SummerSlam (1988)
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The 1988 SummerSlam (marketed as SummerSlam '88) was the inaugural
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on August 29, 1988, at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The pay-per-view was created to help the company compete against rival promotion
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
. It was one of the first four annual pay-per-view events produced by the WWF, along with WrestleMania, the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, and
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, which were eventually dubbed the "big four". The event consisted of 10
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
matches. The preliminary matches included a title defense by Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man against a surprise challenger, revealed to be
The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...
. The Ultimate Warrior won the match in just 31 seconds to end Honky Tonk's 14-month title reign, at the time, the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in history. The
main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
was a match pitting The Mega Powers (
Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...
and
Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...
), against their long-time rivals, The Mega Bucks (
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
and
André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which ...
). Hogan and Savage won the match after
Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, occasional professional wrestler and prof ...
, Savage's
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, distracted André and DiBiase, by removing her skirt to reveal her panties.


Production


Background

In the late 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) main competition in the
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
industry was from the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
's (NWA)
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
. WWF Chairman
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
countered Jim Crockett's successful Starrcade
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV), which began airing in 1983, by creating WrestleMania. After
WrestleMania III WrestleMania III was a 1987 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the third annual WrestleMania and held on March 29, 1987, at the ...
in March 1987, the most successful professional wrestling pay-per-view event in history, McMahon created
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, which aired the same day as Starrcade in November 1987. After defeating Crockett in the ratings war, McMahon created the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, an event airing for free on the
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
in January 1988, on the same night as the Crockett-produced PPV, Bunkhouse Stampede. The event set a ratings record for the network with eight million households tuning in to watch the event. In retaliation, Crockett created the Clash of the Champions I event, which aired simultaneously with WrestleMania IV. WrestleMania IV garnered higher ratings, and not long after, Crockett filed for bankruptcy and sold his company to
Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
, who rebranded it as
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW). As the WWF continued to replace its closed-circuit programming with pay-per-view programming, McMahon added more pay-per-views to the lineup to capitalize on the success of his previous events. In addition to WrestleMania in March, Royal Rumble in January, and Survivor Series in November, McMahon created an event for August, which he named SummerSlam. It was scheduled to be held on August 29, 1988, at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. To keep the WWF from having a pay-per-view market monopoly, Turner began airing monthly WCW pay-per-views. As a result, both companies brought in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.Assael, Shaun. ''Sex, Lies, & Headlocks'', 94–95.


Storylines

Before SummerSlam, The Honky Tonk Man had been the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWF history. He was originally supposed to defend his championship against Brutus Beefcake, but Beefcake was unable to compete, as a result of a ( storyline) injury received from Ron Bass the week before. Also before the event,
Demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...
( Ax and Smash) held the WWF Tag Team Championship, which they had won at WrestleMania IV after only a year in the WWF; and they would defend their titles at SummerSlam against former champions
The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...
(
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
and Jim Neidhart), who had become fan favorites a few weeks earlier by
turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...
on their manager
Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling ...
. The on-screen
feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
between
Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...
and
Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen ma ...
began weeks before SummerSlam. As part of his gimmick, Rude would—after winning a match—invite a pre-selected woman from the audience to kiss him in the ring. On one occasion, one of the women refused to comply, later identifying herself as Roberts' wife, Cheryl. As the feud intensified, Rude began wearing a pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on them, prompting a furious Roberts to charge into the ring and strip the tights off Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave Rude naked, although the live audience saw him stripped to a G-string instead. For months before the pay-per-view, Hulk Hogan and undisputed WWF Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage, two of the WWF's top crowd favorites, had feuded with André the Giant and Ted DiBiase, respectively. The two feuds first came together at WrestleMania IV, when—as the result of the vacating of the WWF Heavyweight Championship—a 14-man single-elimination tournament was set up to crown a new champion. Hogan and André had been disqualified in their quarterfinal match, while Savage and DiBiase reached the championship match; in that final match, Savage defeated DiBiase with help from Hogan. Savage and DiBiase feuded over the title throughout the spring and summer, but André did not become involved until mid-summer, when he and DiBiase helped instigate a 2-on-1 attack against Savage as he was delivering a promo. Savage quickly recovered and challenged André and DiBiase to a tag team match against him and a partner to be named. That partner was later revealed to be Hogan; the team became known as "The Mega Powers." The André-DiBiase team—which dubbed itself "The Mega Bucks"—retaliated by announcing the guest referee would be someone they declared to be fair and neutral:
Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...
, a color commentator on the WWF's programs who favored the villains, though according to the main storyline, Ventura was chosen by WWF President
Jack Tunney John Tunney Jr. (January 21, 1935 – January 24, 2004) was a Canadian professional wrestling promoter. He was known worldwide for his appearances on World Wrestling Federation television as Jack Tunney under the character of the promotion's pr ...
as the only person capable of handling such a match.


Event

The event began with a match between
The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams i ...
(
Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith ...
and Dynamite Kid), and The Fabulous Rougeaus (
Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...
and Raymond Rougeau). As soon as the bell rang to signify that the match had begun, Smith attacked Jacques. The two teams traded blows until The Rougeaus flipped Dynamite Kid over their heads so that he fell on his back to the mat. Dynamite Kid escaped another offensive maneuver before tagging in his partner, Smith, and The British Bulldogs performed a double-team maneuver on Jacques. Despite having the upper hand, The Bulldogs failed to pin Jacques in time, and the match ended in a twenty-minute time limit draw. The next match was between Bad News Brown and Ken Patera. Before the bell rang, however, Brown attacked Patera, who retaliated by performing a clothesline from the corner. Patera then slipped both of his arms underneath Brown's armpits and locked his hands behind his neck, using a submission move known as a full nelson. At the end of the match, Brown defeated Patera by striking him in the back of the head with his finishing move, the Ghetto Blaster.Shields, Brian. ''Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s'', 174. After the second match ended,
Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...
and the
Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...
made their way to the ring. Their match began as Rude attacked Junkyard Dog from behind, who retaliated by headbutting Rude several times. Subsequently, Rude climbed to the
wrestling ring A wrestling ring, also known as the squared circle, is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. In Japan, it is also common to see mixed mart ...
's top rope and pulled down his tights to reveal another pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl Roberts on them. As a result, Jake Roberts, Cheryl Roberts' husband, ran to the ring and attacked Rude, forcing the referee to disqualify the Junkyard Dog. The next match was a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
match between The Powers of Pain ( The Barbarian and The Warlord), who were accompanied by their manager The Baron, and The Bolsheviks ( Boris Zhukov and
Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-Americans, Croatian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler from Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, ...
), who were accompanied by Slick. Immediately, The Powers of Pain chased The Bolsheviks from the ring. Slick, however, distracted The Powers of Pain long enough to give The Bolsheviks an advantage. Zhukov was then slammed to the mat back-first and headbutted from the top rope, which allowed The Barbarian to pin him.Shields, Brian. ''Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s'', 176. The fifth match of the event was an Intercontinental Championship match between The Ultimate Warrior and the reigning champion, The Honky Tonk Man, who was accompanied by
Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling ...
. Before the match, it had been announced that Honky's original challenger, Brutus Beefcake, was unable to wrestle due to being attacked the previous week on an episode of ''Superstars of Wrestling'' by Outlaw Ron Bass, who had raked his cowboy spurs repeatedly across Beefcake's forehead (television and even the PPV only showed the censored version of the attack). Before the match, the Honky Tonk Man refused to be informed about Beefcake's replacement, and immediately before the match, even grabbed ring announcer Howard Finkel's microphone and said: "Give me someone out here to wrestle, I don't care who it is". His challenge was answered by
The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...
. Warrior, who accidentally knocked Finkel to the floor when he rushed into the ring and hit the ropes, had the advantage from the beginning, attacking The Honky Tonk Man, who was still in his entrance attire. After body-slamming him to the mat and following it up with a clothesline, The Warrior bounded to the ropes and landed stomach-first on The Honky Tonk Man using his signature move, the Warrior Splash. The Ultimate Warrior then pinned The Honky Tonk Man after only thirty-one seconds to win the title. The longest Intercontinental title reign in WWF history had ended with one of the shortest IC title matches in history. Honky's reign would be the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in WWE history until
Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...
broke the record in September 2023. The following contest was a re-match from WrestleMania IV between Dino Bravo and
Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on ...
. Muraco, the crowd favorite, was in control for most of the match until Bravo's manager, Frenchy Martin distracted Muraco, allowing Bravo to use his side suplex and pin him for the win. The Rock had gone into the match without his manager Superstar Billy Graham, who could only look on helplessly from his position in the commentary booth alongside
Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator, and Glossary of profess ...
at the illegal antics of Bravo and Martin. The seventh match of the night was for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Reigning champions Demolition (Ax and Smash), accompanied by both
Mr. Fuji was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, actor and Manager (professional wrestling), manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ...
and Jimmy Hart, were challenged by
The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...
(Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart). As soon as the bell sounded, The Hart Foundation attacked both members of Demolition. Their control was brief, as Demolition then gained the advantage over Neidhart. As Bret Hart was tagged into the match, Demolition got the advantage over him when he was whipped shoulder-first into the turnbuckle, breaking Mr. Fuji's cane that he had placed there when the referee wasn't looking. After a few minutes of Demolition working over Hart's shoulder, a frustrated Neidhart chased Jimmy Hart from ringside and returned to tag back into the match. When all four men began fighting inside the ring, Neidhart attacked Mr. Fuji, who was on the ring apron. At the end of the match, Bret Hart attempted a
piledriver Piledriver or pile driver may refer to: *Pile driver, a person trained to use the diesel hammer that drives piles into the ground for foundations and bridges *Piledriver (professional wrestling), a move used in professional wrestling Entertainme ...
, but Ax hit him with a megaphone given to him by Jimmy Hart sneaking back to the ring. Smash then pinned Bret Hart for the win. The next match was between the
Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, a ...
, accompanied by Slick, and Koko B. Ware. With Slick as a distraction, the Big Boss Man took the early advantage in the match. After crushing Koko in between himself and the turnbuckle with a jumping Avalanche, Boss Man refused to pin him and finish the match. Instead, he attempted to climb to the top rope and land on Koko stomach-first but missed. The Bird Man then retaliated by performing several dropkicks and attempted a pin. Boss Man got his shoulder up to save himself from being pinned, and he slammed his opponent into the mat, allowing him to pin Koko for the win. The second to last match of the night was between Jake Roberts and
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
. When Roberts attempted to slam his opponent's head onto the mat with a DDT, Hercules was able to escape the maneuver and take control of the match. As Hercules attempted to slam Roberts to the mat, Roberts reversed the move into a DDT, enabling him to pin Hercules for the win. The last match of the night was the main event between The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage), accompanied by Miss Elizabeth, and The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant), accompanied by André's manager,
Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, color commentator, and wrestler. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the Wo ...
and DiBiase's bodyguard,
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
.
Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...
was the special guest referee. The Mega Powers took the early advantage over DiBiase. After Hogan attacked André the Giant, who was on the ring apron, The Mega Bucks were able to regain control. After a while, all four men began brawling, and André knocked The Mega Powers out of the ring. Subsequently, as part of the scripted ending to the match, Miss Elizabeth began arguing with Ventura, the referee and ripped off her skirt to reveal a one-piece swimsuit. While the Mega Bucks were distracted, Savage climbed to the top rope and dropped the Macho Elbow on DiBiase, followed by Hogan hitting the leg drop on DiBiase. As Hogan pinned DiBiase, Ventura, a villainous character aligned with The Mega Bucks (despite being a long-time on-air Savage fan and his former tag-team partner), began a slow three-count. As a result, Savage slammed Ventura's arm down for the third time, indicating that Hogan and Savage had won the match.Shields, Brian. ''Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s'', 177.


Reception

The event was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and took place on August 29, 1988, in New York City's Madison Square Garden. The pay-per-view had a 4.5 buyrate, which means that 4.5% of pay-per-view subscribers ordered the event. The original plan for SummerSlam was to bring
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
over from the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA) to the WWF.Flair, Ric. ''To Be the Man'', 234.
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
, the owner of the WWF, wanted Flair to challenge Savage in the main event for the WWF Championship. Flair, however, felt obliged to the NWA, and did not leave the promotion for the WWF. Therefore, Hogan and Savage were paired together to end their feuds with their respective on-screen rivals. Flair would not join the WWF until 1991. In WWE.com's 2007 list of the top ten SummerSlam moments in history, The Ultimate Warrior's Intercontinental Championship title win was listed as number ten, while Miss Elizabeth's distraction during the main event was listed at number nine. Calum Waddell, in ''Fighting Spirit Magazine'', called The Ultimate Warrior's win over the Honky Tonk Man "genuinely captivating," and he said the match between The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeaus was an "exciting battle". In contrast, he had a negative reaction to the main event match, citing it as "predictably one-dimensional" and "abysmal". Similarly, Adam Nedeff of '' 411Mania'', called the tag team match between The British Bulldogs and The Rougeaus "a solid match", but stated that the "lack of a finish was a disappointment". Although he reviewed most of the matches negatively, he called the WWF World Tag Team Championship to match a "good match". Overall, he rated the event a 4.5 out of 10 and stated, "Without Warrior's big win and Elizabeth's surprise finish, this is a forgettable show".


Aftermath

On October 16, 1988,
Ted Dibiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...
defeated
Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...
in the finals of the King of The Ring
Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
. The Mega Powers continued to team together after the event until a new storyline was developed where Randy Savage became jealous of Hulk Hogan paying attention to Miss Elizabeth, and as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, felt slighted over his perceived lower billing in the Mega Powers' pecking order. Several key events were developed to foreshadow their burgeoning feud; these included Hogan asking Elizabeth to accompany him to televised matches, where he would act overly friendly with her, and accidentally eliminating Savage from the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
in January 1989 by knocking him over the top rope and to the floor. The final falling out happened on '' The Main Event II'', when Elizabeth received an on-screen injury during a tag team match. Savage, left alone in the ring while Hogan tended to Elizabeth, attacked Hogan backstage. This rivalry culminated in a match for Savage's WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania V, where Hogan won the title by pinning Savage. As WWF Intercontinental Champion, the Ultimate Warrior began receiving more on-air time and more prominent matches. His feud with the Honky Tonk Man continued for several months until Warrior was placed in a new feud with
Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...
in early 1989. After retaining their title against The Hart Foundation, Demolition held the WWF Tag Team Championship for another 11 months, as part of a record-breaking 16-month reign as champions, before eventually losing the title to The Brain Busters ( Tully Blanchard and
Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Agent, road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. Although he ...
) on '' Saturday Night's Main Event XXII''. During the midst of their title reign, despite being billed as villains, Demolition's popularity with fans continued to grow, and the tag team eventually was turned face 3 months after SummerSlam at the 1988 Survivor Series. Several of the WWF's stars from the beginning of its national expansion in 1984 slowly began leaving the promotion over the next few months, including Ken Patera, Junkyard Dog, The British Bulldogs (particularly Dynamite Kid), and Don Muraco as the WWF began focusing on new talents such as Bad News Brown, Rick Rude, the Ultimate Warrior, the Powers of Pain, and the Brain Busters (who would arrive in October 1988). Later in 1988, The Big Boss Man would join forces with the One Man Gang (who by then; had changed his character to Akeem, hailing from "Deepest Darkest Africa") to form the tag team called "The Twin Towers". The Bolsheviks began to fall down the tag team ranks, losing in feuds with the Powers of Pain and later with the newly arrived Bushwhackers and Rockers. Following the inaugural 1988 event, SummerSlam became one of the WWF's most successful events, as well as one of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble, which were eventually dubbed the "Big Four". Those four events, along with King of the Ring introduced in 1993, were known as the "Classic Five" (or "Big Five") until 2002, as the King of the Ring PPV was discontinued after 2002. In August 2021, Money in the Bank joined the four to become part of the "Big Five". SummerSlam has also been referred to as "The Biggest Party of the Summer", and eventually became the promotion's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and the "WWE" abbreviation became an orphaned initialism in April 2011. SummerSlam continued to be held in August every year, except for
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, which was held in July. From
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
onwards, SummerSlam is held as a two-night event.


Results


Footnotes


References

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Further reading

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External links


Official 1988 SummerSlam site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerslam 1988 1988 in New York City 1988 Professional wrestling shows in New York City 1988 WWF pay-per-view events August 1988 in the United States