.gif)
SummerSlam (1988)
Encyclopedia
SummerSlam was the first annual SummerSlam
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden
, located in New York, New York
. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival promotion World Championship Wrestling
(formerly Jim Crockett Promotions
). It was one of the first four annual pay-per-view events produced by the WWF, along with WrestleMania
, the Royal Rumble
, and Survivor Series
. Reviews for the event were mixed.
Ten professional wrestling matches, performances
with pre-determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real, were featured. The main match of the preliminary bouts was the WWF Intercontinental Championship
match between The Ultimate Warrior
and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man
. The Ultimate Warrior won the match in approximately thirty seconds to end the longest Intercontinental Championship reign. The main event was a match pitting The Mega Powers
(Hulk Hogan
and Randy Savage
) against their long-time rivals, The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase
and André the Giant
). Hogan and Savage won the match after Miss Elizabeth
, Savage's wife and manager
, distracted the special guest referee, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, by removing her skirt to reveal a bikini bottom.
's World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s main competition in the professional wrestling industry was from Jim Crockett Promotions
. McMahon countered Jim Crockett
's successful Starrcade
pay-per-view, which began airing in 1983, by creating the WrestleMania
franchise. After WrestleMania III
in March 1987, the most successful professional wrestling pay-per-view event in history, McMahon created the Survivor Series
franchise, which aired the same day as Starrcade '87
in November 1987. After defeating Crockett in the ratings war, McMahon created the Royal Rumble
, an event airing for free on the USA Network
in January 1988. The event set a ratings record for the network with eight million households tuning in to watch the event. In retaliation, Crockett created the Clash of the Champions
event, which aired simultaneously with WrestleMania IV
. WrestleMania IV garnered higher ratings, and not long after, Crockett filed for bankruptcy and sold his company to Ted Turner
, who renamed it World Championship Wrestling
(WCW).
As the WWF continued to replace its closed circuit programming with pay-per-view programming, McMahon added more pay-per-views to the lineup to capitalize on the success of his previous events. In addition to WrestleMania in March, the Royal Rumble in January, and Survivor Series in November, McMahon created an event for August, which he named SummerSlam. To keep the WWF from having a pay-per-view market monopoly, Turner began airing monthly WCW pay-per-views. As a result, both companies brought in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. SummerSlam became one of World Wrestling Federation (and later World Wrestling Entertainment)'s most successful events and one of the "Big Four" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble. Those four events, along with King of the Ring
, are known as the "Classic Five".
, a villainous character, had been the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWF history. He was originally supposed to defend his championship against Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
, but Beefcake was unable to compete as a result of a (storyline
) injury received from "Outlaw" Ron Bass
the week before. The Honky Tonk Man, left without a challenger, announced not to care whom he opposed. The Ultimate Warrior
, the recognized number one contender to the Intercontinental Championship, accepted his challenge for SummerSlam. Also prior to the event, Demolition
(Ax
and Smash
) held the WWF World Tag Team Championship, which they had won at WrestleMania IV
after only a year in the WWF, and would defend their titles at SummerSlam against former champions The Hart Foundation
(Bret Hart
and Jim Neidhart
), who had become fan favorites
a few weeks earlier by turning on their manager Jimmy Hart
.
The on-screen feud
between Rick Rude and Jake Roberts
began weeks before SummerSlam. As part of his gimmick, Rude would—after winning a match—invite a pre-selected woman from the audience to kiss him in the ring. On one occasion, one of the women refused to comply, later identifying herself as Robert's wife, Cheryl. As the feud intensified, Rude began wearing a pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on them, prompting a furious Roberts to charge into the ring and strip the tights off Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave Rude naked, although the live audience saw him stripped to a g-string instead.
For months prior to the pay-per-view, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, two of the WWF's top crowd favorites, had feuded with André the Giant and Ted DiBiase, respectively. The two feuds first came together at WrestleMania IV
, when—as the result of the vacating of the WWF Heavweight Championship—a 16-man single-elimination tournament was set up to crown a new champion. Hogan and André had been disqualified in their quarterfinal match, while Savage and DiBiase reached the championship match; in that final match, Savage defeated DiBiase with help from Hogan. Savage and DiBiase feuded over the title throughout the spring and summer, but André did not become involved until mid-summer when he and DiBiase helped instigate a 2-on-1 attack against Savage as he was delivering a promo. Savage quickly recovered and challenged André and DiBiase to a tag-team matchup against him and a partner to be named. That partner later was revealed to be Hogan; the team became known as "The Mega Powers." The André-DiBiase team—which dubbed itself "The Mega Bucks" -- retaliated by announcing the guest referee would be someone they declared to be fair and neutral: Jesse "the Body" Ventura
, a color commentator on the WWF's syndicated and prime-time programs who favored the villains.
The event began with a match between The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith
and The Dynamite Kid
) and The Fabulous Rougeaus
(Jacques
and Raymond
). As soon as the bell rang to signify that the match had begun, Smith attacked Jacques. The two teams traded blows until The Rougeaus flipped the Dynamite Kid over their heads so that he fell on his back to the mat. Dynamite Kid escaped another offensive maneuver before tagging in his partner, Smith, and The British Bulldogs performed a double-team maneuver on Jacques. Despite having the upper hand, The Bulldogs failed to pin Jacques in time, and the match ended in a twenty-minute time draw. The next match was between Bad News Brown
and Ken Patera
. Before the bell rang, however, Brown attacked Patera, who retaliated by performing a clothesline from the corner. Brown then slipped both of his arms underneath Patera's armpits and locked his hands behind his neck, using a submission move known as a full nelson. At the end of the match, Brown defeated Patera by striking him in the back of the head with his finishing move, the Ghetto Blaster.
After the second match ended, Rick Rude and The Junkyard Dog
made their way to the ring. Their match began as Rude attacked Junkyard Dog from behind, who retaliated by headbutting Rude several times. Subsequently, Rude climbed to the wrestling ring
's top rope and pulled down his tights to reveal another pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl Roberts on them. As a result, Jake Roberts, Cheryl Roberts' husband, ran to the ring and attacked Rude, forcing the referee to disqualify Junkyard Dog. The next match was a tag team
match between the Powers of Pain
(The Barbarian
and The Warlord
), who were accompanied by their manager The Baron
, and The Bolsheviks
(Boris Zhukov
and Nikolai Volkoff
), who were accompanied by Slick
. Immediately, The Powers of Pain chased The Bolsheviks from the ring. Slick, however, distracted The Powers of Pain long enough to give The Bolsheviks an advantage. Zhukov was then slammed to the mat back-first and headbutted from the top rope, which allowed The Barbarian to pin him.
The fifth match of the event was an Intercontinental Championship match between The Ultimate Warrior and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man, who was accompanied by Jimmy Hart
. The Ultimate Warrior had the advantage from the beginning, attacking The Honky Tonk Man, who was still in his entrance attire. After press-slamming him to the mat, The Ultimate Warrior bounded to the ropes and landed stomach-first on The Honky Tonk Man using his signature move, the Warrior Splash. The Ultimate Warrior then pinned The Honky Tonk Man after only thirty seconds to win the title.
The following contest was a re-match from WrestleMania IV between Dino Bravo
and Don Muraco
. Muraco, the crowd favorite, was in control for most of the match until Bravo's manager Frenchy Martin
distracted Muraco, allowing Bravo to slam him to the mat from an elevated position and pin him for the win.
The seventh match of the night was for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Reigning champions Demolition (Ax and Smash), accompanied by both Mr. Fuji
and Jimmy Hart, were challenged by The Hart Foundation
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart). As soon as the bell sounded, The Hart Foundation attacked both members of Demolition. Their control was brief, as Demolition then gained the advantage over Neidhart. As Bret Hart was tagged into the match, Neidhart chased Jimmy Hart from ringside and returned to tag back into the match. When all four men began fighting inside the ring, Neidhart attacked Mr. Fuji, who was on the ring apron. At the end of the match, Bret Hart attempted a piledriver
, a move where the offensive wrestler turns his opponent upside down and drives his head into the mat, but Ax hit him with Jimmy Hart's trademark megaphone. Smash then pinned Bret Hart for the win.
The next match-up was between The Big Boss Man
, accompanied by Slick, and Koko B. Ware
. With Slick as a distraction, The Big Boss Man took the early advantage in the match. After crushing Ware in between himself and the turnbuckle, Boss Man refused to pin him and finish the match. Instead, he attempted to climb to the top rope and land on Ware stomach-first, but missed. Ware then retaliated by performing several dropkick
s and attempted a pin. Boss Man got his shoulder up to save himself from being pinned, and he slammed his opponent into the mat, allowing him to pin Ware for the win. The second to last match of the night was between Jake Roberts and Hercules
. When Roberts attempted to slam his opponent's head on to the mat with a DDT
, Hercules was able to escape the maneuver and take control of the match. As Hercules attempted to slam Roberts to the mat, Roberts reversed the move into a DDT, enabling him to pin Hercules for the win.
The last match of the night was the main event between The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage), accompanied by Miss Elizabeth, and The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant), accompanied by André's manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
and DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil
. Jesse Ventura
was the special guest referee. The Mega Powers took the early advantage over DiBiase. After Hogan attacked André the Giant, who was on the ring apron, The Mega Bucks were able to regain control. After a while, all four men began brawling, and André knocked The Mega Powers out of the ring. Subsequently, as part of the scripted ending to the match, Miss Elizabeth began arguing with Ventura, the referee, and ripped off her skirt to reveal her underwear. While Ventura was distracted, Savage climbed to the top rope and dropped the Macho Elbow on DiBiase, followed by Hogan hitting the leg drop on DiBiase. As Hogan pinned DiBiase, Ventura, a villainous character aligned with The Mega Bucks, began an obviously slow three-count. As a result, Savage slammed Ventura's arm down for the third time, indicating that Hogan and Savage had won the match.
in January 1989 by knocking him over the top rope and to the floor. On an episode of The Main Event
, the script called for Savage to gain revenge by attacking Hogan while Elizabeth was backstage receiving medical attention due to an on-screen injury. This rivalry culminated in a match for Savage's WWF Championship at WrestleMania V
, where Hogan won the title by pinning Savage.
As Intercontinental Champion, the Ultimate Warrior began receiving more on-air time and more prominent matches. His feud with the Honky Tonk Man continued for several months, until Warrior was placed in a new feud with "Ravishing" Rick Rude in early 1989.
After retaining their title against The Hart Foundation, Demolition held the WWF Tag Team Championship for another 11 months, as part of a record-breaking 16-month reign as champions, before eventually losing the title to The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard
and Arn Anderson
) on the July 18, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. During the midst of their title reign, despite being billed as villains, Demolition's popularity with fans continued to grow, and the tag team eventually was turned face (into good guys) at the 1988 Survivor Series
.
The original plan for SummerSlam was to bring Ric Flair
over from the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA) to the WWF. Vince McMahon
, the owner of the WWF, wanted Flair to challenge Savage in the main event for the WWF Championship. Flair, however, felt obligated to the NWA and did not leave the promotion for the WWF. Therefore, Hogan and Savage were paired together to end their feuds with their respective on-screen rivals.
In WWE.com's 2007 list of the top ten SummerSlam moments in history, The Ultimate Warrior's Intercontinental Championship title win was listed as number ten, while Miss Elizabeth's distraction during the main event was listed at number nine.
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in August by professional wrestling promotion WWE. The inaugural SummerSlam took place on August 29, 1988 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and was broadcast via pay-per-view, unlike the Royal Rumble of that...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
event. It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) and took place on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, located in New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival promotion World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(formerly Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
). It was one of the first four annual pay-per-view events produced by the WWF, along with WrestleMania
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
, the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
, and Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
. Reviews for the event were mixed.
Ten professional wrestling matches, performances
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
with pre-determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real, were featured. The main match of the preliminary bouts was the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
match between The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
. The Ultimate Warrior won the match in approximately thirty seconds to end the longest Intercontinental Championship reign. The main event was a match pitting The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet...
(Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
) against their long-time rivals, The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
and André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
). Hogan and Savage won the match after Miss Elizabeth
Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late...
, Savage's wife and manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
, distracted the special guest referee, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, by removing her skirt to reveal a bikini bottom.
Development
In the late 1980s, Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
's World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s main competition in the professional wrestling industry was from Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
. McMahon countered Jim Crockett
Jim Crockett
James Allen Crockett was a professional wrestling promoter sometimes known as Jim Crockett, Sr. or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim".-Early life:...
's successful Starrcade
Starrcade
Starrcade was an annual professional wrestling event held from 1983 to 2000 by the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling as their flagship event equal to WWE's WrestleMania , and featured the largest feuds of the promotion...
pay-per-view, which began airing in 1983, by creating the WrestleMania
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
franchise. After WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
in March 1987, the most successful professional wrestling pay-per-view event in history, McMahon created the Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
franchise, which aired the same day as Starrcade '87
Starrcade (1987)
Starrcade '87 was the fifth annual Starrcade professional wrestling event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It took place on November 26, 1987 from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois...
in November 1987. After defeating Crockett in the ratings war, McMahon created the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
, an event airing for free on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
in January 1988. The event set a ratings record for the network with eight million households tuning in to watch the event. In retaliation, Crockett created the Clash of the Champions
Clash of the Champions
The Clash of the Champions were a series of professional wrestling television specials aired by World Championship Wrestling. The specials were supercards intended to feature pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to World Wrestling Federation's Saturday Night's Main Event.The first Clash of the...
event, which aired simultaneously with WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
. WrestleMania IV garnered higher ratings, and not long after, Crockett filed for bankruptcy and sold his company to Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
, who renamed it World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW).
As the WWF continued to replace its closed circuit programming with pay-per-view programming, McMahon added more pay-per-views to the lineup to capitalize on the success of his previous events. In addition to WrestleMania in March, the Royal Rumble in January, and Survivor Series in November, McMahon created an event for August, which he named SummerSlam. To keep the WWF from having a pay-per-view market monopoly, Turner began airing monthly WCW pay-per-views. As a result, both companies brought in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. SummerSlam became one of World Wrestling Federation (and later World Wrestling Entertainment)'s most successful events and one of the "Big Four" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble. Those four events, along with King of the Ring
King of the Ring
King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
, are known as the "Classic Five".
Background
Prior to SummerSlam, The Honky Tonk ManThe Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
, a villainous character, had been the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWF history. He was originally supposed to defend his championship against Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Edward Leslie
Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend...
, but Beefcake was unable to compete as a result of a (storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
) injury received from "Outlaw" Ron Bass
Ronald Herd
Ronald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:...
the week before. The Honky Tonk Man, left without a challenger, announced not to care whom he opposed. The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
, the recognized number one contender to the Intercontinental Championship, accepted his challenge for SummerSlam. Also prior to the event, Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
(Ax
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...
and Smash
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
) held the WWF World Tag Team Championship, which they had won at WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
after only a year in the WWF, and would defend their titles at SummerSlam against former champions The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
(Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
and Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
), who had become fan favorites
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
a few weeks earlier by turning on their manager Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
.
The on-screen feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
between Rick Rude and Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
began weeks before SummerSlam. As part of his gimmick, Rude would—after winning a match—invite a pre-selected woman from the audience to kiss him in the ring. On one occasion, one of the women refused to comply, later identifying herself as Robert's wife, Cheryl. As the feud intensified, Rude began wearing a pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on them, prompting a furious Roberts to charge into the ring and strip the tights off Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave Rude naked, although the live audience saw him stripped to a g-string instead.
For months prior to the pay-per-view, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, two of the WWF's top crowd favorites, had feuded with André the Giant and Ted DiBiase, respectively. The two feuds first came together at WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
, when—as the result of the vacating of the WWF Heavweight Championship—a 16-man single-elimination tournament was set up to crown a new champion. Hogan and André had been disqualified in their quarterfinal match, while Savage and DiBiase reached the championship match; in that final match, Savage defeated DiBiase with help from Hogan. Savage and DiBiase feuded over the title throughout the spring and summer, but André did not become involved until mid-summer when he and DiBiase helped instigate a 2-on-1 attack against Savage as he was delivering a promo. Savage quickly recovered and challenged André and DiBiase to a tag-team matchup against him and a partner to be named. That partner later was revealed to be Hogan; the team became known as "The Mega Powers." The André-DiBiase team—which dubbed itself "The Mega Bucks" -- retaliated by announcing the guest referee would be someone they declared to be fair and neutral: Jesse "the Body" Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
, a color commentator on the WWF's syndicated and prime-time programs who favored the villains.
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | "Superstar" Billy Graham |
| Gorilla Monsoon Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker... |
|
| Interviewer | "Mean" Gene Okerlund Gene Okerlund Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan... |
| Sean Mooney Sean Mooney Sean Mooney is a former World Wrestling Federation play-by-play announcer. He was born and currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.-WWF career:Mooney debuted on the May 15, 1988 edition of WWF Wrestling Challenge, replacing announcer Craig DeGeorge.... |
|
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel Howard Finkel Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K... |
| Referee | Earl Hebner Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner... |
| Joey Marella Joey Marella Joey Marella was a professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and the son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon from Willingboro Township, New Jersey.... |
|
| Tim White Tim White (wrestling) Timothy Rhys White is a former professional wrestling referee. He worked with World Wrestling Entertainment as a producer on the SmackDown! brand... |
The event began with a match between The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
and The Dynamite Kid
Dynamite Kid
Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s...
) and The Fabulous Rougeaus
The Fabulous Rougeaus
The Fabulous Rougeaus was the professional wrestling tag team of real-life brothers, Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau, best known from their time in the World Wrestling Federation , from 1986 to 1990....
(Jacques
Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career...
and Raymond
Raymond Rougeau
Raymond "Ray" Rougeau is a former Canadian professional wrestler and French language television presenter and commentator.-Career:...
). As soon as the bell rang to signify that the match had begun, Smith attacked Jacques. The two teams traded blows until The Rougeaus flipped the Dynamite Kid over their heads so that he fell on his back to the mat. Dynamite Kid escaped another offensive maneuver before tagging in his partner, Smith, and The British Bulldogs performed a double-team maneuver on Jacques. Despite having the upper hand, The Bulldogs failed to pin Jacques in time, and the match ended in a twenty-minute time draw. The next match was between Bad News Brown
Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
and Ken Patera
Ken Patera
Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...
. Before the bell rang, however, Brown attacked Patera, who retaliated by performing a clothesline from the corner. Brown then slipped both of his arms underneath Patera's armpits and locked his hands behind his neck, using a submission move known as a full nelson. At the end of the match, Brown defeated Patera by striking him in the back of the head with his finishing move, the Ghetto Blaster.
After the second match ended, Rick Rude and The Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
made their way to the ring. Their match began as Rude attacked Junkyard Dog from behind, who retaliated by headbutting Rude several times. Subsequently, Rude climbed to the wrestling ring
Wrestling ring
A wrestling ring is the ring stage on which professional wrestlers wrestle.-Configuration and construction:The configuration and construction of the "traditional" ring is very similar to that of a boxing ring, though the wrestling version has three ring ropes...
's top rope and pulled down his tights to reveal another pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl Roberts on them. As a result, Jake Roberts, Cheryl Roberts' husband, ran to the ring and attacked Rude, forcing the referee to disqualify Junkyard Dog. The next match was a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match between the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
(The Barbarian
Sione Vailahi
Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...
and The Warlord
Terry Szopinski
Terry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett...
), who were accompanied by their manager The Baron
James Raschke
James Donald Raschke is a retired professional wrestler best known as Baron von Raschke.-Career:...
, and The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although...
(Boris Zhukov
Jim Barrell
James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
and Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
), who were accompanied by Slick
Ken Johnson (wrestling)
Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation...
. Immediately, The Powers of Pain chased The Bolsheviks from the ring. Slick, however, distracted The Powers of Pain long enough to give The Bolsheviks an advantage. Zhukov was then slammed to the mat back-first and headbutted from the top rope, which allowed The Barbarian to pin him.
The fifth match of the event was an Intercontinental Championship match between The Ultimate Warrior and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man, who was accompanied by Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
. The Ultimate Warrior had the advantage from the beginning, attacking The Honky Tonk Man, who was still in his entrance attire. After press-slamming him to the mat, The Ultimate Warrior bounded to the ropes and landed stomach-first on The Honky Tonk Man using his signature move, the Warrior Splash. The Ultimate Warrior then pinned The Honky Tonk Man after only thirty seconds to win the title.
The following contest was a re-match from WrestleMania IV between Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
and Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
. Muraco, the crowd favorite, was in control for most of the match until Bravo's manager Frenchy Martin
Jean Gagné
Jean Gagné is a Québécois retired professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, he was known for his trademark sign that read "USA is not OK"...
distracted Muraco, allowing Bravo to slam him to the mat from an elevated position and pin him for the win.
The seventh match of the night was for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Reigning champions Demolition (Ax and Smash), accompanied by both Mr. Fuji
Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
and Jimmy Hart, were challenged by The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart). As soon as the bell sounded, The Hart Foundation attacked both members of Demolition. Their control was brief, as Demolition then gained the advantage over Neidhart. As Bret Hart was tagged into the match, Neidhart chased Jimmy Hart from ringside and returned to tag back into the match. When all four men began fighting inside the ring, Neidhart attacked Mr. Fuji, who was on the ring apron. At the end of the match, Bret Hart attempted a piledriver
Piledriver (professional wrestling)
A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...
, a move where the offensive wrestler turns his opponent upside down and drives his head into the mat, but Ax hit him with Jimmy Hart's trademark megaphone. Smash then pinned Bret Hart for the win.
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
, accompanied by Slick, and Koko B. Ware
James Ware (wrestler)
James Ware , better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is a retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman...
. With Slick as a distraction, The Big Boss Man took the early advantage in the match. After crushing Ware in between himself and the turnbuckle, Boss Man refused to pin him and finish the match. Instead, he attempted to climb to the top rope and land on Ware stomach-first, but missed. Ware then retaliated by performing several dropkick
Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
s and attempted a pin. Boss Man got his shoulder up to save himself from being pinned, and he slammed his opponent into the mat, allowing him to pin Ware for the win. The second to last match of the night was between Jake Roberts and Hercules
Ray Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
. When Roberts attempted to slam his opponent's head on to the mat with a DDT
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
, Hercules was able to escape the maneuver and take control of the match. As Hercules attempted to slam Roberts to the mat, Roberts reversed the move into a DDT, enabling him to pin Hercules for the win.
The last match of the night was the main event between The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage), accompanied by Miss Elizabeth, and The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant), accompanied by André's manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
and DiBiase's bodyguard Virgil
Mike Jones (wrestler)
Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant...
. Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
was the special guest referee. The Mega Powers took the early advantage over DiBiase. After Hogan attacked André the Giant, who was on the ring apron, The Mega Bucks were able to regain control. After a while, all four men began brawling, and André knocked The Mega Powers out of the ring. Subsequently, as part of the scripted ending to the match, Miss Elizabeth began arguing with Ventura, the referee, and ripped off her skirt to reveal her underwear. While Ventura was distracted, Savage climbed to the top rope and dropped the Macho Elbow on DiBiase, followed by Hogan hitting the leg drop on DiBiase. As Hogan pinned DiBiase, Ventura, a villainous character aligned with The Mega Bucks, began an obviously slow three-count. As a result, Savage slammed Ventura's arm down for the third time, indicating that Hogan and Savage had won the match.
Aftermath
The Mega Powers continued to team together after the event, until a new storyline was developed where Randy Savage became jealous over Hulk Hogan paying attention to Miss Elizabeth, and as WWF Heavyweight Champion felt slighted over his perceived lower billing in the Mega Powers' pecking order. Several key events were developed to foreshadow their burgeoning feud. These included Hogan asking Elizabeth to accompany him to televised matches, where he would act overly friendly with her; and accidentally eliminating Savage from the Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble (1989)
Royal Rumble was the second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , and the first one to be held on pay-per-view. It took place on January 15, 1989 at The Summit in Houston, Texas....
in January 1989 by knocking him over the top rope and to the floor. On an episode of The Main Event
WWF The Main Event
The Main Event was a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was a spin-off of the show WWF Saturday Night's Main Event and occasionally aired on NBC on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final...
, the script called for Savage to gain revenge by attacking Hogan while Elizabeth was backstage receiving medical attention due to an on-screen injury. This rivalry culminated in a match for Savage's WWF Championship at WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
, where Hogan won the title by pinning Savage.
As Intercontinental Champion, the Ultimate Warrior began receiving more on-air time and more prominent matches. His feud with the Honky Tonk Man continued for several months, until Warrior was placed in a new feud with "Ravishing" Rick Rude in early 1989.
After retaining their title against The Hart Foundation, Demolition held the WWF Tag Team Championship for another 11 months, as part of a record-breaking 16-month reign as champions, before eventually losing the title to The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
and Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
) on the July 18, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. During the midst of their title reign, despite being billed as villains, Demolition's popularity with fans continued to grow, and the tag team eventually was turned face (into good guys) at the 1988 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1988)
Survivor Series was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
.
Production and reception
The event was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and took place on August 29, 1988 in New York City's Madison Square Garden. The pay-per-view had a 4.5 buyrate, which means that 4.5% of pay-per-view subscribers ordered the event.The original plan for SummerSlam was to bring Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
over from the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) to the WWF. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
, the owner of the WWF, wanted Flair to challenge Savage in the main event for the WWF Championship. Flair, however, felt obligated to the NWA and did not leave the promotion for the WWF. Therefore, Hogan and Savage were paired together to end their feuds with their respective on-screen rivals.
In WWE.com's 2007 list of the top ten SummerSlam moments in history, The Ultimate Warrior's Intercontinental Championship title win was listed as number ten, while Miss Elizabeth's distraction during the main event was listed at number nine.
Results
| # | Result | Stipulation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling... and The Dynamite Kid Dynamite Kid Thomas Wilton Billington , best known by the ring name Dynamite Kid, is a retired British professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid- to late-1980s... ) and The Fabulous Rougeaus The Fabulous Rougeaus The Fabulous Rougeaus was the professional wrestling tag team of real-life brothers, Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau, best known from their time in the World Wrestling Federation , from 1986 to 1990.... (Jacques Jacques Rougeau Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career... and Raymond Raymond Rougeau Raymond "Ray" Rougeau is a former Canadian professional wrestler and French language television presenter and commentator.-Career:... ) wrestled to a time limit draw. |
Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
20:00 |
| 2 | Bad News Brown Allen Coage Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division... defeated Ken Patera Ken Patera Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter... . |
Singles match | 06:33 |
| 3 | Rick Rude defeated Junkyard Dog Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog... by disqualification. |
Singles match | 06:18 |
| 4 | The Powers of Pain Powers of Pain The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:... (The Barbarian Sione Vailahi Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers... and The Warlord Terry Szopinski Terry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett... ) (with The Baron James Raschke James Donald Raschke is a retired professional wrestler best known as Baron von Raschke.-Career:... ) defeated The Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although... (Boris Zhukov Jim Barrell James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:... and Nikolai Volkoff Nikolai Volkoff Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation... ) (with Slick Ken Johnson (wrestling) Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation... ). |
Tag team match | 05:27 |
| 5 | The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (wrestler) Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior... defeated The Honky Tonk Man The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee... (c) (with Jimmy Hart Jimmy Hart James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional... ). |
Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand... |
00:31 |
| 6 | Dino Bravo Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:... (with Frenchy Martin Jean Gagné Jean Gagné is a Québécois retired professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, he was known for his trademark sign that read "USA is not OK"... ) defeated Don Muraco Don Muraco Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler... . |
Singles match | 05:28 |
| 7 | Demolition Demolition (professional wrestling) Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign... (Ax Bill Eadie Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar... and Smash Barry Darsow Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully... ) (c) (with Mr. Fuji Mr. Fuji Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers... and Jimmy Hart Jimmy Hart James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional... ) defeated The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada.... (Bret Hart Bret Hart Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College... and Jim Neidhart Jim Neidhart James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya... ). |
Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship | 09:49 |
| 8 | The Big Boss Man Ray Traylor Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in... (with Slick Ken Johnson (wrestling) Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation... ) defeated Koko B. Ware James Ware (wrestler) James Ware , better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is a retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman... . |
Singles match | 05:57 |
| 9 | Jake Roberts Jake Roberts Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith... defeated Hercules Ray Fernandez Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules... . |
Singles match | 10:06 |
| 10 | The Mega Powers The Mega Powers The Mega Powers were a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . The Mega Powers consisted of Hulk Hogan, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth as their valet... (Hulk Hogan Hulk Hogan Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... and Randy Savage Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a... ) (with Miss Elizabeth Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late... ) defeated The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career... and André the Giant André the Giant André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride... ) (with Bobby Heenan Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation... and Virgil Mike Jones (wrestler) Mike Jones is an American professional wrestler, who most recently performed for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Virgil, where he appeared on its Raw brand as Ted DiBiase, Jr.'s personal assistant... ). |
Tag team match with Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host... as the special guest referee |
13:57 |