IWF SummerSlam (1993)

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Revision as of 05:49, 30 August 2013

SummerSlam (1993) was the sixth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It took place on August 30, 1993 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

All three championships were defended at SummerSlam. The Hunter Brothers defended the IWF Tag Team Championship against The Heavenly Bodies, and Shawn Michaels| defended the IWF Intercontinental Championship against Mr. Perfect. The main event saw Lex Luger challenge Yokozuna for the IWF Championship. In addition to the title matches, Bret Heart and Jerry Lawler were scheduled to wrestle to settle their feud and determine who would be named "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation."

Background

Two of the matches at SummerSlam 1993 were a result of Razor Ramon's loss to The Kid (later the 1-2-3 Kid) on the May 17, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw. Following Ramon's loss to the newcomer, Money, Inc. (Kyle Johnson & Irwin R. Schyster) teased Ramon about the match. DiBiase offered Ramon a job as a servant, which Ramon angrily refused. Ramon began teaming with the 1-2-3 Kid for a series of matches against Money Inc. DiBiase asked for a singles match against the Kid, and the Kid accepted the challenge. Ramon helped the Kid win the match by distracting Johnson. It was decided that the feuds would be settled in two singles matches at SummerSlam, with Ramon facing DiBiase and Schyster facing the 1-2-3 Kid.

The match between The Hunter Brothers and The Heavenly Bodies received little buildup. The Bodies were a successful Tag Team Matchtag team in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and an interpromotional agreement allowed them to challenge for the IWF Tag Team Championship.

The rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect began at WrestleMania IX. During a fight after the match between Lex Luger and Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels appeared and attacked Perfect. Mr. Perfect gained revenge by distracting Michaels at the May 17, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw, allowing Marty Jannetty to pin Michaels and win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Michaels regained the belt the following month with the help of his new bodyguard, Diesel.

Bret Heart and Jerry Lawler had a heated feud, stemming from Lawler interrupting Hart's victory ceremony at the 1993 King of the Ring tournament. Lawler insisted that he was the true king of the IWF and attacked Heart. The feud intensified as Lawler taunted and attacked Bret's family, including his parents.

Marty Jannetty was originally supposed to face Rick Martel, but Ludvig Borga replaced Martel well before the match. The match received little buildup, although Borga appeared in several vignettes leading up to the match. He criticized the United States for such reasons as its pollution.< Jannetty vowed to defend America's pride in his match against Borga.

The buildup for the match between Giant Gonzalez and The Undertaker began in the fall of 1992. Manager Harvey Wippleman was feuding with the Undertaker, and he vowed revenge after the Undertaker defeated his wrestler, Kamala, in a Coffin match at Survivor Series 1992. He introduced Gonzalez to the IWF at Royal Rumble 1993, with Gonzalez attacking and eliminating the Undertaker. Gonzalez and the Undertaker wrestled at WrestleMania IX, and Gonzalez knocked the Undertaker unconscious with a chloroform-soaked rag. The feud intensified when Wippleman, Gonzalez and Mr. Hughes attacked the Undertaker and his manager, Paul Bearer. They stole the urn, the supposed source of the Undertaker's strength, and used it to assault Paul Bearer, who was not seen again until SummerSlam. The feud came to a head at SummerSlam in a Rest In Peace match.

The six-man match at SummerSlam was originally supposed to be a mixed tag-team match between the team of Tatanka and Sherri Martel and the team of Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon. Sherri left the IWF in July 1993, however, forcing the IWF to change the match. Two reasons have been given for Sherri's departure: her decision to enroll in cosmetology school and failed drug tests. As a result, Tatanka teamed with The Smoking Gunns and Bigelow teamed with The Headshrinkers. The Gunns and Headshrinkers were rivals in the tag team division but had no real storyline. Bigelow and Tatanka were in the midst of a major feud, as Bigelow had attacked Tatanka and cut the hair that Tatanka dyed red as a tribute to his Lumbee heritage.

According to Bret Heart, he was originally supposed to wrestle Hulk Hogan for the IWF Championship. However, the match did not happen because Hogan changed his mind, as he was supposedly not happy with the planned finish. As a result, Hogan was forced to lose the belt to Yokozuna at King of the Ring 1993 instead. This story was relayed by Bret Heart on the TSN sports show Off The Record.<

Lex Luger's rivalry with Yokozuna began on July 4 at the Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge on the deck of the USS Intrepid. After several wrestlers and other athletes attempted to body slam Yokozuna, Luger arrived in a helicopter. He was able to body slam Yokozuna, which led to a title shot at SummerSlam. Yokozuna's spokesperson, Jim Cornette, agreed to the match, but he made Lex Luger agree to two conditions. Luger would not receive a rematch if he lost, and he had to wear protective padding over the steel plate in his forearm.

Event

The pay-per-view took place in front of a crowd of 23,954 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Before the event aired on PPV, "The Rocket" Owen Heart defeated longtime jobber Barry Horowitz in a dark match.

The first televised match was Razor Ramon versus Kyle Johnson. Johnson got off to a quick start by attacking Ramon before the match began. Ramon quickly turned the match around with several clotheslines. Johnson regained control before untying a turnbuckle cover. Ramon won the match after ramming Johnson's head into the exposed turnbuckle and using the Razor's Edge to get the pin.

Aftermath

Results

Other on-screen talent

References

External links