WWF Summerslam 1989 – Feel the Heat (8.28.89) review 

 

August 28, 1989 

 

We’re in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the Brendan Byrne Arena. You may know this as Meadowlands. The building was home to the New Jersey Devils NHL team and the New Jersey Nets NBA team. Both of which left for greener pastures. If “East Rutherford” is ringing bells for you, graps fans, it’s where MetLife Stadium is. They’re on the same piece of land. Hosts here are Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura. Gorilla is not commentating here and this is, sort of, the beginning of the end. Although the WWF wouldn’t settle on a commentator to replace him until Jim Ross in 1993.  

Interesting story on Schiavone. He went to the WWF for a year and left because his family hated Connecticut but regretted it when he found out how bad WCW was being run. To the point where he asked if he could come back. It’s a shame Tony didn’t stay because he was a far superior PBP man to Gorilla Monsoon, but he lacked chemistry with Ventura.  

 

Hart Foundation vs. Brainbusters 

This is non-title because Bobby Heenan claimed the Harts didn’t deserve a title shot. Given that the Busters win this match anyway, it’s a strange decision all round. Bret and Tully have the kind of chemistry you would expect. Bret’s offence is sharp, and Tully’s bumps have a little stink on them. It’s good shit. Ventura pulls out the line about “technicians” when he wants to praise people for being good at the sport. 

Bret Hart is so good here that you can see why he got a big push, eventually. You had to be there to appreciate how clean Bret looked compared to even the better workers of the era. While the likes of Hennig or Savage would go for overblown bumps to get a match over, Bret knew just the right amount of everything. An outstanding technician. Even the sections with Anvil in are good because it’s the goddamn Brainbusters.  

 

Having Neidhart take the heat is a strange decision though. If Bret was about to get a big singles push, it would make more sense, but the Harts still have another tag title run after this. The wild part of Bret not yet getting a singles run, is how many guys I’m talking about as washed in this era being younger than him at this point. Bret is already 32, which in 1989 years, is old. Anyway, the Busters pull out a blind switch and clock Bret in the back of the head to retain. Great match though. ***¾.  

 

Video Control takes us backstage and oh no.  

Dusty got fired by the NWA and ended up here. Vince McMahon thought it’d be funny to turn Dusty into a joke, wearing the polka dots and dancing and stuff. Dusty, to his credit, didn’t give a fuck. He just rolled with it.  

 

Honky Tonk Man vs. Dusty Rhodes 

Dusty is a guy who helped his legacy after he retired. If he’d have retired and left the biz, people would not have good memories of him. However, his dedication to helping the next generation of talent gives him a reputation way above his in-ring work. When the WWE stick together tributes to Dusty and what a magical character he was, they don’t include clips from this match. Let’s just say that.  

 

The match goes on for ten minutes and they just don’t have anything. There’s a load of rest holds. The crowd are bored out of their minds. This style of wrestling had very much gone out of vogue by 1989. As if being boring alone isn’t enough of a crime, they work in a ref bump. Jimmy Hart accidentally whacks Honky with the guitar and Dusty drops an elbow for the win. This STUNK. An utter dogshit match. A total DUD. Dusty entertains the fans with his dancing after the match.  

 

Video Control takes us backstage and oh no. 

They’ve turned Hacksaw into some weird, mentally challenged gimp. I can only assume Quentin Tarantino was watching at home and making notes for the future script of Pulp Fiction.  

 

Mr Perfect vs. Red Rooster 

Hennig doesn’t even get a walk out. He’s introduced “in the ring” like a jaybrone. There’s only one jabronie in this match though. Terry Taylor was cutting some of the worst promos of all time around 1989. All with chicken references and cockerel noises. Hennig is great here. He’s so fast. The speed of his rope running is amplified by following Big Dust. Taylor has no fight at all and Perfect treats him like a bitch. Perfectplex and we’re done in three minutes. Poor Terry got treated like a jobber here. Boy, howdy.  

 

Rick Martel & Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Tito Santana & Rockers 

This is on the back of Martel turning on Santana after the Strike Force reunion. Quite why they didn’t want to do a singles match is anyone’s guess. They did work the loop together and clashed in the final of the King of the Ring (not televised) but that was it. Watching Martel’s little dance here makes me think it was the original French Tickler.  

 

Martel brings a lot of great heel energy to his performance. He’s equal parts smug and vicious. Tito takes the heat, which is another odd choice. Seeing as he has the beef, surely you’d want him as the hot tag. Or maybe they feel him taking a beating intensifies the Martel feud. Tito does create his own hope spots, which is cool, but the segment just runs too long.  

 

Shawn ends up being the hot tag and getting the high-pitched pops. Tito wipes out Martel with the flying forearm amid the match breaking down. Martel cheap shots Jannetty for the pin. This was a long way to go for that finish. The match was over 16:00 and about 12:00 of that was Santana getting beaten up. This hasn’t aged well.  

 

Video Control takes us backstage and oh no. 

The Ultimate Warrior (or WOYAH~! As he was always known as the old Smash website) cuts an incoherent promo right into camera.  

 

WWF Intercontinental Championship 

Rick Rude (c) vs. Ultimate Warrior 

To this point, Warrior’s matches had been a fucking mess but Rude has slowed him down over the summer with house shows clashes. Rude takes some sick bumps to get the match over including a huge press slam to the floor. Comms get into a row about DQ’s not happening on the floor, which makes no sense. Tony claiming you can’t get disqualified outside of the ring.  

 

While this is a decent match it’s weird seeing a) Warrior work this slowly and b) comparing this to the NWA at the same time, where Steamboat was cooking. Far more of the match is focused on goofy selling. Not just from Rude either. Warrior’s whole approach to selling is odd. Sadly, as the match is building, they work in a ref bump. Sigh. Why? It actually ruins the flow of this and serves no purpose. 

 

Rude hits a piledriver where Warrior lands it on his shoulders. Bizarre. Roddy Piper, who was beefing with Bobby Heenan on Prime Time Wrestling, shows up. As much as I love Piper, his babyface act in 1989 was horrendous. Juvenile humour, aimed squarely at children. Anyway, he distracts enough for Warrior to go to his finish and Warrior gets his belt back.  

This was Warrior’s best match, to this point, and showed he could follow instructions and putting together a capable 15-minute outing. Until Hulk Hogan performed the biggest miracle of his career at Wrestlemania VI, this would remain Warrior’s highest point in the ring. Call it about **¾. Worringly close to the spreadsheet and proof that even the shittiest of wrestlers can have good matches if you play to their strengths.  

 

Sidenote: Summerslam 1989 has a decent reputation based on that first half, which is decent. However, the second half of this show is drek. Let’s strap in.  

 

Video Control gives us some promos because we’re in intermission. Ah, intermission. What a time to be alive. The trouble with this card is the entire second half is a piss break.  

Cheers!  

 

Video Control continues with a recap of the Hogan-Zeus angle. Just watching this shows how little they gave Zeus to do. They could have at least taught him a slam or something.  

 

Andre the Giant & Twin Towers vs. Jim Duggan & Demolition 

Boss Man + anyone capable vs. Demolition might have been ok here. Add in Andre, Akeem and Duggan and it’s a recipe for disaster. There are various shades of shite here, but Andre is painful to watch now. He struggles to walk around the ring and almost every ‘spot’ involves him hanging on the ropes, so he doesn’t fall over. At least he’s aware of his limitations and the WWF have clearly given up on him working any singles matches. Duggan hits Akeem with the 2×4 while the ref is trying to get Andre out of the ring and we’re done. This was bad but short and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. I’ll give them a pass. 

 

Greg Valentine vs. Hercules 

Ron Garvin is the ring announcer, seeing as he’s already been retired by Hammer and banned from refereeing. Garvin makes fun of Valentine but he’s horribly unfunny. The slow burn to their eventual PPV clash continues, unabated. Ronnie Garvin is good at hitting people hard. That’s about it. Talking? Not so much. Valentine sells in this like that dude who Triple H got pissy with on Tough Enough. Valentine wins with his feet on the ropes. Garvin announces Herc as the winner, which is wrong. Get Jack Tunney out here to fire him again! The match was dreadful. The angle is dreadful too.  

 

Video Control takes us backstage and…what?  

This seems to be playing on the idea that Sherri is a witch of some sort. Bit harsh.  

 

Ted DiBiase vs. Jimmy Snuka 

DiBiase has gone from main event star to guy who cackles a lot. Snuka is dead weight. They do the International and Snuka fucks it up. Time to switch from leapfrogs to drop downs, brrrrrother. I feel bad for Ted, there’s not much he can do. Snuka starts fighting with Virgil, in front of the ref. That’s a DQ? Or something? Luckily nobody cares and Snuka gets counted out to ZERO reaction. This is the point where Vince realised Snuka was finished and turned him into a JTTS. He does a great job of murdering* Virgil with the Superfly Splash in all fairness.  

 

*In the edit, this is an unfortunate choice of words.  

 

Ah yes, that famous wrestler Burtus. Burtus “The Beefer” Barbcake. Video Control takes us to Hogan and Beefcake. Hogan claims he parted the sea like Moses. This is not the first time Hogan has made outrageous claims about large bodies of water. I simply don’t believe him. Hogan continues to make perverted comments about how “curvy” his special weapon is. He’s talking about Miss Elizabeth.  

 

Promo Time: The Genius 

He recites one of his poems. Was this in Savage’s contract? Am I alone in thinking that Genius’ poems are fucking shit? He’s just talking. Poetry is mastering words. Not just firing them at a crowd with a dodgy cadence.  

 

Zeus & Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake 

This isn’t so much a match as a spectacle. While it’s patently obvious that Zeus cannot do anything, they’ve built him to be a monster. You only get one shot at being a monster and if it pays off, you’re a monster forever. Miss Elizabeth shows up to be in the champ’s corner and Savage is IRATE.  

The story of the match is that Zeus cannot be hurt but also, he doesn’t know any moves apart from the bearhug. They show all that and then let Savage work the match. Any time Zeus is in there, Savage literally tells him what the spots are by whispering into his ear. Although every time it’s “put him in a bearhug”.  

 

It’s wild to watch Savage orchestrate the match. Calling everything and continually letting Zeus know where to be. Beefcake’s role, as you’d expect, is to take the heat. Although they do bizarrely have Beefcake grab a sleeper on Zeus and have Savage save him. This is the introduction of a key element to the match; Sherri’s “loaded” purse.  

 

The format does make Savage look stupid because he is always the one to give up tags and comebacks. You can’t get anything on Zeus. Sherri gets involved a little bit but Liz, as expected, is a non-factor. The worst part of the match is Hogan completely no selling the Big Elbow. It’s an early Reviving Elbow.  

 

The finish is cool as everyone comes into play. Sherri jumps on the apron but Liz tips her into the ring. Her purse goes flying. Beefcake then stops Savage, and the purse comes to Hogan. Somehow Earl Hebner misses the shenanigans, slam, legdrop, game over. My only surprise with this match was that Savage didn’t eat the pin. Liz socks Sherri with the purse for good measure and she plays dead while Beefcake trims her hair. 

 

This match has a bad rap. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it. They play to Zeus’ strengths and keep his involvement light but effective. In the Complete WWF Video Guide (Volume #1) I gave this **¼ and I think that’s about right. It could have been a disaster. There are plenty of examples of WCW doing the same sort of thing with Hogan.  

 

The 411: 

After this show, I bet Brutus Beefcake was walking on the air. Being a main event star of one of the biggest shows of the year. Speaking of which, this is handily better than Wrestlemania V* and it’s the WWF’s best show of 1989. A mixture of undercard workrate, which was new, and entertaining main events. Sure, some of it is pure dogshit. Dusty-HTM, Demos-Towers, Valentine-Herc and DiBiase-Snuka are all awful and entirely skippable. Compared to every other show of 1989 (in the WWF) this comes out favourably. If you only watch one show from this year, it should probably be this one. Oddly enough, it’s unlikely to make a top 5 shows of the year because of how good the NWA was and how entertaining New Japan was. There was some proper Sportz Entertainment on show here though.  

 

*While Wrestlemania V had that headline Hogan-Savage match, I don’t think that’s a great match unlike Busters-Harts here. Also, Mania V has a rotten bloated undercard and a horrible crowd in a shit venue.