Customer Reviews

WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1 1988-1992

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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.

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 gets the last laugh as he peformed his "Superfly" splash onto DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil!

"Macho Man" Randy Savage & Zeus w/"Sensational" Sherri (RIP) Vs. Hulk Hogan & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake w/Ms. Elizabeth (RIP) - The "Macho Man" and the man who would later gain fame as Debo from the "Friday" movie series took on Hogan and "The Barber". This on the heels of Hogan's film "No Holds Barred" which starred both Hogan and Zeus and also on the heels of WrestleMania V where Hogan defeated Savage for the WWF Title. Not the greatest tag team bout ever (much of it was carried by Savage and, to a lesser extent, Beefcake) but definitely entertaining!

Overall, a pretty good card. MUST SEE bouts are Rude/Warrior, both six man tags (especially The Rockers/Santana Vs. Martel/Rougeaus) and Harts/Brain Busters.

SummerSlam 1990

The Rockers Vs. Power & Glory - The newly formed team of Hercules (RIP) and Paul Roma took on Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetty. This was pretty much a glorified handicap match as P & G jumped Shawn Michaels before the bell and injured his knee, making him a non-factor for this bout. To his credit, Janetty acquitted himself very well but still fell to this new tag team as they finished him off with their "Powerplex" (superplex/splash combo).

"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (RIP) Vs. "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich (RIP) (WWF Intercontinental Championship) - Two family legacies collide here for the Intercontinental championship! Not a great match but to be fair, Kerry wasn't the athlete and wrestler he was in World Class in the early to mid 1980's. For someone with his drug problems and physical handicaps, he actually performed remarkably! Hennig, of course, was generally on his game at all times!

Match ends when Von Erich slingshots Hennig into the ringpost and catches him with his family trademark "The Iron Claw" followed by a Kerry trademark the "discus punch" to pin Hennig and win the I-C title! Sadly, this would be the final title that Kerry would hold in his career as he committed suicide almost three years later in 1993. Worth a look just to see the potential talent that was Kerry.

"Sensational Queen" Sherri (RIP) Vs. Sapphire (RIP) - Not a match at all as Sapphire didn't even show up! This will come into play later in this card. Oh, Sherri won by forfeit. This SS would be the first and only appearance of Sapphire as she passed away in 1996 from a fatal heart attack.

Tito Santana Vs. The Warlord w/Slick - By this time, The Powers Of Pain was no more as both The Warlord and The Barbarian was trying to make a splash as single wrestlers. While not the most skilled big man, Warlord was a sight to behold. Nearly 340lbs. of solid muscle! Tito Santana, a former I-C and Tag Team champion, offered a good test for The Warlord and gave him stiff opposition! For the most part, Warlord gained a clean win after hitting his running powerslam for the victory! Just a filler match for the most part but not bad.

The Hart Foundation Vs. Demolition (2 out of 3 falls for the WWF World Tag Team Titles) - In this one, there were actually three members of Demolition in the form of Ax (Bill Eadie), Smash (Barry Darsow) and Crush (the late Bryan Adams). The team of Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart had a daunting task of not only trying to win the WWF tag team titles but dealing with three members of the Demos despite the edict that only two members would be allowed to be at ringside.

This match is often a forgotten one and I would dare call it a "lost classic." For most of the bout, it would be the duo of Crush & Smash to work against the more experienced Harts (I say that only because it was Crush and Smash, if it was Ax & Smash I would say the experience factor would be even). When the bout was evened up at one fall a piece, Ax snuck down to ringside and it became 3 on 2 until The Legion of Doom (Animal & his late partner Hawk) came down and exposed the deception. During the melay, the Harts took advantage with a shoulderblock from Neidhart along with a rollup from Bret for the pin and the titles! This would be the last tag team title reign from the original Hart Foundation.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts Vs. Bad News Brown (RIP) (Special Guest Referee The Big Bossman) - Nothing special here! Usually Jake puts on a good match but it was more about "are we going to see Damien Vs. the sewer rats" than the match itself! Jake wins by DQ. This would be the last SS appearance of Bad News Brown as he left months later. Sadly, he passed away in 2007 from a heart attack.

Nikolai Volkoff & "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan Vs. The Orient Express (Sato & Tanaka) - Pretty much a squash. While TOE would have their moments, they were there as the jobbers for Volkoff and Duggan. Short match.

Dusty Rhodes Vs. "Macho King" Randy Savage - What should've been one of the best bouts on the card was just average. It was used to push the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase Vs. Dusty Rhodes feud and also revealed that Sapphire had turned on Rhodes. Short matchup that saw Savage gain a screwjob win.

Hulk Hogan w/The Big Bossman (RIP) Vs. Earthquake (RIP) w/Jimmy Hart & Dino Bravo (RIP) - While not the best big man match, the crowd was all into it to see if Hogan could get his revenge on Earthquake for putting him on the shelf for a few months! The crowd is the stars of this match as they made it more exciting than what it really was. Ends when Hogan bodyslams Earthquake outside of the ring onto a table (long before it was en vogue) and got a countout win. This would be the last appearance of Dino Bravo at a SummerSlam event as he would die in 1993 from 17 gunshot wounds to his head.

The Ultimate Warrior Vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude (RIP) w/Bobby Heenan (WWF World Title Match in a Steel Cage) - While not as good as their previous encounter, Rude and Warrior managed to have a pretty good cage match! Both men bled slightly during this as it was a surprisingly rugged bout. Ends with Warrior escaping out of the cage, giving Rude a final taunt with his own "hip gyration" before dropping down to the floor. This would be the last SS appearance of Rude as a wrestler. Sadly, he would die of heart failure in 1999.

Overall, this card wasn't the worst but not the best. MUST SEE matches are Hennig/Von Erich, Harts/Demolition and UW/Rude.

SummerSlam 1991

For this one, we return to Madison Square Garden, home of the first SummerSlam. While this one didn't have the greatest performers on it, it turned out surprisingly good!

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich & "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith Vs. Power & Glory (Hercules/Paul Roma) & The Warlord w/Slick - The early SS's always seemed to have good six man tags. This was one of them. While P & G and The Warlord gave a good accounting of themselves, they did fall to the championship team of Steamboat, Von Erich and Smith. I call them that because between the three of them, there had to be at least a dozen championships between them if not more! Anyway, it ends when Steamboat hits his patened flying bodypress on Roma for the win.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart Vs. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - This match is legendary and gets an automatic "MUST SEE" from me! I won't even describe this match as no words I give it will do it justice! Needless to say, this was the launch of Bret's solo career. Sadly, this was also the beginning of a downslide for "Mr. Perfect" as he would (in my eyes) never achieve the heights that he was this point in career. He still would have a great career but its also a tragedy that he would rarely be in the spotlight like this again.

Anyway, classic match!

Natural Disasters w/Jimmy Hart Vs. The Bushwackers w/Andre The Giant - Not much of a match but entertaining. Mainly used to push an eventual showdown between The Legion Of Doom and The Natural Disasters (the late Earthquake & Typhoon). This would also be the last appearance of Andre at a WWF card (at least at a SummerSlam) as he would die in 1993 in his sleep.

Virgil Vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase w/"Sensational" Sherri (Million Dollar Title Match) - Proof positive that DiBiase should've at least been I-C champion right here! Not that Virgil totally sucked (I've seen worse wrestlers get a push such as a certain John we all know) but he was definitely carried by "Million-Dollar" Ted! A surprisingly good match and proof that DiBiase definitely deserves his HOF spot!

Ends when Virgil uses one of DiBiase's dirty tricks against him to get the win. While it was a victory for Virgil (who wasn't bad in this match), it is also proof of how skilled and talented DiBiase won. As I stated, this man should've at least been I-C champ if not WWF champion at some point!

The Big Bossman (RIP) Vs. The Mountie (Jacque Rougeau) - The loser of this match would have to spend the night in a New York jail! Normally, I am not really into gimmick matches like this BUT this one was rather entertaining. The match itself was pretty hard hitting without the stipulation though. Ends when Mountie went for a piledriver but BBM turns it a slingshot slam for the win! The segments showing the Mountie going to jail throughout the remainder of the show are actually quite hilarious! LOL!

The Legion Of Doom Vs. The Nasty Boys (WWF World Tag Team Title Match/No Disqualification) - This one was wild! Say what you want about the team of Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags but at this point, they were a wild and rugged tag team that could give anyone a headache! And we know what LOD (The Road Warriors) were all about! Brutal and entertaining match that saw LOD capture the WWF tag team titles and make history as being the only team to hold the AWA, NWA and WWF World titles.

Irwin R. Schyster Vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine - A filler bout but a decent one. This was more to push the IRS character than anything though "The Hammer" gave a good accounting of himself. Ends surprisingly clean when IRS reversed a figure-four attempt by Valentine into a small package for the victory.

Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior Vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan - This match in itself was okay entertainment but the bigger story was what happened BEFORE and AFTER the bout that fans didn't know about for years. If you've seen The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior then you know what I am talking about and that is an incident between UW and Vince prior to the bout over money. Depending on who you believe, UW was either owed money for previous cards or (if you believe Vince) he held up the card for advance payment! Either way, it ended the relationship between WWF and UW for awhile. This story was also briefly discussed in WWE Legends: Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Pick Your Poison as Roberts was to have a program with Warrior prior to that night but that got scrapped thanks to that incident.

Back to the match, this was the end of Sgt. Slaughter's angle as an Iraqi sympathizer as Hogan used his legdrop to get the win. Oh, and "Sycho" Sid (who was Sid Justice at this point) was the referee.

Card ends with the marriage of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ms. Elizabeth (who were already married in real life and had been for years). Sadly, their union would end in 1992. This would also be the last time Ms. Liz would be on a SummerSlam card as she left the WWF shortly after her divorce from Savage. She then went to WCW in 1996 and stayed their until the company folded in 2001 I believe. In 2003, Liz would die from a drug overdose at the home of then-boyfriend Lex Luger.

Back to this card, it was one of the better SummerSlams in the history of the event.

SummerSlam 1992

This was the first of two (to date) international SummerSlams as it was held in Wembley Stadium in London, England to a packed house of over 80,000 fans!

Money Inc. Vs. The Legion Of Doom w/Paul Ellering - A barn burner of an opener. We know about LOD but the team of IRS and "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase kept up with them very well using mostly their technical and manipulation skills to offset the power disadvantage they had! Ends when a double team by Money Inc. backfires and allows Animal to get in a hard powerslam on DiBiase for the victory!

Nailz Vs. Virgil - Filler bout. Not even a good one. Just showing Nailz mauling Virgil. Watch once and skip.

Rick Martel Vs. Shawn Michaels w/"Sensational Sherri" - This one should've been a classic but for what it was, it was still entertaining. This was pretty much a wrestling comedy here as both were vieing for the affections of Sherri. I think this one ends in a double DQ or countout, not really sure! It also ends with Martel dousing Sherri with water! LOL!

The Natural Disasters Vs. The Beverely "Brothers" (WWF World Tag Team Title Match) - I say "Brothers" in quotations because much like The Undertaker and Kane, the real wrestlers are not related but long time fans might remember them in the AWA as The Destruction Crew (Wayne "The Train" Bloom/"Mean" Mike Enos). Much of that tag team experience came out during this one as they used that to offset the obvious weight disadvantage (the ND's outweighed them by a combined weight of over 400lbs.). Still it wouldn't be enough as Earthquake and Typhoon retained the championship.

Repo Man Vs. Crush - Battle of Demolition as Repo Man (Barry Darsow) took on Crush (Bryan Adams). This was more of a squash for Crush than anything. Too bad Ax wasn't around and we could've had a real "Battle Of Demolition"! LOL! Anyway, quick match!

The Ultimate Warrior Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (WWF World Title Match) - Plenty of history between these two stemming back to 1991 when Savage cost UW the WWF title against Sgt. Slaughter at The Royal Rumble. Then, at WrestleMania VII in a show stealer, Savage and Warrior went at it in a "Career Ending Match" that Warrior won and ended the "Macho Man"'s wrestling career temporarily. Fast forward to this event, not only did you have the WWF title on the line, you had the mystery of who sold out to "Mr. Perfect"?

The match itself tends to be forgotten and I would label it a "lost classic." Savage always seemed to get the best out of UW and this bout was no exception! In the end, it turns out neither man sold out, rather it was a ruse from "Mr. Perfect" and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair to cause disruption in the match and help Flair regain the WWF title.

Match ends by a countout when Savage, rather than leap on UW, leapt onto Flair but Flair nailed him in the left leg with a steel chair, causing the countout! After running Flair and Hennig off, UW helped Savage up and out of the stadium. Match itself was great!

Bret "The Hitman" Hart Vs. "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith (RIP) (WWF Intercontinental Title Match) - This is one of those matches that no words can do it justice! You MUST SEE this one! Adding to the drama was the family tension in that Hart and Smith were brothers-in-law and that Diana Hart-Smith was at ringside for her husband. This is easily the greatest moment in the career of DBS. As for Bret, though he was the loser, he would turn around over a month later and win his first WWF Championship!

Overall, a great card with two MUST SEE bouts in both the WWF World and I-C title bouts.

Every story has a beginning and the beginning of SummerSlam was VERY good

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!!!!

I already known what most people will say about this set-the packaging sucks. The discs will get all scratched when I take them out and blah blah blah. Ive taken ever disc out at least twice and do not see how people scratch them. 1988-1992 was some great years for the WWF, even though most the Summerslam main events sucked, expect 1992. I also notice on Summerslam 1992 that Bezerker VS Tatanka was cut out, anyone else notice that as well? I loved Tatanka growing up and I would have liked to see the match again. Other then that match being cut out for no reason, the set is pretty good way to relive the glory days of the WWF. The theme music of all wrestlers seems to be intact as well, which the cut out of some other dvds. [...]

I'd have to say that the best card that had the most to offer as far as competition top to bottom was the original SummerSlam in 1988. The British Bulldogs vs. the Rogeaus, Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera, Bolsheviks vs. Powers of Pain, and Hercules vs. Jake Roberts are all entertaining and watchable matches. Most of the rest of the card is forgettable. I've never been a big fan of Hulk Hogan's or the the Ultimate Warrior's but their on there too.
The best highlights from the other four discs include Rick Rude vs. the Ultimate Warrior for the IC Championship in 1989; a rematch between the two again in 1990, this time for the WWF Championship, inside a steel cage; "The Match Made in Hell"- Hogan & Warrior vs. Sergeant Slaughter, General Adnan & Colonel Mustafa from 1991; and two outstanding matches involving Bret "The Hitman" Hart, both for the IC Championship: against Mr. Perfect in 1991, and then the British Bulldog at Wembley Stadium in 1992.
However for fans of "The Hitman" if they want to save a little money, both of the aforemetioned IC Championship matches of his are also available on the Bret Hart dvd.
If you're feeling nostalgic for the wrestling of the late 80's and early 90's then this is a good collection for you.

Im a fan of the old school WWE. So when i saw this for sale I jumped on it immediately. Out of the 5 events my favorite is 91. It is the best summerslam on this set. The others are good too but, this has got great matches from start to finish. Don't get me wrong the others have classic matches too but, they do have some sleepers.All in all this is a great set to own if you are a classis WWE fan.

This package contains the first 5 summerslams. Great Nostalgia with past greats like Hogan, Savage, LOD and the Ultimate Warrior. I recommend this for all WWE fans.

1988- The very first Summerslam in Madison Square Garden and it shows. In the main event, the Megapowers defeated The Megabucks thanks to the rather tame by modern standards of Ms. Elizabeth's skirt. The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Honky Tonk Man to win the Intercontinental Championship and put an end to the longest IC title reign in history. Demolition defended their tag titles against The Hart Foundation, not as good as their Summerslam 90 match, but more than watchable. The rest of the stuff here is mostly squash matches to introduce new characters (Bad News Brown, Koko B. Ware, Powers of Pain.) Or continue feuds (Rude-Roberts and Muraco-Bravo.)

1989- The second Summerslam moved to New Jersey and is perhaps most well known for the underrated tag team opening match between The Brain Busters and The Hart Foundation. As far as wrestling goes that was the best thing on this card flanked by two six man tags between Rockers/Tito Santana vs. Rougaeu Brothers/ Rick Martel and Demolition and King Duggan vs. Andre the Giant and the Twin Towers. Mr. Perfect defeated the Red Rooster, Hercules and Greg the Hammer Valentine fought with Ronnie Garvin at ringside to pester the Hammer, and Ted Dibiase fought Jimmy Snuka just to show the world that he was still around. In the main event, Hulk Hogan teamed with Bruitis Beefcake to battle Randy Savage and Zeus.

1990- One of the first WWF attempts at a double main event as Hulk Hogan battled Earthquake while WWF champion Ultimate Warrior defended his title against Ravishing Rick Rude inside a steel cage, although lovers of blood will be disappointed because the cage rarely comes into play + 1990 WWF is similar to the WWE of today. The tag team championship is on the line in a memorable two out of three falls match between The Hart Foundation and Demolition that the Legion of Doom got involved in, which led to the sadly underplayed out LOD-Demolition feud. Bad News Brown and Jake "the Snake" Roberts continued a rather pointless feud over a snake and a Harlem Sewer Rat. The Texas Tornado defeated Mr. Perfect to win the intercontinental title and Sapphire was bought by the Million Dollar Man Ted Debiase leading to his feud with Dusty Rhodes.

1991- The 1991 event featured a good match for the Intercontinental Championship between Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect, a surprisingly good Million Dollar championship match between the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase and Virgil and a Jailhouse Match between the Big Boss Man and The Mountie that leads to some pitifully bad comedy skits. The Warlord and Power and Glory battled Ricky Steamboat, the Texas Tornado, and the British Bulldog. The main event was the storyline wedding between the Macho Man and Elizabeth and a handicap match between Hulk Hogan and Ultamate Warrior verses Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan, and Col. Mustafa. No Undertaker made this match a forgone conclusion.

1992 - The first post Hulk Hogan Summerslam was also the first outside United States Summerslam and featured matches that range from the good to the bad, to the downright bizarre. The good were the two main events as The Macho Man Randy Savage defended his title against The Ultimate Warrior, which featured the which corner will Perfect be in (Ric Flair had convinced each man the other sold out.) Bret Hart defending the Intercontinental Championship against the British Bulldog brought the house down and signaled a new era for the WWF. The bad Kamala staggering around the ring with the Undertaker, Nailz PPV debut against Virgil, and Crush vs. Repo Man. The bizarre was the no face hitting stipulation in the match with Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel.

Overall, an enjoyable set for the WWE enthusiast because there are some phenomenal classic matches on these disks embedded in with a bunch of typical 80's- early 90's shenanigans

The "SummerSlam Anthology Vol 1." DVD set is another highly anticipated WWE release. As I'm sure you're aware of, Vol. 1 takes a look at the first five SummerSlam's, and how it evolved from a fun PPV to a truly special, and memorable annual event. Considering you are getting five, full, un-cut, vintage WWE release on DVD, for six dollars a piece, I'd be a fool not to recommend it to you. The sheer quantity of footage you are receiving in this set alone (roughly 15 hours) for the price you are paying is a great bargain. Here is an event by event analysis:
----------SummerSlam 1988----------
The 1988 event was the first edition of SummerSlam, and the first PPV produced by WWE not under the WrestleMania, or Survivor Seires banner. It was actually quite a lackluster show. There were only two memorable moments, which I'm sure you are familiar with by now. Everything on this card was essentially crap, with the exception of the opening tag team match, and the main event tag team match. Although it is historic, there really isn't anything that is 'must see' on this show. Nice to own for the hardcore wrestling fan, but the casual fan will not enjoy it at all.
(3.0/10)
----------SummerSlam 1989----------
To make up for the 1988 edition, this one was much, much better, and had quite a few memorable moments. Again, the tag matches were extremely notable; both the opener (Hart Foundation/Brain Busters), and the main event (Hogan/Beefcake VS Savage/Zues). Rick Rude also carried the Warrior to a very respectable Intercontinental showing. An enjoyable card from top to bottom. Not amazing, but solid, and respectable.
(7.5/10)
----------SummerSlam 1990----------
In terms of in ring quality, this is a solid event, but for some reason, the nostalgia for me is off the charts. This was the first WWE/F PPV to truly feature a double main event. It delivered as expected- solid...not good, but decent. The cage match was far from brutal, but again, Rude carries the Warrior to a mildly enjoyable match. The Hogan/Earthquake match was very slow, although it is undeniable that the crowd ate it up. For the third SummerSlam in a row, however, a tag team match stole the show, as the Hart Foundation and Demolition put on a classic 2/3 falls match, back when the E actually had a great tag team division. In yet another very memorable moment, The Texas Tornado wins the Intercontinental Championship. A very enjoyable SummerSlam.
(7.5/10)
----------SummerSlam 1991----------
The second SummerSlam to be featured in the WWE/F's home of Madison Square Garden. This was a spectacular SummerSlam. It featured the unforgettable 'Match Made in Heaven', with Miss Elizabeth and the Macho Man, Randy Savage. The main event is less known for the actual match (a match I gave ***1/4), and more for the backstage story. For those of you unfamiliar, the Ultimate Warrior threatened Vince that he would no-show unless he ways paid a certain amount of money. He was paid the money, however after the match, immediately fired, much to the relief of the boys in the back, as I've heard Warrior was extremely unpopular. The match of the night was the Intercontinental Championship, as Mr. Perfect took on Bret Hart. It was truly phenomenal; it's amazing what Perfect did with such a bad back. In the third straight SummerSlam, a Bret Hart encounter steals the show. Put all of thse moments to the backdrop of a superb undercard, and you have a truly great event. ALso not that the commentary was fantastic throughout the entire night.
(8/0/10)
----------SummerSlam 1992----------
As one reviewer noted, this was an extremely unique SummerSlam. It was one of the only events (and the first) to be featured in England, and the double main event featured all faces, and no heels. It marked the debut of the Coffin Match (better known as the Casket Match), and the first time the Intercontinental Championship would be defended in the main event. It is a must-own SummerSlam for two reasons- the Warrior/Savage matcj, and the Hart/Bulldog main event, the latter known as one of the best matches in SummerSlam history. I gave Warrior/Savage II ****1/4 stars...not quite as good as their first encounter, but still awesome nonetheless. Savage always brought out the best in the Ultimate Warrior. The match that went on last stole the show, as Bret Hart gave the match of the night for the fourth SummerSlam in a row (and he never even appeared in the inaugural one!).It was the second best SummerSlam encounter ever in my mind (behind Michaels/HHH). I gave it ****3/4.
(8.5/10)

Overall, this is a must own set. Every SummerSlam has a few memorable moments, and matches. Check this one out if you are a fan of classic WWF, or want to relive history.

I always enjoyed the early years of the WWF and was excited to be able to own the first 5 years of Summerslam. After I got this as a birthday present, WWE picked the worst possible way to package these dvds! You cannot take these out without them getting scratched. They work fine, but still I would like to own it without being scratched before I watch it. So take this in mind when getting this set. But hey it's the glory days of the WWF!! IT'S SUMMERSLAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!