It's been a constant debate for me, ever since I began this grand journey to chronicle every WWE pay-per-view ever broadcast as to whether or not I would keep up the reviews I wrote in the first few months of 2020. Those reviews were far below the standard of what I can write now, but they are a part of my blog's history, and I wasn't sure if they should vanish permanently. However, I've since come to the decision that it would be easier to re-review the shows I've covered before, so those have been tacked on to what I'm already covering.
SummerSlam 1992 is certainly a classic in the WWE's history, as the Bret Hart/British Bulldog main event still holds fond memories for many fans of the period, and maintains its reputation as one of the greatest SummerSlam matches ever. The top program also offers a curiosity as WWE's first foray into Hart Family drama, which come to consume large amounts of Bret's feuds and matches in the years to come. But by far the biggest draw for SummerSlam as a hot spot in the WWE's lineage isn't the crowd, or the two title matches, but the fact that it was the first pay-per-view in company history to not feature a single scrap of Hulk Hogan. With the steroid trial looming, Hogan was on an indefinite hiatus, and Vince following up his exit by booking one of the largest venues possible for an event, and going full speed ahead with nary a mention of Hogan is honestly impressive. While the era beyond Hogan never truly got off the ground, SummerSlam offers a glimpse at what a successful, Hogan-less WWE could look like.
- SummerSlam 1992 comes to you from the original Wembley Stadium in London, England, about a decade before it would be demolished. Vince McMahon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan are on the call, and while Heenan is as sharp and quick-witted as ever, his familiar chemistry with Gorilla Monsoon couldn't be replicated by he and Vince on this night. That being said, this was still one of Vince's better performances on play-by-play, it must've been so easy to work with Heenan thanks to the endless supply of material he provided.
- Our opening contest is a tag team match between the Legion of Doom and Money Inc., as Hawk and Animal kick off the night in style by bludgeoning Ted DiBiase and IRS. This wasn't much of a match, just a few power spots for Animal to pop the crowd, plus a long heat segment where IRS and DiBiase worked over Hawk. Animal gets the win after clotheslining both heels, and spiking DiBiase with a snap powerslam after a messy finish that sees Hawk, high as a kite after spending a weekend roaming around with a local chapter of the Hell's Angels, wander aimlessly around the ring, unwilling to do much of anything. This is the final appearance for Hawk and Animal in the WWF for almost five years, as frustrations surrounding the unnecessary addition of the dummy Rocco led Hawk to leave the company following this show, and the legendary team would spend years apart before finally reuniting in WCW.
- Nailz, the ex-convict seeking justice on the Big Bossman, might be one of worst workers the WWE has ever brought in, which is really saying something when you consider their treasure trove of immobile big men. All the man has in his arsenal is a choke spot, which we see plenty of in this short match against Virgil, and the one-time Nailz tries to diversify his offense, he delivers a sloppy clothesline with minute impact. Props to Virgil for trying to get something decent out of this one, keeping the pace up with his athleticism, but nothing is going to make Nailz look presentable. Virgil gets choked out with a standing sleeper hold.
- I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sensational Sherri was an unsung hero of this era, launching herself into the material she was given with gusto, and being willing to take bumps that few female valets would. Sherri just about holds together the Shawn Michaels/Rick Martel match on this show, as she fawns over both men and realistically faints when it looks like both are about to take a swing, which she had told them both not to. The action in the ring was unimpressive, as both men took the night off and didn't do much to entertain the crowd other than showing off their posteriors, and the whole segment drags on way too long as the men fight over who gets to carry Sherri to the back. Sherri is revealed to be faking unconsciousness for attention, but that plan backfires when Martel splashes her with water, leaving her to screech in the aisle. Sherri was fun in her role, but the match was another snoozer.
- The Beverly Brothers aren't about to deliver the quality match that this card so desperately needs, although the crowd did come back to life to see the preppy siblings get tossed around by Earthquake in this tag affair. Quake's hot tag was electric, delivering a hip toss and a belly-to-belly suplex, before bulldozing Beau on the run and pinning Blake with an Earthquake Splash, defending the WWF tag titles for the Natural Disasters in the process.
- It's hard to believe that Brian Adams (in the role of Crush) and Barry Darsow (in the role of Repo Man) were both once members of Demolition, as these current gimmicks are about as far removed from their days spent as face painted enforcers as you could possibly get. Of course, due to the complete repackaging of these two characters, there's no way for Vince and Heenan to mention their shared history in any logical manner, but even without that added context, this was still the most entertaining clash on the undercard. Crush easily manhandles Repo, demolishing the smaller man with a Gorilla Press Slam and a belly-to-belly, before recovering from a whiffed diving knee drop and putting the scoundrel away with a Cranium Crunch. Crush had the aura of a future star at this time, and he was surprisingly over in front of the Wembley crowd, it's a shame he never developed the charisma and mic skills needed for a true main event run.
- The stakes take a considerable hike up with a WWF Championship clash between Randy Savage, the defending champion who took the gold at WrestleMania 8, and the Ultimate Warrior, who returned to the WWF at the end of that night. These two beloved babyfaces squaring off would be enough to electrify the crowd, but the intrigue has been made even higher by the chicanery of Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect, who have been buzzing around both men, with speculation that either Savage or Warrior will pay Perfect off to be in their corner for this match. Despite the involvement of Perfect being the story that Vince and Heenan had been hammering on all night leading into this match, both he and Flair are a no-show to start, as instead, the narrative focuses on the resourceful Savage attempting to pick apart the other-worldly Warrior. It's a different style than their WrestleMania 7 classic, but still extremely watchable without the finisher spam. Savage puts Warrior over strong, growing more beaten and disheveled with each passing minute, even getting to the point where all the damage he's sustained makes it impossible to pull off a simple suplex, a brilliant piece of selling. With Savage clearly on the back foot, all hope for a retention appears to be lost, as Flair and Perfect finally emerge from backstage, with Perfect siding with the challenger by tripping Savage. Despite this unfair advantage, the crowd is still firmly behind Warrior, and they're not happy to see Savage make a comeback, driving Warrior into Earl Hebner, before spiking Warrior with a big piledriver. Flair and Perfect then turn this championship match into something of a mess, with the former brandishing a set of brass knuckles, smacking Warrior upside the dome despite the fact that it seemed as if they were on his side. This was the result of Warrior's refusal to turn heel, leaving Vince to compensate for the lack of any heel turn by just having both champion and challenger be attacked, which was the definite wrong choice to make, as it resulted in way too much convoluted nonsense for what should've been a straight-up wrestling match. Both men recover well with a solid closing sequence, as Warrior kicks out of the elbow drop and fires up, energizing the crowd, and Savage, the noble babyface, going after Flair despite an opportunity to pin Warrior after a Flair chair shot. Savage gets his knee taken apart by Flair and Perfect, and Warrior runs them, giving us a new, very popular, babyface alliance. There may have been too many twists and turns near the end, but the bulk of this match was everything it needed to be, as Savage once again got a great match out of Warrior.
- The Undertaker's feud with Harvey Wippleman and Wippleman's wide array of plodding big men kicks off with a one-sided match between Undertaker and Kamala. Undertaker has it won after a chokeslam, which Kamala barely got any air for, and a flying clothesline, before Kim Chee, Kamala's "handler", jabs Undertaker with his plinth helmet for a measly DQ. Afterward, Undertaker no-sells several Kamala splashes to sit up, terrifying the Ugandan giant by stalking him to the back, though he never actually continues the fight, because there's still another pay-per-view match to book. By far the best part of all of this was Undertaker riding in on a black hearse for his entrance, that made for an awesome visual, especially when you can see the coffin in the vehicle.
- Main event time, as Bret Hart defends the Intercontinental Championship against the British Bulldog, in a match that is entangled in family ties due to Diana Hart-Smith, the sister of Bret and wife of Bulldog, as she makes the first of many televised appearances in the WWF, being interviewed by Sean Mooney at ringside. Despite the soap opera-esque family feud storyline that had been told coming in, the two go for a fluid, technically sound match, filled with lots of holds and counters and not a ton of bad blood. It's wonderful when they properly get going, as both men are buttery smooth when it comes to trading offense, and their styles mesh brilliantly together, with the partisan British crowd firmly behind Davey Boy, popping huge for his ring-rattling power. Bret, like Savage earlier, is fully in charge of making this work, both in terms of his exceptional selling, and as a ring general, as Bret is calling the match on the fly with Davey Boy too wasted on crack to remember any of his spots. For the most part, I can say Bret covered for his brother-in-law flawlessly, though I will add that the pacing was slightly off as a result, slowing down for long periods as Bret gave Bulldog instructions. But even if the first half of the match took longer than I hoped to get going, the second half rachets up the tension in a way that few matches can, as Bret seems to galvanize Bulldog to reach his peak by refusing to let go of a sleeper hold, even when the challenger gets a rope break. The Wembley crowd was already solidly in Bulldog's corner before that spot, but afterward, they reach nuclear heat, desperate to see their countryman prevail. Bulldog makes his comeback, sending Bret sternum-first into the turnbuckle, a classic Bret bump, but a running powerslam and a ring-rattling superplex somehow can't put the champion away. From the mat, Bret reaches into his bag of tricks, and applies the Sharpshooter from the mat, a clever callback to SummerSlam 1991, the night Bret won the IC belt as his piece of singles gold, which is exactly what Bulldog is poised to do on this night. But this time, it's not enough, as Bulldog again claws his way to the ropes, rising to the occasion to be the hero this building so badly wants him to be. The iconic final sequence sees Bret attempt to win it with a Sunset Flip, only for Bulldog to hook both legs, gain leverage on Bret's shoulders, and accomplish the impossible. This was a thunderbolt of booking genius, getting the right victory for the right man at the right time, and creating an entire legacy for Bulldog in a single instant. The match might not be quite perfect, but Bret was outstanding, and the spectacle of the moment, of seeing Bulldog's career-defining triumph come together, makes this an essential watch for all fans.
7/10
SummerSlam 1992 is a deeply flawed show, featuring two of the best pay-per-view matches the WWE has ever broadcast, and also a dense pile of filler that couldn't be saved by the nuclear hot crowd. The final hour is iconic, but everything that came before it was a complete waste, so I simply can't bring myself to give it anything close to a perfect score. I'd still recommend giving it a try if you haven't already, if only for that main event.
- Henry
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