Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Event Center. For this episode of the Event Center we are going back to the summer of 1988 and to the World Wrestling Federation. We are going to check out the inaugural WWF SummerSlam. The card looks a little rough but there are some big time moments that are still talked about today. It’s the battle of the Mega Powers vs. the Mega Bucks and I can’t wait to get this thing started so lets get to it.
Show Opening:
The show opens up with some cheap ass 1980’s graphics where they highlight the main event between the Mega Powers and the Mega Bucks. They also feature Elizabeth as well as Jesse the Body Ventura. All in all not a terrible opening and the music is pretty awesome. After the graphics we head up to the top of MSG where Gorilla Monsoon and Superstar Billy Graham are waiting. Gorilla says this is a happening. Graham says the one thing that over shadows Jesse as the ref is the returning Hulk Hogan. Graham says that Hogan is his hero and the man with the bionic biceps. Gorilla says the Mega Powers vs. the Mega Bucks is the one everyone is waiting.
Gorilla says this could be the end of the vendetta and that somebody could be put out of commission here. Graham says someone can go down hard and somebody could go down permanently and that he hopes its DiBiase and Andre. Gorilla then gets interrupted by the incoming Rougeau Brothers so he sends it down to the Fink.
Match 1: The British Bulldogs vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
Before we get to the match it would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the incident involving Jacques and Dynamite during this time period. The story goes that Dynamite was constantly ribbing on Jacques and eventually Jacques got tired of it and handle it himself. He got a roll of quarters and caught Dynamite off guard one day and nailed him with it. I guess it knocked out a few teeth and caused some other issues for Dynamite. The fact that this match was even booked after something like that happened is crazy but we got it anyways. So lets get to it.
The Bulldogs come down to the ring and put Matilda in the ring and it clears everyone out. The match starts out with the Rougeau’s trying to shake the hands of the Bulldogs. My goodness these Bulldogs were jacked. The match starts out with Davey Boy attacking Jacques. He lays in some right hands, head butts, and rams his head into the turnbuckle 5-6 times. Jacques crawls over to the other turnbuckle and tries to hold off Davey but Davey rams him 10 times into the turnbuckle again. Davey then hits Jacques with a European upper cut. Davey gets bored with Jacques and he throws him in his corner and Jacques tags in Raymond.
Raymond gets in the ring and hugs his brother to get some of that heel heat. I always loved that spot and thought it was hilarious. Raymond gets in the ring as he and Davey tie up and they just push each other of. They tie up again and Raymond drives Davey into the corner but Davey quickly turns it around. The ref gets in between them and Raymond ends up nailing Davey with a big right hand. Raymond gets the upper hand and lays in some more rights in the corner. Raymond then whips Davey into the opposite corner and goes in for a monkey flip but Davey cartwheels out of it and ends up hitting Raymond with a arm drag. Davey quickly tags in Dynamite and they hit Raymond with a double head butt.
Dynamite gets Raymond in a head lock but Raymond pushes him off into the ropes but Dynamite ends up nailing Raymond with a big time shoulder block that sounded stiff as hell. Raymond gets up and Dynamite arm drags him over and gets him in an arm bar. Jacques on the apron is trying to get the crowd to chant for them. Raymond gets out of the hold and gets whipped into the ropes. Raymond does a leap frog then falls down to go for a monkey flip but Dynamite drops down and ends up head butting Raymond. He then hip tosses him over and works the arm until he tags in Davey Boy. Davey comes off the top rope and drives an elbow into the arm.
Davey ends up hitting Raymond with a sunset flip and gets a 1 count. Davey then drags Raymond over and gets him in another arm bar. Dynamite makes the switch without making the tag while the ref was distracted by Jacques on the other side of the ring. Dynamite whips Raymond into the ropes and nails him with a big time clotheslines. Dynamite then rams the head of Raymond into the boot of Davey Boy as he makes the tag. Davey gets in and whips Raymond into the ropes but Raymond flips over and goes for a sunset flip and he gets him down and gets a 2 count. Davey gets out of it and flips back over and gets Raymond in a pin of his own but it didn’t stick so he only got a one count. Davey quickly gets up and tags Dynamite back into the ring and he gets Raymond in an arm bar.
Dynamite pulls on the arm of Raymond as he reaches out with his other arm to try and get the tag in to Jacques. Dynamite lays in a kick to the midsection and he quickly tags in Davey Boy. The whip Raymond into the ropes and they hit him with a double shoulder block. Davey Boy then gets Raymond in a head lock. Raymond gets up to his feet and and ends up pushing Davey into the ropes, Raymond drops down, and when Davey Boy hits the ropes Jacques trips him from the outside. The Rougeau’s finally get control of the match. Raymond tags in Jacques and he comes in and lays in the boots to the hamstring of Davey Boy.
Jacques then gets Davey Boy in an Indian death lock and works over the ankle of Davey Boy. Jacques then drives the knee of Davey into the mat. Davey pushes Jacques off of him and attempts a monkey flip but Jacques ends up kicking Davey in the ham string again to slow him down. Jacques then makes the tag to Raymond and they do a wish bone move on Davey. Raymond comes in and drops some knees to the knee of Davey Boy. We get another quick tag and Jacques comes in and goes off the rope and hits Davey with a butt drop to the knee. Jacques works the ankle again while he gets a little extra leverage from Raymond. Jacques goes over and levels Dynamite to get the ref distracted as they do a wish bone move again.
Raymond comes in and applies the ankle move again. A lot of resting and crap going on here. Davey finally kicks out of the move but ends up getting back dropped out of an irish whip. Raymond tags in Jacques and gets Davey in a toe hold type move. Davey ends up getting Jacques in a small package but only gets a 2 count. Jacques gets up and tags in Raymond again and he again comes in and works the ankle. This is getting old already. Both guys get up to their feet and Davey hits Raymond with a monkey flip. Davey quickly tags in Dynamite and he comes in a house of fire.
Dynamite comes in and nails Raymond with a head butt then an irish whip into the corner. Dynamite follows him and hits Raymond with a snap suplex. Dynamite then drops the head butt on a laid out Raymond. Dynamite goes for the pin and gets a 2 count. Dynamite picks up Raymond and hits him with a belly to back suplex. Dynamite picks up Raymond and throws him out to the floor through the middle rope. Davey Boy goes out after him and rams him into the steel barricade. Jacques comes over and checks on his brother and ends up throwing him back into the ring near his own corner.
Dynamite lays in a right hand to Jacques while Raymond rolls in under the bottom rope. Dynamite rams the head of Raymond into the boot of Davey and makes the tag. Davey then head butts Raymond and chops him in the chest. Davey then picks up Raymond and gets him in a running power slam. He goes for the cover but Jacques broke up the pin. Dynamite gets tagged in and he goes up to the middle rope and goes for the 10 punches but Jacques comes in and drops Dynamite with a suplex off the middle rope. Both guys are laid out but Raymond ends up tagging in Jacques.
Jacques comes in and body slams Dynamite and then he drops a big knee. Raymond has Dynamite choked in the corner while Jacques lays in a boot. He tags in Raymond and Raymond picks up Dynamite and drops him across the knee of Jacques. Raymond then lays in some boots. He picks up Dynamite and whips him into the ropes as he tags in Jacques. Jacques ends up getting Dynamite in a abdominal stretch. Davey Boy gets tired of it and comes in and breaks up the hold. Raymond quickly comes in and gets Dynamite back in the abdominal stretch as the ref gets Davey out of the ring.
Dynamite gets the leverage and hip tosses Raymond over. Both guys get back up to his feet and they exchange right hands. Raymond tags in Jacques and Raymond hits Dynamite with an atomic drop then Jacques follows it up with a big time splash for a 2 count. Jacques then gets Dynamite in a chin lock while sitting on the back of Dynamite. Dynamite gets up to his feet and has Jacques on his back. Raymond confronts Davey Boy, which distracts the refs, and Raymond comes in and punches Dynamite in the face so he fell back down to the mat. Jacques then hits Dynamite with a forearm to the face then tags in Raymond as they throw Dynamite into the corner and lay in the boots. Raymond goes for the same chin lock that Jacques had. More of the same again and again here.
Dynamite gets up to his feet with Raymond on his back and he drives Raymond into the corner and breaks up the hold. Raymond rolls over and tags in Jacques as Dynamite is to slow to get to Davey Boy. Jacques decks Davey Boy and it distracts the ref as Dynamite gets Jacques in a small package in the middle of the ring but the ref was out of position. Jacques goes for the abdominal stretch….again as he gets a little help from Raymond. Jacques tags in Raymond and he comes in with a little strut then a kick to the midsection of Dynamite. Raymond gets Dynamite in a head lock as Dynamite drives him to the corner so he can make the tag, and does, but the ref didn’t see it so it didn’t count.
Jacques goes for some lazy ass pin and only gets a 2 count. Dynamite gets up and drives a head butt into Jacques and then a chop. Dynamite finally tags in Davey Boy and whips Jacques into the ropes and goes for a drop kick but Jacques holds on to the ropes and Davey Boy goes crashing to the mat. Jacques ends up whipping Davey Boy into the ropes but Davey Boy reverses it and gets Jacques up with a gorilla press and he drops him across the top rope and racks him. That looked brutal.
Davey Boy goes for the pin but moves out of the way as Raymond comes in and drops and elbow on his brother. All four guys get in the ring and ram the Rougeau’s together with a double noggin knocker. Davey Boy ends up picking up Dynamite and throwing him on top of Jacques with the head butt. Dynamite goes for the cover as the bell suddenly rings. This is a time limit draw.
After the match they act like they are going to go for 5 more minutes but the Rougeau’s end up punching both Bulldogs in the chest. The Bulldogs then chase after the Rougeau’s as all 4 guys head to the back and Billy Graham on commentary says “finish it in the showers if you have to, brotha.”
Recap:
This was a decent match but there was a shit ton of rest holds and it got old real quick. I understand they were going for the time limit draw but still make it a little more action packed than what this was. The Rougeau’s kept doing the same rest hold after rest hold and it really made the middle portion of the match drag on. The Bulldogs did some rest holds as well and didn’t really get any good offense going throughout the match. This match could have been a lot better than it was but it wasn’t terrible either. The time limit draw finish was weird for the WWF so I was kind of surprised to see it here on a PPV. The match can drag at some points so if you want to skip it, I wouldn’t be mad at ya.
They show highlights of Ron Bass attacking Brutus Beefcake and cutting him open with the spurs. This is what led to Brutus Beefcake not being able to compete for the Intercontinental title on the show.
Match 2: Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera
Patera rolls into the ring and Bad News attacks him with some big right hands before the guy can even get his jacket off. Bad News keeps laying in the rights and the hits Patera with a body slam. Bad News then drops an elbow to the face of Patera as he is laying on the ground. Bad News gets Patera up to his feet and has him in the corner and he hits him with a right hand. Bad News whips Patera into the corner and follows him in but Patera ends up hitting him with a clothesline. Patera finally gets his jacket off and throws it into the air as he goes over and starts laying in the boots to Bad News.
Patera gets Bad News to his feet and lays in some right hands before whipping him into the ropes and hitting him with a back elbow. Patera lays in the boots again and picks up Bad News. Patera slams Bad News and goes for an elbow off the rope but Bad News rolls out of the way. Bad News starts laying in the right hands to Patera as he is laid out on the mat. Patera gets up to his feet and Bad News nails him with a head butt. Patera stumbles back into the ropes and Bad News decks him with another right hand. Patera falls out to the apron and Bad News chokes him out until the 4 count.
Bad News drapes the throat of Patera over the top rope and drops the point of his elbow into the throat of Patera. Bad News then rams the head of Patera into the top turnbuckle. Bad News whips Patera into the ropes and nails him with a big time knife edge chop. Bad News then drops a right hand and starts choking Patera again. Bad News picks up Patera and whips him into the ropes and dunks down early so Patera kicks him in the face. Patera then lays in some elbows to the head of Bad News. Patera then goes for a shitty looking inside cradle that was in slow motion and doesn’t get a one count.
Patera throws Bad News into the ropes and hits him with a clothesline and follows it up with an elbow and gets a 2 count. Patera picks up Bad News and hits him with a back breaker and tries another pin and gets a 2. Patera gets Bad News up again and tries the small package again and again it looks like total shit. Patera then gets Bad News in a bear hug in the middle of the ring. I guess doing those shitty small packages got Patera blown up so we gotta get the rest hold going.
Bad News rakes the eyes of Patera and breaks free from the hold. Bad News gets up to his feet and Patera goes for the full nelson but doesn’t get it locked in. They struggle a little bit before Patera gets the full nelson in but Bad News is in the ropes. Patera goes up to the middle rope and drops an elbow to the back of Bad News. Patera goes for the full nelson again and gets it but Bad News gets right over to the ropes. Patera lays in some right hands of Bad News in the corner.
Patera ends up whipping Bad News into the ropes and dunks down early and Bad News nails him with a right hand to the back. Patera gets up first and lays in some kicks and punches to Bad News in the corner. Patera whips Bad News into the corner and when he gets to the corner he starts going around the ropes and spinning around for no reason. Patera charges in and just runs into him and does nothing. I have no idea what the hell is going on but this shit is brutal right now. Patera tries to clean it up by laying in some shoulder blocks to Bad News in the corner but that doesn’t really help. The crowd is fed up with this crap and they start to boo as they are just getting sloppier and sloppier.
Patera whips Bad News into the opposite corner again and this time Bad News gets out of the way and Patera goes flying into the steel post shoulder first. Patera stumbles out to the middle of the ring and Bad News nails him with the Ghetto Blaster right in the back of the head. Bad News goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall…..Bad News Brown!
Recap:
Thank goodness that crap fest is over. It was nothing but kicks and punches and both guys were gassed 3-4 minutes in. I still have no idea what the hell was supposed to happen in that turnbuckle spot where Bad News just spins around the ropes and Patera runs into him. The whole match was boring and sloppy and after about 2-3 minutes the crowd was bored and stared booing what little action they were seeing. The Ghetto Blaster was always a sweet finisher to me so it was nice to see that here and get the clean win over Patera but everything else is trash and not worth watching.
Backstage Interview: The Mega Powers
They have some shitty green screen affects here. This looks like some terribly bad production value here. You can see the blue outline around the bodies of Savage, Hogan, and Liz here. Just bad bad bad. Anyways to the interview we go. Gene tells Hogan that he knows he is ready. Hogan says that they have already made a believer out of him. A couple hours before the match he can already feel Madison Square Garden rumbling brother. Hogan says he knows what Hulkamania and the Macho Madness feel like but both of them as one is the strongest force in the universe. Hogan says that the dude here is going in with a clear conscience. What the hell does that even mean?
Anyways, Savage says that he has never felt so much electricity. He said the Mania and the Madness together as the Mega Powers. Savage also says that he has the secret weapon and he puts Liz in the front here. Gene says wait a minute…Elizabeth is the secret weapon of the Mega Powers. Hogan says Gene better believe it. Hogan says you don’t think we will go into this thing without the 24 inch pythons loaded, do you brother? Hogan says that we have Elizabeth and the secret weapon. Hogan says the last thing the Mega Bucks are going to see is the Kiss of Death. Hogan then finishes up the promo with Whatcha gonna do when the Mega Powers come running through! Savage says there no way to stop them…..OH YEAH!!!
One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb here is how many times Hogan over talks Savage. Gene was asking Savage if he Elizabeth was the secret weapon and Hogan steps in and answers for him. Hogan dominated the promo and got all his shit in while the champ stands there and says 10 words. What a douche bag Hogan is for this one.
Match 3: Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog
JYD is in the corner putting his chain up when Rude attacks him from behind before the bell rings. Hey lays in some forearms then whips him into the ropes but JY reverses it and ends up nailing Rude with a back body drop. Rude over rotates and lands right on his ass. That was a great backdrop. JYD follows that up by getting on all fours and nailing rude with 3-4 head butts that sends Rude to the outside to regroup with Heenan.
Rude gets to close to the apron and JYD grabs him by the hair and drags him back into the ring. JYD whips Rude into the ropes and he hits him with a right hand to the mid section. JYD then winds up and decks Rude with a haymaker that sends Rude down. JYD goes for a falling head butt but Rude moves out of the way. Rude then nails JYD with a clothesline. Rude goes up to the top rope and hits him with a double ax handle off the top. Rude then drops some elbows to the back of the head of JYD.
JYD gets up to his feet and Rude hits him with a forearm then a back forearm. Rude then rakes the eyes of JYD and snap mares him over. Rude gets JYD in a reverse chin lock. They stay in this hold for what seems like forever but its only a minute or so. JYD gets up to his feet and breaks free with some elbows to the midsection. JYD then whips Rude into the corner and charges in but Rude gets the boot up and sends JYD back down to the mat. Rude drops and elbow and goes for the pin and gets a 2 count. Back to the chin lock we go.
Rude lets go of the chin lock and drops an elbow on the top of the head to JYD. Rude then starts to work the arm with an arm bar. Rude drapes himself over the arm of JYD and he jumps up to work the arm some more but he ends up hitting himself with a low blow. What a hilarious spot and great sell job by Rude here. Rude backs into the corner and JYD comes in and lays in some right hands.
JYD drags Rude to the middle of the ring and nails him with a big time head butt. JYD holds him up and attempts to do another one but he goes after Heenan, who hopped on to the apron. Rude ends up hitting a knee to the back of JYD and he follows that up with a side Russian leg sweep. Rude then goes up to the top rope and drops his pants to reveal some times with Cheryl Roberts on them. He jumps up with the fist drop. Rude starts moving the hips and showing off his tights until Jake comes out of no where and starts laying in the right hands to Rude. Your winner by way of disqualification…..Rick Rude.
Jake then nails Rude with a big time clotheslines that sends Rude flying over the top rope. They announce the winner of the match and Jake starts apologizing to the JYD. JYD is frustrated that he lost but I think he understands.
Recap:
There wasn’t much to this match but it didn’t go long enough to get bad. JYD did his spots and the crowd ate them up. The guy was still over for the most part. Rude’s selling was great, as always. The back drop was awesome and really stood out during the match. The ending with Jake made sense because of the tights Rude showed off. All in all not a terrible match here and it’s worth checking out.
Backstage Interview: Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart
Gene says that Brutus, because of injury, won’t be able to go for the IC title tonight against Honky Tonk Man. Gene say he isn’t sure if that makes Jimmy Hart happy or not. Jimmy says that they are always happy. He also states that Brutus is smart because he didn’t want to challenge the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Honky says he knew something like this was going to happen and that Brutus wasn’t going to face the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time. Honky says for being the humanitarian that he is that he will face anybody tonight for the title.
Gene says that Honky will be defending the belt tonight at SummerSlam and the rumor is that the opponent is going to be formidable. Before he can announce the opponent Honky cuts him off and says don’t announce the opponent. Honky says he doesn’t want anybody to know because he wants it to be a surprise. Gene says his opponent has extraordinary talents. Gene tries to spoil it again but Honky cuts him off again and says he doesn’t care who it is because he is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time and that he can Shake, Rattle, and Roll anybody that the WWF throws at him. Honky says he loves surprises.
Match 4: Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks
Before the Powers of Pains get announced, Volkoff sings us the Russian national anthem. Volkoff gets to the middle of the song when the Powers of Pain’s music hits and they interrupt them. They show the awesome shot of the guys coming out from the locker room. I always enjoyed that shot. They charge into the ring and all four guys go at it.
The Bolsheviks try to whip the Powers of Pain into each other but Warlord reverses Boris Zhukoff and he eats an elbow from the Barbarian for his troubles. Warlord decks Nikolai with a right hand and the Bolsheviks head to the outside to regroup. Boris gets in the ring with Barbarian. Barbarian tries to go off the rope but Nikolai trips him up and Boris goes for an elbow but the Barbarian moves out of the way. It’s looking pretty sloppy here from the get go. It looks like neither team really knows where to be or what they are doing.
Warlord gets in the ring for some reason and they whip Boris into the ropes and hit him with a double clothesline. Boris rolls to the outside of the ring again as Volkoff comes and checks on him. Volkoff gets in the ring and hits the Warlord from behind but it does nothing to the Warlord. Volkoff goes for a right hand but Warlord dunks and gets Volkoff in a full nelson while Barbarian nails him with a karate thrust to the throat. Boris gets back in the ring with the Barbarian. Boris gets a head lock on Barbarian and he ends up pushing him into the ropes. Boris runs into Barbarian and he doesn’t move.
Boris hits the ropes again and Barbarian dunks down and ends up hitting Boris with a clothesline. Boris hits Barbarian in the gut and drives him into the corner. Barbarian whips Boris into the other corner and comes in with a boot to the gut. Boris ends up getting the control and whips Barbarian into the other rope but the camera crew is out of position and you can’t even see the action happening.
Boris dunks down as the Barbarian comes back out of the corner and grabs him by the head then Boris just falls to his feet. What the hell is going on here. Boris is horrible and this match is a botch fest from the opening bell. Even the camera crew has no idea what the hell is going on. Barbarian drags Boris over to the corner and tags in the Warlord. Warlord hits Boris with a kick and then drives him head first into the two turn buckles. Warlord hits the ropes and drops an elbow to Boris and he goes for the pin but Volkoff breaks it up.
Warlord gets to his feet and Boris ends up hitting him in the gut and a punch to the face. However, it does nothing to the Warlord who ends up whipping Boris into the ropes and nails him with a big time power slam. He goes for the cover but the ref is out of position dealing with Nikolai. And of course the ref jacks up this spot and doesn’t get out of the way so Volkoff is real ‘timid’ when going for breaking up the pin. Boris just rolls to the apron and Volkoff comes in while the Slick is distracting the Warlord. Volkoff ends up clubbing the Warlord in the back to get control of the match.
Volkoff lays in some right hands and drives the head into the top turnbuckle. Volkoff distracts the ref and Boris chokes out the Warlord while Volkoff lays in some lefts and rights to the midsection. Volkoff goes in for a double ax handle but Warlord kicks him off him and tries to break free but Boris nails with a club to the back. Boris tags in and kicks Warlord in the gut and chokes him over the top rope. Volkoff grabs Warlord by the head while Boris kicks him. Warlord breaks free again but Boris gets the quick tag and Nikolai comes back in. Volkoff starts to choke out the Warlord.
Volkoff distracts the ref again and Boris drapes his throat on the top rope as he falls down to the ground. Boris and Volkoff throw the Warlord into the turnbuckle. Boris then snap mares the Warlord over and gets him in a chin lock. Warlord gets back to his feet and tries to break free but Nikolai tags in and he gets some right hands in on the Warlord. Warlord hits a couple of rights but Volkoff ends up hitting him with a spinning leg kick. Boris and Nikolai go for a double back drop but Warlord clubs both guys in the back. Warlord finally gets the tag to the Barbarian.
He comes in a house of fire and whips Boris into the ropes and hits him with a karate thrust to the throat. He then body slams Nikolai and ends up hitting Boris with a back kick. Barbarian whips Boris into the ropes and nails him with a big ass boot to the face. He ends up dumping Volkoff to the outside. He tags in the Warlord and they nail Boris with a double flying tackle. Warlord then picks up Boris and drops him with a power slam as he tags in the Barbarian and he hits Boris with a head butt off the top rope. Barbarian goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall….The Powers of Pain!
Recap:
This was a total shit fest from the opening bell to the final bell. The Bolsheviks were terrible and they missed a ton of spots. The ref was out of place and the camera crew kind of missed some action as well. Barbarian looked the best because of his agility and his kicks but other than that there is absolutely nothing worth watching with this match.
We get a promo for the Survivor Series: “Thanksgiving Night….witness the Survivor Series”
Brother Love Show: Jim Duggan as the guest
Brother Love gets on the mic and lets us know that he loves us all. He tells us that tonight is a very special night. He says its not only because Brother Love is here but because the World Wrestling Federation promised Brother Love a very special guest. He tells us that the only thing that makes this guest special is the fact that he is Brother Loves guest. He also says that the WWF promised him that it is somebody who needs to learn a lesson of love. Brother Love then introduces his guest as Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
Duggan comes to the ring rocking his 2×4 and his Duggan shirt. This should go well for Brother Love. Duggan says that he came out here for 2 reasons. He wants to share this with everybody and he starts a hoooo chant. Duggan said the second thing he wanted to do was tell Brother Love how big of a phony he was straight to his face. Brother Love says he looks at Duggan and sees a man with no love in his heart. Brother Love says he should learn about love by looking around the World Wrestling Federation. Duggan has his 2×4 on his shoulder and he swings it around and nearly hits Brother Love in the face.
Brother Love tells Duggan he should take Dino Bravo as an example because he loves his country. Brother Love says he doesn’t see any love in Duggan’s heart for his country. Duggan says that the people of Canada are not proud of Dino Bravo. He also tells Brother Love that he better never question the patriotism of Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He also says don’t question him when Duggan blood has fought to keep this country free. Brother Love says he looks at him and sees a man with a weapon. He says he sees a man carrying a 2×4. Duggan has his 2×4 on his shoulder and he swings it around and nearly hits Brother Love in the face. Brother Love says that doesn’t show any love.
Brother Love says that he has no love in his heart and he gets to close to Duggan and he yells at him to get out of his face. Duggan says this is the WWF not Sunday school. He says if the WWF needs policing then he is the guy to do it. Brother Love starts to jam his finger into the chest of Duggan and says that he doesn’t see a badge on Duggan so how can he police it. Duggan yells at him to get his hand off of him. Duggan says the 2×4 is all the badge he needs. Duggan tells Brother Love says if he keeps talking the way he is that he won’t dirty his grade a hands but he will stick his 2×4 where sun doesn’t shine.
Duggan says he is going to give Brother Love a count of 5 to get out of here or all of these people will get a treat they have been waiting for. Brother Love says Duggan won’t touch him with the 2×4 because he is a man of love. Duggan counts 1. Brother Love says he is wearing glasses and Duggan counts to 2. Brother Love says he’s a man of love and we get the 3 count. Brother Love tells Duggan that he loves him and Duggan counts to 4. Duggan then takes his 2×4 and swings it at Brother Love and Brother Love takes off out of here. Thank God this segment is over. On to the next one.
Match 5: Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man (c) vs. Ultimate Warrior
Honky is in the ring awaiting his opponent. Howard says and his opponent then we get a pause. Honky hops on to the mic and says he doesn’t care who it is and to get somebody out here for him to fight. Then the Warrior’s music hits and the crowd goes insane. The Ultimate Warrior’s music ends up going off and he comes charging to the ring. Warrior nails Honky with a right hand. When Warrior goes charging into the ropes he sends Howard packing to the floor.
Warrior lays in another right hand and starts posing for the crowd. Honky gets up to his feet and Warrior ends up nailing him with a body slam. Warrior hits the ropes and hits the flying shoulder block on Honky. Warrior just going crazy and has no idea what to do. Warrior hits a clothesline then hits the big splash on the Honky Tonk Man. Warrior goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner and NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION….THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR!!!
Recap:
This match is short, sweet, and accomplished so much. This match is still talked about today and is still awesome. Warrior went insane and this really solidified him as a upper echelon type of player. I’m thankful they didn’t let this go long because it could have gotten bad pretty quickly. This was the perfect way to end the Honky Tonk’s run and to get another guy over. Job well done all around here.
They come back from intermission and Heenan joins Gorilla and Billy Graham in the broadcasting booth. He is giving us an update on what the Mega Bucks and the Mega Powers are doing. Heenan says Andre is reading the Wall Street Journal. He also tells us that DiBIase has 4 briefcases open and he is counting all of the money while Virgil is standing in the corner enjoying it all. Heenan says the Mega Powers put their dresser in front of the door and they don’t want anyone in and they are scared. Gorilla and Graham cut him off as we head to the next match.
Match 6: Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco
The match starts with both guys tying up in the middle of the ring. They struggle for a moment then break free. They circle and tie up again. This time Bravo drives Muraco into the ropes and then they circle around on the rope until they break in the corner. They tie up for a 3rd time and this time Muraco gets Bravo in a head lock. Bravo pushes Muraco off into the ropes and Muraco hits him with a big shoulder blocker. Muraco hits the ropes again and ends up stomping on the head of Bravo as he goes for a monkey flip.
Bravo gets back up to his feet and gets arm dragged then body slammed by Muraco. Bravo gets up again and Muraco hits him with an arm drag again. Bravo gets frustrated and heads out to the floor to regroup with Frenchie Martin. Bravo gets back in the ring and they tie up for a 4th time. Muraco breaks free and gets Bravo in an arm bar. He then lays in some elbows to the shoulder of Bravo. Bravo gets to his feet and drives Muraco into the corner and hits him with a chop. Bravo then lays in some shoulder blocks to Muraco.
Bravo goes to whip Muraco into the corner but Muraco reverses it and hits Bravo with a hip toss. Muraco follows that up with a monkey flip and then another arm drag into an arm bar. Bravo gets up to his feet and Muraco drives him into the corner again. Muraco then lays in some knees to the gut of Bravo. Muraco whips Bravo into the ropes and hits him with a shoulder thrust in the corner. Muraco goes to whip Bravo into the corner but Bravo reverses it and Muraco goes face first into the corner. Bravo lays in some boots and shoulder blocks to Muraco and he follows that up with an inverted atomic drop. Bravo lays in some boots then a big elbow. Bravo gets up and whips Muraco into the ropes and Bravo dunks early and Muraco ends up hitting him with a Russian leg sweep.
Bravo goes for a big elbow and Muraco moves out of the way. They exchange lefts and rights until Muraco gets the advantage and he drives Bravo into the ropes. Muraco whips Bravo into the ropes and hits him with a back drop. Muraco then decks Martin, who gets on the apron. Muraco lays in some right hands and goes for a body slam but the ref was in the way and Bravo ends up kicking the ref in the head so Muraco puts him down. Bravo takes advantage of the situation and ends up hitting Muraco with his side suplex. Bravo goes for the pin and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall….Dino Bravo!
Recap:
This was to jacked up stiffs who got blown up about 2 minutes into the match. Towards the end Muraco was on fumes and could barely move around the ring. Bravo looked decent but this was your typical Bravo match. Looking back on this shit now makes me wonder what the hell did Bravo have on Vince because the guy always looked good, as far as outcomes are concerned. I don’t think I ever seen him job out unless it was to somebody like Hogan or the Warrior. He always looked strong in his matches and it made zero sense because he was brutal. This was another match you can just toss in the trash and skip if you ask me. The wrestlers on the card, up to this point, are just not on their A game for a pay per view.
Backstage Interview: Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura
They head to the back where Sean Mooney is standing by with Jesse the Body. He is here to talk about his job as a referee between the Mega Powers vs. the Mega Bucks. Mooney says there is a lot of controversy surrounding the picking of Jesse as the ref and that Jesse has added to that controversy by taking money from Ted DiBiase. Jesse says the first thing he wants everyone to know is that this is one of the best decisions Tunney has made. Jesse says he is the only guy in the world who can get in the ring and control this match.
Jesse asks Mooney if he is accusing him of taking money from the Million Dollar Man. Jesse tells us that DiBiase walks up and starts stuffing $100 bills into his jacket. Jesse says he is no fool and if somebody wants to give him money then he is going to take it. Mooney says we are all awaiting the actions of Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura.
Match 7: WWF Tag Team Title Match: Demolition (c) vs. The Hart Foundation
They come back from the Jesse interview with the Hart Foundation waiting in the ring for Demolition to come out. Demolition’s awesome theme music hits and here they come with Fuji and Jimmy Hart on this night. The match starts with Bret and Ax in the ring. Man Demolition is awesome. They get in a tie up and Ax quickly hits Bret with a knee to the midsection and clubbing blows to the back. Ax picks up Bret and body slams. He goes for an elbow drop but Bret rolls out of the way and starts laying in the rights to Ax. Bret then nails Smash with a right hand that knocks him off the apron.
Bret ends up whipping Ax into the ropes and he hits him with a punch to the gut. Bret follows that up with a roll up and gets a 2 count on Ax. Smash gets the tag and he gets arm dragged twice and into an arm bar. Bret drags Smash into the corner and tags in Neidhart, who comes off the middle rope with an ax handle. Neidhart dunks under a clothesline attempt and levels Smash with a ax handle to the chest. Neidhart whips Smash into the ropes but Smash reverses it and hits Smash with a shoulder block. Neidhart goes off the ropes and Ax ends up kicking him in the back. Smash tags in Ax and he comes and just lays in the punches to the back of Neidhart.
Ax tags in Smash and he does the same. Just clubs the back of Neidhart. Ax gets tagged in again and Ax whips Neidhart into the ropes. Ax dunks down early and Neidhart nails him with a right hand to the face. Neidhart tags in Bret and he comes in and nails Ax with a right hand that sends him out of the ring. Smash comes in and Bret ends up nailing him with a drop kick. Bret goes to whip Smash into the corner but Smash reverses it and Bret goes crashing into the steel post where Fuji put his cane in the corner. Smash lays in the rights and ends up tagging in Ax.
Ax comes in and clubs Bret some more and then he gets his arm tied up in the rope while Smash lays in the right hands. Ax lays in some right hands as well. They let Bret free and Ax takes him and rams him shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Ax lays in some boots to Bret who is laid out on the mat. Ax then rams the shoulder into the boot of Smash and he makes the tag. Smash comes in and hits Bret with a shoulder breaker. Smash then works the arm with an odd looking arm bar type move. Smash tags in Ax and he comes in and picks up on the same arm move that Smash had.
Ax picks up Bret and puts him on the ropes as Smash tags his bad arm and drapes it across the top rope as he falls down. Smash then takes Bret and throws him shoulder first into the steel post. Bret gets up to his feet and tries to get into the ring but Ax kicks him in the shoulder as well. Bret gets back in the ring and Smash nails him with a right hand and tags in Ax. Ax comes in and whips Bret into the ropes and he goes for a clothesline but Bret goes under and ends up hitting Ax with his own clothesline. Bret crawls for the tag but Smash gets in the ring to distract the ref and he didn’t see the tag so he didn’t allow it. Meanwhile, Smash comes in and rams Bret into turnbuckle after turnbuckle. Smash whips Bret into the corner and comes charging in but Bret gets the boot up and sends Smash crashing to the mat. Bret finally makes the tag to Neidhart.
Neidhart comes in and clubs Smash and then hits Ax with a drop kick. He picks up Smash and body slams him and he ends up doing the same thing to Ax. Neidhart then whips Smash into Ax, who goes rolling out of the ring. Neidhart then clubs Smash, who goes flying out of the ring. Neidhart then grabs the top rope and Bret sling shots him over the top to the outside where he comes crashing down on Smash. That was a pretty awesome move and it’s pretty crazy the agility Neidhart had.
Neidhart starts to lay in the right hands to Smash while Bret decks Ax on the apron on the other side of the ring. Neidhart throws Smash into the ring and he hits him with a power slam in the middle of the ring. He goes for the cover and gets a 2 1/2 count. That was close. Neidhart gets Smash up and drives him into the corner. Neidhart tags in Bret who ends up irish whipping Neidhart into Smash and he nails him with a big time shoulder block. Bret hits Smash with a back breaker and goes for the cover but Ax comes in and breaks it up. All four men are now in the ring as Neidhart comes in and nails Ax with some clubs.
Fuji ends up on the apron and Neidhart nails him 2-3 times. Meanwhile, Jimmy Hart throws the mega phone into Ax who nails Bret in the back with it. Smash falls down on top of Bret and he goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Fuji and Jimmy run off with the mega phone as Neidhart checks on Bret in the ring. Your winners by pinfall and still WWF Tag Team Champions…..Demolition!!!
Recap:
This was a really fun match. The action never really stopped and the crowd was hot for it. These guys worked well together and it really showed. Bret’s come back was awesome and you really felt like they were going to pull out the win. It was a lot of clubbing and punching but it wasn’t over done and a lot of stuff was mixed in between all of that. Just a solid match thats probably one of the better ones on the card. I like this one better than the Bulldogs and the Rougeau’s. I’d recommend checking this one out.
Backstage Interview: The Honky Tonk Man
They go to the back locker room where the Honky Tonk Man is upset. In the locker room with him is Dino Bravo, the Rougeau’s, Nikolai Volkoff, and Hercules. Honky tells everybody to leave him alone. Honky says he has been ripped off and robbed in the WWF and that they have been doing this to him since he’s been there. He said they jumped him from behind and beat him up out there with some Warrior. He said he would wrestle anybody but not some Warrior. Honky says the belt belongs to him and he is the greatest of all time. Honky says no matter what the Warrior does it will always be Honky’s belt. Honky says he is going to get his belt back on matter what it takes. Honky then storms out of there because he is pissed that he lost his title.
Match 8: Big Boss Man vs. Koko B. Ware
The match starts with Slick taunting Koko and Koko takes a swing at Slick but Boss Man attacks him from behind. He lays in some clubs to the back then throws Koko outside of the ring. Koko gets back in the ring and lays in some right hands. Koko backs Boss Man into the rope and ends up whipping Boss Man into the ropes but Bossman reverses it and goes for a clothesline but Koko dunks under and ends up hitting Boss Man with a drop kick. Boss Man falls into the ropes and get locked into the top rope.
Koko runs off the ropes and hits Boss Man with a big splash. Koko lays in some right hands some more. Boss Man finally gets free and they stare each other down. Koko gets into a corner and Boss Man comes in but Koko quickly moves out of the way and hits Boss Man with a right hand. Koko goes into another corner and he tries to get out but Boss Man grabs him in a head lock and smashes him in the back of Koko. Boss Man then picks up Koko and hits him with a jumping head butt.
Boss Man puts Koko into the corner and whips him into the ropes. Boss Man follows it up with a big time splash in the corner. Boss Man drops some knees to the lower back of Koko. Boss Man whips Koko into the ropes and nails him with a clothesline right on the top of the head. Boss Man goes for the pin and ends up picking him up to break the pin. Boss Man then gets Koko on his knees and stretches the arms back and works over the back. Koko flips out of it and kicks Boss Man right in the face to break free. Boss Man drapes Koko on the middle rope and he runs and drops the leg across the back and chokes Koko over the middle rope. Boss Man picks up Koko and decks him with a big right hand. Boss Man picks up Koko and body slams him on the mat.
Boss Man climbs up to the top rope and goes for a big time splash but Koko gets out of the way. Boss Man gets right back to his feet and he picks up Koko and puts him in the corner. Boss Man whips Koko into the ropes and comes charging in and goes for a splash but he ends up racking himself on the top rope. Koko starts to lay in the right hands and has all the momentum. Koko climbs up to the top rope on the inside and nails Boss Man with a beautiful drop kick.
Koko gets up and goes for a big splash on Boss Man. He goes for the cover and gets a 2 count before Boss Man throws him in the air and throws him over the referee. Koko gets up and lays in a right hand. Koko then hits the ropes and tries to jump on Boss Man and Boss Man ends up catching him and dumps him over the top rope. Boss Man then whips Koko into the ropes and nails him with the Boss Man Slam. Boss Man goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall…..Big Boss Man!
After the match, Slick distracts the referee while the Big Boss Man nails him with the night stick to the back of Koko. Koko falls to the outside as Boss Man and Slick celebrate in the ring.
Recap:
This was a decent match but nothing special. Koko did enough to make the match entertaining. Boss Man was a little sloppy at some spots and you can tell he was still learning. The drop kick by Koko was awesome and made the match. Not a bad match by any means and I’ve always enjoyed it even after all these years.
Backstage Interview: The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior is in the locker room and with him are the British Bulldogs, Jim Duggan, Ken Patera, JYD, and Don Muraco. Mooney tells Warrior that he is the new Intercontinental Champion. Warrior says that the Honky Tonk Man thought it was something right out of a comic book brother. Warrior says we are talking about real life. Warrior says he was sitting in parts unknown waiting for the next space ship to higher plains. What the hell is he talking about? Only he knows I’m sure. The lightning bolts then came down from the sky and the Warriors spoke and told him to make it to the Garden.
Warrior says that he made it to the Garden and Honky Tonk Man made the challenge and he and all of the little Warriors with their painted faces, rose to the challenge and conquered. Warrior says he has taken all of the little Warriors through the darkness and all of the pain. Warrior says that if the Honky Tonk Man or anyone else wants to take on the Warrior and all of the Warriors then he’s not hard to find. He says he will be on the next space ship to Parts Unknoooooooown!
Match 9: Jake Roberts vs. Hercules
Hercules looks awesome here for some reason. He looked jacked but trim at the same time. The match starts off with Hercules posing in front of Jake and taunting him. One thing about this match is that Heenan is not at ring side for Hercules. He is getting prepped for the tag match thats up next. This is pretty sweet booking here because it raises the magnitude of the main event. Well done WWF. Anyways, Jake goes to check on Damien and Hercules tries to attack him from behind but Jake slips out of the way and lays in some right hands to Hercules.
Jake ends up whipping Hercules into the opposite corner and he follows Hercules in but Hercules gets the knees up and Jake goes crashing into him. Jake gets up to his knees and Hercules decks him with a couple of right hands. Jake gets up to his feet and Hercules whips him into the ropes but he dunks down early and Jake nails him with a nice high knee. Jake calls for the DDT right away and he goes for it but Hercules slips out of the head lock and goes to the outside to regroup.
Hercules gets back in the ring and Hercules tries to hit him with a few lefts and rights but Jake blocks all of them. Hercules then hits the ropes and tries a clothesline but Jake dunks and ends up body slamming Hercules. Jake gets Hercules in a head lock and he wrenches it in. Hercules tries to push Jake off but Jake holds on and keeps him in the head lock. Hercules ends up picking up Jake and hits him with a belly to back suplex but Jake holds on to the head lock and keeps Hercules in the hold. Jake keeps this head lock on for a while until Hercules finally gets in the ropes and forces the break.
Hercules is on his knees and Jake goes in but Hercules head butts him in the mid-section. This is a very slow and plodding pace. Can we pick it up a little guys? Hercules picks up Jake and hits him with big right Hand. Hercules then hits Jake with a few elbow drops. Hercules then picks Jake up by the hair and snap mares him over. Hercules then goes for a reverse chin lock of his own. Jake gets up to his feet rather quickly but Hercules drops him with a short clothesline. Hercules then bounces off the ropes and levels Jake with a nasty sounding clothesline. Hercules takes his time and gets a 2 count on a sloppy pin.
Hercules gets Jake to his butt and he ends up getting him in a reverse chin lock again. He keeps this hold on for over a minute and a half. He’s done basically nothing and has to rest that long. Jake gets to his feet and lays in some elbows to the gut and then he gets him in a reverse arm bar. Hercules ends up elbowing Jake in the face as Jake falls to the outside. Jake gets back up to the apron and Hercules nails him with a right hand. Hercules then drapes Jake over the top rope and nails him with a right hand to the sternum.
Hercules goes for the move again and this time Jake grabs Hercules and he dumps him over the top rope to the outside. Hercules gets back on the apron and he ends up grabbing Jake and clothesline him across the top rope. Hercules comes in and nails some forearms to the chest and he goes back to the chin lock. Jake ends up getting up to his feet and he drops down and rocked Hercules in the jaw. Jake then lays in some left hands and some rights. Jake bounces off the rope and nails Hercules with a right hand. Jake picks up Hercules and drops him with the short arm clothesline.
Jake calls for the DDT again and the crowd goes crazy. Jake goes for the DDT but Hercules back drops him out of the hold. Hercules is in the corner and Jake comes charging in with a high knee and Hercules moves out of the way and Jake lands right on the back of his head. Hercules picks up Jake and hits him with a body slam and then a big elbow. Jake gets back to his feet but Hercules goes low and hits him in the midsection. Hercules goes for a body slam but Jake slips to the back and ends up nailing Hercules with an awesome DDT. Jake rolls over and goes for the pin and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall….Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts!
After the match Jake lets Damien out of the bag and drapes it over Hercules. He sticks the face of Damien right in the face of Hercules. Hercules is knocked while Damien crawls all over him.
Recap:
This match was really slow and plodding. There were a lot of rest holds and it really killed the match. Its crazy to me that the match can seem flat and dead and then Jake calls for the DDT and the crowd goes insane. Makes Jakes life easier if you ask me when thats all it takes. The ending was pretty sweet and it really made the DDT look like it can be applied at anytime. The ending was good but everything else kind of sucked. You can watch if you want but you aren’t missing anything if you don’t.
They show the highlights of the feud between the Mega Powers and the Mega Bucks that led to the main event of SummerSlam.
Match 10: Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks
Jesse gets introduced first. They follow that up with the Mega Bucks who come down with Virgil and Bobby Heenan. Next up we have the Mega Powers making their way ringside. I love the shots from MSG where they show them coming out from the locker room. Savage looks awesome in his robe as well as Hogan with Mega Powers on the back of the trunks. Just a really sweet shot and it makes it feel like a big time boxing match. Great production value here.
Jesse tries to get both teams to shake hands. Jesse takes control of the match and gets all of the managers out of the ring. Jesse ends up moving the tag ropes here and finally the match starts. We got Savage vs. Andre in the ring. Andre lays in some right hands and he drives Savage to the corner. Andre lays in a right hand and a chop before Andre tags in DiBiase. Savage is getting ready to tie up before DiBiase says he wants to face Hogan. Savage goes over and tags in the Hulk. Hogan gets in the ring and both guys tie up. DiBiase quickly rakes the eyes of Hogan. DiBiase goes for a right and a left and both get blocked. He also goes for a kick but Hogan catches him and ends up hitting DiBiase with an atomic drop to the corner.
Savage lays in a right hand to DiBiase and Hogan hits him with one. Savage pushes Jesse out of the way and nails DiBiase again as he falls to the mat. Hogan then whips DiBiase into the ropes and Hogan nails him with a big clothesline. Hogan then tags in Savage and whips DiBiase into the ropes and both guys hit DiBiase with a back elbow then a double elbow drop. Jesse tells Hogan to get out of the ring as Savage rams the head of DiBiase into the top turnbuckle 2-3 times. Hogan gets the tag again and Hogan comes in and kicks DiBiase in the gut. Hogan then rams the head of DiBiase into one corner and then into the other.
Hogan tags in Savage again and this time Savage goes off the top rope and hits DiBiase with a double ax handle as Hogan holds DiBiase. Savage then drops a big time knee to the face of DiBiase. Savage tags in Hogan again and this time they both whip DiBiase into the ropes and they hit him with a double big boot. Hogan picks up DiBiase and hits him with a body slam. Hogan then hits repeated elbows on DiBiase. Hogan gets up and tries to attack Andre but Andre catches Hogan and ends up decking him with a head butt to gain control of the match. Savage comes in for some reason and Andre ends up nailing him with a head butt.
DiBiase drops an elbow on Hogan and then tags in Andre. DiBiase lays in some boots before Jesse tells him to get out of the ring. Andre comes in and drops his body weight on Hogan 3-4 times. Andre then stands on the bottom rope and chokes Hogan out with it. Andre picks up Hogan and rams him into his boot. Andre lays in a nerve hold to Hogan. Andre then tags his singlet and wraps it around the throat of Hogan and starts to choke him. Andre tags in DiBiase and he comes in and kicks Hogan in the gut. DiBiase lays in some beautiful right hands as Hogan tries to get over to his corner. DiBiase whips Hogan into the ropes and hits him with a clothesline.
DiBiase drops his patented falling right hands to the face of Hogan. DiBiase gets Hogan in a reverse chin lock while Gorilla and Superstar say it’s a choke. Hogan finally gets up to his feet and but DiBiase tightens his grip on the hold and Hogan falls back down to the mat. Jesse raises the hands but Hogan holds it up before the third one. Hogan then hits some elbows to the gut of DiBiase and he breaks free. Hogan then hits the ropes and DiBiase goes for a clothesline but Hogan goes under and they end up hitting each other with a double clothesline. Hogan finally crawls over and makes the tag to Savage.
Savage comes in and lays in the right hands. Savage whips DiBiase into the corner and follows him with a back elbow. Savage whips DiBiase into the ropes and hits him with a back drop. Savage picks up DiBiase and he clotheslines him over the top rope as Savage jumps to the outside. DiBiase does a handstand to sell the move and it looked freaking awesome. What a great sequence of action. Savage ends up climbing to the top rope and this DiBiase with a double ax handle.
Savage picks up DiBiase and hits him with an elbow to the head. DiBiase falls back to the corner and Savage comes charging in but DiBiase moves out of the way and Savage crashes shoulder first into the corner. DiBiase lays in a right hand and tries to ram Savages head into the corner but Savage blocks it and rams DiBiase into the corner himself. Savage goes for a whip on DiBiase but DiBiase reverses it and he goes for a clothesline but Savage dunks under and ends up hitting DiBiase with a cross body.
Both guys get to their feet and Savage comes charging at DiBiase but DiBiase levels him with a clothesline. DiBiase tags in Andre and he decks Savage with a right hand that sends Savage into the corner. Andre hits a few shoulder blocks then puts his entire body weight into Savage a couple of times. Andre picks up Savage by the trunks and decks him with a right hand again. This time Andre just sits down on Savage in the corner. Andre hits Savage with a head butt as he tags in DiBiase. DiBIase comes in and picks up Savage and decks him with a right hand and follows that up with a nice looking suplex. DiBiase goes for the cover and gets a 2 count.
DiBiase picks up Savage and he hits Savage with a back breaker. DiBiase goes to the second rope on the inside and he goes for a falling elbow but Savage rolls out of the way and DiBiase comes crashing to the mat. DiBiase gets up to his feet first and tries to stop Savage from the tag but Savage kicks DiBiase off of him as Savage gets the tag to Hogan. Hogan comes in and lays in 10 right hands. He whips DiBiase into the corner and he follows it in with a clothesline. Hogan then picks up DiBiase and hits him with a suplex.
Andre comes in the ring and Hogan decks him with a clothesline and it sends Andre down to the mat. Savage goes to the top rope but Hogan tells him to go to the other one. Hogan has DiBiase in a sleeper while Savage comes off the rope on Andre but Andre gets the boot up. Andre gets up to his feet and grabs Hogan by the hair and head butts him twice in the back of the head. The Mega Powers are on the floor getting counted out as Jesse starts the count. Elizabeth climbs up on to the apron as Jesse tells her to get off the apron. Elizabeth gets in position with the hard camera and ends up taking her skirt off that shocks all 5 of the guys on or in the ring. On the outside the Mega Powers look up and they do their classic hand shake. What an awesome looking shot.
While the Mega Bucks, Jesse, Bobby, and Virgil are all distracted by Elizabeth. Savage and Hogan get back in the ring and go after DiBiase and Andre. Savage comes off the top with a ax handle to the back and Andre goes flying over the top rope. Savage decks Heenan. Hogan then slams DiBiase and Savage comes off the top rope with his flying elbow drop. Hogan then drops the big leg and Jesse gets down to the count the 1-2-3 but he stalls at 3 and Savage slams the hand down to the mat anyways. Your winners by pinfall…..The Mega Powers!!!
After the match Hogan, Savage, and Elizabeth celebrate in the ring. Hogan picks up Elizabeth and carries her around the ring until Savage turns around and sees Hogan holding her. Savage sticks his arms out and he has a befuddled look on his face like what the hell is this dude doing with my wife. Seeds being planted for something? Hmm I wonder. That quickly goes away as Hogan and Savage pose for the fans send them home happy. We got the awesome look of Elizabeth on the shoulder of Macho while holding the WWF Title. They exit the ring as the show goes to a close.
Recap:
This was your typical WWF main event with Hogan. Bad guys did most of the damage and we got the hot come back from Savage and Hogan to finish it off. Elizabeth taking off the skirt is one of the more memorable moments in wrestling history that almost everyone has seen but it never gets old. That was provocative for it’s time and thats what makes it stand out. Thats the best part about old school wrestling. When it is done for the first time it always sticks out. Nowadays a table spot means nothing because it has been done to death. Anyways, the match is solid and a nice way to end the show. The seeds are already being planted for Wrestlemania 5, which is pretty damn awesome to see.
Show Recap:
That about does it for SummerSlam 88. The card was a mixed bag. There was some good, there was some bad, and then there were some moments that are still mentioned when SummerSlam is brought up. I didn’t expect much else from the first ever SummerSlam. Now that I have reviewed the show it felt like more of a MSG house show with a big time main event. The lights being on inside of MSG was pretty awesome as well. Something you didn’t really see during the house show days so it really made the show pop a little bit.
The first match was a little slow and a lot of the same stuff but it served the purpose of getting the crowd going. I didn’t like the non-finish and it takes away from the match some but not to bad. The fact they were even in the ring together after what Jacques did to Dynamite in the first place is a shocker. All in all not a bad opener.
The Patera/Bad News and JYD/Rude matches were pretty bad. Patera and Bad News was a botch fest and went just a little to long for my taste. Rude and JYD kind of sucked as well because of the DQ finish but it made sense because of what Jake promised Rude about wearing those tights again. Theres very little positive in either match therefore I would just go ahead and skip this 10-15 minute portion of the show.
The Powers of Pain and Bolsheviks was the shits as well. Boris was horrendous and missed quite a few spots. Powers of Pain didn’t really work as baby faces and it showed during this match. I’m surprised it took them to Survivor Series to turn them. The Brother Love segment did it’s job to get Brother Love’s gimmick over. It also showed us how he would handle the good guys going forward.
After that we got the IC title match between Warrior and Honky Tonk Man. This was the perfect way to get the title off of Honky Tonk Man and establish the Ultimate Warrior. The amazing part about is the fact that it only took 31 seconds for all of this to happen. What a memorable moment and a great segment here. One of the few bright spots on the card.
After that match we got the snooze fest of Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco. These guys were both gassed after 2-3 minutes and the end of the match really dragged. Not much else to say about this one than to skip it. After this match we had the tag team title match and to me this was the best match on the card. The action was solid and the Harts come back was great as well. We had some cool spots and the fact that Jimmy Hart cost his old team the titles really worked out here. Just a pretty good match that is worth checking out at least once.
We head into the last few matches with Boss Man vs. Koko in that PPV jobber match. Koko did his job and made the Boss Man look good. Jake vs. Hercules was boring and had a ton of chin locks and wasted time. The clean finish of the DDT and Damien getting out and put on Hercules was a surprise but was a pleasant one.
The main event was your typical WWF PPV main event and it delivered on all fronts. We had star power and a pretty good match to boot. Jesse was a nice added element as a wild card. You wasn’t sure what he was going to do but they played it up that he got paid off. Elizabeth removing her skirt was pretty damn crazy for the times and is a memorable moment that is still talked about. All in all a good way to end the show and send the fans home happy.
This match gets crapped on but the action is pretty much non stop and the star power involved was off the charts. Not sure why it gets trashed but it is what it is. Thats your typical one opinion shows up online and everybody follows suit. However, that isn’t the case here and we because we tell it like it is as Jesse the Body would say.
Anyways, thats SummerSlam 88 for you. I hope you have enjoyed this review of the first ever SummerSlam. It was a little bit of a chore to get through but I’m glad I took the time to watch this from a different perspective. Theres some things you can enjoy here and some things you’d rather not see. Coming up next time on the Event Center will be another PPV from the early 90s and we are going back to World Championship Wrestling. We going back to February 1990 and we are going to go to war with WrestleWar 1990: Wild Thing. Look out for that in the coming days right here on CrazyMax.
