WWF Summerslam was a 1994 professional wrestling event put on by the World Wrestling Federation. It was the 9th annual Summerslam, the fourth event of 1994 and the 58th event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Billed from Chicago Illinois (though held in Rosemont Illinois) at the Rosemont Horizon, the show was headlined by a steel cage match for the WWF title between Bret "The Hitman" Hart and his brother, "The King of Harts" Owen Hart. Other matches on the card included Razor Ramon challenging Bam Bam Bigelow for the WWF Intercontinental Title, Demolition defending the tag team titles against Diesel & Shawn Michaels, a match between Crush and "Macho Man" Randy Savage and a match between Ted DiBiase's "Undertaker" (played by Brian Lee) and the real Undertaker managed by Paul Bearer.
This event would mark the last in-ring appearance of "Macho Man" Randy Savage in the WWF as a full-time competitor, as he would leave the company in November (he was scheduled to appear in a Survivor Series match, but was replaced due to not signing a new contract with the WWF).
Prelude[]
The fraternal feud between Bret and Owen Hart had consumed the WWF, and now the WWF Title was included in the spat. Since winning the King of the Ring, the newly christened "King of Harts" had made it his mission to either beat his brother for the title or cost him the title (which he did on an episode of Raw in a match against the 1-2-3 Kid). Unable to settle the issue between them, Commissioner Slaughter granted Owen one chance at the title, inside a steel cage, in order to ensure that Owen's brother in law, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, didn't interfere.
In early June, Ted DiBiase had started claiming that the Undertaker had signed on to be a member of his stable, the Million Dollar Corporation. However, Paul Bearer had claimed that DiBiase's Undertaker was a fake, and that the real Deadman would return at Summerslam to reclaim the mantle. Despite these claims, DiBiase's Undertaker had run roughshod over the few competitors he had faced, and had even tried to attack Bearer at one point (only for the lights to start flickering and spook DiBiase into calling off the assault). Which ever Undertaker was the real one would likely be revealed at Summerslam.
Another storyline involving the Million Dollar Man was that he also claimed that "Macho Man" Randy Savage had been signed to his stable. Despite Savage's vehement denial, the Macho Man's good friend and protege, Kona Crush, had been convinced of Savage "selling out" as it were. The two were set for a confrontation, in which Crush vowed to show the world the "truth" about the Macho Man.
Following a series of losses, former WWF Champion Bob Backlund had "snapped" towards members of the Younger Generation, berating them for not being wholesome enough or subject to morality. He promised to educate the young generation, to be a role model for them, but in doing so would go nuts in matches and lock his opponents in the Crossface Chickenwing, refusing to let go. On an episode of the King's Court, he even did this to WWF Hall of Famer Chief Jay Strongbow, which drew out the reigning Television champion Tatanka, who got locked in the Chickenwing himself for his troubles. This led to a title defense at Summerslam, as Backlund promised to fight a "clean" match.
Event[]
The event began with a match between "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and the 1-2-3 Kid, a rematch from King of the Ring. Unlike last time, Dr. Death didn't seem to take the Kid lightly, and he was far more focused then the match that led to his upset in the KOTR tournament. The Kid was on his game as well though, and it appeared as if he might pull off a victory again. However Jim Cornette distracted the referee long enough for Mr. Fuji to hand the Japanese flag to Dr. Death, who rammed it staff first into the throat of the Kid before tossing it back to Fuji. He then hit the Okinawa Stampede to pick up the victory. The next match was a tag team affair between the Headshrinkers and The Quebecers. This was the match that had been delayed due to an injury to Samu, and it was clear that the Headshrinkers were definitely waiting for their opportunity to get their hands on the former tag team champions. Despite the interference from Johnny Polo, a miscommunication between Jacques and Pierre allowed Fatu to clean house and win the match with a big splash off the top. After the match, Jacques and Pierre began arguing with one another, with Polo unable to break up the potential fight, and pretty soon the tag partners were at each other's throats battling, causing officials to come in and break it up.
The next match featured Tatanka defending his Television Title against Bob Backlund. Despite Backlund's recent propensity for "snapping" on his opponents, he seemed to be in good spirits and had an amiable, if intense technical wrestling match with the Native American. This quickly changed however when Tatanka was able to reverse a small package into a near fall. Backlund suddenly snapped again and locked on the Crossface Chickenwing right in the ropes, where Tatanka could easily move his feet to get a break. Backlund refused to break, however, resulting in a disqualification. It led to several officials coming out to get Backlund to finally release the hold on the champion, as Backlund sat in the ring with a crazed look in his eyes as Tatanka was helped to the back. The next match saw Randy Savage try to defend himself against former friend Crush, as the latter had accused Savage of "selling out" to the Million Dollar Man. As matches go, Savage's high flying and unorthodox style flummoxed the younger Crush, but Crush's power did manage to even the odds. However the end came when the Million Dollar Man sauntered to ringside. He offered Savage cash, but the Macho Man took it and threw it in his face, only to be blindsided from behind by Crush, who began taking orders from DiBiase. In the end it was clear that it was Crush who had sold out to Ted DiBiase, not Savage, as DiBiase handed Crush a steel chair and allowed him to wallop the Macho Man, giving Savage a DQ victory. Crush then locked in a Cranium Crunch on Savage, before leaving him lying in the middle of the ring.
DiBiase remained out for the next match, as IRS took on "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. When The Million Dollar Man had formed his Corporation, he had coerced Eaton into joining due to the latter's financial dire straits, humiliating him by making him wear jackets that read "Property of the Million Dollar Man" and so forth. After several months of this, Eaton rebelled against this and turned on his manager, even costing IRS the Television Title in the process. The match was a classic encounter between two ring veterans, and each came up with near falls despite the shortness of the match. The end came when DiBiase distracted Eaton as he attempted the Alabama Jam off the top rope, resulting in Irwin catching him and then hitting a Superplex for the win. The next match saw Demolition defend the Tag Titles against Shawn Michaels and Diesel. As per their usual mode of operation, Michaels allowed Diesel to do most of the heavy lifting in the match. Despite this, the veteran tag champs withstood most of Diesel's offense, until eventually Ax was finally isolated by the big man, allowing Michaels to come in and take pot shots. Smash eventually got the hot tag to face Michaels, running roughshod over HBK. Demolition hit a double suplex on Michaels, but HBK had gotten a hot tag into Diesel before they could set up for the Demolition Decapitation. This allowed Diesel to come in a clean house, hitting Ax with a Jackknife to pick up the win and secure the tag belts for he and HBK. This match was followed by Missy Anne Simms successfully defending the Women's Championship against Luna Vachon.
The next match saw Bam Bam Bigelow defend the Intercontinental Title against Razor Ramon, the man he had defeated for the title some 2 months earlier. Razor came out guns blazing against the Beast from the East, trying to win his title back. He was in control in the earlygoing, but Ted DiBiase reasserted his presence by clipping Razor outside the ring, damaging his knee. Rather then end the match in a DQ though, the referee tossed DiBiase from the ringside area, allowing the match and Razor's chances at the title to continue. However with the damage done to his knee, Bam Bam took control and focused on the knee in a much more technical way than we were used to seeing from the champion. Razor mounted a comeback and attempted to overcome the injury, trying to get Bam Bam up for the Razor's Edge, only for his knee to give out again. Rather than finish off the challenger, Bam Bam showboated to the crowd and slowly made his way to the top rope for a Moonsault, only to miss and knock himself out. Razor then went for the cover and got the three count, regaining the IC Title after a hard fought match. DiBiase returned to see his Undertaker take on Paul Bearer's Undertaker. After a lot of ceremony involving the same casket the Undertaker had been sealed away in at the Royal Rumble, Paul Bearer's Deadman returned to face the obvious FakeTaker. Despite being a fake, DiBiase's stooge did present a slight problem for the Phenom, even hitting him with a Tombstone Piledriver. However Paul Bearer's Undertaker sat up and then drilled the fake Undertaker with two consecutive Tombstone Piledrivers to score the pinfall, as DiBiase quickly made a discreet exit and the Undertaker celebrated in the ring with Paul Bearer and the urn.
The main event followed, featuring The Hitman and the King of Harts battling for the WWF Title inside a Steel Cage. Like their Wrestlemania battle, the match was a technical masterpiece, though this time in addition to the element of a Steel Cage, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart was on the outside prowling around the cage as well. The match went back and forth numerous times, with both men gaining an advantage at moments and both men stopping the other from escaping the cage at every turn. Owen locked Bret in the Sharpshooter at one point, wearing him down to try and escape over the top of the cage. Bret stopped him though, and then superplexed him from halfway up the cage into the ring, with both men bearing a huge brunt of the blow. Bret gained enough of an advantage in the end to start climbing the cage, only for Owen to start crawling for the door. The Hitman escaped just a few seconds before the King of Harts sprawled out of the cage door, thus retaining his title. After the match The Anvil and Owen began double teaming Bret on the outside, before tossing him back into the cage for more punishment. However before they could do so, The British Bulldog returned from a year long hiatus to defend his brother in law, standing tall with The WWF Champion to end the show on a high note.
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dr. Death" Steve Williams w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette d. The 1-2-3 Kid by Pinfall | Singles Match | 7:55 |
| 2 | The Headshrinkers [Fatu & Samu] w/Afa d. The Quebecers [Jacques & Pierre] w/Johnny Polo | Tag Team Match | 10:00 |
| 3 | Tatanka (c) d. Bob Backlund by Disqualification | Singles Match for the WWF Television Title | 9:17 |
| 4 | "Macho Man" Randy Savage d. Crush by Disqualification | Singles Match | 10:22 |
| 5 | Irwin R. Schyster w/Ted DiBiase d. "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:55 |
| 6 | "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel & "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels d. Demolition [Ax & Smash] (c) by Pinfall | Tag Team Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles | 9:00 |
| 7 | Missy Anne Simms (c) d. Luna Vachon by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Women's Title | 8:19 |
| 8 | Razor Ramon d. Bam Bam Bigelow w/Ted DiBiase (c) by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Intercontinental Title | 12:00 |
| 9 | The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer d. The 'Undertaker' w/Ted DiBiase by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:17 |
| 10 | Bret "The Hitman" Hart (c) d. "The King of Harts" Owen Hart w/Jim Neidhart by Cage Escape | Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship | 21:03 |
Aftermath[]
Bret and Bulldog would ally themselves against Owen and The Anvil, leading to a tag team match at Rampage. Backlund's "crazy man" gimmick would continue through the fall of 1994, eventually leading to a WWF title shot at Survivor Series, while The Undertaker would turn his attention to Fuji's two men, Dr. Death Steve Williams and Yokozuna, out of revenge for the Casket Match earlier in the year. A match was scheduled between Crush and Randy Savage as part of both Rampage and the Survivor Series, but contractual issues led to the match being canceled and Savage leaving the company by year's end.