WWE SummerSlam 90'
Philadelphia, PA - August 1990
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Champion was the Ultimate Warrior, the Intercontinental Champion was Mr. Perfect, and the WWE Tag Team Champions were Demolition.
Backstage, Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan cut a promo about "The Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich, whose challenging him for the Intercontinental Championship. After Von Erich gets his own mic time, the match begins and we get 5 minutes of Curt Hennig doing what he did best, bumping and selling and making his opponent look fantastic. The backstage story going into this match was that it was originally meant to be Beefcake/Perfect with Brother Brutus winning the IC Title but Beefcake smashed his face in a parasailing accident and so Von Erich was inserted at the last minute. Vince went ahead with the title change too, ostensibly to give the Tornado a big W to establish him is a capital-S Superstar before putting the belt back onto Hennig a few months later. Perfect's performance (and post match interview) nudges this into average range, but there's really not much to it. (2.5/5)
Sensational Sherri comes out for her scheduled match against Sapphire but Sapphire doesn't show up. Backstage, Dusty Rhodes is searching for her.
Tito Santana vs. Warlord follows, a match that feels completely out of place on a PPV because neither of these guys were very over. I know that Bruce Pritchard has confirmed that there was some discussion about Santana getting a World Championship run around 92'-93' (with Bret Hart ultimately getting put into that spot instead), but I find it hard to believe Vince would've ever pushed Santana to that level when he was being used to put over guys like The Warlord, his former tag partner The Barbarian, and, at the start of 91', The Mountie. He got a decent push again when he became "El Matador," but it still seems far-fetched that they would've given him a World Championship run even if the plan was to use Santana to breaken open the market in Mexico/Central America. Anyway, very forgettable match designed to put over The Warlord. (1/5)
Next we have the World Tag Team Championships on the line as Demolition defends against The Hart Foundation. Some people really like Demolition and I thought the Demolition/Hart Foundation from SummerSlam 88' was good, but this match shows how much weaker Crush was than Ax and that, from a booking perspective, its a bit of a sloppy mess. For example, Demolition get the first pinfall rather cleanly and after just 6 minutes of action which makes the Harts weak. I'd have preferred to see some trickery from the champs or even some sort of submission loss that could be explained away as Bret having to submit in order to be able to compete in the next fall. Speaking of the next fall, the Hart Foundation wins it via DQ after Crush breaks up a post Hart Attack cover. I can understand wanting to protect Demolition by not having them suffer two pinfalls, but considering how the third fall ends, I think the Hart Foundation needed a clean win somewhere in this match, rather than a nitpicky technical violation (that rarely ever gets called for a DQ). The match closes out with Ax finally getting involved, switching out with Smash even though Ax and Smash wear completely different makeup, have different haircuts, and their bodies don't look alike at all. If Demolition had been using "Twin Magic" (or whatever you want to call it) for years, the ref being fooled by Ax and Smash swapping places would've made sense, but because they never did, its just another lame twist in a match full of questionable ideas. The Legion of Doom show up and basically steal the Hart Foundation's thunder by helping them win. (2.5/5)
Jake Roberts vs. Bad News Brown is next with the Big Bossman as the guest referee. Having such a pure babyface as the referee would seem a bit weird in 2021 when guest referees are usually in some sort of conflicted position, but back then, a babyface guest referee was meant to represent fairness and not necessarily that they'd hand the win over to the good guy. They don't get much time but that's not a bad thing because I've never seen Roberts as a particularly great in-ring competitor and Brown always struck me as a guy that was also better in shorter matches. Still, even with less than 5 minutes of ring time, they tell a compelling story built around Roberts trying to hit the DDT and Brown doing everything he can to avoid it until he finally grabs a chair and gets DQ'd. Its an unsatisfying ending that I'm guessing was designed to keep both guys looking strong, especially considering that Warrior needed strong heels to beat. (1.5/5)
Brother Love interviews Sgt. Slaughter next. Slaughter had only recently returned to the WWE as a heel. He cuts a promo about how weak America is and it gets a good amount of heat.
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff vs. The Orient Express follows and goes, thankfully, under 5 minutes. The crowd is into it because Jim Duggan was always over with live audiences but this is not a good or interesting match in any way. (0.5/5)
Dusty Rhodes vs. "The Macho King" Randy Savage is the next match, but before it even begins, we get a huge angle as Rhodes' manager Sapphire is revealed to be the latest "purchase" of Ted DiBiase. The Rhodes/DiBiase feud was only really just heating up at this point and eventually led to the Virgil babyface turn, which is one of my all-time favorite storylines. With DiBiase/Rhodes being the focus of so much of this show, it really makes Savage feel like a side character in his own match. Speaking of the match, it only goes 2 minutes because Rhodes is so distraught over what has happened to Sapphire. This whole segment is more angle than match and the angle is great, so it works for me, even if it is hard to "rate." I'll just call it average and move on...(2.5/5)
Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake is next. This was Hogan's big return match after getting his ribs injured by Earthquake (kayfabe) in May. I'm an unapologetic fan of Earthquake and I was a Hulkamaniac as a kid, but I didn't start watching WWE pay-per-views live until the end of 1990. Anyway, Hogan and Earthquake get a ton of time and its interesting to theorize whether that was because Warrior and Rude couldn't go longer (Warrior wasn't known for his stamina) or because Hogan wanted to upstage the World Championship match by basically dominating the screen and exhausting the audience by wrestling a near-15 minute match and then doing his posedown for an additional few minutes. This match was all about Hogan making Earthquake look like the biggest monster possible and his struggles to take him down - so, basically, like the Andre matches from years before. What makes things slightly more interesting is that Earthquake actually had a decent arsenal of offense; at one point, Quake busts out a boston crab and an impressive power slam. What also makes this match stand apart is the finish, which sees Hogan and Quake's "back-up" (Big Bossman and Dino Bravo respectively) getting involved, the match collapsing into a wild brawl on the outside that includes one of the earliest table spots in WWE history (if I'm not mistaken). Unfortunately, the table doesn't break under Earthquake's weight (somehow), but its still an interesting and surprising moment to see in the context of 1990. Despite not winning the match (as Piper notes on commentary), Hogan and Bossman celebrate the Hulkster's return and the crowd gets their posedown. I wouldn't consider this an all-time great Hogan match - mostly because, despite the formulaic nature of many of his matches, Hogan's actually had some absolutely awesome matches in his day - but it's an above-average one. (3/5)
Main event time - "Ravishing" Rick Rude challenging The Ultimate Warrior for his WWE World Championship. For some reason, on Peacock/Network, Rude's music is dubbed over. Rude cuts his usual pre-match promo before Warrior comes running down the aisle. Warrior is definitely over and Rude does his usual expert bumping and selling for him, getting launched repeatedly into the cage walls. Warrior goes for a splash but Rude dodges and Warrior is in trouble now. Rude tries to escape but has to deliver some more punishment before he's able to get the victory. He sends Warrior into the cage wall a couple times, all the while selling the damage. Rude attempts the Rude Awakening, but the Warrior uses his strength to fight out and hit a clothesline. Warrior goes for his patented splash, but Rude gets his knees up! Rude hits the Rude Awakening and it looks like he may the W, but instead of going for the cover, Rude goes to the top of the cage and hits a flying fist drop onto a standing Warrior. Its a very impressive move, especially in 1990. Rude attempts another one, but this time, Warrior catches him with a fist to the gut. Warrior goes crawling for the door, but Heenan slams the door shut on him. Rude makes the cover, but Warrior kicks out at 2. We get a not-so-hot collision spot that leaves both men on the mat. Rude tries to crawl out but Warrior grabs him by the ankles and then by the back of his tights (to reveal his bare ass, which gets a huge reaction). Warrior pulls Heenan into the cage and rocks him with a right hand and then an atomic drop that sends him back out of the cage. Great bump by the Weasel. Warrior does his version of Hulking Up, but Rude catches him with a clothesline. Warrior starts shaking the ropes and feels no pain as Rude tries to work him over. Warrior hits a series of clotheslines and then a huge guerilla press slam. Warrior climbs to the top of the cage and then drops out in a rather anti-climactic finish. I wonder if Rude resisted taking another pinfall loss to the Warrior. A more riveting, definitive finish would've made me happier, but I'm going to just come out and say that I liked much more about this match than I hated. Sure, there's some illogical moments, but Rick Rude puts in a great performance and there are some very fun spots and moments. The match doesn't overstay its welcome at all either. (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of just 2.17-out-of-5, one would think that this show is a tough watch, but the variety offered by this show makes it better than its score would indicate. The actual wrestling on the show isn't too great, but Hogan/Earthquake and Warrior/Rude both deliver what they need to and the opener tells a great story too (and actually makes Power & Glory look like a team that was on the rise). Santana/Warlord and the Duggan & Volkoff tag match aren't PPV worthy, but I like the way the Dusty Rhodes/DiBiase storyline plays out over the course of the night and, with spirited promos from Hogan, Warrior, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage sprinkled across the broadcast, there are enough little moments on the show to keep one engaged (especially fans of this era). While not a single match could be called "must see," as an overall show, there's certainly stuff worth cherry-picking.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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