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Post by The Brain on Jul 31, 2018 15:00:31 GMT -5
Getting into SSlam 88 and man I really enjoyed Superstar Billy Graham on commentary. You could tell he was into it and brought such great energy to the show.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2018 9:24:07 GMT -5
Getting into SSlam 88 and man I really enjoyed Superstar Billy Graham on commentary. You could tell he was into it and brought such great energy to the show. SSlam 88 was a good show. Hopefully you thought so to when reviewing it. |
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Post by The Brain on Aug 1, 2018 11:24:39 GMT -5
Getting into SSlam 88 and man I really enjoyed Superstar Billy Graham on commentary. You could tell he was into it and brought such great energy to the show. SSlam 88 was a good show. Hopefully you thought so to when reviewing it. I like all Golden Era shows so anytime I can go back and watch em it's a good day in my book. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2018 13:33:10 GMT -5
In a nutshell why was summerslam 90 your favorite summerslam? I say in a nutshell because I know you will review it coming up and will get into that reason in long form. I enjoyed the show(first 5 summerslams are tied for favorite sslam of all time), but I've read other reviews and most of them are negative about that show.
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Post by The Brain on Aug 1, 2018 14:42:33 GMT -5
Mainly nostalgia. I remember renting the tape a ton back in the day. I liked the feuds going into it plus add in the fact the HOT Philly crowd that night just made the event that much more enjoyable for me. I'm really surprised they never had another one here after all these years.
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Team Madness
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Post by Team Madness on Aug 1, 2018 20:35:30 GMT -5
Mainly nostalgia. I remember renting the tape a ton back in the day. I liked the feuds going into it plus add in the fact the HOT Philly crowd that night just made the event that much more enjoyable for me. I'm really surprised they never had another one here after all these years. I'm the same way with Summerslam 1996, I must have rented that tape no lie 25 times. It's my favorite Summerslam because of that...even though the show overall was good but not great. Also wasn't the box for Summerslam 1990 VHS bigger for some reason? |
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Post by The Brain on Aug 2, 2018 9:20:18 GMT -5
Mainly nostalgia. I remember renting the tape a ton back in the day. I liked the feuds going into it plus add in the fact the HOT Philly crowd that night just made the event that much more enjoyable for me. I'm really surprised they never had another one here after all these years. I'm the same way with Summerslam 1996, I must have rented that tape no lie 25 times. It's my favorite Summerslam because of that...even though the show overall was good but not great. Also wasn't the box for Summerslam 1990 VHS bigger for some reason?Yeah all the PPV tapes back in the early 90s were in those big boxes. IIRC SSeries 92 stopped that trend. |
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Post by The Brain on Aug 3, 2018 11:32:20 GMT -5
Coming soon... 
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Post by The Brain on Aug 4, 2018 19:37:18 GMT -5
The SSlam 88 review will be up tomorrow humanoids!!!
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Post by The Brain on Aug 5, 2018 9:44:24 GMT -5
SummerSlam 1988 
Your hosts-Gorilla Monsoon and Superstar Billy Graham
The British Bulldogs vs Fabulous Rougeau Brothers- Solid tag match to kick us off. The Rougeaus just recently turned heel which suited them wayyyyy better IMO. Great back and forth here with both sides having their moments. Match ends after a 20 minute draw just when Dynamite Kid hits a flying headbutt on Jacques. Lame finish aside still good stuff here.
Next we see a clip of Ron Bass attacking Brutus Beefcake with his spurs injuring him and preventing him from competing for the IC Title at this event. Who will Honky defend against? Hmmmmmmm….?
Bad News Brown vs Ken Patera- Terrible match as Patera was nearing the end of his run here. Brown with the win after his signature Ghetto Blaster.
Rick Rude vs Junkyard Dog- JYD is another guy who was nearing the end of his WWF run as he would leave shorty after this. Another bad match here but at least both guys personalities shined through. As Rude goes to the top rope he pulls his tights down to reveal Cheryl Roberts face which in turn bring out Jake Roberts for the DQ finish. This whole match was about continuing their feud so JYD was just ''there''.
Powers of Pain vs The Bolsheviks-POP is new to the WWF here as they came in right before this event. Their manager for a brief time was The Baron who didn't last long as he was gone by the Fall. Basic power team match that pretty much just showcased POP as the babyfaces. Barbarian with the dive off the top on Boris Zhukov for the win.
We get a Brother Love segment with Hacksaw Jim Duggan as his guest. Just filler here but I always thought Love was a great heel character so I didn't mind these segments. This was done to set up the feud with Duggan and Dino Bravo which would get started in the Fall. Duggan chases him off with his 2x4 to end it.
Honky Tonk Man vs  ? for the WWF IC Title- The challenger is...The Ultimate Warrior!!! Huge pop from the Garden crowd here as he comes in and squashes Honky in like 25 seconds to become champ. No rating for this match obviously but just a big moment in company history as Warrior was now on his way to the top. It was great storytelling as well as the fans were clamoring for somebody to beat Honky for the belt for over a year so when it happened it was HUGE. Great feel good moment here.
Dino Bravo vs Don Muraco- Rematch from WM 4! Muraco is another guy who would be gone not long after this. Nothing to write about here as the match was just over 5 minutes and bad. Bravo with the win the side suplex after Frenchy Martin distracts Muraco with his ''USA is not ok'' sign.
Demolition vs The Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Titles- Jimmy Hart is in the corner of Demo here as The Harts just turned face few months before this. Very good tag match between these two but it would be topped just two years later(I'll get to that one soon enough). Gotta bring up Bret's selling here as he legit made you feel he was getting the crap kicked out of em. Demo retain after Jimmy Hart hands Ax his megaphone who in turn nails Bret with it. This would be just the beginning between these two classic teams.
Big Boss Man vs Koko B. Ware- Boss Man is new to the company here as he came in during June. This was pretty much an extended squash but I enjoyed it. Koko actually had some good offense with his high flying but in the end the Boss Man slam ends it.
Jake''The Snake'' Roberts vs Hercules- Bobby Heenan wasn't in the corner of Hercules which foreshadows Hercs face turn not long after this. I don't often rate Hercules matches high but this one is actually decent. Jake with the win after hitting a great looking DDT. Not bad here at all.
Mega Powers vs Mega Bucks with Jesse Ventura as Ref- Big finale here of a feud that has roots since the beginning of 1987 in the case of Hulk/Andre. Savage/Dibiase have been feuding since WM 4 so here we are at the climax of both feuds. Fun match overall with Ventura playing the heel to a tee as he often catered to the heels here. Big moment of the match comes when Elizabeth goes on the apron and takes off her skirt to unveil a red bikini bottom to the shock of everybody. It was really shocking to see Liz do this as she was always usually quite at ringside so to see this moment especially during these days was indeed something. The distraction leads to a Mega Powers win after Dibiase gets both a Flying Elbow Drop and a Leg Drop. Ventura was hesitant on the 3 count but savage made sure the fall happened. Overall fun main event and a nice way to close the door on Hogan/Andre in the WWF.
Final Thoughts- There is a lot of bad on here with only some of the matches being good. With that said this is a must see for old school fans and fans who wanna get into old school as you had a solid opener,big Warrior moment, Good Tag Title match and a very fun main event. Plus on top of it all it's the 1st SSlam ever. That in itself earns this event a passing grade. I also wanna give props to the announce team of Gorilla and Graham. They blended well and were a joy to listen to all show. Verdict-Recommended
Next time on the Classic Reviews we'll head back to the Meadowlands for SSlam 89!!
Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2018 10:07:49 GMT -5
The bad matches were kept short so that's good. What was good about this show was REALLY good though lol. You once said there was nothing better than 80s tag team wrestling, would you say Hart Foundation vs Demolition was the epitome of that? Even the main event of this show?
Don't know if you know this, but Bruce Prichard said in one of his podcasts that originally the Brother Love show was going to have Ric Flair as a guest on this show. When Flair decided to stay in JCP, the second choice was a lady who slept with that guy Jim Baker(who the Brother Love character was based off of), that also fell through so they had Jim Duggan do it since he had nothing to do on that show.
88 was a great show, but 89 was much better so I'm looking forward to that review.
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Post by The Brain on Aug 5, 2018 11:10:13 GMT -5
The bad matches were kept short so that's good. What was good about this show was REALLY good though lol. You once said there was nothing better than 80s tag team wrestling, would you say Hart Foundation vs Demolition was the epitome of that? Even the main event of this show? Don't know if you know this, but Bruce Prichard said in one of his podcasts that originally the Brother Love show was going to have Ric Flair as a guest on this show. When Flair decided to stay in JCP, the second choice was a lady who slept with that guy Jim Baker(who the Brother Love character was based off of), that also fell through so they had Jim Duggan do it since he had nothing to do on that show. 88 was a great show, but 89 was much better so I'm looking forward to that review. Absolutely. The next SSlam I review has one of my favorite PPV openers of all time. The tag division especially during the late 80s was gold for both WWF and NWA.
I do recall they wanted Flair to be apart of the show but those plans fell through like you said. Imagine the crowd if they got that lady on there. The MSG crowd would've destroyed the segment.
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TheEvilDoink1987
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 22, 2010 21:37:52 GMT -5
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Aug 5, 2018 20:01:00 GMT -5
I attended that show. Summerslam 1997. I was 10 years old and it was my first PPV. Kind of a special event for me and my brother as it was the last event we attended with our parents who passed away a few months later. I'll never forget that moment when Mick Foley lept off that cage into the muggy NJ air. That was my Snuka/Muraco moment. Very sorry to hear that about your parents.
It's crazy to think at the time people were like Mankind jumping off the cage was awesome and insane but little did we know what was in store just 10 months later.
Much appreciate the kind words from you and some others. I never look back at that event with a bittersweet mindset. It was such a thrill to finally be at a BIG show finally. My brother actually came over last year for the 20th anniversary and we watched the whole show. We're still a bunch of wrestling nerds. 🤣 |
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Post by The Brain on Aug 5, 2018 20:26:56 GMT -5
Very sorry to hear that about your parents.
It's crazy to think at the time people were like Mankind jumping off the cage was awesome and insane but little did we know what was in store just 10 months later.
Much appreciate the kind words from you and some others. I never look back at that event with a bittersweet mindset. It was such a thrill to finally be at a BIG show finally. My brother actually came over last year for the 20th anniversary and we watched the whole show. We're still a bunch of wrestling nerds. 🤣 Aren't we all?  |
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robbutler01
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 10, 2013 15:10:27 GMT -5
Posts: 1,282
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Post by robbutler01 on Aug 6, 2018 7:12:41 GMT -5
great review of a great event. Like you said 89 is one of the best and that tag team opener is one of my favourite matches ever - textbook match and should be studied by teams now.
cant imagine how it would have been if flair had arrived back then - would have been a massive mark out moment
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Post by The Brain on Aug 8, 2018 10:34:08 GMT -5
Coming soon... 
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Post by The Brain on Aug 9, 2018 19:37:58 GMT -5
SSlam 89 review coming tomorrow Humanoids. Watch out for it.
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Post by The Brain on Aug 10, 2018 11:29:56 GMT -5
SummerSlam 1989 
Your hosts-Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura
Brain Busters vs Hart Foundation- Quite possibly my favorite opener in company history right here. Just classic tag wrestling between two of the best teams ever in my book. The Busters were the champs here but this was non title.Busters with the win after Anvil slams Bret onto Tully but Arn comes off the top onto with Bret with an ax handle to get the win. If you're a fan of classic tag wrestling like me definitely check this one out.
Honky Tonky Man vs Dusty Rhodes- Bad match here that went too long to boot. Dusty would return to the WWF after many years during this Summer. Honky on the other hand has done nothing of note since losing the IC belt a year prior. The Dream with the win after Jimmy Hart accidently hits Honky with his guitar allowing Dusty to hit the bionic elbow. Gettin' funky like a monkey if you weeelllll!!!!
Mr. Perfect vs Red Rooster- Short match here as Rooster injured his knee early on in the match. Shame as these two were more than capable of having a great match. Perfectplex ends this one.
Rockers/Tito Santana vs Rogeaus/Rick Martel- This was two separate feuds here so with that we got a 6 man tag. Another great tag match here as they ran with the old school formula with the heels in control majority of the match until the big comeback from the babyfaces. The heels with the win after Martel nails Jannetty from behind the refs back allowing Jacques to get the fall. Solid 15 minutes match here with a HOT crowd.
Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude for the WWF IC Title- Big finale of a feud that started at the Rumble of this year. Jesse Ventura was gold here on commentary here as the classic heel as he rips into Warrior for using the belt on Rude on the outside. He's right he should've been DQed!! Rude again carried Warrior to a great match as you could tell Warrior felt comfortable out there. Warrior wins the belt after Roddy Piper comes out and moons Rude allowing Warrior to capitalize with a suplex and splash. This would kickstart the classic Rude/Piper feud that would dominate the Fall of this year. Warrior on the other hand continues his rise to the top which would culminate the following Spring. Great match here again but these two would still cross paths a year later.
We are at intermission now as we get interviews Mr.Perfect,Piper,Ronnie Garvin plus a hype video on the main event.
Twin Towers/Andre the Giant vs Demolition/King Duggan-Nowhere near the other two tag matches but still a fun little match. It was shame to see Andre in this condition here as for the remainder of his wrestling career he would mostly be in tag matches. The babyfaces with the win after Duggan hits Akeem with his 2x4 allowing Smash the pin.
Greg Valentine vs Hercules- Ronnie Garvin was the guest ring announcer here as during this time he was feuding with Valentine. Bad match here as all this did was continue their feud. Herc was all non factor. Valentine tried his best to make it watchable but to no avail. Valentine originally wins by putting his feet on the rope but Garvin somehow has the power to reverse the decision so Herc wins by DQ.
Ted Dibiase vs Jimmy Snuka-Pure filler match before we get to the main event. Both brawl on the floor with Snuka being posted which gets Dibiase the win by countout. Virgil gets a Superfly splash for his troubles post match.
Randy Savage/Zeus vs Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake-Sherri was in the corner of the heels while Liz was in the corner of the babyfaces. Of the 4 tag matches on this night this was definitely the worst and that's largely because of Zeus who had no business in the ring. Liz here actually gets physically involved as she gets into with Sherri allowing Hulk to nail Zeus with a purse then tops it off with the legdrop the win. These two teams would have a better match inside the cage a few months later but this one was one pretty bad. Typical posing ends the show.
Final Thoughts-Even though there is some bad stuff on here, The good really outweighs it.In all honesty this event gets a passing grade on the opening tag match alone. It's that damn good. I really loved this time period of the WWF so in turn this event gets an easy Recommendation.
Next time on the classic reviews we'll head to the Philly Spectrum for SSlam 90!!
Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2018 15:39:52 GMT -5
There was definitely more good than bad on summerslam 89. I actually enjoyed the stuff with Garvn instigating Valentine. The Dusty promo was funny- "Ama kick yo bootaaaay haha". I'm glad you didn't think the 6 man tag with Demolition was bad. It wasn't 5 stars, but a fun little match. The other 6 man match was great. The opener was awesome like you said. Why was it non-title? I enjoyed the main event, shame you didn't.
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Post by The Brain on Aug 10, 2018 17:34:14 GMT -5
There was definitely more good than bad on summerslam 89. I actually enjoyed the stuff with Garvn instigating Valentine. The Dusty promo was funny- "Ama kick yo booooootay haha". I'm glad you didn't think the 6 man tag with Demolition was bad. It wasn't 5 stars, but a fun little match. The other 6 man match was great. The opener was awesome like you said. Why was it non-title? I enjoyed the main event, shame you didn't. The kayfabe reason they gave for the tag belts not on the line was ''the match was all signed and sealed before The Busters won em''. Gorilla had a good line on PTW prior to this saying something along the lines of ''reason the belts ain't on the line is cause Heenan doesn't wanna lose both the tag and IC belts in one night''.
The main event was watchable but Zeus brought it wayyyyyyy down to the point where I had to go in the negative zone with it. The other guys really tried though I'll give em that.
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