Post by mikey1974 on Jul 19, 2015 14:36:14 GMT -5
decided to do something similar to what i did 2 years ago with WrestleMania ... going to watch each SummerSlam in order, and post a little review on them. gonna try and get through them all, leading into this year's event, but I'm not promising anything, LOL! so, anyway, let's begin at the beginning!
"Where The Mega-Powers Meet The Mega-Bucks!"
so going into the summer of 1988, the WWF was red-hot! there was a new WWF Champion in the Macho Man Randy Savage, and his ongoing feud with The Million Dollar Man ,who was desperate to take his Title. it was also a period of time where Hulk Hogan stepped away from the spotlight for awhile to give Macho Man a chance to run with the ball. of course, the REAL reason for this was that Hogan and Vince were filming No Holds Barred, and needed Hogan on hiatus during filming, but none of us knew that at the time.but Hogan wouldn't stay gone long. Ted DiBiase enlisted Andre the Giant to help him in his feud with Savage, and the odds seemed impossible for the Champion to overcome. so he issued a challenge, a tag team match to finally settle the feud, and enlisted a partner who could help him do it - the Hulkster himself. this set the stage for an epic tag team encounter, one so bi that a special event had to be created for it - SummerSlam! this event would take place in Madison Square Garden, and in expanding his reach, Vince McMahon would also offer this event on Pay Per View.indeed this match was SO big, that it required a special referee, none other that Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a controversial choice considering his heel-leaning ways on commentary and wrestling. so the stage was set, and shortly thereafter the undercard began to fall into place...
it's important to note - much like the first WrestleMania, this event wasn't advertised or promoted as the "first" of an ongoing thing. it felt like a one-off special event that needed to be created around a huge main event, much like the first Mania. only in the summer of 1989 would we realize it was another annual PPV. but this first one was generally good, with the undercard matches stealing the show, but the main event getting over more on hype than actual content and match aesthetics. indeed, the opening match between The Rougeau Brothers and The British Bulldogs in a throwaway encounter ended up being the best match on the card! and it's mainly remembered for the Ultimate Warrior's shocking win over Honky Tonk Man to end the latter's long Intercontinental Championship reign, as well as the very subtle start of the rift between the Mega Powers that would explode in 1989.
a fun fact - the main event was almost WWF Champion Randy Savage defending the Title ve Ric Flair! Vince was very close to getting Flair to jump to the WWF, so close that he even made the preliminary plans for this match. however, in the end, Flair decided to stay with Jim Crockett, and SummerSlam went on to make massive money without him.
THE CARD:
The British Bulldogs vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
Bad News Brown vs Ken Patera
Junkyard Dog vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude, w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
The Powers of Pain , w/ The Baron vs The Bolsheviks
Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man, w/ Jimmy Hart vs The Ultimate Warrior
"The Rock" Don Muraco vs Dino Bravo, w/ Frenchie Martin
WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition, w/ Mr. Fuji and Jimmy Hart vs The Hart Foundation
Big Boss Man, w/ Slick vs Koko B. Ware
Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs Hercules
The Mega Powers, w/ Miss Elizabeth vs The Mega Bucks, w/ Virgil and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan - Special Referee Jesse "The Body" Ventura
"Where The Mega-Powers Meet The Mega-Bucks!"
so going into the summer of 1988, the WWF was red-hot! there was a new WWF Champion in the Macho Man Randy Savage, and his ongoing feud with The Million Dollar Man ,who was desperate to take his Title. it was also a period of time where Hulk Hogan stepped away from the spotlight for awhile to give Macho Man a chance to run with the ball. of course, the REAL reason for this was that Hogan and Vince were filming No Holds Barred, and needed Hogan on hiatus during filming, but none of us knew that at the time.but Hogan wouldn't stay gone long. Ted DiBiase enlisted Andre the Giant to help him in his feud with Savage, and the odds seemed impossible for the Champion to overcome. so he issued a challenge, a tag team match to finally settle the feud, and enlisted a partner who could help him do it - the Hulkster himself. this set the stage for an epic tag team encounter, one so bi that a special event had to be created for it - SummerSlam! this event would take place in Madison Square Garden, and in expanding his reach, Vince McMahon would also offer this event on Pay Per View.indeed this match was SO big, that it required a special referee, none other that Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a controversial choice considering his heel-leaning ways on commentary and wrestling. so the stage was set, and shortly thereafter the undercard began to fall into place...
it's important to note - much like the first WrestleMania, this event wasn't advertised or promoted as the "first" of an ongoing thing. it felt like a one-off special event that needed to be created around a huge main event, much like the first Mania. only in the summer of 1989 would we realize it was another annual PPV. but this first one was generally good, with the undercard matches stealing the show, but the main event getting over more on hype than actual content and match aesthetics. indeed, the opening match between The Rougeau Brothers and The British Bulldogs in a throwaway encounter ended up being the best match on the card! and it's mainly remembered for the Ultimate Warrior's shocking win over Honky Tonk Man to end the latter's long Intercontinental Championship reign, as well as the very subtle start of the rift between the Mega Powers that would explode in 1989.
a fun fact - the main event was almost WWF Champion Randy Savage defending the Title ve Ric Flair! Vince was very close to getting Flair to jump to the WWF, so close that he even made the preliminary plans for this match. however, in the end, Flair decided to stay with Jim Crockett, and SummerSlam went on to make massive money without him.
THE CARD:
The British Bulldogs vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
Bad News Brown vs Ken Patera
Junkyard Dog vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude, w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
The Powers of Pain , w/ The Baron vs The Bolsheviks
Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man, w/ Jimmy Hart vs The Ultimate Warrior
"The Rock" Don Muraco vs Dino Bravo, w/ Frenchie Martin
WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition, w/ Mr. Fuji and Jimmy Hart vs The Hart Foundation
Big Boss Man, w/ Slick vs Koko B. Ware
Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs Hercules
The Mega Powers, w/ Miss Elizabeth vs The Mega Bucks, w/ Virgil and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan - Special Referee Jesse "The Body" Ventura
