontinental title. The WWF’s insistence on Diesel not blinking during promos makes him look silly. He would be imposing enough talking like a regular person.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Razor Ramon (w/Walter Payton) (26-4) beats Diesel (Champion w/Shawn Michaels) (22-0-1) after heel miscommunication at 15:01:

The story of the match is that the deck is stacked against Ramon and he has to hang on until there is an opening for him to win. Michaels becomes a valuable second for the champion, pulling Ramon’s hair during a Diesel choke in the corner for leverage, removing a turnbuckle pad, and flattening Ramon with a flying clothesline off the steps when referee Earl Hebner is talking with Payton. Diesel uses the exposed turnbuckle for a close near-fall, whipping Ramon into it and following up with a side suplex. Ramon is saved from another three count by putting his foot over the bottom rope after taking a big boot from the champion. An opening presents itself when Ramon counters Snake Eyes to the exposed turnbuckle by shoving Diesel into the steel and schoolboying him for a near-fall. Ramon follows up with a flying bulldog off the second rope for a hot near-fall and backdrops out of a Jackknife attempt. When Ramon goes for the Razor’s Edge, Michaels provides a distraction, leading to he and Payton doing a tug-of-war over a title belt. When Hebner confronts Payton, Michaels gets in and tries to hit the superkick but heel miscommunication results. Diesel is laid out for a long time as Ramon has to crawl over to cover him and Payton prevents Michaels from re-entering the ring and causing a disqualification. The crowd pops big when Hebner eventually gets in the ring to count the fall. While far from a technical masterpiece this was an exciting matchup between big men that played to everyone’s strengths. As a result, everyone came out of the match looking better. Rating: ***½

After the match, a frustrated Michaels marches off with an angry Diesel demanding answers. Meanwhile, Ramon celebrates in the ring with Payton and Payton’s son.

Randy Savage suggests that there is probably dissension in the ranks of the Tag Team champions.

Pettengill talks with Lex Luger and Tatanka, revealing that 54% of WWF fans called into the SummerSlam Hotline and said that Luger has sold out. When Luger tries to reiterate a denial, Tatanka interrupts to say that it will be proven in a few minutes that Luger has sold out. The Native American star goes through all the evidence that Luger has sold out since the storyline began. After he walks off, Luger insists to the fans that he did not sell out.

Tatanka (26-3-2) defeats Lex Luger (22-2-1) with a schoolboy roll up at 6:01:

Whether because they are confused by the storyline or hate it, fans have a lukewarm reaction to each man on their way to the ring. Tatanka gets more boos than Luger, though. While Luger can be chided for falling out of the main event a year after headlining the show at least he is on the card. Yokozuna, who entered last year as WWF champion, is sitting at home. Tatanka chooses to throw the first strike, only to be outmaneuvered by Luger. McMahon tries to cover for the match’s lack of crowd heat by saying that fans are confused about who to cheer for. Tatanka goes into a warpath comeback out of nowhere, which is booed, but Luger kicks out of a flying chop. When Tatanka tries a flying body press, Luger moves out of the way and mows Tatanka down with clotheslines. This brings Ted DiBiase to ringside with a small duffel bag of money. Luger is distracted by his presence, allowing Tatanka to roll him up and steal a win. The action was fine but again, this was a big downgrade from the “Who sold out?” storyline two years ago between Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior. DiBiase should have come to ringside earlier and played a more prominent role in the match. Rating: *½

Luger argues with Tatanka after the bout as DiBiase gets in the ring. When Luger turns his attention to DiBiase again, Tatanka attacks him, flattening the former number one contender to the WWF Championship with the Papoose to Go. WWF officials get in the ring but are unable to stop the assault until Tatanka does his finisher a second time. If fans are still confused about what is going on, Tatanka hugs DiBiase to solidify his heel turn. At DiBiase’s behest, Tatanka gets back into the ring, puts Luger in the Million Dollar Dream, and stuffs a $100 bill in his mouth.

Gorilla Monsoon is backstage manning the SummerSlam Hotline. He chides Tatanka as a disgrace to all Native Americans. Then he hilariously follows that up with a statement of how Chief Jay Strongbow, who is not a Native American, is angry with Tatanka.

Jeff Jarrett (25-6-1) pins Mabel (w/Oscar) (14-1) after Mabel misses a butt splash at 5:56:

Jarrett has loved beating up Oscar the last few days. This time he shoves him into the ring steps a few minutes into the match when Oscar taunts him on the floor. Jarrett barely kicks out of a Mabel spinning heel kick and powerslam. He retreats to the floor and tries to go after Oscar again but Mabel grabs him so Oscar can slap the Nashville star. Back in, Mabel misses a splash off the second rope and Jarrett covers for a near-fall. Jarrett follows up with a sunset flip attempt that Mabel tries to counter with a butt splash but Jarrett moves out of the way and escapes with a win. Sometimes this match gets a lot of hate but there was enough free flowing action to keep things interesting. The Oscar stuff was not necessary but was probably an attempt to give Mabel a few breathers. It was a better outing for Mabel than his match against Irwin R. Schyster at The King of the Ring. However, a second big singles defeat on pay-per-view has killed Mabel’s singles push. Rating: *¼

After the bell, Mabel chases Jarrett to the locker room.

Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy are in the aisle and the Undertaker is shown by the entrance behind them. After looking confused, they turn around and go back to the locker room.

A video package recaps the Bret Hart-Owen Hart feud. This gives the production team time to set up the cage for the WWF Championship match.

McMahon and Lawler talk with Hart family members at ringside. Helen talks about how Owen has a fever and she hopes he can recover from it one day. Stu says that the best wrestler will win. Lawler blames Stu and Helen for causing Owen’s problems. He chats with the British Bulldog, appearing for the first time on a WWF pay-per-view since SummerSlam ’92. The Bulldog, who is wearing glasses, says that the feud between Bret and Owen will end in the cage tonight. Jim Neidhart is sitting with the family members, confident that Owen is going to win because he is “The best Hart of all.” Bruce promises to keep Neidhart away from the cage.

Todd Pettengill interviews Bret and announces that the champion has strep throat. He rambles with talking points that he has made in previous promos, arguing that his fight with Owen will be an ugly brawl to a finish.

Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship: Bret Hart (Champion) (7-3) defeats Owen Hart (33-1) at 32:19:

This bout operates under escape rules. Typically, a cage match was used to keep someone from running away but this stipulation is used to prevent interference from outside parties. According to Bret, he and Owen did not want to have a bloody battle in the cage so they decide to wrestle a match that prioritizes getting out of the structure. To an extent that works as it makes the win condition for an Owen title win lower than pinning Bret or making him submit. Despite criticisms of the match layout made some escape attempts repetitive, the crowd reacts to an attempt by either man to get out of the ring. The cage is rarely used as a weapon as it takes Bret almost 17 minutes to throw Owen into the steel, in sharp contrast with cage matches before this one in WWF history. Bret is also good at emoting, expressing frustration late when he cannot escape because Owen grabs his leg and raining punches down on his brother in response. The test of wills ends when Bret delivers a wild superduperplex as Owen is over the top of the cage. Owen recovers enough to block, escape, and lock in the Sharpshooter. Bret reverses into a Sharpshooter of his own. There is a failed climb out by Bret after that but both men are soon scaling the cage again, ending up over the structure. Bret slams Owen’s head into it, causing Owen to trip and get his leg caught in the cage. As he dangles from the structure, Bret jumps to the floor and retains. The ending was a bit flat and they started to lose some of the crowd by the end but there was a lot of good storytelling in this encounter, showing each man’s ability to tell a different kind of story in a match that did not let them do a rehash of WrestleMania X. Rating: ****½

As Bret is declared the winner, Jim Neidhart jumps the barricade and knocks the British Bulldog and Diana Hart Smith over. He attacks Bret, tossing him in the cage so he and Owen can do a two-on-one beatdown. Neidhart chains the cage door shut, not allowing the Harts to enter. When they try to climb in, Owen and Neidhart prevent them from doing so. Eventually, the Bulldog fights his way in and Neidhart and Owen flee. The segment communicates that the Bulldog is back as a regular competitor. The crowd briefly chants his name afterward.

Pettengill catches up with Owen and Neidhart backstage. Owen argues that the Bulldog had no business getting involved. A delusional Owen calls himself the victor.

It is announced that Survivor Series will once again take place on Thanksgiving Eve. McMahon adds that it will happen in San Antonio, Texas.

A video package recaps the Undertaker-Undertaker feud.

There is a long entrance for the next match. Ted DiBiase comes out and summons his Undertaker. Then Paul Bearer makes an entrance, having druids bring a large casket to the ring. Out of the casket Bearer pulls a massive urn that is quadruple the size of the original. The big urn was a rib by McMahon, who thought it would be funny to make Bearer travel with it. Bearer gets in the ring and the power of the urn blows the top off, with a light blasting out of it. This is supposed to be “The spirit of the Undertaker.” After some storm sounds, the Undertaker appears in the entrance way and begins walking to the ring. Instead of a gray outfit like the imposter, the real Undertaker has changed his look to purple gloves and cloth around his boots.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (3-1) pins the Fake Undertaker (w/Ted DiBiase) (9-0) after three Tombstones at 9:08:

This match was supposed to have more time but Bruce Prichard and others have said that the cage match went 20 minutes over. Of course, why it needed more time is lost to nearly everyone because the moment the real Undertaker and imposter go toe-to-toe the illusion is over since the real Undertaker is a few inches taller. Also, whereas Mark Calaway makes the “hair in front of the face” look cool and imposing, Brian Lee just looks like a hobo. The crowd does not care for the match, realizing what the outcome is going to be. What could have helped would have been Lee realizing that the gig was up in and wrestle like as himself. However, that does not happen so the real Undertaker engages in a long, boring, glorified squash. At the end of it the imposter does manage a chokeslam and Tombstone but the Undertaker sits up, reverses a Tombstone by the imposter, and does two more Tombstones to finish a feud that looked better on paper. An appreciation for the spectacle is worth a quarter star but that is all this deserves. Rating: ¼*

DiBiase hurries to the locker room after the bout as the druids return to ringside. The Undertaker rolls the body of the imposter into the casket, which is carried away.

Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy come across the casket backstage. They open it but only smoke billows out. Kennedy points to a case on the floor. When Nielsen picks it up, Kennedy proclaims that “The case is closed!” as a tongue-in-cheek way of writing off Nielsen’s mission, and he tells Nielsen it is time to get something to eat. Nielsen hilariously proclaims with confidence that the case is indeed closed and the pay-per-view ends.

The Last Word: The Undertaker storyline did not merit getting the last match on the show. That should have gone to the cage match between Bret and Owen as Bret is denied going on last in his second pay-per-view since winning the WWF Championship. It is amazing that the WWF creative team hoped to continue the two Undertakers story beyond this pay-per-view but the crowd’s reaction in the shows leading up to this one, as well as Chicago’s response, permanently shelved that. Although there were reports that Brian Lee would be given a new gimmick and return that would not happen. Lee would be released and end up going to the USWA and ECW before returning in 1997. The show had good title matches and the good outweighed the bad, producing another strong SummerSlam by the WWF in the 1990s.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 3!

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