One MIND-BLOWING Secret For Every WWE SummerSlam

34. 1992 | The Original Location (And Line-Up)

In 1992, the WWF decided to change the SummerSlam location.

The company was in decline domestically. Hulkamania had waned. The fad was over in the United States - but it was at its peak in the United Kingdom. That was because Britain was comparatively late to the concept of satellite/cable television; when Sky TV revolutionised the landscape, WWF programming, already a hit on home video, was a big draw. The move was shrewd, insofar as optics as anything else, and while the WWF’s popularity on the night was conditional and temporary, SummerSlam 1992 held lasting significance. Bret Hart’s bravura performance in the main event fundamentally altered the course of WWE stylistically and narratively. The pay-per-view was meant to emanate from Landover, Maryland. What did it look like on this alternate timeline?

Randy Savage Vs. the Ultimate Warrior was always sriet to happen; Dave Meltzer reported this in the June 1, 1992 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave also stated that Bret Hart was set to defend the Intercontinental title against Ric Flair, which seems like a potential lost classic, until you recall that Bret never really rated Flair. Their matches were cagey affairs defined by a lack of chemistry. Obviously, since Davey Boy Smith was a genuine superstar in the UK, the match was changed alongside the location. Meltzer also reported in a 2002 edition of the Observer that Bret Hart Vs. Shawn Michaels was a potential IC title match in Landover. 

Meltzer also, back in June 1992, had heard that the Undertaker was set to face off against the Berzerker, not Kamala. One match sucked, the other would have sucked.