Top 10 SummerSlams: Number 9 – SummerSlam 1991
Looking back at the best 10 SummerSlams of all time, today we get to witness number 9 on our list. For that, we go back to 1991, which saw one of the most memorable segments in professional wrestling history, as well as the controversy surrounding The Ultimate Warrior, who was subsequently fired after his match at SummerSlam.
The PPV took place at Madison Square Garden in front of a capacity crowd. The other highlight of the PPV was the WWF Intercontinental Championship match between “Mr Perfect” Curt Hennig and Bret Hart. Without further ado, let us take a look at the events that unfolded during the PPV.
Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart in action
Undercard:
The British Bulldog, The Dragon and The Texas Tornado defeated The Warlord and Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules with Slick)
This peeved everyone off, because Steamboat was back in the WWF but his previous run wasn’t even mentioned. Heck, his name wasn’t mentioned either, as he was now called “The Dragon”. Anyway, he teamed up with Davey and Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich for those who care) to take on The Warlord and the team of Roma and Hercules.
It was a good way to kick off the show though, as the crowd was hot for the match. Steamboat picked up the win for his team with a huge cross body on Paul Roma, and this match set the tone for the rest of the card.
Rating: ** ½
Bret Hart defeated “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig (With The Coach) for the WWF Intercontinental championship
There were two things that were wrong with this match. First was its place on the card, as everyone knew this match would steal the show. Second, there was no background story going into the bout. Mr. Perfect was hurt at this point, and the management wasn’t even sure if Curt could compete! Major props to Curt Hennig for working through the pain.
This match arguably made Bret Hart, and even Bret would tell you that. Good back and forth action which saw Bret taking control of the match, but Mr. Perfect came back due to distractions and heel tactics.
The end saw Bret countering a low blow attempt into a sharpshooter and Mr. Perfect tapped out as soon as Bret locked it in. You could see that Mr. Perfect was really hurt, so the longer the match went, the harder it got for him. This match made Bret a bona fide singles star, and paved the way for him to win the WWF championship.
Bret then celebrated with his parents. You don’t get to see that even for the WWE championship now, and that’s how useless it has become.
Rating: ****
The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Bushwhackers (Butch and Luke with André the Giant)
This was at a point when André could no longer compete due to his back problems. Going into the bout, no one expected a clinic, but the match turned out to be tolerable (being generous). Disasters dominated the match and Earthquake finished it off with a splash for the pinfall victory. Post-match, they tried to attack André, but the Legion of Doom made the save, and it was the beginning of the LOD – Natural Disasters program.
Rating: * ½
We get a video of Bobby Heenan saying “The real world’s champion” was coming to the WWF. This was when Ric Flair had a falling out with the WCW management and jumped ships to the WWF with the World Championship still with him (long story about the management not giving him his money back). Classic segment by The Brain.