Shining a Spotlight 08.26.10: SummerSlam '90

Posted by Michael Weyer on 08.26.2010

Looking back twenty years at a show that may not have aged as well as I thought but still showcases WWF at a time of flux.

Memory is often a funny thing. That's especially true for things we've remembered when we were in our formative years as kids. How many times have you caught an old TV show or song you loved when you were younger only to think "Man, that sucks?" It happens to all of us and for wrestling fans, that's especially true as the hindsight of time can alter our perceptions of shows of the past.

In some cases, it can be positive like how folks like to imagine the old territory days as utterly perfect. It can be negative as well, as your perceptions of shows/performers are changed given what would happen to them (Benoit a prime example). This is something that really stuck me when I prepared for this week, an anniversary column to what had been one of my favorite SummerSlam cards, 1990. I was looking forward to this as I remember how fun the show was when I grew up, filled with top stars and action. But as I rewatched it for the column, I realized that something was different. Maybe it's because I was so much more open as a kid but this card had lost some of the past luster in my mind. At the same time, however, it is interesting to look back on to see how different wrestling was and how the attempts to build a newer feel for WWF would fail to take off.
　

The Time

1990 looked to be a year of change across wrestling. The AWA, after so long a mainstay, was on its way down big-time with attendance falling drastically, Larry Zybsko doing no business as champion and the Team Challenge Series a mess so the promotion would cease operations by year's end. In the NWA, Ric Flair had dropped the title to Sting, looking to be a long-term youthful champion and Flair appeared to be heading down on the cards, the idea of him rising as champion once more seemingly impossible.

Over in the WWF, times appeared to be changing as well. After their showdown at the Royal Rumble, Hulk Hogan had dropped the WWF title to the Ultimate Warrior at their epic Wrestlemania match. Hogan then faded for a bit to do a movie, letting the Warrior take over the top spot. At first, this seemed good as the Warrior had massive charisma and was hugely over with the fans. However, it began to turn poor due to the Warrior himself. While Hogan could be larger than life, he still made himself relatable to the fans with his promos and manner. The Warrior, however, was just out there with his nearly incomprehensible interviews and short matches as it was clear he wasn't up for the conditioning needed to maintain a top-level spot. WWF still pushed him as he sold merchandise but the weakness was there.

So as the summer wore on, WWF began making plans for Hogan to return at SummerSlam. Of course, Hogan couldn't make just a regular return. First, he appeared on the Brother Love show to tease his return only to be attacked by Earthquake. While he'd been doing a good job as a big guy on the midcard, Quake hadn't made much impact until now. He changed that by beating Hogan down and giving him several "Earthquake splashes" right on the hard stage. Hogan was stretchered out and new face Tugboat (Fred Ottoman, Dusty Rhodes' brother in law who'd later play the infamous Shockmaster) went on TV to tell the fans Hogan was considering quitting and urging them to write him get well cards. According to WWF, hundreds of thousands of "get well, Hulk" cards were sent in and Hogan announced he'd be coming back at SummerSlam against Quake with Tugboat in his corner. Quake and Jimmy Hart attacked Tugboat, injuring him so the Big Bossman took his place.


　
This was billed as one half of the main event, the other one being the WWF title match. The Warrior had been having trouble finding challengers who could be believable as threats but luckily, WWF had a perfect one in Rick Rude. Aside from being an awesome heel, Rude had beaten the Warrior for the IC title the previous year and thus could lay claim to having a way to do it again. Having the two go at it was good and WWF made it a cage match for extra fun.

Things were getting exciting in other areas. Brutas Beefcake was scheduled to face Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental title and was expected to win the belt as a reward for his years of service. But Beefcake got into a vicious parasailing accident, shattering practically every bone in his face and thus had to bow out. Learning nothing from the Honky Tonk Man, Curt Henning came out in an interview to issue an open challenge for anyone to face him. Kerry Von Erich, who had surprised many by signing with WWF a few weeks earlier, came out to accept Perfect's challenge. Meanwhile, the huge news was that the Road Warriors had joined with WWF after a pay dispute with WCW. Billed as the Legion of Doom, they were expected to face off soon against the team long-seen as rip-offs, Demolition.

All this, plus various other feuds, set up what promised to be an interesting card. Again, at the time, it seemed a great card to me but time does shade things differently. Still, for an insight at a company in the middle of a huge flux, it's an intriguing show to focus on.
　
Summer Slam ‘90. August 27th, 1990, the Spectrum in Philadelphia

Jesse Ventura had left WWF by this time while Gorilla Monsoon oddly had the show off. Thus, the commentating duties were in the hands of Vince McMahon (still the loud announcer) and Roddy Piper. This being Philly, the crowd was pretty hot and prone to some odd booing of faces here and there but not quite the level of ECW just yet.

The show kicked off with the Rockers facing Power & Glory, Hercules and Paul Roma, managed by Slick. Evidentially, Shawn Michaels had injured his leg for real earlier and thus the match started with the heels bum-rushing the Rockers, sending Michaels down with a chain shot. This turned it into a handicap match as Marty Janetty had to face P&G alone. He did an okay job with his speed but the heels basically beat the hell out of him for the better part of six minutes before finally getting the win. It's interesting to note the aftermath as the plan supposedly was for the Rockers to win the tag titles in a few months, then drop them to Power & Glory. However, the Rockers' title win would be undone due to politics and P&G's supposed reign was shoved aside when the Nasty Boys were signed to WWF later that fall so this would pretty much be the only big win for the heel team.

Next up was the IC title match as Henning had been doing a great job as a cocky heel champion. He'd won the belt in a tournament in April after the Warrior vacated it after winning the WWF title and adding Bobby Heenan as his manager was a good move too. They did a great promo before the match with Heenan laughing about how a "Tornado" didn't really do much damage. Kerry, of course, had been a huge start in Texas and was expected to do well in WWF thanks to his physique but no one was aware of how huge his drug problems were. Regardless of his faults, it is amazing to watch Kerry in anything after 1987, knowing he's wrestling with an artificial foot (which, amazingly, was kept secret even from other wrestlers until after his death). The match itself wasn't exactly a brilliant affair, Perfect controlling most of it until Kerry suddenly came back with some offense. In what was a recurring theme for Henning, Kerry grabbed him by the legs and slingshotted him so his head whacked into the ring post. As he staggered, Perfect was grabbed in the Claw for a few moments before Kerry hit him with a discus punch, Henning doing a great job selling it as he spun around in the air before landing on the mat. Kerry covered him for the pin, getting a pretty big pop from the victory and it did seem heartening to see a Von Erich with a major championship again. Plus, I loved how, as Perfect slumped out of the ring, Piper cracked "what was the name of the guy who just lost again?"



Backstage, Gene Okerlund was putting over Kerry's win and then saying how he was supposed to interview Sapphire, Dusty Rhodes' valet, who hadn't shown up yet. He was interrupted by Heenan and Perfect, Heenan ranting as only he could over the bad officiating as Perfect proclaimed he'd get the belt back soon (which he would a few months later).

Back in the ring, Sapphire was due to face "Sensational Queen" Sherri. I also felt the pairing of Sherri and Randy Savage was perfect as Sherri was the only person in WWF as nutso as Savage was. She went whole-hog here with a gorgeous silver outfit and a facial makeup style that made it appear she was coming off the set of the Philadelphia production of Cats. There was confusion as Sapphire didn't show up and after the ref counted to ten, Sherri was declared the winner by forfeit. They cut to the back where Dusty was interviewed by Okerlund, saying he didn't know where Sapphire was and Okerlund brought up how someone had been sending her expensive gifts for the last few weeks with Dusty on the hunt for her.

The Powers of Pain had broken up a few months earlier for singles runs with the Warlord about to face Tito Santana. After coming up short in the finals of the IC title tournament, Tito was settling into what would be his place for the next few years, the dependable face who could be counted on to put over heels on the rise. Warlord actually had a pretty bad-ass look with his bald head, jacked physique, a Phantom of the Opera type mask (was someone in creative heavily into Broadway at this time?) and Slick as his manager. Santana did a good enough job making the match decent with his flying offensive but eventually ended up beat after a power slam, a company man doing his job.

Next up was the match that really makes this card worth watching. After reuniting earlier in the year, the Hart Foundation was rising up the tag ranks again and ready to challenge for the belts. Demolition, in their third run as champions, had turned heel to give the face teams more exposure. Ax was having health problems so they brought in Crush, a new member and found a loophole so any two of them could defend the titles. They added in a bit of them wearing their leather masks during matches so Ax and Smash could switch places behind the ref's back and win. What really got fans' attention was the arrival of the Legion of Doom, which seemed to promise the dream matchup folks had been imagining for two years. Brilliantly, Demolition actually talked in promos of how the LOD were just "second-rate imposters," sending up the long-standing fan viewpoint of the Demos.

The two-out-of-three-falls match began with Smash and Crush facing the Harts, who started off working on Smash's arm. Crush turned the tide by catching Bret into a power slam but then got cradled for two. Various tags followed and the Philly crowd was surprisingly into this, popping big for a Russian leg sweep by Bret that got two on Smash before Crush hit him with a leg drop. Stunned, Bret was then hit the by the Demolition Decapitation to let the Demos take the first fall. The second fall started immediately with Bret still being pounded by Crush but managing to hit a clothesline and a hot tag to Neidhart. Neidhart took both the Demos down with hard forearms and punches before Hart swung him to hit Smash with a shoulder block. They set up the Hart Attack but Crush grabbed the ref and tossed him aside, getting the Demos disqualified. This really should have meant the rest of the match would basically be non-title but what's a little rulebook rewriting for the faces?

The third fall kicked off with Bret getting a two-count off a sunset flip. Meanwhile, Ax came down to ringside and hid under the ring. The Foundation did their old "Swing your partner" trick but Smash managed to avoid it. Then we got that great bit the Harts did better than anyone with Anvil picking up Bret to slam him face first onto Smash for two. Smash rolled to the floor and, with the ref distracted, Ax rolled into the ring. This might have worked better had they been wearing masks since Ax and Smash looked pretty much nothing alike. Crush and Neidhart went at it while Bret headed to Ax, who knocked him down before switching places with Smash to beat on him. It was here the crowd started to go nuts as Hawk and Animal came down to ringside, stripping off their spiked shoulder pads. They dragged Ax from under the ring to pound on him, bringing Smash to help. Crush had been about to set up the Decapitation but was distracted along with the ref. As Crush turned around, Neidhart used the ropes to leap forward and hit him with a shoulder block, sending him stumbling into Bret, who rolled him up for the three count, a monster pop going out as the Foundation won the titles. Great tag wrestling at its best with the faces coming on top of the cheating heels. The plan was for the Harts to have a short reign but, as noted, politics interfered to keep them going for a while as champions.



WWF would do long intermissions during their shows back then and to fill the time, we got a bevy of interviews:

*Gene Okerlund talked to the LOD, who said they just wanted to help the Harts out and screwing over Demolition was a bonus. The Foundation then came out with the belts, not really thanking the LOD but saying they were willing to take on all comers for the titles.
*The cameras cut to Sean Mooney outside Demolition's dressing room door which would periodically bang as loud voices could be heard screaming. In his usual dry manner, Mooney stated how "this may not be the best time to talk to them."
*Okerlund then talked to Sherri, who acted like she'd won a hard-fought battle and that Sapphire wasn't as dumb as she thought for choosing to avoid the match. When Okerlund brought up Sapphire's disappearance, Sherri talked of some rumors she'd heard and laughed that "this is too good to be true." When Okerlund criticized her being happy about missing person, Sherri got the great send-off "I said she was missing, I never said she was a person!"
*Sean Mooney was then over with Hacksaw Jim Dugan and Nikolai Volkoff. With the Berlin Wall gone and Communism falling, WWF decided to remarket the Soviet heel as a newly-born American, he and former rival Hacksaw happy to be partners.
*Okerlund chatted with Earthquake and Jimmy Hart, Hart in his usual motor mouth manner, promising an epic disaster for Hogan.
*Finally, Mooney talked to Jake Roberts, Jake delivering another of his usual brilliant promos, saying his match with Bad News Brown would "come down to one thing….Hunger."

The in-ring action picked back up with Brown and Roberts ready to face off. The two had been engaged in a small feud with Bad News bringing a sewer rat to try and combat Damien and for some reason the Big Bossman was the special referee. Jake went right for the DDT but Brown managed to get out of the ring. Back in the ring, Brown took control, nailing blows on Jake to set up the Ghetto Blaster (basically a dropkick to the back of the head) but it was Jake's turn to hit the mat and get out of the way. Brown hit him with an elbow and, with a bad timing of arrogance, just put a foot on him. That obviously got no pin as they'd brawl to the outside with Brown hitting Jake with a chair and the Bossman oddly allowing it. Brown spent the next few minutes working over Jake int eh corner and mat with various punches and blows. He'd go up to the middle rope but missed a punch, allowing Jake to take control with his patented knee lift, quick jabs and short-arm clothesline. He signaled for the DDT to the crowd's delight but Brown back dropped out of it then grabbed a chair, getting a DQ at last. Kicking Jake out of the ring, Brown tried to leg drop the bag containing Damien but the Bossman stopped him. As he went after the Bossman, Jake got into the ring, opened the bag and draped Damien over Bad News, sending him running out. This would be Brown's final big appearance in WWF as he left, angered over not getting a promised title reign.

We were back to interviews backstage as Okerlund was with Demolition, who took exception about being referred to as the "former?!" tag champs. They all declared they'd get the belts back but before that, promised revenge on the LOD. This would set up a series of tag matches with them against the Legion and the Ultimate Warrior that would phase out Ax while the LOD would prove themselves the superior at last.

Evidentially, I forgot just how time-consuming this whole PPV was as Brother Love did an in-ring interview with Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter had just returned to the WWF but rather than be the gung-ho American hero, he was suddenly a sympathizer to Iraq. I know this gets a pretty bad rap today but you have to keep in mind that in August of 1990, just after the invasion of Kuwait, no one really expected the U.S. to go to war over all this. Vince was just taking advantage to present Slaughter in an anti-U.S. light to build up a heel, not knowing how far it would all go. Slaughter didn't go so far into the "rah-rah-Sadaam" rhetoric here, basically bad-mouthing Philly, giving Brother Love an award for being "a real American" and vowing to destroy Volkoff.

Sean Mooney was about to interview the Orient Express but interrupted himself as a brief sighting of Sapphire was made. Soon the Express were in the ring facing Dugan and Volkoff who serenaded the crowd with a horrific take on "God Bless America." The match was pretty short, Fuji trying to interfere but Dugan hitting a three-point charge to get the win and pretty much the less said on this the better.

Backstage, Dusty was outside Sapphire's dressing room, banging on it to get her to come out but had to go for his match. We then cut to Randy Savage, who was about to make the always-awesome entrance I loved: He and Sherri sitting on thrones atop a platform carried by a pack of jobbers. Mooney was standing uneasily on top of a stepladder to talk to Savage who cracked about Mooney on "a stairway to Heaven." After a bad joke of "climbing any heights" for an interview, Mooney asked about Sapphire and Savage said the "rumors" must be true and he couldn't blame her. He then ordered his "subjects" to go as Mooney was about to fall.

After that great entrance, Savage waited for Dusty to hit the ring. The two were only fighting for a couple of minutes when Ted DiBiase showed up on an interview platform in the back of arena to tell Rhodes he was about to prove anyone had a price. Out came Sapphire dressed in a lovely fur coat, dress and diamonds and damn if Dusty didn't do a good job selling the anguish over her betrayal. He tried to chase but Savage attacked him from behind, letting Sherri get in a shot as well. Dusty would turn the tables with a series of punches and elbows to send Savage out but Sherri would manage to sneak her purse to Savage to hit Dusty and get the win. Dusty didn't really care as he immediately gave chase to DiBiase, who pulled out in a limo with Sapphire and Virgil just in time. Terrific in the heel performance by the Million Dollar Man and Dusty selling it so well. The great part would come on a later TV broadcast when DiBiase took back all his gifts and kicked Sapphire to the curb just to really sell himself as a jerk.



Finally the main events were set and Hogan did one of his usual fantastic promos, citing the Founding Fathers and the Constitution with his threats on Earthquake. The ovation for Hogan was massive, showing the fans still considered him the true star of wrestling at the time. They didn't even care about a slow start with Earthquake showing off his strength and Hogan actually selling still being affected by injury. Despite having handled Andre the Giant, Hogan seemed to not know how to take Quake, actually smart booking there, trying for a slam but Quake landing on him. Quake went for a splash in the corner but Hogan booted him back and then leveled him with punches to send him down and popped Dino Bravo one when he jumped on the apron. Soon all four men were involved with Hogan and the Bossman giving double boots to Quake and Bravo and Piper showed some actual neutrality in the commentary asking why the ref wasn't calling for a DQ. Quake managed to get control again with some elbows and a Boston Crab to work the ribs. He then actually took to the ropes to leap off the top for a forearm and kudos to Quake for pulling it off for a man his size.

Hogan crawled out to the outside so Bravo could kick him down. Hogan tried the slam again and again, Quake fell onto him for a two-count. Quake then did a bear hug and the crowd was really into it here thanks to Hogan's charisma. Hogan grabbed the ref, ripping his shirt to break the hold with Piper again asking why Hogan was getting special treatment. I prefer this Roddy to the "rah-rah all faces" commentator he'd become a year later. Hogan hit some punches but when he tried a cross body, Quake caught him with a power slam. He followed that up with the Earthquake Splash and of course, Hogan kicked out and started to "Hulk Up" as the crowd went nuts. Hogan hit the punches then the boot and finally slammed the Quake down. He hit the leg drop but Bravo distracted the ref from the pin as Jimmy Hart leapt onto the apron. Hogan grabbed Hart and threw him at Quake, sending them both down to the floor. A massive brawl broke out between everyone with Hart accidentally hitting Quake with his megaphone, allowing Hogan to slam Quake onto a table that just happened to be around for no reason. Hogan got into the ring as the referee finished his countout, giving Hogan the win. Quake attacked Hogan so the Bossman hit him with a few chair shots to send him out. Hogan got to his feet to do the usual pose down for the cheering crowd. Why he didn't go over clean I can't tell you, probably the usual WWF politics.



As the good old blue cage was set up, we got a few more interviews:
*Rick Rude and Heenan talked about the match with the arrogant Rude promising he'd win the belt.
*Dusty cut a truly great promo on how he was going to get at DiBiase. "When you gonna get mad, Big Dust? When you gonna get bad, Big Dust? When you gonna get EVEN?!"
*Hogan did a triumphant interview promising this wasn't the last between him and Quake and hinting he wanted to get back into title contention. Most thought this was the first step toward a Hogan-Warrior rematch but it wasn't to be.
*Quake responded with more threats on Hogan and showing the ugly welts from the Bossman's chair shots. I sometimes wonder if Todd Gordon wasn't in Philly watching this and going "say, there's something…"
*Finally, the Warrior did the typical insane interview, also citing the Founding Fathers but even more wild than Hogan did.
　
Summerslam 1990 Backstage InterviewsUploaded by TSteck160. - More professional, college and classic sports videos.

Looking back, WWF probably should have had Hogan-Quake last. Yes, cage matches should be last and ditto for title matches. But as big as the pop for the Warrior was, it wasn't the size of Hogan's, a sign of how fans weren't really accepting him. Luckily, he and Rude always had a good chemistry, kicking the match right off brawling as the Warrior climbed into the cage. Piper's commentary here is great as he first suggests Rude should tie Warrior's armbands to the cage, which is actually damn smart. Then, he asks what the point of the Warrior's arm pumping was and when the Warrior missed a charge into the cage, he dryly states "oh, so it's so he can miss like a moron, ok." Rude tried a cage climb, Warrior chasing him so Rude belted him off but rather than escape the cage, he hit a flying elbow on the Warrior. Rude was actually doing a bit of a blade job here as they fought and went for the Rude Awakening, with the Warrior powering his way out of it at first but Rude managed to hit it at last. He went to the top but again did a flying punch which was a cool sight. He went for it again but the Warrior caught him with a blow to the midsection. Warrior then crawled to the door but Heenan smacked it into his head and both guys were acting like this was an epic twenty-minute battle. Rude went for the door with Heenan grabbing his arms to try and pull him out. Warrior managed to grab Rude by the trunks to yank him back, showing some ass for effect. Heenan got pulled into the ring so Warrior could beat on him a bit, allowing Rude to catch him from behind and send him into the ropes. Of course, this just gave the Warrior the chance to start shaking the ropes as he got to his feet for his usual dance routine and the fans were finally rocking at this point. Warrior hit Rude with clotheslines and the press slam before climbing the cage. Rude was staggering to his feet as the Warrior climbed on the outside and, just to rub it in, mocked Rude's own hip gyrations before landing to his feet and victory.
　
The Ultimate Warrior vs Rick RudeUploaded by smithjoe. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.



Summation

When I was fifteen, this was a top-level show, a great PPV overall. But time has shaped my opinion a bit differently. The tag match was great and Hogan did a good job in his grudge match but way too many interviews and time-wasting stuff and a lot of the midcard bouts were poor. Warrior/Rude would have been better with a bit more time although they made the most of it with a nice fight. Maybe it hasn't aged well in most places but it's still interesting seeing this card at a time when Hogan was supposed to be passing the torch to the Warrior but ended up showing why the fans preferred him on top. Still, the show has its bright spots here and there, a nice example of WWF at the time and how, while memories can shift about, some things still are as good as your recall.

For this week, the spotlight is off.