While the mid nineties are kind of known as the down time in WWF history the Summerslam events have delivered each of the last two years. This one is especially memorable due to the Mankind/Undertaker feud and of course Vader and Michaels for the WWF title. This is also the first Summerslam with Jim Ross on commentary and we have no Lawler however have Mr. Perfect along with Ross and McMahon. We get a video package that talks briefly about the top couple of matches for this show. I wonder if we can finally unseat Summerslam ‘88 as the greatest so far, let’s see and enjoy Summerslam ‘96.
Savio Vega vs. Owen Hart: This should be a very good match as these two guys are very good workers. Owen is a slammy award winner and is wearing that cast on his left arm that he used regularly to help win in matches. McMahon makes it a point to state that Cornette is not out with Owen and I wonder if we are foreshadowing something. We cut to Cornette being backstage with Vader as he’s lifting weights. Some really good mat wrestling going on however every time the referee goes to count it sounds distorted. Owen Hart takes control of the match and we have Clearance Mason coming down to the ring. In the front row there is a Goldust lookalike. The Owen Hart enziguri is a thing of beauty. Savio fires up and the crowd is firmly behind him. The crowd is enjoying this match pretty well and keep cheering both men after each other’s high spots. Owen removes his cast and hits Savio Vega with it knocking him out then goes for the sharpshooter and the crowd cheers. Vega is out cold and Owen Hart wins the match.
New Rockers vs. Body Donnas vs. Godwins vs. Smoking Gunns (Tag Title Match): The New Rockers and Body Donnas enter to not much response. However the Godwins enter to a pretty good reaction. The Smoking Guns enter to a dead reaction as well however Sunny is with them and she gets a pretty good reaction. This apparently is an elimination style match and this seems like a match ahead of its time for ‘96. By far the most over tag team with the crowd in this match are the hog farmers. Billy and Henry O’ Godwin have some pretty good chemistry together. Both Phineas and Zip tag in the Smoking Guns and both Billy and Bart Gunn are both in. They are arguing with the referee and the cameraman gets a nice shot of Sunny. Jim Ross screams that they must make contact and this is just silly at this point. Bart tags in Zip and we get back to the action. The Body Donnas are eliminated after Jannetty trips Zip and Billy Gunn picks up the win….. meh. While I like both the Smoking Gunns tag team especially with Sunny and The Godwins this match is dragging…Jannetty gets hit with the slop drop and the Rockers are also eliminated. I think I would have much rather this been the Godwins vs. the Smoking Gunns for the titles. Henry and Bart go over the top rope together and Sunny distracts the ref. Phineas hits the slop drop and goes for the pin however while the ref is distracted Bart Gunn hits the big leg off the top rope. Smoking Gunns retain the titles.
British Bulldog vs. Psycho Sid: We get a backstage promo by Sid before this match and he cuts a paint by numbers Sid type promo with crazy laughter and going for low talking to screaming. The crowd is firmly behind Sid during his entrance as he just repeatedly says “The man is here”. The crowd is chanting “Psycho Psycho Psycho” as a term of endearment to Sid. You know Big Cass should watch some tape of Sid as I think that’s his ultimate upside. Bulldog looks fantastic in the ring physically of course. Bulldog hoists Sid up for the big stalling suplex spot and it’s very impressive. Clearance Mason has made his way down to the ring to cheer on the Bulldog. Bulldog and Sid are showing up some good athleticism as well as power in this match. Cornette makes his way to ringside to confront Mason which leads to Sid choke slamming Bulldog and the crowd goes wild. He calls to the powerbomb and gets the pinfall victory and the crowd is so behind Sid. It’s amazing to me after seeing this match and how much the crowd is loving Sid that later in ‘96 he’s a heel taking the title off HBK.
Goldust vs. Marc Mero: Goldust makes his way to the ring with Gold dust falling from the area ceiling. Goldust and Marlena is such a good act in WWF and I think Goldust is one of the more underrated talents ever. Mero and Sable make their way to the ring and the crowd goes mild and I have a feeling it’s for Sable more so than Mero. Goldust is a very big man, he towers over Marc Mero. Mero takes a tough bump against the retaining barrier from the apron. Mankind has made his way to he ring and he confronting Sable calling her “mommy”. I don’t remember if this goes anywhere but i’m interested to know if it did. Marc Mero’s top rope finisher is so awesome looking. Goldust ends up winning this match with a reversal into the curtain call. After the match Marlena, Goldust,Mero and Sable are all in the ring together. Sable tries to comfort Mero and Goldust comes up and taps Sable and Sable starts to cry as Goldust teases Sable. Sable is screaming for Mero to help her however Goldust grabs Sable and leans in for a kiss when Mero saves the day.
Ahmed Johnson is doing an interview from his home because Farouq Assan attacked him. This leads us to Farouq Assan and Sunny coming out to the ring with gladiator style music. He’s wearing a blue cranial helmet and a singlet. I think Jim Cornette could have been a fantastic manager for Farouq. Farouq demands Gorilla Monsoon to come out and demand the IC title.
Jerry Lawler vs. Jake Roberts: The two men compare their snake bags however Lawlers is filled with a giant sized champagne bottle. We have Mark Henry on commentary and Jake Roberts raps the snake around Lawler. With Roberts getting the snake spot out the way early i’m assuming he likely won’t like the outcome of the match. This match is pretty much Roberts beating Lawler from one side of the ring to the other and all around the ring. Jake is going for the DDT and he grabs the referee all of a sudden a mini bottle is in the ring. He jams it in the throat of Roberts RIGHT IN FRONT OF WHIPPLEMEN THE REFEREE!! After the match Lawler goes over to Roberts laying with his head just outside the ring and starts to pour alcohol on his face and in his mouth. Lawler is such a great heel, Mark Henry says someone needs to stop this and gets up from the announce table. He grabs Lawlers arm and makes Lawler stumble and trip all the way to the back.
Mankind vs. Undertaker (Boiler Room Brawl): This starts with a video package showing us how we got to this point. In my opinion this feud took the Undertaker to the next level of stardom. We start with Mankind already in the boiler room and Undertaker coming in searching for him. I recommend any wrestling fan that has never watched this feud to go back and watch it from the very beginning to the end as it’s fantastic. We get a lot of Undertaker walking around looking to begin the match and Mankind finds him as he hits him with a pipe of some sort. It’s kind of weird without any crowd noise watching these two guys beat the hell out of each other. The boiler room is wrecked and Undertaker is selling his ass off for Mankind’s offense. They use pipes and trash cans and even using steel rolling doors. Pretty much if you’re into two guys beating the piss out of each other you will definitely dig this match. Mankind climbs up an attached ladder to the wall and drops the elbow on Undertaker. They start making their way out the door and it’s a melee just to leave the boiler room. Mankind begins slamming Undertaker in and starts crawling down a small hallway and begins to barricade the door. Undertaker breaks through Mankind and the barricade and they begin down what appears to be the main hallway with the Godwins, Aldo Montoya and others cheering them on. They really are hitting each other with everything and selling all the way Kudos! Mankind then grabs what Vince calls hot coffee and dumps it onto Undertaker. We see Mankind crawling through the entrance and now he’s waiting for the Undertaker as they get onto the ramp and Undertaker clotheslines him. The winner is the person who gets to the ring and gains possession of the urn. Mankind hits his patented piledriver on the exposed floor. This leads to Mankind looking like he is going to get into the ring and Undertaker grabs him by the ankle and ends up slingshotting him back onto the concrete. Undertaker get’s into the ring!! However Paul Bearer turns his back on im and Mankind locks in the mandible claw. My goodness Paul Bearer has turned on Undertaker and I don’t think i’ve ever seen Undertaker so beaten. Paul Bearer cracks Undertaker over the head with the Urn and hands it to Mankind. Mankind wins and after the match the druid’s show up and carry Undertaker out of the ring.
Vader vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF Title Match): Vader’s music hits and Vader comes out and he looks like a monster. In my opinion Vader is the most underrated big man of all time. I think Vader could have been the Brock Lesner of his era and he sort of was in WCW. Vader was a monster of a man who was crazy athletic for four hundred pounds. Vader gets the FU signal to the crowd and then starts to throw stairs on the outside. For my money I think Shawn Michaels and Vader could have been a Wrestlemania main event if built correctly. Shawn Michaels enters and the crowd goes wild and I must say I love how Michael’s always changed his ring gear for PPV’s. You talk about a guy that was presented as a star, Shawn is presented as a mega star with flashing lights, pyro and sequence. The story here between these two is that Vader is too strong for Michael’s and how will Michael’s overcome it. Shawn is selling pretty well for Vader and he even takes a leap over the top rope and Vader catches him for an outside powerbomb. I always marked out when Vader got his opponent in the corner and just starts pummeling him. Vader press drops Michaels throat first onto the guardrail and Michael’s is counted out. Cornette freaks out and demands the match be restarts as Michael’s is a coward taking the easy way out. Michael’s gets back in the ring and the match is restarted. Vader goes outside and clubs Michael’s and begins pummeling him again. The head kick incident happens i’m not going to highlight it too much as I think it overshadows this fantastic match. Vader gets Lothario to distract the referee and Cornette clubs him with the racket. I am loving this match and the dynamic that the massive Vader and the big hearted Michael’s provides. Say what you will about how Shawn treated Vader before or after this match but Shawn sold his ass off in this match. Michaels does the kip up and the crowd goes wild he drops the elbow and then Cornette tries to get involved and Michaels starts beating both Vader and Cornette with the racket getting disqualified. We have about ten officials in the ring to separate the two men and Cornette guilts Michael’s into restarting the match again. Michaels hits the big diving forearm, then drops the elbow and his sweet chin music however doesn’t win. we get a ref bump and Vader hits a powerbomb and appears to have the pin. Another ref comes in and Michael’s kicks out Vader then goes for the moonsault but michael’s moves. Michael’s hits a moonsault of his own and retains his title.
This PPV wasn’t bad at all however not my favorite. The boiler room brawl is a piece of history with Paul Bearer turning on Undertaker. I will say with as bad as the mid nineties get a wrap for being the Summerslam’s have delivered. The match of the night is Vader vs. Michaels with Undertaker and Mankind placing a close second. Until Summerslam ‘97 be awesome.
Just to catch you up on the top matches to this point:
Summerslam ‘88: Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage vs. Ted Dibiase/Andre The Giant
Summerslam ‘89: Hart Foundation vs. The Brain Busters
Summerslam ‘90: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition
Summerslam ‘91: Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart
Summerslam ‘92: British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart
Summerslam ‘93: Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger
Summerslam ‘94: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
Summerslam ‘95: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon
Summerslam ‘96: Shawn Michaels vs. Vader
Summerslam 1988 Review | Summerslam 1989 Review | Summerslam 1990 Review | Summerslam 1991 Review | Summerslam 1992 Review | Summerslam 1993 Review | Summerslam 1994 Review | Summerslam 1995 Review
As you can see Bret Hart could be deemed Mr. Summerslam as he seems to always deliver in his matches. At the end of these reviews I will be doing a top five Summerslam’s and Top five Summerslam matches to end this series.