A year after we go co main events with singles matches we are back to a tag match being the main event. However for the first time ever the co main event is a segment and not a match with the marriage of Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage. To offset that we have the match made in hell with the Triangle of Terror and Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior. We get a pretty cool video package to open this PPV detailing the main events. We have Gorilla Monsoon Roddy Piper and Bobby Heenan as announcers tonight. If you haven’t seen the other Summerslam RawViews go check them out on IWNerd.com and if you aren’t already follow my weekly Monday Night and Tuesday Night RawViews. Also let me not forget my weekly Re-Writing the Book series where I take a look back and re-write some of the biggest what ifs in wrestling history. We start this match with a big six man tag.
Ricky Steamboat/Texas Tornado/British Bulldog vs. Power and Glory/Warlord—That is quite the baby face star power to open Summerslam. Again I’m drawn to the British Bulldog as he looks like a big time star. This is a very fun match with each of the baby faces getting their time to shine against each heel. Steamboat gets into trouble against the bad guys managed by slick. British Bulldog gets the hot tag and hits the running powerslam before tagging Steamboat back in for a big crossbody finish.
Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect – I’m extremely excited about this match as I remember this being the gold standard as a kid and booking this match with my Hasbro action figures so many times. Two of the greatest technicians of all time going at it for the IC title both in their primes. Both Hart and Perfect show off some good traditional wrestling to build the match up. Hart looks especially good to begin this match and at one point takes a big shot into the steel barricade. Mr. Perfect obviously didn’t wet his hair down enough before the match as he has a full blown blonde afro midway through the match. The crowd is all firmly behind Hart in this match and Perfect does well slowly things down whenever Hart tries to pick things up. We get a great sequence for the finish as Hart gets the Sharpshooter locked in and Perfect taps out. Hart has finally captured singles gold.
Natural Disasters vs. Bushwackers – Before the match we get an interview with the Bushwackers and Andre the Giant. The Natural Disasters is everything I remember about early nineties wrestling. Andre comes out to the ring with a cane and the Bushwackers are out licking people’s head. Andre gets the crutch in to try and help the Bushwackers however the Natural Disasters are just too much and get the victory over the Bushwackers.
Ted Dibiase vs. Virgil – This has been a feud in the making for years. While it has been a great feud for the years as Bruce Prichard would say, then the bell rang. Although this has been a feud built for a long time and Sherri Martel getting thrown out of the match I still couldn’t get into this match. Virgil grabs the win and gets his retribution and the crowd goes wild when he does it.
The Mountie vs. Bossman – The loser has to spend a night in jail and adolescent me loves this kind of stuff. This match surprisingly got quite a bit of time and watching this match you really have to respect Bossman for his athletic ability with his size. These two guys are very good workers in some pretty silly nineties gimmicks. It looks like the Mountie will get the win however Bossman pulls it out and gets the victory. Mountie now has to spend a night in jail and Bossman drags Mountie to the apron and the cops come down to cuff him and take him to jail.
Nasty Boys vs. Legion of Doom – Yet another fantastic Summerslam Tag Title match and I’m completely excited to watch this match. The Nasty Boys and LOD are two tag teams synonymous with my childhood. The Legion of Doom hands down get the pop of the night to this point and the crowd is chanting for them during almost the entire match. Nasty Boys control most of the match with Hawk getting cut off from making the tag. However we know how this ends with the doomsday device finisher which is impressive on guys the size of the nasty boys. New tag team champions The Legion of Doom.
Irwin R Schyster vs. Greg Valentine – These two guys are in the doom spot of the PPV in between Hulk Hogan and the Legion of Doom. Greg Valentine goes for the figure four and IRS reverses it and calls for the figure four again then doesn’t go for it. Then yet again calls for it and IRS rolls him up for the finish. Good it’s over now where’s my Hogan brother?
Triangle of Terror vs. Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior – We get a promo with Warrior and Hogan backstage before the match and we have Sid as the special referee. Sid looks like a million dollars and leaps onto the apron like it’s nothing. He looks like a million dollars and a mega star. I know they did Sid vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania and it wasn’t the most popular opinion as they should have done Flair vs. Hogan but they have guys like Sid that look like that to make Hogan look even better every year. Hogan and Warrior both take their turns being the face in peril and each get the hot tag spot. Hogan is the last to get that spot after Warrior hits a big clothesline on Slaughter. We get Hogan dropping the leg on Slaughter for the win and Warrior chasing off the others with a chair. Hogan and Sid posedown with Real American blaring in the background.
Match Made In Heaven – A segment is closing a major PPV and never did it deserve this spot more. Possibly the greatest story between a woman and a man in wrestling. The WWE does a fantastic video package chronicling the history of Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage. These two paved the road for future love angles in the business. Randy Savage is wearing a huge feather in his hat and Miss Elizabeth looks like a woman getting married in a church in the eighties. The wedding for the only time ever in the history of wrestling goes off without a hitch and the fans go home happy with Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth getting married in front of them.
Summerslam 1988 Review
Summerslam 1989 Review
Summerslam 1990 Review
A very cool moment in history happened at this event with Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage getting married in the main event. We got some good matches here and nothing was really BAD during this PPV. I’m still going to put Summerslam ’88 as the top Summerslam to date at this point. The match of the night is easily Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart for the IC title. I almost put Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth as the match of the night as it’s the most memorable thing from this PPV however I decided to actually choose a match. Tune in next time for Summerslam ’92, until then be awesome.