A Look Back At SummerSlam 1990

With the 31^th installment of The Biggest Party of the Summer just around the corner, join us as we take a look back at the history of SummerSlam. The ups, the downs, the moments, the stars, and the commentary pay-per-view debut of Rowdy Roddy Piper!

SummerSlam 1990

The Spectrum

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

DOUBLE MAIN EVENT

The Ultimate Warrior vs Ravishing Rick Rude for the WWF Championship

Hulk Hogan vs Earthquake

The WWF had a great problem on their hands that they hadn’t really had to deal with before. For the first time in years, it wasn’t just Hulk Hogan’s show. They now had two stars that deserved top billing for a pay-per-view. Both should be in the main event, but they just went head to head a few months before at WrestleMania. So what do you do? DOUBLE main event!

First up we had “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan with the Big Boss Man in his corner against Earthquake with Dino Bravo in his corner. This, to me, was one of, if not THE most underrated rivalry that Hogan had. I think Earthquake was great! I don’t know how he is not in the Hall of Fame yet. The match had a strong out of the ring presence that had not been seen before, capped off by Hogan slamming the massive Earthquake on a table on the outside for the count out win. The two battled the rest of the year and never lost a step.

Following that match was the second half of the DOUBLE main event. In a rematch from last year’s SummerSlam, The Ultimate Warrior successfully defended his newly won WWF Championship against long-time rival Rick Rude in the confines of a 15-foot high steel cage. Quick side note – who doesn’t miss the blue bar cage? The match was exciting as you would think it would be – Warrior was coming into his own as an in-ring performer and Rude was one of the best in-ring workers in that era. These two had an uncanny chemistry together and this match was the perfect way to end the feud.

TME TO GRAB SOME SNACKS

This is odd to say, especially since it includes one of the all-time greats, but feel free to step away from Jake Roberts vs Bad New Brown if you want. The match was hyped to be Jake’s snake, Damian, against, and 20 pounds of Harlem Sewer Rats provided by Bad News. The cage with the “rats” was placed on a table outside the ring. The match ended pretty quickly with a DQ with no sign of any rats. Apparently the only reason for this match was to have a table placed outside of the ring for Hogan to slam Earthquake on later.

GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE

What is a WWF show in that era without Brother Love? This night, Brother Love’s guest was the man who recently turned his back on his country, Sgt.
Slaughter. This interview would prove to be the start of turning Slaughter into one of the most hated characters ever culminating in the following WrestleMania’s main event match with Hulk Hogan.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT

The DOUBLE main event was great, but the match that stole the show was the two-out-of-three falls match between Demolition and The Hart Foundation for Demolition’s Tag Team Championships. This was a different era with a different in-ring style, but I feel that this match would still keep the crowd rocking at a live show today. With a little assistance with from the Legion of Doom, The Hitman and The Anvil won the final two falls to win the tag straps for the
second time.

OTHER TOP MATCHES

Macho Man Randy Savage vs Dusty Rhodes

Mr. Perfect vs The Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich for the Intercontinental Championship

The Rockers vs Power & Glory

OVERALL

Some say that this was the best era in wrestling – and I would argue that this was the best show of that era. The Philadelphia crowd was live and were given reason to stay on their feet from start to finish. The cherry on top is Piper on commentary. There was never a time where giving that man a microphone was a bad idea!

OVERALL SCORE – 9.5/10

SO WHAT DID YOU THINK? WAS THIS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE SUMMERSLAMS? WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MATCH OF THIS YEAR? WHAT DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE IN 2018? LIKE OUR PAGE ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @FROM_THETOPROPE AND LET US KNOW!