Summer Slam (1993) - Event

Event

The pay-per-view took place in front of a crowd of 23,954 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Before the event aired on PPV, "The Rocket" Owen Hart defeated longtime jobber Barry Horowitz in a dark match.

The first televised match was Razor Ramon versus Ted DiBiase. DiBiase got off to a quick start by attacking Ramon before the match began. Ramon quickly turned the match around with several clotheslines. DiBiase regained control before untying a turnbuckle cover. Ramon won the match after ramming DiBiase's head into the exposed turnbuckle and using the Razor's Edge to get the pin.

The Steiner Brothers were the audience favorites in the WWF Tag Team Championship match, as they were defending the belts in their hometown. Before the match began, The Heavenly Bodies attacked them. When the match began, the Bodies executed several double-team maneuvers on Rick Steiner. Scott tagged in and took control of the match. The Bodies soon regained the advantage, and Jim Cornette got involved by hitting Scott in the throat with a tennis racket. Rick tagged back in and hit several Steiner-Lines before Prichard attacked him with Cornette's tennis racket. Del Ray accidentally hit Prichard with a moonsault, however, allowing Scott to hit a Frankensteiner and Rick to get the pin.

The match between Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect began with a series of wrestling holds. The match remained primarily technical until Diesel distracted Perfect, allowing Michaels to superkick him in the face. Michaels worked on Perfect's injured back until Perfect took control of the match. After a series of attacks on Michaels, Perfect used the Perfect Plex. Diesel pulled him out of the ring and threw him into the steel ring steps, however, allowing Michaels to win by countout.

Irwin R. Schyster remained in control for the majority of his match against the 1-2-3 Kid. Although the Kid hit several kicks, Schyster regained control every time. Schyster used his usual abdominal stretch while using the ring ropes for leverage before the Kid made a brief comeback by hitting a moonsault. Schyster hit a Write Off, however, and got the pin.

Bret Hart came to the ring for his match with Jerry Lawler. Lawler, however, appeared on crutches and claimed that he had been injured in a car accident. He announced that his court jester, Doink the Clown (portrayed by Matt Osborne), would wrestle Hart in his place. Doink threw a bucket of water on Bret's brother, Bruce Hart, prompting Bret to attack Doink outside of the ring. The match consisted of angry brawling until Doink slowed the pace with a couple of submission holds. After Doink missed a Whoopie Cushion attempt, Bret took full control of the match and made Doink submit to the Sharpshooter. Lawler then attacked Bret with a crutch, revealing that he was not injured. WWF President Jack Tunney came to the ring and had Howard Finkel announce that Lawler would be given a lifetime ban if he refused to compete in the scheduled match. The match between Lawler and Hart consisted almost exclusively of brawling. The two attacked each other with a milk pail and crutches and traded punches and kicks. Bret used Lawler's signature move, the piledriver, before putting him in the Sharpshooter. Lawler submitted, but Bret refused to release him for three and a half minutes. The referee then reversed his decision and gave the victory and title of "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation" to Lawler.

Ludvig Borga dominated the majority of a squash match against Marty Jannetty. He attacked Jannetty immediately with a series of punches and knees. Jannetty managed a couple of brief comebacks but was unable to mount a serious offense. Borga used his strength to control the match and won the match by submission with a backbreaker.

Harvey Wippleman was at ringside with the urn as the Undertaker faced Giant Gonzalez. The two wrestlers brawled, using the ring steps and steel chairs. Halfway through the match, Paul Bearer appeared, carrying a black wreath. He attacked Wippleman and took back the urn. The Undertaker quickly took control of the match, attacking Gonzalez with a flying clothesline to win by pinfall. After the match, Gonzalez turned on Wippleman and attacked him with a chokeslam.

The next match on the card was the Six-Man tag team match. The Headshrinkers' manager Afa interfered by attacking Billy Gunn outside the ring. At one point, Tatanka looked like he was gaining control, as he began his usual war dance. Bigelow kicked him in the back of the head, however, to end his momentum. Near the end of the match, Bigelow and the Headshrinkers each climbed the turnbuckles to attempt simultaneous diving headbutts, but Tatanka rolled out of the way. Tatanka seized the opportunity and pinned Samu for the win.

Before the main event, Kiotika Suzuki sang the Japanese national anthem. Akio Sato, formerly a member of The Orient Express, was the flag bearer for Yokozuna. Randy Savage then introduced Aaron Neville, who sang the American anthem.

The main event began with a stare down. Luger gained the early advantage and managed to knock Yokozuna down by kicking the ring ropes into Yokozuna's groin. Luger tried to bodyslam Yokozuna, but the sumo wrestler's weight was too much. Yokozuna knocked him out of the ring and choked him. Yokozuna had his manager, Mr. Fuji, throw him a salt bucket, which he used to attack Luger. Yokozuna wore Luger down, and after a brief comeback by the all-American, hit a leg drop on Luger and pulled him to the corner for a Banzai Drop. After Yokozuna missed, Luger succeeded in bodyslamming Yokozuna, and he attacked Mr. Fuji when the manager tried to get involved. Luger knocked Yokozuna out of the ring with a forearm smash, and followed this up by attacking Jim Cornette. Yokozuna was counted out, but he retained the title because championships change hands only by pinfall or submission. Several faces came to the ring to celebrate with Luger as red, white and blue balloons fell from the ceiling to celebrate the victory.