10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1994 Facts
The Hart family steals the show, while Undertaker slowly destroys an impostor.
The 1994 SummerSlam could be best termed as a "turd in the chili bowl" show. Through the first six matches of the card, the first (and so far only) SummerSlam in Chicago was looking like a hearty thumbs up. Bret and Owen Hart's steel cage match was a bona fide five-star classic. Razor Ramon and Diesel's IC title match came off quite well for a heated heavyweight battle. Tatanka's swerve heel turn on Lex Luger, though lacking in deep long-term impact, made for a memorable moment. Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano put on the easily best Women's title match on WWE pay-per-view to date.
Then came the main event. Once you ate your way to bottom of that bowl of chili, there was the turd, glistening without ambiguity. A true meal-wrecker, if there ever was one.
On the upside, The Undertaker was back after seven months away. Contra to that, he would have to wrestle his evil doppelganger Brian Lee, who was pretending to be The Undertaker, under the employ of Ted Dibiase. To put it mildly, the match was slower than snails fornicating.
SummerSlam 1994 was the B+ version of WrestleMania 10, succeeding in spite of the lousy product that surrounded it, but not quite hitting the historic heights of its March predecessor.
Here are ten facts about SummerSlam 1994 you may not have known.
10. The Venue Had Only Opened 11 Days Earlier
To this day, WWE events in the Chicago area take place in the suburb of Rosemont, home of the historic Rosemont Horizon (later the AllState Arena). This is in spite of the fact that in 1994, the NBA's Bulls and NHL's Blackhawks got themselves a brand new place to play: the United Center.
WWE has only held one event inside the United Center, that being this here SummerSlam. The building had only officially opened on August 18, 1994, a mere 11 days before the pay-per-view.
As the close dates would indicate, SummerSlam 1994 was the first major event of any sort to be held inside the United Center. They haven't been back, sticking with Rosemont/AllState, probably due to cheaper rental costs, and not having any schedule conflicts with Bulls and Blackhawks games.