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Post by hbkjason on Jul 7, 2022 3:25:16 GMT -5
Howdy folks, I thought I would throw my hat in the ring with another one of these as people seem to be having a lot of fun with them. Anyway, it is the summertime now and SummerSlam is close by so what better time to start doing some SummerSlam themed Mount Rushmores! There was some discussion on another board about how Edge was voted "Mr SummerSlam" by the WWE, when in fact, Bret Hart is arguably the man deserving of that title. Anyway, even if you do not agree with that, Bret sure was part of some great matches at SummerSlam and I thought we could pick our four favorites and I have a feeling many of us will pick a lot of the same matches here. Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect: SummerSlam 1991: I love all four of the PPVs from 1991 and after WrestleMania VII, the rise of Bret Hart started and SummerSlam was the first real big step on that road. This match is amazing, these two had such great chemistry together and from start to end the match is a whole lot of fun. The way Bret put Mr. Perfect in the sharpshooter was really clever, plus Heenan ripping on Stu and Helen in the crowd is always fun. The only downside to the match is Coach and that damn whistle! Bret Hart vs Owen Hart: SummerSlam 1994 I think that we were all in on this feud I was lucky enough to go to the Hart Attack tour here in the UK in September 1994 and that match had Bret teaming with Bulldog against Owen and Anvil the program for this event was one that I lost in a flood many years ago . This is still one of the best cage matches that the WWF has ever done. It was a brutal match, but it also had a lot of technical wrestling in it as well. Bret Hart vs Undertaker: SummerSlam 1997 Heel Bret in 1997 is one of my favorite heels of all time. He felt so real and he put on great match after great match. This match told an excellent story and Bret, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels all did a wonderful job of pulling this off. The Hart Foundation vs Demolition: SummerSlam 1990 I have such great memories of this match. To start with the match is fantastic, these two teams had amazing chemistry (and even wrestled a couple of years prior). The whole "which two members will it be" was fun, even though I had no idea how the commentators could not tell it was Smash, even with the helmet on lol. The inclusion of the LOD was a ton of fun too, but what made this match really make the list for me was my grandfather. he freaking loved this match and got such a huge kick out of all the shenanigans going on, especially Ax hiding under the ring. People may be surprised that Hart vs Bulldog did not make my list and while I love that match and was there for it, I decided to go with the matches that I enjoyed the most and truth be told over the years, I just appreciate the In Your House match more and more over their SummerSlam 92 one.
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Post by The Brain on Jul 7, 2022 3:38:35 GMT -5
vs Busters 89 vs Demo 90 vs Perfect 91 vs Owen 94
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Post by MKSavage on Jul 7, 2022 7:46:16 GMT -5
Great thread! I am in agreement with you, how Edge was voted Mr. Summer Slam over Bret still baffles me. Other than 1995, everyone of Bret's Summer Slam matches were good to great, and contenders for match of the night - which I believe he won outright in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997.
For my picks, I'm going with just singles matches, though each of his tag team matches at Summer Slam were great.
vs Perfect at 1991 - this was the first, great match I ever saw. I instantly became a fan of each guy that night.
vs Bulldog at 1992 - another great performance, made even better by the fact that Davey was high as a kite for the match.
vs Owen at 1994 - one of the better cage matches, they didn't go for the blood and gore that cage matches can usually go for, they went with the story of trying to win the match by escaping the cage. Interesting note, Bret wanted this match to be a ladder match, but since Razor and HBK did that type of match at WM10, it was changed to a cage match.
vs Taker at 1997 - to me, their best match against each other. I really liked heel Bret at this time, and he and Taker put on a great show. The inclusion of Shawn put the match over the top. I really loved the finish of this match, just brilliant.
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Post by The Brain on Jul 7, 2022 7:56:27 GMT -5
Great thread! I am in agreement with you, how Edge was voted Mr. Summer Slam over Bret still baffles me. Other than 1995, everyone of Bret's Summer Slam matches were good to great, and contenders for match of the night - which I believe he won outright in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997. For my picks, I'm going with just singles matches, though each of his tag team matches at Summer Slam were great. vs Perfect at 1991 - this was the first, great match I ever saw. I instantly became a fan of each guy that night. vs Bulldog at 1992 - another great performance, made even better by the fact that Davey was high as a kite for the match. vs Owen at 1994 - one of the better cage matches, they didn't go for the blood and gore that cage matches can usually go for, they went with the story of trying to win the match by escaping the cage. Interesting note, Bret wanted this match to be a ladder match, but since Razor and HBK did that type of match at WM10, it was changed to a cage match. vs Taker at 1997 - to me, their best match against each other. I really liked heel Bret at this time, and he and Taker put on a great show. The inclusion of Shawn put the match over the top. I really loved the finish of this match, just brilliant. And even that match with Yankem wasnt bad.Bret always did well with the bigger guys No question Mr SSlam in my book
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nibs92
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Post by nibs92 on Jul 7, 2022 15:12:59 GMT -5
Undertaker 97 - loved the Shawn factor in this match. To me, the Hitman character was at its finest here with the anti USA/Hart Foundation storyline
Mr Perfect 91 - an excellent match when the Hart singles push was in its infancy. What makes this one really special for me was reading several reports that Hennig was badly injured but had a strong desire to put Bret over.
Doink/Lawler 93 - something really endearing to me about the event as a whole and was something different with the Lawler “injury” storyline. Loved the ending as well with the Bret DQ for not releasing the sharpshooter. Out of interest does anyone know if Bret faced Doink another time?
Bulldog 92 - deserves respect for carrying the drug addled Bulldog to his greatest match in the singles ranks. A nice way of moving Bret up to the Heavyweight belt ranking.
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Post by CM Tusk on Jul 7, 2022 16:07:45 GMT -5
Vs Perfect 91 Vs Davey 92 Vs Doink 93 Vs Owen 94
And I just realized all of them are gone. What a bummer of a thought.
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Warriah'
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Post by Warriah' on Jul 7, 2022 17:31:48 GMT -5
I attended the Hart Attack tour too. I was a bit young to remember it though. My brother still has his program!
As for his best 4 SS matches I will go with:
90 - Demolition 91 - Mr Perfect 92 - Bulldog 94 - Owen
I do greatly prefer the Mania X Owen match to SS94, but it's still a masterpiece. Coincidentally I prefer the KOTR 93 match between Curt and Bret.
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Post by JokerFC on Jul 7, 2022 17:49:23 GMT -5
Summerslam 1990 vs Demolition. Fantastic tag team match. Pity it signalled the end for Demolition but what can ya do. Loved the Road Warriors interference here.
Summerslam 1991 vs Perfect. One of my all time favorite matches.
Summerslam 1992 vs Bulldog. Testament to Bret's talent that he was able to drag Smiths pilled up ass around the ring at Wembley and produce a great match. Atmosphere and side story of the Harts makes it great stuff.
Summerslam 1997: Match was incredible...Stips made you really wonder and the booking was superb from Pat Patterson. Fantastic match.
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X-27
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Post by X-27 on Jul 7, 2022 18:55:49 GMT -5
vs Brain Busters - 89 vs Demolition - 90 vs Perfect - 91 vs Bulldog - 92
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Post by Grenouille on Jul 7, 2022 19:46:03 GMT -5
Since this is Bret Hart wouldn’t it be correct to call him Mr. TheSummerSlam?
‘89 vs Brain Busters
‘90 vs Demolition
‘91 vs Mr. Perfect
‘97 vs Undertaker
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jul 7, 2022 21:51:56 GMT -5
Summerslam 1990 vs Demolition. Fantastic tag team match. Pity it signalled the end for Demolition but what can ya do. Loved the Road Warriors interference here. Summerslam 1991 vs Perfect. One of my all time favorite matches. Summerslam 1992 vs Bulldog. Testament to Bret's talent that he was able to drag Smiths pilled up ass around the ring at Wembley and produce a great match. Atmosphere and side story of the Harts makes it great stuff. Summerslam 1997: Match was incredible...Stips made you really wonder and the booking was superb from Pat Patterson. Fantastic match.
I was going to say these four too, and you summed them all up perfectly, so no point in me writing anything now! Ha ha ha
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Post by The Brain on Jul 7, 2022 22:21:40 GMT -5
His match with Doink in 93 is a gem.
And man props to King for walking out there with a wrecked knee. Talk about courageous. and to top it off how it healed so quickly! What a miracle!
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TheEvilDoink1987
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 9, 2022 21:36:44 GMT -5
His match with Doink in 93 is a gem. And man props to King for walking out there with a wrecked knee. Talk about courageous. and to top it off how it healed so quickly! What a miracle! That match was solid, but it usually gets lost in the sauce of that whole Bret/Lawler segment. The amount of heat that Lawler had that night is magical. Bittersweet for Matt Borne though because he was released not too long after this show. People always assume that he was around until Survivor Series since he was on the programs leading up to the PPV, but back then they taped weeks in advance. At least we got to see him versus Bret once.
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nibs92
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Post by nibs92 on Jul 10, 2022 2:07:07 GMT -5
His match with Doink in 93 is a gem. And man props to King for walking out there with a wrecked knee. Talk about courageous. and to top it off how it healed so quickly! What a miracle! That match was solid, but it usually gets lost in the sauce of that whole Bret/Lawler segment. The amount of heat that Lawler had that night is magical. Bittersweet for Matt Borne though because he was released not too long after this show. People always assume that he was around until Survivor Series since he was on the programs leading up to the PPV, but back then they taped weeks in advance. At least we got to see him versus Bret once. One of the greatest things about Doink was he could wrestle. I sometimes wonder if he were too cartoonish for a proper feud with Bret, but glad he got to be part of the Lawler storyline.
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Post by MKSavage on Jul 10, 2022 2:11:11 GMT -5
That match was solid, but it usually gets lost in the sauce of that whole Bret/Lawler segment. The amount of heat that Lawler had that night is magical. Bittersweet for Matt Borne though because he was released not too long after this show. People always assume that he was around until Survivor Series since he was on the programs leading up to the PPV, but back then they taped weeks in advance. At least we got to see him versus Bret once. One of the greatest things about Doink was he could wrestle. I sometimes wonder if he were too cartoonish for a proper feud with Bret, but glad he got to be part of the Lawler storyline. I wonder if he was supposed to wrestle Crush at the Summer Slam PPV? The WWF appeared to still be pushing the feud during the summer. Crush got injured in the summer and was off for a little bit, did they put Doink in the Bret/Lawler match to get him on the card and get more out of the match of Bret/Lawler?
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Post by hbkjason on Jul 10, 2022 2:24:51 GMT -5
One of the greatest things about Doink was he could wrestle. I sometimes wonder if he were too cartoonish for a proper feud with Bret, but glad he got to be part of the Lawler storyline. I wonder if he was supposed to wrestle Crush at the PPV? The WWF appeared to still be pushing the feud during the summer. Crush got injured in the summer and was off for a little bit, did they put Doink in the Bret/Lawler match to get him on the card and get more out of the match of Bret/Lawler? That makes a lot of sense actually. Perhaps had he not been injured, Crush would have finally gone over Doink at Summerslam.
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nibs92
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Post by nibs92 on Jul 10, 2022 2:45:04 GMT -5
I wonder if he was supposed to wrestle Crush at the PPV? The WWF appeared to still be pushing the feud during the summer. Crush got injured in the summer and was off for a little bit, did they put Doink in the Bret/Lawler match to get him on the card and get more out of the match of Bret/Lawler? That makes a lot of sense actually. Perhaps had he not been injured, Crush would have finally gone over Doink at Summerslam. Yeah the Crush storyline was a little weird. I can’t even think of a time in the feud that Crush got the upper hand. Booking logic tells us that Doink should have been beaten in a PPV match to blow it off. My memory is a little hazy but didn’t Doink turn face shortly after this and feud with Bam Bam, thus essentially ending the Crush feud?
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Post by The Brain on Jul 10, 2022 3:19:28 GMT -5
That makes a lot of sense actually. Perhaps had he not been injured, Crush would have finally gone over Doink at Summerslam. Yeah the Crush storyline was a little weird. I can’t even think of a time in the feud that Crush got the upper hand. Booking logic tells us that Doink should have been beaten in a PPV match to blow it off. My memory is a little hazy but didn’t Doink turn face shortly after this and feud with Bam Bam, thus essentially ending the Crush feud?Yeah pretty much. They teased a feud with King but it never went anywhere. The last match they had was on Superstars that summer with Crush actually winning by countout but still looked like a chump in the end
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TheEvilDoink1987
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jul 10, 2022 16:43:57 GMT -5
Yeah the Crush storyline was a little weird. I can’t even think of a time in the feud that Crush got the upper hand. Booking logic tells us that Doink should have been beaten in a PPV match to blow it off. My memory is a little hazy but didn’t Doink turn face shortly after this and feud with Bam Bam, thus essentially ending the Crush feud?Yeah pretty much. They teased a feud with King but it never went anywhere. The last match they had was on Superstars that summer with Crush actually winning by countout but still looked like a chump in the end Yeah, Doink appeared on the King's Court not long after SummerSlam. He made fun of Lawler on the segment and that was the beginning of the babyface run. Right after that on a Raw taping, he dumped a bucket of water on Bobby Heenan which further solidified where the character was heading. Regarding the Crush feud though, you have to think that there were plans to have him come out on top against Doink in convincing fashion at least once. Never happened though. Crush apparently had a legitimate injury which is why they ran the angle where Yokozuna gave him multiple Banzai Drops and put him on the shelf. Crush never really avenged getting owned by Doink time after time which I think hurt his credibility in the long run with fans even after he turned heel.
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Post by MKSavage on Jul 10, 2022 17:35:48 GMT -5
Yeah pretty much. They teased a feud with King but it never went anywhere. The last match they had was on Superstars that summer with Crush actually winning by countout but still looked like a chump in the end Yeah, Doink appeared on the King's Court not long after SummerSlam. He made fun of Lawler on the segment and that was the beginning of the babyface run. Right after that on a Raw taping, he dumped a bucket of water on Bobby Heenan which further solidified where the character was heading. Regarding the Crush feud though, you have to think that there were plans to have him come out on top against Doink in convincing fashion at least once. Never happened though. Crush apparently had a legitimate injury which is why they ran the angle where Yokozuna gave him multiple Banzai Drops and put him on the shelf. Crush never really avenged getting owned by Doink time after time which I think hurt his credibility in the long run with fans even after he turned heel. Yeah, you think that they could have had him have a match as heel Crush vs face Doink, he could have squashed him did get heat, Savage coming out to make the save. My guess is they were setting up for a Doink/Lawler feud to maybe occur after Bret/Lawler ended. They did start up the feud in 1994 after Doink finished feuding with Bam Bam. I remember Lawler and Jarrett picking on Dink.
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