Nickrj’s rant for Summerslam 1991
Billed as a Match Made in Heaven with the Macho Man Randy Savage “marrying” Miss Elizabeth. (They were already married in real life) And a Match Made in Hell. A Handicap Tag match between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior VS Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan and Col. Mustafa (The Iron Sheik) I remember taping this live off PPV and I loved this show back then. Let’s see how it is today.
Live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 26th 1991
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, Roddy Piper and Bobby Heenan
Six Man Tag: The Dragon (Ricky Steamboat), The Texas Tornado and The British Bulldog VS Power and Glory and The Warlord (with Slick)
Steamboat didn’t need a gimmick where he dresses like a dragon and “Breaths Fire”. The crowd is jacked up tonight. Ricky starts it off with Paul Roma. They tie up and Rick gets a shove. Slam by Roma and a drop kick. He draws heat by playing to the crowd. Ricky catches him with an armdrag though and works on the right arm. Roma starts hammering away in the corner but misses a charge and take another armdrag and a dropkick. Hercules comes in and he’s armdragged twice. The Tornado gets the tag and works on the right arm of Herc and rams him 10 times to the corner. He also does the 10 punch count. The Warlord comes in as does the Bulldog. Two clotheslines by Bulldog and a suplex for 2. Dragon comes back in and hits a flying chop. He does a leapfrog but Warlord blocks a monkey flip. Roma comes in and hits a 2nd rope elbow and a clothesline. Dragon gets a roll up but he’s nailed by the Warlord. Waistlock by Roma and a snap suplex for 2. 3 Back Breakers by Roma and he drops him. Herc is back in and press slams Ricky. Warlord gets the tag and slams Ricky. Roma comes in and hits a butt splash. Herc is in now and Dragon starts fighting back but he’s thrown into the top rope. Warlord comes in and Rick tries some feeble punches but Warlord pounds him. Slam by Warlord and he goes to the 2nd rope and gets caught by the feet. Tornado gets the hot tag and he hammers away on all 3 heels. Sunset Flip by Warlord but Bulldog gets a blind tag. Nice double team by Bulldog and Tornado gets 2. Bulldog powerslams Roma for 2 as Tornado has the claw on Herc. Dragon hits his flying bodypress on Roma for the pin at 10:43. Okay 6 man tag to open the show *1/2
There was a 1-900 number where you can talk to either Randy Savage or Elizabeth but that’s edited out here on CV. I remember Bobby saying “I bet it’s going to cost a fortune to call that number.”
Bret has just started his singles career after losing the tag titles at WM7. I’ve seen a match recently on vacation between these two at the first ever King Of The Ring and it was excellent! I’m looking for more of the same here. Tie up and Bret gets a side headlock. Shoulderblock and hiplock by Bret sending Perfect out of the ring. Side headlock and Bret gets a crucifix for 2. Back to the side headlock. Perfect tries a handful of hair but it doesn’t work. Perfect with a kneelift but Bret gets a cross body for 2. Shoulder by Bret and a sunset flip for 2 and back to the headlock. Chop by Perfect. Bret catches the leg and trips him and kicks him in the stomach. Bret his rammed back first and slammed. Bret kicks out and returns the favor but Perfect does the same. Perfect is knocked to the outside. Perfect tries to go back to the locker room but Bret brings him back in and tears up Perfect’s tights as we look at Stu and Helen Hart in the audience. Perfect nails Bret in the corner though and kicks him in the guts to the outside. Chop by Perfect on the outside. He sends Bret into the rail by some guy there saves him from going into the rail. Bret sssstarts going to work and gets a reverse sunset for 2. Uppercut by Perfect to retake control. Chop in the corner by Perfect and he rams him backfirst into the corner hard for 2! Snap neck breaker and a roll up gets another 2. Bret puts his head down and gets kicked and dropkicked to the floor. They hammer each other outside and Perfect goes to the top but is caught. They both on the 2nd rope and Bret falls down first and Perfect gets 2. Perfect throws him by the hair. Sleeper now by Perfect. Bret gets his shoulder up the third time though and fights out of it and tries a crucifix but Perfect drops him for 2. Chops in the corner now by Perfect and he rams Bret stomach first for 2. He hits the Perfect Plex but Bret kicks out!! The Coach is livid! Stomach shots and an reverse and a regular atomic drops. Snap mare and Perfect is crotched on the post. Suplex and a beauty for 2. Small package for 2. Bret starts the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Russian Leg Sweep followed by a backbreaker. 2nd rope elbow for 2 but the crowd thought it was 3. Perfect rolls up Bret for 2. Outside Perfect is rammed shoulder first into the post. Back in Bret kicks the legs of Perfect. Bret tries the Sharpshooter but the Coach jumps up and is nailed. Perfect seizes the opportunity and kicks the rope into Bret’s crotch. Perfect with a kick as a “LETS GO BRET!” chant starts. Legdrop into the stomach by Perfect but Bret hooks a figure four and turns it into the Sharpshooter for the submission at 18:03!! Bret is the new IC Champion!! Great matchup but I prefer their one at KOTR better. ****1/4
The Bushwhackers (with Andre The Giant) VS The Natural Disasters (with Jimmy Hart)
This was back when Earthquake injured Andre’s leg on Superstars. The Bushwhackers want revenge for it. The Whackers eye poke the Disasters to start the match and they put their hats on Andre. Butch starts with Typhoon who misses a punch and Butch bites his butt. Earthquake nails his own partner and they throw Typhoon into Quake and ram Quake’s head into Typhoon. Double clothesline by the Whackers on Quake and they clear the ring. Quake comes back in and hammers on Butch though. He throws him into the corner. Snap mare by Quake as the crowd is dying now but they wake up when Quake misses an elbow. Quake then drops an elbow on the back and tags Typhoon. Back breaker by Typhoon and a bearhug into the corner. Backbreaker submission by Phoon and he tags Earthquake as Bobby leaves his position to go back to the locker room. Bear hug by Quake followed by a back breaker. Typhoon hits an elbow for 2. Quake hits his own partner again and Butch gets the hot tag to Luke. Luker hammers on Typhoon. All 4 men are in and the Whackers hit the battering ram on both heels. They send Quake to the outside where he slams Butch. Avalanche by Quake and he tags in and hits his butt splash for the pin at 6:27. Bad match but at least not as bad as the RR when the Whackers faced the Beverly’s DUD. The Disasters go after Andre but the Legion Of Doom come out to make the save.
Back in the locker room, Bobby Heenan with the WCW World title challenges Hulk Hogan to a match on behalf of Ric Flair but Hogan slams the door in his face! Bobby is livid about it. This was of course right after Flair was fired from WCW and he took his World title with him to the WWF.
Virgil is the former bodyguard of Dibiase and they battled at an inconclusive match at WM7. This time however Dibiase puts up his Millon Dollar title. Virgil attacks Dibiase at the start of the match and hits a backdrop and a clothesline. Clothesline sends Dibiase to the outside. Bobby Heenan returns to ringside as Virgil misses a slingshot bodypress. I believe this match is clipped because I think Heenan came back about a minute or two later than this. Dibiase breaks the count and goes back out and he throws Virgil into the steps and rams him head first to the steps. Back in the ring Dibiase taunts Piper and he hits a clothesline on Virgil and his fistdrop. Cover for 2. Virgil ducks a clothesline and hooks the Million Dollar Dream on his former boss. But Sherri comes in and hits Virgil with the LOADED PURSE OF DEATH for the DQ at 3:57. Piper thinks Virgil doesn’t win the title now but the ref knew it was a dilberate DQ so he makes a decision and that Sensational Sherri has to go back to locker room and the match must continue. A number of officals have to send Sherri back to the locker room. Both men get back up and Virgil takes over on Teddy and rams him 10 times to the corner. He really goes to work on Dibiase and does the 10 punch count and hits an 11th. Double reversal sends Virgil to the ref and he’s down and so is Virgil. Dibiase taunts Piper and he hits 3 suplexes on Virgil. He says he has another one for Piper and he slaps Virgil and gives him a pile driver. Cover but there’s still no ref who is getting up now but Dibiase kicks him down. He now goes to the corner and pulls off the turnbuckle. He yells at Virgil and almost rams him to the corner but Virgil blocks it and rams Dibiase’s head into the corner. Ref is back up and he lays a double count on both men. Virgil crawls and covers Dibiase and pins him at 10:53!! To win the Millon Dollar Title and a huge pop for that!! Match gets **1/2 but it was the great angle that makes this match work!
Gene Okerlund is with the Mountie back with the New York City Police. The Mountie bad mouths the “local hick” cops about what he wants them to do to the Big Boss Man after The Mountie beats him.
Jailhouse Match: The Big Boss Man VS The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart)
The loser of the match must spend the night at a local Jail cell with who knows what. Boss Man slaps Mountie to start and hammers on him. Mountie fires back but Boss Man is ready for him and hits a back elbow and a big splash gets 2. Bobby wants to give Boss Man some cigarettes to bribe the screws. Sitting butt splash on the ropes by Boss Man and he slides out on another one and trips the Mountie. Eye poke by Mountie. He goes to the 2nd rope but is caught in mid air and spinebusted. Chinlock by Boss Man. He goes after Jimmy Hart but he is shoved into the steps by Mountie. Back in Mountie kicks away and covers him for 2. Boss Man misses an elbow in the corner. Snap mare and elbow by Mountie and another one for 2. Drop kick for another 2 and Mountie is pushed outside. Throat shot by Mountie. And Jimmy Hart taunts him. Boss Man starts to fight back inside and Mountie bites his face and hits a pile driver sold well by Boss Man. Crowd is pretty quiet for this. Mountie grabs the shock stick but misses the Boss man and is nailed. Two leap frogs by Mountie but he is nailed. Boss Man hits his Hard Time Slam for 2!! Mountie trips Boss Man. He tries another pile driver but Boss Man picks him up and back slams him for the pin at 8:38. Match gets * but what happens next is brillant!
The Cops come out and they handcuff the Mountie. They drag him all the way back into the paddy wagon with the Mountie kicking and screaming the whole way and they take him to the jail
Meanwhile in the locker room Ted Dibiase steams over his loss of the Million Dollar title.
Bret Hart celebrates his new IC title.
The Natural Disasters want the LOD now.
The Boss Man calls the Mountie a jailbird.
After the 5 minute intermission. The cops arrive at the jail with the Mountie. They bring him into the jail with the Mountie still kicking and screaming.
The Nasty Boys get set to defend their tag team titles over the LOD.
The Mountie gets his picture taken for his jail file.
The LOD promise that they’ll walk out with the Tag Team Titles.
The Mountie gets his fingerprints taken and literally gives the cops the finger.
The Triangle Of Terror (Slaughter/Adnan/Mustafa) promise that they’ll kill Hogan and the Warrior tonight. Say what you will but Sgt. Slaughter is actually similar in voice to King Koopa in the old Mario Cartoons.
Sid Justice is the special referee (Boy is he ever the ref for this match!) for the Match Made In Hell and he promises Justice will be served.
Tag Team Title Match, No Countouts, No DQ’s: The Nasty Boys (with Jimmy Hart) VS The Legion Of Doom
LOD attacks the Nasties with their spiked shoulder pads still on. They take em off and hammer the Nasties on the outside. Powerbomb by Animal on Brain Knobbs for 2. Enzuguri by Hawk (!) on Jerry Sags for 2. All 4 men in the ring again but Hawk is double teamed by the Nasties. Hawk is on the outside and takes a drink tray to the back. Knobbs comes in and they hit a double boot. Tag rope around the throat by Sags on Hawk. He is kicked to the outside again and is rammed into the steps. Double Axhandle by Knobs on the outside. Hawk starts to fight back inside but he is double teamed again. Elbow by Knobs. They continue to double team Hawk and Knobs hits a Stinger Splash. Sags hits a top rope elbow for 2. Knobs gets caught in mid air and Animal gets the hot tag. He hammers on both Nasties. 10 Punch count in the corner on Knobs and a power slam for 2. All 4 men are in. Sags calls for the helmet and hits Animal after almost hitting Knobs with it. Knobs gets 2. Hawk steals Jimmy Harts helmet and nails Knobs with it and then Sags. The LOD hit the Doomsday Device on Sags for the pin at 7:45 for the titles and a huge pop!! Match gets 3/4* but with the win the LOD become the first team to win the Tag titles in the NWA, AWA and WWF so it’s a pretty big moment.
The Mountie is finally thrown into his jail cell still screaming. He tries to escape in the process but to no avail.
Greg Valentine VS I.R.S.
Irwin R. Schyster the tax man is new to the WWF at this point and he would last 4 years not getting over once! Tie up to start and Greg grabs the right arm. Side headlock by Valentine and a shoulderblock. Another one by Greg. Headlock again by Greg and a hiptoss and a clothesline. Gorilla talks about a rumor that Jake Roberts and The Undertaker are in the building. Sunset flip by Greg for 2. Slam by Greg and IRS has pretty much done nothing thus far. Irwin catches Greg inside though and hooks an Ab Stretch using the rope for leverage. Greg comes out with a hip toss but Irwin hits a flying clothesline and an elbow for 2. Chinlock which was Mike Rotunda’s best maneuver at this point. Crowd doesn’t give a hoot about this match and neither do I. Irwin goes to the top rope but is caught and slammed by Greg. The Hammer hammers on IRS and Irwin misses a knee in the corner giving Greg the opening. Greg starts working on the left knee and tries the figure four and hooks it in the middle and IRS makes the ropes somehow. Greg pulls Irwin to the middle but he misses an elbow. Knee smasher by Hammer. Headbutt to the lower abdomen. He tries the figure four but is cradled and IRS gets the pin at 7:07. Bleh match 1/4*
The Match Made In Hell: Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior VS Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan and Col. Mustafa
Sid Justice is the referee in this match. The point is whether he’s sold out to the Triangle or whatever. They stall for a minute and Hogan starts with Slaughter. Slaughter tries to get Justice to protect him but to no avail. They tie up and Sarge hammers on Hogan but he is thrown to the corner and almost out of the ring. They both hammer on Sarge and UW comes in and Sarge takes a double clothesline. Inverted Atmoic drop by the warrior and a double boot to Sarge. Hogan back in and he throws Sarge to the corner and covers him for 2. Elbow by Hogan. UW comes back in and hammers on Sarge some more. Hogan back in and hits a double axhandle for 2. Clothesline in the corner by Hogan. Hogan ties up Sarge in the corner and Sid give him a warning. Sid gives him another warning and Sarge give him an eyerake. Adnan comes in and eyerakes Hogan and back rakes him. Mustafa is in and it’s 1984 all over again as he hits a gut wrench suplex and hooks his camel clutch but UW makes the save. Backbreaker by Sarge for 2. Choking by Sarge in the corner and he throws Hogan into Sid but Sid doesn’t go down. Adnan is back in and he continues with his backraking. Sarge goes to the top rope and UW shoves him off. UW gets the hot tag and he hammers on Sarge with clotheslines. He bumps into Sid and is nailed by Sarge. Adnan goes to his backraking again. Mustafa is in and UW blocks a suplex and reverses it. Sarge and Adnan double team UW illegally. Weak clothesline by Sarge and he kicks Hogan. Flying clothesline by the Warrior. Hogan gets the hot tag and he points the finger at Slaughter. 3 fists and a big boot. UW chases Adnan and Mustafa back to the locker room with a chair. Hogan throws some powder at Slaughter and drops the leg for the pin at 12:37. Pretty boring match 1/2* Hogan calls Sid back into the ring after Sid left and they both do the pose fest. Well this friendship lasted until the Royal Rumble that’s for sure.
We get a last look at the Mountie still screaming away. One guy says he want to fight his buddy and we see his buddy who is gay and he wants the Mountie. Uh oh! This whole thing with the Mountie was classic ***** for the entire angle.
We look at Randy Savage proposing to Elizabeth on Superstars. Then a great music video with the two together.
The Macho Man comes out to his music and a big pop. He’s followed by the best man. Then Here Comes The Bride starts playing and out comes in order: The Flower Girl, The Ring Bearer, Another Flower Girl, The Maid Of Honor and finally Elizabeth looking gorgeious as always!! They go thru the wedding ceremonies and surprisingly no one ruins it as I thought when I watched this live on PPV. Probally because the Game is nowhere to be found. It ends with the Macho Man kissing Elizabeth. Even though these two were already married they did a great job with this ceremony as the show ends.
Exclusive Coliseum Video footage shows the Wedding Reception following. We get a toast from Mean Gene Okerlund followed by some music and dancing. Then cutting the wedding cake and Liz throws the Bouquet. Finally some presents! However the evening is ruined when Liz opens a package and a snake pops out of it! Jake Roberts and The Undertaker then terrorize the Liz and Sid Justice makes the save with a chair. This would lead to one of the greatest feuds of all time between Savage and Jake.
Summary: Well most of the star ratings are pretty bad here. However other things from the night more than make up for it.
Bret’s first singles title win.
Virgil kissing the millon dollar gold.
The Mountie spending a night in jail.
The LOD winning the tag team titles and making history in the process.
And of course, Liz and Randy tying the knot.
This was a good show all around. RECOMMENDED