Background
SummerSlam 1992 was originally intended to take place in Washington, D.C.. The WWF decided to move the event to Wembley Stadium in London, England due to the company's growing popularity and the possibility of increasing the revenue from the event. Although the writers' plans originally called for Shawn Michaels to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart, the storyline was adjusted due to the change of venue. As a result, England native "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith was chosen to win the belt.
Accordingly, one of the main events was the Intercontinental Championship match between Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith, brothers-in-law in real life. Smith was married to Diana Hart, Bret's sister. On television broadcasts leading up to SummerSlam, interviews with Diana and her mother Helen portrayed the family as being torn apart by the upcoming match. Bruce Hart publicly supported Smith, while Owen Hart sided with his brother Bret. Diana stated that she did not know who she wanted to win the match, as she had close ties to both men. She ultimately stated that she simply hoped that neither wrestler would get hurt. Prior to the match, Smith was hospitalized with a legitimate staph infection; despite the concerns about his health, he decided to wrestle the match as planned.
The other main event was a WWF Championship match between the Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage. The storyline between them began in August 1990, when Sensational Sherri, who was managing Savage, tried to arrange a match between Savage and the Warrior at SummerSlam 1990. The Warrior refused to defend his WWF Championship against Savage, and he ripped up a contract that Sherri had given him. Later that month, he ripped Sherri's dress off after a match against Savage. They faced each other at house shows over the next six months, but Savage was unable to win the title. Savage then interfered in the title match at Royal Rumble 1991, enabling Sgt. Slaughter to win the title. To settle the rivalry, Savage and the Warrior agreed to face each other in a retirement match at WrestleMania VII. The Warrior won the match, but Savage's former valet Miss Elizabeth reunited with Savage after the match. Savage continued to wrestle for the WWF, but the feud with the Ultimate Warrior did not continue. The following year, the rivalry was rekindled when the Ultimate Warrior was granted a shot at the WWF Championship, which Savage had won from Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992. Flair and his manager, Mr. Perfect, were upset that Flair had not been granted a rematch. They decided to cause trouble between Savage and the Warrior, and Perfect announced on August 8, 1992 that he was negotiating with Savage, his former rival, to appear in his corner during the WWF Championship match at SummerSlam. The following week, Perfect claimed that the Ultimate Warrior had also been seeking his services. Perfect announced his intention to appear in one man's corner but would not clarify which one. At the SummerSlam Spectacular, a show designed to promote the pay-per-view, Savage and the Warrior teamed up to face The Nasty Boys. Perfect and Ric Flair interfered in the match, but Savage and the Warrior chased them back to the locker room after the match.
Two tag team matches were also featured on the undercard. Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) and the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) were feuding in 1992 over the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Legion of Doom held the championship belts until Hawk failed a drug test. As a result, the WWF suspended him and had the Legion of Doom drop the belts to Money Inc. Once Hawk's suspension ended, a rematch was scheduled to take place at SummerSlam. The match was first announced as a title match but Money Inc. lost the championship to The Natural Disasters, transferring the title match status to another match.
Meanwhile, the Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) and the Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake) had a rivalry dating back to a WWF television taping on June 30, 1992. Typhoon attacked The Genius, who managed the Beverlys, while Earthquake brawled with both of the Beverlys. The match aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling on July 20; the same day that it aired, the Disasters won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Money Inc. As a result of this win, the title was on the line in the match at SummerSlam.
In addition to the title defenses, the event also featured a match between Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel. Their rivalry focused on Martel's attempts to steal Michaels' valet Sensational Sherri. During one of Michaels' matches televised on August 9, 1992, Martel came to ringside and winked at Sherri, who returned the gesture. At the SummerSlam Spectacular, Sherri came to the ring during one of Martel's matches and winked at him. Both Michaels and Martel were "heel" wrestlers who bragged about their good looks, and Sherri had them agree not to hit each other in the face during their SummerSlam match.
Read more about this topic: Summer Slam (1992)
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