Product Details

• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: World Wrestling
• DVD Release Date: March 10, 2009
• Run Time: 960 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001MEJYBE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,990 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

WWE SUMMERSLAM:COMPLETE ANTHOLOGY V1 - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Feel The Heat" Of The First Five Years, January 14, 2009

By 

D.P. (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1 1988-1992 (DVD)

1988 - The very first event from Madison Square Garden & mostly came off as a 3 hour edition of Saturday Night's Main Event instead of how WrestleMania was later developed as most matches were just here with little to no buildup. Standout matches & moments feature the main event tag team match with Jesse Ventura as the referee between the Mega Powers (Hogan & Savage) vs. the Mega Bucks (Dibiase & Andre) that had an ending with Ms. Elizabeth that had every man in the arena distracted...including the wrestlers, the record setting Intercontinental Championship reign by the Honky Tonk Man ending in the blink of an eye by the Ultimate Warrior, and tag matches pitting the Hart Foundation vs. Demolition & British Bulldogs vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers.

1989 - "Feel The Heat" here as this edition of SummerSlam was headlined by the feud based off their movie 'No Holds Barred' with Hulk Hogan teaming with Brutus Beefcake vs. Zues & Randy Savage with Sensational Sherri. Other standout matches & highlights here include the only SummerSlam appearence of ex-4 Horsemen members Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard as the Brain Busters vs. Hart Foundation, Dusty Rhodes vs. Honky Tonk Man, Rick Martel & Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Tito Santana & Rockers, Jim Duggan transforming into "King Demolition" for one night to team with Demolition against one of the largest teams ever in Andre The Giant & Twin Towers (Big Boss Man & Akeem), and one of the most underrated performances from Ultimate Warrior in his WrestleMania V rematch against Intercontinental Champion Rick Rude.

1990 - "The Heat Returns" as this SummerSlam was the first one where most of the matches throughout the card started having the storyline buildup & purpose behind them. One main event was based around the return of Hulk Hogan, from being injured throughout the spring/summer, against the man who put him out of action in Earthquake. The other saw the final WWE inring PPV appearence of Rick Rude against his arch-rival Ultimate Warrior inside a steel cage but this time, it was for the WWE Championship. Other matches & highlights include the Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect vs. 'Texas Tornado' Kerry Von Erich, a classic 2 out of 3 falls match between Hart Foundation vs. Demolition for the tag team championship, Ted Dibiase showing that "everyone has a price" to Dusty Rhodes, and Big Boss Man pulling double duty as Hogan's cornerman and the referee between the Jake Roberts vs. Bad News Brown match.

1991 - SummerSlam returned back to MSG & to me, this to me was the first SummerSlam that I concider the entire event a classic instead of it just being a PPV that had some classic matches. It was a "Match Made In Heaven" as WWE had the moment that people were waiting for years on in the wedding of Randy Savage & Ms. Elizabeth and unlike how WWE weddings are in this day & age where it's a mockery & complete joke, this was very classy & real emotional for long time fans of not just the couple but WWE itself. The main event here was "A Match Made In Hell" between Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter's "Triangle Of Terror" with Sid Justice (Sid Vicious/Sycho Sid) debuting as the referee in a match which is probably remembered more for it being Ultimate Warrior's last appearence in WWE for months & what happened behind the scenes that caused it to be Warrior's last match. This event also included the classic match that many say was the "Steamboat/Savage" of the 90's that inspired a new generation of wrestlers & style in the WWE as Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect took on Bret Hart. Other matches include Legion Of Doom becoming to first team to win all the major tag team championships (NWA/AWA/WWE) in a street fight against Nasty Boys, Virgil vs. Ted Dibiase in a match for the Million $ Championship, Big Boss Man vs. Mountie in a match were the loser had to spend the night in a New York City jail...complete with comedic footage throughout the night at the jail, Andre The Giant's last PPV appearence in the corner of the Bushwackers vs. Natural Disasters, and British Bulldog & Ricky Steamboat & Texas Tornado vs. Warlord and Power & Glory.
Side note: Again, I didn't see the DVD version, only the VHS so I don't know if they included the aftermath at the wedding reception involving Sid, Jake Roberts, and Undertaker.

1992 - This was not only the most unique SummerSlam...but the most unique WWE PPV ever as it had a series of events/setups/situations that you never saw before & will never see again. This was the first & only WWE PPV broadcasted from Europe (not including the U.K. only PPV's) that included the second largest crowd in WWE history and featured a double main event that featured all babyfaces & no heels. The main event that closed the show was not for the WWE Championship but the Intercontinental Championship as the hometown hero in British Bulldog faced off against the champion Bret Hart in a match that's concidered one of the greatest in SummerSlam history with a real life storyline in that Bret's sister Diana was Bulldog's wife. The other main event featured WWE Champion Randy Savage in a rematch from WrestleMania VII against Ultimate Warrior with the wild card here being that Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect claiming that one of the wrestlers bought their services. Other highlights include the last WWE appearence for 5 years of Legion Of Doom vs. Money Inc. with a memorable entrance riding their Harley Davidsons to the ring, a heel vs. heel match in Shawn Michaels vs. Rick Martel in a match were Sensational Sherri made the stipulation that neither man can hit each other in the face, and strickly for historical purposes only but former Demolition members fought each other in Crush vs. Repo Man (Smash).

These sets of SummerSlams started off strong as they got better each year before the '92 edition dragged them down a step but quite frankly, this is one volume that's worth your money as there was only one classic "SummerSlam" in the '91 edition while the others included classic matches & moments that stand the test of time. I recommend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Early Years Of SummerSlam!, February 16, 2010

By 

Ervin Griffin (Bluefield, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1 1988-1992 (DVD)

Since its inception in 1988, SummerSlam has become one of the premier events on the WWE calendar behind The Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and (of course) WrestleMania. For this review, because they were WWF for many of these events in this set, I will refer to the titles with the WWF tag line. Only SS events when they became WWE will I call them such.

Anyway, let's get to it. I will do it by volumes and I hope you people reading this don't mind if I throw some brief history tibits in too:

SUMMERSLAM, VOL. 1:

SummerSlam 1988

The Rougeau Brothers Vs. The British Bulldogs - In the first match ever at SummerSlam, Jacque and Raymond Rougeau took on former WWF Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs. They were comprised of The Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington) and the late Davey Boy Smith (who would later use the Bulldog name as a singles wrestler). While not one of the best tag team contests out there, it was a good opener with good tags, good action and dirty tactics on the part of both teams. Ends in a draw when Jacque distracted the referee as TDK had Raymond pinned after a diving headbutt from a military press from Davey Boy Smith!

Bad News Brown (RIP) Vs. Ken Patera - BNB was on a bit of a hot streak at this point as he took on former weightlifting Olympian and former I-C champion Ken Patera. The match was slow and methotical but kept short. Ends when BNB hits his "ghetto blaster" (enziguri) kick on Patera for the pin.

"Ravishing" Rick Rude (RIP) Vs. The Junkyard Dog (RIP) - In his only SummerSlam appearance, the JYD took on "The Ravishing One" in a surprisingly fast paced contest! Not a great one but not bad. Ends when Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who was in a big feud with Rude at the time, jumps Rick from behind after Rude reveals tights with Roberts' then-wife Cheryl on the front and back of them! PRICELESS AND BRILLIANT! I actually laughed at this and caught the psychology. I mean, think about it, how would you like for some jerk to walk around with tights with a likeness of your girlfriend or wife on his ass and crotch!? I'd be fired up too! LOL!

Anyway, Rude won by DQ on this occassion. As stated earlier, this would be the only appearance of JYD at this event. JYD tragically died in a car accident in 1998 after attending his own daughter's high school graduation (that's messed up!)! He would be honored as a HOF member by that same daughter in 2004.

The Bolsheviks (Nikoli Volkoff/Boris Zuckoff) Vs. The Powers Of Pain (The Barbarian/The Warlord) - Pretty much a squash! POP, except for a few moments off of mistakes, had their way with the two russians. Ends with a powerslam from The Warlord followed by a flying headbutt from The Barbarian.

The Honky Tonk Man Vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - Originally, it was scheduled to be Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake against HTM but thanks to "Outlaw" Ron Bass (another name from the past), that wasn't to be as he attacked Beefcake a few days earlier and, in a move that pre-dates the Attitude era, cuts open Brutus with his spurs! Depsite the BIG CENSORED X that was up, you can see blood flowing from the face of Beefcake.

Back to this, this one was one of the biggest squashes ever as HTM said "he'd wrestle anybody, I don't care who it is!" That proved to be a mistake as UW came storming out and destroyed HTM for one of the quickest title wins ever (around 28-31 seconds)! While I will agree that UW wasn't the best wrestler, he did prove that he had the "it" factor as the crowd was going nuts!

Don Muraco Vs. Dino Bravo (RIP) - Not much more than a filler between these two. Ends when Bravo manuvears himself out of a "tombstone" piledriver attempt by Muraco and turns it into his side-slam (called a side suplex in those days) for the pin.

The Hart Foundation Vs. Demolition w/Mr. Fuji and Jimmy Hart (WWF World Tag Team Title Match) - The legendary team of Bret "Hitman" Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart took on then-champions Demolition with not only their manager Mr. Fuji in their corner but also the Harts' former manager Jimmy Hart! Taking all of that out, it was still a pretty good contest though these teams would go on to have a "lost classic" later at SummerSlam '90.

Ends when Bret was attempting a piledriver (his solo finisher in those days along with the flying clothesline) on Smash (Barry Darsow) when Ax hits Hart with Jimmy Hart's megaphone! Demos get the win and retain the titles.

The Big Boss Man (RIP) Vs. Koko B. Ware - The future Hall Of Famer Koko B. Ware (I am still trying figure out that one) took on legendary journeyman Ray Traylor, who was The Big Bossman at this point. Match was mostly dominated by BBM but Koko had his moments, particularly a stiff top rope dropkick on BBM's jaw! Ouch!

Ends when BBM hits his legendary sidewalk slam for the win.

Hercules (RIP) Vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Surprisingly good contest. While he had to be led a bit, Herc actually was a good power wrestler and gave Jake a good run. Like most at that time, however, he fell to the DDT after controling a good portion of the bout. Roberts takes the win!

The Megapowers (Hulk Hogan/Randy "Macho Man" Savage) w/Ms. Elizabeth (RIP) Vs. The Megabucks ("Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase/Andre The Giant (RIP)) w/Bobby Heenen & Virgil - This was the main event of this card. Personally, I've seen better tag bouts BUT it had its good points. Most memorable parts was 1. Jesse "The Body" Ventura was the special referee and 2. Ms. Elizabeth taking off her skirt with nothing but bikini bottoms on! That definitely pre-dated some of the things that went on in the Attitude era!

Ends when Ms. Liz, after the distraction, gave Savage and Hogan the time they needed to rebound. After neutralizing Andre, Heenen and Virgil, Hogan and Savage finished off DiBiase with their respective finishers (Savage's flying elbow/Hogan's legdrop) for the pin! This would also be the beginning of the buildup between Savage and Hogan as you do notice some brief arguing after the bout.

Overall, not a bad card but the best was yet to come. Still, you had to start somewhere! Not really a MUST SEE bout in this one but still a good card to view.

SummerSlam 1989

The Hart Foundation Vs. The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson) w/Bobby Heenan - For the second year in a row, the Harts take on the champions. This time, it is two of the Four Horsemen in Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard! This match is a "lost classic" and looked more like it should've been at Jim Crockett's Great American Bash or Starrcade rather than SummerSlam! LOL!

Anyway, after several minutes of good action, it ends when Arn nails Bret from the second rope as he was trying to pin Tully. Arn switched places and hid his face from the referee for the pin and the win. This was a non-title match BUT you wouldn't have known it by the way these two teams fought!

Dusty Rhodes Vs. The Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart - A filler but it was an entertaining match. Ends when Rhodes drops his "Bionic" elbow after Jimmy Hart accidentally hit HTM with his own guitar!

"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (RIP) Vs. Red Rooster (Terry Taylor) - What could've been a great match ended early when Taylor injured himself off of a mis-timed leapfrog early in the bout. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig ended the match quickly with his "perfectplex" for the win.

The Rockers & Tito Santana Vs. The Rougeau Brothers & "The Model" Rick Martel w/Slick and Jimmy Hart - This six man was a heated and wild affair! It was also the first appearance of Shawn Michaels at a SummerSlam event! These teams went at it and it ends when Martel pins Janetty after a clothesline. The decision stood even though Martel actually pinned an illegal man (if you look closely, I don't think Marty was ever actually tagged in, Shawn Michaels was the legal man).

"Ravishing" Rick Rude (RIP) w/Bobby Heenan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - In a rematch of their WrestleMania V encounter, Rude and Warrior put on an even better match than their WM bout. Rude was one of the few that could pull a good bout out of UW and this was a good match! Over 20 minutes of non-stop action (I know 20 minutes isn't long but for UW, that might as well have been an hour)! Ends when Warrior gets his gorilla press/splash combo after "Rowdy" Roddy Piper distracts Rude. Best match on the card for this SS!

Andre The Giant (RIP) & The Twin Towers (Akeem/The Big Bossman (RIP)) Vs. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan & Demolition - An entertaining match as the late Andre and his partners used their nearly 2,000 pound weight advantage against the slimmer but powerful team of Duggan (who was "King" Duggan at this point) and the Demos. Impressive show of power by Demolition Smash as he picked up both The Big Bossman and Akeem seperately for bodyslams! Ends when Duggan uses his 2 X 4 board to knock out Akeem for the win!

Hercules (RIP) Vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine - The future Hall Of Famer and former WWF I-C and Tag Team Champion took on the "Mighty One" in a short match used to further the feud between Valentine and "Rugged" Ron Garvin at that time. Ends when Valentine got an illegal pin on Herc but Garvin (who was a ring announcer for the match) refused to call "The Hammer" the winner. This prompted a brief scuffle between "The Hammer" and the former "Hands Of Stone."

"Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase Vs. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka - Decent contest with Snuka and DiBiase doing their respective moves. The commentary for this was probably the most entertaining part as Tony Schivone and Jesse Ventura traded barbs with each other. Ends by a countout in favor of DiBiase but Snuka... Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars antholgy for the ages, May 30, 2009

By 

Hugh Starkey "ef off" (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1 1988-1992 (DVD)

great set put out by wwe.
I got this to see the very first summerslam which I had not seen since it's orignal broadcast on ppv.
If you remeber and liked the wwf/wwe during this time you're sure to like this. all the shows are pretty good; summer slam '90 was pretty weak; but the other four make up for this.
Great for a dose of nostalgia.
on a strabge side note; there are several instances (although none come to mind immediatly) of editing.
for instance a match will be going and the combatants are on the floor, then sudden they are in the ring, but you really dont' notice as they waited for the jump as they are going into the ring. make any sense...
I dont know if I'm getting this out right, but it doesnt really detract from the shows nor the action, just like some one occasionally flash forwarded. its just weird cause all 5 shows were the standard 3 hrs and all 5 discs are 3 hrs each so i font really see the need.
didnt notice any annoying blurring of the old wwf logo (I hate that)
but it does have the whole over-dubbed new entrance music for certain athletes. minor quibble though.
also didnt realize as a kid how much of the show is interviews; therre are at least 2-3 between matches, somethimes the same superstar (hogan) is interviewed before, before again, and after the match.
each disc has an average of about 8 matches (with some great undercard matches totally forgotten by me such as roberts vs hercules ss89; irs vs the hammer ss'91) but when I was a kid watching it seemed like there were way more matches and less talking; which is a complaint I have w/ current wwe..too much talkie not enough violence.
recommended; get out your old hogan gear and sit back and relax..take it all in brother!!!!