SummerSlam Stories

The Biggest Party of the Summer! Well, it was. In fact, before the Royal Rumble really took off, I’d say that SummerSlam was the second biggest WWF event of the year behind WrestleMania. I’ve never been a fan of summer nor the weather that comes with it, but it was the one time of the year that I was happy to “Feel The Heat,” and I know that I’m not alone. Even now it seems that the company still views it as a big show, complete with fan events that resemble those during WrestleMania weekend. Whether or not it appears a huge deal to fans is a different story altogether.

I do believe that the inaugural SummerSlam, held in 1988, was the first one that I ended up seeing, though not right away. Just like the first WrestleMania it was held in Madison Square Garden and was headlined by a tag team spectacle. The lineup is interesting and, at times, feels like it’s trying to showcase many stars who didn’t get much of a spotlight months earlier at WrestleMania IV. It’s also interesting that several names on the show including Junkyard Dog, Ken Patera, The British Bulldogs, Don Muraco and even commentator Superstar Billy Graham would be gone from the company in just a matter of months. The opening montage featuring “The Mega Powers versus The Mega Bucks” has always been a favorite of mine. Bobby Heenan is shown laughing at one point which, for whatever reason, amused me to no end. Some kids would say “Bloody Mary” three times into the bathroom mirror. I would emulate “The Brain” laughing. I don’t know what that says about me.

“The Slam” has always had a lot of hype. My hometown (a town that’s made some large and tragic headlines in the past few weeks) cable company was, fortunately, the recipient of a lot of the goodies that came with that. They would hold little “Enter your name and win!” contests to give away the goods. I’m guessing that not many people entered, as it seemed as if I always won when I’d enter. I’d assume that cow tipping took precedence over writing your name down for free WWF merch. One of those contests was to promote SummerSlam 1993. I won the program as well as the famous SummerSlam shades! Apparently these sunglasses existed for a few years as Jimmy Hart can be seen sporting them back in 1990.

What I wasn’t privy to, despite being a hardcore WWF devotee from the greater Pittsburgh area, was the pre-sale for the SummerSlam 1995 tickets. In fact, I only learned about the pre-sale while waiting in line for tickets on July 8^th 1995 – the REGULAR on-sale date! What matters now, nearly thirty years later, is that I do have the pre-sale letter explaining how these fans were specifically chosen by Jack Tunney to receive this info. Gee, thanks a LOT, Jack! Best president since Noriega! Jack “On The Take” Tunney! Boy, I’m feeling a lot of Heenan in this entry, aren’t you? Anyway, I do know that this particular flyer came inside of materials sent to a holder of the WWF MasterCard. That…I did not have. Perhaps that’s why I was shunned.

Of course we all know that I ended up at SummerSlam that year. It was the first WWF pay-per-view ever to be held in Pittsburgh and really the first large-scale televised wrestling to be done in “the Burgh” since Pittsburgh’s “Studio Wrestling.” You could argue that point since a bit of the 1987 Bunkhouse Stampede finals, which were also held at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, did air on TV but just as an opening to regular Jim Crockett Promotions programming. I’ve told many stories centering around that show over the years, but one thus far left untold actually happened years later. As I was collecting autographs on the program cover, I failed to tell a certain wrestler (who’s gone through many names, possibly Syxx different ones?) which name to sign. This was ultimately a mistake of mine as most collectors have countless stories of wrestlers accidentally signing the wrong gimmick name. Well, needless to say, the wrong name was signed. I was stunned but politely asked for the name that I wanted to be signed, as well. That wrestler has always been as nice as can be, so it wasn’t an issue, but it did make me not want to look at the program for quite awhile. I stuffed it away somewhere and forgot about it. A few years later I read that, on certain materials/textures, an autograph could be removed with acetone. I obtained some and, voila, the program is fixed and you’d never know the difference.

Yes, I even go modern, and somehow I ended up with a SummerSlam 2009 chair. Ok, so 2009 isn’t quite modern anymore (scary, huh?), but it was when I picked up the thing. I don’t remember how much it cost, but it couldn’t have been very expensive or I wouldn’t have it. It will probably make some folks cringe to hear this, so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t like things being utilized practically, but I have, at times, used this like any other folding chair. Obviously I’m not painting the room with it or taking it outdoors, but it’s definitely had a butt or two in it for Thanksgiving. I’ve cleaned my dog while sitting in it. It’s held packages by the door. Hey, what good is something if you can’t get the maximum use from it?

Between this entry and previous ones I think that I’m tapped as far as SummerSlam 1995 stories. That being said, God willing, we’ll all be back here in two years to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the show. Like it or not it’s a true reflection of The New WWF Generation and, as I’ve said in the past, it was just a really FUN time to be a wrestling fan living in Pittsburgh. Interest in pro wrestling may have been pretty low nationally but they certainly knew how to drum up the buzz around here. Love Diesel, King Mabel, ladders and demented dentists? Come on back in two years!

I’ll Be Your Hero 30 Years On: Three Decades Of The Lex Express

The Total Package was the past. The Narcissist was a mild success at best. The All-American was here. But was he here to stay? In the summer of 1993 I think most certainly thought so. It was another WWF attempt to create a new Hulk Hogan. You could argue that The Ultimate Warrior was first, but to me that was a different direction entirely. I would classify Sid Justice as the first true inkling of an attempt of a new Hulkster. Did "Made In The USA" Lex Luger fare better? Thirty years later, let's reflect.

No one could've been expecting this. The Narcissist was just unveiled at the Royal Rumble in January and embroiled in a feud with Mr. Perfect. An attack on Bret "The Hitman" Hart during WrestleMania weekend went nowhere. WWF Championship matches between Hogan and Luger definitely could've drawn, but the forgotten and weak '93 Hulkamania title reign ended any chances of that.

Who answered the Bodyslam Challenge on July 4th 1993 with a mission of body slamming Yokozuna? Lex Luger. Any mention of "The Narcissist" was long gone. This man was now an American hero. In fact, he would now be your hero. He'd be meeting you while crossing the country in his Lex Express bus. He may give you a tour button or even an autographed photo or poster. It was the "Call To Action Campaign" and it was coming to your town!

I will admit that even then I noticed it getting a bit more publicity than the normal post-Hulkamania WWF did. I was at the perfect age to notice when wrestling was hot and when it wasn't. It certainly wasn't in 1993, but it did have some people talking. The WWF marketing machine caused a lot of it. Luger certainly had charisma, but it wasn't Hogan level. It was more of a heelish charisma and while he switched to babyface well, I'm not sure that he had anyone completely convinced.

The press materials for the campaign are a fascinating look into how full steam ahead the WWF was going with it. Even the Lex Express itself had an official promotional photo! The press kit that I own actually has an extra photo. A certain former WCW announcer who I acquired it from told that me that the additional photo actually came from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette newspaper archives. It's a shot of Luger riding a go-kart at Pittsburgh's Sandcastle waterpark where the Lex Express had made a stop. You know there's some sort of buzz if the mainstream press is picking up on it.

You can tell that rumors of an originally planned SummerSlam main event of Hogan vs Hart were undeniably true. The promo photos of Luger, and even his shot on the cover of the SummerSlam 1993 program, are from The Narcissist era. Even still, why could both have not happened? You can easily point out two main events for the 1992 and 1994 editions of the show. Why not have Luger vs Yoko, too, and have Luger go over clean? In this scenario the belt doesn't even come into play if they didn't want it on him just yet.

I, personally, would've put the belt on Luger even if for a short time. Nothing too much was working at the moment anywhere in the world of wrestling. While diehards such as myself were still eating it up, you didn't have the mainstream casuals that fill arenas to capacity. I don't think high school gym were even being filled to capacity at this point. There are a lot of fond memories for the time period, but the attention just wasn't there.

Be that as it may, "All American" Lex Luger is looked back at fondly by many. We're still getting new merch for the character to this day and even finally received the Hasbro style figure this year. It's always been alleged to have been part of the fabled unproduced "orange card" series. Many collectors have been suggesting that Mattel's WWE Ultimate Edition figure series include Luger in his "All American" look, complete with the USA street gear he wore during the tour. I'd be all for it.

Was this WWF run for Luger a complete flop? I'm not so sure. We're still talking about it. We're still buying the merch. You're still hearing the "I'll Be Your Hero" song in your head. To me, that's memorable. Me? I still have the "Lex Express Tour" weekly recap production music in my head. Now that's an earworm!

Dueling Machos

Action figure photography is all the rage these days. I’ve summed it up here on the blog before: it’s the accepted way for adults to continue to play with their toys. I love it and I’ve often said on my own wrestling figure photography social (Instagram: The_Figure_Arena) that you could literally start an account just for “Macho Man” Randy Savage figure pictures. Is it any wonder? He has countless looks from his colorful years in the business and it seems as if we’re getting several new figures of him each year. Well, now we’ve got two more to add to the lineup. Two new looks just hit, ironically both black and white, and what better way to look at both than in a combined blog review? Dig it? 

Both of these “Macho Men” are entries into the Mattel WWE Ultimate Edition line. Undoubtedly one of the hottest series out right now, the Ultimate Editions are purportedly the “ultimate” in accessories, articulation and likeness. Originally I took the name to imply that they were the “ultimate” edition of each character, meaning that no other version of this particular individual could ever measure up. Seeing as that we now have three “Ultimate” Savage’s and four “Ultimate” Hulk Hogan’s, with more of both on the way, I think that we can resign that way of thinking. At least I can. Instead I believe that we are to think that any figure in this line is automatically the “best of the best.” Does that really ring true? 

The 1993-1994 era Macho Man was the “early bird backer” incentive for collectors to back the Mattel WWE Ultimate New Generation Arena set. The set, along with the other “Ultimate” incentive figures (Diesel and Doink The Clown) have already been reviewed on this blog. Savage, due to being added to the program later, shipped separately. The nWo era “Mach” was a Target exclusive and the second in their “Ultimate Legends” figure lineup. There was an earlier Elite version of this figure that was exclusive to an online retailer, but I passed on that one as I generally do with “Attitude Era” online exclusives due to lack of personal interest. For reasons that we’ll get into when we look deeper into the figure, this one grabbed my attention for sure. 

Both figures are packaged in the standard, large “Ultimate” packaging. The “announcer/WrestleMania X” Macho also has an outer cardboard box which will undoubtedly be considered necessary to be present if one wants a “complete” figure. To me it’s just a box, albeit with the “New Generation” WWE logo on one side and the Ultimate logo on the other. As usual with the Ultimate figures there are plenty of accessories floating around. It’s (sadly) a non-factor when it comes to Randy Savage, but I’ve never entertained the notion of getting any Ultimate figures signed due to this. It just isn’t appealing to me in that respect. It should be noted that additional accessories are unseen yet included with “announcer” Macho. 

Before I really took a good investigative look, I actually thought that I would like the nWo Macho Man more. Considering that the announcer figure is closer to my favorite era, that thought was a bit of a shock even to myself. I’d heard some things that turned out to be false about the announcer figure. Appealing in the favor of the nWo Macho was that we finally get a “tongue sticking out” head for Savage. So, who’s better? 

Both include a plethora of accessories. Announcer Macho, as noted above, even comes with some that aren’t immediately visible. While you do see vintage-styled microphones, monitors, a headset and extra Macho Man cowboy hat with attached headset right in the window, hidden behind some cardboard is the “classic” announce table with blue soft goods table cloth and blue folding chairs. It should be noted that all of these accessories wouldn’t have made it into a standard Ultimate release. Again, they are part of the New Generation Arena theme. For those wondering, beneath the table cloth is your standard Mattel breakaway table. The extra headset (presumably for Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon or Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) is too pliable and doesn’t look as good as its Jakks counterpart from years ago. This Macho also includes “pointing hands,” an entrance jacket and shirt. A fallacy that I’d heard about this figure was that the jacket and shirt couldn’t be worn simultaneously as they were in real life. I had them on the figure together in seconds, so obviously it’s meant to be done. Considering how thin both are (a blessing in this case), there’s no reason that it shouldn’t work. 

nWo Macho also features two thin shirts. In the past few years I think that most of us have gotten used to the thin fabric being used by Mattel. It may actually look a bit better as it’s more form fitting, but I do wonder about it holding up over the years. What I love about the nWo Macho shirts is that they fit on just like real shirts. No velcro! Mattel really needs to take note of how great this is for future Hogan releases. We’ve had more than enough “tearable” shirts with The Hulkster. It’s time to give us some solid ones. Going back to Macho, “The Savage One” also includes a pair of what I call “Freak out! Freak out!” hands, his white sash belt and bandana. It’s a solid figure that can be customized with other already released Savage accessories. All five heads included between these two figures are interchangeable although the “tongue” head is the only one not included twice. 

I do feel that each figure was missing fairly important hands. Seeing as that nWo Macho is gloved, I think that we should’ve received pointing gloved hands. As far as the announcer version, I feel that leaving out “taped thumbs up” hands was a glaring omission. He did this all the time as an announcer. Mattel has been strangely stingy with “thumbs up” hands. Is it some sort of evil, canceled hand sign that I’m blissfully unaware of? I honestly wonder if an updated Hacksaw Jim Duggan were to be released (he hasn’t had a new figure since alternate hands were added to the line) that perhaps they would not be included with him, either. We have gotten them with Scott Hall and in an upcoming Razor Ramon release, but that doesn’t help with Macho seeing as that he wore hand tape. 

The good thing is that The Macho Man has endless looks to choose from, thus there’s really no limit to more releases. Where do these two rank? They’re both very good but I wouldn’t deem either the best. If I had to choose I would probably say that the best Macho release was the first Ultimate figure clad in the white and neon outfit. It wasn’t his most recognizable outfit (despite being made in Hasbro form) but it certainly felt the most complete. Had the recently released WrestleMania VI version of The Macho King included his entrance jacket, I feel that that one would be hard to beat. Alas, it does not include the jacket. Neither of these figures ultimately makes my mental ballot for “Figure Of The Year,” but they’re still solid. nWo Macho is still available through Target while the other, due to it being part of the Mattel Creations set, will have to be obtained through the secondary market if you were not a backer. 

With upgrades in production methods and the ever-increasing demands of collectors, these figures should only be getting better and better. Randy Savage is one of the most visually varied and striking individuals to ever exist in the world of professional wrestling. As long as the rights are continually granted to make figures, we should continue to see him be well-represented. Both of these figures were necessary entries into the Savage collection, but the colors keep them from becoming truly the best of his figures out there. No one was more colorful in or out of the ring. Now that we have figures of just about every “darker” side of Savage (even late WCW which was produced a few years back), let’s get back into his colorful side. How about some of the 1988 robes? More of the “neon cowboy” era? The sky is the limit…although watch for flying elbows.

The Centerpiece Of The New WWF Generation

What were you doing twelve months ago? If you’re reading this blog there’s a good chance that you were thinking it would take forever for a year to pass. That’s because, again, if you’re reading this blog there’s a good chance that you were smart enough to back the Mattel Creations WWE New Generation Arena set. We were told all along that it would ship in August of 2022 and sure enough the arrivals have begun. I never seem to win the shipping time lottery, but for whatever reason my orders were among the earliest to ship. This is usually not the case and quite honestly I was due. The large online wrestling figure store that’s barely two states away from me takes at least two weeks after everyone else to get my orders to me so believe me, I suffer enough. 

Now what is currently shipping is everything that’s in the main box. The entrance way, the ring, Diesel, Doink and even the ring skirts are all here. What isn’t here is the item that, to some, is the highlight of the whole deal, 1994 Macho Man Randy Savage. Since the figure doubles as commentator Savage it’s presumable that is why the commentary table and chairs set will be shipped with him. What did ship here all fits into one big box. The outer case that it fits into is just like how it would’ve shipped to the store. Seeing as some won’t see the item as “complete” without it, you may want to hold onto that box. It should also be noted that once you open the shipping case the whole set is really no longer sealed. There’s a tremendous “display box” like you would purchase off of the shelf were it sold in stores but the ring pieces are packed into smaller bags and even the Diesel and Doink figures aren’t taped shut. Doink has those annoying plastic tab holders around his ankles like many Mattel figures do but really once you open the case nothing is truly sealed. This may be of some concern to boxed collectors, but I never found much use in keeping the Ultimate figures carded/boxed with all those heads and things floating around. Really though, you’ll soon see why there’s not much to be concerned about with this set even if you end up not liking it. 

For me the highlight is the entrance way. No, you’re not getting the actual WWF logo. I think if you’re not over that fact after two decades it may be time to get out of the hobby. What you are getting is the type of add-on/playset that most of us have wanted for thirty years. I know I wasn’t the only one who made a cardboard facsimile of the famous neon WWF entryway shortly after it debuted at WrestleMania VIII. It just looked cool. Now we have it. It lights up. It has a variety of lighting patterns just like the real one. While I wouldn’t say it was worth the $250 to back this thing all by itself, it definitely eats up a good $100 chunk. This thing is substantial and large. In fact, it may even be a bitter bigger to scale with the figures than the real one was to the real superstars. In any case, this alone could be the centerpiece to an amazing looking shelf display surrounded by figures. In case you have one on the way be sure to have four AA batteries on hand to get started. I considered embedding a video to show how cool the lighting is, but rather just head on over to Instagram (@jws_wrestling_memorabilia) and check it out there! 

Next up is the ring itself. Honestly this is my least favorite portion of the deal and I kind of figured that it would be. I just cannot warm up to any “Real Scale Ring.” They’re always just too big if you ask me. This one does have some features that I like as well as some things that I don’t care for. I will say that it was one of the easier scale rings to assemble. The easiest was the Raw ring that Mattel lied to us in order to get us to purchase by saying that it would be the only way to ever get “old man” Elite Goldberg. Well, that turned out to be a joke. Nonetheless the ring didn’t have much assembly required. The worst are the Jakks and Jazwares versions where it takes two hours to set the damn things up. I think I may have assembled the Classic Superstars versions twice a piece. The Jazwares AEW version that I was forced to buy in order to get the first female referee figure? That one was assembled for the photos on this blog. I don’t expect to deal with it ever again. 

The frame of the ring Is easy to build and the faux-wood (they’re plastic) planks are made to resemble how a real wrestling ring is assembled. I do like how the pieces are rather nicely separated into individual bags which were mostly in cardboard dividers. The wooden planks are in three sections and they do seem to stay in. The canvas mat wasn’t too bad to deal with either. There are still wrinkles like all of these mats, but I like how holes in the canvas attach to plastic hooks on the bottom of the framework. I like the color blue chosen for all of the visible plastic pieces. Ignoring the skirts this really could be any era of WWF ring. That’s a very good thing. I didn’t fiddle with mine too much but I didn’t like how the skirts rise above the side of the apron. Again, it may take some fiddling but they protrude just a bit too much at the top as shown in the pictures. That being said, it’s cool that we have basic WWF, In Your House and WrestleMania to choose from. 

The one thing that I couldn’t believe, in a bad way, was when I opened the turnbuckles. While I did appreciate that one of each four turnbuckles is connected to the ropes making it easier to space them out (something that’s always been an issue on most Real Scale Rings), I could not believe that one of the red turnbuckles has a huge, unsightly materials tag sewn right on. It just hangs there. Now most will just cut the thing off, but this has never been on any ring before to my knowledge. It’s completely unsightly. I have yet to attempt to remove mine, though I will and hopefully without doing any damage. It does ensure that most of these that are assembled and go on display will never truly be “mint” as no one is going to want that thing showing. Mattel, what were you thinking here? 

Like I said, it’s one of the better Real Scale Rings but I’d have preferred a bit smaller. The assembly is actually a tad fun in a sense and I can already envision some wrestling figure photography being done with partially assembled rings. A fight breaks out before the show and spills into the arena where the ring crew is setting up? I’m ready to do it. Also it should be noted that two of the cardboard trays that the pieces ship in are the small “crowd” backdrops that were promised later in the hype phase. They’re fun and what I’ve included in the photography here. They’re not as detailed as the third-party crowds that I usually use in my reviews, but I didn’t want to confuse people into thinking that those larger backdrops are what’s included here. These smaller ones would also work great next to the entry way on a shelf display as mentioned earlier. Tons of possibilities for display and play! 

Now onto the figures! We have two definitive “New WWF Generation” characters in Diesel and Doink the Clown. As noted earlier “Macho Man” Randy Savage in his WrestleMania X/commentator outfit will be shipping to backers at a later date, so I’m sure I’ll throw a review up for him as well just to complete the set. Let’s face it, he’s going to be another highlight in the ever-growing Mattel Macho collection. While Diesel was “The Leader of The New Generation,” I feel that we’ve gotten enough of him. The fact that it’s “Ultimate” really means zilch to me. It’s an excuse from them to charge more for a couple of extra accessories. That being said, this one came out far better than I’d imagined. The faces are dead on and it truly does resemble Kevin Nash in the era when “Diesel Power” was running roughshod over the WWF, if not so much at the box office. He headlined my first live attended pay-per-view (SummerSlam 1995) as champion and for that I’ll always have a soft spot for the “Big Daddy Cool” era. In fact, despite its numerous flaws, “The New Generation” is just about the last era that I’ll re-watch with any frequency as I find most of the Attitude Era impossible to get back into all these years later. 

While Randy Savage was the most hyped in the lead up, I think Doink the Clown is the figure that will lead to the most regret from anyone who didn’t back this thing. This figure is great. It is indeed Matt Borne as only he wore this guise. It’s early Doink. The Doink that tripped up the Big Boss Man. The Doink that beat Kamala. The Doink that injured Crush! You get three heads and three hairstyles. I’m not so sure that it was advertised, but just like the first Mattel Doink release, the “wigs” are all interchangeable. Add that to the mallet that was present in at least one early promo photo and his jacket with the “squirting” flower (no, it doesn’t really squirt) and you truly have the Ultimate Doink. Savage will indeed be popular but due to the nature of the release of this set monetarily speculation has been the name of the game here. My bet is that Doink will be the star of the secondary market show. There are plenty of Randy Savage figures to go around and 1994 was hardly a key year for him. They never have any need to release this Doink again. My bet would be seeing another release of the most common Doink look (the first Mattel release) down the line with updated removable hands, etc. If you truly want original, evil Matt Borne you had to have backed this set. 

It's interesting to think how there will be just as much complaining about obtaining this set as there would be for a store exclusive, yet everyone had exactly the same opportunity to get this as anyone else. You backed it? You got one. You backed five? You got five. Make no mistake, the secondary market prices will only rise for this. The ring itself and Diesel will be the easiest to obtain. The ring will be released in other forms, though not necessarily the classic blue. Diesel isn’t different enough from other releases to warrant super high prices, though the “Ultimate” label is a necessity for some. The entrance, Savage and Doink are the gold here. In a way it’s a cautionary tale. If there’s something you feel that you’re ever going to want, you do what you have to in order to afford it when available for the initial price. There’s a similar crowd-funded item from a completely different toy line that I didn’t take advantage of. With the prices of that item now, the only way that I’ll ever own one would be in some form of re-release. Thankfully that company made it clear that they reserved the right to re-release the item down the line. Will they? Who knows. Mattel made it clear with this set, however, that apart from the ring coming back in some form the rest of it is one and done. Is it worth the prices that they’ll be selling for? Absolutely not. But it was definitely worth the $250. I’m confident that my readers were smart enough to back this thing and with you all I share my congratulations and have but only one other thing to say: let’s play!