WWF Summerslam 1995 Review

 

Hello and welcome to another edition of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the internet that abuses independent contractors more than the WWE! It’s WWF Summerslam 1995, the end of The Mabel Saga! We have The Undertaker vs Kama Mustafa, Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon II in a ladder match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship match. Of course, we have the main event of Diesel defending against the monster Mabel who destroyed the champion at In Your House 2. The big pay per views from the WWF this year have been sorely lacking, the In Your Houses have been blowing away what has taken place on the big shows. So, WWF Summerslam 1995 I have little hope for this show. Anyways, let’s go in with an open mind.

 

1-2-3 Kid vs Hakushi

Well this is my kind of opening match, lots of things have been bad in the WWF during this year but anytime Kid has kicked someone’s head off it’s been excellent. Especially after what I witnessed at the last In Your House where Kid was given a piledriver from the top rope from The Roadie. Hakushi aka Jinsei Shinzaki tore it up with Bret Hart at In Your House 1 and I expect these two to have the kind of match that Summerslam needs because looking at this card, I don’t know how this show will go.

 

 

Loud USA chants ring throughout the arena, Kid throws a kick that makes Hakushi reconsider rushing into the match. Kid grabs a side headlock, Hakushi reverses it, Hakushi pulls Kid down by the hair after Kid uses the ropes to land an arm-drag. Side headlock from Shinzaki and shoulder block too, leapfrog and hip-toss from Kid. Both men kick one another aware and we have a stand-off, side headlock from Kid. Shoulder block from Kid, more dodges from both men and another stand-off. Throat thrust from Hakushi, Kid is backed into the corner. Kid is sent to the buckle hard, Kid counters the powerbomb with an arm-drag. Tilt-a-whirl sideslam from Hakushi stops Kid’s attacks, Hakushi stomps on Kid over and over.

 

 

Another hard whip, handspring elbow from Hakushi and vicious stomps, foot choke and a bronco buster for good measure. Hakushi poses for the fans on the middle rope, Kid struggles to his feet. Hamstring kicks from Hakushi, looking to ground Kid. Kid continues to get kicked in the head and back from Hakushi, scoop slam from Hakushi. Slingshot splash from Hakushi for a close two, Hakushi applies a shoulder claw. Spinning sole butt knocks Kid to the floor, Sasuke Special from Hakushi. Diving clothesline from Hakushi, Hakushi calls for his headbutt. Kid manages to roll out of the way, Kid blocks the right hands of Hakushi. Kid lands a dropkick that sends Hakushi to the floor, springboard splash from Kid.

 

 

Kid lands a slingshot leg drop for a close two, scoop slam. Kid is on the top rope, frog splash for a close two. Kid wants a spinning heel kick but Hakushi catches Kid and plants him with a Powerbomb variation for the win.

 

 

Just a little taste of what these two can do inside of that ring, both can be excellent wrestlers when given the time, definitely a hot way to start the night. Kid and Hakushi set a fast pace with plenty of counters and interesting spots, the Sasuke Special and springboard splash looked great. I really wonder how the WWF looks over Kid constantly, how come we never saw Razor Ramon & The Kid challenge for the championships? Could you imagine Owen vs Kid in a match with this length of time? Would blow away their match at KOTR 1998 for sure. Anyways, this is a light among a lot of darkness and an actual fun match that is not on an In Your House PPV.

 

Winner: Hakushi over 1-2-3 Kid via Powerbomb!

 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Bob Sparky Plugg Holly

The PPV debut match for Hunter Hearst Helmsley, an arrogant snob who looks down on everyone in the WWF against Bob Holly. Should be a one-sided affair but perhaps Holly will be Hunter’s first test. Helmsley shies out of the lock-up twice, Holly slams Helmsley for being a pompous ass. Arm-drag and Helmsley is backing off big time, cheap shot from Helmsley as the referee was all over Holly. Chops from Helmsley, Holly reverses the whip and elbows Helmsley. Big right hand and a kick, Helmsley stun-guns Holly into the buckle. Right hands and stomps from Helmsley, forearms in the corner. Holly is on wobbly legs right now, corner choke from Helmsley.

 

 

Hard Irish whip from Helmsley, Helmsley poses over a prone Holly. Back-breaker from Helmsley, two for Helmsley. Beautiful suplex from Helmsley with a measured knee to the head. Two for Helmsley, knees into the spine of Holly. Abdominal stretch using the ropes for leverage, Holly reverses the hold. Helmsley hip-tosses Holly to the floor, Helmsley lowers his head off an Irish whip but Holly plants him with a DDT. Holly avoids the tilt-a-whirl sideslam and Holly musters up the strength for a dropkick. Helmsley charges in but Holly lands an inverted atomic drop and a massive clothesline. Whip to the buckle and a big back body-drop, Holly whips Helmsley to the buckle again and lands a dropkick. Helmsley is begging for mercy, another whip but Helmsley avoids the back-drop and plants Holly with the Pedigree for the win.

 

 

Alright match, nothing here that is going to blow you away inside of that ring. Holly is an awkward enough babyface, the fire of a typica babyface just does not come naturally to Mr. Holly. That’s alright some people are meant to be bad guys but it seems that the WWF have not figured that part out yet with Holly. As for Hunter, solid but nothing interesting from HHH on this occasion.

 

Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley over Bob Holly via Pedigree!

 

The Smoking Gunns vs The Blu Brothers

Billy and Jacob to start, Jacob shoves down Billy over and over. Big boot and whip to the buckle, elbow too. Tag to Eli, scoop slam from Eli. Elbow drops from Eli, tag to Jacob. Irish whip and Billy almost steals it with a roll-up, two for Billy before landing a Famouser! Tag to Bart, Jacob and Eli combine to rough up Bart with a hotshot taking down Bart. Eli misses a clothesline on Bart, flying crossbody for two. Tag to Billy, combination which ends in a clothesline for two as Jacob interferes to attack Billy. Billy is wiped out with what would become The H Bomb in WCW, Billy survives as Jacob was slow to cover. Billy is in the tree of woe, Jacob stomps the shit out of Billy.

 

 

Tag to Eli, Irish whip to the buckle. Billy hits the mat hard, Bart is knocked off the apron which allows The Blu Brothers to decimate Billy in their corner. In comes Jacob more right hands and a scoop slam. Massive knee drop from Jacob, two for Jacob. Billy fires back before Jacob plants Billy with a powerslam for a close two. Tag to Eli, knees from Eli. Irish whip, Billy dodges the clothesline and grabs the head of Eli and slams it into the mat. Bart wants in bad, Eli tags in Jacob and Billy tags in Bart. Left hands from Bart, scoop slams to both brothers before a massive big boot. Eli runs into Jacob after a shove from Bart, Bart tags Billy and The Smoking Gunns flatten The Blu Brothers with their finish for the win.

 

 

Another surprising match, The Smoking Gunns and The Blu Brothers pull out quite the fun and fast-paced wrestling match. When I saw these two, I groaned but it was fantastic considering who was involved in the match. They bring all the best parts of the matches they must have fine tuned at the house shows and provide quite the good tag team match.

 

Winners: The Smoking Gunns over The Blu Brothers via Sidewalk Slam/Diving Leg Drop Combination!

 

Skip W/ Sunny vs Barry Horowitz

Barry Horowitz was a jobber who always lost and then the WWF decided to allow him to win over Skip and Hakushi which leads to this match. Skip feels insulted after losing to a loser like Horowitz. Horowitz sprints to the ring, right hands and a back body drop, huge knee and a punch from Horowitz. Clothesline to the floor from Horowitz, Skip is pulled back into the ring. Skip suckers in Horowitz and delivers stiff right hands to Horowitz. Horowitz sends Skip to the buckle, Horowitz dodges and leaps over Skip. O’Connor roll for two, Horowitz is on the apron and suplexes Skip to the floor. Sunny is in the ring, Hebnar gets rid of Sunny but she stays at ringside? Oh Sunny threw the towel in but Hebnar didn’t stop the match?

 

 

Sunny trips Horowitz when he runs the ropes, Skip comes in with massive kicks. Suplex from Skip, middle rope leg drop from Skip. Skip decides to pose on top of Horowitz, paintbrush slaps from Skip. Snap-mare, Skip continues to land right hands, gut-wrench suplex from Skip. Middle rope fist drop from Skip, Skip high-fives Sunny before stepping all over Horowitz. Scoop slam but Horowitz dodges the elbow drop, shoulder block from Horowitz for two. Again for two, sunset flip for two. Skip comes back with a clothesline, rest holds from Skip as the crowd continues to chant for Barry. Irish whip, clothesline misses and a Thesz Press from Horowitz for two. Skip shuts that down with a powerslam, running leg drops from Skip with a pose for good measure.

 

 

Sunny continues to talk trash into the cameras, Skip gets a two and Skip locks on a reverse chin-lock. Horowitz is battling back, European uppercut rocks Skip. Eye poke from Skip, leapfrog from Skip and both men try dropkicks and both are down. Skip is going high-risk, Horowitz crotches Skip on the top rope. Skip knocks back Horowitz, Diving Headbutt connects for Skip but Skip pulls up Horowitz. This ain’t over says Skip, Horowitz back-drops Skip. Gut punch and Irish whip, dropkick from Horowitz. Horowitz is climbing high, Sunny crotches Horowitz. Superplex from Skip, Hakushi is coming to ringside. Skip is distracted, Hakushi looks as if it’s time to fight, Hakushi leaps over Skip which leads to Horowitz small packaging Skip for the win.

 

 

The best part of this match is Sunny, if you have not seen Sunny’s work in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, you are missing out because it was clear that Sunny got this business. This match is ok, it went too long in my eyes. The finish is satisfying but it leaves Skip dead in the water and I feel Skip was only getting started in the WWF. Anyways, Candido and Sunny can be entertaining when given the right angle and opponent, this match and angle is not going to do it for me but people love Barry Horowitz and the crowd react to it but a big come down from the last match.

 

Winner: Barry Horowitz over Skip via Small Package!

 

(WWF Women’s Championship Match) Alundra Blayze © vs Bertha Faye W/ Harvey Wippleman

I would rather see Alundra vs Nakano but we are not getting that, Bertha gets kicked and chopped by Alundra. Alundra avoids Bertha, big kicks and chops before Bertha lands two big charges on Alundra. Mat slam from Bertha, Irish whip and another hair yank from Bertha. Scoop slam and leg drop from Bertha, make it two leg drops. Alundra fights back from her knees as Bertha eye rakes and slams Alundra. Bertha misses a splash, Alundra looks for the victory roll. 1…2.. Bertha kicks out, MMA style knees from Alundra before Bertha trips up the smaller Alunda. Scoop slam that Alundra bridges out of, neck-breakers from Alundra. Wippleman is with the referee, Alundra chases Wippleman who falls to the floor.

 

 

Bertha avoids the German suplex by doing nothing? Crucifix pin from Alundra for two, another Vader Hammer like attack from Bertha. Hurricanrana from Alundra for two, multiple dropkicks from Alundra before Bertha dodges the last dropkick. Sit-out Powerbomb from Alundra for the win.

 

 

So I appreciate everything that Alundra does inside of that ring, she does everything to make her opponent look credible and her matches mean something. The little touches from Alundra make me love every single match of hers, I do not know anything about Bertha but my goodness, her selling was atrocious at times. I do not know what she can bring to the table but I did not see it in this match, I would have loved Alundra vs Nakano again or even Luna. Shame how things will turn out, I assume it won’t be long before Madusa is in WCW. Shame they never took wrestling seriously for women during this era, I salute you Alundra!

 

Winner: Bertha Faye over Alundra Blayze via Sit-Out Powerbomb!

 

(Casket Match) Kama Mustafa W/ Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase va The Undertaker W/ Paul Bearer

After going 15 minutes with Shawn Michaels at KOTR and costing Undertaker his match against Mabel, nobody is better protected in the WWF at this time than Kama. The purpose of such is for this very moment, a Summerslam match with the most protected entity in all of the WWF. Undertaker goes right after Kama, repeated rights and lefts in the corner. Hard whip to the buckle, two-handed choke toss from The Deadman. The referee is stared down by Taker, Kama takes advantage with a kick. Kama is sent onto the casket which scares the life out of him. Clothesline from Taker, Kama is staggering back to the corner.

 

 

Kama briefly fights back with right hands before Taker sends Kama to the buckle, corner splash from The Deadman. Old School connects on Kama, Kama is tossed into the casket and we get a casket camera but Kama crawls out to survive. Hotshot from Kama, Kama is on the top rope and lands a diving clothesline. Taker sits up, spinning sole butt from Kama. Taker reverses an Irish whip, Kama catches Taker and lands a scoop slam. Taker sits up again, Kama stomps away at The Phenom. Taker is in the casket, Taker uses his legs to trip in Kama but Dibiase is distracting The Deadman. Taker is rocked with a right hand from Kama, Kama is in firm control now.

 

 

Big measured punches to The Deadman, kicks to the ribs and an axe kick to the neck. Taker is stomped down by Kama, Kama whips Taker to the buckle hard. Taker dodges the splash but is clotheslined onto the top of the casket. Taker tries to enter the ring but Kama knocks down Taker which leads to Dibiase landing big kicks with Paul Bearer wanting to get his hands on Dibiase. Kama is rammed into the steel steps, Taker is distracted by Dibiase once more and eats an elbow from Kama. Kama rams Taker into the steel ring-post, Kama suplexes Taker onto the casket. Baseball slide onto the lid, Taker is not looking good. Kama wants a piledriver but Taker back-drops Kama into the ring, Kama lands a powerslam to cut off Taker.

 

 

Reverse chin-lock from Kama, Kama uses the ropes which leads to Paul Bearer shoving the feet off the ropes. Side headlock takedown from Kama, belly to back suplex counter from The Deadman. Kama lands a massive kick to the spine, hard Irish whip to the buckle. Kama is tripped up by Taker, big kicks from The Deadman. Kama rocks Taker with a right, Taker ducks clotheslines and lands his flying clothesline. Clothesline with both men in the casket, what happens now? Kama looks to emerge from the casket but Taker is pulling Kama back into the casket. They both escape, will this ever end? Irish whip from Taker, Taker lowers the head and a neck-breaker from Kama. Irish whip from Kama, Taker grabs the throat and Chokeslams Kama. Tombstone Piledriver and Kama is rolled into the casket for the win.

 

 

Wow that was long, that is my main takeaway from this match. It went on and on and on, a match that went far too long. I also felt they did not really use the gimmick at all too. It’s a casket match but they never really built drama using it, one of the loudest reactions was for Paul Bearer thinking about attacking Ted Dibiase. I really can’t believe this went long but it does have big implications, only Tatanka and Sid remain of The Million Dollar Corporation for Taker to face so I think things might be on the up for Undertaker because I need a decent Taker match lord knows it has been quite some time!

 

Winner: Undertaker over Kama Mustafa via Burial!

 

Bret Hart vs Isaac Yankem W/ Jerry Lawler

Yankem is Lawler’s dentist, Lawler has brought in Yankem to destroy his arch nemesis Bret Hart. Just for how much longer can we keep Bret away from the WWF Championship considering few garner a louder/bigger reaction than The Hitman. Also, Yankem is Unabomb from SMW and would later become Fake Diesel and most famously, Kane.

 

 

Yankem looks ridiculous, blue pants that seem a bit too lose. Bret tries to take the back and Yankem shrugs off Bret, big choke from Yankem. Clubbing blows from Yankem, Bret kicks away Yankem. Right hands and a headbutt before Yankem cuts that off with a knee, Yankem chokes Bret with the top rope. Big scoop slam from Yankem, Bret dodges the elbow drop. Gut punches from Bret, eye rake from Yankem. Right hands from Yankem, hard Irish whip and elbow from Yankem. Another hard Irish whip, Yankem misses a corner elbow. Inverted atomic drop and clothesline from Bret, Yankem is clotheslined to the floor.

 

 

Plancha from The Hitman, middle rope diving clothesline and Bret wants the sharpshooter but Yankem blocks the attempt. Headbutt to the groin, Yankem’s head is bounced off the buckle, Bret rakes the face of Yankem off the rope. O’Connor roll from Bret for two, backslide for two. Right hands from Bret, Yankem misses a clothesline before stun-gunning Bret. Hard Irish whip into the buckle, two-handed throat toss from Yankem. Knee across the throat from Yankem, Yankem comes close with a two. Corner kicks from Yankem, Yankem chokes Bret before Bret rolls over with a small package for two. Yankem fires back with kicks to the head, Bret is choked on the middle rope.

 

 

Yankem rakes at the face of Bret, the referee pulls Yankem off of The Hitman. Clothesline to the floor, Yankem attacks Bret on the floor before battering Bret who is on the apron. Yankem climbs to the top rope with Bret bent over the top rope, massive diving leg drop from Yankem for two. Bret sends Yankem to the floor, suicide dive from The Hitman. Running bulldog in the ring for two, gut punch which sets up for the Russian leg-sweep. Back-breaker and Bret’s Rope Elbow Drop, Bret wants it and Bret turns Yankem into The Sharpshooter. Lawler helps Yankem reach the ropes, Bret back-drops Yankem to the floor.  Yankem sends Bret into the steel steps, Yankem tries to come off the top rope but Bret pulls Yankem off the top rope.

 

 

Punches in the corner from Bret, Yankem eats right hand after right hand. Irish whip to the buckle, Bret trips Yankem and ties up Yankem with a camera cord. Lawler is irate, Bret stomps on the head of Yankem with Lawler thinking about attacking Bret. Bret decks Lawler with rights before Yankem lands a diving axe handle to the floor. Bret ducks the clothesline and lands a flying forearm on Yankem, Bret is tripped by Lawler on the other side. Yankem knees Bret in the back of the head, Lawler and Yankem choke Bret who is tangled up in the ropes, the heels do some serious damage to The Hitman.

 

 

Again, I think the theme of the night will be matches that overstay their welcome. Yankem is not fully fleshed out inside of that ring which leaves a lot of this on the shoulders of Bret to make interesting. Bret does his best but it never reaches second gear, couple of nice spots here and there to keep me from switching it off but not something I would watch again. The finish is interesting, they tried to hang Bret Hart which is as hardcore as you can get but the finish will lead to some sort of a rematch and I imagine it will come as one of the In Your Houses before Survivor Series.

 

Winner: Bret Hart over Isaac Yankem via DQ!

 

(WWF Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match) Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels ©

So Shawn Michaels is on a mission to be the man in the WWF, Michaels work at ringside in 1994 and Michaels efforts in The Royal Rumble and especially his match with Jeff Jarrett to win this very championship standout for sure. With a conflict with Sid looming, the WWF decided they needed to do something special at Summerslam because there was a fear the event would not draw as well as the previous year. So what did the WWF come up with? Well we have Michaels vs Ramon Ladder Match II. Not a bad idea for sure but for two babyfaces to go at it? Especially when Razor failed to capture the championship in multiple attempts against former champion Jeff Jarrett?

 

 

Ramon and Michaels shove one another, Ramon wins the slugfest. Leapfrogs and drop-downs, Michaels wants Sweet Chin Music but Ramon holds onto the ropes to avoid it. Lock-up, Michaels dodges the right and Michaels goes to work with jabs. Ramon dodges a leapfrog and tries Razor’s Edge but Michaels dodges, both men have done their homework on one another. Arm-wringer from Michaels, Ramon reveres the hold and tries his shoulder into Michaels before Michaels lands jabs to escape. Ramon sends Michaels to the floor though, Ramon goes for the ladder. Michaels dives on the back of Ramon, they go back to the ring. Ramon is on the apron, Michaels is suplexed to the floor with his leg smashing off the guardrail.

 

 

Ramon stops Michaels from reaching the ladder, Ramon almost lands Razor’s Edge with Michaels almost landing Sweet Chin Music, both men are down. Ramon sends Michaels to opposite buckles, Ramon wants a middle rope fallaway slam and Ramon connects with the massive move. Ramon decides it’s time to grab the ladder, Michaels is in agony in the ring. Ramon slowly carries the ladder to the ring, Sid watches on from the backstage area. Michaels wants the baseball slide but Ramon has learned from Wrestlemania X, Ramon dodges and smashes Michaels with a right hand. Ramon climbs for the championship but Michaels knocks Ramon off the ladder. Michaels nails Ramon with the ladder, Michaels begins climbing the ladder.

 

 

Ramon exposes the bare-ass of Michaels before Ramon topples the ladder with Michaels’ leg being trapped in one of the rungs. It looks brutal and Ramon goes to work on the leg, repeated stomps to the injured knee of HBK. Ramon picks up and slams HBK’s leg into the ladder over and over, absolutely brutal looking. Ramon slams the ladder into the leg, Ramon slams Michaels into the ladder by his leg. Ramon props the ladder in the corner, Michaels can barely stand. Ramon wants to whip Michaels but Michaels cannot put weight on the leg. Ramon sees this and elbows the crap out of Michaels’ leg, Ramon wanted a figure four so Michaels shoves off Ramon into the ladder. Ramon picks up Michaels and shin-breakers Michaels into the ladder.

 

 

Ramon drives his weight onto the leg of Michaels, Michaels manages to kick Ramon to the floor before Ramon rams the leg of Michaels into the ring apron. Michaels’ leg is slammed into the ring-post, this is getting tough to watch. Michaels fights back though, drop toehold and Indian deathlock from Ramon. Ramon grabs the ladder and allows it to fall onto the leg of Michaels who screams out in pain. Ramon is climbing to the championship before Michaels climbs to the top rope and lands a diving axe handle to knock Ramon off the ladder. Ramon is up first, Michaels escapes a scoop slam and sends Ramon into the ladder. Ramon climbs again though, Michaels climbs up behind Ramon and lands a massive belly to back suplex.

 

 

Michaels is on his feet, hobbling around the ring. Michaels places the ladder in the corner, right hands to the head of Ramon. Ramon is sent into the ladder, Michaels does the same again before landing a flying forearm. Stomp to the head, scoop slam. Michaels is climbing the ladder, moonsault off the ladder and Michaels lands right hand after right hand. Michaels is on top of the ladder but misses the splash that connected at Wrestlemania X. Ramon and Michaels decide to climb the ladder, attempting to win the match. They meet atop the ladder, right hands are traded. Headbutt from Ramon and both men end up falling to the top rope, Ramon spills out to the floor.

 

 

Michaels attempts to nail Ramon with the ladder but Ramon low-bridges Michaels who wipes out on the floor. Ramon brings in a second ladder, Michaels is trying to climb to the victory. Ramon slaps Michaels on the back and plants Michaels with The Razor’s Edge. Ramon begins to setup the ladder that he brought into the ring, Ramon shoots Michaels a look as if to say “This guy is still not staying down?”. Both men are on the ladders, Michaels nails Ramon with a beautiful Sweet Chin Music, knocking Ramon off the ladder but Michaels misses the championship with a last ditch jump attempt. Ramon improvises and tries a Razor’s Edge which leads to Michaels back-dropping Ramon to the floor and grabbing the championship but the championship does not come down, Michaels is irate and climbs once more.

 

 

Such a shame about the finish but I don’t think it really takes away from how awesome this match was, it was brilliant and I believe the superior match to their Wrestlemania X Ladder Match. It’s a fantastic match that has a great story told throughout, I thought the suplex to the guardrail would lead to the beatdown of the leg but Michaels takes an even uglier bump to setup the injury to his knee. Razor Ramon works the leg to perfection, Michaels is easily the top seller in the company by this time, evoking sympathy with every single time Ramon brings an elbow or knee or even the ladder down on Michaels’ leg. The call-backs to Wrestlemania X with the baseball slide and ladder splash were great, Ramon steps it up to an incredible level in this match. I love Razor’s work, it’s a shame that Ramon had to be a babyface for the majority of his WWF run because Ramon is great to watch working on top. Michaels is top notch in this one too, I believed that Michaels’ leg was destroyed and it was extremely exciting too. The finish was such a shame, I think it would have been incredible if Michaels clawed down the championship when he dived for it, really unlucky that Michaels could not tear it down the second time but I can overlook that because this match is so far ahead of everything on this show, it’s not even fair. Ramon and Michaels continue to be two of my favourites during this era, I would gladly watch them work every night.

 

Winner: Shawn Michaels over Razor Ramon via Retrieval Of The Championship!

 

(WWF Championship Match) Diesel © vs Mabel

Talk about a comedown, we have Diesel vs Mabel. Mabel won King of The Ring and attacked Diesel during his lumberjack match with Sid. We kick off with Mabel shoulder blocking Diesel to the mat. Another Irish whip, shoulder block again. Mabel’s chops Diesel over and over, corner choke from the challenger. Diesel reverses a corner whip and splashes Mabel twice, corner elbows from Diesel. Scoop slam is blocked as Mabel clubs at Big Daddy Cool, Irish whip with Diesel ducking and landing a clothesline. Make it two, Diesel lands a flying shoulder block which sends Mabel to the floor. Diesel lands a plancha on Mabel, both men are down on the floor. Diesel is sent into the ring-post by Mabel, Mabel tries to squash Diesel but Diesel blocks with the boot.

 

 

Diesel stalks Mabel, forearms from the champion. Knees in the corner, Mabel reverses Diesel. Sidewalk slam for two, Mabel sits on the back of Diesel. Diesel is not moving, Mabel applies a camel clutch. Mabel throws Diesel into the exposed buckle, scoop slam from Mabel. Sir Mo is on the apron, this distracts the referee and Mabel runs into the referee knocking out the official. Sir Mo and Mabel batter Diesel, here comes Lex Luger. Diesel decks Luger wait what? Did Diesel think it was Bulldog? Mabel leg drops Diesel on the floor. Luger is on his feet and Luger starts attacking Sir Mo. Mabel lands a belly to belly suplex, 1…..2…. Diesel kicks out! Mabel is on the middle rope and misses a splash, Diesel goes to the middle rope and lands a clothesline. Diesel does it with the clothesline.

 

 

Wow what a main event, that was a whole load of nothing. Diesel my man, another finish that has me questioning why I should be invested? We had the boot with Sid and then this clothesline? I mean I knew there was not going to be a powerbomb but could you have done something a bit more impactful? What was that with Luger? It almost feels like this was the match before the main event, there was hardly any action to this one. They did moves for sure but I didn’t’ care, I don’t even know what was the intended goal here. Was the referee bump necessary? Was Luger necessary? You told me all about Bulldog and him turning heel, Bulldog arrived at the arena and he’s not involved? Why build that up? Crowd was quiet too like almost silent, I can’t blame then when Michaels vs Ramon stole all the attention but that was dishearteningly quiet.

 

Winner: Diesel over Mabel via Diving Clothesline!

 

That was WWF Summerslam 1995, a tale of matches overstaying their welcomes and an instant classic. We kick things off strong with two great performers in Hakushi and Kid, there is no real story here they just do what they do best. It’s fast-paced, it plays to their strengths and the crowd are amped up as it’s the beginning of the show so they appreciate the hard work of the two. Helmsley vs Holly was fine, a match to put over Helmsley. Holly is an odd fit as a babyface, shocked it lasted so long before he found himself as Hardcore Holly. Smoking Gunns vs Blu Brothers was surprisingly good, I was not expecting it to be good but it was quite enjoyable with some big spots and both teams running through their attacks.

 

Things take a turn with the women’s match, Alundra works very hard and I appreciate her hard work but it wasn’t going to happen and soon, she leaves for what appears like greener pastures but it never works out sadly. However, this was just tough to watch. Things do not get much better with Undertaker vs Kama, I felt they did not work the gimmick or build to any sort of drama. What did Kama have to put away Undertaker? When was Taker in danger? When did Kama attempt to throw Taker in? Questions like these should not be unanswered yet they were and the fact that it went as long as it did was ridiculous. Bret vs Isaac Yankem is more of the same, Bret tries and tries to make me feel something for this match but Yankem is just not there in terms of the complete package. The finish is quite nasty, I don’t know if the match let it down or I am almost numb to seeing Bret being wiped out and left laying.

 

Then Michaels vs Ramon decides to say screw everything else, we are in the main attraction. They blow everyone away with their work in this match, Michaels is totally believable in his performance while Ramon exhibits an edge that is sorely missing from his face run, working on top and building tremendous sympathy for HBK. They steal the show, they own the night and it’s the only thing worth watching from this trainwreck of a show. Mabel vs Diesel is brief yet disappointing, I had no interest as did the fans, it is just there and then it ends flat like Diesel vs Sid 2. Nothing spectacular there, watch this show for the ladder match, that’s all. 1995 continues to be a struggle despite the hard work of the likes of HBK, Razor and The Hitman. Thanks for reading and remember: there’s always another night!