Rewriting Summerslam 1991

[LODemolition]

So in my opinion, the most entertaining 5-year period in WWF/E history was from 1987 to 1992, especially '91 and '92. And the scary thing is that as entertaining as the WWF was in this 2 year span, it could have been even better if different booking decisions had been made. The roster was just absolutely loaded back then. We obviously missed out on a Hogan/Flair showdown at WrestleMania VIII, but there were also some other questionable decisions like not having a Demolition vs Legion of Doom match at a Mania or Summerslam, a finale to Savage and Roberts' epic feud at WM8 would have made 100% sense, and in my opinion Mr. Perfect should have had a WWF Championship reign at some point in 1991. He tops my list of greatest wrestlers to have never worn the ultimate prize in the World Wrestling Federation.

For those who don't remember, I posted a series of "Rewriting WrestleMania" threads last year. Here is a link to my WrestleMania VII rewrite, the previous ppv event to Summerslam '91.

And now, the actual results of SS91:

1. Six Man Tag: British Bulldog, Ricky Steamboat & Texas Tornado def. Power and Glory & Warlord

2. Intercontinental Championship: Bret Hart def. Mr. Perfect (c)

3. Natural Disasters def. Bushwhackers

4. Million Dollar Championship: Virgil def. Ted DiBiase (c)

5. Jailhouse Match: Big Boss Man def. The Mountie

6. Tag Team Championship: Legion of Doom def. Nasty Boys (c)

7. Irwin R. Schyster def. Greg Valentine

8. Handicap Match w/ special guest referee Sid Justice: Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior def. Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan*

This was of course followed by the wedding of Randy Savage and Elizabeth. After, the wedding reception was crashed* by Jake Roberts and The Undertaker.

*Rewriting Summerslam 1991*

1. Intercontinental Championship: Bret Hart (c) def. Ricky Steamboat

So after reevaluating my WM7 rewrite, I think I would have actually had Bret win the IC Title then. That way, Mr. Perfect could be built up for the main event push he deserved leading into this event. Hart and Steamboat (minus the fire breathing gimmick they threw on him) would've been a fantastic opening match.

2. Texas Tornado and British Bulldog def. Power and Glory

Almost the same match that kicked off SS, just w/o Steamboat and Warlord. I could go either way on this one, as I always enjoyed Hercules and Roma as a tag team and thought they had a pretty nice finisher too.

3. Jailhouse Match: Big Boss Man def. The Mountie

No changes here. This was a good midcard feud and had an entertaining stipulation.

4. Tag Team Championship: Legion of Doom (c) def. Nasty Boys

Only change I'm making here is I'd have LOD come in as champs after defeating Demolition at WM7, one of the biggest matches WWF missed out on, as I mentioned above.

5. Million Dollar Championship: Ted DiBiase (c) def. Virgil

Same matchup, but different result. Virgil never amounted to much in WWF, and I certainly wouldn't have put him over DiBiase no matter how badly the fans might have wanted to see it at the time.

6. Natural Disasters def. The Rockers

This was the last few months that Michaels and Jannetty would be paired together before their split in December. Get all you can out of them beforehand and put them on the card instead of the Bushwhackers.

7. Ric Flair def. Roddy Piper

Flair had arrived in the WWF just prior to this event. Have him make a splash right out of the gate with a high profile win over Piper. I never got why Flair wasn't on the card for SS91 or '92. If you've got him, use him.

8. Hulk Hogan & Sid Justice def. Jake Roberts & The Undertaker

Also never understood why Roberts and Taker were left off this card. Hogan had already conquered Sgt. Slaughter, nothing left to prove there. Sid was wasted as a referee. This match kills 2 birds with 1 stone and fixed both mistakes.

9. Sgt. Slaughter def. Jim Duggan

Slaughter was a great heel at the time, but not main event worthy in my opinion, and certainly not in a terrible handicap match. Slaughter and Duggan 1 on 1 would've been a much better solution.

10. WWF Championship: Mr. Perfect def. Ultimate Warrior (c)

As many know, Warrior was fired immediately after this event, so losing is a no-brainer. But I'd have never had him lose the title to Slaughter at the Royal Rumble. My main event for WM7 would've been the career match between him and Savage, with the title on the line as well, with Warrior retaining. Warrior finally drops the ttile after a nearly year and a half long reign. Mr. Perfect was more than deserving and more than believable as a WWF Champion after 2 IC Title runs and plenty of impressive matches under his belt. Give him his due.

My title changes in 1991 would've looked like this:

WWF Championship: Ultimate Warrior --> Mr. Perfect (Summerslam) --> Hulk Hogan (Survivor Series) --> The Undertaker --> (Tuesday in Texas) --> Vacated

Intercontinental Championship: Mr. Perfect --> Bret Hart (WM7) --> Roddy Piper (House show in December)

Tag Team Championship: Hart Foundation --> Demolition (Royal Rumble) --> Legion of Doom (WM7)

 

[Makaveli31]

Perfect was on his way out also after 'Slam '91 which is why is made sense from him to
"pass the torch" to Bret in an absolute classic. Perfect was dealing with a serious back problem.They had booked the "Match Made in Hell" prior to Warrior demanding the $500,000 from Vince as a WM 7 payoff. So Warrior was advertised BEFORE he held out.

It wouldn't made sense to job out Roberts and 'Taker. They were being geared up as the top two heels going into '92. Jake has stated he was going into feud with Warrior that would culminate in a match at Rumble '92 which would set Warrior up for a WWF Title match at WM 9 against 'Taker.

Usually there isn't enough time to start new feuds and angles between WM (in April) and SummerSlam in Aug especially in the days with no RAW's or SmackDown's so SummerSlam was treated as basically a rerun of WM but instead with tag teams (Mega Powers vs Mega Bucks in '88 (After Savage defeated DiBiase) Hogan/Beefcake vs Savage/Zeus in '89 and of course he rehash between Warrior and Rude in '90.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Hennig's back was destroyed by SS91... he had no chance of a push at that time.

I've long said that the big mistake occured the year prior, with Rude not being elevated and leaving the company when Hogan refused to face him. For me it's Rude who dethrones Warrior at Royal Rumble with an assist from Savage, who assumes he will get a title shot... Rude declines this and it sets up WM7 to have Warrior v Savage and Hogan vs Rude with the winners then facing off. Rude stuns Hogan with a big assist from The Undertaker and Savage upends the Warrior - dethroning Rude to become champion for the second time.

That leads into Flair and Steamboat's returns to the company - Flair forms his WWE incarnation of The Horsemen which comes together at Summerslam.

The card goes like this:-

Opening Match

The Rockers v Power & Glory

Starting to sow the seeds of The Rockers demise, we see Power and Glory take the win after a miscommunication.

Sgt. Slaughter vs Davey Boy Smith - Slaughter was never the champion in my world and Davey is being built as a big star, he gets the win after using the buckle to turn a Cobra Clutch into a pin (Like Bret/Piper)

Legion of Doom v The Nasty Boys remains unchanged

Bret Hart beats Mr. Perfect for the IC title, however Heenan fires Perfect after the match and kicks him while he is clearly injured... Hart runs him off.

Bossman v Mountie remains unchanged

Ricky Steamboat & Roddy Piper vs Ric Flair & Ted DiBiase

Old rivals meeting again for Flair's in-ring debut for WWE. After he debuts and calls out Piper, the Hot Rod counters with a "mystery partner" match proposal... Both guys pick a partner that is revealed on the night... Piper promises that he will pick someone who, like him as beaten Flair before, while Flair promises Piper that the sky is the limit for who his partner will be, because The Real World's Champion attracts the best around him. This is Steamboat's return and it's without the "dragon" garb... Flair and DiBiase are annoyed while Heenan takes a role on commentary.

Piper and Steamboat look to have the upper hand when Steamboat misses a bodyblock and takes out the ref... hurt he rolls to the outside allowing Flair and DiBiase the time to brutalise Piper... The crowd are happy to see Bret Hart run in to make the save... Bret and Piper begin to fight off Flair and DiBiase and the heels run for cover, only for Bret to turn heel on Piper with a knuckleduster shot. He heads to the outside and locks in the Sharpshooter on Steamboat while Piper (who is not legal) is hurled from the ring. The ref begins to stir and Flair and Hart swap places, with Flair now locking in the figure four and Steamboat, who has already suffered major damage quickly submits.

Flair, Hart and DiBiase - The Real World's Champion, the IC Champion and Million Dollar Champion rule the ring backstage announce that their group is still not complete. There is one more member.

The Ultimate Warrior vs Jake Roberts

Prior to the match, The Warrior grabs Jake's snake bag, to show he's not scared he opens it and to Warrior's shock it is the King Cobra inside which bites him. This puts Warrior at a disadvantage and he suffers the loss as he weakens during the match. Warrior passes out rather than "loses" but Jake is happy with the TKO.

Hulk Hogan vs The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

This is the first of many matches between them and Sid Justice is the special guest referee. The match ends with a shock DQ on Hogan, who gets frustrated and uses a chair on Taker, Sid however prevents Taker from attacking Hulk after the match, leading to a handshake as Sid makes clear he had to do the right thing.

Main Event

WWF World Title

Macho Man Randy Savage (c) w/ Sensational Sherri vs Ravishing Rick Rude

A rare heel vs Heel main event - Rude's plans are thrown into turmoil in the backstage interview when Heenan is forced to flee by an irate Piper and Perfect. The match is a clinic with both taking pleasure in beating each other up and cheating wherever possible. Elizabeth is seen at ringside and it is clear Sherri is not happy, when she slaps Liz, Savage goes nuts at her and chases her from the ring, ending their alliance. Now fully turned face, Savage is feeding off both the crowd but misses a flying Elbow... Liz gets in the ring to stop Rude from hurting Savage....and KISSES HIM!

Savage is stunned and in his anger walks into a Rude Awakening, costing him the match and his title. Liz and Rude are a couple? and Rude is now a 2 time champion? Could the night get any darker? Yes... Yes it can!

A crestfallen Savage is tended to in the ring by officials as Rude and Liz retreat up the aisle. As they get to the curtain they are joined by Flair, DiBiase and Hart... The two world champions are seemingly in cahoots! and the IC champion is part of the group too!

The WWF is now firmly in the grip of this group - who keep the Horsemen name, however this really IS the apocalypse in the WWF so the full name Horsmen Of The Apocalypse is used.

This leads to a Survivor Series main event of Savage, Piper, Steamboat & Davey Boy Smith vs Rude, Flair, DiBiase and Hart.

 

[HBKperfect23]

This is one of my favorite ppvs ever. I'd be fine with leaving it as is. I do think the OP made some good improvements.

I love Jake and Taker taking the main event spot. The way he set it up has everyone tied in together leading into mania. But....I would leave Sid as the ref and have Hogan/Warrior take on Taker/Jake. Jake takes the pin. They storm back to the locker room after the loss and still interupt savages wedding leading to Savage/Jake.

I have to keep Bret/Perfect. This match was pretty much perfect (pun intended). I'm sure Steamboat/Bret would have killed but I think they got it right here.

I really like what the OP did with the tag teams: LOD/Demolition and Rockers/Nastys would have been great.

I started watching right after this ppv. I'm guessing flair didn't wrestle because they didn't have enough time to build him....? I would have loved to see flair defend the WCW title against Piper here.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

In reality Flair only left WCW in late July, right before he was due to main event so Windham and Luger fought... There wasn't anywhere near time to get a build on him to make his debut relevant at Summerslam with weeks of TV already in the can.

For my plan to work, they'd have had to get Flair a few months earlier, sown some seeds somewhere.