Legacy Review
SummerSlam '88
August 29, 1988 from Madison Square GardenCommentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Superstar Billy Graham. Graham is just plain awful. How awful? Think Booker T's worst night on commentary. Then think worse than that.
The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers go to a 20:00 time limit draw- The Rougeaus had just turned heel and didn't have Jimmy Hart or, sadly, All American Boys yet. The do have the mini American flags and make sure Fink announces that they're "soon to relocate" to the US. DBS takes it to Jacques. After a bit of beating he dumps him in his own corner and lets him tag. The Rougeaus hug to regain HP. Raymond gets a cheap shot in on a rope break. DBS reverses a monkey flip and gets a deep armdrag. Jacques tries to start a USA chant while he's on the apron. The crowd surprisingly is having none of it. DBS and Raymond do a nice sunset flip/O'Connor Roll counter. The dog handler outside has his hands full keeping Matilda sitting on her platform. Jacques trips DBS from the outside to turn the tide. The heels work DBS's leg for a while. DBS uses a monkey flip to get time to get to the corner and tag. Dynamite cleans house. DBS hits the powerslam but Jacques runs in to break up the pin. Dynamite gets up on the second rope to give Raymond the 10 punches, but Jacques runs in and side suplexes him off. Dynamite goes face in peril. The Rougeaus work the ref to double team and swap without tags. Dynamite gets a small package but the ref misses it. They work the "ref doesn't see the tag" spot, but Dynamite quickly gets the real hot tag. DBS gorilla presses Jacques and crotches him on the top rope. All four guys are in. The Bulldogs hit their finisher, but the ref is trying to get Jacques out of the ring and the bell rings for the time limit. This was textbook tag team wrestling. They kept the pace slow enough to last the 20 minutes, but fast enough so it never got boring. The booking of the draw is a bit of a puzzler but I guess they didn't want either team to take a loss. It's the best Summerlam opener until the next year's opener, when the Harts and Brain Busters tore it up. ***1/2
Gorilla says they have breaking news- Beefcake is out of the IC title match later. They roll footage of Ron Bass attacking him on Superstars the week prior. Bass chokes him out with his whip then grabs his spur and rakes it across Beefcake's forehead, cutting him open. It's pretty grisly, and out of WWF's comfort zone for this era. To punch that point home, once the spur rakes start there's a giant red X with the word CENSORED put on the screen over the footage. It's not like no one's ever bled in wrestling before. Monsoon says that even though Beefcake is out there will be an IC title match with the "#1 contender".
Bad News Brown def Ken Patera in 6:33- Patera's pretty past it at this point, but he's got one of the more interesting bios in wrestling. The son of Czech immigrants, Patera was a decorated weightlifter, competing in the 1972 Olympics and winning a gold in the Pan American Games. He also finished 3rd in a World's Strongest Man competition. He transitioned to pro wrestling in the early '70s, winning numerous regional titles, including the NWA Mid-Atlantic title, and worked most of his career as a heel. He was also a former WWF Intercontinental champion. Also, he once gave a promo so bad that Mean Gene almost lost it during. It's interesting that Brown got prominent matches and title shots on house shows, but was always midcard fodder on PPVs. Brown jumps Patera as he's getting in the ring. Patera counters with a clothesline and gets his jacket off. Brown dodges an elbow. Patera actually sells pretty good, but is boring and uninteresting on offense. Bear hug! Brown eye rakes out of it. Patera goes for a full nelson but Brown gets in the ropes. There's an ugly whip spot that looks like a miscommunication. Going the other direction Patera posts his shoulder. Brown hits the Ghetto Blaster to win. Brown looked really good but didn't have much to work with. 3/4*
Mega Powers promo. They say that Elizabeth is their secret weapon tonight. Foreshadowing!
"Ravishing" Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) def The Junkyard Dog by DQ in 6:18-Rude has JYD on his tights. Rude jumps him as he's getting in. JYD counters with a backdrop and gets the crawling headbutts (thankfully without Gorilla talking about being on all fours is his favorite position this time). Rude powders and confers with Heenan. JYD drags him back in by the hair but Rude dodges a headbutt. Double ax handle off the top. Graham says Heenan looks "pasty and unhealthy". Man, wonder what he thought of Paul Bearer. Long chinlock spots. Rude somehow crotches himself on JYD's arm. More headbutts. Heenan distracts JYD and Rude gets a knee in the back. He goes up top for the fist drop, but as he's up there pulls his tights down and reveals a second set of tights with Cheryl Roberts, Jake's wife, on them! Roberts immediately runs in and pummels Rude. The ref calls for the bell and Rude wins by DQ. 1/2*
Honky Tonk promo. He issues an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. Okerlund tries to spill the beans on who's been selected to face him but Honky wants it to be a surprise.
The Powers of Pain (w/The Baron) def The Bolsheviks (w/Slick) in 5:27- The Baron is Baron von Rashke in a very short lived managerial stint in WWF. He's in a Sith Lord robe and has most of his face covered (I will make it legal), and he's got face paint on in a style similar to Warrior. This is the POP's WWF PPV debut shortly after leaving NWA/Crockett. Word was they didn't want to work scaffold matches, which were all the rage for tag teams down there at the time. They get a decent pop. Yet another match where the heels jump the faces before the bell. It's pure chaos for a while. The POP double team with no tags. The heels confer outside, and there's a reset with Barbarian and Zhukov in. Lots of power moves and unorganized run ins. The heels choke Warlord with the tag rope and he goes FIP. Baron and Slick face off outside. Slick is brandishing his cane. He should know Palpatine has a lightsaber hidden away somewhere. Hot tag. Double flying tackle. Powerslam and headbutt of the top and we're done. The opening match was 20 minutes that felt like 10. This was 5 minutes that felt like 30. *
Brother Love Show time, with guest Hacksaw Jim Duggan. They argue for a while until Duggan threatens to stick the 2x4 up Love's ass. A nothing segment and a waste of PPV time. More on this later.
Honky Tonk comes out for his title defense. Fink goes to announce the opponent but doesn't know who it is either. Honky grabs the mic and says "Get me someone out here for me to wrestle, I don't care who it is". Be careful what you ask for.....
WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Ultimate Warrior def The Honky Tonk Man (c) (w/Jimmy Hart) in :31- Warrior's music hits and here he comes! Fink and Jimmy Hart bail. Honky never got his entrance gear off. Flying shoulderblock. Clothesline. Big splash. Warrior squash. New champ! Honky's record IC title run of 454 days where he probably used about 454 different tricks out of the heel playbook to keep the title finally comes to a merciful end. An iconic moment. NR
Intermission time, which once again is mostly missing from the WWE Network copy. Heenan charges into commentary with an update on both teams in the main event. Andre is reading the Wall Street Journal. DiBiase has four briefcases of money out and is counting while Virgil looks on. Hogan and Savage have barricaded themselves in their locker room and are screaming and begging to be left alone. Monsoon and Graham are dubious.
Dino Bravo (w/Frenchy Martin) def "The Rock" Don Muraco in 5:28- Heenan stays on commentary! Yes! Sadly it's just for this match. He's jawing like crazy with Graham. This is a rematch of a first round match in the Wrestlemania 4 title tournament, which was not good but better than I expected. Paint by numbers start. Bravo goes out to confer with Frenchy. When he gets back in Muraco takes over again. He gets about 6 armdrags that range from slightly deep to kiddie pool shallow. The last one was pathetic. That was kind of like watching a truncated version of Scott Steiner hitting about 47 belly to belly suplexes against Triple H at the 2003 Royal Rumble. Muraco picks Bravo up to slam him but Bravo's feet his the ref. Bravo uses the distraction to switch into his
Sean Mooney (pants optional) is in the back with Ventura. Ventura admits to taking the money that DiBiase put in his jacket on the Brother Love Show a couple of weeks before. "I'm no fool". Well, can't argue that he's not disclosing his campaign contributions properly. Hell of a slogan for a Libertarian candidate though. "I'll take your money, I'm no fool"
WWF Tag Team Championship: Demolition (w/Mr. Fuji and Jimmy Hart) def The Hart Foundation in 10:49- The Harts had just completed the slow face turn that Bret started at Wrestlemania 4 and dumped Hart as their manager. Hart is with out with Fuji to give away the playbook, so to speak. Bret and Smash start. Smash gets a quick advantage but Bret turns it around and the Harts work quick tags. Graham loves Anvil. Ax gets his boot up as Anvil's running the ropes and hits him in the back of the head. Anvil counters a backdrop and manages to get the tag. Bret gets thrown though Fuji's cane that was hung in the corner, hurting his shoulder. Why does Fuji keep leaving them there? It must be such a hassle having to buy new canes all the time. While Bret is face in peril Anvil chases Hart up the entrance ramp and out. The Demos tie Bret's arm in the ropes and work the shoulder. Bret gets thrown out and for some reason everyone lets him rest. Back in, Bret runs the ropes at 150 MPH and gets a clothesline. Hot tag! Anvil dropkick! The Demos go outside. Bret slingshots Anvil over the top rope on a dive onto them outside! You didn't see that every day in 1988. An Anvil powerslam only gets 2. The crowd really bit on that one. Donnybrook! Anvil gives Fuji a shot. While the ref is distracted Hart runs back out, gives Ax the megaphone, and Ax whacks Bret with it. Smash drapes an arm over for the 3. It was a bit pedestrian to start, but from the Anvil hot tag on it got pretty good. These two teams would have a better title match at Summerslam '90, the only bright spot on an otherwise dreary show. **3/4
Mean Gene is in the heel locker room. Honky is having a grade A hissy fit.
The Big Boss Man (w/Slick) def Koko B Ware in 5:57- This is Boss Man's WWF PPV debut. He had been wrestling for Bill Watts' UWF (the former Mid-South), and when UWF was bought out by Crockett it was expected internally in Crockett that we would go back with them, since that's where he got his start. He surprised everyone by jumping to Vince instead. It's early on for the gimmick, and he's wearing a real metal badge and has keys hung off his belt. Monsoon and Graham vehemently protest him being able to wear those while wrestling through the match. Slick distracts Ware and Boss Man ambushes him from behind. Ware fights back and gets a dropkick. Boss Man gets tied up in the ropes Andre style. Ware hits a Stingerish splash on him before he gets out. During that sequence the badge came off his shirt. Boss Man hits his own Stinger Splash in the corner! He got a whole 3 inches off the ground there. A few years after this he'd have been able to get good height on that. Boss Man nails Ware with a clothesline, but pulls him up on the pin attempt, refusing to take the win yet. He goes up top for a splash. Ware dodges but Boss Man doesn't sell missing. Ware goes up top and gets a very nice missile dropkick. A big splash only gets 2. Ware runs the ropes, but Boss Man catches him with the Boss Man slam to finish it off. Glorified squash. Yet another TV loss for Hall of Famer Koko B Ware. 1/2*
Mooney is in the face looker room with the new Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior. "I was sitting in Parts Unknown waiting for the next spaceship to the higher planes when the lightning bolts came down from the sky and the Warriors spoke and they said make it to the Garden!" Sure, who hasn't gotten a phone call like that from time to time?
Jake "The Snake" Roberts def Hercules in 10:06- Where's Heenan? Commentary wonders if he got lost getting back down from the booth earlier. Herc wants Damien gone. It's a ruse! Herc ambushes Roberts while he's moving Damien. The usual early DDT tease. Herc tries to side suplex out of a headlock but Roberts hangs on to it. Herc ends up needing a rope break for a headlock. Good thing this isn't under ROH Pure rules, that would have been a waste of a rope break. But it does let Herc get the advantage. Long chinlock spots follow. Herc drapes Roberts over the top, but Roberts manages to leverage him over and out. Herc grabs Roberts' head and clotheslines him over the top rope as he's getting back in. Roberts counters out of another chinlock and starts working his signature short punches and clothesline. Herc backdrops out of a DDT attempt. Herc counters a high knee. Monsoon gets the external occipital protuberance in, which sends Graham into a laughing fit. Roberts counters a bodyslam attempt into a DDT outta nowhere to get the win. Meh. Surprised Rude didn't show up. *1/4
The Mega Powers (w/Elizabeth) def The Mega Bucks (w/Virgil and Bobby Heenan) in 14:43-This is the final act of the long feud that started with Hogan/Andre a year and a half ago and grew to intersect and include all four guys. Ventura was appointed the guest ref by President Tunney as the only one that could keep order. The heels loved it because they knew they could buy Ventura off. Ventura makes a big show of instructions then makes everyone wait while he changes the corners the tag ropes are in. Finally we're off. Savage talks Hogan into starting but turns around into Andre. Andre pummels him into the heel corner, but Savage squeaks away when DiBiase tags in. DiBiase wants Hogan. Hogan atomic drops him into the face corner and he and Savage play whack a mole with him. Ventura chases Heenan and Virgil off the apron while the faces work quick tags on DiBiase. Savage gets on Ventura for not so much a slow count, but not starting his count in a timely manner. Hogan gets too close to the heel corner and Andre reaches out and headbutts him. Andre comes in and works Hogan over, including locking in the Nerve Pinch of Enlarged Fingers +4. While Ventura is distracted Andre switches to the hidden choke with his singlet strap. That was by far the best move in heel Andre's arsenal. It's pure sneaky style (copyright Rocky Romero). DiBiase comes in and hooks in a long chinlock that commentary keeps complaining is a choke and Ventura is an idiot or paid off for not seeing it. I don't see it, looks proper to me. Hogan gets out and they both run the ropes into a double clothesline. Hot tag to Savage. DiBiase does an A+ sell of Savage's draping top rope clothesline. DiBiase dodges a charge in the corner. Really good back and forth sequence, but it's killed when Andre tags in. Andre literally sits on Savage in the corner. DiBiase, like always, misses the fallaway reverse elbow off the second rope, allowing Savage to get hot tag 2 to Hogan. Hogan is in Hulk Up mode and takes Andre down with one clothesline. While Hogan has a sleeper on DiBiase Savage goes for the elbow on Andre, but Andre gets a boot up. Andre headbutt to Hogan, and both faces are outside on the floor recovering. Elizabeth gets on the apron. Heenan and Virgil get on the apron to demand Elizabeth get off the apron. Elizabeth pulls of her skirt and unleashes the secret weapon hinted at in the promo: her panties! Everyone is shocked. Hogan and Savage use the distraction to jump the heels from behind. Andre is taken out. They hit a Savage flying elbow/Hogan legdrop combo on DiBiase. Ventura counts two but can't bring himself to bring his hand down for three. Savage helps him and it's over. Not too shabby. Savage and DiBiase were on form. ***
A final note before signing off. Word on the street is that Vince was in heavy pursuit of Ric Flair to jump over in time for this show, possibly fueled by the fact that Crockett was about to go under and would soon be bought out by Ted Turner to start WCW proper. I've heard two different versions: that there was to be a Flair/Savage WWF title match, or that the Brother Love segment would have been a full on Four Horsemen debut, possibly with Heenan managing. Arn and Tully were already signed to come over, but Flair wanted to stay loyal to Crockett and the NWA and stayed put. How history would have been different. It would have been incredible if it had come together, but at the same time we would have lost the Flair/Steamboat '89 trilogy as well as much of the rest of the WCW '89 greatness that was booked by Flair. The main event was also an important signpost on the road of the Hogan/Savage friends to enemies story, and Flair's '91-'92 WWF run when he did come over was still great. So I say all's well that ends well.
OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS: Much like the first Wrestlemania, this is as much a glorified MSG house show as a "proper" PPV. The opener, tag title match and main event are worth checking out and the IC title change is an all time great moment, but most of the rest is pretty bleak. Graham is so bad on commentary I really think it takes away from the show as well.
OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C-
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