It's Sunday, August 27th, 1995. Mortal Kombat is scoring a flawless victory at the top of the box office. Seal compares us to a kiss from a rose on the billboard hot 100. Windows 95 is revealed to the world, and a four day fire in New York is finally put out. Also, some wrestling company down south is preparing their own Monday night wrestling show, but what's important right now is in the world of the WWF, everything has been building up to the eighth annual Summerslam pay per view.
Held in the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to an attendance of 18,062. Down from last year's 23,000. With a buyrate of 205,000, down big time from the 300,000 of last year. Which is a bit of a shame since things have actually been quite interesting since last we left you on PPV with In Your House 2. So, what's been going on since then?
After Mabel won the King of the Ring, he's become a much bigger threat, and has focused his attention on the WWF Champion Diesel. He's attacked Diesel on several occasions, even injuring his pal Shawn Michaels in the process. On the last Raw before Summerslam, things got worse for the champ as in a tag match with the British Bulldog against Men on a Mission, Bulldog blindsided Diesel, aligning himself with not only M.O.M, but Jim Cornette as well. Can Diesel overcome the odds to hold on to his prized possession?
Back at King of the Ring, Bret Hart got some much needed revenge against Jerry "The King" Lawler. After making Lawler kiss not just his foot, but Lawler's own rotten foot, Lawler became obsessed with revenge, and found the one man who he feels can get the job done. That man being his dentist Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S. A man with rotten teeth and who revels in the suffering of his patients, Lawler intends to make sure that Bret feels similar pain at Summerslam.
Back at Wrestlemania XI, while Undertaker fought King Kong Bundy, Kama of the Million Dollar Corporation would steal Undertaker's Urn. He would then melt the urn into gold chains for him to wear around with pride. But for the past few months, fans in the crowd wearing all black and being referred to as "the creatures of the night" would place wreaths at ringside during Kama's matches, to mess with the head of the supreme fighting machine. And now it's all finally come to a head at Summerslam in an Undertaker classic, the Casket Match.
Shawn Michaels defeated "Double J" Jeff Jarrett at In Your House 2 to become the Intercontinental champ once again. The plan going forward was for Shawn to defend his title against Sid at Summerslam, but newly appointed interim president Gorilla Monsoon would change the match, not only giving the title shot to Razor Ramon, but making the match a ladder match. After the classic they had at Wrestlemania X, and the rivalry heating up, who will come out on top?
From "Minnesota, Minneapolis" It's the 1-2-3 Kid opening action tonight against Hakushi. We recap how thanks to Skip on the Action Zone, Hakushi accidentally lost to Barry Horowitz, as Horowitz's winning streak continues. Also, no sign of Shinja, who had left the WWF after the match with Bret Hart on Raw a few weeks prior.
Both men exchange hammerlocks early on, but Hakushi pulls at the Kid's hair to take him down, only for the Kid to come back with a fast takedown of his own. Kid leapfrogs and hits a hiptoss, only for Hakushi to get some boots in. After a standoff, Kid goes for a headlock and a shoulder block. Both men evade each other again as so far this has been a stalemate. Some slaps by Hakushi who takes him to the corner. He goes for a powerbomb, but the kid turns it into an arm drag, however he gets caught in a backbreaker by Hakushi.
Hakushi stomps down the Kid and takes him to the corner. Hard whip to the buckle and a handspring elbow, which does get Hakushi some cheers, only for it to turn into boos. He lands a bronco buster (Fitting considering who he hits it on), and taunts some more. He kicks at the leg of the kid, tripping him and following with kicks to the back of the head. Body slam and slingshot splash by Hakushi, covering for two. Kid tries to escape a nerve hold, but Hakushi regains control, landing a back body drop and a kick that sends the Kid tumbling out of the ring.
Hakushi follows with a handspring moonsault over the top rope, landing on the Kid, and possibly injuring himself in the process. Hakushi follows with a shoulder block off the top rope, covering for only two. Body slam in the middle of the ring as Hakushi goes up again for the headbutt, but the Kid escapes. Kid escapes some strikes, and catches Hakushi with a dropkick. After a splash of his own, the Kid lands a leg drop over the ropes, covering for only two. Kid goes back up, hitting a frog splash, again for only two. He tries a spin kick, but Hakushi slams him down, covering for three.
A really good opener for Summerslam. Started hot and even early on with both men countering the other, and ended with a great display of the athletic prowess of both men. Everything Hakushi does in the ring is crisp and quick, with some of the most impressive spots I've ever seen for any wrestler (though the handspring moonsault this time around didn't look as crisp as the one against Bret), and the Kid, while a bit sloppy in places, was no slouch when it came to landing important high spots. And the fact that Hakushi is getting positive reactions for his ring work makes me particularly happy because he certainly deserved it. A great way to open this show.
Dok Henrix (who needs some ritalin) is here with King Mabel. He tells "Big Daddy Fool" that if he thought that Bulldog was the biggest part of the plan, he's going to have to wait tonight for the greatest surprise of all.
Up next, it's the pay per view debut of Hunter Hearst Helmsley as he takes on Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly. After a lot of stalling, with Hunter not wanting to be touched by Holly, Holly eventually grabs him with a body slam and an arm drag. Hunter gets a cheap shot to the face of Holly and hits a European uppercut. Holly gets an elbow of his own and lays in some stomps, only for Hunter to grab him and drop him throat first into the ropes.
After laying in some more strikes in the corner, including some hard fists to the face, he chokes down Holly and follows with a massive whip to the buckle, causing the posts to shake. Vince brings up the fact that British Bulldog has arrived in the building. Backbreaker by Hunter, covering for two. Vertical suplex and a knee drop by Hunter, covering again for two. We catch a sight of Bulldog entering the locker room while Hunter uses the ropes on an abdominal stretch, only for the ref to catch him using the ropes much like IRS. Holly goes for his own stretch, but Hunter sends him over the top rope.
DDT by Holly, as both men collapse on the mat. Hunter gets up first and whips Holly, trying another backbreaker, but Holly counters, managing to land a dropkick to the face. Hunter tries a clothesline, but gets hit with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline from Holly. Holly whips Helmsley to the corner and lands a big back body drop. another whip to the buckle and a dropkick. Hunter begs off in the corner, but gets whipped again. Holly tries another back drop, but Hunter catches him, hitting the pedigree for the win.
A decent match, a bit slower than what we got from Kid/Hakushi, but that was to be expected. Nonetheless, both men worked very well with one another. I liked the early stalling for once as it makes sense for the prim and proper blue blood to not want to touch the oily grease monkey. Both men hit some great offense, neither looked like a slouch, and the end spot with countering the back drop attempt with the pedigree was well set up and looked good. So far, this show is two for two when it comes to quality matches.
We recap an event earlier in the day at Pittsburgh, featuring several WWF superstars vs the local firefighters in a tug of war. But in the end, with the likes of Mabel, Godwinn and Bam Bam Bigelow, the firemen were the ones to take a splash.
The Blus catch Billy in a double spine buster. Cover only gets a two for Blu #2 I believe. He sets up Billy in a tree of woe and lays some stomps. Tag to Blu #1, who whips Billy hard into the buckle as Lawler talks about buying five copies of Windows 95, and he doesn't even have a computer! More cheap double teaming by the Blus as #2 is tagged back in. He drops Billy with a body slam and drops a knee. Cover gets only two. Billy fights back, taking the Blu to the corner, however, the Blu counters, hitting Billy with a powerslam, covering for a slow 2. Tag to Blu #1 who whips Billy, but Billy ducks a clothesline and takes him down by the hair. Tag to Blu #2 and tag to Bart, who lays some shots on both of the mountain men, followed by some body slams. One of the Blus hits a boot, but Bart manages to make them collide with each other, tagging Billy as they hit the Sidewinder for the win.
A dull match honestly. Lots of basic tag work from both men. Nothing really worth complaining about honestly, other than yet again it's hard to keep track of Jacob and Eli. Billy looked good, Bart looked... like Bart, and for a simple tag match, it was fine, despite being dull and basic.
Up next, it's Skip of the Bodydonnas taking on Barry Horowitz. We recap how a month ago, Barry rolled up Skip, giving him his first win ever in the WWF. Following that, he beat Skip again by making it to the ten minute limit. So far, since defeating Skip, Barry has had a winning streak. He even has a new theme, a version of Hava Nagila. Because he's jewish, get it?
Horowitz starts strong early by running in an attacking Skip with a back drop, a boot and somem ore strikes to the face. Skip ducks a punch, but gets caught in a leg sweep. Horowitz clotheslines Skip over the top rope and finally removes his suspenders. Skip gets thrown back into the ring and goes into the corner. He boots Horowitz and finally lands some rights. Horowitz comes back by avoiding some offense and rolls up Skip for two. Horowitz on the apron goes for a suplex to the outside and dumps Skip out. Sunny tries to throw in the towel, but Hebner denies it.
Sunny manages to trip Horowitz, allowing Skip to finally get some offense, choking Horowitz in the ropes. After a couple jumping jacks, Skip follows with a suplex and a leg drop off the second buckle. Instead of covering Horiwitz, he decides to show boat, while Sunny jaw jacks and the crowd chants "Barry". Skip follows by continuing to choke Horowitz on the rope. Gutwench suplex follows, as Skip drops a fist off the second rope. After running around some more and continuing to show boat, he lays in some fists and continues to choke Horowitz.
Skip misses an elbow, allowing Barry to get a shoulder block,. covering for two. Clothesline by Barry, covering for another two. Sunset flip for yet another two. Skip comes back however with a clothesline. Skip locks in a chinlock while Sunny berates Barry. The crowd is still behind Horowitz, as it annoys the Body Donnas. Barry manages a Lou Thesz press, covering for two. Skip, however catches Barry and hits a powerslam, covering for two. He drops several leg drops on Barry and continues to flex, lazily covering for two.
Barry and Skip exchange some blows, with Barry landing some European uppercuts. Blatant thumb to the eye by Skip, but both men end up dropkicking each other, barely landing their maneuvers. Skip goes up, but Barry dropkicks him groin first into the rope. Skip denies a back suplex and dives off the top rope with a headbutt, covering, but picking up Barry to continue the punishment. He goes for a pilediver, but Barry back drops him. He trips Skip, lands a body blow and a dropkick to the face. Barry goes up as Sunny shakes the ropes. Skip lands a superplex.
Hakushi shows up at ringside, still upset over the fact that Skip cost him a match against Horowitz over the weekend. Hakushi dives over Skip, distracting him long enough for Barry to get the roll up and the three, continuing his streak.
A really good match that showed the best work so far for not just Skip, but Barry. Both Skip and Sunny work well as a heel contingent, and Barry plays a really good underdog. I also like the sudden face turn for Hakushi by aiding Barry. I will say this match went way too long, but the ending was satisfying enough. Though I do have one issue to bring up that does bug you in hindsight. If Skip has faced Barry twice, and twice he's lost to him mainly due to his own showboating, why then would he continue to do so in this match? I guess simply because that's how Skip does things, but it still doesn't help make him or Sunny look particularly smart.
We have some more Dean Douglas, who is here to teach us about the word "Vivify", mentioning how Hakushi helped vivify Barry Horowitz with the win. It's a travesty to Mr. Douglas, and he gives the referee an F for the distraction win. He grades Horowitz an "S" for slacker.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with Shawn Michaels, focusing on the history of Shawn and Razor in the ladder match. Shawn talks about how he has everything to lose in this match, but he needs this victory after his loss at Wrestlemania X. Razor should rest assured that nothing on God's green earth will keep him from keeping his title.
Up next, it's the WWF Women's Title on the line as Alundra Blayze takes on Bertha Faye (with Harvey Whippleman). For those who need a refresher, Bertha Faye debuted after Wrestlemania XI and took Alundra out of action, but after several months, we finally get a match between the two. Also, the announcer refers to Alundra as a "He". That's somehow worse than "Mississippi, Minneapolis". Where the hell is Finkel?
Blayze gets some kicks early, landing an enziguri. Faye gets up immediately, only to be tripped. She yells at the crowd to shut up as Lawler makes "buns of cinnamon" jokes. I'm getting the fat Raw ring girl flashbacks here. Body charges by Bertha Faye takes down Blayze quick. She hits a hair pull take down followed by another. She drops Blayze with a body slam and a few leg drops. Body slam by Bertha who ascends the second buckle for a splash, but Blayze escapes. Blayze goes up the shoulders of Bertha and rolls her up for two. She lands some knees before being dropped by Bertha Faye, much to the applause of Whippleman.
Another slam by Faye, who covers, but Blayze slips out. Hair pulls and neckbreakers by Faye, who covers, but Whippleman distracts the referee. She gives chase to Harvey, who trips over the steps. She reenters the ring and tries a German Suplex, but can't do it, so she tries a sloppy crucifix pin for two. Another body block by Bertha Faye. She grabs Blayze, but Blayze turns it into a hurricanrana pinning for two. Blayze goes back up and hits some dropkicks, however the third try is a miss. Sitout powerbomb gets the win for Bertha Faye. We have a new Women's champ.
This was not a really good match. I've heard good things about Ronda Singh, but when it came to in ring work with Blayze, this definitely didn't show that much of it. Then again, considering the whole gimmick of "lul ain't she fat", I didn't expect to see that much from her. Despite that, they both tried for something, but it felt like nothing clicked like it should have. The first real disappointment since the women's division started up again.
Post-match, Jim Ross tries to interview Bertha Faye, only for Harvey to snap at him, telling Ross that he can look, but he can't touch his sweet Bertha Faye. Bertha has finished the makeover of Alundra Blayze, and now a beautiful and deserving princess has the championship. Berthat says that she has the beauty, the man, and the shiny gold belt to put around her slimfast waist.
Undertaker rushes Kama early on with some body blows in the corner. He follows with a whip and a choke, lifing him up with a two handed choke slam. Dibiase distracts Undertaker, allowing Kama to get a cheap shot, but Taker comes back, throwing Kama on the casket, causing the supreme fighting machine to run back into the ring in a panic. Taker gets a splash in the corner. Old school clothesline by Taker, who throws Kama into the open casket, but Kama escapes.
We get a shot from inside the Casket via "Casket Cam" as Kama comes back with a neckbreaker on Taker. Taker sits up, only to take a few strikes from Kama. Taker goes for another corner splash, but gets caught in a backbreaker. However, Taker sits up yet again. Kama throws Taker into the casket, but Taker tosses him in as well, rolling out of the ring. Dibiase distracts him again, allowing for Kama to get a shot in. Kama lands some haymakers in the corner and follows with some arm wringers and boots to the shoulder. Taker avoids a splash in the corner, but still gets hit with a clothesline, sending him on top of the casket. Dibiase gets some cheaps shots as Paul Bearer rips of his jacket and tries to get at the Million Dollar Man. Nothing is greater than seeing Bearer go insane on the outside.
Taker sends Kama head first into the steps, but once again becomes distracted by Dibiase, allowing Kama to get an elbow to the face and ram Taker back first into the post. He continues the punishment outside of the ring by suplexing Taker back first into the casket. He then baseball slides Taker who is still on the casket. Headbutts by Kama who sets up a piledriver on the casket, but Taker back drops Kama off the casket and over the top rope.
Kama reverses a whip into a powerslam and covers for a pin, almost as if Kama completely forgot that there are no pinfalls in this match. He has to put him in the casket. Kama locks in a chinlock, using the ropes to his advantage, since this is no disqualification. Paul Bearer shoves Kama's feet off the ropes, strutting a bit afterwards.
Paul Bearer rules.
Kama continues the chinlock, keeping it locked in for another good few minutes. Eventually Taker escapes by using a back suplex. Kama continues offense with a boot to the back and a hard whip to the buckle. Taker trips Kama and lands some boots, but Kama gets another blow in. Taker ducks a clothesline, hitting a big one of his own. Taker clotheslines Kama, causing both men to fall in the casket, with the lid closed.
They decide to open the casket, but Kama startss to roll out first, but Taker grabs Kama, and pulls him back in. He punches down Kama and rolls out. Kama escapes, and hits a swinging neckbreaker on Taker. Taker ducks another clothesline and lands a chokeslam. He hits the tombstone and rolls Kama into the casket for the win. And thus, since I can no longer count Godwinn's .5, we are officially 0-12 for the corporation on PPV.
This was a decent enough match, but like my issues with Skip/Horowitz, it went way too long. Kama looked great with his offense, and Taker once again looks much better when his opponent isn't a lumbering giant. It did feel slow, and I think Kama legit got lost for a bit with the attempt at pinning Taker, but compared to the prior casket matches against Yokozuna, this was a much better showing for the gimmick. I liked the touch with the casket cam, I liked Paul Bearer's outside antics, and overall this was a decent use of Taker on PPV.
Up next, it's Bret Hart taking on Jerry Lawler's dentist, Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S. Yankem's theme is literally the sound of dentist drills. Lawler introduces Yankem to the crowd. Yankem is billed from Decatur, Illinois (get it, Decay-tur?). Quick interview with Bret Hart backstage as Todd makes drill puns. Bret says that Lawler can send a chiropractor, but like Yankem, he'll knock them all out.
Yankem starts off strong with some shots on the back of Bret. Bret fights back with some strikes of his own, but is quickly kept down by Yankem. He catches Bret and slams him. He tries for an elbow, but Bret avoids. Bret takes Yankem to the corner, but Yankem continues with the heavy strikes. Hard whip to the buckle and an elbow to the back of the head. Lawler is in full heeling mode, going after Bret and his parents as usual.
Bret avoids an elbow in the corner, and lands some clotheslines to knock Yankem down. One more clothesline sends Yankem tumbling over the top rope. Bret leaps over Yankem with a rather sloppy plancha. He brings Yankem back in and lands a clothesline. He tries for a Sharpshooter, but Yankem prevents it, so Bret goes for a headbutt to the lower extremities instead. Roll up by Bret only gets a two count.
Back slide by Bret only gets a two as Jerry Lawler's commentary has gone from cocky to concerned. Bret ducks a clothesline, by Yankem grabs Bret and throws him into the ropes. Double arm chokeslam by Yankem as Lawler yells at him to go for the teeth. Elbow drop and a cover for two. He grabs Bret by the neck and chokes him, but Bret turns into a small package for a two count. Yankem continues to have full control with some more stomps an chokes.
Yankem clotheslines Bret over the top rope and continues to attack Bret on the outside, ramming Bret back first into the steel post. Yankem chokes Bret some more on the ropes and clubs the back. He goes up top and lands a really sloppy leg drop, barely catching Bret. Cover only gets a two. Bret avoids contact from Yankem, but eventually gets hit with a clothesline to the back of the head, followed by another clothesline. Cover only gets a two as Yankem rolls out of the ring.
Bret dives out of the ring, connecting much better on Yankem on this attempt. He lays some fists on the big man and rams him face first into the steps. Lawler continues to look distraught as Bret lands a bulldog out of the corner. Cover only gets a two. Side Russian leg sweep by Bret, who covers for a two count. He folows with a backbreaker and second rope elbow combo. He locks in the sharpshooter as Lawler tries to aid Yankem. The hold is broken as Bret continues to be distracted. However, Bret throws Yankem over, only for Yankem to recover and throw Bret hard into the steps.
Yankem goes to the top buckle, but Bret stops him. He continues to lay some strikes and whips Yankem into the buckle, sliding outside of the ring and tying Yankem by the legs with a camera cord. He stomps down on Yankem as the ref tries to break it. Bret turns his attention to Lawler and grabs him, finally laying in a punch. Yankem, now freed, goes to the top and lands an ax handle. He stomps down on Bret and rolls him back in. Bret ducks a clothesline and knocks Yankem down. Lawler trips Bret and grabs Bret as Yankem wraps Bret into the ropes. The referee calls for the DQ as Yankem and Lawler pull at Bret, who has his head caught tight in the ropes. Officials finally pull Yankem away and free Bret.
Another okay match. Not as technically great as many of Bret's other matches, but Yankem still put on a particularly good showing. As usual though in this feud, it was Lawler who stole the show with his heeling on Bret and his eventual involvement in the match. I will say this match did feel like it went on too long, which feels like my issue with the last three matches, but despite that, this was still a decent match even with the goofy gimmick that we had to go through to get here.
Dok Hendrix is with Razor Ramon and asks if history will repeat itself from Wrestlemania X. He gets interrupted mid-promo by Bret being carried out, but still says that Shawn's gold isn't just on the line, but his body. Shawn's pain brings him pleasure. Shawn's ready to dance? Well, Razor leads. This brings us to our next match. It's a ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Razor Ramon challenges champion Shawn Michaels.
Shawn works on the arm, but Razor reverses, hitting some shoulder strikes. Shawn turns it around, taking Razor to the corner. Razor reverses and sends Shawn flying out of the ring in the patented Michaels bump. Razor goes for the ladder, but Shawn quickly attacks him and bring him back to the ring. He goes for a suplex into the ring, but Razor reverses, suplexing Shawn outside (you can see Shawn's foot smack the guard rail). Shawn crawls to the ladder, but Razor drops an elbow, and stomping him down (with someone in the crowd chanting "do it again!").
Razor tries another back drop, but Razor avoids. Another Sweet Chin Music is dodged, but both men end up clotheslining each other. Razor reverses a whip and throws Shawn strernum first into the buckle and landing a fallaway slam off the second rope. Dok reminds us that Sycho Sid will be the real beneficiary as both men will be easily destroyed by the time they have to defend the gold against him on the September 11th Raw. Speaking of Sid, he's watching on intently backstage.
Razor takes the ladder into the ring. He slaps Shawn on the outside and sets the ladder up in the ring, but Shawn quickly knocks him down. Shawn begins to use the ladder as a weapon as he swings it at Razor, knocking him down. Shawn starts the climb, but Razor grabs Shawn and pulls down Shawn's tights, to the delighted screams of the female fans. Can Shawn go one ladder match without showing his ass?
Razor pulls Shawn off the ladder, injuring the knee of HBK. He then wedges the ladder on the leg of Shawn and begins to stomp down on it. Some great pyschology in what is often looked at as a gimmick match with nothing but big spots and weapon shots. Razor drops Shawn's knee over the ladder. He then picks up the ladder and sweeps the leg of Shawn. Scoop slam follows with Razor focusing on dropping the legs of Shawn on the hard steel ladder. He tries to whip Shawn into the ladder, but Shawn collapses from the damage dealt, so Razor continues to simply stomp the leg instead. He goes for a leg lock, but Shawn kicks Razor sternum first into the ladder.
Razor grabs Shawn and throws him knee first into the ladder. He continues the offense on the leg of Shawn. Shawn manages to boot Razor over the ropes, but Razor continues the damage on the leg, slamming the knee into the steel post. Shawn tries to fight back with some rights, but Razor reverses and pulls out a drop toe hold and continues to damage the knee.
Razor grabs the ladder and instead of going up, he just drops it right on the bad leg of Shawn. Shawn writhes in pain as Razor climbs up the ladder. Shawn hobbles to the top and dives off the buckle, hitting Razor with an ax handle. Razor tries to grab Shawn, but he throws him face first into the ladder. Razor climbs up, but Shawn grabs him and hits a back suplex off the ladder. Shawn hobbles a bit, and eventually goes for the ladder, wedging it in the corner. He whips Razor face first into the ladder, sending him tumbling over the rope. Shawn does it a second time and follows with a flying forearm.
Shawn hits a body slam and sets the ladder up in the corner. You think we're getting an encore of the splash from Wrestlemania, but instead Shawn pulls out a moonsault off the ladder and peppers Razor with some punches. Some noticeable boos for Shawn as he goes up and this time we do get the splash from the top of the ladder, only Razor manages to avoid it this time. Razor sets the ladder up yet again as both men wearily begin to climb. They exchange right hands, but in the end it's both men who crash groin first into the ropes.
Shawn uses the ladder and tries to knock Razor off the apron, but Razor ducks, sending Shawn crashing outside (still appears to have hit Razor somewhat). Razor grabs a second ladder as Shawn sets the other one up in the ring. Shawn climbs up, but Razor grabs him for a Razor's Edge, smacking him into the mat. Razor sets up a ladder as Shawn sets up his own. Both men crawl up topShawn hits a superkick and reaches for the belt, only to miss, falling on the bad wheel. Razor tries a Razor's Edge again, but Shawn throws him over the top. Shawn climbs back up and this time grabs the gold, only for it to slip. We've clearly entered botch territory as this has happened twice. Third time is the charm as he finally pulls it down.
This was an excellent title match. Perhaps better than the ladder match at Wrestlemania. While that one definitely provided the greater moments like the ladder splash, this one felt a lot more hard hitting and offered a lot more psychology. Instead of spending time setting up ladder spot after ladder spot we instead spent a good portion of the match seeing Razor work on wearing down the knee of Shawn Michaels to limit his chances of grabbing the title belt. great use of the ladder as well as a weapon, constantly keeping focus on damaging that knee. It also is good to see this more heelish side of Razor show up as it's been a while since he's felt this energized in the ring. The match dragged a bit by the end, and the botched belt grabs were kind of embarrassing, but otherwise, this is definitely the match of the year so far in what has been a vast wasteland of quality matches in 1995.
Post-match Razor grabs the Intercontinental Title and it looks like he's out to smack Michaels with it. But instead, he eventually hands it to the champ and shakes the hand of Shawn Michaels. Shawn celebrates with his belt for a little bit as we go to Dean Douglas' classroom. Dean gives us a definition of "Bad", which he refers to Razor as the proper version of the term.
Razor takes exception to Dean's grading and goes to attack him. He calls Dean all bluff and no stuff. Dean Douglas tries a cheap shot, but Razor comes back with a smack of his own.
It's time for our main event. The WWF Championship on the line as Diesel defends against King Mabel. Diesel starts with some elbows, but Mabel comes back with a shoulder block of his own, following with a second. He rams Diesel into the buckle and lands some chops. Diesel reverses a whip to the corner and follows with some clotheslines and elbows. He tries to slam Mabel, but the big man quickly renies it. Diesel ducks a clothesline and tries to clothesline Mabel down, eventually managing a shoulder block that sends Mabel tumbling outside.
Sir Mo distracts Diesel briefly, but Diesel is quick to regain his focus on Mabel. He actually hits a sloppy plancha over the top rope, landing on Mabel. He goes for a whip, but Mabel reverses it, sending Diesel crashing into the post. He tries for a splash, but Diesel gets a boot to avoid the damage. Diesel goes over the ropes to go after Mabel, and lays in some elbows to the back of the head. Mabel reverses a whip, sends Diesel crashing into the buckle. Sidewalk slam by Mabel, covering for two. He follows by dropping his weight on the back of Diesel, ald locks in a facelock. The turnbuckle pad has been ripped off.
Mabel hits a slam and "accidentally" sends Earl Hebner tumbling out of the ring. He tries a leg drop, but Diesel avoids. Diesel goes after Mo, but both members of Men on a Mission double team him. Lex Luger shows up, and Diesel clotheslines him out of the ring (I thought his beef was with Bulldog, not Lex). Mabel leg drops Diesel on the outside as Mo throws Diesel back in.
Luger goes after Mo and chases him up the entrance way. Mabel hits a belly to belly and covers, but Hebner is still injured, hence a slow two count. Mabel goes up to the second buckle for a splash, but Diesel avoids. Diesel leaps off the buckle with a forearm to Mabel. Cover by Diesel gets the three. And we end the show with no sign of the Bulldog despite seeing him in the building. So I guess that whole royal plan went awry.
This was not a good match. At all. Granted, it wasn't a trainwreck, and Mabel did his best, and even Diesel tried with some interesting offense. But they didn't click, Mabel is just a lumbering big man who gets tired easy, and any energy from the early brawl died out quick. And even the ending was confusing. Why did Luger show up, but there was no sign of the British Bulldog, despite Bulldog being there? Something just doesn't add up to me. A plus was at least this was a merciful ten minutes and it doesn't feel as weak an ending to a title match as something like Luger/Yoko from Summerslam 1993.
And that was Summerslam 1995. I didn't expect to be too pleased going in initially, but after a decent month long build for most of the matches, and some quality workrate throughout, this turned out to be a great show. Not as good as 1994, but definitely a step up from 1993. Weakest matches were the Smoking Gunns vs the Blu Brothers and Bertha Faye vs Alundra Blayze as neither really clicked as well. As for the WWF title match, the angles around it were more interesting than the match itself.
But everything else? It was all decent stuff. Bret vs Yankem was good as the big man managed to show how good he was against Bret, Hakushi vs 1-2-3 Kid was a hot way to start the show. Hunter vs Holly was average, but both men worked well against each other. Barry Horowitz and Skip proved to be solid, even if it did go a bit long, but the Hakushi turn was definitely satisfying enough to excuse it. Kama vs the Undertaker was much better than expected as well. But easily the match of the night goes to Shawn vs Razor in the ladder rematch. A great amount of solid psychology and in-ring action that honestly makes it the better of their two ladder outings. In the end, while not a perfect show, Summerslam 1995 earns a B rating from me. Worth the rewatch for the ladder match, but the rest of the show is still an easy watch.
Up next, we begin the road to In Your Hou... Wait. Actually up next, we have a bigger event to cover. Because while Raw takes a two week break, another wrestling company begins their attempt to topple the McMahon empire. We start to enter the trenches of the Monday Night War as we look at the first edition of WCW Monday Nitro. Hogan, Flair, Sting and... Luger? Find out more next time.
