Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Crush & Smash

[8.0] "If tag wrestling had a 50-50 mix of Young Bucks PWG style and this match's style of wrestling it'd be in such a great place today. Genuinely a lot of good stuff, it's simple but it makes sense and it's effective. The quick tags were great! The heels Demolition were able to wear down Bret to make a hot tag moment that wasn't just boring rest holds. And the ref distractions that happened were way better than anything modern. Only weird parts are Crush jumping over the pin and hitting the ref to stop the count and getting dq'ed for the Hart's first fall. He could've just saved energy and stomped on the pin to break it up lol. Saw Ax come down and thought he would attack one of the Harts at ringside, and then I thought "What if they do Bella Twin Magic lol" and they actually did, Ax and Smash don't look alike, and the ref didn't notice that "Smash's" face paint magically regenerated. The Road Warriors coming in to save the day popped me hella. Would've yelled if it wasn't 1AM."

[5.0] "A perfectly fine match so not hating on it all. The reason i cant give this higher is that it felt way too formulaic in the finished. Felt like they were just setting up fornitm for example the second fall, smash just waits to inteefere and attacks the ref rather then just breaking the pinfall. Made no sense."

[8.0] "Very entertaining and showed a better level in ring having the perfection on execution like Bret Hart and Jim The Anvil Neidhart The Hart Foundation and on other Demolition did a good job as heels and with the final where Animal and Hawk return and the crowd erupts, Bret does the final fall and The Hart Foundation champions, 8/10 [****1/2]"

[8.0] "After a mostly snoozer of a show, Demolition and The Hart Foundation show up to remind everyone what wrestling is."

[5.0] "Fast paced and quite short for 2 out 3 falls match. Demolition shenanigans were fun, but the DQ part made no sense. Why wouldn't you break the pin but instead jump onto the ref who was farther? Poorly executed spot."

[6.0] "A match that had its moments of being fun but had its lows as well. Demolition isn't fully the same when Crush is teaming and its not as if Crush did a terrible role it just didn't feel the same in their in terms of tag chemistry. The peak of the match was the conclusion of the second fall but then they did the goofy disqualification. The third fall felt like biding time til the finish with LOD coming out there and taking care of Ax. Fine match overall but definitely failed to hit the landing towards the end. **3/4"

[8.0] "wow! how fun! i am a massive fan of what a best 2 of 3 falls stipulation can add to a match, and even though it's a bit weird here, it's a great time. the Hart Foundation is excellent and have the ability to carry a match to success on their chemistry alone, but Demolition is honestly pretty good here even with a very new-to-all-this Crush and don't detract from anything at all. lots of fun spots with a failed attempt at ref interference, Ax showing up and hiding underneath the ring to go for a weird switcheroo (McMahon is on commentary and does a whole extended 'i can't even tell these guys apart! ' bit to set this up as soon as the match starts), and the LoD showing up to foil Demolition's wicked heel plans may be edging towards overbooked territory but honestly the pop they get is so huge you can't even complain, especially given it leads to a Hart Foundation win that EVERYONE wanted to see."

[9.0] "Crazy good tag team match. Shame Ax isn't at his best here, as this match would have been even better with him in Crush's place, but both teams manage to make this an underrated hidden gem to go out of your way to see."

[8.0] "A very good match here. Crush isn't at his peak yet so he's still a bit boring but he still plays his role here well. Demolition cheating by swapping members was really unique and fun, and their chemistry with the Harts was really strong as the action was very fast and entertaining. The ending was satisfying with the Harts winning after the LOD come to the rescue. A real tag team classic."

[8.0] "A fun match with a good mixture of quality in-ring action and classic shenanigans, along with starting a new storyline / feud for Demolition. Great match all round."

[7.0] "Crush is still green as grass but I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's still better than Ax at this point so we get a fast pace at the beginning and almost entirely thanks to Bret we're getting a potential classic, shockingly. The last fall really dragged it down and the whole thing with Ax and LOD getting involved was frustrating, even though it did make sense in storyline."

[8.0] "A slightly ambiguous match. When it started, for the first half it looked like a contender for an absolute classic, but then the pace became more strange, there was overbooking and for some reason the referee could not distinguish Ax from Smash. This worked with, for example, Killer Bees, since they performed in masks, but still the members of Demolition do not look so much like each other. But I'm more inclined to 8 points rating, although a bit of a stretch, because it was still a very decent emotional fight that ended with a great triumph of the Foundation."

[6.0] "Great performance from Bret who carried virtually the entity of the HF workload, but the rest was just ok for me. ***1/4"

[2.0] "Overrated and too long. This one is just a drag to get through, Bret is best in a Singles setting but even then he has better tag matches than this"

[10.0] "When you just want to watch a match and get into the story, this is what you put on. People remember it to this day and will remember it forever. The end of Demolition, yes they had a few more PPV's, but the run was over. History needs to remember that during some of the biggest years in wrestling history (88-90), Demolition was a huge part of the WWF package and every bit as big a deal in North America as even the Road Warriors. And this was how they were finally bested. They got revenge on Powers of Pain and humiliated Fuji. They retired the Giant and split up the Heenan family for good measure. This was the Harts ending Demolition, and for once the Demos didn't come back for revenge cause it was over. And in true Demos fashion, it took the classic babyfaces to weather the storm of cheating and tag work. They outlasted and then outsmarted the Demos and Philly went apeshit. This is also the match that should've told you that Bret Hart was not just going to be a champion, but a star. A Year later, he beats Perfect and the rest is history."

[9.0] "This whole thing is weird. Crush was never a tag team champion as Ax and Smash won the titles, not Smash and Crush. But then there's the DQ in the second fall, which by Jess Ventura logic, means they can't win the titles. A similar thing happened between the British Bulldogs and Dream Team on Saturday Night's Main Event a few years prior and The Bulldogs were not awarded the belts. But damn, this was a great match. The crowd was solidly behind the Hart Foundation and Road Warriors come down to aid the Harts when Ax decides to interject himself into the match."

[9.0] "(****1/4) not as good as the Hart Foundation vs The Brain Busters but the best WWF tag team match of the year, amazing work by both teams and fantastic aura both sides carried into the match."

[7.0] "This match was good enough that I can almost overlook the stupid booking of the third fall. You want to tell me that the referee is the only person in the building who can't tell Ax and Smash apart? You know, the guys who look completely different? Other than that, this match was great. Even LOD's intervention made sense."

[8.0] "This is a rare moment where it feels like the fed cared about tag team wrestling. This was a cracking match, and probably the best match that Demolition ever had. Demolition take the first fall, and the second fall is given to the Hart Foundation via disqualification in a great spot where Crush picks up the referee like a small child in an attempt to stop the referee counting a pin. All the stuff with Hawk and Animal coming for the save fit perfectly into the match and didn't distract from the Hart Foundation's victory. I did tell the referee not being able to tell Ax apart from the other two members of Demolition a bit dumb. Despite all that, this was a tremendous way to get both Bret and Jim over, with both men feeling like they could be future megastars."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match with some good in ring technical action with some good psychology. The final few minutes did a pretty good job at keeping me engaged. My only complaint is this is a little bit too short."

[7.0] "There is a lot of good wrestling here, but the booking in the third fall does bring things down a notch. The crowd is really invested which is great, and I enjoyed the first fall and how well it set up the Hart Foundation as the underdogs for the remainder of the match. The Hart Foundation have a good showing and put together a pretty solid comeback, but unfortunately the third fall is really hampered by some silly antics with Demolition trying to pull the ol' switcheroo which really works against all logic when you consider that Ax and Smash look nothing alike. The finishing move itself is a pretty cool way to end the match, but the lead in would have worked much better if it was just LOD preventing Ax from interfering instead of the silly 'twin magic' spot."

[9.0] "This tag match was great all the way through but is let down somewhat by the third fall. The first two falls were excellent tag team action, and the crowd is LOUD. They're loud for the entire match, to be fair. They clearly love the Hart Foundation and are firmly against Demolition. This is the sort of crowd that's missing at modern wrestling events (no neutral chants like "this is awesome" or "fight forever" here). There is a slight botch at the second fall, when Crush messes up the spot to interrupt the pinfall and ends up holding Hebner's hand awkwardly to stop him from the 3 count. Still, I didn't think this botch broke kayfabe, so I didn't dock the rating for it. But during the third fall, Ax comes out and replaced Smash who hides under the ring. Hebner can't tell the difference, and the crowd just doesn't buy it (and neither do I). I feel like this spot would have worked if it were Crush and Smash being confused for one another, but Ax looks too different. That said, the action was still phenomenal so it's hard to dock too many points. Towards the end, the Legion of Doom come out to help even the odds and the crowd erupts! Too bad we never got a proper Demolition v LoD feud. And when the Hart Foundation wins that third fall? The crowd goes WILD! I wanted to rate this match an 8.5, but I can't. So I rounded up instead of down due to the impressive crowd reaction. Definitely worth your time!"

[7.0] "Very well wrestled tag team match. Hart was impressive as always and Demolition wrestled well enough. Could probably be an 8 or even a 9 if thethird fall didn't center around a twin magic spot thats impossible to believe"

[7.0] "This was a really good World Tag Title match sometimes on the verge of great. I would reckon to say this is probably the last really good match Demolition is involved in as we're approaching the tail end of their run. Demolition has added Crush at this point so Bill Eadie could go part time and it didn't feel like the unit lasts a long time after. The Hart Foundation were always a great team, who certainly carried the match here; especially Bret. At this point, Bret to me is starting to feel held back by the team in my eyes. This was my favourite match of the night."

[5.0] "This match is an absolute crying shame of a match. The action of this match, ESPECIALLY the first two falls is worth 7 or 8 points. However, this is another match on this show that insults the intelligence of the viewer. All three members of Demolition look nothing like each other. Remotely. From face paint to hair to body type, they're all different. To expect anyone to get confused if they swap is a farce. And if that wasn't bad enough, Crush botches the second fall. The ref takes his time making the count for the second fall, and Crush gets in WAY to early, and has to essentially attack the ref and quickly tell the ref to DQ him instead of the planned finish. Both of these things are significant blows on an otherwise fantastic match. In fact, I think this was the hottest the crowd was for the entire event. Hogan and Warrior's matches included. These fans LOVED Bret."

[4.0] "This match is ruined for me because of the twin magic bollocks that's the main story of this bout. Ax and Smash look completely different and it's not even that Hebner's the only one not realising that, but also The Harts as they don't even argue with the ref about the other guy being in the ring. Then the finish which was chaotic and I had no idea what was happening, it looked like Hawk hit one of the legal Demolition members and somehow they didn't earn a DQ win. Other than that the action in the ring was alright, although I'm not a fan of Crush."

[6.0] "This is a good match, but I take issue with the Twin Magic style switch spot. First of all, Ax and Smash look different. Like they have similar facepaint but are clearly different people. And the referee somehow couldn't tell the difference? It's not like his view was obscured, he could see their whole body! But that's fine, I could forgive that with no problems. But Smash's facepaint had completely worn away during the match! So when Ax comes in, his facepaint is all there! So the referee apparently doesn't notice that Smash rolls outside the ring and completely reapplies his facepaint in the span of ten seconds. Like I can suspend disbelief for a LOT in wrestling, and wrestling referees are extremely dumb, but this might be the DUMBEST referee I have ever seen in wrestling."

[7.0] "The end of the road for Demolition. Smash and Crush wrestle most of the match obviously with Ax doing a late switcharoo and the referee of course can't tell the different. LOD get involved and things break down. Harts win the deciding fall in the fracas. Probably the best 2 out of 3 tag match the WWF ever put on."

[8.0] "This was textbook tag team wrestling 101, telling a classic tale of the babyfaces overcoming insurmountable odds to achieve victory in the end. And they told it perfectly here, with the Demos getting the 1st fall to set up a HELL of a comeback by the Harts. LOD coming out to assist the Harts was awesome, a genuine shame they never capitalized on their feud with the Demos at all. [****]"

[8.0] "Loved this match. The first two falls were already really good in terms of the in ring work, but with the added drama and urgency that comes with the final fall as well as the story of the Demolition trying to pull the switcheroo on the Harts it got even better. LOD coming out near the end to expose the heels was the cherry on top, and it was great to see The Hart Foundation finally win the tag titles as babyfaces. ****"

[8.0] "An excellent match, with plenty of drama and some fantastic work from Bret in particular. The crowd are truly invested in the action and it makes the match all that more enjoyable to watch"

[7.0] "Good match, as mentioned before I'm not a big fan of Crush, but he was fine enough here. I think this is probably the best Demolition match there was, Bret was really coming into his own as far as carrying lesser wrestlers to good stuff and Neidhart played his part too. Overall it was a lot of fun."

[7.0] "I really liked the actual action of this match. This version of Demolition isn't nearly as good as the original but they are still fun. The Hart Foundation is a bit above average too, they don't always wow me but they looked good here. I thought the switcheroo stuff was a let down though, it's hard to tell the Demolitions apart at first but Hebner, you worked with them for years! How did you miss that? LOD sticking their nose in felt unnecessary as well. Kind of a bummer of an end for a great group like Demolition but still, you have to enjoy the action as far as it goes."

[9.0] "This match is tag team wrestling at it's finest. The Hart Foundation come across as really wanting this win and fought valiently. Demolition came across as monsters that just could not be stopped, but at the same time the harts could realistically beat them. A hidden jem in the history of Summerslam and a easy recommendation."

[7.0] "The switch in the third fall isn't credible at all and the commentary adds useless confusion. Anyway it's a nice tag team match, The Hart Foundation put over their rivals and with the multiple falls it's easy to appreciate it more than a single fall. In the end it was excessive with another run-in and more confusion. ***1/2"

[7.0] "This was a really good tag match which got slightly hampered by the stupidity of the last fall. I mean really, not even Neidhart knew that was a different Demolition member in the ring, it's not like they looked the same or anything."

[7.0] "I thought the 2 Out Of 3 Falls tag team title match at Summerslam between The Hart Foundation and Demolition was a good match. I thought it could've been better if we saw the original members of Demolition, Ax and Smash in there instead of Smash and Crush and if we didn't hear any idiotic comments from Vince McMahon on commentary saying that it's hard to tell Ax and Smash apart when really it's not, but I will give this match a lot of credit for being the good match that it definitely was and I will give Crush credit as well for working pretty well in there with both The Anvil and The Hitman. This match had great storytelling as well. I really liked the involvement of Ax as well after the second fall took place making Demolition look like even more of a threat as a heel trio because they used strength in numbers, and I loved how The Legion Of Doom came out as well near the end of the match as well and just evened things right up and really stuck it to Demolition! I thought this style of storytelling in the match was without a doubt a great way to put The Hart Foundation over as new tag team champions! I'm very happy with how this match went down overall!"