Review: WWF/WWE Summerslam 1990 DVD

Brett Mix’s- WWF Summerslam 1990 Review:

“It’s a DOUBLE MAIN EVENT! It’s Summmmerrrrrslaaaaaaaaammmmm!!!!!” – Vince McMahon

 

 

–WWF Summerslam 1990 took place on Sunday, August 27th, 1990 in The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where 19, 304 fans took in the action.

-The tagline for the event was “The Heat Returns!”

-This was the 3rd Annual WWF Summerslam PPV event and all three were in the upper east coast of the States. (New York, New Jersey, Philly)

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-The main feud heading into WWF Summerslam 1990 was between Rick Rude and The Ultimate Warrior. This would be the 2nd year in a row they’d face off in a match at Summerslam and this time the WWF Title was put on the line in a Steel Cage.

Another feud was between The Hulkster and the seemingly then unstoppable Earthquake.

-This was the 1st time the WWF Title was put on the line at Summerslam.

-This was the third straight SummerSlam in which the Hart Foundation wrestled against the then reigning WWF Tag Team Champions.

-Brutus Beefcake was originally supposed to be the challenger for the Intercontinental Championship but had to be pulled out of the match after suffering a parasailing accident.

-This was the first time Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage was not in the main event at Summerslam.

-Tugboat was originally scheduled to be in Hulk Hogan’s corner during his match with Earthquake. However, Tugboat was taken off the road that month, and was replaced by Big Bossman.

-Vince McMahon and Rowdy Roddy Piper do the broadcasting. This was the first PPV since SummerSlam ’88 that Jesse “The Body” Ventura was not the color commentator. Ventura had left the WWF shortly before this event after a pay dispute with Vince McMahon. This was also a rare PPV from this era called by McMahon, who usually chose to produce the shows from backstage.

-In a Dark match before the show Shane Douglas defeated Buddy Rose.

ON THE PPV Brother Love hosted a show after the Jake Roberts vs Bad News Brown match. His guest was Sgt Slaughter.

ON THE PPV, Sensational Queen Sherri defeated Sapphire by forfeit so I’m not going to bother listing that as a match but 10 matches including that one took place during Summerslam 1990, so instead it will look like 9 since as I said nothing happened in that match.

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-Now onto the PPV…………..

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1) Opening Contest- The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannety) vs Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules) (with Slick)
The Philadelphia Spectrum was jampacked and ready to go as the crowd was completely electric as Piper and McMahon were ready to call the action with this opening tag match.

This is the third Summerslam and all three have opened with a tag match. Till now all the Summerslam’s have closed with a tag match but this one wouldn’t. The Rocker’s theme music hits and they get a great ovation. Power and Glory are already in the ring though. Hercules hits HBK with a chain on the knee on the outside but we don’t see it, all we hear is McMahon’s angry roar.

However in the ring Jannetty was taking control with double arm drag take downs and then a double drop kick to both guys. McMahon questions how long this can last and it’s a good question. Not before long as you’d expect Hercules and Roma took control of Jannety but out of no where he rolled up Roma and had his shoulders on the mat for a good 10 seconds but the ref had his back turned. Roma then gets in control on Jannetty. Michaels tried to get to the apron as he was still down from the beginning but Hercules hits him with YET ANOTHER cheap shot. Great strategic wrestling by the heels in this match. Hercules is controlling Jannetty in the ring with a power slam while Roma continues to kick the injured knee of Michaels on the outside as he is clearly injured and that is the story of the match. Piper points out how Power and Glory did there homework for this match by taking out the knee of Michaels on the outside. Despite Jannety’s brief burts of offense Power and Glory are maintaining control of the match overall. Marty Jannetty still manages to get a drop kick then an elbow drop from the top until he recieved a clothesline from Hercules on the ring apron which was legal and then he came in the ring. Vince apparently doesen’t know that in Tag Team Wrestling you’re allowed a quick double team move after a tag (must be new to this) as he yells at the ref after a Double Team move from Power and Glory. Hercules levels Jannety with another huge clothesline and Piper yells “WHAT A SHOT!”

Hercules with a huge suplex from the rop and Roma came off the other turnbuckle with a splash, fucking awesome. The Squash is over as Power and Glory win after that move at the six minute mark. Power and Glory continued to stomp on Michaels’s injured knee as he gets carried away on a stretcher and the fans boo. Give credit to these guys for telling a good story even if it was a questionable way to start a PPV with the heels in full control, but it was worked well overall.

**

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2) The Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich vs Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig (c) (with Bobby Heenan) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Heenan and Perfect two of the best heels and talkers cut a brilliant promo on Von Erich before the match with Sean Mooney backstage. Brutus Beefcake was originally scheduled to be in this spot against Perfect but he didn’t make it. (Thank god) Now we got Von Erich and Hennig going at it in an old school AWA vs WCCW match up in the WWF in the early 90’s for the IC Title.

I remember this not having much substance but being relatively good. May both these guys RIP. I consider them BOTH in the top 30 ever and that is some serious ELITE company.

Von Erich gets the early advantage and overpowers Hennig by pushing him out of the ring which surprises Hennig, but Curt came back with an arm drag takedown. A hiptoss nicely done by Mr. Perfect the champion who talks to Heenan on the outside who re-assures him how great he is in all likelyhood. After a chop to the throat by Hennig, Von Erich hits a huge series of offensive moves with a chop of his own, an irish whip to the buckle and a clothesline over the top rope. Heenan yells to Perfect that he just got lucky. Good story telling thus far. The Texas Tornado then went to work on the arm immediately when he got back in the ring and then viciously hit him with those hard quick strong rights, then Hennig reversed it with a clothesline and some shots to the head of his own. Hennig with a snap take down followed by his roll and then a whip to the buckle and a sleeper. Hennig got over cocky after some blows and Hennig got caught with a claw by Von Erich and a hit to the head and he pinned Perfect at 5:15 and we got a new champion. Huge fucking pop as you’d expect. Not a bad match but should have got double the time then it could of potentially been in the *** 1/2 territory.

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Instead not even two stars but close due to it being a great moment though this title run didn’t last long at all.

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3) The Warlord (with Slick) vs Tito Santana.

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Santana seems to job a lot at big PPV’s.

Still though in this match he got his share of offense in and focused on the arm of The Warlord showing his mobility but The Warlord started to dominate in mid-match.

He rammed Santana into the ring post. The Warlord then methodically took apart Santana by giving him blows on the back but out of no where Santana came back with a clothesline then a near fall and then another clothesline. The crowd really got on his side by this point in the match and he wasn’t ALWAYS getting dominated but Tito Santana was a pretty AWESOME wrestler. Not before long the Warlord scooped him up and hit a devistating Powerslam to Tito Santana and pinned him at 5:28. Alright back and forth match even if pretty standard stuff.

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*

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4) The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) vs Demolition (Smash and Crush) (c) in a Two out of Three falls match for the WWF Tag Team Championship
This is the second summerslam The Hart Foundation battled Demolition. This is the THIRD Summerslam that the Hart Foundation wrestled in (all of them up to this point) and all of them were great, but this was the first one where it was a two out of three falls attraction, and despite wrestling the tag team champions at Summerslam 89 this is the first time they wrestled for the titles at a Summerslam.

The Hart Foundation didn’t know which two of the three members of Demolition they’d be facing off against and Demolition said in a pre-match interview that this would be to there advantage while The Foundation said they didn’t care. It ended up being Smash with the newest member Crush defending the titles against Bret and Jim. Bret and Smash started off in the ring in the first fall in this title match. They tried a test of strength and the Anvil came in with Crush and while the ref tried to get Crush out The Anvil stayed in and he and Bret touble teamed Smash behind the officials back while the crowd cheered. Bret continued taking it to Smash while Vince and Piper put over the action being displayed and how well Bret could do it. Like always Bret tagged in the Anvil so he came in the ring and worked over the arm of Smash. It’s these Summerslam tag team matches that really help you appreciate the tag team skill of The Hart Foundation whether it be for chemistry or whatever other reason. Smash then overpowered Bret by hitting a power slam. Crush then slammed Bret in the ring and missed with a knee drop so the Hitman hit Crush with a head butt then a crossbody but the power of Crush came in to play again as he slammed down The Hitman. Crush went running to the corner but The Hitman hit him with a boot to the face and despite that Crush stayed on his FEET till The Hitman rolled him up but only scored a near fall.

Bret tagged in The Anvil who was in control with a side headlock until Smash hit him with a knee from the apron in cheap fashion as the fans booed and then Crush worked on the Anvil until he tagged in Smash. Neidhart made it to Bret in time and Bret then clotheslines Smash. Bret then dropkicked Crush who was still in the ring and all hell started to break loose in the match. Bret like he did against the Brain Busters at Summerslam 89 and even against Demolition at the original Summerslam in 1988 took it to both guys at once. He continued to show why he was this good and why he was perhaps ready to be a singles superstar. Bret then hit his signature elbow from the top but Crush broke up the count. Smash tags in Crush and then Demolition hit a double team move where Crush drops the elbow to the Hitman’s head from the top and around the six minute mark Demolition scores the win in the first fall.

1-0 Demolition as the Champions are in the early lead.

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The Second fall begins and the bell rings. Demolition continue to work on a hurt Bret and the Foundation looks out of it. Crush sends Bret for the ride and this looks like as of now it might be a short fall as he levels him down with a choke hold. Smash gets tagged in by Crush and he hits him with back body suplex but somehow Bret had enough to kick out. Constant tags by Demolition made this style of dominating wrestling look easy and it showed just why they were the reigning champions. There offense was always high in power and looked nothing short of well…..a Demolition.

Smash then SMASHED Bret’s head to the buckle as McMahon calls him an incredible competitior and then he backs that up by hitting a desperation clothesline on Smash after being swung on the ropes. Bret desperately crawling towards The Anvil but then got to him after a dramatic pause and the crowd went crazy. Piper yells “YES!” Loved the 80’s bias for teams between faces and heels. The Anvil then used some of his power of his own against Demolition. Some questionable near falls and with Bret rested they hit a double team clothesline and Bret who almost got a three count didn’t because Demolition hopped on Earl Hebner or DAVE (who knows back then) and then he DQ’d Demolition on the second fall. Axe ran down to the ring with the score tied at 1 a piece. With Demolition in the ring and The Foundation outside the ring the third and final bell rings for this match with Axe underneath the ring area. Bret hit a sunsetflip from the outside ring apron on to Smash and only got a two. Hart like a Tiger McMahon says continuing his attack on Smash as he picks up his legs and boots him in the mid-section, then Bret tags in the Anvil. The action is hard to keep up with but The Anvil hit a shoulder block to Smash but only got a two count. Somehow Demolition found a way to double or triple team The Foundation on the outside of the ring by the help of Axe. Then The Legion of Doom came to the ring with a huge pop and Demolition dropped Bret from a potential double team move as they were distracted. Hart then rolled up Crush and the Hart Foundation won the tag team titles for the first time in a couple of years and for only the second time in history. History has been made and Bret has a huge smile on his face. The match ends at the count of 14:24.

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Great overall.

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5) Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs “Bad News” Brown with The Big Bossman as The Special Guest Referee

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Up here we got a basic mid-card match after a long dramatic exciting tag title match. The booking forumla of these early Summerslam’s gets kind of repetitive but still good as this is the mid-way point of the show as it’s clear now that the double main event will be the last two matches on the card. After about 30, 000 (I’m not kidding) backstage interviews and promo’s with every wrestler you could ever imagine this is finally time to wrestle. Snakes vs Rats was the theme here. The match already began so Bossman had to run to the ring. Never really seen Traylor run before. Bossman looked in great shape here though despite being the ref. Bad News then got DQ’d at 4:44 as he hit Jake Roberts with the chair in the mid-section again! More then once is enough. It’s too bad because this was pretty entertaining till that finish.

 

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6) Nikolai Volkoff and Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs The Orient Express (Tanaka and Sato) (with Mr. Fuji)

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Roddy Piper suggests Volkoff can’t be trusted and Volkoff is actually a US follower here and hey sing God Bless America.

It’s hilarious seeing people stand for this when usually no one stands when they ask for an anthem to be sung in Wrestling mostly because it’s usually the heels saying that material. Volkoff and Tanaka started things out and Tanaka went down a few times to shoulder blocks. Sato then attacked Volkoff in the corner. Fuji hit Volkoff with his stick and Sato then kicked Volkoff up high and then another tag to Tanaka and he missed. Volkoff tagged in Duggan who earlier after singing God Bless America wished the troops in the Middle East well to a loud pop hit a double clothesline on both of the Orient Express. Duggan then smashed there heads together and the place was going crazy. The Orient Express are made to look like bitches here which isn’t right especially against Duggan. Duggan then hit Tanaka with a hard clothesline and pinned him at 3:22. Nothing really but patriotism after a HEEL Sgt. Slaughter cut a anti-US promo on the Brother Love show. As I said made the Express look weak but good for the fans since it was nice and short, about the only thing that WAS NICE.

1/2 *

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7) “Macho King” Randy Savage (with Sensational Queen Sherri) vs “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes

Sweet Sapphire is usually in The Dream’s corner, however she isn’t here. Savage gets carried to the ring as The King while in the ring Dusty Rhodes looks concerned over where Sapphire is. As Savage and Rhodes stood in the ring Dibiase and Virgil on the stage pointed out Dibiase’s latest purchase. SAPHIRE. Saphire then stood there with a fur coat and diamond ring, and necklace. Everybody’s got a price for The Million Dollar Man. Dusty Rhodes then goes after Rhodes but Savage catches him in the entrance way and throws the big man back in the ring and Savage comes off with a double axe handle off the top, Sherri then attacks Rhodes on the outside. Sherri drives her knee into Rhodes’s throat while Savage distracts the ref, and Savage being the expert at going from back outside the ring to inside continues to do it in great fashion to apply more pressure to The American Dream. Rhodes gets a bit of an upperhand for awhile and chases Savage to the outside but he pushes Sherri in front of him and Savage hit Rhodes with a bag and gets the three count at 2:15. Not the best way to end this feud but at the same time it was a little humerous.

 

 

3/4 *

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8 ) “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan (with The Big Boss Man) vs Earthquake (with “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart and Dino Bravo)

Okay we have the first half of the double main event of Summerslam. How many times have we seen the Big Man vs Hulk Hogan thing before.

Big man dominates the first half while Hulk, Hulks up and then pulls off the amazing win followed by a huge celebration. Oh well each time the crowd eats it up but by 1990 it had gotten a little repetitive and the fans started to even boo his staleness around this time and jumped on the bandwagon’s of Warrior or Savage if they weren’t already there. Hogan knowing that Earthquake can hurt him is being dominated by The Earthquake early making him look like a legitimate threat to The Hulkster. Hulk did fight back though in the early going so it wasn’t a complete squash through the first half and Hulk hit him with a big hard right hand after a clothesline that didn’t take Earthquake off his feet till later. After Earthquake wore down Hogan even more he stretched back with a Boston Crab.

This made Hogan very vulnerable and in a state of weakness as Barvo beat on Hogan some more even more on the outside before throwing him back in the ring. Hulk did a good job selling his ribs here similar to the Bundy thing in 86 and when he went to try and get on Quake he landed on Hogan with all his power. Hogan then got caught in a bear hug. Earthquake hit his splash on Hogan but Hulk kicked out which got a good pop. Hogan then Hulked Up and the crowd went crazy. We’ve seen this stuff before and it was as predicable as ever and had it not been done a cozillian times and had it not been for Piper saying “WHAT IS THIS” as if he hasn’t seen it before, it might of came off better. Jimmy Hart practically dragged Earthquake out of the ring and Hogan won the match in the end by countout at 13:16.

Basic forumla, good for what it was, not much else.

 

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9) Main Event- The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs “Ravishing” Rick Rude (W/Bobby The Brain Heenan) in a Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship
The Blue Steel Cage is put up and I loved that look more then the fence during the attitude era look but I might be in the minority, I just like this Old School WWF look. Warrior gets to headline a show ahead of Hogan. Well at least he gets something over him in “The Year of the Warrior.” I was a little sick of hearing how Hogan dropped the ball to Warrior at WM 6 when Hogan then went on to main event the next three Mania’s and win. But I guess Warrior did get this time here. It takes them about 30, 000 years to hook up the cage as they show there billionth interview of the night to kill some time. The Warrior clearly cuts one of the most INSANE promo’s he’s ever done and that’s going places…before the match. Ravishing Rick Rude comes out with a hair cut and Heenan. He gets on the mic inside the cage making fun of the Philly porkers. He calls them Pennsylvania Pissants, hllarious! The Warrior’s music hits and e runs down the aisle and he shakes the cage over and over almost loosening it up.

 

This match was put on the Warrior DVD. Rude and Warrior begin battling on top of the cage and as Rude gives Warrior some shots, The Warrior slams Rude on the top of the cage, Piper makes it sound like Rude fell fifteen feet to the floor when in reality he just fell from the top rope, then Warrior came off with an elbow drop, then The Ultimate Warrior slammed Rude’s head into the side of the cage. As rude tried to escape The Warrior did it again. The Ultimate Warrior reached to the heavens as all his little Warriors were behind him and the story of this match was simple. Rude was trying to escape at any cost and The Warrior the defending WWF Champion was in full control and had a ton of energy looking to take out on Rude. As Warrior charged for Rude though he moved and Warrior hit the side of the cage. Rude then got to the top of the Cage but Warrior grabbed his legs just in time. Rude came off the middle-top with a blow to make sure the Champion stayed grounded if he were to risk climbing the cage. Rude slams Warrior into the side of the cage again then another hard right hand. I hadn’t even noticed till just now but Rude had already bladed from one of the earlier Warrior throws. Rude remains in control and even hits his signature move The Rude awakening! Rick Rude foolishly then tries to escape the cage rather then going through the door. Then comes the spot of the match as he hits Warrior from the top of the cage as he leaped from the top. Looks like nothing from today’s standards but Rick Rude still was one of the first pro-wrestlers to jump from that high. Heenan slammed the Cage door into Warrior’s head as he tried to escape. Heenan smiles. You’ve got to know having watched Warrior’s DVD Heenan probably REALLY enjoyed slamming that door into his head. Rude tried escaping but Warrior held onto his ankle while Heenan on the other end was trying to pull him out the door. Warrior pulls down Rude’s tights exposing his ass as the ladies cheer. Warrior then smacks Heenan in the ring then hits him with an atomic drop and pushed him out the cage door. Warrior came off each side of the cage with a clothesline after he kept denying Rude’s offense. Warrior then scooped up Rude and slammed him to the canvas. Warrior then climbed up over the cage and down to the floor to retain the WWF Title at at 10:05. This one was so basic and short it wasn’t even funny.

It’s a shame because there match at Summerslam the year before was so much better at *** 3/4.

Fans go home happy though.

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* 1/4

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Final Rating for WWF Summerslam 1990 = 5.5/10
This show had two main events that I didn’t give higher then above a star and a half.

This show also didn’t have a single match I rated higher then *** 1/4.

So automatically this would lead me to assume it was a horrid show, but that wasn’t quite the case.

While this PPV was certainly not the greatest especially for a Summerslam it still had enough characters and stories to keep you at least somewhat interested even though it’s capped off by a couple of blah matches. I’d only watch this if I was interested in a paticular subject otherwise I’d watch the other Slam’s first.