Post by DiBiase is Good on Oct 14, 2007 22:01:05 GMT -5
Yes, I'm back again with another one of my long wanky "thoughts" thread which is a cunning disguise for a review.
Here's the build-up...
I loved these times when there was no PPV between Wrestlemania and SummerSlam. It let feuds really build up and become something you actually could care about.
We had Mr. Perfect winning the Intercontinental title in an 8 man tournament (which sadly I can remember every match-up and how it finished). His main challenger was Brutus Beefcake (who Perfect had helped to eliminate earlier in the tournament) and considering Brutus could claim to have pinned Hennig cleanly at WM6, this match was set up nicely. The Hart Foundation were in the midst of their feud with Demolition who had recently added Crush to their number and had quietly turned into heels. Hulk Hogan returned after being put out by Earthquake, who had been pretty much unstoppable. Rick Rude was the Ultimate Warriors main challenger (and could also claim to having a win in the past against his SummerSlam opponent) and it was to be a Cage match. There was a rather dull feud between Jake the Snake and Bad News Brown, a new tag-team on the scene in the form of Power and Glory and we were FINALLY gonna get the blow-off match between Tito Santana and Rick Martel. This was looking like a good card.
And then, tragedy struck when Brutus was shelved in a real life accident. Mr. Perfect needed an opponent for SummerSlam, step forward WWF newcomer Kerry Von Erich.
And unfortunately, Martel had a "Modelling show" in Europe so the Warlord would fight Tito instead. (I never have found out the real reason why the Tito/Martel match got canned and it still pisses me off to this day that we never got a big match between these two).
One more thing I need to mention before I finally get to the event. If you ever get a chance to see the edition of Saturday night's Main Event from just before SummerSlam, then I strongly urge you to watch it. You get a preview of Rude/Warrior, a great tag match between Demolition and the Rockers and an absolute classic between Tito and Mr. Perfect, which is seriously one of my Top 10 favourite matches ever.
Our commentators for the night are Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper. I remember being shocked at the time because there was no Jesse Ventura around. Of course, this was around the time when we didn't know every single departure or arrival in the WWF, so I had no idea that Jesse had left.
Up first we have the Rockers vs Power and Glory. For the record, I always loved Herc and Roma and was disappointed when they became nothing more than jobbers after a push at the end of 1990. Shawn appears to have a knee injury and never actually manages to get in the match after he gets jumped at the start. Marty guts it out on his own, but the double-teaming of Herc and Jerk finally gets the better of him when Power and Glory hit their BEAUTIFUL finisher. Janetty gets pinned by Paul Roma with a boot on the chest. After the match Shawn Michaels gets beat up some more. Gotta love Piper calling the Rockers "Mick Jagger and David Bowie".
Now it's time for the IC Title match. Now I realise that Von Erich had some legendary matches in the 1980's, but considering coverage of wrestling in the UK at this time was very limited I hadn't seen much of his stuff and therefore never really liked much of his stuff in the WWF. Perfect sells like crazy here flipping and flying all over the place. It's not that good a match and Tornado takes the title with his spinning punch.
We are treated to some backstage stuff about Sapphire going missing. Someone had been showering Sapphire with gifts in the weeks leading up to SummerSlam, very expensive gifts. Who in the WWF had a lot of money to throw around? Could it possibly be a man who was one of the top heels in the company and wasn't booked in a match at SummerSlam? We'll find out later.
Anyhoo, it's on to Sapphire vs Sherri. Sapphire's music plays twice, but there is no Sapphire. Oh hang on, here she comes... Although she appears to have changed her skin colour and sex. Yes, it's (as me and my friends used to call him) "that random WWF Official with the wild white hair who appeared at every event ever". Sapphire has 30 seconds to appear, she doesn't and Sherri wins with a forfeit. We get some more backstage stuff where Dusty is worried and Hacksaw Jim Duggan says that he hasn't found her and is still looking for her. Yes, Dusty had Hacksaw Jim Duggan looking for Sapphire.
Now we get the Warlord vs Tito. And I'm still pissed that we didn't get the match with Martel. This is your standard Tito vs Heel match from 89-91 in which he gets in some nice offense every now and again but always comes up short. Warlord takes it with his running powerslam (which was his finisher at the time).
Oh well. Here comes the Harts/Demolition match. At the time I was a major Hart Foundation mark and was praying they would leave with the belts. The stipulations are that only 2 members of Demolition are allowed at ringside at any time and the match is 2 out of 3 falls. Smash and Crush are the ones who will defend. The Harts come out wearing the coolest Pink and Black Jackets ever. Demolition take the first fall with the Decapitation. The Harts gain a fall when Crush manhandles the ref. Ax has snuck up to the ring and is hiding underneath it. The ref doesn't notice when Ax starts fighting (yeah, right!). LOD come down to the ring to even up the score (kind of) and the Harts get the titles back when Bret schoolboys Crush. A great match and a great ending.
This leads us onto Jake vs Bad News. Bad News is going to counter Damian by bringing Harlem sewer Rats to ringside. Although they never actually make an appearance. The Big Bossman is the guest ref for this one and it's dull as dishwater. Jake eventually gets the win with a DQ. This was Bad News' last PPV in the WWF and holds the distinction of never being pinned or made to submit in any of his PPV Matches.
Yay. It's the Orient Express vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff. After we get Duggan and Volkoff singing God Bless America (cue a line I still use today "Sounds like dinner was late at the Dog pound") it's a fun match with Hacksaw hitting a huge clothesline on Tanaka for the win.
Savage vs Dusty is up next. Sapphire is still nowhere to be found so Duthty goes to the ring on his own. But what's this? It's The Million Dollar Man boasting that it was him who bought Sapphire all those gifts. WOW! Never saw that one coming. Dusty loses his manager and the match in quick succession. Yes, a feud that bad been going since January is over and done with in about 4 minutes with a loaded purse shot.
Oh well. Here we go with Hogan and Earthquake. It's your typical Hogan vs Big man match with several bodyslam attempts coming up short for the Hulkster. Although, something for the ladies as Earl Hebner gets part of his shirt ripped off. Earthquake hits the vertical splash and of course, Hogan pops up and then goes through his usual. He eventually gets the win via countout, leaving the feud to continue. Hogan slams Quake on the table at ringside (the table that was only there for the Sewer rats, but by some miracle is still there) but it doesn't break. Bossman smashes a chair into Earthquake's back 3 times and you can immediately see the marks. Ouch!
Oh goody. It's Lord Alfred Hayes telling us that the people setting up the cage for the final match are trying to break their record. Let's go backstage for a Warrior interview...
Warrior: What do the Liberty bell and Bobby Heenan have in common? One is cracked, the other is a ding-dong.
Please god, let us hear more nonsenical crap from Lord Alfred rather than this Warrior interview.
Rude's music hits and he does his usual "What I'd like to have right now" bit. Although I remember being surprised by him calling the crowd "Pennsylvania Pissants".
The match starts and it's not very good. Piper makes mention of the huge shoelace of snot hanging from Warrior's nose. Thanks Hot Rod! Eventually the Warrior retains after climbing out the cage.
And so ends another show from what I consider the golden era of the WWF. (Summer 1989-Summer 1992). I may have been sarcastic on a few occasions, but I love this show.
If you have managed to actually read this all the way to the end, then Kudos.
Here's the build-up...
I loved these times when there was no PPV between Wrestlemania and SummerSlam. It let feuds really build up and become something you actually could care about.
We had Mr. Perfect winning the Intercontinental title in an 8 man tournament (which sadly I can remember every match-up and how it finished). His main challenger was Brutus Beefcake (who Perfect had helped to eliminate earlier in the tournament) and considering Brutus could claim to have pinned Hennig cleanly at WM6, this match was set up nicely. The Hart Foundation were in the midst of their feud with Demolition who had recently added Crush to their number and had quietly turned into heels. Hulk Hogan returned after being put out by Earthquake, who had been pretty much unstoppable. Rick Rude was the Ultimate Warriors main challenger (and could also claim to having a win in the past against his SummerSlam opponent) and it was to be a Cage match. There was a rather dull feud between Jake the Snake and Bad News Brown, a new tag-team on the scene in the form of Power and Glory and we were FINALLY gonna get the blow-off match between Tito Santana and Rick Martel. This was looking like a good card.
And then, tragedy struck when Brutus was shelved in a real life accident. Mr. Perfect needed an opponent for SummerSlam, step forward WWF newcomer Kerry Von Erich.
And unfortunately, Martel had a "Modelling show" in Europe so the Warlord would fight Tito instead. (I never have found out the real reason why the Tito/Martel match got canned and it still pisses me off to this day that we never got a big match between these two).
One more thing I need to mention before I finally get to the event. If you ever get a chance to see the edition of Saturday night's Main Event from just before SummerSlam, then I strongly urge you to watch it. You get a preview of Rude/Warrior, a great tag match between Demolition and the Rockers and an absolute classic between Tito and Mr. Perfect, which is seriously one of my Top 10 favourite matches ever.
Our commentators for the night are Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper. I remember being shocked at the time because there was no Jesse Ventura around. Of course, this was around the time when we didn't know every single departure or arrival in the WWF, so I had no idea that Jesse had left.
Up first we have the Rockers vs Power and Glory. For the record, I always loved Herc and Roma and was disappointed when they became nothing more than jobbers after a push at the end of 1990. Shawn appears to have a knee injury and never actually manages to get in the match after he gets jumped at the start. Marty guts it out on his own, but the double-teaming of Herc and Jerk finally gets the better of him when Power and Glory hit their BEAUTIFUL finisher. Janetty gets pinned by Paul Roma with a boot on the chest. After the match Shawn Michaels gets beat up some more. Gotta love Piper calling the Rockers "Mick Jagger and David Bowie".
Now it's time for the IC Title match. Now I realise that Von Erich had some legendary matches in the 1980's, but considering coverage of wrestling in the UK at this time was very limited I hadn't seen much of his stuff and therefore never really liked much of his stuff in the WWF. Perfect sells like crazy here flipping and flying all over the place. It's not that good a match and Tornado takes the title with his spinning punch.
We are treated to some backstage stuff about Sapphire going missing. Someone had been showering Sapphire with gifts in the weeks leading up to SummerSlam, very expensive gifts. Who in the WWF had a lot of money to throw around? Could it possibly be a man who was one of the top heels in the company and wasn't booked in a match at SummerSlam? We'll find out later.
Anyhoo, it's on to Sapphire vs Sherri. Sapphire's music plays twice, but there is no Sapphire. Oh hang on, here she comes... Although she appears to have changed her skin colour and sex. Yes, it's (as me and my friends used to call him) "that random WWF Official with the wild white hair who appeared at every event ever". Sapphire has 30 seconds to appear, she doesn't and Sherri wins with a forfeit. We get some more backstage stuff where Dusty is worried and Hacksaw Jim Duggan says that he hasn't found her and is still looking for her. Yes, Dusty had Hacksaw Jim Duggan looking for Sapphire.
Now we get the Warlord vs Tito. And I'm still pissed that we didn't get the match with Martel. This is your standard Tito vs Heel match from 89-91 in which he gets in some nice offense every now and again but always comes up short. Warlord takes it with his running powerslam (which was his finisher at the time).
Oh well. Here comes the Harts/Demolition match. At the time I was a major Hart Foundation mark and was praying they would leave with the belts. The stipulations are that only 2 members of Demolition are allowed at ringside at any time and the match is 2 out of 3 falls. Smash and Crush are the ones who will defend. The Harts come out wearing the coolest Pink and Black Jackets ever. Demolition take the first fall with the Decapitation. The Harts gain a fall when Crush manhandles the ref. Ax has snuck up to the ring and is hiding underneath it. The ref doesn't notice when Ax starts fighting (yeah, right!). LOD come down to the ring to even up the score (kind of) and the Harts get the titles back when Bret schoolboys Crush. A great match and a great ending.
This leads us onto Jake vs Bad News. Bad News is going to counter Damian by bringing Harlem sewer Rats to ringside. Although they never actually make an appearance. The Big Bossman is the guest ref for this one and it's dull as dishwater. Jake eventually gets the win with a DQ. This was Bad News' last PPV in the WWF and holds the distinction of never being pinned or made to submit in any of his PPV Matches.
Yay. It's the Orient Express vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff. After we get Duggan and Volkoff singing God Bless America (cue a line I still use today "Sounds like dinner was late at the Dog pound") it's a fun match with Hacksaw hitting a huge clothesline on Tanaka for the win.
Savage vs Dusty is up next. Sapphire is still nowhere to be found so Duthty goes to the ring on his own. But what's this? It's The Million Dollar Man boasting that it was him who bought Sapphire all those gifts. WOW! Never saw that one coming. Dusty loses his manager and the match in quick succession. Yes, a feud that bad been going since January is over and done with in about 4 minutes with a loaded purse shot.
Oh well. Here we go with Hogan and Earthquake. It's your typical Hogan vs Big man match with several bodyslam attempts coming up short for the Hulkster. Although, something for the ladies as Earl Hebner gets part of his shirt ripped off. Earthquake hits the vertical splash and of course, Hogan pops up and then goes through his usual. He eventually gets the win via countout, leaving the feud to continue. Hogan slams Quake on the table at ringside (the table that was only there for the Sewer rats, but by some miracle is still there) but it doesn't break. Bossman smashes a chair into Earthquake's back 3 times and you can immediately see the marks. Ouch!
Oh goody. It's Lord Alfred Hayes telling us that the people setting up the cage for the final match are trying to break their record. Let's go backstage for a Warrior interview...
Warrior: What do the Liberty bell and Bobby Heenan have in common? One is cracked, the other is a ding-dong.
Please god, let us hear more nonsenical crap from Lord Alfred rather than this Warrior interview.
Rude's music hits and he does his usual "What I'd like to have right now" bit. Although I remember being surprised by him calling the crowd "Pennsylvania Pissants".
The match starts and it's not very good. Piper makes mention of the huge shoelace of snot hanging from Warrior's nose. Thanks Hot Rod! Eventually the Warrior retains after climbing out the cage.
And so ends another show from what I consider the golden era of the WWF. (Summer 1989-Summer 1992). I may have been sarcastic on a few occasions, but I love this show.
If you have managed to actually read this all the way to the end, then Kudos.
