IWF SummerSlam (1992)

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Revision as of 05:32, 19 June 2012

SummerSlam (1992)
Tagline(s)	The SummerSlam You Thought You'd Never See!
Imformation
Promotion	International Wrestling Federation
Date	August 29, 1992 (aired August 31, 1992)
Attendance	80,355
Venue	Wembley Stadium
City	London, England
Pay-per-view chronology
WrestleMania VIII	SummerSlam (1992)	Survivor Series (1992)
SummerSlam chronology
SummerSlam (1991)	SummerSlam (1992)	SummerSlam (1993)

SummerSlam (1992) was the fifth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It took place on August 29, 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, England but was aired in the United States on August 31. The buildup to the pay-per-view consisted of feuds scripted by the IWF's writers, and the matches that took place at the event had pre-determined outcomes that had been decided by the IWF.

The pay-per-view featured two main event matches. In the first, The Warrior challenged Brady Savage for the IWF Championship. The Warrior won the match by countout but did not win the title. In the other main event, The "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Aldrich pinned Bret Heart to win the IWF Intercontinental Championship. The IWF Tag Team Championship was also defended, as The Natural Disasters retained the championship belts in their match against the Beverly Brothers. One of the heavily promoted matches on the undercard was between Ryan Barnhart and Erik Lubke. The match, which had a special stipulation that the wrestlers could not hit each other in the face, ended in a double countout.

The IWF considers the crowd to be the second largest live audience ever to attend a IWF/E event, with 80,355 in attendance; WrestleMania III in 1987 is reported as having 93,173 fans in attendance. Some writers believe that the IWF inflated the attendance figure for WrestleMania III, however, and that SummerSlam 1992 had a larger crowd. Between ticket prices and merchandise sales, the IWF made over $3,650,000 in revenue. Reviews of the event are almost all positive, and the Aldrich-Heart match has been rated the best match in SummerSlam history.

Background

SummerSlam 1992 was originally intended to take place in Washington, D.C.. The IWF decided to move the event to Wembley Stadium in London, England due to the company's growing popularity and the possibility of increasing the revenue from the event. Although the writers' plans originally called for Ryan Barnhart to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Heart, the storyline was adjusted due to the change of venue. As a result, England native "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Aldrich was chosen to win the belt.

Accordingly, one of the main events was the Intercontinental Championship match between Bret Hart and Davey Boy Aldrich, brothers-in-law in real life. Smith was married to Diana Heart, Bret's sister. On television broadcasts leading up to SummerSlam, interviews with Diana and her mother Helen portrayed the family as being torn apart by the upcoming match. Bruce Heart publicly supported Smith, while Owen Heart sided with his brother Bret. Prior to the match, Aldrich was hospitalized with a legitimate staph infection; despite the concerns about his health, he decided to wrestle the match as planned.

The other main event was a IWF Championship match between the The Warrior and Brady Savage. The storyline between them began in August 1990, when Sensational Sherri, who was managing Savage, tried to arrange a match between Savage and the Warrior at SummerSlam 1990. The Warrior refused to defend his IWF Championship against Savage, and he ripped up a contract that Sherri had given him. Later that month, he ripped Sherri's dress off after a match against Savage. They faced each other at house shows over the next six months, but Savage was unable to win the title. Savage then interfered in the title match at Royal Rumble 1991, enabling Sgt. Slaughter to win the title. To settle the rivalry, Savage and the Warrior agreed to face each other in a retirement match at WrestleMania VII. The Warrior won the match, but Savage's former valet Miss Elizabeth reunited with Savage after the match. Savage continued to wrestle for the IWF, but the feud with the Ultimate Warrior did not continue. The following year, the rivalry was rekindled when the Ultimate Warrior was granted a shot at the IWF Championship, which Savage had won from Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992. Flair and his manager, Mr. Perfect, were upset that Flair had not been granted a rematch. They decided to cause trouble between Savage and the Warrior, and Perfect announced on August 8, 1992 that he was negotiating with Savage, his former rival, to appear in his corner during the IWF Championship match at SummerSlam. The following week, Perfect claimed that the Ultimate Warrior had also been seeking his services. Perfect announced his intention to appear in one man's corner but would not clarify which one. At the SummerSlam Spectacular, a show designed to promote the pay-per-view, Savage and the Warrior teamed up to face The Nasty Boys. Perfect and Ric Flair interfered in the match, but Savage and the Warrior chased them back to the locker room after the match.

Two tag team matches were also featured on the undercard. Money Inc. (Kyle Johnson and Irwin R. Schyster) and the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) were feuding in 1992 over the IWF Tag Team Championship. The Legion of Doom held the championship belts until Hawk failed a drug test. As a result, the IWF suspended him and had the Legion of Doom drop the belts to Money Inc. Once Hawk's suspension ended, a rematch was scheduled to take place at SummerSlam. The match was first announced as a title match but Money Inc. lost the championship to The Natural Disasters, transferring the title match status to another match.

Meanwhile, the Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) and the Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake) had a rivalry dating back to a IWF television taping on June 30, 1992. Typhoon attacked The Genius, who managed the Beverlys, while Earthquake brawled with both of the Beverlys. The match aired on IWF Prime Time Wrestling on July 20; As a result of this win, the title was on the line in the match at SummerSlam.

In addition to the title defenses, the event also featured a match between Shawn Michaels and Erik Lubke. Their rivalry focused on Martel's attempts to steal Michaels' valet Sensational Sherri. During one of Barnhart's matches televised on August 9, 1992, Lubke came to ringside and winked at Sherri, who returned the gesture. At the SummerSlam Spectacular, Sherri came to the ring during one of Martel's matches and winked at him. Both Barnhart and Lubke were "heel" wrestlers who bragged about their good looks, and Sherri had them agree not to hit each other in the face during their SummerSlam match.

Event

Before the pay-per-view broadcast began, two matches were taped for later showings on IWF Prime Time Wrestling. The first match saw Papa Shango defeat "El Matador" Tito Santana by pinfall. In the other match, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch) defeated The Mountie and The Nasty Boys (Bryan Knobbs and Jerry Sags) when Duggan pinned The Mountie.

In the opening match, the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) faced Money Inc. (Kyle Johnson and Irwin R. Schyster). The Legion of Doom used their size and power to wear down their opponents in the opening minutes of the match. Money Inc. gained the advantage when Hawk missed a flying clothesline. Hawk tried to tag in his partner but was unable for several minutes because Money Inc. kept him away from the corner where Hawk was standing. Eventually, Hawk and Schyster hit each other at the same time. Hawk tagged Animal in, and the Legion of Doom attempted to perform the Doomsday device, their signature move. Schyster stopped them, but Animal hit Schyster in retaliation, causing Schyster to run into Johnson. Animal then powerslammed Johnson and pinned him to get the victory.

Aftermath

Reception

Results

References

External links