No Hitting In The Face

[The Brain]

It’s SummerSlam 1992 and one of the matches on the card is Shawn Michaels vs. Rick Martel. That sounds like it should be an awesome match. It was a decent match but not nearly as good as it could have been. Here’s the back story going into the match.

In 1992 Shawn Michaels was managed by Sensational Sherri. Sherri was infatuated with Michaels as he had the boy toy gimmick in full swing. During the summer however, another man caught Sherri’s eye. Yes, he was a model. Rick Martel. Not so shockingly a feud developed between the two with Sherri caught right in the middle. A match was signed for SummerSlam but Sherri decided a special stipulation needed to be added. A steel cage match? No. A ladder match? No. Sherri on a pole? Not that either. The special stipulation for this match was no hitting in the face. “This isn’t the sixth grade” Vince McMahon bellowed from commentary but Sherri couldn’t bear to see either of these men’s beautiful faces damaged so they agreed to the stipulation.

Given the styles of Michaels and Martel it didn’t seem like this stipulation should get in the way of them delivering a great match. Unfortunately the silly stipulation became the focal point of the match. They teased hitting each other in the face before remembering they agreed not to and it just got in the way of a good match. Eventually Sherri pretended to faint and Michaels and Martel both got counted out as the argued over who would tend to her. A potentially great match was thrown away for a lame comedy angle.

Do you think Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel could have given us one of those classic five star matches that we became accustomed to in the early/mid 90s? SummerSlam 92 is already very memorable for the Classic Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith match and if used properly Michaels and Martel could have made this one of the best shows ever. I’m not saying they would have put on as good of a match as Hart and Smith but the talent was there to deliver a classic. The only thing that could have prevented this was both guys being heel. Heel vs. heel is tough to pull off and I have to assume that’s why the gimmick was added to the match in the first place.

I think I’ve gone on long enough about a one time throw away match from twenty years ago. What can I say; sometimes the most random things pop into my mind and for some reason I feel the need to share them with you. Anyway, let’s hear whatever thoughts you may have on this match, storyline, potential, etc.

 

[Slyfox696]

I just think wrestling was a completely different animal back in those days. If you were in the undercard, you stuck to a pretty basic match, because you did not want to overshadow the main-event. And, in this case, sticking to the stipulation gave the undercard match an interesting flavor, rather than a bland match.

And for what it's worth, I do not remember Martel's run in the WWF to be filled with quality matches.

 

[The Brain]

And for what it's worth, I do not remember Martel's run in the WWF to be filled with quality matches.

That's actually what made me think about this match. I saw a random Martel match on Classics on Demand against some jobber and it got me thinking. Martel was around for a long time and in my opinion he was very talented, but he never had a standout match in the WWF. During his time there were only two non gimmick ppvs a year. Martel had some tag matches. He had a blindfold match which obviously wasn't going to be high quality. An opening match against Koko B. Ware wasn't going to do much for him. I was trying to think of when Martel would have had the opportunity for his big match. SummerSlam 92 was his best opportunity, but you're right, they just weren't high enough on the card to get the opportunity to shine. I do think they could have done a lot if given that opportunity though.

 

[wrestler36]

I think a major problem with this match, more than anything else, was who to cheer for from a fan perspective. This was a heel versus heel match and neither was going to turn face. They could have had an excellent 5 star match, but at the time the audience didn't have a reason to cheer for either wrestler. I don't even know why they booked this match in the first place but given the stipulation, I guess it was supposed to garner heat and try to make both men look weak in a way.

 

[Brewski]

I think a major problem with this match, more than anything else, was who to cheer for from a fan perspective. This was a heel versus heel match and neither was going to turn face. They could have had an excellent 5 star match, but at the time the audience didn't have a reason to cheer for either wrestler. I don't even know why they booked this match in the first place but given the stipulation, I guess it was supposed to garner heat and try to make both men look weak in a way.

I think thats more or less the point of the stipulation really. Heel Vs. Heel is pretty much impossible to book without a goofy gimmick like this to be entertaining. Just consider how ridiculous this is for a wrestling match, even if they didn't pummel their faces in this one, the next match either of them wrestle isn't going to stop anything.

 

[HBsam31]

Funny you brought this up Brain. As you have read in my other threads I am watching all the Summerslams, and I watched 92 just the other night. I remember ordering it as a kid, but really only seemed to remember Davey and Bret. Watching it the other night was almost like watching it for the first time. Check out Sherri's assless jeans she has on during the match lol. Anyway, as I sat and watched this match I was disappointed as I thought these two could have done a lot better. The stipulation definitely took away from the match, and a lot of the other time was spent with the two of them being distracted by Sherri. I do though agree that it's hard to think of a great match that Martel had, and he did seem to be very talented. The heel vs heel was a rare thing to see, and the match as a whole had a strange feel all the way to the count out ending. I am curious, did their feud stop right after this match? All being said though I think without the stipulation I think these two would have had a much better match. Not saying it would have stolen the show either, but I think it would have been solid.

 

[FlairFan2003]

There was definately an unwritten rule that undercard matches were not allowed to outshine Main Events, at least undercard bouts were not allowed to outshine the Top 2 or 3 matches on a card. I have no doubt that if they had been allowed HBK vs Tito Santana & Jake Roberts vs Undertaker could have rivaled Brett Hart-Roddy Piper and Ric Flair-Randy Savage from that year's Wrestlemania. Maybe today they would be allowed that opportunity. Back then that was a no no, in fact it's a testament to those four guys that they were allowed to have the matches they had with Hogan-Sid on the same card, although they tried to keep that match away from the other two in running order (Smart Move).

Martel in his "Model" gimmick was a typical cheesy, un serious WWE cartoon villain who failed to animate the character and make him a legit bad @#$ heel like Ted Dibiase did with his "Million Dollar Man" gimmick, equally cheesy, or Savage had done in his prior incarnations. That said, he was extremely talented in the ring, held back perhaps by his lackluster promo ability. Flair famously compared him to Steamboat as far as performance talent was concerned. I think that was pretty legit.

In the end this match was too further both men's characters as self absorbed jerks and to that end it succeeded. Martel actually faded from the scene not long after this, I'm not sure why as the move to more athletic wrestlers and away from the muscled giants that dominated the Hulka-Mania era seemingly would have benefited him. I can see Martel potentially tearing it up vs Brett Hart or even Scott Hall in the mid 90s. Does anyone know why he faded from the scene, he certainly wasnt turning up in WCW like Rick Rude (Martel did appear there briefly circa 1998, several years later) ?

 

[PDepew2181]

I really don't remember the match. In fact, I'm not sure if I've ever seen it. I just can't remember if I've ever watched all of that SummerSlam. I do remember the gimmick, however. Since I was 11 at the time, my attitude was, like someone mentioned, "why should I root for either of these guys? They're big jerks!"

As for Rick Martel, looking back, I realized he was one of my favorite heels of that era. Mostly because I think he was a great seller and had a fairly unique look. But 'tis true that I really can't point to one really great match he ever had once he turned on Tito Santana at WrestleMania V. Strike Force was a pretty good team, they deserved their tag title run. But they should have done a Martel/Santana match at SummerSlam '89, right after their split (right after in that era's PPV terms, naturally). But they threw them in a 6 man tag against each other, which was pretty weak, especially considering some of the other matches on that card.

Martel's most notable feud has to be the one with Jake Roberts. The blindfold match at WrestleMania VII kinda sorta made sense considering the storyline, but obviously the match itself would be...awkward at best. I mean you've got two pretty good workers and you're putting them in "blindfolds." The things I remember most about that match are Martel going for a back body drop and Jake just runs out of the way, and then Martel being on the outside of the ring poking at the air with a chair only for him to touch the ring post and hit it with the chair, which he then acts like broke his fingers. Like I said, he was a great seller. Pretty much an over-seller. That's who Dolph Ziggler actually reminds me most of when he goes into over-sell mode. It's not Shawn Michaels, it's Rick Martel.

I'd be interested to see if Rick Martel ever gets inducted into the WWE HOF. I'd be for it. He won the Tag Team titles with different partners, he was AWA champion, so he has some good accolades. Someone mentioned he was weak on promos. I don't think he was weak, but I think his accent distracted people. I think there's that bias out there that anyone who sounds French must be weak, and Martel's Model gimmick did have its wimpy elements. Still, he was a guy who had a lot of success, just not a lot of memorable moments.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Martel was fairly boring in the ring, but he was great at selling. Back then there wasn't much draw in a heel vs. heel match; especially if they were low-card talent. Michaels wasn't a draw at that point, and Martel was pretty much stuck in obscurity after the Tito Santana feud. Looking back I'm just glad Vince didn't get the idea to team Michaels and Martel, considering their history is pretty much identical... Babyface tag team, turns on partner... adopts "Pretty Boy" gimmick.

Martel did have some amazing chemistry with Razor Ramon when they were feuding over the IC title, I have to give him that. But for the most part Martel was good at selling, and a lot of the reason he stayed on for so long is because he mentored a lot of the young talent backstage.

 

[Headman]

It's been mentioned over and over again that this was heel vs heel with no intention of turning either guy face. A great match probably would have gotten the crowd behind one or the other and that wasn't really in the plans. I think somebody pitched a match between two pretty boys where you couldn't hit in the face and it sounded hilarious to Vince so it happened. That simple.