WWE SummerSlam 1994 (1994)

Simply A Masterpiece

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

After a series of WWF pay-per-views that were at best average (and often dreadful), SummerSlam 1994 finally puts on a really strange show (even despite a very slow start).The event starts with a few rather anti-climactic matches: -Tatanka vs. Lex Luger. Luger is a failed experiment by this point, while Tatanka is a huge fan favorite but for some reason Vince McMahon never really put him in a position to succeed. -A completely forgettable Women's Championship match. -Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel. The "country vs. rap" battle. Mabel is just a big lug, while Jarrett is little more than a Rick Rude clone.From that ignominious beginning, however, the event then manages to amp up the match quality and entertainment value considerably:-Razor Ramon vs. Diesel is a match that probably has no business being as good as it was. Diesel is a competent "big man" wrestler, while Ramon's schtick was so good and he's a quality wrestler as well. -Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart in the Steel Cage. One of the best WWF matches of all-time both in terms of drama and technical execution. -Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Undertaker (w/Ted DiBiasie). Kind of a weird gimmick, but still a dramatic way to re-introduce Undertaker back into the mix.Overall, this was probably the most entertaining WWF event since perhaps early 1992 or so. All the top talent was matched up in the right places, and the "filler" was palatable.

1st Match: IRS and Bam Bam Bigelow vs The Headshrinkers. The match ending in a DQ is pretty lame for the first match of the night, but it's an entertaining brawl till then. Rating: 3/5 2nd Match: Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano, WWF Women's Championship. I'm still not sure if this is really good for a women's match at the time, because this is only the second one I've seen for 1994. There's some good back and forth action, and the crowd seems into it. Rating: 3.5/5 3rd Match: Razor Ramone vs Diesel, WWF Intercontinental Championship. A pretty hard hitting match. Ramone winning was good compensation for getting screwed at King of the Ring. Rating: 4/5 4th Match: Tatanka vs Lex Luger. So I'm guessing they had Tatanka turn heel in order to make the crowd like Luger more. The crowd certainly sounded like they were getting tired of his gimmick, so that's all I can go off of. The match is decent for 6 minutes, nothing substantial except for the turn at the end. Rating: 3/5 5th Match: Jeff Jarrett vs Mabel. Men on a Mission are certainly entertaining, but every time I see Jarrett win a match it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it's cuz I consider him an egomaniac, and his WWF gimmick got annoying a couple a PPVs back for me. At least the match is short. Rating: 2.5/5 6th Match: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart, Steel Cage match for the WWF Championship. The match starts off slow, but really picks up in the last 10 minutes. I don't know, but I'm starting to lose my interest in cage matches. Unlike Ladder matches or Hell in a Cell matches, cage matches normally follow the same exact formula, especially when it's just one-on-one. Near escapes aren't the same as near-falls, they get old real quick for me. That being said, Bret and Owen take some pretty hard bumps, and the crowd's a frenzy the whole time. The beat down after the match is way too long though, and wasn't all that surprising. Rating: 4/5 7th Match: Undertaker vs "Undertaker's Cousin, Brian Lee". I had heard the legends of this match, that it was stupid, and terrible, and awful, but it wasn't that bad. The concept is freakin' ridiculous, but watching Paul Bearer and Taker demolish someone is always fun to me. At the time, I imagine this was the coolest thing ever, but it hasn't aged well. This is the 90s though, so wrestling was more comedic than it is nowadays. It's a watchable match, but the cage match would've been a better ending than this. Rating: 3/5 Final Rating: 6 out of 10. While King of the Ring was a step in the right direction, this was a step back for me. There are only two standout matches on the card, and the rest are just mediocre and one is decent.

This commentator guy is so annoying, but so! 1. Head Shrinkers Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow/I.R.S. - Normal match ended with DQ.. 6/10 2. Women Title Match: Bull Nakano Vs. Alundra Blayze - Good match with nice crowd reaction, because Nakano lost. 6.5/10 3. IC Title Match: Champ-Diesel Vs. Razor Ramon - I expected much worse match than was this one. Maybe the electricity works. 5.5/10 4. Tatanka Vs. Lex Luger - Worse than average. Tatanka won and turned heel. 5/10 5. Jeff Jarrett Vs. Mabel - Mabel is a little bit overrated 5.5/10 6. WWF Heavyweight title Cage Match: Owen Hart Vs. Champ-Bret Hart - Match on Wrestlemania X between these two was far better and more exciting. Cage matches are more heavy. 6.5/10 7. Undertaker Vs. Undertaker - I like Taker but that thing was stupid almost like that feud with Gonzáles, It was like some low-budget movie. 15 minute introduction and match that didn't worth for it. Crowd didn't like it at all. Zero reaction. 4.5/10 That Summerslam sucks!

There were some major goings on in the WWE as Summerslam 1994 came along. To begin with the evil Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation had become huge. He had signed the dangerous Bam Bam Bigelow to his stable and was making a serious bid for the tag titles. DiBiase was also at the centre of one of the biggest story lines of the night. The Undertaker had disappeared from the WWE after losing a casket match to Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble, but DiBiase claimed he had found the Undertaker and signed him to the Million Dollar Corporation. Undertaker's long time manager Paul Bearer then claimed that DiBiase's Undertaker was a fake and that he would produce the true Undertaker at Summerslam. The WWE must have been uncertain of this because Leslie Nielsen of Naked Gun fame was bought into investigate.Anyway, let's get to the matches, because I could use my word limit talking about this Undertaker vs Undertaker nonsense. The night started off with the Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) lost to the Million Dollar Corporation (Bam Bam Bigelow and Irwin R Shyster) by DQ, but retained the WWE Titles. This was a fun match with Lou Albano, Afa and Ted DiBIase at ringside. Shyster really was an under rated mid card bad guy. The Shrinkers had been about to win when Ted DiBiase distracted the referee. Albano was not happy, Afa decided to sneak into the ring and clock Shyster, but the ref saw it and so we had a DQ.Next up we saw the Women's Championship defended by Alundra Blayze against the gigantic monster Bull Nakano with another monster, Luna Vachon, in her corner. Blayze won a decent match despite Vachon interfering after Nakano missed a diving leg drop.It was now time for Diesel, accompanied by Shawn Michaels, to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Razor Ramon, the man he'd defeated to win the title a few months earlier. Ramon and Diesel put on an entertaining match with Michaels making his presence felt. But his interference back fired in the end as he accidentally super kicked Diesel while aiming for Ramon. Ramon takes advantage to get the pin and win back the IC Title.In the next match Tatanka finally turned on Lex Luger, joining the Million Dollar Corporation after months of hinting. Going into the match, DiBIase claimed he had signed Luger, but it was a double cross. DiBiase helped Tatanka to win a passable match and then had Tatanka perform the Million Dollar Dream on Luger.Jeff Jarret then defeated Mabel in a nothing match. Mabel tried to hit a big move, Jarrett got out of the way and used momentum to pin him.The next match is the biggest match of the night as the Hart family collided as Bret Hart put his WWE CHampionship on the line against Owen in a steel cage match. Bret's former tag team partner had made it clear he was on Owen's side, but in the lead up to the fight, Bret's brother in law, The British Bulldog, had returned and sided with Bret. The cage was bought in to stop the family interfering in the match. This is a very good thing as this match turned out to be an absolute scorcher with some great spots, including Bret suplexing Owen off the top of the cage. Both Hart's climbed to the outside of the cage for the climax. Bret ended up winning after Owen got his leg tangled in the cage. Owen and Neidhart then threw Bret inside the ring, locking the door and started a beatdown, with the Bulldog eventually climbing the cage to scare them away. This was awesome stuff.This brings us to the bizarre main event. Leslie Nielsen solved the mystery of the Undertaker, but it was Paul Bearer who came to the ring with a casket. There's a cool light show then the Undertaker returns. DiBiase then came out with his fake Undertaker and they have a match. The biggest problem here is the crowd is confused. Both guys look similar and it must have been difficult to work out who was who, Anyway, the real Undertaker won. The crowd cheered and the show was over.Not a great event, but Bret/ Owen alone is worth watching the show for. The rest of it ties together, with most of the matches being about DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation.