A Summerslam match a day

[kickin it wit the kliq]

Summerslam 93 has to be The Steiners vs The Heavenly Bodies, one of my favourite tag team matches ever

[HarmonicGenerator]

 

 

I'm maybe thinking of the Mania match then.

You're probably not, because Punk vs. Morrison was never a 'Mania match.

 

 

 

Anyway, by popular demand, my Summerslam '93 pick is The Steiner Brothers vs. The Heavenly Bodies!

 

 

The match:

 

The Heavenly Bodies are out first, introduced by Jim Cornette. The Doctor of Desire and the Gigolo.

 

Hang on, is that why they always called him Dr Tom?

 

Jimmy del Ray looks like an actual gigolo, and I refuse to believe that Tom Prichard's haircut was ever acceptable, even in 1993. I already want the Steiners to smash these two.

 

However, I must say that the Steiners' music is pretty naff. Presumably it's some sort of Michigan-themed song, because I believe it's a homecoming for them. They're the tag team champions, and I was going to say something more but the Bodies just jumped the Steiners and it's on!

 

The Bodies are getting stuck in early here, double suplex, double flapjack, but in comes Scott and he's got them back into it! Monkey flips and Steinerplexes all over the place! Tiltawhirl for del Ray and they're on top!

 

Vince points out they're wearing their University of Michigan colours as well. Definitely a homecoming for the champs. I always find it a little weird watching pre-Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner. In terms of changing your look, that has to rank among the most extreme - it's hard to believe this guy is the same bloke as Freakzilla.

 

Phew, the match has started properly now after that initial flurry, and I can get my breath back a bit. Cornette's giving his team a talking-to. Recent years have soured me on Cornette, even retrospectively, and I'm not that fussed on him at all here. Scott's in, but gets taken down with a BEAUTIFUL double-team by the Bodies. What a team, as the announcers say several times. What a team!

 

Scott is down, and the Gigolo does a Rick Rude-esque dance. Rude did it better, but del Ray gets marks for effort. More double-teams, this is fantastic tag team work from the Heavenly Bodies.

 

Comeback time! Scott just hit a lovely suplex to take out del Ray, and then a cracking double-arm to knock down Prichard, aaaaand here comes Rick! Steinerline! Steinerline! Bodyslam! Bodyslam! THIS is a hot tag! Bulldog! Pin! Broken up by Prichard. It's broken down again as Rick powerslams del Ray, but Cornette's chucked his tennis racquet to Prichard, who smacks Rick across the back with it. I struggle to believe a tennis racquet could keep down a Steiner, and I'm right because Rick kicked out.

 

Del Ray goes up for a moonsault, misses it and hits Prichard, Scott hits a Frankensteiner (which was very nice indeed), gets the 3-count, and the tag team champions retain! Love those old-school tag title belts, I'd love for them to be brought back.

 

My thoughts:

 

An action-packed match - probably the most frantic-paced one I've watched so far. And probably the one I've enjoyed most since the Bulldogs vs. the Rougeaus. The Heavenly Bodies show some outstanding team work in this match, and the Steiners get all their signature moves in, so there's lots to like. Great little tag team match.

[wandshogun09]

That was probably my favourite Steiners match from that WWF stint, along with the Bret/Owen tag from Wrestlefest 94. I'd never seen the Bodies before that match and, as a clueless 8 year old, thought they looked like a right pair of jobbers. Del Ray busting out that nifty float over DDT (later stolen by The Rock) was ace though. Wasn't expecting something like that out of him. That match along with the whole Bret/Doink/Lawler thing was definitely the highlight of an otherwise weak SummerSlam that year.

[Liam O'Rourke]

As a kid, I was fucking blown away by the Gigolo when I watched that match. The cool DDT, the somersault off the apron, the moonsault, his general cockyness and of course, the awesome grind that I copied at my school Christmas performance in front of everybody's parents.

 

Jimmy Del Ray.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Was that match near the start of the Bodies' WWF run, then?

 

 

(Additionally, I don't have the energy to do a match tonight, so tomorrow will be a double feature of 1994 and 1995!)

[Prince Nana]

Yeah it was, at the time they were still made to look like a threat.

[garynysmon]

I loved that bit they always did where Dr Tom Pritchard introduced Jim Cornette on the mic after they'd made their entrances.

[HarmonicGenerator]

WORD OF WARNING: The following review is a long one. Over 2000 words. Skip it if you want, I'm not editing it. You have been warned.

 

 

 

So. Summerslam 1994, and I'm watching Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart IN A STEEL CAGE. This is also the first WWE Championship match I'll have watched for this project.

 

This could be an interesting one, because I've long held this match as one of my all-time favourites, and I want to see if it retains that position on another rewatch. I also haven't seen it since I borrowed the Bret Hart box set from my mate Jack in about 2007, so I'm looking forward to watching it again.

 

 

The match:

 

Blue bar steel cages make me happy. Next time they do an Old School Raw, they should really, really think about bringing this cage out of the Warehouse and doing a blue bar steel cage match. Growing up, a kid nearby who had all the Hasbros had a blue bar steel cage for his WWE ring (or at least, my memory says he did) and I was always jealous. I loved that they brought it back for Edge vs. Christian at Rebellion 2001. It'd go down a storm.

 

BRING BACK THE BLUE BARS.

 

Anyway, Bret is giving a great interview backstage which nicely sums up the blood feud between him and his brother. 'When it's all said and done… I hope you can live with it'.

 

We get a ridiculous close up of one of the bars, because THIS IS A FIFTEEN FOOT HIGH STEEL CAGE. It's so beautiful.

 

Victory is by escape, either through the door or over the top. 

 

I was so jealous of that kid with the toy cage.

 

Still am, to be honest.

 

Owen comes out first to a chorus of boos. He's the King Of Harts, and I wonder, did people watching at the time believe he had a good chance of winning the title here?

 

Jim Neidhart's at ringside, shouting at nobody. As with Summerslams 1987 and 1992, I will provide updates as appropriate. Though saying that, I doubt they'll show him again now.

 

Here comes Bret! Huge reaction, huge ovation. To the outsider, a bloke with greasy hair, massive sunglasses, a leather jacket with curtain tassels on each shoulder, and pink tights must seem odd. To me, he looks an absolute star, and every inch a champion. Can't wait for this.

 

Bret gives his glasses to a baby, who promptly takes them off his head and tries to eat them while Bruce looks on, jealous of the fact that he was overlooked. I bet he nicked them out of the baby's hands as soon as the camera was off him and was selling them on in the car park after the show.

 

What happened to the baby? Was it a Hart baby? It wasn't Teddy Hart, was it? I don't remember a baby climbing to the top of the cage and doing a moonsault, but if that baby was Teddy Hart, I'm frankly disappointed he didn't.

 

The match is on! Owen jumps Bret and whips him straight away into the corner, and the cage gives a reassuring clatter. The blue bar cage even sounds better. You don't get a clatter from mesh. Bret's smashed face first into the mat, and then into another corner, where Owen hammers away with right hands. 'He's nothing to me!' Owen screams into the camera. This is intense, Bret is getting pummelled here. Vicious stomps, chops and kicks, but Bret fights back, and hits a massive clothesline captured from a superb low camera angle.

 

Advantages of the blue bar steel cage, number 87: you can get some great camera angles from between the bars.

 

We have McMahon and Lawler on commentary. Lawler's spending most of his time talking about Stu and Helen Hart, who are pictured at ringside. Bret hits a leg drop and Helen claps, Lawler points it out and Vince has to hurriedly cover for it and assert to the viewers that she's not supporting either son over the other. She clearly likes Bret more though.

 

Bret tries to climb the cage and is cut off, and then Owen goes for it. He gets to the top, and Bret catches him, and hits a back suplex from the top rope. Lawler points out that this is about pride and honour, but also the Championship, as Bret tries to get out of the door. This is what I remember about this match - ooh, and there's a quick shot of Mullet Chioda - and Bret clatters into the cage again, but counters with a bulldog, and tries to escape again, but Owen switches them round, and he tries it, and Bret switches round and he tries it, and then Owen again, and this is amazing! - where was I? Yes, even though this is a big time grudge match, so the 'escape to win' rule shouldn't really work because they should want to beat each other up rather than get away from each other, the way Bret and Owen structure this match, the escape attempts just work. It heightens the drama, it intensifies the action, and escaping actually helps the grudge match, because escape means you're the Champion, and more importantly, you are the better brother.

 

BULLDOG! Bulldog's at ringside! He brought Diana instead of Matilda though. Hmm.

 

Owen's over the top of the cage! He got up there quickly, and Bret just gets to him in time. They're brawling on the top rope, and it's a great visual.

 

 

That sort of thing.

 

Bret is knocked down, and Owen goes flying with a missile dropkick! Both men are down, but Owen kips up and LEAPS up the cage! He's going to do it! The crowd are going crazy as Bret once again just gets there in time. You can't take your attention off Owen for a second, because he will do anything to prove he's better than Bret - he doesn't even have to beat him up, he just wants to prove he's best by becoming Champion. Bret is in real trouble here; Owen, as the villain, is not conflicted. Bret is. He wants to win just as much, but he still has his dignity and so on.

 

Bret tried to climb out, but saw Owen get up again, and actually climbed down to make sure he wasn't caught - which is a great move that Owen hasn't done up to now, I guess highlighting the differences between them again. Both men are down again and I can catch my breath. I am pleased to say this match is just as great as I remember.

 

Anvil update: he's licking his lips in a lascivious manner, spittle glistening on the top of his beard.

 

Bret gets up to the top this time and Owen grabs his tights to pull him back over, but Bret kicks him, hard - ouch - and tries again, but OH! Owen throws Bret leg-first up into the air and Bret's been crotched!

 

Anvil update: He's threatening audience members, it looks like. Calm down, Jim.

 

Owen's going for the door, and I just love how this match is so focused on the escape attempts. I think even if they did bring back the blue bars today, the match would still be structured much like most cage matches these days, centred around a series of big spots and dives, and that'd be what all the attention would be focused on too. This kind of match is just so much better - the heated atmosphere hasn't abated one bit so far. It's great. Then again, I wonder if today's audience would have the attention span for a match where (at least on the surface) it seems like they're doing the same thing - i.e. trying to escape, and being stopped - again and again.

 

Bulldog update: He's got his Harry Potter glasses on. Somewhere, Matilda's dressed as Hermione Granger, waiting for her lift to the show, but Davey Boy's forgotten to go and pick her up.

 

 

Owen's going up to the top again, and again Bret is just able to cut him off, but no, Owen's going over, his feet are hanging, Bret's clinging onto Owen by his head, if he lets go Owen's won! Finally, he's able to slam Owen over and onto the mat, and Bret's going up, the crowd are on their feet, and Owen's trying to, trying to, yes, he's got him on his shoulders, into a Samoan Drop, and they're both down again. Wow!

 

Wandering around in the crowd is a man with a hideously 90s moustache and baseball cap, wearing a rucksack which I assume dispenses drinks. Nobody's paying him the slightest attention. 

 

Anvil update: Bruce has shoved his way into Anvil's camera shot, they have words, and Anvil sits down with his arms folded, in a huff because Bruce is stealing his screen time. Bruce doesn't give a fuck.

 

Bret's up again! He's over! Owen's desperately grabbing at any part of Bret he can find! He's got him! Bret's back in, and this time Owen hits the back suplex on Bret. Vince and Lawler are great on commentary here.

 

Owen goes up for a piledriver… OOF. He got all of that. I say again, Vince and Lawler are great on commentary here. Bret looks completely out of it, and Owen's glancing over… Bret can't get up… Owen's climbing, he's climbing… Bret's up, but is he there in time… yes… Bret's going for the door this time, Owen's got his legs, and Bret's viciously just kicking away at Owen, but Owen won't let go, they're just smacking each other on the ground at this point and Owen's almost out of the door, but Bret pulls him in aaaaaaaaand SLINGSHOT INTO THE CAGE! They're both out!

 

Anvil update: Bruce is now blocking him almost entirely.

 

Door spots in cage matches usually look fairly rubbish, but here they're just as dramatic as the over-the-top escapes. Case in point, Bret just tried again and Owen leapt halfway across the ring to stop him. CLASH! Bret into the cage again and we great a great birdseye view of the action. Owen driven into the cage again, this has got to be it, but Vince points out that Bret hit his knee on the cage. This could honestly go either way. I would believe either man could win this. But Bret's over the top again, he's SO CLOSE, and Owen pulls him back in BY HIS HAIR, Bret's stuck upside down, and Vince says 'this is the most dangerous match there is, in all the WWF'. Those were the days, eh? Kids today, with the Elimination Chamber Hell In A Cell Money In The Bank TLCs, don't know they're born, in my day we had blue bar steel cage matches and we thought ourselves lucky, etc.

 

 

Luxury.

 

Owen's heading over again, and he's all the way over, it does strike me as a bit odd that they move their legs back over the top of the cage when they're grabbed rather than trying to just move sideways and drop down, but air raid or Lister could probably provide me a good kayfabe reason for doing that. When that's the only flaw in your match, you're doing pretty damn well in my book. 

 

This match is still a stalemate, neither man's been able to take advantage for very long - which again, shouldn't really work as well as it does, but it really, really does. Both men down again. 'Let's go Bret' chants, and Lawler compares Bulldog's clapping at ringside to a trained seal. Sadly we don't get to see that, because Owen's trying to climb over the corner, and Bret's got him and THIS is what the whole match has built to, a HUGE HUGE HUGE SUPERPLEX FROM THE TOP OF THE CAGE. THAT is how you do a big cage spot. Utter desperation from Bret, the only thing he could do to take out Owen, even knowing the damage it would do him too. He's crawling now, trying to get to the door, Owen is just prone, NO! He's not! He's crawling after Bret, they're moving so slowly but it's edge of your seat stuff, and Owen's got Bret in the sharpshooter, shouting 'I'm gonna break his legs!' But Bret, in a MASTERFUL counter, takes Owen down by the leg and reverses it into a sharpshooter of his own!

 

Bret breaks the hold and starts to climb. There's a contingent of fans at ringside literally (correct usage) jumping up and down with excitement. And AGAIN Owen stops him, but they BOTH go crashing down to the mat. WHAT. A. MATCH.

 

Owen crawls OVER Bret to the nearest wall, but Bret catches him, and they're both on the outside now, who's going to drop down first? They're still trading punches, smacking each other's heads into the cage, OWEN'S LEGS ARE CAUGHT OWEN'S LEGS ARE CAUGHT AND BRET DROPS DOWN BRET WINS IT!

 

Anvil update: HE JUST JUMPED THE BARRIER AND TOOK OUT BULLDOG AND DIANA! HE'S CHOKING BRET! BASTARD! AFTER THE MATCH BRET JUST WENT THROUGH?! FUCK YOU, NEIDHART!

 

Owen and Neidhart have got Bret trapped back in the cage, and Jim's pulled out the padlock and chain he normally keeps down the front of his tights, they're beating down Bret, Davey Boy's trying to get in but Owen stops him, and there are Harts trying to climb in all over the place, nobody's managing it though, Anvil is beating up Bret and this is not fair! Bulldog finally gets in and those COWARDS are running away! The Harts get in, and bolt cutters are produced to unlock the door. 

 

Okay, logic flaw here. Why didn't ANY of the Harts think to just get the bolt cutters and get in through the door rather than trying to climb over?

 

Bret gets to his feet, and backstage, we catch up with Owen and Neidhart. 'They're not my flesh and blood! The only one they care about is Bret! Bret, I had you beat!' Neidhart gets some mic time but they cut back to Bret and Bulldog walking away from the ring because he's not making much sense. What a match, and what a post-match. This clearly isn't the end...

 

My thoughts:

 

You may notice that when I write these things, my excitement and enjoyment levels are directly proportionate to how many times I BREAK INTO CAPITAL LETTERS. You may also notice that the above review contains A LOT OF BREAKING INTO CAPITAL LETTERS. So it's fair to deduce that I bloody LOVE this match. I don't write 2000+ words on a match I'm not that fussed about. It remains one of my all-time favourites. As near-perfect as wrestling gets.

[air_raid]

Owen comes out first to a chorus of boos. He's the King Of Harts, and I wonder, did people watching at the time believe he had a good chance of winning the title here?

 

I won't pretend to speak for the grown-ups of 1994, but as a 12 year old boy whose hero was the Hitman, I was utterly convinced the title was in jeopardy. I had seen the lengths that Owen went to to win King of the Ring, I KNEW Anvil was going to stick his beard into proceedings, and I'd seen round a mate's house how much trouble the Kid had given Bret on Raw a few weeks earlier, so I was starting to wonder if Bret's time was up. I didn't definitely think Owen WAS going to win, but I certainly thought/feared there was a chance he would. From a storytelling point of view, with so few genuine top tier "bad guys" around (Shawn and Diesel having just started having a laugh with the tag belts, I discovered at the start of the tape) I thought "Well if Owen doesn't win the belt.... what comes next?"

 

BOB BACKLUND!!

[Porkchopcash]

Excellent review. I watched it As an older WWF fan and never thought Owen would win, but was expecting what i got, A CLASSIC MATCH!

[HarmonicGenerator]

After tonight's news, I would have liked to have watched a Roddy Piper match, but it appears that he never wrestled a match at Summerslam, so I'm going to press on with 1995 and watch Hakushi vs. 1-2-3 Kid.

 

RIP Roddy Piper.

 

 

The match:

 

Kid is out first, and for the first time, I've spotted the guy in dopper's avatar. (I think it's dopper's). Tim White is our referee, Vince and Lawler on commentary again.

 

Hakushi out next, decked all in white. Did they just re-use his costume for Mordecai in 2004? Looks rather similar. Apart from the hat of course. Again, for the first time, neither guy has had particularly good or memorable music. Vince calls him 'the White Angel'.

 

Kid looks really young. Was he, at this point? Did the X-Pac facial hair just make him look older than he was?

 

They lock up, and exchange holds for a bit, and throw in a few very nice reversals before a little stand-off. Whip, leap frog, hip toss, double kip up, stand off! This match wouldn't look out of place in today's climate.

 

Some lovely ducking and dodging of flips and rolling kicks, and a third stand off. Nice exchange, but the crowd feel a little bit muted - and again, that's for the first time in any of the matches I've watched.

 

There's counters flying all over the place, mostly by Kid as Hakushi starts to try the power game, which works when he hits a tilt-a-whirl slam. In the background, a gigantic candy floss thing wanders past. Hakushi does a handspring elbow into the corner, and he's now in control.

 

The crowd count to 3 repeatedly, and Hakushi just hit the Bronco Buster! He just hit the Bronco Buster! HE JUST HIT THE BRONCO BUSTER. IS THIS WHERE WALTMAN GOT IT FROM? I MUST KNOW.

 

(Granted, he didn't do all the cock gyrations afterwards, it was more like the tamer Rey Mysterio version.)

 

How did they put all Hakushi's symbols on? They're not tattoos, I'm assuming, but they mustn't be just make-up either or they'd smear.

 

Sorry, I'm going off on a lot of tangents - nice splash by Hakushi, Kid kicks out - which I don't mean to because this is a good match. But half my mind's thinking about what a shame it is that Roddy Piper's passed away, and I'm not really in the mood for appreciating work rate. My 'Born To Controversy' Piper DVD might have to get an airing soon.

 

Ooh! Lovely dive by Hakushi! Cartwheel into a moonsault over the top to the floor. This match would definitely have fit in in 2015. Hakushi follows up with a shoulder tackle from the top for 2. 2 is Kid's middle name. Vince keeps calling Hakushi a modern day kamikaze, which I'm pretty sure is tasteless...

 

...Checking Wikipedia...

 

… yes, that's quite tasteless.

 

Anyway, Kid is making a comeback, hitting a nice dropkick, a nicer dive, an even nicer leg drop, and finally a very nice Frog Splash for 2. Overall, a nice comeback. His rolling heel kick was countered into a back suplex/powerbomb sort of thing, however, and Hakushi got the win!

 

My thoughts:

 

Good match, and a good opener, but it definitely felt like an opener, especially after having watched the Bret-Owen cage match a few hours ago. Both men looked good, and it was a perfectly fine match… but it didn't blow me away, if I'm honest. However, it did feel very modern in a sense - you could open up this year's Summerslam - twenty years later - with the exact same match and two of today's guys, and it wouldn't feel out of place at all. I guess that makes Kid and Hakushi pretty ahead of their time!

[kickin it wit the kliq]

Great review, but I will not have a bad word said against Hakushi's music though

[HarmonicGenerator]

Perhaps I was too harsh on the music

 

 

It's time for another main event, so for Summerslam 1996, it's gonna be Shawn Michaels vs. Vader.

 

 

The match:

 

I remember Vader being extremely dominant at the Royal Rumble in 1996, not sure how well that was kept up up to here, but based on that alone, I'd buy him as a decent threat to Shawn's WWE Title.

 

This show on the Network is TV-14 rated, with 'suggestive dialogue', and you can't skip between matches and segments. What happened on this show to warrant that? 

 

The opening package of the show is pretty cool, though. It focuses on the 'monsters' and 'demons' that are Vader and Mankind, and what Shawn and Undertaker have to do to defeat them.

 

What were Super Size Stridex Pads? They've sponsored two Summerslams in a row now.

 

The Man They Call Vader comes out to the ring accompanied by Jim Cornette (second appearance for him in this project now) as Vince and JR (there's a third guy but I don't know who) discuss his chances. 'The Rocky Mountains' is a great place for Vader to come from. You can just picture him out in the wilderness smashing up boulders with his bare hands. Quite good music too, better than Hakushi's. (Sorry.)

 

There are pyro thingies in the ring, for Shawn's entrance I presume. Vader smashes up the ring steps just because.

 

AH, AH, SHAWN! The World Wrestling Federation Champion heads out with Jose Lothario, wearing the sparkliest outfit I think I've ever seen. Some woman has just jumped the barrier to give him a hug? Was she a plant or did that just happen for real? Oh, there's the yellow and pink shell suit couple. Bloody hell, that outfit's sparkly, that would have looked a treat in HD. The pyro thingies go off and presumably have to be cleared out of the ring before the match starts - who does that job? They're very good because I didn't see them at all. There are genuine women in the front row screaming "SHAWN!" like in the music.

 

JR can't decide if Vader is a man, a monster, or half-man half-monster. I think he even said 'manster' at one point.

 

Vader may hereafter be referred to as The Manster.

 

They've been talking about how much of a size advantage Vader has, but as they lock up and The Manster hits the first wave of punches, they're actually about the same height.

 

Michaels takes down Vader and hits a low dropkick, doing his best to keep Vader off his feet in the early going. Great move, Shawn looks great here. Vader gets up and looks to power Shawn over the top rope, but Shawn is quicker again and Vader takes the tumble. Shawn hits a baseball slide and then a TREMENDOUS dive over the top (from a great camera angle, once again, WWE really is a master at that sort of thing) which he follows up immediately with some punches. He scares Cornette off, and back in the ring, hits an axe handle and then a hurricanrana on Vader! Shawn is absolutely showing why he's the Champion here. He could beat anyone, regardless of size.

 

Cat just got skinned, and Shawn jumps over the top rope to try and hit another rana, but Vader powerbombs him down onto the mats outside the ring. Shawn's body hits with a dull thunk, that looked painful. That's Vader in control for the foreseeable future now. He puts Shawn on his shoulder and carries him back into the ring, dumping him over the ropes.

 

Shawn does the flippy turnbuckle thing twice, ending up on the outside again. JR offers a summary of the match so far, and his analysis is pretty accurate. The pace has slowed considerably as Shawn tries for a comeback, which he manages, backflipping out of Vader's grip, but it's for nothing as Vader clotheslines him back down.

 

Shawn tries again, he's sent outside but tries to skin the cat again, which Vader counters midway by grabbing him and chucking him across the ring. We now have a bear hug. Shawn fights back out of it, and Vince keeps mentioning the Kliq on commentary, who were the Kliq at this point? Because Nash and Hall were in WCW by August?

 

Vader's reeling! He's taken down by a big Michaels flying clothesline! Shawn's going up to the top, and he jumps off with what, I don't know, but he lands just next to the Manster and then just stomps him. That was weird.

 

They're both outside the ring now, and Vader's back in it, pressing Michaels over his head and dropping him onto the barrier. 'Vader can't win the title if Shawn Michaels is counted out'… Some girl is screaming for Shawn to "GET UP!" The bell just rang!

 

Finkel announces that Vader has won by count-out! Cornette gets on the mic and says they came here to win the title, they're not winning like that, and demands a restart! Is Shawn a true fighting champion? He's on his knees at the moment. 'Michaels, are you gutless? You can't do it!' cries Cornette. That's riled the champion, and he limps back to the ring… THIS MATCH WILL CONTINUE! And is almost over again straight away as Vader clotheslines Shawn down. Lothario tries to defend him but is pulled away by Earl Hebner, and Cornette smacks the champ with his tennis racquet.

 

Vince says that maybe Shawn has more guts than veins, then quickly corrects to brains, but I wonder, anatomically, if we do have more guts than veins? You know, if we stretched them out.

 

Back in the ring, looks like a Vaderbomb's coming, but Shawn hits a series of right hands to take Vader down, runs the ropes and uses his speed, hits his trademark forearm, kips up, hits the top rope elbow, tunes up the band, the crowd are going absolutely wild, and Cornette breaks it up, but his racquet's in the ring, and Shawn hammers Vader and then Cornette with it, giving JR a chance to bust out his line about government mules.

 

What was a government mule, anyway?

 

The bell rings, and it's a second successive win for Vader, this time by DQ!

 

Refs and agents swarm the ring as Cornette gets on the mic again claiming Shawn's a 'gutless no-good coward' who got DQ'ed deliberately because he knew he couldn't beat Vader. Who's the agent with the shoulder length blonde hair?

 

The match WILL CONTINUE! Round 3! And Shawn takes Vader down straight away, hitting another top rope elbow, tuning up the band for an encore, and hits Sweet Chin Music, 1, 2, VADER KICKED OUT! Right at the last moment! The crowd can't believe it. Was that the first time it had been kicked out of?

 

REF BUMP! Haha, this is brilliant, twists and turns all over the place. VADERBOMB. Into a weirdly suggestive pin, Chioda slides in as replacement ref, and Shawn kicks out this time!

 

Michaels' body is dragged by the Manster to the corner, and it looks like it's Vader Time… but Vader stops… he's going to the top rope - for a moonsault! But he missed it! Shawn's slowly, slowly climbing up to the top himself, but Vader's got an evil grin on his face, he's getting up, Shawn HITS his moonsault press, and gets the three count! Shawn is still the champion! 

 

Hebner raises his hand, and he looks knackered but chuffed. Champion!

 

My thoughts:

 

Didn't have the spectacle of earlier Summerslams but a very good match, albeit one worked at quite a slow, methodical sort of pace at times - perhaps more so than I was expecting - but once the twisty-turny nature of the multiple restarts kicked in, it became really entertaining. A match of two halves, once a perfectly watchable wrestling match, one a sports-entertainment drama, and I think that worked better than if it had been either one of those all the way through. Worth a watch if you haven't seen it for a while.

 

 

 

I'm going away for a few days after today, so this is the last review until probably Thursday, when I'll resume with a double of 1997 and 1998! Hope people have enjoyed the first week's worth of stuff. When I return… it's Attitude time...

[air_raid]

This show on the Network is TV-14 rated, with 'suggestive dialogue', and you can't skip between matches and segments. What happened on this show to warrant that?

 

Sunny was fairly "suggestive" on the mic. Plus the look up her skirt was compulsive viewing if you were a 14 year old lad at the time, like me.

 

What were Super Size Stridex Pads? They've sponsored two Summerslams in a row now.

 

Clearasil in pad form, for spotty sorts to dab their faces.

 

The Man They Call Vader comes out to the ring accompanied by Jim Cornette (second appearance for him in this project now) as Vince and JR (there's a third guy but I don't know who) discuss his chances.

 

GET OUT. The third guy is Mr Perfect.

 

Shawn fights back out of it, and Vince keeps mentioning the Kliq on commentary, who were the Kliq at this point? Because Nash and Hall were in WCW by August?

 

"The Kliq" on-screen referred to babyface Shawn's fanbase for a while in 96-97. I thought it was lame as fuck. The first time it was a direct reference to the bunch of them was in late '97 when Shawn & Hunter were being DX but not yet called DX, Hunter asked Shawn "What is the strongest force in professional wrestling" and Shawn replied "The Kliq."

 

1, 2, VADER KICKED OUT! Right at the last moment! The crowd can't believe it. Was that the first time it had been kicked out of?

 

It was possibly the first time it had been actually kicked out of on TV since he turned babyface, although he had a televised match with Sid on Raw the year before where the first superkick didn't actually even take Sid off his feet, just sent him back into the ropes. Plenty of people got to kick out of it between Shawn adopting it as his proper finisher and then turning babyface, notably Diesel at WrestleMania XI.

 

Good to see you enjoyed it, I thought it was a good match. Although you caught the commentators' disease of not being able to distinguish between a powerbomb and the Vader Bomb....

 

 

[Guest]

For 02, (I think) I'll be the first to suggest RVD/Benoit for the IC Title. Wasn't a huge classic, but they didn't fight many times and it was one of the most enjoyable matches even on a stacked card. RVD was over like fuck as well, just a pleasure to view.