WWF Summerslam Spectacular 1991 8/18/1991

WWF Summerslam Spectacular 1991 8/18/1991

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are our hosts. Heenan says he can't wait for the main tonight which is Hulk vs Sarge for the WWF Title. He asks if Warrior will hide behind Hulk, considering he's snake bitten. Vince calls Bobby a beach bum as he is wearing some beach clothing.

Hawk vs Brian Knobbs

Knobbs stalls to start and keeps going out. They each get shots in and Knobbs takes a facebuster. Knobbs then does a nice bump out for it. Knobbs hits some punches when he gets back in. Vince says Jack Tunney promised no interference in this one. Hawk throws Knobbs backwards by the hair and fist drops him. Hawk hits corner punches. Hawk misses a corner spear. Knobbs then chairs Hawk outside while Jimmy Hart distracts the ref.

Knobbs double axe handles Hawk off the apron. Knobbs back elbows him. Knobbs crabs Hawk. Hawk uses his legs to push Knobbs out off the the crab. Knobbs double axe handles the back. Knobbs slams Hawk then sits on his back and pulls the chin.

Knobbs elbow drops and headbutt drops the back. Hawk stands up with Knobbs on his back and drops him backwards. Hawk facekicks him then flying shoulders him. Hawk powerslams him. Knobbs charges into the corner and gets a boot. Hawk diving lariats him off the top.

Thoughts: It wasn't great but I liked it. Knobbs took a nice bump to the outside and worked the back some before Hawk made his comeback and won. Both guys did what they were supposed to and there were no real problems with this.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts and The Ultimate Warrior are outside of a dark, creepy room. Jake says Lucifer's in there. Jake says there's a coffin in there with Lucifer waiting for him. He tells Warrior to reach his hand in there and let Lucifer gives him the answer. Warrior says he has no fear and the trust he had in Jake so far has done him no harm. Jake tells him to go for it and closes the door on him. Jake then locks the door. Jake says he'll shed light on the subject.

Warrior is then stuck in a room filled with snakes. Jake says these are friends of his. Warrior bats the snakes away. Jake says the snakes won't hurt Warrior. Jake says to reach in the coffin and find out what The Undertaker is made of. Jake says Warrior was buried in dirt and a casket and tells him to go to the center of the room.

Warrior touches a mini coffin with a snake on it. Jake says, "it's there". Warrior opens it up and Lucifer is inside. Lucifer stands up and supposedly bites him. Jake says that's not what you expected and not what the doctor ordered. Jake says Warrior is a little sick now and says the venom is part of it. Warrior wants out. Jake says it's not over yet. Jake tells Warrior there's nothing left to give him. Jake tells him to drop like the common man he is. Warrior then starts to drop down. Jake says this is what happens to all good men.

Jake then talks to the camera. He says he should come and see how the devil's work is done. Warrior then bursts through the door. Jake says Warrior is fighting to survive. Warrior then grabs boots and it's The Undertaker with Paul Bearer. Jake tells Warrior, "I'm a snake, never trust a snake". Warrior is then out cold and the segment ends.

Thoughts: Well that was quite the segment. I thought it was a great. This turned Jake heel after his long face run. This helped build a Warrior vs Taker and a Warrior vs Jake program. 

Vince says Warrior was given anti-toxin in the ER and is now back on his feet.

We get a commercial for Summerslam.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs The Barbarian

Heenan says Warrior is done and says you can't trust Jake. Heenan says the surgeon general should put a label on Jake, letting people know he's dangerous for your health.  Bret gives a fan his sunglasses.

Bret side headlocks Barb and Barb shoulders him over. Barb then shoulders him over again and sends him out with it. Heenan says Hart can't think. Hart works Barb's arm and armdrags him. Hat armdrags him. Hart hits punches and then hits dropkicks. Barb goes out.

Hart jumps off the apron onto him, gets caught and is rammed into the apron. Barb swings Hart's back into the post. Barb foot chokes Hart then sends him into the buckles chest first. Barb backbreakers Hart. Coach is outside with a clipboard. 

Hart goes for a hiptoss and is lariated over hard. Barb suplexes Hart. Barb goes for the pin, Vince says it's a 3 but the ref says it's 2. Barb sends Hart into the corner then bearhugs him. Hart bites Barb to escape which is pretty poor sportsmanship.

Barb stomps on Hart. Hart boots him out of the corner then 2nd rope diving lariats him. Hart hits an atomic drop then shots to the gut and head. Hart hits corner punches on Barb. Hart russian legsweeps Barb for 2. Hart backbreakers Barb then hits a 2nd rope elbow drop.

Barb facekicks Bret and Bret is kicked down to the floor. Barb tries to powerslam Hart in and Hart cradles him to win.

Thoughts: It was a long, slow and kind of boring at times. The work was okay though. Barb hit some nice stiff shots on Bret. I didn't like Bret's facework here as he bit Barb to get out of a hold for no reason. 

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Sid Justice on the platform. Sid says he can't control everything that goes on outside the ring at Summerslam but he can control everything that happens inside the ring. Gene says the match could side either way depending on which team he sides with. Gene asks him how he could be impartial.

Sid says Gene doesn't know him or what he stands for. Sid says he stands alone. He promises justice will be served at Summerslam.

Sgt. Slaughter General Adnan and Col. Mustafa do a promo. Sarge says it's him and Hulk 1v1 before Summerslam. He says there's many battles in a war and says he will take the title before Summerslam. He says Warrior won't be Ultimate and may not even be at Summerslam. He says it could be Hulk vs Sarge's Core of Destruction. Sarge says "Slaughter Rules" and says that's an order.

Irwin R. Schyster vs Mark Thomas

IRS says the government is in trouble and it's time people pay their taxes. Heenan says IRS saved him money last year. Heenan asks if Vince has a good accountant and asks when he's due out of jail.

IRS drops Mark with a punch then slams him. IRS hits elbow drops then flying lariats him. IRS does an abdominal stretch and rubs Mark's face into the mat. IRS samoan drops him and picks up the win as Vince make's fun of IRS' name.

Thoughts: It was all squash here with Mark getting nothing in before being beaten.

IRS elbow drops him after.

We see clips from Macho Man's bachelor party from Prime Time Wrestling. There's a female indian style dancer dancing Macho. Slick's dancing and Jamison' getting down. Piper feints as a stripper dances. The Bushwhackers get hold of a giant cake. Heenan goes to check it out, thinking a girl is inside. A fat lady is in it, thinks it's Vince and puts the moves on Heenan. She then lifts him on her shoulders and we cut away. Heenan calls it the worst party he was ever at.

The British Bulldog, The Dragon & The Texas Tornado vs. The Orient Express (Kato, Tanaka and Sato)

Hey, Sato's back. We hadn't seen him since Kato debuted. Vince calls Fuji "The Avocado King" and "Chopstick Charlie".

Ricky and Tanaka start us off. Ricky side headlocks him and shoulders him over. Tanaka tries to send him over the top but Ricky skins the cat. Tanaka takes a high back body drop, a double chop and an armdrag. Davey shoulders Tanaka over then lariats him. Kato trips Davey from the outside and Davey takes a kick in the back.

Davey dropkicks Kato. Kerry works Kato's arm. Heenan says the heels names sound like an oriental law-firm. Vince says it sounds like a soy sauce. Kerry hits punches on Sato. Kerry gets a knee to the back from the apron. Heenan says Kerry's the only guy he knows who can hide his own easter eggs. Kato chops and eye rakes Ricky. Heenan calls the heels, "The Oreo Express". 

Ricky takes a flying forearm from Tanaka then going for a piledriver on Kato. Fuji hits Ricky with his cane. Kato falling chops Ricky. Ricky is then triple teamed in the corner. Sato side kicks Ricky and chops his throat. Ricky takes a double chop.

Kato goes up and over Ricky then superkicks him. Ricky is double face raked on the ropes. Tanaka back body drops Ricky. Kato hits chops on Ricky then camel clutches him. Ricky gets triple teamed. Tanaka elbows Ricky in the gut and superkicks him. Ricky is bridged on the ropes and Tanaka butt drops his back there. Tanaka superkicks Ricky for 2.

Ricky neckbreakers Tanaka. Kato chinlocks Ricky. Ricky leapfrogs Kato then superkicks him. Davey is tagged in. Davey back body drops Kato then gorilla presses Sato and Tanaka. Kato tries an up and over but is caught with a running powerslam. Davey powerslams Kato. Ricky top rope crossbodies Kato and picks up the win.

Thoughts: It was a good tag here with the heels being heels and Ricky doing the majority of the selling for the team. We didn't see much of Kerry in this one. Tanaka bumped around like a mad man as usual. I would have liked to have seen Sato get more offense in though. Heenan was really funny on commentary.

Heenan and Vince talk about the Summerslam main event. Heenan says Warrior's mind is "mashed potatoes" and totally gone. Heenan says the main event will be something and salutes as Sarge's music hits. Heenan then pulls out the NWA Title. He says Ric Flair is the real world's champ and says he will give the winner of this a title shot. 

WWF Title - Hulk Hogan (c) vs Sgt. Slaughter

Adnan and Mustafa are at ringside. They lock up and Sarge is pushed in the corner. Sarge hits punches on Hulk then chest clubs him. Sarge takes a back body drop then Hulk hits a lariat. Hulk bangs Sarge's head off the post and hits mounted punches inside.

Sarge rakes Hulk in the eyes and on the back. Sarge knocks Hulk out of the ring with a punch. Adnan nails Hulk outside. Mustafa bangs Hulk's head off the apron. Sarge hits punches on Hulk then bites his head. Sarge drops Hulk with punches. We go to break and return.

Sarge chokes Hulk on the top rope then hits Hulk in the back with a chair. Sarge hits a top rope knee drop on Hulk's back for 2. Hulk is busted open and starts to hulk up after taking punches. Hulk points at him and hits punches. Hulk then hits the big boot. Adnan throws powder into Hulk's eyes. 

Mustafa gets in the ring and stomps on Hulk for the DQ. Adnan and Sarge join in. The ref is thrown over the top. Hulk is then put in a camel clutch and slapped with Adnan's hat. Sid Justice comes out and jumps to the apron. Sid backs up the heels. Hulk grabs the chair and the heels run. Sid takes the chair from Hulk.

Thoughts: The match wasn't much. I was surprised to see Hulk bleed. Sarge did basic stuff and Hulk made his comeback.

Hulk and Sid argue over the chair then Sid leaves.

We see clips of Earthquake injuring Andre the Giant.

The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) vs. Ray Garcia & Russ Greenberg

Typhoon clubs Ray then lariats him. Typhoon hits an elbow drop then does a standing dropkick. Quake back elbows Ray then elbow drops him. Quake corner splashes Ray then Typhoon does as well. Quake clubs on Russ and Russ takes a double body block. Russ is thrown over the top.

Ray is slammed then splashed by Typhoon. Quake then butt drops Ray and pins him.

Thoughts: It was all squash as expected here with the jobbers getting nothing in before their demise. As usual, The Disasters looked good with lots of weight based offense.

The Barber Shop

Brutus Beefcake welcomes us to the show. Sensational Sherri is this week's guest. She is asked what her gift for Macho and Liz is for their wedding. She says she wants to deliver it to them right now. She says she'd like to slap Macho and puke all over Liz. Brutus says that's a little extreme and Sherri says it's not. Sherri says the overrated and over the hill Macho lost at Wrestlemania VII then proposed to Miss Elizabeth. Sherri says the wedding is a mistake.

Brutus says Sherri is bitter and says it will be a happy ending for Macho and Liz. Sherri says Liz and Macho won't be the match made in heaven but the match made in hell if she has anything to do with it. Brutus says he arraigned Sherri's transportation to the wedding and hands her a broom. Sheri swings it at him and knocks some stuff over with it. 

Summerslam Report

Mean Gene talks about the Summerslam main event. He says Hulk and Warrior are unavailable for comment. We hear from Sgt. Slaughter's team. Sarge says Hulk got bit. Sarge asks what will Hulk do when his partner is laying around wishing he's not there. Sarge says he wants Sid to let them do things their way. Sarge says his trio will destroy Hulkamania once and for all.

Gene runs down the rest of the card. Ted Dibiase and Sherri do a promo. They say the buck stops here. Ted says Virgil may show up in a limo but he leaves in a yellow cab. Virgil says he will ride the train down to Summerslam and will tip the limo driver so nicely that he will go down to Broadway and Ted/Sherri will pay the tab.

The Mountie and Jimmy Hart do a promo. Mountie says Boss' running days are coming to an end and his hard time serving days are coming to a beginning. He says he will put him in jail. The Big Boss Man does a promo. He says it'll make him feel good to make Mountie feel real bad as he's going to jail. 

Ted Dibiase comes out with a masked wrestler who is wearing The Black Knight's mask (he was a jobber who was on Superstars a few times this year). Ted says he knows Virgil can hear him. He says everyone knows Virgil's dream in life is to beat him and Summerslam and take the Million Dollar Belt. He says he paid this wrestler a lot of money to break Virgil in half. He says Virgil should be confident to face Ted's man.

Virgil vs Ted Dibiase's Masked Wrestler

They lock up and Virgil is pushed down. The masked guy hits shots on a downed Virgil then chokes him. Virgil's eye is raked on the ropes. Virgil hits punches then hiptosses him. The masked guy waistlock takedowns him and Vince wonders who the masked guy is. Virg goes up and over and rolls up the masked guy for 2. Virg hits some punches and wristlocks him.

Virg shoulders the masked guy over then takes a stun gun. Virg is dropped throat first on the top rope. The masked guy stomps Virg then puts Virg in a sleeper. Virg hits a punch.

Virg lariats the masked guy. Heenan says "Murray" is the masked guy's name. Virhg puts the million dollar dream on the masked guy. Ted Dibiase trips Virg from the outside and Virg is lariated hard over the top. Ted gets a cheapshot in on Virg then the masked guy suplexes Virg in. The masked guy suplexes Virg. He does a splash but Virg gets his knees up. Virg then pins the masked guy.

Thoughts: They say Smash was under the hood here. The masked guy got a bunch of offense in and was not treated like a jobber. It was average though. Virg took a nice lariat over the top to the floor.

The Mountie takes us on a tour of the jail cell Boss Man will be in. He says Boss will be kicking and begging for mercy. He says they will take a photo of Boss then Mountie poses for photos. Mountie says the real fun will be when Boss gets fingerprinted. Mountie fingerprints someone and says it'll be another black stain in Boss' life. Mountie says there's only room for one law enforcement officer in the WWF. Mountie slams the door and says Boss will serve hard time.

The Big Boss Man says it's good Mountie is checking out the jail as he will get a second chance at Summerslam. He says he will take his last breath as a free man and will serve hard time.  

Bobby and Vince close the show. Heenan says someone will raise their hand when they ask if anyone objects to Macho and Liz's wedding. They talk about the Summerslam card.

Overall thoughts: They gave away a much better card than we usually get each week. I was surprised we got a WWF Title match but wasn't surprised it ended in shenanigans. I liked this one. The work was good in the various matches. Hawk/Knobbs was fine and the trios match was good. Hart/Barbarian was a little slow. The WWF Title match wasn't much. The show wasn't great but it was a nice way to hype up Summerslam some. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 overall.