I'm a Bobby Heenan Guy's Official Classic Reviews Thread

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SummerSlam 1990

Your hosts-Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper

Rockers vs Power and Glory- This turns into a 2 on 1 handicap match as P&G attack the Rockers in the aisle which takes out Shawn from the match. At the time he was dealing with knee problems so this was their way of writing him out here. Not a bad match though as Marty got to showcase his talents in a decent way. P&G with the win after hitting their signature Powerplex(Superplex/Splash combo) Such an awesome move all these years later.

Mr. Perfect vs Texas Tornado for the WWF IC Title-Tornado is replacing Brutus Beefcake here as right before this event he was in a parasailing accident that smashed his face up pretty bad leading to him being out for a good few years. Short match here considering the talent. Tornado with the win after locking in the infamous claw then following up with the Tornado punch for the win and title. The pop here was insane which would be a theme on this night. The match itself is nothing to write home about but still a big moment.

Sapphire vs Sensational Sherri- Culmination of a feud that started at the Rumble. No match here as Sapphire no shows leading to Sherri winning by forfeit. More on this later.

Warlord vs Tito Santana- Warlord was in his new gimmick here with Slick as his manager. Bad match as all this served was putting Warlord over as Tito was pretty much jobber to the stars at this point.Warlord with the powerslam for the win.

Demolition vs Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Titles in a 2/3 falls match-Here we are humanoids. The match of the night IMO and a big reason why I love this particular SSlam. Going into this Demolition turned heel with Crush being added as the 3rd member so they were teasing which 2 of the 3 would be in the match. It turns out to be Smash/Crush and we're off. 1st fall goes to Demo as they hit their signature Decapitation finisher on Bret. 2nd fall goes to the Harts as they hit their signature Hart attack on Smash but Crush comes in causing the DQ. Harts win in the 3rd fall by pinning Crush after a shoulder block after LOD(who just came into the company right before this) come out and take out Smash and Ax(who was switching places in the match). Just awesome all around classic tag wrestling mixed in with great storytelling make this an all time classic. IMO it's one of the best Tag Title matches in SSlam history. I may go as far and say it may be the best. They damn sure don't make teams like this anymore. RIP Anvil. Thank you for giving us classic moments like this one through the years.

We're into intermission now as we get interviews with LOD,Demo,Sherri,Volkoff/Duggan,Earthquake,and Jake Roberts. I always found these enjoyable.

Jake Roberts vs Bad News Brown with Big Boss Man as ref- Decent outing here but this whole feud was pointless as it was really all about sewer rats which were teasing during the hype of this match but actually never showed. Brown is DQed after hitting Jake with a chair. Both Jake and Boss Man clear Brown from the ring post match in what would be BNB's last hurrah in the WWF as he would leave shortly after this.

Next up is a Brother Love segment with his guest being the newly brought back Sgt. Slaughter now as a heel Iraqi Sympathizer.Pure filler here that's purpose only served was introducing Sarge back to the scene.

Orient Express vs Jim Duggan/Nikolai Volkoff- Nikolai just turned face during this Summer so they paired him up with Duggan for a little bit here. Squash match with Duggan getting the win after hitting the running clothesline on Tanaka. Volkoff as a face never did anything for me. He would be gone by the end of the year.

Dusty Rhodes vs Macho King Randy Savage-Short match to end these two feud since the Rumble. Savage with the win after hitting Dusty with Sherri's purse. The post match stuff is the real purpose as Ted Dibiase comes out and introduces his new purchase in Sapphire in a shocker as nobody thought sweet little Sapphire would sell out. This would kickstart their feud that would last until The Rumble which in that span would include the debut of The Undertaker,Dustin Rhodes,and Virgil turning face.

Earthquake vs Hulk Hogan- We are at the big showdown of a feud that started during the Spring when Quake attacked and injured Hogan on The Brother Love Show. In reality Hogan took time off to film Suburban Commando(''I WAS FROZEN TODAY!!"") Tugboat was originally going to be in Hogan's corner but was kayfabe injured before this so Big Boss Man stepped in as his replacement. The story carried this one as the match itself was nothing special at all. Hogan bodyslams Quake through a table for the countout win to end this. The welts on Quake's back post match looked NASTY. This feud would continue until February of 91.

More intermission up next as they put up the cage for the main event. Warrior bringing up the Liberty Bell in his promo was actually something entertaining and fitting.

Ultimate Warrior vs Rick Rude for the WWF World Title in a Cage Match- I didn't mind this match considering it was only 10 minutes long.The problem here was in kayfabe Rude had many chances to leave the cage and win but didn't so in turn it made it more obvious who was winning. I gotta note Piper on commentary here showing some of his old heel side as he does rip into Warrior a few times during the match which added to it IMO. Gotta love heel Hot Rod. Warrior with the win after climbing out of the cage. These two had a wayyyyy better match a year earlier at this event but for what it was this match was at least watchable. Rude would be gone by the Fall as Warrior would head into his classic feud with Randy Savage.

Final Thoughts- I know there's a lot of bad on this show but this event brings back so much nostalgia for me so in turn makes it my favorite SSlam of all time.On top of it you had a very HOT Philly crowd majority of the show so that helps. Definitely check out the Tag Title match as it's an all time classic and more enough to give this event a Recommendation.

Next time on the classic reviews we'll head back to MSG for the match made in heaven....and hell with SSlam 91!!

Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids

Aug 14, 2018 14:56:49 GMT -5 @anthony18 said:

IMO the good outweighed the bad at SSlam 90. Tornado vs Perfect was criminally short, but it was good while it lasted. The tag title match was awesome. Hogan vs Quake wasn't too bad compared to other Hogan vs big guy matches. The story and build was excellent. Yeah Rude looked like a fool kayfabe wise for not winning when he had a chance. They should have pulled the trigger with Rude here. Warrior wasn't drawing as champ.

The two title changes really made this event stand out. I agree with the build to Hogan/Quake. I liked how they built up Quake like a monster.

I would've had Rude win the belt during SNME a month earlier then had the big cage match here where Warrior wins it back.The problem with Warrior's run on top was he didn't have a lot of top level heels to wrestle so that was a big factor with his main event run being a flop.

SummerSlam 1991

Your hosts-Gorilla Monsoon,Bobby Heenan and Roddy Piper

Power and Glory/Warlord vs British Bulldog/Texas Tornado/The Dragon-Energetic opener with a hot Garden crowd to kick us off. This would be the last hurrah for P&G as Paul Roma would be released in the Fall. Shame they never not a tag title run. On the face side The Dragon was on his last legs of his brief WWF comeback as he was gone in the Fall as well. Dragon with the signature Crossbody on Roma for the win. Good standard 6 man here.

Mr. Perfect vs Bret Hart for the WWF IC Title- Classic match here and one of the best in SSlam history. Bret was not long into his singles run when he challenged Perfect for the belt and he we are. Just all around great stuff between two masters. The bickering between Heenan and Piper really added to this match as well IMO. Bret with the win and belt when he taps out Perfect with his signature Sharpshooter. Great pop from the crowd on top of it. Any of you youngsters who wanna get into old school wrestling definitely check this one out. It still holds up 27 years later.

Natural Disasters vs Bushwhackers- Andre The Giant is in the corner here of the babyfaces here but on crutches as sadly his health was really going downhill here. Pretty much a squash match to promote The Disasters to the Tag Title scene. Disasters with the win after Luke gets flattened. After the match The Disasters try to attack Andre but LOD comes to his aid. There's your next big tag feud Humanoids.

We go backstage next with a  promo with Bobby Heenan holding up the classic Big Gold Belt to Hogan(he is not shown on screen) The Nature Boy cometh!!

Ted DiBiase vs Virgil for the $ Title- Big match in a feud that started at the Rumble this year. The match originally ends in DQ after Sherri hits Virgil with her purse but it's restarted after the ref sends her back to the locker room. Piper on commentary is going nuts rooting for Virgil as during this year he was his mentor in the feud. Virg rams DiBiase twice into an unprotected turnbuckle for the win and belt. The match itself is nothing special but the storytelling here is awesome plus you add in Piper going ape**** on commentary and you got yourself a fun little match here in that sense.

Big Boss Man vs Mountie in a  Jailhouse match-Loser gets to spend a night in a NY slammer. Just a standard match but I gotta say Boss Man hitting that Alabama Slam looked GREAT. That move ends the match as a matter of fact. After the match The Mountie is shown getting thrown into the paddy wagon in a classic bit. All throughout the rest of the night you would see him booked,pictured and get thrown into a cell. Good ending to a feud that started in The Spring.

Intermission time as we get interviews with DiBiase,Bret Hart, Boss Man,Disasters, Savage,Nasty Boys, LOD, Slaughter and co,and Sid Justice.

Nasty Boys vs LOD for the WWF Tag Titles in a street fight- Terrible match here with the street fight rule barely coming into play. LOD with the win after hitting the Doomsday Device on Saggs. Bad match aside here it's still a big moment in the legendary history of The LOD team. Shame their run with the belts was lackluster but still great moment here.

IRS vs Greg Valentine- Another bad match here as Valentine was way past his expiration date in terms of wrestling. The tax man with the win after a small package. Piper screaming IRWIN!! and singing some Sinatra was the only entertaining thing during this match.

We get a promo before the main event with Hogan/Warrior.

Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior vs Slaughter/Co. Mustafa/General Adnan with Sid Justice as ref- Bad main event here as the ending was never in doubt. The Iraqi War ended months before this so there was no point in keeping this feud going. Warrior chases off Mustafa and Adnan with a chair and with that would be gone until the following WM. Hogan gets the win after throwing powder in Sarge's eyes with a Leg Drop to finish him off. Both he and Sid to end it. Like I said bad match on a feud that was long past it's due date.

We end the night with the ''wedding'' of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth who in reality have been married since 1984. Bobby Heenan is gold on commentary here as at one point he calls the ring bearer a ''midget''. The whole thing goes without a hitch and then we are taking to the reception where things get interesting. Everybody is all smiles but those would soon be turned to terror as when they start opening the presents a snake pops out of one with then both Jake The Snake and Undertaker coming out to ruin the party so to speak. Taker hits Savage with the urn while Jake taunts Liz with the snake in a classic eerie bit. Sid comes in for the save to end the segment. Classic stuff here that would kickstart one of my favorite feuds ever in company history.  Jake as a heel was just gold. Here's the full reception segment in full Great way to end the show.

Final Thoughts- Very entertaining show here with the bad stuff not too much of a hinderance. You got a great opener,Classic IC Title match,LOD, Mountie jail skits, LOD winning WWF gold for 1st time and the shocking twist at the wedding reception. All in all a very good SSlam in my book that still holds up. Verdict-Recommended

Next time on the classic reviews we'll head into the dreaded Doomsday Cage with Uncensored 96!

Until next time...Stay Classic Humanoids.