The Summerslam that will always have a special place in my heart, and is probably my favourite, is that of 1991. Along with Wrestlemania VII (seven), this was one of the first WWF events that I ever saw. This was thanks to a school friend at the time who had Sky Sports (as I did not!). After the events of The Hart Foundation vs Nasty Boys Tag Team Championship match at Wrestlemania, I was firmly a Bret Hart fan leading into his singles career. Summerslam 1991 was the start, and also the crowning moment, in solidifying Hart as a singles wrestler from then on.
This event also saw a lot of legends, future hall of famers and some of the most popular wrestlers in wrestling history take part. It was also a very babyface orientated pay-per-view with all but two matches having the hero come through victorious. The two matches that saw heels come out on top saw IRS (Mike Rotunda) defeat Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeat the hugely popular Bushwackers.
The other matches saw some of the most 'ultra'-popular performers end feuds against some of the most hated villains in WWE history.
Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat, Texas Tornado & The British Bulldog defeated Power & Glory & The Warlord (w/ Slick)
This was a great match to open the show and 'warm' the crowd up, pitting three of the most popular mid-carders against three of the strongest and meanest. At the time I loved Bulldog, Tornado and Steamboat but was oblivious to their heritage and achievements prior to this event. I suppose that as a kid I saw it exactly how I should have done - three popular 'good guys' beating on the 'bad guys' that they were feuding with at the time. Wrestling was a lot simpler in the early 90s!
Looking back, I realised that Texas Tornado came from one of the greatest wrestling families ever, Ricky Steamboat had been a World Champion outside of the WWE and The British Bulldog had a very successful tag team career with another legend, The Dynamite Kid. It's amazing to think of the careers that these guys had, and the reputations that they had made - I was completely in-the-dark to all of these things.
The match itself was very exciting, with the usual 'face getting the crap beaten out of him' for several minutes before getting the tag to his eager partners. Chaos would ensue before each would perform their finishing maneuver on the heels for the mind-blowing conclusion to the match. The audience loved this outcome and the goal of kicking off Summerslam with a bang had been achieved.
Intercontinental Championship: Bret 'Hitman' Hart defeated Mr Perfect (c) (w/ The Coach) to become the new Intercontinental Champion
To think that this match was on second on the night and, for me, was by far the best, and most emotional match of the night! Again, as an eight-year-old kid all I knew was that Bret Hart was my hero and Mr Perfect was the reigning Intercontinental Champion that stood in the way of Hart starting his singles career on a high note. I think at the time I still saw Hart as one half of The Hart Foundation and didn't think he could overcome the more experienced singles competitor.
I'm still trying to get my head around it when I hear people say that two wrestlers told a 'great story', but I think looking back at this match made it a lot clearer to me - quite simply, Hart and Mr Perfect (Curt Hennig) told one of the best stories I've ever seen; Hart the new singles competitor (at least in the eyes of the WWF) and Perfect was the experienced, tough, hard-to-beat Champion. This is how the story played out, too. There were several ups and downs to this match; Perfect showing his dominance and why he is a great champion; Hart showing that he should be taken seriously and that he is a genuine threat to this great title. A huge feather in Hart's cap was when he kicked out of the Perfect-plex - something that had not happened too often before and also back when kicking out of a finishing move was very seldom and a big deal. There was no quit in Hart, whereas Perfect tried to walk out of the match and save his title - a move which shows everyone watching that he was worried about potentially losing his title to a guy that he thought it impossible to lose to going into this encounter.
The finish saw Perfect try to drop a leg between Hart's, only to have him turn it into the Sharpshooter. This win would elevate Hart instantly into a top position of trust within the WWF, and this was hugely deserved. Hart came from a great wrestling dynasty and would set the foundations for smaller guys to go on and become World Champions in the years following.
Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated The Bushwackers (w/ Andre the Giant)
As I said before, this was one of only two heel wins on the night. This was not a surprise either, as The Bushwackers, as loved as they were, didn't stand a chance in this bout. In what was a long squash match, The Bushwackers started out with all the comedy that you would normally expect from them before Earthquake would show the power and size that would give The Natural Disasters a convincing victory.
The events after the match would be more important and would set another feud in motion; a more believable feud for Earthquake and Typhoon. After disposing of The Bushwakers, the giants would turn their attention to Andre the Giant, who had been in the corner of the New Zealand natives. When things seemed to be looking dangerous for Andre, The Legion of Doom would enter the scene to protect their fellow babyface. This would lead to a future confrontation between the giant Disasters and the dominant Road Warriors.
Million Dollar Championship: Virgil defeated 'Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase (c) (w/ Sensational Sherri) to become the new Million Dollar Champion
I don't recall why this match was for the Million Dollar Championship as the more important story here was Virgil getting revenge on his former employer - something that everyone can get behind. I suppose having Dibiase's title on the line meant that with a Virgil win, he would gain an even bigger measure of revenge.
This wasn't a great match at all; I'm pretty sure Virgil was very green (inexperienced) and limited to what he could do in the ring. This match still got a lot of time, as well as a false finish (Sherri would hit Virgil to try and save the title, only to be kicked out and the match be continued). The end would see Dibiase go into an exposed turnbuckle that he had set up for Virgil, being knocked out as a result and pinned to lose his Million Dollar belt.
From a video/DVD point of view, the commentary from Roddy Piper is priceless throughout this match - screaming encouragement at Virgil. The passion that Piper brings here adds to the sense of suffering that Virgil went through on his way to revenge. So even though this match wasn't a classic, the story and victory was one of the sweetest things about this event.
This was a great gimmick match with characters that you will probably never see again - The American Policeman, Big Boss Man overcoming his Canadian counterpart, the evil Mountie. The match went back and forth before Boss Man would finish off with an awesome looking whiplash/Alabama Slam to ensure that The Mountie would be serving hard times.
Aside from the match, the comedy of this situation would carry on throughout the night with many skits involving The Mountie's journey to prison and all the procedures that he has to go through before being put in his cell for the night! Great comedy and over-the-top antics in seeing The Mountie receive his comeuppance.
Interviews
Just like with local British wrestling shows that I go to, there seemed to be an interval in Summerslam 1991 before the final three matches would commence. This was the time of the show where there would be several interviews with some of the winners and losers of previous matches. There would also be interviews with the remaining 'important matches' participants.
Sean Mooney and 'Mean' Gene Okerlund went back and forth conducting interviews with angry heels and overjoyed heroes. I always loved interviews and promos from these wrestlers when I was a kid - they were so over-the-top and shouted at the top of their lungs! It would make you listen when Hogan or Boss Man or Hawk from LOD would be talking as they would scream down the TV at you about what they were going to do; I was completely drawn in by every word.
Tag Team Championship (No DQ/No Countouts): Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) defeated The Nasty Boys (w/ Jimmy Hart) to become new Tag Team Champions
After the injustice of The Nasty Boys robbing The Hart Foundation of the titles at Wrestlemania VII, I was gunning for the Legion of Doom to take the belts. Legion of Doom were my favourite tag team at the time so this, along with Bret Hart winning, was a must for me on this night.
As is the usual formula for a Legion of Doom match, Hawk would take the pounding for much of the match before getting the 'hot' tag to Animal. Not long after this, there would be a helmet (brought to the ring by Jimmy Hart) shot before the Doomsday Device would finish things off and the crowning of new Tag Team Champions would happen. The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart were, quite simply, beaten at their own game.
IRS defeated Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine
This would be the second 'throwaway' match of the night. It would also serve a purpose of bringing the crowd down from the excitement of the Tag title match and give them a breather heading into the main event.
Evil heel tactics would ensure that IRS would cheat his way to a victory over the experienced Valentine. Eventually, IRS would form a very fitting tag team with The Million Dollar Man - becoming Money Inc. This would be IRS' most successful time in the WWF.
Even back in 1991, Hulk Hogan bored me in the same way that John Cena bores me now. He always won and always overcame - even as an eight-year-old I hated that ultimate hero crap (especially when Hogan would shit all over Wrestlemania IX; but that's another story!). I was never a huge Warrior fan either; he had an exciting entrance and I liked his music but that was all he did for me. Looking back as an adult, I realise that he was pretty atrocious in the ring and was just a roided-up-freak - he definitely had the look but not much talent wrestling-wise.
I also look back and realise even though he wasn't a top tier guy, Sgt. Slaughter had the right gimmick at the right time - the Gulf War was in swing and what better way to make a feud than by having the Sarge defect to the enemy - NUCLEAR heat. Stick the belt on him and you then get the biggest American hero chase him down to reclaim the WWF title. Throw in another legend in The Iron Sheik and you have a (mini) army backing the new super-villain.
This match was as you would expect it; the two most popular wrestlers of 1991 would overcome the odds to stand tall. They would then convince the Special Referee to join in the celebration and possibly set in motion Justice's heel turn a few months later.
Match Made in Heaven: Macho Man & Miss Elizabeth marry
Along with more skits from The Mountie's journey to prison, Summerslam 1991 ended with what would seem a happy ending. But I suppose with the face-heavy victories throughout the event it was only fair that the heels got one over on the faces by the end.
Several shots throughout the wedding party were shown before the opening of presents commenced. Elizabeth would hesitantly open gifts as ordered by her husband before she would open a fairly large box to discover a very unwanted pet - a snake. In what can only happen in early-90s WWF, an Undertaker and a snake-handler would then attack Savage leaving him in a heap on his own wedding night.
The positives I take from this, knowing what I know now, is that it led to other things further down the line. And I don't just mean the imminent reinstatement of Macho Man to the active roster and a feud with Jake Roberts, but it would also lead to Roberts turning on The Undertaker and ending their alliance resulting in one of The Undertaker's many matches in his Wrestlemania streak.
Summary
I love this show and after watching it again recently, it has to be one of my favourite pay-per-views. It started off the singles push that my hero, Bret Hart, got and also had a whole host of greats on the card. Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Undertaker, Roberts, Steamboat - some of the most legendary names in wrestling history.
Whilst injured, Roddy Piper would also be on commentary around this period. He would be an awesome addition as he would have plenty to say as well as antagonising Heenan at every opportunity! Obviously, Heenan would give as good as he got knowing that Monsoon would be in the middle of them to get away with it.
@jimmosangle
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