Overrated

Just what I expected

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

In keeping with previous WWF events during this time period, SummerSlam 1991 is kind of all over the place in terms of talent and excitement. There are a few good matches, with many clunkers interspersed throughout. At least this time, however, the "gimmick" (Randy Savage & Elizabeth's wedding) was entertaining.The highlights: -Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect with the Intercontinental Title on the line. This is a very well-executed and entertaining match. Two guys who just knew who to wrestle and put on a show. -Legion of Doom vs. Nasty Boys for the Tag Team titles. I'm usually not a huge fan of tag-team matches, but this one was professionally done all the way around. -The "Match Made in Heaven", or the wedding between Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth. They had been married in real life for years, so this was a fun "meta" moment for the WWF at a time where they were desperate for any goodwill.Other than those highlights, however, pretty much everything else falls flat. Teaming up Hogan/Warrior vs. Slaughter and Co. reeks of desperation, while a recurring gig with the Mountie being booked in a local jail after losing to Big Boss Man goes on for far too long.So, while the wedding gimmick (and a few select matches) makes SummerSlam '91 worth watching, the WWF is still a bit of a mess in terms of talent and direction at this point.

1. The Dragon (embarassing Steamboat's gimmick)/Tornado Texas/ The British Bulldog Vs. Hercules/Warlord/Paul Roma - First match was fine. 6/10 2. Intercontinental Championship: Bret Hart Vs. Champ-Mr. Perfect - Outstanding match full of match, Hennig is perfect at selling Bret's moves 9/10 3. Natural Disasters Vs. 2 mentally ill WoodCrackers (Real Natural Disasters) - It hurts to watch match with these 2 idiots. At least they ate lost. 4/10 4. The Million Dollar Man Vs. Virgil - Grudge match 5.5/10 5. Jailhouse Match: The Mountie Vs. Big Stiff Man - Bossman has nothing to do on PPV. Unsympathetic piece of terrible skills wrestler. Punch, chop, basic slam match. That could afford only big Superstars. 4/10 Piper's appearance + jail house bullshit -5/10 6. WWF tag team championship: Legion of Doom Vs. Champs-Nasty Boys - Funny, champs, came to the ring first. Decent match. 6/10 7. I.R.S.(formerly known as Mike Rotunda) Vs. Greg Valentine 5/108. Sgt. Slaughter/Col. Mustafa (Iron Sheik)/General Adnan Vs. Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan - Classic superstar match, nothing special. 5/10 Randy Savage and Elizabeth also get "married".

Summerslam 1991 was built as the match made in heaven, the match made in hell. The match made in heaven being the wedding of Randy "Macho Man" Savage and former manager now girlfriend Elizabeth. The match made in hell featured Hulk Hogan teaming up with former foe the Ultimate Warrior to go against the anti-American trio of Sgt. Slaughter, the Iron Shiek (Known here as Col. Mustafa), and Gen. Adnan. had ended but the WWF was trying to milk the American pride for all it was worth.This event was held in Madison Square Garden. The commentators for this event were Gorilla Monsoon, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and Bobby "the Brain" Heenan. This event really showcase the absolute genius and pure talent that Heenan had as a color commentator. At times he had me cracking up. Heenan will always be my favorite "pro-heel". Jesse Ventura was always trying to make things too personal, Jerry Lawler's "puppy talk" gets old after a while, and Tazz is just a pure waste of time. But Heenan totally stole the night on commentary and at times had me cracking up.Now onto the event itself. It was totally great until the main event happened. Both the IC and Tag Team title matches were classic. The Big Bossman/Mountie "go to jail match" was very entertaining especially the post-match. Looking back there is a bit of sadness to this event as it marked the final WWF appearance for the late great Andre the Giant as he accompanied the Buschwackers to the ring for their match against the Natural Disasters. A great night to be a babyface and a bad night to be a heel as their were only two heel wins on the whole card. But that kept the crowd happy. So here's my view on the card itself: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, the British Bulldog, and the Texas Tornado vs. The Warlord and Power and Glory w/Slick: A great opener that really offered everything. You had the martial arts technical skills of Steamboat, the brawling ability of Kerry Von Erich, and the other four wrestlers were flat out power wrestlers. Lots of fast action, and they really didn't over do anything. And it really got the crowd into it.IC Title Match - Mr. Perfect w/the Coach (Champion) vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart (Challenger): This one was an absolute classic. Two of the all time great technical wrestlers. Given the pain that Perfect's back was in at that time, he really put on an excellent show and this was kind of the passing of the torch, so to speak. This was the beginning of Bret Hart's huge push as a single's wrestler. Perfect would not return to active wrestling until Survior Series of 1992.The Buschwackers w/Andre the Giant vs. The Natural Disasters w/Jimmy Hart- A good solid match, even for a Buschwacker match. The Natural Disasters were being pushed as the top heel tag team at the time so they got the win. As mentioned, this was the final WWF appearance for the legendary Andre the Giant. After the match, the Disasters tried to go after Andre but the Legion of Doom came to his rescue setting up a big feud between those two teams.Virgil vs. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibase w/Sensation Sherri: Piper was way too over dramatic on commentary for my liking. But it got the crowd going though. Few workers were better at carrying wrestlers with less talent than Dibiase. I feel he's the greatest WWF superstar that never held the world title. I wish Dibiase would have just won this thing with a million dollar dream and ended this feud here while Piper cried. But not to be.Big Bossman vs. The Mountie w/Jimmy Hart: Supprisingly this was a really great match. The stipulation here was that the loser of this match would spend the night in jail. Basically this was a squash match for the Bossman. The post-match was just as entertaining as the Mountie gets taken away in the patiwagon. Throughout the rest of the night, they would show segments of the Mountie in jail.Tag Team title match - The Nasty Boyz w/Jimmy Hart (Champions) vs. The Legion of Doom (challengers): A no DQ match here. A decent tag match. Not top notch, but definitely entertaining. Road Warrior fans will enjoy this one.Greg Valentine vs. Irwin R. Schyster: Greg Valentine was nearing the end of his WWF career and had not been involved in any meaningful story lines for well over a year and by now he had been demoted to jobber to the stars. Irwin R. Schyster was a brand new undefeated heel with a great gimmick that fans hated. Any guesses as to how this one turns out? Next please.Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa, and Gen. Adnan. Sid Justice is the special guest referee: It was the match made in hell alright, but not for the reason the WWF gave. Who booked this crappy main event? Let's see at this time the WWF had just signed Ric Flair and Sid Justice. You also had the Undertaker and the newly turned heel Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Yet they book two over the hill crappy wrestlers like the Iron Shiek and General Adnan to team up with Sgt. Slaughter who never had any business being elevated above mid-card status in the first place. The match sucked from beginning and the only real heat it got was when Hogan and the Warrior accidentally ran into Sid Justice and had a stare down. I guess a fatal 4-way title match between Hogan, Warrior, Undertaker, and Sid Justice would have been too much to ask for.The Wedding: The only reason to watch the wedding is for Heenan's funny commentary and to see Jake the Snake and the Undertaker crash the reception. Other than that, you can skip it.

*SPOILERS*Until the last three segments, this one was really good.The opening six-man match was a good way of putting over two guys in one match. I say "two" because all the Texas Tornado did was punch. But it took the British Bulldog a year to go over at least that well again, and The Dragon was gone soon after.The big reason the Bret-Perfect match is so memorable is that it was Bret's first great high-profile match. He has said that most wrestlers had their best match against him, and no one can deny it.\The Bushwhackers put up a great fight against the Disasters, and the spot with the Legion of Doom afterward was almost as big a highlight as what the LOD did later on that afternoon.The Big Bossman always was an underrated performer. He and Jake the Snake are the only wrestlers who I remember could have a good match with the late Hercules. Here, he dominated the Mountie, but the real show went on afterward. Look closely and you'll see the Mountie give a jailer the finger. And the end of his segment is too funny for words. Kudos to Jacques Rougeau in selling this spot so well.While the LOD's match against the Nasty Boys was good, why did they bother making it a "No Disqualification, No Countout" match? The Nasty Boys make sure to do all of their cheating behind the ref's back, and Animal spends most of the match on the apron waiting for Hawk's tag. He would not have been disqualified for running in! That's the whole point!After that, we get a mediocre match between Valentine and IRS, followed by the worst main event in SummerSlam history. That includes the one from '89. Then the ludicrous wedding, which was an elaborate setup for the major feuds of the next few months.So rent it, but just hit "stop" after LOD's match.