I'm a Bobby Heenan Guy's Official Classic Reviews Thread

SummerSlam 1992

Your hosts-Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan

Side note here before we begin the review-Jim Duggan/Bushwhackers def. Mountie/Nasty Boys, Papa Shango def. Tito Santana and Tatanka def. Berzerker. All these matches would air on PTW during the Fall.

Money Inc. vs LOD- The crowd was hot for this one. This was LOD's last hurrah in the WWF until early 1997 as Hawk quit right after this due to a combination of being frustrated with the Rocco angle and his demons catching up with him. Animal would stick around for a little while longer on the house show circuit before leaving soon after that.Finish comes when Animal powerslams DiBiase for the win.

Nailz vs Virgil- Terrible match here but that's not a surprise. Nailz basically just choked him all match before ending it with the move. Bad squash match here. Moving on...

Shawn Michaels vs Rick Martel- The stipulation here is ''no hitting in the face''. This feud would come about after Michaels costs Martel from winning IC belt from Bret Hart a month prior.The match here isn't bad but it's mostly all about the angle. It ends when both are counted out after fighting over Sherri in the aisle. HBK would win the IC belt not long after this while Martel would pretty much do nothing of note for his remaining few years in the company.

Natural Disasters vs Beverly Brothers for the WWF Tag Titles- Run of the mill tag match here with the outcome never in doubt. I like both teams though so that helped in that sense. Earthquake squashes Beau Beverly to retain the belts. They would lose em just a few months later back to Money Inc but at least they were giving a run em with during this period.

Repo Man vs Crush- Battle of Demolition!! Pretty much a squash here to establish Crush in his new face role. The Hawaii native with the win after his signature head vice. I said this in past reviews but I'm surprised they never did more with Crush during his face run considering how over he was.

Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior for the WWF World Title- We are finally at this confrontation that's been building pretty much all Summer. The whole angle to this one was what corner would Mr. Perfect be in? It added intrigue to the match because they were teasing the fact one of em sold out. Great match again between the two as the chemistry was there. I still prefer the WM VII match but this one was still very good. Ending comes when Ric Flair hits Savage with a chair as he comes off the top rope leading to a count out victory for the Warrior. They would use that injury to Savage to give Flair the belt soon after this. Lame finish aside this still was a excellent match. Post match we get the Warrior chasing off Flair/Perfect with a chair with then him helping up Savage to a pop.Nobbody sold out!! This would lead to the Ultimate Maniacs team forming in the Fall.

Undertaker vs Kamala- Bad match here but again that was to be expected. Taker's entrance was the only saving grace as he came down in a hearse which is still a cool visual almost 26 years later. Match ends in a DQ after Kim Chee interferes. This would lead to the Casket match at the SSeries that November. at least this was short...

Before the main event we get a cameo by Roddy Piper(who hasn't been seen since WM VIII) playing the bag pipes. Nothing wrong with that.

Bret Hart vs British Bulldog for the WWF IC Title- Great way to end the show here. It's slow at first but when it picks up it REALLY picks up. Match ends when Davey Boy blocks a sunset flip attempt into a pin for the win and title. The pop as soon as the 3 hits is HUGE. Big props to Bret for pretty much carrying this match as Bulldog forgot pretty much the whole thing prior to this due to his drug issues. Still a classic match here and a must see for all old school fans and even new fans who wanna watch a classic wrestling match.

Final thoughts- This is really a 2 match show (similar to WM VIII this same year) but the two single titles matches are enough to carry this show to a passing grade. A lot of the bad stuff is kept short so that helps. I also gotta give props to the UK crowd for being a rowdy bunch here. They helped the show as well.Verdict-Recommended

Next time on the classic reviews we'll dive into more CHV with Smack Em' Whack Em'

Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids.

Smack 'Em Whack 'Em

Your hosts- Alfred Hayes/Bushwhackers( repairing the house segments) Gorilla Monsoon/Alfred Hayes on commentary

Crush vs Berzerker- Bad match here to start the tape off. It was only 6 minutes long but felt longer. Crush with the win after locking in the head vice. SHAKKA BRAH!!

Earthquake vs Repo Man-Another short but bad match. I know this was on another CHV but for the life of me I cant remember which one. Quake with the sit down splash for the easy win.

Next up is a segment on how much Yokozuna can eat in one sitting. Pure filler here but Mean Gene and Mr. Fuji at least make it watchable.

Next up is the whole selling point of this tape which is the profile on Bret Hart.

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels for the WWF IC Title in a ladder match-1st ladder match in company history here and It didn't disappoint. I liked how it wasn't just a match of spots with the ladder.The added drama at the end is another plus. Fun match here and it was easy to see why they both convinced Vince to make this match a tradition for years to come. Good stuff.

Bret Hart vs Kamala for the WWF World Title- Total Bret carrying job here and in the end it was actually watchable. I liked how they made Kamala a threat to win the title with Bret having to overcome a giant to win. Bret retains after a roll up when Kamala runs into Kim Chee on the apron. Weakest match in this profile but still not bad.

Ric Flair vs Bret Hart for the WWF World Title-Big match here as this was when Bret made it to big time. It's almost 30 minutes long but it's must see for any fan of these two. Slow start but when the pace is picked up it really gets going. Sharpshooter ends this one. The pop is insane here as this match was filmed in Saskatoon Canada. Definitely check this one out as it still holds up 26 years later. Best match of the tape IMO.

Undertaker vs Razor Ramon- Final match of the tape here and it's lackluster. Taker with the win by count out after Razor walks out of the match after being chokeslammed. These two would have the exact same match on the Rampage 92 CHV.

Final Thoughts- This whole tape is about Bret with the rest being either bad or just pure filler. The Bret stuff is more than enough to save this tape though as you got both the ladder match and his 1st World Title win in the mix. The Bushwhackers ''fixing'' up the house while corny still fit the era plus I've always been a fan so no harm there. Not a bad way to kill 2 hours here.Verdict- Recommended

Next time on the classic reviews we'll be on the highway to hell for SSlam 1998!!

Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids.

Coming soon...

SummerSlam 1998

Your Hosts-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

D-Lo Brown vs Val Venis for the WWF European Title-Excellent opener here and a forgotten gem from this era IMO. I always thought these two were solid hands in the ring and on this night they both proved they could go. Val is DQed for throwing down the ref. D-Lo retains. Ref Jimmy Korderas gets a Money Shot post match from the big Valbowski. Again great match here. Off to a HOT start here in MSG!

Kaientai vs The Oddities- Total comedy match here but man it's damn fun to watch. J.R. and King on commentary also add to the fun.The Oddities had the ICP with them who were a big act in music during this time period. A  triple chokeslam with Golga splashing them all ends this one. This was a comedy match that worked.

Jeff Jarrett vs X-Pac in a hair vs hair match-Howard Finkel is in the corner of Pac here as during Heat right before this he got his head shaved by Jarret and Southern Justice fka The Godwinns. Decent match  as both guys had chemistry.Pac with the win after KOing Jarrett with his own guitar. He would get his head shaved post match. Next time we'd see Double J he would have short hair which he would keep for the majority of his career from this point.

Marc Mero/Jaqueline vs Sable/Edge-This Sable/Mero feud seemed like it would never end during this year. Edge is a newcomer here as he debuted on Raw not long before this.Edge hits Mero with his signature downward spiral with him then aiding Sable in splashing Mero for the win.Sable had no business in the ring. Bad match here.

Owen Hart vs Ken Shamrock -Total rip off of UFC here as these two would fight in a cage similar to what they used.You can only win but submission or KO. Shamrock was used to this stuff so you could tell he was into it. I'll give Owen credit as he was really busting his ass to make this match work. Shamrock with the win by submission after locking in the ankle lock. It's not terrible  but still shouldn't be on a wrestling show. Don't get me started on the Braw for All stuff. Geeze that stuff was bad.

Kane/Mankind vs New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Titles-Kane no shows so Mankind is in a handicap match here. The backstage promo between him and Vince before this was entertaining as you had classic Heel Vince goading Foley in defending the belts with the added bonus if he wins he'll be put in the HOF. Just a squash here for the most part with weapons thrown in to pop the NY crowd.Double piledriver ends this one and we have new tag champs in The Outlaws. Post match they put Mankind in a dumpster which right after Kane appears in it in a cool visual and blasts Mankind with  sledgehammer. We don't get to see but J.R puts it over hard on commentary. This match was all about the angle.

The Rock vs Triple H for the WWF IC Title in a ladder match-This was the culmination  of a big feud between DX and the Nation which started during the Spring of this year. Great match as you could tell these two were going to be big time players going forward. A lot of this match was focused on drama over the ladder spots which helped a lot as well. HHH would grab the belt in the end with some help from Chyna. Right after this Rock would be pushed right into the main event picture while HHH would have to wait until the following Spring. But this was the match that really set their careers off to the next level. Must see stuff here.

Steve Austin vs Undertaker for the WWF World Title- I really liked the hype on the match with the whole Highway to Hell stuff.Austin gets a cool entrance similar to WM XIII as he comes out through broken glass in a very cool visual. Good main event here but  Austin's neck problems kept it from being great IMO. Lots of brawling here. Big spot of the match here is Taker giving Austin a leg drop through the announce table. Kane interferes late in the match on Taker's behalf but gets sent back by his big brother. Austin retains after hitting a low blow then hitting the Stunner right after.

Final Thoughts- Yep this is one of the best SSlams of all time. Only bad match here is the mixed tag and that match is only 8 minutes long so in that sense it's tolerable. Great event here and definitely one of the best ever from this era.Verdict-Highly Recommended

Next time on the classic reviews we'll go back a year before to the Meadowlands for SSlam 1997!!

Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids