The Wrestling World According to Brad

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Nowadays in the age of social media and the desire for history over mystery, everyone knows wrestling is a completely collaborative performance. We still have the assigned babyface and heel characters, but now that everyone knows everything fans will simply cheer for their favourite stars regardless of what side of the fence they stand on.

Back in the 1990’s and earlier on the other hand, wrestlers were encouraged to keep up appearances and some would guard kayfabe with their lives to maintain the good v evil narrative, only travelling with fellow faces or heels and even staying in character in public to convince people what they saw on TV was all real.

However, despite this unspoken rule of keeping the audience at arm’s length, there have been many instances where wrestlers have broken the fourth wall or gone off script. Some are understandable to cover for injuries or miscues, while others have been part of a storyline such as CM Punk’s Pipebomb, Paul Heyman’s One Night Stand shoot promo or to an extent depending on who you ask, Bash at the Beach 2000. These though are pure examples of wrestlers going into business for themselves without fearing the consequences.

Here are 10 Times Wrestlers Intentionally Broke Kayfabe.

10. The Spider Incident
Despite her enormous success for many decades, the accomplishments of the Fabulous Moolah have become outweighed by the controversy surrounding her and her treatment of her contemporaries during her career. Though not as damning as some of the stories that have come to light, she was involved in one of the biggest controversies in company history at the time.

In a precursor to a much more famous incident of a similar nature (we’ll get to that), Moolah played a big part of stealing the WWF Women’s title from champion Wendi Richter in November 1985. At the time Richter was refusing to sign a new WWF contract and fearing she may leave the company with the belt, Vince McMahon hatched a plan to take it from her by force.

In a match at Madison Square Garden, Richter was set to defend her title against a character known as ‘The Spider’ normally performed by wrestler Glen Deane. On this night however The Spider was to be portrayed by the Fabulous Moolah, a fact that Richter caught onto quickly and forced her to adjust her game plan.

At the conclusion of the match, The Spider rolled Richter into a seemingly innocuous small package only for the referee to administer a fast three count. Richter then finally managed to unmask Moolah and get the upper hand but was shocked to hear the announcement that the match was over and she had lost her title. She then stormed out of the Garden still in her wrestling gear and would not be seen on WWF TV again for 25 years until she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

She would not speak to Vince McMahon at all during that time and would never speak to the Fabulous Moolah again.

9. Brody no sells Luger
Bruiser Brody was one of the most successful wrestlers of the 1980s, but he was not one to be tied down to one organisation for a long time. He knew he was a star and he knew what his time was worth. Therefore, he had no problem screwing over a promoter if he felt he wasn’t being treated correctly. One tactic used by many in the territories involved going out to ringside early at a show only to leave before their scheduled match leaving the show in disarray.

Brody would also take his frustrations out on his opponents. In one example in 1986, Brody took on a very fresh-faced Lex Luger in a Steel Cage match in Florida. Luger had tried to lay the match out with Brody beforehand, whereas Brody was used to calling it in the ring. This combined with Lex’s supposed arrogant attitude, which was frowned upon from someone so green, meant Brody was in no mood to cooperate.

The match began cordially enough, then suddenly Brody simply stopped selling Luger’s offence and stopped caring all together. The confused Luger, aware of Brody’s reputation, would eventually scale the cage wall to escape the match fearing what would happen if he angered Brody further. The situation resolved itself soon after, but for those in attendance, it was a very surreal moment and a warning that you did not mess with the Bruiser.

8. Regal exposes Goldberg
Everyone is aware of the standard Goldberg match format; stare down, futile attempt to bring him down, show of strength, Spear, Jackhammer, pin fall. Even in 2019 the formula has rarely differed. And in the early days of Goldberg’s WCW run this was strictly adhered to in order to avoid exposing Goldberg’s greenness. Steven Regal though had other ideas.

In February 1998 the two squared off on an episode of Monday Nitro and rather than succumb to the powerhouse in less than a minute, Regal, a known stiff worker, came hard at Goldberg and showed the live audience just how inexperienced he still was. No one in the crowd expected it and apparently, neither did Goldberg. The future WCW champion would still win the match in a heart pounding six-minute match and Regal was released from the company a short time later.

Regal has claimed in the past that he was instructed to have a “competitive match” and interpreted that as to give as much as he took. Goldberg on the other hand has claimed that Regal took liberties with the instructions given to them and decided to rough him up with no warning. One could argue that had Goldberg been trained a bit more thoroughly he may not have been so badly exposed, but then again, if the style isn’t broke, why fix it?

7. ‘I respect you, booker man’
Now this entry was technically a work, but still, it was a shocking moment and a huge nod and wink to the smart fans, which in 1996 were starting to grow in numbers and strength.

If not for bad timing and an injury as a result of a car crash, Brian Pillman would have been a mega star. He had the body, the mouth, the ability and most importantly, the mind. He could sense the way the wind was blowing and his wild, off-the-wall character in WCW at the time had many of his colleagues believing he was genuinely crazy.

In early 1996 Pillman was in a hard-hitting feud with The Taskmaster, aka Kevin Sullivan, who to those in the know was booking WCW at the time. At the Supebrawl VI pay-per-view in February the two faced off in an "I Respect You" Leather Strap match, combining the strap element with an ‘I Quit’ match feel. Pillman would run down to the ring and for just over a minute the two would whale on each other with closed fists and strap shots. Then suddenly, Pillman would grab the microphone and utter the phrase ‘I respect you, booker man.’

The announce team and the fans in attendance didn’t know what to think as Pillman ran out of the ring as quickly as he entered. The angle was devised by Pillman and Eric Bischoff as a ploy to fire Pillman temporarily, allow him to spend time in ECW to hone his ‘loose cannon’ character and eventually return. However, Pillman would end up in WWF feuding with former tag team partner Steve Austin and aligning with the Hart Foundation, clearing proving that he was a sane, intelligent man after all.

6. Michaels assaulted by a battery
Shawn Michaels had his good times and bad times in his first run with the WWF, but in 1998 he was in a bad way. He had already been in a lot of people’s bad books for feigning injuries in the past, he had driven out one of the company’s biggest stars (again, we’ll get to that) and now he was suffering with a legitimate back injury from a fall onto a casket at the Royal Rumble, but was straining his way towards Wrestlemania 14 to drop the WWF title to Stone Cold Steve Austin.

All this meant that Michaels was a ticking timebomb waiting to go off at any moment. And that is just what happened. While standing in the open air ring in Boston days before Mania alongside fellow DX members Triple H and Chyna and honorary member Mike Tyson, Shawn was struck in the face with a battery thrown by someone in the crowd. Michaels then simply left the ring and walked to the back, leaving his friends, the crew and the audience in a state of confusion.

Now obviously, this was a very dangerous thing to do and could have resulted in much more serious injuries. Vince McMahon remarked in an interview years later that Michaels was not in the right frame of mind at the time due to his back issues, but was upset with his champion after the fact, stating ‘you never walk out on your audience.’ Luckily just days later Michaels would walk into Wrestlemania 14 losing the title to Austin with the help of Mike Tyson and Shawn would not compete in a WWE ring again for four and a half years.

5. The Undertaker steps out of character
No one superstar performing today has held onto their kayfabe persona more than The Undertaker. Since his introduction in the WWF in 1990 Mark Callaway has maintained the Deadman character for much of his career rarely letting the mask slip. Kids today may not appreciate why he does it, but for fans from the 90’s onwards the almost pantomime performance has always enthralled us from the druids to the bolts of lightning shooting from his hands.

However, there have been instances where the character has lapsed into reality; Ric Flair’s goodbye after Wresltemania 24. the whole of the American Badass run, but perhaps the most peculiar example came in June 1998 on the Raw is War after the Over the Edge pay-per-view.

Dressed in street clothes, the Deadman came down to the ring and cut a promo berating Vince McMahon the person, not Mr McMahon character. He discussed how the boss had given him opportunities, but after a point ‘the giving stopped, and it was just taking’ as well as claiming his two WWF title reigns were cut short as McMahon didn’t want him to represent the company.

Taker also criticised superstars for jumping ship to WCW and Shawn Michaels for ‘losing his smile’ before slipping back to character claiming the company had used his family’s history with ‘brother’ Kane to sell ratings. How much of the promo was a work and how much was a shoot is debatable, but the very fact that The Undertaker would appear in a WWF ring out of his gimmick and speak openly about the business and matters outside of kayfabe was a massive curveball to say the least.

4. Puder takes down Angle
The idea of Tough Enough in itself is a slap in the face for those who wish to preserve kayfabe. The long running reality-based show along with its sister show ‘Diva Search’ created the idea that anyone can become a wrestler with enough effort, showing the contestants training and destroying the illusion that the people in the ring really hate each other.

So when the finalists began appearing on Smackdown in late 2004, none of them will fully trained and so the lines of real and fake were being blurred week after week, from capture the flag contests against the Basham Brothers to taking pep talks from the Big Show. These were harmless enough given the format of the show, but it all got very real on the November 4th edition of Smackdown.

After taking part in a squat thrust competition, won by Chris Nawrocki, Olympic hero Kurt Angle challenged Nawrocki to a match which he won comfortably, breaking Nawrocki’s ribs in the process. Had it ended there it would have been a harsh but strong lesson for the contestants. However, Angle then challenged eventual contest winner Daniel Puder, who had real MMA training and experience to his name.

Despite taking down the rookie, Puder managed to apply a kimura lock to the Olympic gold medallist, more regularly used today by Brock Lesnar to break people’s arms. Thinking quickly, referee Jim Korderas administered a three count despite Puder’s shoulders not being fully to the mat. The hold was broken up quickly and Angle was saved from having to tap out to a rookie on national television, or worse, needing surgery for a broken arm had the hold stayed on just a few seconds longer, which would have resulted in red faces all around.

3. JBL beats up the Blue Meanie
Despite its cult following in the 1990’s and the love and nostalgia it still garners today, there are those that have genuine utter distain for the ECW promotion. Names like Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler and Jim Cornette immediately spring to mind as people who see it as a blight on the wrestling landscape. However, in 2005, four years after it had closed its doors and as a result of the fantastic reception of the ‘Rise and Fall’ DVD, WWE brought the company for a one off special at the Hammerstein Ballroom at ‘One Night Stand.’

As part of the storyline several superstars from Raw and Smackdown attended the show as ‘Invaders’ proclaiming that the promotion and its performers were not in the same league. These invaders included former WCW headman Eric Bischoff, Kurt Angle who nearly signed with the company in 1996 and former WWE champion John Bradshaw Layfield.

As the pay-per-view reached its conclusion, the invaders jumped the rail and squared off in the ring against the ECW performers. A mass brawl ensued which ended with the invaders being cleared out and the ECW guys appearing victorious. One image that caught a lot of people’s attention though was the sight of BWO member The Blue Meanie with blood all over his face.

Years earlier Meanie had accused Bradshaw of being a bully during his initial WWF run and so JBL decided to take action….. by being a bully and hitting Meanie with live rounds in the middle of the ring. Meanie was paid double for his work that night and got his revenge just over a year later when BWO partner Stevie Richards delivered a vicious chair shot to JBL’s head on an episode of Smackdown. Both men have stated that the disagreement is now behind them and they are said to be Twitter buddies, further sticking a knife it to notion of kayfabe.

2. The Curtain Call
Otherwise known as the MSG Incident, the Curtain Call is seen as one of the biggest blows to kayfabe in wrestling history. On May 19th 1996 in Madison Square Garden, two of the WWF’s biggest stars, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were wrestling in their last matches for the company before leaving for rival company WCW. As it happens, both men were facing close friends, Ramon v Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Diesel v WWF Champion Shawn Michaels in a Cage match in the main event.

The four men along with friend Sean Waltman were known to many as the Kliq, who would travel around the world together and notoriously caused headaches for a lot of the roster and crew. And on this night, they would take it one step further.

Following the Cage match, Hall and Helmsley would join Michaels and Nash in the ring and warmly embrace before raising each other’s hands seeing their friends off as they started their next chapter. The four would argue that this stunt was cleared by Vince McMahon himself, but even so, the image of Michaels and Hall (babyfaces at the time) and Nash and Helmsley (heels at the time) was a big middle finger to the mystique that the business had strived to maintain.

Several WWF employees including Gerald Brisco and Jim Cornette were hot and little did anyone know at the time, but the incident was recorded by a fan in the crowd and reshown on Raw is War a year later. With Hall and Nash gone and Michaels the WWF champion, Helmsley paid the price for the indiscretion by being removed as the King of the Ring winner that year.

Although, given that Steve Austin would win the crown in his stead leading him to spearhead the Attitude Era, as well as the fact that Triple H would win the crown a year later and eventually be running the company, some would argue it worked out alright for those involved. However, from a business point of view, it is seen as one of the most damaging and disrespectful acts in the history of professional wrestling.

1. The Montreal Screwjob
Everyone knows how this went down and given some of the other examples it may not be as powerful nowadays in the grand scheme of things, especially when it has been recycled several times in the 20 something years since it happened. You never forget your first though however and the fact the decision came from the boss himself makes it truly astonishing.

Just to remind you, Bret Hart signed a 20-year contract with the WWF, then a year later was told it could not be honoured and while still WWF champion he signed a deal to go to WCW. Bret was due to leave the company in November after the Survivor Series pay-per-view in Montreal. The only problem was, Vince wanted to put the belt on Shawn Michaels, but Bret refused to put Shawn over, especially in Canada after Michaels had besmirched the country several times earlier in the year.

Every finish was suggested until eventually it was agreed the match would end in a no contest with Bret handing the belt over at a later date before leaving for pastures new. Or so most people thought. A small circle of people, including McMahon, Michaels, Helmsley and very few others hatched a plan to take the belt from Hart that night come hell or high water.

At the end of the match, Michaels locked Hart into the Hitman’s own finishing manoeuvre, the Sharpshooter. Out of nowhere referee Earl Hebner and McMahon, who was standing at ringside, ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell leaving the whole arena in absolute shock, especially Hart himself who had lost his title without even knowing it was going to happen.

Hebner bolted out of the building as soon as the bell rang while Michaels and Helmsley power walked to the backstage area feigning ignorance as to what had just gone down. Hart would then spit in McMahon’s face, destroy TV equipment at ringside and before the night was up, he would punch out the boss leaving the company he had been a part of for 13 years a broken man.

Even 20 years later the details of what happened, who knew about it and how things could have been done differently are constantly debated. It remains to this day one of the biggest and most shocking moments in wrestling history and one of the most damaging incidents in the preservation of kayfabe ever. Is it entirely dead? No. However, the mystique and wonder in the storytelling it produced will never be the same again.

https://youtu.be/_PCPhAH1fzU
Written by yours truly. Thank you Cultaholic

10 Best Whodunnits in Wrestling History With the WWE SmackDown hacker storyline still going... maybe... we take a look at a selection of wrestling's best whodunnit mysteries from days gone by. From...

For over 30 years now ‘the biggest party of the summer’ has been one of the WWE’s best performing and most popular events. As one of the Big Four, it has provided some of the biggest moments and most memorable matches in company history. However, for every great thing you can say about Summerslam, they don’t always get it 100% right. And like with any show, no matter how good it is overall, the finale is the last thing they see and usually the thing it is most remembered for.

Whether it’s down to the build-up, the wrong people in the wrong place (be that match order or the personnel entirely), the current state and direction of the company, the wrong person winning, an odd booking decision or a combination of several things, not every main event is remembered as fondly as others and this can leave some to judge the entire event harshly based simply on its final act. To shed light on these examples, here are the 10 worst main events in Summerslam history.

Honourable Mention- 1996- Shawn Michaels v Vader
This is a bit of a controversial entry. Yes, it was highly rated by fans and commentators alike and was a great example of the small man getting the better of the bigger man. However, given the build-up, what was supposed to happen and what ended up happening, this match does irk me slightly.

Following his debut at that year’s Royal Rumble Vader had been on a tear for months and aside from needing surgery for a shoulder injury, was destroying everything in his path and a run with the WWF title seemed to make sense. However, due to issues over his name as Vince wanted to rebrand him as the Mastodon and his snug working style which angered the champion Shawn Michaels in contests leading up to the pay per view, the three match series was reduced to their encounter at that year’s Summerslam.

Both men worked well together on the night and Jim Cornette in Vader’s corner made fans question how the champion would get out of Cleveland with the title. Following two restarts after Michaels was counted out and then disqualified to keep Vader strong, and a botched aerial attack where Vader failed to move and Michaels responded by kicking him in the head and audibly shouting down at him, making the mistake obvious to everyone, Michaels would win with a moonsault and Vader’s mystic and credibility were damaged beyond repair in many people’s eyes.

10. 2003- Elimination Chamber Match
Another case of the finish being changed, and in this case the number of people in the match being changed because of attitudes and saying no to Vince McMahon. Upon his arrival the day after Wrestlemania 19, Goldberg ran through everyone on the Raw brand. And aside from a few missed steps such as having Goldust put a blonde wig on him, he seemed ready to win the World Heavyweight Championship at year’s Summerslam from Triple H who was nursing an injury at the time.

However, apparently Goldberg refused to take Helmsley’s place on a tour of Australia and as punishment, the one on one match up was changed as Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Kevin Nash were thrown in to make the second ever Elimination Chamber match. On the surface, this did not seem to make a lot of difference to what people expected to happen; Goldberg got to show off his power eliminating Orton, Michaels and Jericho in quick fashion while Triple H stayed in his pod for most of the match after the most devastating superkick in history.

Then once the match was down to the last two competitors, with Goldberg in complete control, the last piece of his punishment came when Helmsley nailed Bill in the head with a single sledgehammer shot and pinned him to retain the title. Goldberg looked like a chump and Helmsley continued to work injured for another month until Bill won the title in the originally scheduled singles match at Unforgiven, making the change to the Elimination Chamber match basically pointless. Petty retaliation leading to a baffling finish to the main event of a major pay per view.

9. 2010- Team WWE v Team Nexus
Oh, the Nexus. One of the hottest angles WWE created in years which if executed properly could have provided the company with several midcard to main event stars for the next decade. In the real world though, the company squandered this opportunity in a major way, again, down to one bad decision.

After tearing apart ringside and taking out superstars for weeks, utilising their strength in numbers, the WWE took a stand against the young rookies with a 7 on 7 elimination match announced to headline that year’s Summerslam. Would the new faces continue their dominance in their battle to upset the natural order, or would the established stars unite to take down the common enemy and reclaim their turf? Well, every WWF fan knows how it should have ended, from a business, story-telling and common-sense point of view, but one man had other ideas.

Despite protests from match participants Edge and Chris Jericho, the decision was made late in the day for Team WWE to win the match, and with the Team Nexus members all still doing as they were told to keep their jobs, no questions were asked from their side.

At the close of the match now at a 2 on 1 disadvantage, John ‘Superman’ Cena no sold a DDT on the concrete floor, a move with over 20 years earlier from Jake Roberts left Ricky Steamboat hospitalised, to eliminate Justin Gabriel and make Wade Barrett submit to the S**U. Super Cena was already being booed before this, and for devaluing 7 new promising superstars in one night, you can kind of see why.

8. 2005- Hulk Hogan v Shawn Michaels
What is it about egos and backstage politics messing up Summerslam main events? After being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and returning at Wrestlemania 21, Hulk Hogan began to appear more regularly on WWE TV in 2005 teaming up several times with the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Their short-lived partnership ended abruptly when after a match Michaels super-kicked Hogan and turned heel for the first time since his return from premature retirement in 2002.

The match was made between the two men for Summerslam, the first time they would go one on one in any capacity. And according to sources, this match was originally scheduled to be a best of 3 series with Hogan winning the first encounter, Michaels the second and then a decider down the road. However, Hogan revealed that due to his aging body and numerous injuries, only one confrontation would take place with Hogan going over.

Annoyed by this turn of events, Michaels decided to show his displeasure in the ring, selling overdramatically throughout the match, reaching to the weakest of offense as if he had been shot. And predictably after hitting him with everything he had, Hogan kicked out of Sweet Chin Music, hulked up, hit a big boot and a leg drop for the win. While the spectacle of these two icons going one on one was a dream match few people thought we would ever see, due to Hogan’s legendary clout backstage, the match became a classic for a lot of wrong reasons.

7. 2016- Brock Lesnar v Randy Orton
In the summer of 2016 the WWE introduced the Brand Split 2.0, dividing the roster in half to provide talent with more opportunities and TV time much like they had done in 2002 following the accumulation of talent from WCW and ECW after the companies closed down.

And following Battleground the previous month many storylines had already started to develop with many big matches announced for the event including the crowning of the first Universal Champion, John Cena v AJ Styles 3 and Dean Ambrose v Dolph Ziggler as the Lunatic Fringe looked to break out now out of the shadow of his former Shield mates. However, with all these potential main events to choose from, the match that actually closed out the show was Brock Lesnar versus Randy Orton.

The match was billed as ’15 years in the making’ due to both men’s meteoric rises as both won major titles in their early to mid-20s. Though in reality, the match probably should have happened at least 5 years ago to get the best from both men. Summerslam would mark Orton’s first match in months after a long injury layoff, while Lesnar’s appearance between UFC bout came under scrutiny after he tested positive for a banned substance but avoided disciplinary action due to being a part timer.

And at the event itself, after several impressive performances in the matches already mentioned, Lesnar v Orton was a big come down in comparison and ended in controversial fashion as Lesnar removed his gloves and attacked Orton with bare-knuckles and elbow strikes, causing Orton to need several stitches after massive blood loss in a finish more at place in an UFC contest.

In the PG era WWE where blood was seriously frowned upon, to go about causing a performer to bleed in this way for a match up that did not need it and end the event in such a frustrating and confusing manner, you’ve got to wonder what goes through the minds of WWE creative sometimes.

6. 1993- Yokozuna v Lex Luger
After losing the WWF title back to Yokozuna at King of the Ring, Hulk Hogan made it clear that his days with the Federation were numbered. As a result, McMahon was keen to find himself a new American hero to challenge the Japanese behemoth at that years Summerslam. On July 4th onboard the USS Intrepid, after several wrestlers and athletes failed to Bodyslam the champion, Lex Luger arrived via helicopter, was able to slam Yokozuna and as a result won at shot at the title at the pay per view.

The WWF lay their support for Lex on thick as he toured around the company for weeks on the Lex Express bus, billed as a way for Luger to meet as many of his new fans as possible, but in reality, the stunt was used to try and get support for their decision, which did not work entirely and did not sit well with several other wrestlers in the company. Despite this, at the event, Luger came in as the next big thing attempting to bring the title back to the States.

The match however was not what peopled hoped for. Yokozuna could work well with the right opponent, but as many people have said since, Lex was better with an opponent who could take the lead. As a result, the styles did not mesh well. And even worse, the finish of the match which saw the champion knocked out of the ring by a forearm smash and losing via count out, made Luger look dumb as balloons fell from the sky, several wrestlers carried him around the ring and Lex celebrated like he’d on the Super Bowl.

Every fan with enough knowhow knew the title could not change hands on a count out. Apparently, the plan was for Lex to continue to chase the belt leading to a bigger reaction when he eventually won it for real. But if that is the case, why treat this like the greatest moment in wrestling history when everyone knew it meant nothing? The plan to get Luger over never fully succeeded and months later Bret Hart would be hoisted up by his peers as the man the fans really wanted as their conquering hero.

5. 1990- Ultimate Warrior v Rick Rude Cage Match
The year 1990 saw a massive tectonic shift in the WWF as the Ultimate Warrior became a double champion by defeating Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI ushering in what was meant to be a new era. Sadly though, this would not be the case. Backstage at Mania Hogan told people himself that he believed Warrior would not draw as the top guy and he was proven right as business struggled and within a year Hogan was on top of the mountain.

Warrior’s sole successful title defence came at that year’s Summerslam against a familiar foe, Ravishing Rick Rude who he had battled with numerous times the year before over the Intercontinental title. This time however the stakes were higher and the challenge greater as the two men faced off in a Steel Cage match.

The numbers amplified Hogan’s prediction as live attendance and buyrate were down massively from the year before when the Hulkster was on top. And the match showcased how much Warrior lacked in in ring ability. On his night Rude could work with anyone, but on this night, not even Heenan’s heelish tactics could save this 10-minute main event cage match. Yes the fans went home happy with a babyface victory, but things were far from perfect for the company as clearly, the fans and management were not ready to let go of Hulkamania just yet.

4. 1991- Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior v Col. Mustafa, General Adnan and Sgt. Slaughter
So, if you can’t beat them, join them, I guess. Hogan regained the WWF title at Wrestlemania VII from Sgt Slaughter, who had become an Iraqi sympathiser in response to the First Gulf War. Despite the feelgood moment of Hogan winning the title back for America, the angle was heavily criticised for making a storyline out of a real-life military conflict. The backlash didn’t make the company rethink however as Slaughter kept up the façade through the summer up until that year’s Summerslam.

Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior faced Slaughter and his two comrades, dubbed the Triangle of Terror in a handicap match in what was billed as ‘A Match Made in Hell’. And boy was that an understatement. With Colonel Mustafa at 49 years old, General Adnan at 52 and the recently debuted Sid Justice as special guest referee, the match was a slow, paint by numbers affair made much more famous for what happened before and after the match that what happened during it.

The Warrior threatened to no show the event if McMahon did not pay his $550,000 he felt his was owed for this work at Wrestlemania VII. Despite offers from Hogan and Slaughter to handle matters themselves, McMahon’s philosophy was always to get the match in the ring. He paid Warrior his money, then immediately fired him once the pay per view was over. In hindsight, perhaps it would have been better for all concerned if he did cancel this hot mess of a main event, saving McMahon and headache and a big bill and saving everyone else a lot of embarrassment.

3. 1995- Diesel v King Mabel
The year 1995 was a terrible time for everybody in wrestling and the WWF was no exception. The campy day job characters made fans cringe, the new In Your House pay per view series was slow to take off and most importantly, Big Daddy Cool Diesel was failing to draw as WWF champion. After winning the title in 8 seconds at Madison Square Garden Vince thought he had his new big babyface star, but after a lacklustre feud with fellow big man Sycho Sid, he headed into Summerslam to face another big man, King of the Ring winner Mabel.

It didn’t help their case that the fans in Pittsburgh had just been blown away by Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon’s second ladder match for the Intercontinental title, but in reality, nothing was gonna save this main event. In ‘94 Diesel had become so popular with fans by using his strength and power to defeat his smaller opponents and get over as a monster. But now, working with heels that were the same size or even bigger limited his moveset and exposed him greatly.

And to add injury to injury, part the way through the 9 minute match, King Mabel, who had a reputation for injuring people in the ring, damn near crippled the champion by landing butt first on his lower back, leaving him unable to move for some time and potentially ruining the scheduled finish where Diesel was due to take him down from a second rope manoeuvre. Mabel somehow avoided being fired and the Diesel experiment would end a few months later with 1995 going down as one of the worst years for business in WWF history.

2. 1989- Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake v Randy Savage/Zeus
After the success of the first Summerslam main event with Hogan and Savage teaming up to face Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase, the WWF decided to go for another tag team bout a year later in 1989. This time though, the Hulkster and the Macho Man were on opposite sides of the ring after Savage turned on Hogan and subsequently lost the WWF title at Wrestlemania V. And while 1988 involved the legendary Andre and the strong worker DiBiase, 1989 saw them replaced by Hogan’s friend Brutus Beefcake and….. Zeus.

As a tie into Hogan’s new movie No Holds Barred, the WWF decided to put his on screen antagonist, played by Tiny Lister, in the main event of the pay per view as the latest immovable object for Hogan to conquer. Sadly, not only was he immovable in a metaphorical sense, but literally as well. With no formal training and one instruction, don’t sell, the three other men were forced to work around the monster for what turned out to be a horror show including interference from the valet’s Sensational Sherri and Miss Elizabeth and Hogan taking down after a shot with a loaded bag.

And after this performance, the WWF decided to go one further in December with a cage match between the two to gain more publicity for the movie. In terms of Summerslam though, who wouldn’t have preferred a straight rematch between Hogan and Savage for the title instead of this train wreck involving Hogan’s mate, who while he is a good performer, is not a main eventer, and the walking mountain who’s selling and mic work made the Ultimate Warrior seem sane and coherent?

1. 1994. Undertaker v Underfaker
A bad idea, a boring and predictable match in the wrong place on the card. After being shoved in a casket by Yokozuna and 10 other wrestlers at the Royal Rumble, the Undertaker would take time off to recover from a back injury. And while he was away, many things changed. Stars like Bret and Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon were carrying the flag for the smaller more reality-based guys and Ted DiBiase brought back the ‘Undertaker’ after several months only for Paul Bearer to proclaim it was in fact an imposter.

Bearer pledged to track down the real Deadman and the match was set for Summerslam. And despite the WWF title match being announced as the blow off battle between Bret and Owen in a steel cage match, which was a knockdown, rollercoaster of a brawl which would be awarded 5 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this went on before The Undertaker’s return. Bearer wheeled down a casket, shined a urn with a spotlight in it to the heavens and the two Undertakers squared up.

After a 9 minute match which left like a hour, the real Undertaker slay his opponents with three tombstones, the druids came down to the ring to take the fake Undertaker away, and this angle was rarely spoken of again, locked in the same casket as Giant Gonzalez and that Hell in a Cell match against the Big Bossman. Some Undertaker schtick you can enjoy for what it is, some you can even tolerate, but this, in the main event over what else was on the card, makes it the worst main event in Summerslam history in my opinion.

And that’s my list. Do you agree with my choices? Do you agree with my order? Let me know in the comment section.