This WWF match at Madison Square Garden pitted the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) against the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond). It was the very first SummerSlam PPV show and the Dynamite kid and Jacques Rougeau’s rivalry was ripe. The match was uneventful, playing out as scheduled – the action took place backstage. Exasperating the situation, a locker room prank rubbed Jacques the wrong way. Dynamite’s reputation as a bully and their personal animosity had Jacques assuming the locker room gag was the work of the British Bulldogs. In reality, the prank was Curt Hennig’s work. While the Fabulous Rougeaus were in the ring with the British Bulldogs, Hennig cut their clothing into thin strips.
The Rougeau Brothers were furious when they found their clothing in shreds and went after the Dynamite Kid, yelling and threatening him, but then leaving the room. Dynamite, on the other hand, turned to and leveled Jacques, smacking him right across the ear. Raymond tried to break up the brawl, so Dynamite knocked him out as well. When Jacques recovered from the seemingly unprovoked attack, he began plotting his revenge. The act was brutal. It happened a few weeks later at a TV taping. In the backroom attack, Jacques hid a roll of quarters inside his fist and swung hard at Dynamite Kid’s face. Four teeth were shattered. To patch things up, the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers agreed to pay Dynamite Kid’s dental bill.
Tom Prichard vs. Tracy Smothers
It got so heated inside the car on the way to a show, that the driver had to pull over. Real emotions erupted. Tom Prichard and Tracy Smothers made their names during the 90s Smoky Mountain wrestling circuit, but they never got along. En route to their next gig, a war of words was brewing. Tom Prichard blamed Tracy Smothers for intentionally injuring his opponents instead of following the script and respecting the no-injury clause of pro wrestler credo. Tracy Smothers fumed over the accusation until they took it outside.
Exiting the vehicle, rank words and fists flew. The two nearly ended up settling the score behind bars as blue flashing lights pulled up to their impromptu fight. Tom Prichard, quick on his feet, informed the law enforcement officer the two were only practicing wrestling moves for a show. The cop responded, “You don’t do that in my town! You got thirty seconds to get your asses out of here or I’m taking you all to jail.” They left, close call. Neither wrestler wanted to miss the show due to being arrested for disturbing the peace.
Eric Bischoff vs. Ric Flair
Not much is known about this impromptu scuffle, in large part due to the fact that Vince McMahon ordered the culprits to zip-it to avoid bad media buzz for the WWE. These days Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair are on good terms, but their past animosity led up to the legendary lore of their backstage fight, fueled by their silence about the events.
No one really knows, but what seemed to have happened is this: Ric Flair lost his cool after overhearing Eric Bischoff’s phone conversation of sexist content and he attacked him, punching Ric Flair mid-conversation causing his cell phone to go clattering to the ground. Ric Flair responded and the two tussled until Sgt. Slaughter pulled them apart. Tie!
Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty
These two used to work together, playing an amusing tag team act, but one time, inexplicably, things came to blows. No one really knows why. The puzzling fight that found its way into the hallway of a hotel they were staying at, was broken up by police. The cops were holding Marty Jannetty under arrest.
He’s called it an accidental fight that Shawn Michaels lost. But he didn’t look like a winner being held in custody. Lucky for him, Randy Savage saved the day. When the legendary WWE personality approached the cops as they were hauling Marty Jannetty away, they were star struck. To sum it up, they traded a Randy Savage autograph for Marty Jannetty’s freedom.
June Byers vs. Mildred Burke
This contention goes way back to a 1954 “lady wrestling” contest. Then, Mildred Burke was a pioneer of the sport for women and held the NWA World Women’s Championship title, undefeated for almost 20 years. After years of her husband and promoter womanizing in front of her and flaunting his numerous affairs with other women in the business, she divorced him. His name was Billy Wolfe and he turned on her, vindictively, blackballing her from her career while she strove to hold onto her title. The legendary match between Mildred Burke and June Byers was supposed to settle this score. Byers won the first pin, but Burke prevented her from getting the second pin to win.
They fought hostilely with animosity, going after each other for over an hour until officials called the match without a winner. The press reported June Byers won, so she became the legitimate world champion. Mildred Burke didn’t concede a defeated and maintained her right to her title.