WWF Summerslam 1995 Review by David McLaughlin
Summerslam 95
8/27/95
From the Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Hosted by Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler
Vince and the King open the show by hyping the world title match between Diesel and King of the Ring Mabel. Lawler, sounding incredibly forced, puts over Mabel. Vince then introduces Dean Douglas who will be critiquing the night’s matches . Dean rakes his fingernails across the chalkboard and laughs obnoxiously.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi
Waltman (looking all of about 11 years old) trips trying to jump over the ropes.
Clips are shown of Hakushi’s loss to perennial jobber Barry Horowitz at the
hands of Skip. How this contributes to the match at hand? Your guess is as good
as mine. Hakushi (better known to you puroesu fans as Jinzei Shinzaki) has one
of the coolest entrances ever. Hakushi takes his time removing his entrance
attire. Is he trying to psyche the Kid out or is he just slow? If you’re
familiar with Shinzaki’s work, you already know the answer to that question.
Collar and elbow tie up to start, sequence of reversals into an arm drag and kip
up from the Kid. Stalling ensues, into another lockup and more martial arts
reversals. More stalling, until Hakushi hits a shoulder block. Leap frogs all
around from both competitors. Hakushi leisurely hits a couple of thrusts to the
throat. McMahon points out that this is Hakushi‘s first Summer Slime appearance,
before realizing that the pay per view is not appearing on Nickelodeon and
correcting himself. Another lockup sequence, Kid gets the better of it with a
judo arm drag, but gets caught coming off the ropes in a whirling backbreaker.
Hakushi sends Kid into the corner and drops him with a handspring elbow,
following it up with a foot choke. Hakushi decides to take a stroll around the
ring, but then he remembers that he has a match to worry about and nails the Kid 
with a bronco buster. Even without the obscene lap dance that X-Pac added to the
move, it’s still a somewhat eerie premonition. Hakushi ascends the turnbuckle
and poses for the crowd. We’re treated to some more of Hakushi’s trademark
stalling before he gives Kid a few kicks to the hamstring, and then a couple to
the head. Hakushi brings the Kid to his feet and plants him with a scoop slam,
setting up the celestial splash. The celestial splash is a decent move, but the
name makes it sound more impressive than it is. Kid gets taken down with a
snapmare into a rear chin lock. He fights out, but Hakushi cinches in a
headlock. Kid elbows free, but gets kicked to the outside. Hakushi is once again
slow on the follow up, but this time it’s well worth it, as he busts out the
space flying tiger drop. The crowd shows him some respect for that one. Hakushi
throws Kid back inside, climbs the turnbuckle and hits a praying shoulder
block. Two count on the pin fall. Hakushi goes up again, and attempts a praying
head butt, but Kid rolls out of the way. Kid dropkicks Hakushi out of the ring
off an irish whip reversal, and springs over the top with a cross body from the
second turnbuckle. Kid rolls Hakushi into the ring and hits a vaulting leg drop,
but only gets two. He drops Hakushi with a scoop slam and heads up top for a
frog splash, which draws a two count. Kid bounces off the ropes and goes for a
spinning wheel kick, but Hakushi catches him in midair, hooks the leg, and
plants him, reversing it into a single-arm side powerbomb, and it gets him the
win That was innovative. The story of the match was: cool spots, slow pace.
Winner, via pinfall: Hakushi
***
Dok Hendrix asks Mabel what his game plan is against Diesel. He say Dok will have to wait and see like everyone else.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Bob “Spark Plug” Holly
HHH was undefeated at this point. Helmsley, as appears to be the trend, spends a
fair amount of time removing his entrance attire. You can hear the girls squeal
when he takes his shirt off. I question their taste. Hunter, about 100 pounds
lighter than he is today, plays the Connecticut snob fairly well, as he seems
genuinely reluctant to lock up with Bob Holly. He prances about the ring, acting
bitchy, until Holly grabs him and hit’s a quick body slam. Hilariously
appropriate overselling from Helmsley. He pops back up and gets dropped again
with an arm drag. Helmsley pulls the ref in front of him and nails Holly with an
illegal closed fist over the ref’s back. Yep. He distracted the ref so he could
hit a closed fist. How I long for the days of the old school heel. He hits some
chops. Holly regains control with a back elbow, chops, irish whip, into the
corner. Holly goes for an avalanche but gets caught and dropped chin first into
the turnbuckle. Helmsley gives him some punchy kicky stuff in the corner,
followed by a hard irish whip into the opposite turnbuckle. Helmsley gives an
incredibly homosexual bow. It was a ridiculous gimmick, but HHH could make it
damn entertaining sometimes. Backbreaker gets a two count. Vertical suplex,
followed up by a knee drop, gets two. Helmsley locks on an abdominal stretch,
and grabs the ropes, like a good heel should. Holly reverses into his own
abdominal stretch, but Helmsley hip tosses him over the top and to the floor.
Holly gets pulled back into the ring, and sent into the ropes. He hooks a DDT,
but Helmsley is up first. Tilt-a-whirl, Holly lands on his feet, sends Helmsley
to the ropes and lands a drop kick. The timing on that sequence seemed a little
off. Helmsley is up first again, he charges, but gets caught with an inverted
atomic drop, and floored with a clothesline. Holly sends Helmsley to the corner,
who bounces off and gets hit with a back drop. He gets sent to the turnbuckle
again, this time bouncing off into a dropkick. Holly sends him to the corner one
more time, went for the back drop again, but Helmsley reverses into the
Pedigree, and gets the three. Not a terrible match, but nothing special.
Winner, via pinfall: Hunter Hearst Helmsley
**½
We see highlight of the “War on the Water”, a tug of war between Pittsburgh fire fighters and WWF superstars, in the name of charity. The WWF team was led by Bam Bam Bigelow and also featured Mabel, Henry Godwinn, and Savio Vega. The WWF wins, and the fire fighters have to jump into the water. It was a fun little diversion. It might be wise for the WWE to do more stuff like that today.
Jacob & Eli Blu (with Uncle Zebekiah) vs. The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart)
Billy Gunn starts with Jacob/Eli. Blu takes control with standard offense. Hits
an irish whip and a back elbow before making the tag. Gunn takes some more
predictable offense, and the Blu brothers make the tag again. Billy gets irish
whipped, but catches Jacob/Eli on the rebound with a roll-up for a one count. He
bounces off the ropes and catches Jacob/Eli with a quick Rocker Dropper, but
doesn’t even try for the pin. He’d be finishing off opponents left and right
with that move in a few years. Billy wrenches the arm of Blu and tags in Bart,
who ascends the turnbuckle and comes down with a double ax handle on the arm of
Jacob/Eli. Blu regains control and sends Bart to the corner. The illegal Blu
hangs Bart up on the ropes while the ref is distracted. McMahon mentions that
Billy Gunn went to college on a rodeo scholarship, which is actually true. I
find it strangely ironic that of all the gimmicks Billy Gunn had, the one he
used during the WWF’s cartoon era was the most accurate. Blu brothers make the
tag. Bart is sent for the ride, he ducks a clothesline a bounces back with a
cross body, which gets a one count. Bart gets the tag, the Gunns punch, kick,
and Billy hits a clothesline. Goes for the pin, but the other Blu brother breaks
it up at two. While Bart occupies the ref’s attention, the Blu twins double team
Billy. Billy ducks a double clothesline, but gets caught with a double front
slam. The legal Blu goes the pin, it gets a long two count. Blu puts Billy in
the tree of woe, and stomps away before making a tag. Jacob/Eli lays out Bart
Gunn with a right hand, knocking him off the ring apron. He tries to retaliate,
but the ref gets in his face, allowing the Blus to double team Billy in their
corner. Strategy! Blu hits a scoop slam and a business-exposing knee drop for a
two count. Billy gets sent off the ropes and caught with a slam for a two count.
At this point I begin to remember how annoying McMahon’s habit of yelling, “One,
Two, HE GOT HIM!!! No he didn’t…” on every single pin attempt was. Jacob/Eli
tags in Jacob/Eli (they’re identical twins, you know), and Jacob/Eli irish whips
Billy into the ropes. Gunn ducks a clothesline and gets in a swinging neck
breaker drop. Both men get the tag, Bart lays out both Blu brothers with punches
and slams. He sends the Blu brothers crashing into each other, knocking one of
the to the outside. Bart tags Billy, and they hit the Sidewinder for the three
count. That match was pretty unremarkable, which is not always a bad thing.
Winner, via pinfall: Smoking Gunns
**
Barry Horowitz vs. Skip (with Sunny)
Recaps are shown of Barry Horowitz: Lifetime Jobber, managing to score a couple
of wins over Bodydonna Skip. Skip, as you may recall, was a “fitness guru” ,
which I would probably give the award for worst gimmick appearing on this pay
per view. Strike that, I just remembered Isaac Yankem is yet to come. In any
case, Skip cannot stand for this humiliating defeat, and must wreak vengeance on
Horowitz. Simple, yet effective booking. Sunny talks trash about Horowitz during
their entrance, calling him “Horriblewitz”. How creative. Horowitz is wearing
suspenders with his wrestling trunks, a fashion don’t almost on par with EZ
Money’s gartered tights we would see in the years to come. Horowitz sprints to
the ring and wastes no time laying into Skip with a back drop and a weak looking
knee drop. So far the only competitor on the show able to hit a convincing knee
drop is HHH. I’m just as surprised as you. Horowitz takes down Skip with a
jawbreaker and a running knee lift. Skip is laid out across the bottom rope, and
Horowitz slides out and nails him with a right hand. Irish whip on Skip, he
slides through the legs but Horowitz gets in a non-threatening dragon screw and
clotheslines him to the outside. Skip gets pulled back in the hard way, but
catches Horowitz with a boot to the midsection and lays in some offensive
strikes. A couple of irish whip reversal lead to Horowitz leaping over Skip’s
head from the second rope and taking him down with a rolling clutch pin, which
gets two. Horowitz slides out to the ring apron and suplexes Skip from the
inside out. Sunny enters the ring and throws in the towel, but referee Earl
Hebner throws her out and says it’s not boxing. Skip gets rolled back into the
ring and takes some punishment. Sunny trips Horowitz coming off the ropes. He
turns around to point his finger at her, and, of course, gets nailed in the back
of the head with a forearm from Skip. Skip does some jumping jacks and sells the
back, then hits a snap suplex on Horowitz and leg drops him off the second rope.
Skip poses over a prone Horowitz, and gives him a couple slaps. Skip hits a
single-arm snapmare and chokes Horowitz on the ropes. Skip sets Horowitz up with
a gut wrench suplex and “connects” with a fist drop off the second rope. It
missed by a wide enough margin to drive a truck through, but Horowitz sold it
anyway. Skip alternately taunts, punches and chokes. He telegraphs an elbow drop
and Horowitz moves out of the way. Horowitz hits a shoulder block for two.
Horowitz with a sunset flip, gets two, then gets floored by a Skip clothesline.
Skip locks on an eastern abdominal stretch. A “Barry” chant from the crowd, more
as a result of Candido’s heel tactics that Horowitz’s charisma. Horowitz hits a
Thesz press for two, but then gets hit with a power slam. Skip does jumping
jacks, then hits three quick leg drops. He stops to pose before making the
cover, and only gets two. Horowitz is sent to the corner, and he and Skip trade
shots. Horowitz is set up off the ropes, Skip leap frogs him, and they hit a
double dropkick, both men down. That spot looked kind of dumb. Skip is up first,
he climbs the turnbuckle, but Horowitz drops him and he gets crotched. He elbows
Horowitz down and comes off with a flying headbutt, but pulls him up before the
count of three. That’s always a mistake. Horowitz back drops out of a piledriver
attempt. Dropkick to Skip, Horowitz ascends the turnbuckles, but gets crotched
by Sunny. Horowitz really sucks at selling. Skip is successful with a superplex,
but Hakushi is coming down to the ring. I would call it a run-in, but he’s not
moving very fast. Now the recaps of Hakushi being cost a match to Horowitz by
Skip come into play. Skip is wary of Hakushi, who climbs to the top rope and
springs clear over both their heads and rolls out the other side of the ring.
The distraction is enough to allow Horowitz to apply a small package to Skip and
get the win. The match wasn’t without it’s redeeming qualities, but there were
blown spots and Horowitz sells like a jackass.
½*
We go to Dean Douglas who gives his definition of vivify (to imbue with renewed life or vigor) and bashes Barry Horowitz for winning as a result of someone else’s work and the referee for allowing the distraction to take place.
We then cut to Todd Pettingale who is about to interview Shawn Michaels about the upcoming ladder match with Razor Ramon. The finish from their Wrestlemania X ladder match is shown. Shawn says nothing can adequately prepare him for the ladder match, and talks about how that night at Wrestlemania, he made history, but he was on the losing end of it. He says he can’t live with that, and that he didn’t have to put his Intercontinental title on the line in this ladder match, but he has to prove to the world, and to himself, that he is the greatest Intercontinental champion in history.
Bertha Faye (with Harvey Whippleman) vs. Alundra Blaze For the WWF Woman’s Championship
Somehow I doubt this match will be a classic. Alundra lays in some kicks. Irish
whip, and Bertha Faye hit’s a few shoulder blocks. Hair grab takedown to Blaze.
Bertha lands a couple leg drops, the second one gets a two count. Faye sets up
Alundra with a scoop slam, and misses a second rope splash. Blaze, climbs the
turnbuckle, gets on Bertha’s shoulder and does a victory roll for two. Bertha
takes Alundra down and hit’s a splash for two. Blaze hit’s a couple of hair grab
takedown and gets the pin, but Whippleman has the ref distracted. Blaze chases
after Harvey, who runs in fear. Alundra hit’s a very poorly executed crucifix
pin for two. Blaze off the ropes, and lands a hurrancanrana for two. Blaze hits
a couple second rope dropkicks, but misses a third, and Bertha hit’s a sit down
power bomb for the three. That sucked, but it was short.
Winner, via pinfall: Bertha Faye
DUD
Jim Ross interviews Harvey and Bertha Faye on their way out of the ring. Whippleman tells J.R. not to touch his woman. Stop the pain.
A video package is shown hyping the casket match between Undertaker and Kama. It all started when Kama stole the Undertaker’s urn and melted it down into a gold chain. Racial stereotyping? What racial stereotyping? Anyway, it seems that some of the Undertaker’s “creatures of the night”, who look less like evil minions, and more like artistic goths straight out of the Village Voice, kept a black wreath at ringside in memoriam of the Taker’s lost urn. Kama destroyed that too. One of the creatures of the night tried to gather up the remains of the wreath… and Kama destroyed him too. You’d think they’d learn. This did not sit well with Undertaker, and Gorilla Monsoon appeases him by setting up a casket match against Kama.
Casket Match :The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) vs. “Supreme Fighting Machine” Kama (with Ted DiBiase)
Taker lays into Kama in the corner to start off. Taker whips Kama to the
opposite turnbuckle and catches him on the rebound, lifting him above his head
in a choke before throwing him back to the canvas. Kama gets in an irish whip,
but Taker reverses it and send Kama to the outside, landing on the casket. Kama
gets the heebie jeebies and pops back into the ring, looking scared. I guess
that’s a good way to get the casket match over, since the box doesn’t look much
like a real casket. Taker and Kama trade control back and forth until Taker hits
a corner avalanche. Taker wrenches the arm and performs his signature rope walk.
Taker signals for the casket to be opened and throws Kama in, but he’s back out
just as quickly, nearly shitting his pants with fear in the process. Taker
comes over to finish the job, but gets hung on the top rope by Kama, who then
climbs the turnbuckle and connects with a flying clothesline. Zombie sit-up from
the Taker. Taker hit’s a thrust to the throat, but Kama counters with a shuffle
side kick in the gut. Taker sends him to the corner and goes for an avalanche,
but Kama catches him and drop him into a slam. Another zombie sit-up from the
Dead Man. Kama manages to get Taker into the casket, but Taker pulls himself out
and pulls Kama in with a head scissors in the process. DiBiase distracts Taker
before he can close the lid, and Kama comes up with a thumb to the eye. Kama
lays into the Undertaker for a long time with offensive strikes. It seems like a
long time for Taker to go without getting any offense in, but I suppose they’re
selling the absence of the urn, which Lawler puts over on the announce team.
It’s still boring. Taker gets dropped to the outside where DiBiase lays some
kick into him. Paul Bearer doesn’t like that, so he takes his jacket off and
chases DiBiase while being restrained by referees. That was more entertaining
that anything in the match so far. Taker and Kama brawl on the outside, where
Taker finally gets some offense in. But not for long, Kama drives Taker’s spine
into the ring post and his face into the casket. Taker gets slammed onto the
casket. He tries to get up, but Kama connects with a baseball slide. Shots are
exchanged, and Kama attempts a piledriver on the casket, but gets back dropped
back into the ring. The crowd is starting to get into it, but Taker’s offense is
again cut short by a powerslam. Zombie sit-up from Taker, but Kama lays in a
sleeper. An extended sleeper. We see some creatures of the night in the
audience, looking like Norwegian black metalists. Kama still has that sleeper
on. Taker finally hit’s a back drop out of it. He gets a few shots on Kama,
ducks a clothesline, and hits the flying lariat. Kama gets clotheslined over the
top and both men land in the casket and the lid closes. Kama tried to climb out
but Taker pulls him back. They fight in the coffin, but both make it out. Back
in the ring, Kama lands a swing neck breaker and signals to open the casket.
Taker ducks a clothesline and hits the chokeslam. Taker picks Kama up, and
tombstones him, then slides him into the casket and closes the lid for the win.
Slow and somewhat boring, but not offensively bad, and there was good
atmosphere.
Winner: The Undertaker
**
We now get a video package introducing Isaac Yankem D.D.S., as Jerry Lawler’s personal dentist. The King had been feuding off and on with Bret Hart since the first King of the Ring, which Bret had won. Lawler’s a king, Bret’s a king… it writes itself. Anyway, at the ‘95 King of the Ring, Lawler had requested a “Kiss My Foot” match, one of the King’s signatures, with Bret, which he lost. Lawler not only kissed Bret’s feet, but Bret forced him to kiss his own feet as well. In the video package, Lawler’s feet are referred to as “puppies”. We’ve already had the 1-2-3 Kid taking a bronco buster tonight, and now another taste of things to come. With all these feet in his mouth, King takes a trip to the dentist, and, this being the WWF, recruits his dentist to fight Bret Hart. What else would he do?
Isaac Yankem D.D.S. vs. Bret Hart
Dr. Yankem is introduced from Decator, Illinois. Lawler feel the need to drive the pun home. (“DECAY-tor! Get it?”) Bret cuts a quick promo before making his way to the ring, basically telling Lawler he can send his dentist, his chiropractor, anybody he wants, after him, cause he’ll take them all down. Collar and elbow tie up, Yankem goes into a blatant choke and knees Bret n the corner. Bret fights back with right hands, Yankem drops him with a knee, follows it up with an elbow. Bret takes a scoop slam, but dodges an elbow drop. Bret hits some shots to the midsection, Yankem retaliates with a thumb to the eye, hits some more punches and elbows. Bret dodges a charging elbow, and hits an inverted atomic drop, following it up with three clotheslines, the third sending Yankem over the top. Bret vaults over the top after him. Brawling outside, back in the ring, Bret lands a clothesline off the second rope and tries to lock in the Sharpshooter. Yankem fights, so Bret headbutts him in the crotch. Bret rakes the eyes on the ropes, the rolls him up in a clutch pin, for two. Bret ducks a clothesline into a backslide for two. Bret ducks another clothesline, but gets caught in a press slam onto the ropes. Bret goes chest first into the turnbuckle hard. Yankem gives Bret a lifting chokehold. Elbow drop gets Yankem two. Bret takes a kick to the midsection. Yankem sets up a falling neck breaker, but Bret rolls over his back into an inside cradle for two. Cool looking spot there. Yankem chokes Bret on the ropes, and clotheslines him over the top. Yankem plays to the crowd with a tooth pulling gesture. Way to get over as a dentist there. The problem is, he shouldn’t have been a dentist in the first place. Yankem goes outside and slams Bret’s back into the post. Bret is on the ring apron, Yankem climbs back in and chokes Bret over the top rope. Bret is left draped over the rope, and Yankem ascends the corner ropes and leg drops the back of Bret‘s neck. Nice spot, but Yankem was a little wobbly on it. The pin gets two. Yankem is surprised Bret kicks out of that. Yankem drills (too easy) Bret with a short-arm clothesline, and gets two. Yankem rolls to the outside, and Bret hits a tope onto him. Bret throws Yankem back into the ring, and lands a running bulldog for a two count. Russian leg sweep gets two. Bret nails a backbreaker, and climbs to the second rope for a diving elbow. Bret signals for the Sharpshooter, and the crowd eats it up. Bret locks it in, but before Yankem can tap, Lawler leaves the announce position and pulls Yankem’s hand into the ropes. Bret turns to yell at Lawler, and Yankem comes at him with a clothesline from the back. Bret sees it coming, ducks it, and drops Yankem to the outside, but he lands on his feet. Yankem pulls Bret out and hurls him into the ring steps. That never gets old. Lawler has completely abandoned his announcing role and is just running around at ringside now. Yankem rolls Bret back into the ring and climbs to the top, but Bret is up and throws him off. Bret lands a head butt and some punches in the corner. Bret slides out of the rings and grabbed Yankem’s feet. It looks like he’s going to crotch him on the ring post, but he picks up some electrical cord and ties his feet together. With Yankem tied down, Bret dishes out some punishment. Lawler has gotten into the ring, but is chased out just as quickly by Bret, giving the ref time to untie Yankem. Lawler and Bret are brawling at ringside with Bret getting the better of it. Yankem climbs to the top and leaps to the floor, nailing Bret with a forearm. Back in the ring, Bret takes the advantage, but Lawler is there at ringside again to distract him. Bret leans out of the ring to get at Lawler, and Yankem runs over and hangs Bret in the ropes drawing the disqualification. Lawler and Yankem proceed to pull on Bret’s legs, strangling him.. A hoard of officials run out and finally break it up and free Bret, who looks to be in bad shape. Lawler leaves with Yankem. Bret is finally able to get to his feet, and leaves under his own power. The terrible gimmick makes the match seem worse than it is, but it is Kane we’re talking about, and Kane is capable of good matches as long as he has a good worker to carry him, and Bret is about as good a worker as you’re going to get. Winner, via disqualification: Bret Hart ***
Dok Hendrix is talking to Razor Ramon, who says history will repeat itself tonight. Ramon repeatedly calls Shawn “boy toy”, and says “Your pain brings me pleasure.”, and “You wanna dance? I lead.” Homoeroticism… you gotta love it.
Ladder Match: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels For the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Dok Hendrix has replaced the King on commentary. If ever there was a match that had hype to live up to, this was it. Their ladder match had blown everyone away at Wrestlemania X, and everyone was wondering if they could match that performance. Crazy heat for both competitors as they make their way to the ring. “Razor” chant as the belt is being lowered. There is a small dispute as to how high the belt should be hung. Shawn wants it higher, and he gets his wish. Stare down to start, and Shawn and Razor trade words. The atmosphere in the arena as the match gets under way is electric. Shoves back and forth, they trade puches. Irish whip, leap frogs, and Shawn tries for Sweet Chin Music but Razor holds the ropes. Collar and elbow tie up, Shawn lays in some shots. Shawn gets whipped to the corner, but he puts on the brakes. Shawn gets set up for the Razor’s Edge, but scurries away when Ramon does the Razor’s Edge pose. Both men trying for their finishers early is smart, as it heightens the anticipation that anything can happen in this match. Razor wrenches the arm and hits some shoulder blocks. Shawn fights back with right hands, but gets whipped into the turnbuckle and he flies up and over to the outside. Razor goes after the ladder for the first time, which is sitting in the entranceway, but Shawn tackles him from behind before he can get to it, and drags him back to the ring. Razor is set up on the ring apron., and Shawn tries to suplex him from the outside in, but Razor reverses it and suplexes Shawn back out. Shawn caught his ankle on the guard rail, and that looked like it hurt bad. Shawn is crawling, but gets a stiff looking elbow drop and a stomp from Razor. Razor throws Shawn back in the ring and sets him up for the Razor’s Edge. He gets him up, but Shawn drops out the back. He goes for Sweet Chin Music but Razor ducked it and there’s a double clothesline. Both men down. They regain their feet, and Razor whips Shawn back and forth between the turnbuckles. Shawn gets hung up on the top rope and Razor kicks him the chest, then gives him a fall-away slam from the second rope. Awesome selling from Shawn on the sequence. Shawn is down long enough for Razor to bring the ladder into play. Shawn tries to baseball slide him before he can get the ladder in the ring, but Razor sidesteps it and floors him with a clothesline. Razor sets up the ladder and starts to climb, but Shawn is able to get back in the ring and tip the ladder over, sending Razor crashing into the ropes. Shawn hits Razor with the ladder, then sends it up and begins his ascent. Razor gets to his knees and grabs Shawn’s tight, exposing his ass, as the women in the crowd go ballistic. Seriously, I’m hard pressed to remember a Shawn Michaels match where his ass wasn’t exposed somehow. Shawn pulls his tights up, allowing Razor to regain his footing and push the ladder over, as Shawn gets his leg caught between the rungs. That looked sick, and Shawn sold the left knee well. Razor sandwiches Shawn’s knee in the ladder and stomps on it, attempting to negate Michaels’ ability to utilize Sweet Chin Music. Razor pulls Shawn’s leg out of the ladder, and continues to work on the knee by slamming it onto the ladder. Shawn can barely stand, and Razor picks up the ladder and chop blocks his knee with it. Razor lands a scoop slam on Shawn, making sure his knee lands right on the ladder. Razors lays the ladder across the middle turnbuckle, and continues the punishment by kicking Shawn’s knee. He tries for a figure four it looked like, and Shawn kicked him off, sending him into the ladder, but Shawn’s knee is too injured to capitalize, and Razor picks him up and gives him a shin breaker onto the ladder. Razor lays Shawn’s leg across the bottom rope and drops his body across it until Shawn is able to get his right leg up and kick Razor over the top to the floor. Razor looks pissed, and slams Shawn’s knee down on the ring apron. Shawn seems just about crippled by this point, and Razor drags him over to the ring post and wraps his leg around it a couple times. Razor gets back in the ring and Shawn somehow manages to get to his feet, but his knee nearly gives out on him, so he can’t get much offense in. Razor sends him to the ropes, and catches him in a drop toe hold and converts to an Indian deathlock. Razor continues to stomp on the knee, then picks up the ladder and drops it across the knee of Shawn. Razor decides he has debilitated Shawn’s knee enough, and sets up the ladder. Shawn manages to get to the top turnbuckle, and launches himself at the ladder, nailing Razor in the back with a double axe handle, but his knee goes out on the landing, and both men are down. Razor is able to get to his feet first, and tries a scoop slam on Shawn, but Shawn drops out the back and pushes Razor into the still standing ladder. Razor tries to climb the ladder, but Shawn climbs up behind him and back suplexes him off the ladder. That took a lot out of both competitors. Shawn struggles to his feet first, still selling the knee, and limps to the ladder. He takes the ladder down and sets it up in the corner. He goes to whip Razor into the ladder, a reversal is teased, but Shawn gets the better of it, and Razor eats ladder. He flips over the top rope, but lands on the ring apron and rolls back inside. Shawn picks him up and whips him into the ladder again. Michaels is finally starting to get the upper hand, and you can see in his face that he smells blood, yet he still remembers to sell the knee, unlike some lesser wrestlers. Shawn stomps Razor with his injured leg, taunting Razor’s effort to debilitate his knee. Shawn drop Razor mid-ring with a scoop slam, then sets up the ladder in the corner, and ascends it. Just as Razor gets to his feet, Shawn launches a moonsault from the ladder, catching Razor across the chest, and lays in some puches to the head. Razors is down, and Shawn ascends the ladder again, this time going all the way to the top, and goes for a splash , but Razor rolls out of the way. Both men are down and hurt. Razor is finally able to get to his feet, and sets up the ladder. He starts climbing, but Shawn isn’t far behind. The make it to the top on opposite sides, and trade shots, until finally the ladder tips over and both men get crotched on the top rope. Shawn stays hung up on the rope while Razor falls all the way to the floor. Shawn regains his feet and grabs the ladder, and charges Razor with it as he climbs back on the apron. Razor ducks, and Shawn goes crashing to the floor, taking the ladder with him. Shawn drags the ladder back into the ring, while Razor goes under the ring and pulls out another ladder. By the time he gets it into the ring, Shawn has set up his ladder and is climbing it. Razor comes up from behind and gives him the Razor’s Edge off the ladder. Razor is too worn out to capitalize immediately, and by the time he gets the ladder set up and starts climbing, Shawn has regained his senses and set up the other ladder next to it. Both men reach the top of their ladders, and Shawn catches Razor in the chin with a modified Sweet Chin Music. He reaches for the belt, but can’t quite reach it and falls to the mat. Razor picks him up and sets him up for the Razor’s Edge again, but Shawn back drops him to the outside. Shawn climbs the ladder again, and grabs the belt, but can’t get it off the hook before crashing to the mat again. Shawn throws a fit, sets the ladder up one last time, and gets the belt at last. After the match, Razor grabs the belt and it looks like he’s going to lay Shawn out with it, but instead he presents him with the belt and shakes his hand. This was an epic, classic match, that every wrestling fan should see. Even better than their Wrestlemania X match, in my opinion. Winner: Shawn Michaels *****
We go to Dean Douglas, who gives his definition of “bad” (failure to reach an acceptable level of performance), and said that Razor Ramon has demonstrated tonight why he is known as the Bad Guy. Razor shows up and takes offense to Dean’s remarks, and Dean says he doesn’t want any trouble, but when Razor turns to leave, Dean tries to hit him from behind. Razor blocks it and lays Douglas out with a stiff shot to the face. This set up a very short lived feud between the two.
Mabel (with Mo) vs. Diesel For the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
It wasn’t a good decision to book this match, but it was an even worse decision to book it after the ladder match. The crowd was burnt out and even deader than they would have been as a result. Diesel cuts a promo before the match, saying he’s going to go medieval on Mabel. You know, Diesel’s music sounds a lot like the theme to Roseanne. And Mabel is about the same weight as Roseanne. Diesel hits some forearms, and Mabel reverses an irish whip and takes Diesel down with a shoulder block, then yells that he will be the first black champion. I really don’t think anyone thought that would happen. If the WWE ever get their shit together, Booker T will be the first black champion. But I digress. Diesel gets his head slammed into the turnbuckle. Mabel is moving slower than a snail through glue. He continues to beat down Diesel in the corner, mixing in a choke. Diesel manages to reverse an irish whip, sending Diesel to the opposite corner, following it up with a corner clothesline, then another. Diesel attempts a slam on Mabel, but can’t get him up. I can’t adequately describe just how slow Mabel is, he’s like a black hole of speed, slowing down everything around him. Diesel wasn’t the fastest guy on the roster either, but Mabel made him look like Tiger Mask. Diesel hits Mabel with a clothesline, two clotheslines, and he won’t go down. Finally he leaves his feet on the third and sends Mabel tumbles through the ropes and down the ring apron, reminiscent of a famous scene in Indiana Jones. Mabel walks around to the other side of the ring, winding him about as much as running a marathon. Diesel goes up and over with a vaulting body press. I’d like to see Nash try that today. Once both competitors are back to their feet, Mabel gives Diesel an irish whip into the ring post, then doubles over on the ring apron, gasping for air from the effort. He finally gathers himself enough to “run” at Diesel, who gives him a big boot. Back in the ring, some unexciting offense is exchanged, before Mabel drops Diesel with… well, technically it was a belly to back slam, but really he just grabbed him around the waist and fell down. Mabel then drops his fat ass onto Diesel’s back, and sits on him… and sits on him… and sits on him. After an eternity of Mabel sitting on Diesel’s back, Mabel finally pulls him up into… a sleeper. Mabel drops Diesel with a scoop slam, and bounces off the ropes, knocking the ref out of the ring in the process. He goes for an elbow drop and Diesel rolls out of the way. Mabel doesn’t sell the impact, unless you count lying there like a beached whale as selling. The ref bump allows Mo to come in the ring and double team Diesel. Lex Luger comes running in, but gets dumped out before he can do anything. Diesel gets thrown to the outside, Mabel follows and drops a leg on him, while Mo holds Diesel’s legs for no apparent reason. Mabel rolls Diesel back into the ring, and bounces in after him. Luger chases Mo back down the aisle, never to be seen in the WWF again. Well… that was pointless. Back in the ring, Mabel hits a belly to belly side slam and gets a two count. He veeeeeeeeery slooooooooowly climbs to the second rope and misses a splash. Diesel climbs the turnbuckle before Mabel can get up, and when he does (allowing Diesel enough time to make a sandwich and chat with the ringside fans if he wished) he flies from the top and lands a clothesline/shoulder block. Mabel flops over, nearly crushing the referee, and Diesel roll onto him for the one, two, three. That was an extremely anticlimactic finish. Well, that just sucked. Diesel tried, but I don’t think Bret Hart, Chris Benoit and Ric Flair combined could carry Mabel to a watchable match. Worst title match in WWF history? It’s possible. Winner, via pinfall: Diesel -**
The pay per view closes with a video recap of the night’s events, set to the old school Summerslam song. They should bring that song back.
Closing thoughts: Well, you had a classic match, a horrible match, and most everything in between. I would call this pay per view straight down the middle. I recommend it for the ladder match alone, but you should stop the tape when that’s over unless you’re a masochist. One other thing… McMahon talked a lot about Davey Boy Smith, saying he knew he was going to make an impact, and so on. Footage of him arriving at the arena was shown. But he never showed up. Oh well. Overall Rating: **½ -- David McLaughlin
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