SummerSlam Spectacular 1993 Review

Original Airdate: Sunday, August 22nd, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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So good to have Gorilla Monsoon here.

Yokozuna vs. Jim Duggan

They were really too lazy to take down the Raw signs? Duggan brings it to Yoko right off the bat. He grabs the 2 x 4 and acts surprised when the referee takes it away. Yoko attacks him from behind and then Fuji gets in on the action with a cheap shot behind the ref's back. Duggan tries to fight back again, but Yoko takes him down and hits the big leg drop. Duggan tries for a body slam, but it's too much and Yoko gets a nearfall into the commercial break. Duggan bites his way out of a bear hug, but Yoko remains in control. Duggan avoids the splash in the corner and gets him off his feet with a trio of clotheslines. The small crowd in Poughkeepsie is loving this. Fuji trips Duggan behind the ref's back and Yoko splashes him from behind. Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and that is all. Credit to Duggan to having a pretty decent match here with Yoko. This was an entertaining enough start to the show. After the match, Yoko goes for another Banzai Drop, but referees pull Duggan out of the ring. 

Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)

We go backstage to Vince McMahon, who is with Jim Cornette. He greets Yokozuna on his arrival and Cornette lets us know what Yoko is going to do to Luger at SummerSlam. 

We then get a video package on the Razor Ramon/Ted DiBiase feud. 

Blake Beverly vs. Razor Ramon

We get a little bit of stalling to start. Beverly is able to dump Razor over the top rope and then rips off the top turnbuckle pad behind the referee's back. I have to say, I didn't see that one coming in this match. Beverly sends the back of Razor into the exposed steel in the corner and then hits a powerslam. Razor is able to reverse Beverly into the exposed turnbuckle and then immediately gets him up for the Razor's Edge and gets the victory. I definitely did not expect Beverly to get that much offense in here, but it was a pretty good mid-90s TV match

Match Rating: **

Jerry Lawler is with an Elvis impersonator for a kind of lame promo. Bret then fires back with a fired up promo about destroying Lawler in front of his family at the SummerSlam. 

Smoking Gunns & Tatanka vs. Barry Horowitz, Reno Riggins & Brooklyn Brawler

This is quite the all star trio of jobbers here. The Smoking Gunns were such a better tag team than the New Age Outlaws ever were. It's just that the gimmick was lame. The jobbers get in some offense on Billy and it's way longer than you would ever expect. Even Gorilla is calling out the team ahead of their big match at SummerSlam. Tatanka finally gets the hot tag and takes care of all three opponents. The Gunns are in there and hit a double dropkick. Tatanka hits a top rope crossbody and gets the victory. That's two matches in a row where I am shocked at how much offense the underdog got. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Mean Gene is now in the ring for an interview with Undertaker. He refers to his fans as the Creatures of the Night. This has to be the early stages of that expression. He says that he will possess the soul of Giant Gonzalez. Out comes Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman. Gonzalez tells him that this time, he won't get up. Taker gets ready for a fight and Gonzalez gets out of the ring. 

Intercontinental Championship Match 

Shawn Michaels vs. Bob Backlund

After some showboating by Shawn, Backlund gets in a burst of offense that causes Michaels to roll out of the ring. When we come back from commercial break, Michaels is back in control. Backlund gets in a little bit more offense, but then Shawn rolls up Backlund for the victory? I can't believe I am saying this about a Michaels match, but this was boring. 1993 Backlund was not good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Vince McMahon is back with Ludvig Borga. He says that he is here to bring pain.

Duane Gill vs. Marty Jannetty

Jim Ross reminds us that Gill is not in the same league as Borga. He's right, Gill is much better. Marty looks sharp here as usual and hits a nice second rope flip into a Stunner. He then hits an elbow drop and gets the victory. That was probably one of my favorite squash matches of 1993. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Mean Gene is here for the SummerSlam Report. 

Steel Cage Match For The WWF Tag Team Championships

Money Inc. vs. Steiner Brothers

This is the most excited I have ever been to watch an IRS match ever. This match is chaos in a good way. God bless Gorilla Monsoon for calling out the logic of teammates not climbing out of the cage when the other is being chased up. IRS hits a big superplex on Scott into a commercial break. These types of matches are nearly impossible to recap. Both IRS and Scott are able to escape the ring, but both teammates need to escape to win. IRS decides to go back in the ring to stop Rick from climbing out. Scott comes back in by hitting a double ax handle off the top of the cage. We come back from a second commercial break and Scott is once again out of the cage. He again realizes that it's a not a great idea and climbs back in. IRS again is out of the ring and DiBiase is on his way out as well. Scott pulls DiBiase back in and they put him in the tree of woe. Both Steiners start climbing out in one corner, but IRS gets back in the ring and is able to slow them down. Scott hits a double clothesline as his brother is able to escape the cage. DiBiase is now out, but Rick has IRS on his shoulders. Scott is able to escape before DiBiase can get him off and the place comes unglued. This was so different and just an absolute blast to watch. Only WWF could find a way to not do anything with the Steiners. 

Match Rating: ****

Randy Savage and Men On A Mission rap us out with their dedication to Lex Luger and it is 100% as terrible as you would expect. Amazing.

This was a one match show, but what a match it was. There was nothing like this match in 1993 WWF and it was a breath of fresh air. With the exception of the Michaels/Backlund match, everything was an easy watch and the show as a whole gets a thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 73%