Speaker 1: What's going on wrestling fans, It's ic Fault and welcome
Speaker 1: back to the Fall Count, and today we're looking back
Speaker 1: at one of the strangest hidden gems in WWE history.
Speaker 1: Three weeks of hype on Monday Night Raw led fans
Speaker 1: to this special television event just days before SummerSlam nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety three. It wasn't a pay per view, it wasn't
Speaker 1: Saturday Night's main event.
Speaker 2: It was in the Action Zone.
Speaker 1: It was simply a special showcase designed to build anticipation
Speaker 1: for WWE's biggest event of the summer. It's a commercial
Speaker 1: for Summer Slam nineteen ninety three. Now, looking back more
Speaker 1: than thirty years later, it's amazing how forgotten this show
Speaker 1: has become.
Speaker 2: For years, you weren't even able to see it, and
Speaker 2: then YouTube gave us the gift that it's back.
Speaker 1: So let's step back into August of nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1: The show opens with an unusual commentary peering it's.
Speaker 2: Jim Ross and Gerla mon Soon calling the action together.
Speaker 2: It's not a team fans associate with WWE.
Speaker 1: It's usually Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Grillaman Soon, Bobby Heenan,
Speaker 1: but it works. Ross brings his sports style presentation, while
Speaker 1: Monsoon provides his usual authority and personality and going bananas.
Speaker 1: From there, it's straight into the first match. The WWF Champion,
Speaker 1: Yoko Zuna faces Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a non title match.
Speaker 1: Now by this point, Duggan was winding down his run
Speaker 1: with the company, but he remained one of the most
Speaker 1: recognizable patriotic heroes the WWE had. This wasn't about creating
Speaker 1: suspense over the championship. It was about making Yoko Zuna
Speaker 1: look like an unstoppable monster heading in to SummerSlam ninety
Speaker 1: three against mister Usa himself.
Speaker 2: Lex Luger.
Speaker 1: Of course, Fuji is here and distructs dug In at
Speaker 1: exactly the right moment, allowing yoko Zuna to capitalize. The
Speaker 1: WWF Champion crushes dug In with the Bonzeye drop and
Speaker 1: scores another victory. After the match, the real selling point arrives.
Speaker 1: Jim Cornett delivers one of his trademark promos directly squarely
Speaker 1: at Lex Luger. Cornet absolutely tears into Luger while reminding
Speaker 1: everyone that no one had been able to stop Yoko
Speaker 1: Zuna's reign of destruction. It was another excellent piece of
Speaker 1: business that helped shape SummerSlam feel bigger. Next up is
Speaker 1: a match you don't remember. It's a Razor Ramone taking
Speaker 1: on Blake Beverly, one half of the Beverly Brothers. It's
Speaker 1: easy to get today that Razor Ramone at this point
Speaker 1: wasn't a multi time Inner Continental Champion, yet he was
Speaker 1: still climbing toward becoming one of WWE's biggest stars. Blake
Speaker 1: Beverly actually gives Razor more trouble than you'd actually think,
Speaker 1: but in the end, Raiser gives us to Raisee's edge
Speaker 1: for the victory, sending the fans home happy. What's fascinating
Speaker 1: is looking back with hindsight. Only three years later, Razor Ramone,
Speaker 1: under a different name would walk into WCW and completely
Speaker 1: change the wrestling business forever, as Scott Hall would start
Speaker 1: the New World Order storyline. Meanwhile, Blake Beverly in three
Speaker 1: years you won't know where he went. Love the Beverly Brothers,
Speaker 1: but Scott Hall will change the wrestling world in three years.
Speaker 1: Blake not so much. The show then cuts away for
Speaker 1: another memorable promo segment. Jerry the King Lawler is in
Speaker 1: Memphis claiming to be spending time with none other than.
Speaker 2: Elvis Presley himself. Huh.
Speaker 1: It's classic over the top naturally, though, Brett Hart responds
Speaker 1: with a serious and bitter promo, continuing one of the
Speaker 1: hottest rivalries heading into SummerSlam.
Speaker 2: Brett Hart and.
Speaker 1: Jerry Lawler is the new generation storyline that many fans
Speaker 1: do not bring up. This storyline wasn't about comedy. This
Speaker 1: was about contrasting personalities. Jerry Lawler was trying to embarrass Brett,
Speaker 1: but Brett simply wanted to get his hands on him. Next,
Speaker 1: it's six man tag team action. It's the Smoking Guns
Speaker 1: joining forces with Tatanka. First off, let's stop there for
Speaker 1: a moment. Cowboys in Indians teaming up together. They're taking
Speaker 1: on my trio of favorite enhancement talent, Barry Horowitz, the
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Brawler in Reno Riggins. On paper, this is one
Speaker 1: of those matches you look at and go this this
Speaker 1: is here? Should this beyond Superstars? Instead, it's actually entertaining
Speaker 1: because the enhancement talent gets far more offense than they should.
Speaker 1: Barry Horowitz, Brooklyn Brawler, Reno Riggins all manage to create
Speaker 1: a competitive match. Yet we all knew the finish to
Speaker 1: Tanka catches Reno Riggins with a flying body press to
Speaker 1: secure the victory for his team. I'd never doubted the
Speaker 1: Smoking Guns in Tonka would pick up the win. There
Speaker 1: After this, we're going to the Undertaker sitting down for
Speaker 1: an interview to explain what exactly a rest in Peace
Speaker 1: match is because he's taken on Giant Gonzale SummerSlam. So
Speaker 1: the Undertaker deliver is one of the darkest promos of
Speaker 1: his early WWF career, describing exactly what he intends to
Speaker 1: do to Gonzales. Then Gonzalez appears to respond. Unfortunately, his
Speaker 1: promo doesn't go absolutely anywhere. I wasn't excited about the
Speaker 1: match after Gian Gonzales spoke, if anything reminded of viewers
Speaker 1: how awkward this rivalry had become. After Restmany nine, Roy
Speaker 1: Rumbled ninety three, I was sold in Gonzalez. History remembers
Speaker 1: his feud as one of the weakest chapters of Undertaker's
Speaker 1: legendary career.
Speaker 2: Yes, and they'd be right.
Speaker 1: Next up the Intern Cardinal Championship, Shawn Michaels defends the
Speaker 1: title against former WWF champion Bob Backlan By ninety three.
Speaker 1: Shawn Michaels was clearly becoming one of WWE's top stars.
Speaker 1: Bob Becklin represented an entire different era of professional wrestling,
Speaker 1: not the new generation. Their styles couldn't have been more
Speaker 1: different now. Later in the match, though, Diesel distracts the referee.
Speaker 1: That distraction allows Shawn Michaels to take advantage. The biggest surprise, though,
Speaker 1: is not Shawn Michaels stealing a pinfall.
Speaker 2: It's the end.
Speaker 1: It's how little attention WWF gave to Shawn Michael's upcoming
Speaker 1: Summer Slim title defense against Mister Perfect.
Speaker 2: Everyone and their mother.
Speaker 1: Would believe that Shawn Michaelsmister Perfect has the potential to
Speaker 1: be the match of the year, the match of the decade.
Speaker 2: The match doesn't deliver, and neither does the storyline. A
Speaker 2: few days.
Speaker 1: Before this, Seawn and Mister Perfect did have a battle
Speaker 1: on the outside of Episod sort of raw, destroying Howard
Speaker 1: Finkel's car. But considering that this is two of the
Speaker 1: greatest intern Conal champions of all time and it's odd
Speaker 1: to see it barely mentioned here, Mary Jenny follows though,
Speaker 1: with a quick showcase against Dwayne Gill. Later on, be
Speaker 1: Gilberg he'll win the light Heavyweight Championship. Yeah, if you're
Speaker 1: not surprise, Marty Kenedy picked up the win. There this
Speaker 1: flying signature fist pump.
Speaker 2: Marty's also an action at Summer Slam. Luvid Borger.
Speaker 1: Then comes the reason many fans still remember this event. Recently,
Speaker 1: I was watching ww E Vault and this match popped
Speaker 1: up on a live.
Speaker 2: Stream and I was so happy to see it.
Speaker 1: It's the WWF Tag Team Championship in a steel cage.
Speaker 1: It's the Steiner Brothers against Money Inc. The stipulation, though,
Speaker 1: is unique, which makes the match fun to watch. Both
Speaker 1: members of one team have to escape the cage in
Speaker 1: order to win the match. That creates a constant chess game.
Speaker 1: Throughout the contest, one wrestler climbs, the other gets pulled
Speaker 1: back in. The partner sacrifices their own escape to stop
Speaker 1: the opposing team. Every few minutes the situation completely changes.
Speaker 1: The finish, though, I believe is absolutely brilliant. Rick Steiner
Speaker 1: escapes the cage first. Now throughout the match, i Arras
Speaker 1: has gotten out, climb back in. Milondela Man escaped, climb
Speaker 1: back in. Scott Steiner climb back in. But now Scott Steiner.
Speaker 1: At this point, he's in the inside with Irs and
Speaker 1: the Million Dollar Man. Rick Steiner escapes the cage first.
Speaker 1: Money Ink, though keeps dragging Scott back in when he's
Speaker 1: trying to get out. Finally, Scott climbs towards freedom while
Speaker 1: Iras attempts to escape on the opposite side. Rick realizes
Speaker 1: what's happening, so he clembs back up the cage grabs
Speaker 1: Irs by four he can touch the floor because guess
Speaker 1: what's going on?
Speaker 2: The Million Dollar Man has a skick.
Speaker 1: On the other side, Lena la Man runs around to
Speaker 1: where Rick Steiner is and starts punching him in the
Speaker 1: stomach while Rick Steiner is holding Irs on his shoulders
Speaker 1: brilliant ending. Scott eventually gets to the floor. The Steiners
Speaker 1: retain the WWF Tag Team titles to honestly one of
Speaker 1: the smartest cage match finishes I've ever seen in my life,
Speaker 1: especially in the nineties. The match is loaded with spots,
Speaker 1: incredible teamwork in constant suspense. But he also noticed the
Speaker 1: arena is very small. It was a it was a
Speaker 1: small arena, you know, it's it's a This match is, though,
Speaker 1: a hidden classic now as the show comes to close,
Speaker 1: one thing comes very clear. This special is better than
Speaker 1: SummerSlam nineteen ninety three. The wrestling was strong, the promos
Speaker 1: were fun, the storytelling advanced everything building to Summer Slam.
Speaker 1: But I'll be honest, I nothing at Summer Slim ninety
Speaker 1: three tops the tag team steel cage match we just watched,
Speaker 1: but everyone looked great. The new generation was beginning, Shawn
Speaker 1: Michael's becoming a superstar, Starner Brothers stepping forward as a
Speaker 1: tag team, Yoko Zuna looking unbeatable. Lex Luger was preparing
Speaker 1: for the biggest opportunity of his life.
Speaker 2: And boy, that Summer Slam just a party.
Speaker 1: But thanks for joining me today talking about this Summer
Speaker 1: Slam spectacular right here on the Fall Count with me,
Speaker 1: Steve Fall. If you enjoyed this trip back through the
Speaker 1: wrestling history, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, share
Speaker 1: the show with another wrestling fan.
Speaker 2: Who loves reliving these for a in moments.
Speaker 1: I'm Steve Fall, and until next time, keep enjoying your wrestling, folks.