Coliseum Corner: SummerSlam Through The Ages! Heating Up Your VCR

Wow, its already time for this week’s instalment of Coliseum Corner.  It’s going to be a good one as we get to look back at some of Coliseum Video’s greatest Summerslam releases. 

As the 25^th edition beckons, we pay tribute to the first 10 that Coliseum released.

Summerslam 1988 – This was the very first instalment which emanated from Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The card opened up with the British Bulldogs VS the Fabulous Rougeous.  The first Summerslam featured the Ultimate Warrior’s dominant Intercontinental championship victory over the longest reigning champion to this day; The Honky Tonk Man.  In other matches; The Hart Foundation Challenged Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship, Ravishing Rick Rude meets Junkyard Dog, Big Bossman squares off against KoKo B. Ware and more.  The spectacular main event featured Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage (Mega Powers) VS the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant (Mega Bucks).  In this exciting main event, look for Miss Elizabeth’s distraction that leads one of the teams to victory.

Summerslam 1989 – The second annual Summerslam was held at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford New Jersey.  The event opened with a non-title tag team match between champions; The Brainbusters  and the Hart Foundation.  The Intercontinental championship rematch from Wrestlemania V features The Ultimate Warrior and Ravishing Rick Rude.  In other matches:  Dusty Rhodes meets The Honky Tonk Man, The Twin Towers and Andre the Giant battle Demolition and King Hacksaw Jim Duggan. The Rockers and Tito Santana square off against the Rougeous and The Model and the Main Event features Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in Tag Team action again, but this time they’re on opposite sides.  If you have watched the re-released No Holds Barred movie, you’ll see that Zeus is Hogan’s rival and has taken to the WWF ring here to get Hogan once and for all.

Summerslam 1990 – In this instalment of Summerslam held in the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the Rockers open up the show with their opponents Power and Glory.  More Tag Team action sees the Hart Foundation battling Demolition at Summerslam once again for the Tag Team Title, but now there are 3 Demolition.  Kerry Von Erich makes his WWF Pay-per-view debut and challenges for the intercontinental Championship and Hulk Hogan meets Earthquake in a grudge match.  The main event, a Steel Cage war between WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior and his long-time rival Ravishing Rick Rude, do their upmost to escape the cage with the victory and the title.  This is an exciting way to close this heated event.

Summerslam 1991 – Summerslam comes home, back to Madison Square Garden.  The show begins when six man tag action ensues, when The Dragon, Texas Tornado and The British Bulldog battle the Warlord and Power and Glory.  The ‘Hit man’  Bret Hart in his first Pay-Per-View since becoming a singles wrestler aims for glory – only Mr Perfect, the Intercontinental Champion stands in his way.  We see Tag Team Title action between The Nasty Boys and the Legion of Doom, The Big Bossman VS The Mountie in a Jailhouse match. Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior VS Sgt Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa and General Adnan in the “Match Made In Hell”.  To conclude the event, in the “Match made in Heaven”, Macho Man Randy Savage and Elizabeth get married.  All marriages in the WWF/WWE they never go to plan.

Summerslam 1992 – In what could be described as the most spectacular Summerslam event, the WWF travelled to London, England where 80,000 fans packed out Wembley Stadium for “the Summerslam you never thought you’d see”.  The Legion of Doom, in what would be their last match together in the WWF until 1997, oppose the team of Money Incorporated.  The WWF title is at stake when Macho Man Randy savage and Ultimate Warrior do battle.  But who’s corner will villain Ric Flair be in?  In other matches; Shawn Michaels VS The Model, Crush VS Repo Man, Nailz VS Virgil, Tag Team Champions The Natural Disasters VS The Beverly Brothers and The Undertaker VS Kamala.  The main event sees two fan favourites, defending Intercontinental Champion Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart meeting his brother-in-law and England native The British Bulldog.  This match to many is considered the greatest match in Summerslam history.  Do you think so?

Summerslam 1993 – Brought to you from The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan kicks off with Razor Ramon and Ted DiBiase.  This was the first time Summerslam had begun with a singles match.  Hometown boys the Steiner Brothers defend their Tag Team Titles against the Heavenly Bodies.  In other matches Bret Hart meets Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler (eventually), the 1-2-3 Kid tries his luck with I.R.S, Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels VS Mr Perfect, Marty Jannetty VS Ludvig Borga, Tatanka and the Smoking Gunns vs The Headshrinkers and Bam Bam Bigelow, and finally The Undertaker meets Giant Gonzales in a R.I.P match.  The main event sees narcissist turned American hero Lex Luger challenge Japanese representative and WWF Champion Yokozuna.  This event was all about patriotism.

Summerslam 1994 – The ’94 edition of Summerslam was the inaugural event at the United Centre in Chicago, Illinois.  For the first time in the summer’s biggest event the Women’s Championship was defended.  Title Holder Alundra Blayze defended against Bull Nakano.  The Intercontinental title was up for grabs as Razor Ramon challenged Diesel.  For the WWF Title Bret Hart fought tooth and nail with his brother Owen inside a 15 foot high Steel Cage Match in the midst of the Hart family feud.  In other offerings: The Headshrinkers VS Bam Bam Bigelow and I.R.S, Tatanka VS Bam Bam Bigelow.  These two were accusing each other off selling out to the Million Dollar Man.  You will have to see if either did.  Jeff Jarrett  meets Mable and in the main event The Undertaker challenges The Undertaker (you read that right).

Summerslam 1995 – Hosted at the Pittsburgh Civic Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this Pay-Per-View event saw the ladder match (featured in last week’s blog) between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels.  The main event was a battle of behemoths as King Mable Challenged WWF Champion and leader of the New Generation Diesel after Mable had worked out a cunning plan to take down the 7 footer.  Bret Hart takes on Kane… I mean Dr Issac Yankem D.D.S. in what was Jerry Lawler’s plan of revenge to take down Bret Hart after losing to him in a Kiss My Foot match at King of the Ring.  Other Matches on the Card: The 1-2-3 Kid VS Hakushi, Hunter Hearst Helmsley VS Bob ‘Spark Plug’ Holly, Smoking Gunns VS the Blu Brothers, Skip (with Sunny) VS Barry Horowitz, Alundra Blayxe VS Bertha Faye for the Women’s Title, and The Undertaker VS Kama.

Summerslam 1996 – From the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, this event is best remembered for the Boiler Room Brawl between The Undertaker and Mankind.  The winner of the match would be the one who would make it from the boiler room to the ring and receive the Undertaker’s urn from Paul Bearer.  The WWF championship match saw Shawn Michaels through his first run as champion defending his title against the almighty Vader.  This knockdown drag out affair is one to watch.  Other matches on the card include: Savio Vega VS Owen Hart, Tag Team Title match between The Smoking Gunns, The New Rockers, The Body Donnas and the Godwinns in a fatal four way elimination match,  Sycho Sid VS the British Bulldog, Marc Mero VS Goldust and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler VS Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts.

Summerslam 1997 – The final Summerslam Coliseum Video released took place in the Meadowlands where it had eight years ago in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The event opened with a bang as Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley fought inside a Steel Cage until one could escape.  With Chyna on the outside, things wouldn’t be easy for the deranged one.  In what was a Summerslam filled with stipulations, Brian Pillman met Goldust in what would result in Pillman wearing a dress if he lost. The British Bulldog faced Ken Shamrock where the loser had to eat dog food.  Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart fought Steve Austin in which Stone Cold would have to kiss Owen’s behind if he lost.  This match has remained famous for all the wrong reasons.  This event also featured an eight man tag team match between D.O.A and Los Boriquas.  The almighty main event featured WWF Champion The Undertaker defending his title against Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart with special referee and nemesis to Bret, Shawn Michaels.  In keeping with the many stipulations at Summerslam, if Bret didn’t win the title he would never wrestle in the United States again.  If Shawn didn’t remain impartial as referee, he would never be able to wrestle in the United States again. This was a dramatic match with a dramatic finish.

 
There you have it Coliseum Home Video fans, a little look into the first ten SummerSlam events.  So when you tune in this month on Pay-Per-View, make sure you remember how it all started and how it progressed.  If you haven’t seen these Summerslam events, you have missed out! Go hunt them out and watch. Leave your comments below on what your favourite Summerslam was during the Coliseum years and what moments you’ll always remember.