WWE SUMMERSLAM FLASHBACK PPV REPORT
AUGUST 27, 1995
PITTSBURGH, PA.
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR

-- ALSO SEE: Interesting facts, stats, current WWE, TNA wrestlers from Summerslam 1995.

-- TORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP: You can access this PPV report and hundreds of other WWE, WCW, TNA, and ECW PPV Reports from the last 20+ years of the Torch's coverage of major wrestling events. You can also read insider news surrounding each PPV event in our PWTorch Newsletter Archives. VIP Membership info.

A well produced video package previewed the main matches on the card. After introductions by Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler, Shane Douglas was shown in another room. He said he was conducting "summer school" during SummerSlam and would be rating matches during the event. The Spanish feed played over the English version during the first five minutes of the show.

(1) Hakushi pinned 1-2-3 Kid at 9:15. Exactly the type of match pay-per-views should open with. Hot action throughout, but not so good that it made the rest of the card seem like a letdown. They exchanged clean highspots early in the card, but Hakushi chopped Kid in the throat at 2:00. At 3:51 Hakushi hit a handspring elbow and got an ovation for the move. McMahon said there were some cheers, but mostly boos in the upper section. A ‘"1-2-3" chant then followed as Hakushi wrestled as a heel by choking Kid with his boot. The match slowed a bit until 6:00 when Hakushi splashed Kid in the corner. Kid tried to start a comeback, but Hakushi missed the psychology of the moment and went for a snap mare instead, which Kid obviously wasn't cooperating with. Hakushi kicked Kid out of the ring and hit him with a handspring moonsault press to the floor. Hakushi hit Kid with a top rope bodypress for a two count. Kid got a big pop when he kicked out. Hakushi then missed a top rope splash at 7:53. Kid then made his comeback and hit Hakushi with a diving bodyblock to the floor off the second rope inside the ring. He followed with a slingshot legdrop for a near fall. Kid hit a top rope sorta frog splash for a two count. Hakushi caught a flying wheel kick by Kid and turned it into a back suplex for a three count. Mixes of cheers and boos followed. Kid did a good job carrying Hakushi through the match and to his credit sold most of the match even though he was doing the job. (***1/4)

Dok Hendrix interviewed Mabel who got the "fool me once, shame on..." saying backwards.

(2) Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Bob Holly at 6:36. Holly took a turnbuckle in the corner really hard early in the match which you see more in the WWF than just about anywhere. Hunter dominated offense. Holly surprised Hunter with a DDT followed by exchanges on the mat. Holly hit a forward atomic drop and hit a dropkick, but in the end Hunter put Holly away with the pedigree. Nothing special, but a good match, minus the hot highspots of the previous bout. During the match they showed footage of British Bulldog arriving at the arena. Lawler said it was part of a master plan. (**1/4)

They plugged America On-Line showing 1-2-3 Kid being interviewed on line. Footage then aired of the WWF Superstars vs. Pittsburgh Fire Fighters benefit event. The WWF wrestlers won the tug of war.

(3) The Smoking Gunns beat Jacob & Eli Blu (mgd. by Uncle Zebikiah) at 6:05. After some nice double teaming moves by the Gunns, the Blus took over offense in the middle of the bout. The near falls on Billy Gunn were almost too close to three. Bart got the hot tag at 5:30 and 30 seconds later they scored the pin with the guillotine legdrop. A solid mid-card tag match. Because there wasn't a major issue at stake, it was good that it was kept short. (**)

(4) Barry Horowitz pinned Body Donna Skip (w/Sunny) at 11:20. Horowitz ran to the ring and immediately went to work on Skip with a kneedrop, jack breaker, and punch. Skip begged off, but Horowitz continued including a legdrag takedown. Skip then clotheslined Skip over the top rope. Skip gained advantage with a kick to the gut at 1:06. At 1:51 Horowitz suplexed Skip over the top rope. Sunny threw the towel in to stop the match a la Tyson-McNeeley, but the referee wouldn't honor the gesture. Skip then took control with solid, but not spectacular offense until 8:15 when they both threw simultaneous dropkicks. Skip got crotched on the top rope, but elbowed Horowitz as he went for a suplex. Skip then barely hit a top rope splash. At the count of two, Skip lifted Horowitz's shoulders. Skip then went for a piledriver, but Horowitz backdropped out of it. Skip, though, hit a top rope suplex. Hakushi then came to ringside. Hakushi leaped over Skip and Horowitz and Horowitz small packaged Skip for the pinfall. After the match, Horowitz celebrated as Barry Didinsky plugged Horowitz's t-shirts. (***)

Dean Douglas then gave the referee in the previous match an "F" and Horowitz an "S" for "slacker." He turned up his style closer to his ECW level of intensity and charisma. Michaels said he wanted to correct the record books listing him as the losing half of a historic match.

Tod Pettengill interviewed Shawn Michaels. Michaels said only he and Razor Ramon can do a ladder match. He said, "I've got nothing in my life, nothing but the Intercontinental Title."

(5) Bertha Faye (mgd. by Harvey Wippleman) pinned Alundra Blayze at 4:27. This was kept short and actually wasn't that bad while it lasted. It was on a different planet compared to the Japanese women on WCW's North Korean pay-per-view, but the timing was okay and there were few missed moves and the action was non-stop. Bertha scored the pin with a tigerdriver after Blayze missed a top rope dropkick. This could have been a lot worse and Alundra worked very hard to make it as respectable as it could be with Bertha's comedy elements involved. Jim Ross interviewed Bertha and Harvey after the match. (*)

(6) Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at 16:10. Undertaker opened with aggressive offense. At 1:40 he walked the ropes. At 2:06 Undertaker threw Kama into the coffin for the first time. Kama took over offense with a top rope clothesline at 2:40, but Undertaker rose. At 3:40 Kama threw Undertaker into the coffin. At 7:00 they battled outside the ring around the stairs and ringpost. Kama applied a three minute side head lock, three lost minutes that would have come in very handy in the main event. After battling in and out of the casket, Undertaker tombstoned Kama at 15:53 and then locked him in the casket. The match seemed long just for the sake of being long rather than displaying athleticism of getting over a storyline. (*3/4)

The music video prepared for Fox aired. It was as well produced as anticipated. Great effects and a major league look. The song is an obvious takeoff on the Monday Night Football theme.

(7) Bret Hart beat Isaac Yankem via DQ when Jerry Lawler interfered at 15:58 Another relatively long match given Yankem's participation. Yankem came to the ring to sounds of drilling teeth. After some average, but nonstop action early, Yankem took over offense for five minutes. Bret began hints of a comeback at 9:45. At 10:25 he dove through the ropes in a hot move tackling Yankem and throwing a barrage of punches. A minute later he scored a near fall with a Russian leg sweep. Lawler, who provided the personality for this match, left his broadcast position to cheer on Yankem. Bret tied Yankem to the ringpost and went after Lawler. Yankem surprised Bret with a bodyblock off the top rope to the floor. The DQ came when Lawler and Yankem twisted Bret's neck between the top and second ropes. An entertaining match, although Yankem didn't show a lot of ring personality, but certainly showed he's a better worker than Sid after just one match. Bret was given medical attention after the match. (**1/2)

(8) Shawn Michaels defeated Razor Ramon in a ladder match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title at 24:35. The opening five minutes of this ladder match were better than the first. The highspots were just as spectacular, sometimes taken to the next level. There were a few moves that were left off probably because the two learned the first time they hurt more than it was worth. The psychology of two babyfaces didn't take away from the match. The execution of the match didn't have moves that seemed as contrived as a couple did in the first. The fan heat was as good, if not better. After watching both matches back-to-back twice, no doubt this match deserves to be considered at least in the same category as their first. (*****)

After the match, Dean Douglas graded the match, and said that Razor Ramon didn't reach an acceptable performance level. Ramon then entered the room and confronted Douglas. He called Douglas an "armchair quarterback" who is all fluff. When Ramon said, "Let's get it on," Douglas backed off and said, "This is a classroom and we don't need any violence here." (perhaps the line of the night.) Ramon said, "Just as I thought, all fluff and no stuff." As Ramon was about to walk away, Douglas took a swing at him. Ramon blocked it and knocked Douglas to the floor. Douglas raked his nails across the board as Ramon left the room. The criticism of the ladder match provided a great segue into the Douglas-Ramon feud. (The Michaels-Douglas feud comes later.)

(9) Diesel pinned Mabel to retain the WWF Title at 9:20. Diesel went on offense early. He went for a bodyslam at 2:00. After a collision, clothesline, and shoulder block from behind, Mabel fled to ringside. Diesel then hit Mabel with a tope at ringside. Mabel reversed Diesel into the ringpost. Mabel charged and hit Diesel with a boot to the face. Mabel went on offense and plopped onto Diesel with a sit-splash. At 6:05, the ref was bumped by Mabel when he turned to get Mo off the ring apron. With the ref down, Mo joined Mabel in beating Diesel. Lex Luger ran to the ring to make the save. Diesel, as he made a comeback, slugged Mo, Mabel, and Luger, not knowing (because of the Bulldog situation) whether Luger was friend or foe. Diesel clotheslined Mo over the top rope. Luger fought with Mo back to the locker room, apparently confirming Luger was indeed on Diesel's side. Mabel legdropped Diesel at ringside. At 8:06, Mabel scored a slow near fall. Mabel then missed a second rope splash as Diesel hit a clothesline off the second rope and scored a clean three count. I liked this match more than most. I thought Mabel put in a good showing and the match psychology, while a bit rushed at the end, didn't have any gaps. Both guys obviously worked hard to overcome some of the shadow of the ladder match. (**)

Before SummerSlam went off the air, Gorilla Monsoon announced that at In Your House 3, Owen Hart & Yokozuna would defend the WWF Tag Titles against Diesel & Shawn Michaels. When Jim Cornette protested that those guys already have belts, Monsoon announced that Diesel & Michaels would also be putting their respective belts on the line, so whoever was pinned would lose their respective belt to the person scoring the pin.

A well-produced music video showed highlights of the entire card. The video again showed extra effort on the WWF's part to put together a complete package of an event.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE FLASHBACK: Kane character debuts 18 yrs. ago today in first-ever Hell in a Cell match - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

HIAC FLASHBACK: Kane beats Undertaker in HIAC match 5 yrs. ago today, plus Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for WWE Title

ROH FLASHBACK: The aftermath of Joe vs. Kobashi 10 years ago today