Countdown to SummerSlam: SummerSlam '94: So Hot, It's Scary
SummerSlam '94: So Hot It's Scary
State of the Squared Circle: The Undertaker may be the most successful gimmick in the history of wrestling. He came in from WCW where he was just a jobber named Mean Mark Callous, to become one of Vince's biggest money makers and the most respected man in the locker room, behind Andre the Giant, in the history of the business. Undertaker was already a big hit by SummerSlam 94, but had gone missing since the 1994 Royal Rumble, when dozens of wrestlers sealed him in a casket following a match with Yokozunna. After the match, the Undertaker appeared on the video screen, announcing he would return one day...Prior to SummerSlam both the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and Paul Bearer claimed to have contacted the Undertaker, with both bringing him to the ring for matches. Now obviously they just had Mark Callous wrestling twice every night, but it eventually led up to a Undertaker vs Undertaker match at SummerSlam. While this was all happening, WCW had went ahead and signed Hulk Hogan, putting the belt on him following a victory over Ric Flair, in a PPV dream match that the WWF never delivered during Flair's time there...WCW's ratings were starting to rise, and a war between the two organizations was not far away...
The Venue: United Center, Chicago
The Card:
Bam Bam Bigelow & Irwin R. Schyster def. The Headshrinkers by disqualification
Ah, Bam Bam has returned to the WWF. About 6 months later he would face Lawrence Taylor in his most high profile match, but UB will always remember his for his unstoppable cartwheel in the original WrestleMania game for Nintendo.
Women’s Championship Match: Alundra Blayze def. Bull Nakano to retain
The above photo perfectly describes the women's division back in 94. Ugly as sin. For some reason Vince had not quite realized that tits and ass sell when it comes to the ladies, over wrestling ability. Tits and ass to come around 1996...
Intercontinental Championship Match: Razor Ramon def. Diesel to become new champion
Diesel has entered the picture. Like the Undertaker, Kevin Nash has come over from WCW, where he was a mismanaged big man under the names Oz and Vinnie Vegas. He came in as Shawn Michaels body guard before Vince started dreaming of a new Hulk Hogan and started his meteoric rise though the company. A few months after this loss he would capture the WWF title in seconds over Bob Backlund at MSG. Note Sweetness Walter Peyton was at ringside for this one...
Tatanka def. Lex Luger
Lex may stay with the WWF until WrestleMania XI, but his usefulness with the company is over. Vince tried to make him a superstar but it didn't take. He's now left with no where to go. Stuck in the middle card range, this will be his last SummerSlam.
Jeff Jarrett def. Mabel
Double J Jeff Jarrett was the best when he first came over to the WWF. "That's Je-Double F-Ja-Double R-E-Double T!" Great talent, great charisma. Another example of a guy that would never get a chance to make it as the top star in Vince's old system. Not long after this he was given several IC title runs, including a good series against Razor. Mabel, on the other hand, was coming off a run as a tag member of Men on a Mission, and is a year away from main eventing the worst SummerSlam main event of all time.
Steel Cage WWE Championship Match: Bret “Hit Man” Hart def. Owen Hart to retain
This should go down as the greatest WWF Steel Cage match of all time. All though Jimmy Snuka had some good ones in the 70s and early 80s, they normally were only about 5 minutes long. This one was 45 minutes, which was unheard of in the WWF. Bret had regained the title at WrestleMania X, but at that same PPV he lost a singles match against brother Owen, setting up this main event. The only problem that UB had with this match is that Bret and Owen faked the exit over the cage or out the door about 100 times combined in the match, often making it feel slow.
Undertaker def. Undertaker
Just what you might expect from this one. Slow and dull. Vince did a decent job finding a wrestler (Smokey Mountain mainstay Brian Lee) to play a Undertaker clone, but it was painfully obvious which guy was the real deal. The show ended with Leslie Nielsen, who along with George Kennedy, had been searching for the Undertaker as part of a cross promotion with Domino's Pizza. At the end the Naked Gun stars stumbled upon a coffin with a suit case in side. A poor piece of writing has George tell Leslie: "The case, it's closed! You solved the mystery!"