10 Things You Didn’t Know About 1990s SummerSlams

3. The Highest SummerSlam Buyrate Ever – SummerSlam 1998

You want to know how fast WWE business turned around after the rise of Steve Austin? Look no further.

Just two years after posting the worst SummerSlam buyrate of all time in 1996, the 1998 edition of the show was up 345.8% in just two years.

Holy smokes that is a lot of dough. SummerSlam 1998 drew a whopping 700,000 buys, making it the most bought SummerSlam pay-per-view ever.

It isn’t super surprising as the show was built extremely well with Steve Austin and The Undertaker in the main event. The two were hotter than fire in 1998 and they captured the imagination of the fans.

It will go down as the second-most bought non-WrestleMania pay-per-view in WWE history. The only one ahead of it being Invasion in 2001.

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2. Steve Austin got Knocked Out, Didn’t Like the Main Event – SummerSlam 1998

While the main event of SummerSlam 1998 certainly got people in the building and watching at home, the actual match could have been better.

Steve Austin bumped his chin early in the match, knocking himself out and derailing the early stages of the match as a result.

Austin has since said he is not a fan of the match, pointing to getting knocked out for throwing things off but also just not being able to hook the crowd as much as he would have liked.

This should not be considered a bad match by any means but the two would definitely go on to have better matches together down the road.

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1. Bret Hart Tried the Sharpshooter Spot on his Wife – SummerSlam 1992

Bret Hart is the master of the Sharpshooter. That much is undeniable. He has had some of the best sequences getting into the move throughout his career with one of his best coming at SummerSlam 1992.

With both men down, Bret was able to wrap his legs around Bulldog’s, turn over, stand up, and truly lock in the hold. An excellent spot, but how did he come up with it.

Well, Bret tells the story that he came up with the idea at 3:00 am while in bed with his wife. He then woke her up and got her to help him through the sequence.

Not your typical foreplay but everyone is into different things.

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