Summer Sammartino-Rutherford is a third generation female wrestler. She is the co-owner of Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling alongside Jim Hewlett and is currently an active wrestler for the company. She is well known for her time in WrestleViewWrestling (WVW), Full Contact Wrestling (FCW), and North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA). She is married to Mike Rutherford and is the granddaughter of Bruno Sammartino.
Early life[]
Summer Marie Sammartino was born on May 21, 1981 in Atlanta. Her father, David, was on the road for the, then, WWF when she was a small child. In interviews she says she remembers seeing legends such as Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
As a teenager, Summer didn't put much thought into wrestling. But after going to a local show with her father, who was wrestling, she began to get into it. After graduating high school Summer decided to become a wrestler. She trained with her godfather, Larry Zbyszko, for almost a year before heading to Pennsylvania. She wrestled locally throughout the state as Summer Marie until she was signed by WrestleViewWrestling.
WrestleViewWrestling (WVW: 2003-2004)[]
Impact Regime
In April 2003, Summer was approached by Damien Impact after one of her shows for PCW and asked if she wanted to join a new company. After three weeks of talks, Summer signed with the company. She debuted in May, heel, as the assistant of owner Damien Impact and as a member of the Impact Regime. Originally she was brought to be the valet/love interest of Jay Matthews but pressured Impact to let her wrestle. Damien caved in and in her debut, Summer defeated Ivory.
Weeks later, Storm made her debut in the company. Summer, claiming to be the top female in the company, began to feud with her. Both females were able to keep their match wins very even with each other. While Summer was focused on Storm, the Regime began to break apart due to the egos of Impact and Jay Matthews. On May 28, the Impact Regime shattered during the main event that put Summer and Jay against Storm and Ray Matthews, Jay's twin bother. Jay "accidentally" dropped Summer with the Jobberknocker and left her in the ring.
Feud with Storm and Women's Championship Chase
Summer slowly began to come into her own as the Regime broke, even though she was still with Jay Matthews. Mike Rutherford, someone Summer had trained with, had signed to the company and had joined the Regime. Matthews was uneasy about Summer (his on screen girlfriend) and the new talent. After one too many insults and "accidental" hits Summer walked away from Matthews.
During this time, Summer was still fighting with Storm. When Summer left Matthews, the fans began to support her.As a result, Storm turned on the fans and attacked Summer more. On June 1 it was announced that WVW was going to crown a new Women's Champion in a six pack challenge.. As the date neared for Revenge, Summer and Storms' feud only escalated.
On June 22, WVW presented Revenge. In a match that many fans considered the show stealer Summer Sammartino beat Storm to become the first WVW Women's Champion. Summer's first ever title win came forty years after her grandfather's first title win.
Da Wolfpack, Closing of WVW/Reopening of WVW, final months of WVW
Shortly after winning the WVW Women's Title, Jay Matthews attempted to get "back" with Summer. On an August edition of his show it looked like Jay was about to apologize for his past actions but instead he berated Summer; saying she would never be as big of a star as he was. Mike Rutherford and Jamie Styles came out to "save" Summer and insulted Jay. Summer was asked by Mike to manage the two. The three always managed to have each other's back "like a pack of wolves" and they were officially dubbed Da Wolfpack. The three made history in the fall of 2003 by becoming the top stable when Jamie and Mike defeated Canada's Greatest Stable to win the WVW tag team Titles.
On August 17, at Clash of the Champions, Summer lost the Women's title to Storm in a five star ladder match. Storm's reign as champion would be short lived; she soon departed from the company. But before she did Summer was able to get a rematch and win the title for the second time, becoming the first repeat champion. With Storm's departure Summer began a short feud with Mortician. Two months later she lost the title to her in a Buried Alive match and suffered her first injury: a ACL tear. in December she was ready to make her return but WVW announced it was closing.
In late January 2004 WVW reopened when Jim Hewlet stepped up to run the company. He immediately put Summer in charge of the company and creative teams. New talent was coming in, new titles being brought in, and a separate brand (Fury and Rage) created. In the spring of 2004 Summer became the first WVW Hardcore champion, later dropping the title to the Heartbreak Kid, and won the Women's Championship for a third time in Italy.
In July 2004, WVW closed. Summer has acknowledged "poor choices on her part" played some role in the fall of WVW but also noted the attitudes of others. To this day Summer doesn't reflect too much on the latter days of the company.
Full Contact Wrestling (FCW: 2004-2005)[]
In October 2004, after a five month absence from the ring, Summer made her debut in Full Contact Wrestling. The owner, Scott 'CGH' Anderson, had worked with Summer in WVW until late 2004. He left eh company and asked her to join FCW but she had refused due to her loyalty to WVW. "I actually lucked out" Summer once said. "He called me and asked if I wanted a job. I jumped at the chance." With Summer came Mike Rutherford, Pandora, and Emily Rutherford. (Summer was great friends with the latter two.)
Summer only had two notable feuds during her time in FCW: one was with Mike against the wWo and the second was against Emily Rutherford. On February 13, 2005 Summer defeated Wench to become the FCW Women's Champion. A week later the title was retired and replaced with the FCW Middleweight Title. Summer was able to hold on to the title for one month before losing it to Emily Rutherford.
Summer also was working alongside former opponent Storm. The duo had only one match against each other, a tag match, which Summer won.
On April 26, 2005 FCW closed due to Adriana Samu's leaving. Summer, who had ties with CGH, felt that Samu had betrayed Anderson with her quick departure and establishing her own wrestling company.
Rocky Mountain Wrestling/North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA: Late 2005-2008)[]
In Late 2005, Summer Sammartino shocked the wrestling world when she appeared at a RMW event. Many fans were asking why Summer was working for Samu. "I remember saying I would work for her when hell froze over. But when Bret Hart and Vince McMahon called something of a truce with their hatred for each other I thought 'okay. I should do that." Within a few months Sammartino had moved through the ranks of being a booker to one of the top officials then as a co-owner.. Scott Anderson, who also had problems with Samu, made up with her as well and joined the company.
The company began to grow and soon changed it's name to North American Wrestling Alliance. Through her tenure in the company, some say Summer was overlooked by the owner and had hardly anything working to her advantage. At the time Summer brushed those ideas off when fans said anything. "It takes time," Summer would tell fans.
The Misfits
Summer and Emily decided to team together in 2006 and took on the name The Misfits. The two combined their skills to become one of the rising teams in the company. Fans were treated to a classic, as well as comical, feud featuring The Misfits and The Sports Nutz. In one instance George Dunpork mooned Summer. The two got revenge on the two at a house show weeks later. In the fall of 2006 Emily and Summer became the number one contenders for the NAWA Tag Team Titles after defeating the Sports Nutz.
While on the European tour and just weeks away from winning the titles, Summer took a break from the company due to issues of a relapse with alcohol It was reported Adriana Samu wasn't happy about Summer's break and a riff again happened between the two. However, the problems were smoothed out. Summer and Emily were never able to capture the tag titles but did form a stable called the Tri-City Saints with Andrew Smith and won The Stable Wars event in 2007. In the event, Summer was eliminated early due to having her nose broken by Angel.
Ownership powers and departure
In 2007, Samu gave Summer the authority of power to run the NAWA due to her busy schedule. Some fans and wrestlers were quick to say there was a positive change when Summer took over as she wasn't as "political" when it came to pushing talent and picking the champions. Summer wasn't only wrestling but in complete control of everything. She brought in Jim Hewlett to help her with her job.
On May 31, Scott Anderson was killed in a car accident. "Scott was the one guy who helped me anytime I had a doubt. She gave me feedback while Samu just didn't say a thing." Summer attempted to move on with her role but things were about to change. A month later Samu came back and changed everything Summer had built the company on. Summer's champions were replaced with people Samu liked. In the fall of 2007 Summer took a trip to Italy with Mike and her grandparents. When she came back she heard talks of making Scott Rix the new co-owner. Not exactly happy about the news and the fact Samu was changing everything she had done Summer stayed in the company.
In December 2007, Summer left the company. Samu stated Summer had quit under her own will while Summer maintained she was fired immediately for calling Samu out for her devotion to the company and for calling Scott Rix out on his booking between Mike Rutherford and Stank Lovve.
Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling (PCW: 2008 to present)[]
In January 2008, Summer and Jim Hewlett launched Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling. Most of the talent who originally signed to the company had worked for the NAWA.
On April 13 it was revealed on Summer's official site she would be out of action due to her pregnancy.
In June 2008 PCW haled all shows due to two lawsuits brought on by former co-workers. The lawsuits were dismissed three weeks later and the company resumed shows though some talent left.
Attempted TakeOvers
In late 2008, Jim Hewlett made the attempt to take over the PCW. Summer, unable to wrestle due to her pregnancy, challenged Jim to find a team of wrestlers while she made her own; winner got full ownership of the company. On November 14 Summer's team defeated Jim's team, causing Jim Hewlett to leave.
In February 2009, Summer returned to action a month after giving birth to her daughter. Newcomer Emma Worthington made the next attempt to take over the company. After months of getting under Summer's skin, Summer defeated Emma at a house show to keep the company.
During the late spring/summer of 2009 Angel made the third attempt to take over the company. At PCW Nemesis Angel defeated Summer to win the company. Two weeks later Summer announced she hadn't been the owner of PCW since late March so her deal with Angel had been void. The new owner, Stank Lovve, made a best of five series between the two; winner got the company. After tying the series, Summer defeated Angel in the final match at Collision in a steel cage match to regain the company.
As the fall of 2009 Sammartino began to have her role as owner and authority figure overlooked. She had warned various wrestlers about their attitudes and the attacks on each other in September. Add on the fact that Mike Rutherford and Andrew Smith began to question Summer when they unfairly lost matches due to outside interference and she witnessed it. As more wrestlers underminded her rules, Summer began to use her authority more ins tride. Fans saw her toss out the entire Destruction Crew, The Infamous MOBB, and Kobra's Law before one Rage due to their constant attacks. Eddie Ryott felt her anger two weeks after reffing a match he wasn't licensed for and lost his entire paycheck. Summer's anger finally boiled over on November 20 during the main event. Team World members came out and interfered in the main event, bringing out Team US members. Summer alleged Serena Nightfire ran her mouth to her and that pushed her over the edge. By the end of the night it was announced she would be the last member of Team US and would help them beat Team World at Advent. But two weeks later Summer was injured during a brawl between the teams. Johnny Blaze took her place.
During the final moments of the International Incident match at Advent, Andrew Smith was left alone with masked jobber Bella I'gnoto. Lukas Wagner came out to screw Andrew out of winning but instead was hit with the Retribution DDT. Bella kicked Smith below the belt and gave him a Cradlebuster to pick up the win. Moments later the entire arena watched as Bella unmasked herself and fans saw Summer. The place was dead silent for ten seconds. As she left the arena, Summer said she would tell everyone "when she was ready" why she turned on her friends. At the following Rage she said that her turn was due to the fans who were critical of her every move as owner and due to some of the roster. Summer vowed to make changes and kept her word by firing The Mauler and by helping Alex Daniels become PCW World Champion.
Feud with Nick Scott, giving up ownership, and Rage Champion/S.W.A.T. Women's Champion
One person Summer was critical of was Nick Scott, who had returned to the company after a hiatus. Summer was quick to point out that Nick claimed he was a professional who loved the business but Summer stated that Nick had asked her for a huge pay increase to return to the company. Nick called it a lie and the two began feuding after Summer attacked him during a match on Rage. Both Scott and Summer were in a back-and-forth feud, each one getting some sort of victory over the other at Fury matches or avenging themselves after an attack.
After Summer fired The Mauler (and the rest of the Destruction Crew) the PCW Rage Title became vacant. A tournament was held to crown a new champion. The wrestlers who qualified to get a shot at becoming the new Rage champion were Lukas Wagner, Mike Rutherford, Pandora, Nick Scott, Angel, and Rick O'Shay. As Mayhem III neared Nick Scott and Mike Rutherford had moved on to the finals of the Rage tournament. Both promised to give the fans a match to remember. During the tournament Summer had took up an invitation to showcase her talent in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre held by S.W.A.T. The winner of the event, a hardcore style match fought inside a steel cage, would get a shot at the company's champion. on Valentine's Day, 2010, Summer won the match. Weeks later she defeated their champion to hold the title. She then announced that after 9pm, the night of rage, she would be selling the company.
On March 28, 2010 Mayhem III kicked off. Both Mike Rutherford and G.M. Jim Hewlett were attacked backstage. Hewlett was fine but Mike injured his knee. Minutes later Abigail Buckingham interviewed Summer backstage, who claimed that Nick Scott wouldn't be the champion by defualt. Instead she announced she "always had a backup" in a worse case scenario and found someone for Nick to wrestle. But instead of announcing his opponent, he and the fans had to wait until the match to find out who it was. It turned out to be Summer. Before the match she announced Scott wouldn't be able to use the Tazmission, which she had fallen victim to three times in the weeks before, and if he used it he would disqualified and the title would automatically go to her. The two wrestled a hard fought match until the referee was knocked out. The Williams Brothers came out to assist Summer but were themselves attacked by Kobra's Law. The end saw Summer hit Scott with the SMS and make the cover (still putting her feet on the ropes) to become the champion.
Defending the titles and closing of PCW
Following Mayhem III, Summer began defending both of her titles. She had one match against Gabbi Sparks for the S.W.A.T. Women's Title and managed to retain the title. Weeks later S.W.A.T. closed their doors and Summer was the last champion. She said in an interview "It was so unreal. I was ready to show fans who hadn't heard of me what I could do..how I was a real pro wrestler instead of a diva. When I heard the news I cried." Meanwhile Summer had been able to defeat Nick Scott one more time and hold on to the Rage title. Plans were made for her to defend the title against Angel, who had become the number one contender. But plans fell through.
Behind the scenes there had been problems with writers and a few members of the roster. On June 11, 2010 it was announced PCW would be on a three weeks break. Though no official reason was given many wrestling news sites reported that it was due to talent who were no showing and wrestlers having "attitude problems." Summer and her family took the time to go to Italy for a "much needed" vacation. Ten days later it was announced all PCW employees would be back a week early and that wrestlers had been released. But things began to crumble apart more as five wrestlers were released. Right after July 4, 2010 PCW shut down. No release went out.
Life After PCW[]
After PCW closed, nobody heard from Summer or her family. Summer had deleted her Twitter account and was reported AWOL by people wanting interviews. In late January, Summer got in contact witha college radio station in Philadelphia. Summer said that she was done with the pro wrestling business and shocked everyone by announcing that she was now living as the co-owner of a retail store in Philadelphia. (She opened it with Emily Rutherford) She and Mike are still married and are expecting their second child in early April.
"I'll always have a love for the business," she said. "I'll always be a fan. But getting back into the ring or being behind the scenes? I don't think I want to do that. I might return one day but right now I am loving my life away from the business."
Summer did say that outside of her "normal" friends she has talked to Criss Cassidy, Terrell Taylor, and the Destruction Crew. She stays in contact with the former announcers.
Personal life[]
As a teenager, she was a model. Summer has said in interviews her mother wanted her to be a professional model instead of a professional wrestler.
Summer lives in Pittsburgh. When she moved there at age 19, she was immediately reunited with her grandfather. The two spend one day a week together doing random things. Summer admits that she sometimes gets him to talk about his past wrestling matches.
Summer began dating Mike Rutherford in late December 2003. On May 21, 2005 the two were married. On January 1, 2009 Summer gave birth to their first child, Lily Francesca Rutherford. She is expecting a second child in April, a boy.
Summer has been close friends with Pandora and Emily Rutherford since the WVW days. She is also close friends with Angel, Pandora, Stank Lovve, and Andrew Smith. From the WWE she is close with Randy Orton and Chavo Guerrero. She was close with Eddie Guerrero, who she says helped her with her sobriety. Summer has been sober since 2005.
Summer, in 2011, said that she still watches wrestling. "I have friends in the WWE." She slammed TNA but put over Ring of Honor, DragonGate, Chikara Pro, and Pro Wrestling Guerilla.
While her husband Mike and Andrew Smith were in SNW, Summer could be seen watching Mike and Andrew wrestle or escorting them to the ring.
Summer has been trained by Larry Zbyszko, Lady Apache, Shane Douglas, Andrew Smith, and Daizee Haze.
==
In Wrestling ==
Signature Moves:
SMS (RKO)
Chick Kick
Crossface Scorpion Deathlock
Finishers:
Sammartino Slam (Bearhug into a front slam: WVW, FCW)
Pittsburgh Plunge (Cradle Brainbuster Suplex; FCW, NAWA, PCW)
Cruel Summer (Cattle Mutilation: PCW)
Entrance Themes:
My Own Summer by the Deftones -WVW, FCW
Alright, Alright (Here's My Fist Where's the Fight?) by Sahara Hotnights- WVW
Livin' After Midnight by The Donnas- NAWA
Barracuda by Heart - NAWA, PCW
Titles Held:
WVW Women's Champion (x3)
WVW Hardcore Champion
FCW Women's Champion
FCW Middleweight Champion
Notable Feuds:
Storm
Mortician
Jay Matthews
Ray Matthews
Lloyd Banks
Emily Rutherford
Pandora
Mike Rutherford
Jim Hewlett
Angel
Kobra's Law (with Emily Rutherford)
Emma Worthington
The Sports Nutz (Solo and with Emily Rutherford)
The Destruction Crew
Nick Scott