-RIP Jimmy Buffett and Steve Harwell.
-Life got complicated, so we are opening up the archives again to look at Episode 12 from April 2, 2020. We were in the midst of Social Distance restrictions and working from home. I overcaffeinated myself.
-If I never have another virtual meeting, I’m good.
-Two night WrestleMania? Good or bad thing? This is going to be a bizarre presentation to be sure. Multiple endings shot? Choose your own ending WrestleMania?
-I over caffeinated myself this week due to social distancing. Iced Coffees to go.
-Cabin Fever starts to set in.
-WWF SummerSlam 88 took place on August 29, 1988 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
-We start off with the classic WWF What the World is Watching promo.
-We then have our opening credits.
-Gorilla Monsoon welcomes us to SummerSlam and tells us we can cut the electricity with a knife so you can start drinking at home. He and Superstar Billy Graham are your announcers for the event. Crowd seems pumped. A lot of people complain about Billy Graham on commentary, but he is enthusiastic and earnest and that goes farther than all the polish in the world.
-The Fabulous Rougeaus Jacques and Raymond VS. The British Bulldogs Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith with Matilda: The Rougeaus have recently turned heel. Davey Boy Smith comes out attacking. Rougeaus come back. Quick tags by the Bulldogs and good sequences by both teams. The Rougeau’s cheat well. Crowd gets sucked into this match. Dynamite Kid can’t get the pin although he strings together a nice series of moves. Davey Boy hits a powerslam, but Jacques saves Raymond. Rougeau Brothers with some nice double teaming and tag team wrestling. Close pin attempts. They speed things up towards the end. Dynamite Kid has Jacques pinned but time expires so we get a draw.
-The British Bulldogs chase the Rougeau Brothers to the back.
-They flashback to Ron Bass attacking Brutus Beefcake, knocking him out of SummerSlam.
-Bad News Brown VS. Ken Patera: Bad News Brown attacks before Patera has a chance to get his ring jacket off. Patera looks like a jacked up Richard Simmons. Brown dominates. Patera fights back. Tries some pin attempts. Goes for the Full Nelson a couple of times, but Brown gets to the ropes. Back and forth. Patera rams his shoulder on the post and Brown hits the Ghetto Blaster for the win.
-Mean Gene Okerlund interviews The Mega Powers and Miss Elizabeth. Hulk Hogan is ready. The Mega Powers are ready. They talk about the secret weapon.
-Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan Vs. The Junkyard Dog: Rude has JYD airbrushed on his tights. JYD is past his prime but comes out hot. Rude comes back and grabs a chinlock. JYD comes back. Rude goes back to the chinlock. JYD powers out. Heenan interferes. Rude hits the neck breaker and a fist drop. He pulls his tights down and has Cheryl Roberts on a pair of tights underneath. Jake Roberts comes out and attacks Rude for the disqualification.
-Mean Gene interviews The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart. HTM says he’s ready to defend the Intercontinental Title against anyone.
-The Bolsheviks Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov with Slick VS. The Powers of Pain The Barbarian and The Warlord with The Baron: Volkoff does the Anthem Gimmick. The Powers of Pain come out hot. They dominate the Bolsheviks. Slick distracts the Warlord, heels cheat for the advantage. The Powers of Pain come back. Barbarian hits some big kicks and they hit the powerslam/headbutt combo for the win.
-The Brother Love Show Segment: Originally the guest was to be Ric Flair, then they talked about Jessica Hahn. Ends up being Hacksaw Jim Duggan. This degenerates quickly. Duggan eventually runs Brother Love off.
-WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: The Honky Tonk Man with Jimmy Hart VS. The Ultimate Warrior: Since Beefcake is out, HTM calls for anyone else to come out. The crowd goes wild when the Warriors music hits. A slam, tackle, and splash later, we have a new champion. This was absolutely the right thing to do.
-They take an intermission and when they come back, Bobby Heenan comes to the booth. He riles Gorilla and Superstar up.
-Don Muraco VS. Dino Bravo with Frenchie Martin. Heenan stays on for commentary. Slow to start. Bravo on the offensive. Muraco coming back. Back and forth. Muraco starts a comeback, but Bravo hits a side suplex for the win.
-Sean Mooney interviews Jesse Ventura about his role as the special referee for the main event. Jesse says he is the only man who can be the ref. If the Million Dollar Man wants to give him money, who is he to refuse.
-WWF World Tag Team Championship Match: Demolition Ax and Smash with Mr. Fuji VS. The Hart Foundation Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart. Harts have recently turned face. Jimmy Hart accompanies Demolition to the ring to continue the angle that he still owns part of the Hart Foundation contracts. Power VS. Speed Ax Vs. Bret to begin. Then Power VS. Power. The Hart Foundation winning early, but Demolition comes back. They are using great tag team moves. They also double team well. Bret Hart takes a beating, and finally Neidhart gets to tag in. He cleans house and Madison Square Garden comes alive. He only gets a two count. Fuji climbs up and gets nailed allowing Ax to hit Bret Hart with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone. Smash makes the pin.
-Mean Gene interviews HTM who is irate. He says it’s his belt and he’s going to get it back.
-The Big Boss Man with Slick VS. Koko B. Ware with Frankie: Boss Man attacks Koko, who then comes back. Boss Man again dominates. He picks Koko up before the three count. He punishes Koko, who mounts a small comeback. He hits his top rope dropkick and the crown explodes. He can’t get the three count though. Boss Man hits the sidewalk slam and pins Koko.
-Sean Mooney interviews The Ultimate Warrior. He does a typical Warrior interview.
-Hercules VS. Jake Roberts: Hercules strikes early. Roberts goes for the DDT, but Hercules bails. Roberts grabs a headlock. Hercules comes back and batters Roberts and gets a 2 count. Throws a chin lock on Roberts powers out but gets thrown. Comes back and tosses Hercules out. Roberts hits the short clothesline. Hercules hits a backdrop. Roberts finally hits the DDT and gets the pin. He goes for Damien and puts it on Hercules.
-Flashback to what lead up to the main event for the show, including Jesse being assigned as special referee.
-Gorilla and Superstar talk about the upcoming event.
-Jesse gets announced as the special guest referee. He gets a nice crowd reaction.
-The Mega Bucks Ted DiBiase and Andre The Giant with Virgil and Bobby Heenan VS. The Mega Powers Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth: The faces come out to Savage’s music. Jesse orders managers out of the ring and switches the tag rope corners. Savage and Andre start, but DiBiase quickly tags in. Then Hogan comes in. DiBiase sells for both Savage and Hogan. Andre cheats to get the advantage for the heels. Hogan chant goes out. Heels punish Hogan for a while. He comes back, then both men down after a double clothesline. Savage in and he goes after DiBiase. Andre comes in and punishes Savage with his huge girth. DiBiase in and also punishes Savage. He tags Hogan in. Hogan cleans house. Hogan puts the sleeper on DiBiase and gets taken out by Andre. Liz stalls Jesse while the Mega Powers are on the floor. Liz then takes off her skirt and shows her underwear. Hogan slams DiBiase and Savage gives him the elbow. Hogan then gives him the leg drop. Jesse reluctantly counts the pin. Crowd goes crazy, Hogan must pose. If you watch the celebration here, Randy Savage’s begins a subtle heel turn.
-Crowd is celebrating as we go off the air.