Let's travel all the way back to the Royal Rumble in January. The Undertaker faced Yokozuna in a casket match for the WWF Championship. After being attacked by the majority of the heel locker room, he was stuffed in the casket. The body of the Undertaker was gone, but the spirit never died, or something like that. Taker would be gone for the majority of the year. However sightings of the Undertaker would be claimed by multiple people. From appearing in delis and sleeping in ditches, the dead man had an interesting time off.
However, shortly after the King of the Ring PPV, Ted Dibiase, already on a spending spree, would announce that he has done the unthinkable and bought the Undertaker. However, by just looking at him, it was easy to guess that this wasn't the real deal. Paul Bearer would state that his real Undertaker would finally return at Summerslam to face off against the impostor and settle this battle of dead men once and for all.
Speaking of Ted Dibiase, he's been busy elsewhere with some major purchases. Among them were Nikolai Volkoff, Bam Bam Bigelow, IRS and as previously stated, The Undertaker. However, Dibiase would also make claim to one more big purchase, that being Lex Luger. He would continue to make it sound like it was a done deal and that Luger has joined his million dollar corporation.
Luger would claim his innocence and that he hadn't sold out to Dibiase. However, one man wasn't buying it, and that was Tatanka. He believed that Luger had truly sold out, and considering that Dibiase was trying harder and harder to make it obvious, Tatanka wanted to take his rage out on Luger. After winning ten grand in a bet with Dibiase, Tatanka was given an even better deal, which was a match with Luger at Summerslam. Did Lex sell out? Or is there even bigger shenanigans afoot?
Owen and Bret Hart have had a long history that has culminated in the last several months. Owen turned on Bret at the Royal Rumble, then beat him at Wrestlemania, finally doing what Bret did the year prior and winning the King of the Ring tournament. However, for all of Owen's accomplishments, he still can't get out of Bret's shadow so long as Bret has the WWF title. There was only one way to settle this feud and that's inside the steel cage. However, knowing that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart would be in Owen's corner trying to intervene, Bret would get help from his brother Bruce to keep The Anvil in line. Will this be Owen's ultimate moment, or will Bret finally stop the momentum of his jealous brother?
Macho Man welcomes the crowd to the event promising a great night. However, on commentary tonight, it's Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler at the announce table. I'm already tired of Lawler, but this is lightspeeds ahead of the King of the Ring and Art Donovan. We learn from Lawler that Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog is in attendance.
Opening action is a match that was originally for the tag team titles, but since Shawn Michaels and Diesel defeated the Headshrinkers for the titles this past weekend, this match is now obviously non-title. It's The Headshrinkers vs Bam Bam Bigelow and IRS. Bam Bam starts with a shoulder blocks. He misses a charge in the corner and is met with a kick by Fatu for a two count. Fatu tries a body slam, but Bam Bam gets his weight advantage in for a two count. Enziguri from Bigelow. He goes up to the top and goes for a headbutt, but misses. Fatu follows with a big clothesline.
Tag to Samu as both Shrinkers slam him in the corner and hit a double savate kick. Hard whip to the buckle by Samu, but Bam Bam gets an elbow. Tag to IRS, who ends up slammed, hiptossed and kicked to the face for a two count. Samu ducks a clotheline, but misses a cross body. IRS goes for a charge, but gets tossed out of the ring, with a smash head first into the steps for his troubles. Headbutt by Samu for a two. Tag back to Fatu as both men land chops.
Fatu runs to the ropes, but Bigelow pulls them down, sending Fatu tumbling to the outside. Bigelow gets in some cheap shots while the referee is distracted. IRS lands some elbows, but only gets a two count. Tag to Bigelow as both he and Fatu end up colliding into each other. Not as much elevation as the Tatanka/Bam Bam collision a couple Raws ago, but still nice. Both teams get tags in as Samu gets some strikes and a back drop on IRS. He follows with one for Bigelow as well.
Scoop slam and a second rope headbutt by Samu for two as Bam Bam breaks it up. Samu tosses him out as both Shrinkers land double headbutts and a double facebuster. They set hit the double splash as Dibiase distracts the referee. Bam Bam takes out Samu and gets a strike on Lou Albano. Afa starts attacking Bam Bam, causing the DQ. The Shrinkers triple team Bigelow with a triple headbutt. Both teams start brawling up the entrance way as Dibiase leaves.
For an opening match, it was okay. Lots of offense early on from all four members involved. Bam Bam looked impressive, the Shrinkers looked impressive IRS... was there. Kind of lame that we end on a DQ, but the post-match brawl was actually more entertaining than the match itself. Though the decision to have the Headshrinkers drop the tag titles before this match kind of makes this whole feud with both teams a little pointless honestly. That aside, this was a good opener for the show.
We go to a backstage vignette with Leslie Neilsen on the trail of the Undertaker. Literally, there's a bunch of "Undertaker Trail" signs for him and everything. He doesn't find the dead man, but does run into his Naked Gun co-star George Kennedy, who is also on the case (literally standing on a case). They go their separate ways, still on the hunt. I liked this segment, simple pun heavy humor, but it works. Also, the Naked Gun movies are hilarious, so this worked double for that.
Up next is the WWF Women's Title on the line. It's Bull Nakano (With Luna Vachon) challenging Alundra Blayze. The last time the two faced off, it was a hard hitting affair. Hopefully this delivers just as much. Much like matches in Japan, both women are handed flowers by young children. Luna however decides to take those flowers and bash them over Blayze. Nakano starts with a hard whip and a clothesline. She goes for a powerbomb, but Blayze escapes and hits a dropkick. She attempts a second, but Nakano avoids it. Hair pull slam out of the corner from Nakano just whips Blayze around the ring. She lands a second with just as much torque. Blayze tries to strike her, but gets nothing but a big clothesline and a leg drop for her trouble. Nonchalant cover only gets a two.
The crowd chants "USA" as Nakano continues to womanhandle Blayze. She tries a second powerbomb attempt, only to get hit with a hurricanrana from Blayze for a two count. Blayze lands a big roundhouse kick. She tries a second, but get locked in a choke hold and slammed to the mat. She puts her shin on Blayze's throat and then follows with a one handed Boston Crab. Blayze eventually makes it to the rope to force the break. Nakano continues with hard forearms to the back. She applies the Angelito (A scorpion death lock with a double chicken wing). After a few seconds, she breaks the hold and lets Luna get a cheap shot while the ref is distracted.
However Blayze gets in a school boy for two, only for Nakano to lock in a cross arm breaker. Blayze tries to turn it into a roll up, but just gets two as Nakano continues to keep the lock it. Whip by Nakano is turned into a few neckbreakers by Blayze for a two count. She tries for a powerbomb, but Nakano turns it into a back drop. Scoop slam and a cover by Nakano, but Blayze slides out, just to end up clotheslined. Blayze gets in a backslide for two. Nakano lands a powerbomb for two. she lands another body slam and ascends the turnbuckle. She drops the leg, but misses. Blayze knocks Luna off the apron and lands a German suplex for the three to retain the title.
An absolutely awesome match. Never felt slow, never felt boring. Nakano worked amazingly as the dominant heel for the majority, hitting one strong offensive move after another. Alundra Blayze also played the role of the plucky underdog perfectly, managing to get surprise moves out of nowhere on a constant basis. It was well booked, it was hard hitting, it was the highlight of this card so far and the breath of life needed to a sadly overlooked divison.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with the new WWF Tag Team champs Diesel and Shawn Michaels. Michaels looking extremely more leather daddy-ish than usual. Since they've technically been sharing the I.C strap for the past two years, Shawn and Diesel decided that they should win the tag titles for the hell of it. On to the I.C title situation, Diesel is a literal Midas since everything he touches turns to gold. He promises that this won't be Razor's night. In the sitution of "Sweetness" Walter Payton, they promise that when they're going to make him oh-so bitter.
Up next, it's the Intercontinental Championship. It's Diesel (With Shawn Micaels) vs Razor Ramon (With Walter Payton). Razor flicks his toothpick and starts with the rights, sending Diesel to the outside. Diesel comes back in with some clubbing blows to the back of the head and fists to the lower back of Razor. Razor gets in some rights, but gets a clothesline for his troubles. Razor ducks a boot and gets some clotheslines, only to eat a big elbow to the face.
Diesel gets a big boot choke in the corner as Shawn pulls Razor's hair. Diesel follows with a big facebuster ot the mat. He locks in a sleeper hold, which Razor turns into a back suplex. He charges at Diesel, but gets tossed over the top rope. With the ref distracted, Shawn removes a turnbuckle pad. Payton confronts Shawn as Shawn moves backwards in retreat. With the ref distracted again Shawn gets a clothesline off the ring steps.
With Razor back in the ring, Diesel lands a few big elbows in the corner followed by several knees. He goes to ram Razor into the buckle, but for once the referee actually sees the exposed buckle and blocks it. Then immediately acts like an idiot and gets distracted by Michaels, allowing Diesel to ram Razor back first into the exposed buckle. Way to go, Hebner. Sidewalk slam by Diesel only gets a two count. Diesel follows with a big snake eyes in an unexposed corner. Shawn chokes Razor on the ropes as Diesel gets a big knee to the back and a clothesline.
Diesel drops an elbow to the back of Razor for a two count. He tries a chinlock, but Razor escapes, only to eat a massive boot to the face. Cover only gets two as Razor gets a foot on the rope. Diesel locks in an abdominal stretch and unlike Razor he actually keeps it in for more than fifteen seconds. Mainly due to using the ropes whenever possible. Hebner finally catches the rope hold and forces a break. Diesel continues to club Razor and tries again for the stretch, only for Razor to reverse it into his own abdominal stretch. However Diesel turns it into a hip toss.
Diesel attempts a snake eyes into the exposed buckle, but Razor shoves him chest-first into it and tries a school boy for a two count. Both men exchange blows, but Razor regains momentum with big rights. Diesel avoids a charge in the corner, but Razor manages to turn it into a pull groin-first into the steel post. Bulldog off the second rope to Diesel gets a two count. Large body slam from Razor for two. He gets a big smack to the face of Shawn, and follows with a back superplex attempt on Diesel, until Diesel counters.
He calls for the Jacknife, but Razor hits a back body drop. Razor signals for the Razor's Edge, but Shawn distracts as Diesel gets a big collision on Razor. Shawn grabs the Intercontinentant title, but Payton takes it off him. With the ref distracted, Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music to Razor, only to end up hitting Diesel instead! Payton chases Shawn and keeps him out of the ring as Razor covers Diesel for the three to win the Intercontinental Championship. Post-match, Diesel yells at his tag partner Shawn Michaels, beginning a rocky start to the reign of the new tag team champs.
An enjoyable I.C title affair, although I can't say a lot of it had to do with the two men in the ring. The real MVP was Shawn Michaels whose shenanigans kept the match exciting. The in-ring was fine, standard fare from Diesel and Razor, which never felt boring and kept the match flowing well. Walter Payton served as a fun addition to the match, although he barely did much. Also this has to hold some sort of record for the most referee distractions in a match. It had to have went well into the double digits. In the end, the right choice was made. Razor can keep the I.C strap strong while the company starts grooming Diesel to bigger and better things. Maybe not better for the company ratings and buyrate wise, but we'll talk about that in 1995.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with the two men who will face off next, Lex Luger and Tatanka. He brings up the results of the Summerslam Opinion poll (So I guess that dollar actually went somewhere), as 54% of the fans believe Luger had sold out to Ted Dibiase. I guess Luger's standing with the fans really has hit rock bottom if he can't even win in the court of public opinion. Luger defends himself, but Tatanka agrees with the 54%. He promises to reveal the truth to the world tonight.
Up next, it's Lex Luger vs Tatanka. And considering the last time they went one on one was 15 minutes of torture at the 1993 King of the Ring, I can't say I'm too thrilled for this. Luger comes to the ring to a mixed reaction. My god, what a difference a year makes. After being red hot over this time last year at Summerslam to being put in stupid angle after stupid angle and just losing that momentum he had. It's insane.
Tatanka continues to call him a sellout and asks where Dibiase is. They grapple for a second, but nothing happens. The go at it again, grappling into the corner. Luger gets a headlock in, then follows with a clothesline to boos from the crowd. Tatanka and Luger exchange arm wringers until Tatanka becomes more dominant. Tatanka gets a cross body for two. A small package from Tatanka only gets two. Both men exchange blows until Luger gets a hard whip in the buckle followed by a hiptoss.
Luger lands a vertical suplex for a two count. Jumping elbow by Luger is avoided by Tatanka. More blows by Tatanka who follows with a powerslam for two. Tatanka war dances and lands some chops for two. Tatanka lands a suplex of his own and follows with a tomahawk chop off the second rope. He tries a dive off the second buckle, but Luger avoids it. Luger hits a few big clotheslines as Dibiase heads to ringside with a red, white and blue duffell bag. He flashes some money at Luger to distract Lex as Tatanka gets the roll up for the three to end a bland match.
Both men argue as Dibiase enters the ring to distract Luger. He kicks the duffell bag out of Dibiases hands and grabs him...
But shocker of shockers! Tatanka comes to Dibiase's aid and attacks Luger. He beats down Luger, hitting him with several Samoan drops. Dibiase hugs Tatanka as the fix was in all along. A confusing, illogical, pointless fix, but it was definitely in. Tatanka continues his offense on Luger for another few minutes.
This was a terrible match, complete with a dull post-match. If Tatanka was awful as a face, honestly I can't see much changing as a heel. I mean the build to it was a mess in itself, so that doesn't bode well for the rest of it. On the plus side, this wasn't 15 minutes of hell. Just about half that. But one thing's for sure, the monster push of Luger is dead and now completely in an irreparable state.
Up next, it's Mabel taking on Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett gets shoved early on. Mabel goes for an attack, but Jarrett avoids it and struts in joy. Lawler compares Mabel to Barney the Dinosaur. Mabel tries a boot, but Jarrett avoids, but struts himself into a choke. Jarrett dodges Mabel, until he gets caught in an elbow drop and a big body slam. Jarrett ends up clotheslined out of the ring. He shoves Oscar then trips Mabel.
He drops a really awful looking fist and follows with an axe handle that doesn't take down Mabel. He goes for a second to no avail. He goes for a third, but gets caught in a bearhug. Jarrett breaks free, but is unable to punch down big Mabel. Jarrett manages a sleeper hold, but gets slammed into the corner. Jarrett recovers and reapplies the sleeper, taking Mabel down to a knee. Mabel escapes again and turns it around into a wheel kick for a two count.
In the crowd is Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz, proudly proclaiming that he's on strike. Back in the ring, Mabel lands a big slam on Jarrett, but Jarrett gets his foot on the bottom rope. He rakes at Mabel's eyes and goes to attack Oscar. Mabel comes to the air and Oscar slaps Jarrett. That's a DQ, dammit! Mabel charges Jarrett into the steel post. He goes to the second rope for a splash, but misses. Jarrett coves the prone Mabel, but Mabel kicks out. Jarrett tries a sunset flip. Mabel jumps down, but misses, giving Jarrett a chance to roll him up for three.
Not a bad match really. Kind of pointless, but that aside, the in ring was fine. It lasted as long as it needed to be, and I can't say I felt too bored with it overall.
Leslie Neilsen and George Kennedy are on the entrance way, still looking for the Undertaker. They are so observant that they clearly don't even notice Taker standing behind them in the entrance. When they do look, he vanishes.
We build up the history of the Bret/Owen feud. Going straight from Survivor Series with Owen's meltdown, to the kicking of Bret's leg out of his leg at the Royal Rumble, to Owen's win at Wrestlemania and the birth of the King of Harts at the King of the Ring. It's crazy to think that this feud has went on for roughly nine months now and honestly it's one I would have wanted to go forever. But every feud needs a massive culmination and there's none bigger than our next match. It's the WWF title on the line in a steel cage match. The first cage match covered on this blog too crazily enough. And it's that beautiful blue bar cage too. It's Owen Hart challenging Bret Hart.
Oh dear, we're interviewing Stu and Helen. She thinks that there's a fever that's undergone Owen while Stu's like "may the best man win". Lawler blames them for holding Owen down.
He then focuses his attention to Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog also in attendance. He brings up Summerslam 1992, but Bulldog is on the side of the Hitman. He hopes for an end to the family feud. Sitting in attendance is Jim Neidhart and Bruce Hart. I guess htey changed their mind on the both of them at ringside. I guess that Bruce promo was so crap a few weeks back that they were smart against that.
we also get an interview with Bret, who despite supposedly having strep throat still cuts a decent promo saying he has no issues with Owen, but jealousy is a horrible thing. He sure the hell hates Neidhart tho and blames him for Owen's turn. He says that he'll beat Owen, and when it's all said and done he hopes Owen can live with it.
Yes, the WWF title is once again not the main event of the evening. Although considering the gimmick and long build to the real Undertaker's return, it's a fairer excuse than King of the Ring ending with Piper and Lawler. It just continues to give this stink that despite his overness, he's just the bridesmaid of the main event scene while Vince begins to groom other stars.
Owen starts the match with an attack on Bret. He takes Bret to the corner and lays in some punches to the face followed by a European uppercut. He lays in some stomps and headbutts. Bret lands an inverse atomic drop and a clothesline. Owen rakes the eyes and stomps on the fingers of Bret. Bret tries for some strikes, but Owen works him down. He tries to ram Bret into the cage, but Bret counters, scoring with a DDT. Both men exchange blows, but Bret gets the best of the exchange and drops a leg.
He goes up the cage, but is caught by Owen. He nails Bret with a big enziguri to the back of the head. He starts the climb up the cage, but Bret grabs him and gets a back suplex off the ropes. Bret goes to exit the cage door, but Owen grabs the leg, stopping it. He kicks Bret's leg (not so much out of the leg) and hits a hard whip to the buckle, ratting the cage. Bret turns things around with a big bulldog and goes back to the door, but Owen quickly pulls the leg and goes for the cage himself. Bret grabs Owen then goes for the door again. Owen stops Bret and goes again until Bret catches him. Owen grabs at the steps, but gets facelocked and puled back in. I really loved that sequence.
Bret tries to escape again over the cage, but Owen grabs the leg and tosses him off the ropes. Owen tries again to get over the cage, but Bret gets up just as Owen gets over the top. He pulls Owen over by the hair and both men brawl on the top turnbuckle. Owen knocks Bret off the buckle and lands a picture perfect missile dropkick. He kips up and jumps up to the cage. He almost goes over until Bret grabs the leg again and yanks him back in by the hair. Bret tries to climb over, but Owen grabs him by the hair and slaps him around. Bret recovers and slams Owen back first into the cage, knocking him off.
Owen lays in some strikes in the middle of the ring and tries for a piledriver, only to get back dropped. Both men end up colliding into each other. Owen tries for the door again, but Bret grabs him. Owen clutches the ring apron, but Bret gets him back in and lands some hard forearms. Bret goes back over the cage, but Owen grabs the leg once more. Bret kicks at Owen, but is still unable to stop Owen, who yanks Bret's leg out of his leg, sending him groin first into the ropes.
Owen crawls to the door again, but Bret grabs him again. Bret drags him in the center of the rin and drops a big headbutt to the groin. Bret goes for an elbow off the second rope, but Owen dodges, sending him crashing. Owen climbs up again, but Bret recovers. Actually some notable boos for the possibility of Owen not winning. Bret yanks him by the hair and drops him with a powerslam. Bret goes back up again, but Owen stops it once more, grabbing him and dropping him in something almost akin to a Shellshock.
Owen tries to escape again, only for Bret to stop it. Owen tries to ram Bret face first into the cage, but Bret reverses, smashing Owen into the steel. Bret tries once again to escape over the cage, but Owen grabs him by the hair and drops him with a back suplex off the ropes. Owen tries for a piledriver again and succeeds. Owen slowly goes for the cage to climb up again, but Bret recovers in time to grab at the leg. Both men brawl some more, but both men end up falling, with Owen taking the worst bump, landing groin first into the rope.
Bret crawls at the door, but Owen grabs the leg again. Bret stomps at him and gets further out of the door. He gets some punches on Owen and slides out, but Owen has his grasp too tightly to Bret's foot, keeping him in. Owen turns things around, getting halfway out, but Bret drags him back in and catapults Owen face first into the steel. Bret, disoriented crawls to the wrong corner, then turns to the door, but not before Owen stops him. He whips Bret super hard into the buckle, rattling the cage. Bret goes for a body slam, but Owen reverses, only for Bret to send him colliding into the cage, injuring Bret's knee in the process.
With one bad wheel, Bret tries to climb over, kicking Owen down in the process. But Owen grabs at Bret's arm and manages to pull him back in, landing some hard blows to the back of Bret's head. He follows with a big spinning heel kick. Owen climbs back up, but Bret recovers, grabbing the leg. He pulls Owen by the hair and tries to ram Owen into the steel, but Owen blocks it. He punches down Bret, but Bret gets in a big kick, sending Owen crashing to the mat. Owen grabs the leg, pulling him down.
Owen lands some hard forearms and goes for a whip, ducking a clothesline and colliding into Bret, sending both men down. Owen climbs up again, but Bret recovers, grabs Owen and lands a massive superplex off the cage! Bret crawls to the cage door, but Owen grabs the foot again and locks in the Sharpshooter. Bret manages to trip Owen and turn it around into his own Sharpshooter! Bret lets go and starts the climb to the top. Owen's grabs him one more time and both men end up falling off the ropes. Owen climbs up again, but Bret grabs the leg once more as he climbs over as well. Both men are dangling, but Bret smashes Owen into the steel, causing his leg to get tangled in the bars. Bret drops for the win.
An absolutely incredible 30 minutes of action was this match. Lots of back and forth, lots of big escape moments. Never felt like it bogged down or lacked in any excitement. Just a half hour of both brothers beating each other down as hard and as brutally as possible. Lots of great spots like the race to the cage door, the superplex off the cage, the sharpshooter reversal and the end spot. While I think I liked the more technical affair of the Wrestlemania X match, there is no denying the near perfection of this match. A definite must-watch.
Post-match, Jim Neidhart jumps the rail and clotheslines Davey Boy, sending him and his wife Diana falling over. He attacks Bret, as he and Owen throw him back into the cage. they lock the door with a chain. as Owen smashes Bret with his boot. Davey Boy climbs the cage, but is stopped by Owen. As other Harts climb up, they are constantly being stopped by Owen and Anvil. Eventually Bulldog fights off Owen and gets inside. Owen escapes, but Bulldog gets his hands on Neidhart, however, Anvil still manages to escape as the Hart brothers and Davey Boy tend to Bret.
Todd Pettengill tries to get a hold of Owen, but they walk off saying that they owe nobody an explanation. The Harts have turned their backs on Bret. He should have been the winner. The Bulldog needs to stay out of this affair. They walk off and celebrate their "victory".
It's time for our main event. It's Ted Dibiase's Undertaker vs Paul Bearer's Undertaker. Dibiase, much like Survivor Series introduces his Undertaker. Paul Bearer arrives with a the double wide, double deep casket. Inside is a gigantic urn with a light inside (which Bearer stated was hell to lug around everywhere).
The urn is opened. Light emerges, the lights flicker, and the genuine article arrives. Mean Mark is back in the building complete with an updated theme song.
Both Takers meet face to face, with the faker being noticeably shorter. Taker starts with some strikes to the throat. "Taker" ducks a clothesline and shoulder blocks, getting nothing. Taker leapfrogs and gets a boot sending "Taker" falling to the outside. Dibiase distracts Taker while "Taker" confronts Paul Bearer. Taker pulls "Taker" up to the apron and suplexes him over the ropes, back into the ring. "Taker" sits up, only to be clasped by the throat and tossed over the top rope. Taker grabs him again, but "Taker" sends him throat first into the ropes.
More clubbing blows and an old school attempt by "Taker", but Taker tosses him off the top rope. "Taker" sits up again. Taker goes for his own old school and lands the forearm across the back off the top rope. "Taker" sends Taker throat first into the ropes and hits more clubbing blows. He hits several clotheslines, knocking Taker to his feet. He goes for an elbow drop, but Taker recovers and clotheslines him into the ropes. He tries a clothesline over the ropes, but gets sent to the outside.
"Taker" sends Taker head first into the ring steps. When they get back in the ring, "Taker" hits more strikes in the corner. The crowd is pretty dead for this match really since there's nothing but strikes going down. "Taker" hits a big chokeslam, but Taker sits up. He lands the Tombstone Piledriver, but Taker sits up again. He tries a second Tombstone, but Taker turns it around into a Tombstone of his own. He picks "Taker" up and lands a second one. He decides to go for one more, landing a third Tombstone Piledriver to get the three count. Dibiase runs away as Undertaker dumps the fake into the casket to end tonight's events.
A match that was more spectacle than actual in-ring quality. The actual in-ring was dull, mainly consisting of strikes and nothing much else. It was thankfully just eight minutes long, but they were eight boring minutes. Compared to Bret vs Owen this definitely didn't feel like main event material. I get why considering the spectacle, but the payoff was not worth this being the ending of the show.
After the match, Leslie Neilsen and George Kennedy open the casket to find no Undertaker inside. But they do find a briefcase that's closed. Case closed, get it? Wah-wah.
I was not expecting much out of this Pay Per View going in, especially after being soured by the 1993 edition of Summerslam. But, much like Wrestlemania X was a vast improvement over the year prior, so too is Summerslam 1994. The good majorly outweighs the bad. The opening tag match provided a good brawl to start things off hot. The Women's title match was hard hitting, brutal and exciting. The Intercontinental title match was good more for the outside shenanigans, but was still entertaining. Mabel vs Jarrett was inoffensive. The stuff building to the Undertaker vs the Undertaker match was some great stuff. And most importantly the WWF title cage match was action packed, hard hitting and served as a perfect climax to the feud of Bret Hart and Owen Hart.
As for negatives, Tatanka vs Luger was crap. Almost as bad as their King of the Ring match, but not as long thankfully. And while I enjoyed the pomp and circumstance around it, the match between Undertaker and Undertaker was underwhelming and boring. Definitely not a strong main event. But again, compared to last year, two bad matches on a show with five decent to great matches is still a massive step up. Not to mention less disqualifications and most importantly, we didn't end the show with our big American hero celebrating a count out! So, with those factors in mind, Summerslam 1994 gets an A rating. It's a definite must-watch show, especially for the steel cage match.
Now we begin the road to the 1994 Survivor Series from San Antonio, Texas. Will the family feud implode even further? With the Undertaker back does he have revenge in mind for the man who put him in that casket to begin with? And what other insanity will go down? With three months of Raws to cover, you know we've got one crazy road ahead of us.
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