Undertaker and Roberts unused at Summerslam 91

[hitch]

Seems odd to me. Two biggest heels on the roster. Arguably THE two biggest heels given how much heat Slaughter had lost by summer of 1991. Both were involved in angles with Warrior who didn't need to be in the main event at all as it made no sense and could have easily been replaced by Justice in a Hogan classic 'friend to the end' angle with Hogan.

Just seems a really, really strange choice to have both guys sitting on their hands for this one. Especially considering how high up the card Taker got at the next PPV - main eventing and winning the WWF title from Hulk.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Yep.

It should have been Ultimate Warrior taking on either Jake Roberts or The Undertaker. I think Warrior was working with The Undertaker on the house shows at the time. Undertaker and Jake's crashing the wedding reception wasn't even shown on the PPV itself.

Warrior was trying to re-negotiate his contract prior to SummerSlam, but the card was already announced at this point, I believe. Contrary to what WWE will have you believe, Warrior did not try to get a new deal on the very day of SummerSlam. It was weeks before.

[BlackoutCreature]

Here's how I would've booked it -

Announce the main event originally as a Six-Man Tag match, Hogan, Warrior and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa and The Undertaker. They do Roberts heel turn and Slaughter then announces that Mustafa has decided to step down and Jake "The Snake" Roberts will take his place. They then run an injury angle where Slaughter & co. beat down Duggan forcing him to be taken out of the match. Jack Tunney makes a statement saying that he is forced to name a replacement in the match for Duggan, and the only person on the roster and not contractually obligated to do something else on the night of the show was Sid Justice, who they had been showing vignettes for for weeks. Hogan and Warrior then play up that they don't know anything about the guy and if they can trust him.

So at the show we have Hogan, Warrior and Sid vs. Slaughter, Jake and Undertaker. During the match Mustafa and Adnan try to interfere, when a bandaged Jim Duggan shows up with his 2x4 and chases them off. Towards the end of the match things start getting out of hand and Warrior and Sid battle Jake and Undertaker into the backstage area, leaving Hogan and Slaughter alone in the ring to settle things between them once and for all. Hogan of course wins, Warrior gets fired backstage and Sid returns to the ring to pose with Hogan.

[What?]

Personally, I believe Vince was trying to keep Undertaker looking strong on television. Sure, Warrior defeated him at house shows that summer, but if it doesn't take place on t.v., it never really happened. Prior to the infamous "hold-up" at SummerSlam, Vince wanted Warrior to look strong, but Taker as well. Anything but a convincing win for Taker would've slowed him down enroute to the Hogan title match.

I think the other reason for Warrior being placed into the Hogan-Slaughter feud, was to add some interest to a dead angle, for one last money match.

I've made threads about this in the past, and it befuddles me, too. But, heres how I would've booked it in my own perfect world:

I.R.S. vs Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

The British Bulldog, The Dragon, and The Texas Tornado vs The Warlord and Power and Glory (with Slick)

Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect (c)w/ The Coach

"Servant vs Million Dollar Belt Match" (DiBiase wins = Virgil must return to being his butler again/ Virgil wins = He gets the Million Dollar Belt)
Virgil vs Ted DiBiase (c) (with Sensational Sherri)

Standard WWF Tag Team Championship Match
The Legion of Doom vs The Nasty Boys (c)

"Jailhouse Match"
The Big Boss Man vs The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart)

The Natural Disasters vs The Rockers (with André the Giant)

Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, & Sid Justice vs Sgt. Slaughter, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and The Undertaker (Paul Bearer, Col. Mustafa, and Gen. Adnan -- until excessive interference, then Tunney makes an executive order to ban all non-wrestling participants from ringside)

...This way, you let Slaughter take the fall, while Warrior gets some in-ring time with Roberts and Undertaker, without anyone of those guys looking bad.

The aftermath into the fall of 1991:

Hogan and Undertaker

Ultimate Warrior has a confrontation with a debuting Ric Flair on Superstars (before Flair goes for Hogan)

Sid has beef with both, Taker and Jake, while lobbying for a Savage re-instatement, while staying somewhat involved with being Hogan's occassional tag partner/buddy against Taker, then later Flair (betraying Hogan eventually will depend on if we are assuming that he would face him at WrestleMania VIII, but a heel run against Warrior could eventually happen anyway, at some point in 1992.)

I know its not a flawless idea, and the feuds get a bit blended, but thats how they were at that point, anyway.

Slaughter still turns face

[hitch]

Presumably the decision to move Taker onto Hogan was made in advance of and was always 'the plan' for him (you don't get given a PPV title shot vs Hulk Hogan and a brief stint as champion as a consolation prize) and we also know the plan must have been there in place for the Roberts/Savage feud long before Summerslam.

So with both Taker and Roberts mixed up in different feuds - what the hell would Warrior have been doing after spending God knows how many weeks involved in skits with those two.

[What?]

Oct 16, 2012 18:28:08 GMT -5 hitch said:

So with both Taker and Roberts mixed up in different feuds - what the hell would Warrior have been doing after spending God knows how many weeks involved in skits with those two.

I hear you. The only logical post-SummerSlam feud I could conjure up is Flair, honestly. Justice wasn't a heel yet, and all of the other heels at the time were midcarders..

[hitch]

Oct 16, 2012 18:45:29 GMT -5 What? said:

Oct 16, 2012 18:28:08 GMT -5 hitch said:

So with both Taker and Roberts mixed up in different feuds - what the hell would Warrior have been doing after spending God knows how many weeks involved in skits with those two.

I hear you. The only logical post-SummerSlam feud I could conjure up is Flair, honestly. Justice wasn't a heel yet, and all of the other heels at the time were midcarders..

I think problems with Vince and Warrior had been building up a considerable time before Summerslam and Vince put Justice in the mix just in case Warrior no-showed so then they could run an angle where they report Warrior was 'injured' by the Triangle of Terror.

"So outraged was Sid Justice that he has answered the call and stepped over to join forces with Hulk Hogan...."

[What?]

Oct 16, 2012 18:48:48 GMT -5 hitch said:

Oct 16, 2012 18:45:29 GMT -5 What? said:

I hear you. The only logical post-SummerSlam feud I could conjure up is Flair, honestly. Justice wasn't a heel yet, and all of the other heels at the time were midcarders..

I think problems with Vince and Warrior had been building up a considerable time before Summerslam and Vince put Justice in the mix just in case Warrior no-showed so then they could run an angle where they report Warrior was 'injured' by the Triangle of Terror.

"So outraged was Sid Justice that he has answered the call and stepped over to join forces with Hulk Hogan...."

I believe you're right. If I remember correctly, prior to SummerSlam, Vince verbally agreed to pay him the ransom, just to make sure he'd be there, right?

What a shame, too. In 1991, Warrior really started evolving with his character. He showed his "human side," and his promo work improved, too. He began talking, while retaining his intensity. For example, his promos leading up to WrestleMania VII, as well as some of the ones he cut against Taker via the Sean Mooney 'Event Center' (about not fearing the darkness...or something)

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2012 18:28:08 GMT -5 hitch said:

Presumably the decision to move Taker onto Hogan was made in advance of and was always 'the plan' for him (you don't get given a PPV title shot vs Hulk Hogan and a brief stint as champion as a consolation prize) and we also know the plan must have been there in place for the Roberts/Savage feud long before Summerslam.

So with both Taker and Roberts mixed up in different feuds - what the hell would Warrior have been doing after spending God knows how many weeks involved in skits with those two.

I don't think Roberts/Savage was planned until after Warrior was gone. Even during the pre-match interview with Hogan and Warrior before the Match Made in Hell, they were talking about "the bite from the cobra". Clearly they had Warrior/Jake in mind post-Summerslam. It appeared they were just tying up the Slaughter storyline (Warrior lost to him at RR that year so this was his revenge match as well).

I would assume Warrior's team vs. Jake's team (with Hogan vs. Undertaker for the title) was going to headline Survivor Series. Sid replaced Warrior, and then Sid got hurt (I think) so it was full throttle into Savage/Roberts.