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WWF Superstars of Wrestling - August 11, 1990

by Scrooge McSuck

- I have no real reason for picking this show. I was skimming through various stuff to watch and randomly picked a short show to sit through, and out of a few options, this episode of Superstars gets the nod.

- We're only a few weeks away from the 3rd Annual SummerSlam, headlined by a double main event of Warrior vs. Rude for the WWF Title inside a Steel Cage, and the return of Hulk Hogan taking on the Earthquake in a grudge match. Depending on how much you hate Hogan, this is where the bitching of "Hogan stole the spotlight from Warrior by inserting himself in a program with Earthquake, the top heel at the time" begins. Yes, it was a little bit odd to put that program together, but also the WWF creative team can be blamed for having one semi-legit heel to be considered over enough to feature in the main events.

- Taped from Omaha, NE, with Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura calling the action. Ventura would call one more episode of Superstars before his departure from the company, marking an absence of nearly 9-years before making another appearance. They hype up the Brother Love Show with the ULLLLLTIMATE Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Legion of Doom, the Million Dollar Man, a SummerSlam Report, and the Big Boss Man.

- The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) vs. Pez Whatley & Randy Jackson:
The LOD had only made their WWF a few weeks before this, their most high profile appearance to date being the latest episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. Pez Whatley is a name old school NWA fans might remember, but in the WWF universe, he was just another scrub. It's always a shame seeing guys that made up the midcard ranks in other promotions being used in such a low-profile way for a paycheck. LOD attack their opponents from behind, and we get an inset promo from Demolition. Hawk rams Jackson to the corner, then comes off the ropes with a diving shoulder tackle, followed by a fist drop. Animal tags in, and connects with a dropkick. Hawk comes in with a blow across the shoulder, then takes Jackson over with a powerslam. Hawk with a leg drop, and the Doomsday device ends this one at 1:57. Well, at least Whatley didn't have to do anything other than hang out on the apron, right? For those that care, I won't be rating squash matches like this with stars, but it was an OK showcasing of the LOD's offense.

- From the pages of WWF Magazine, here's Update, with Mean Gene Okerlund. Last week on Superstars of Wrestling, Nikolai Volkoff was presented the Freedom Medal from the Boy Scouts of America, making this Volkoff's proudcest moment. We get comments from Volkoff and his new-found friend Hacksaw Jim Duggan about how happy Volkoff he is for recieving the award.

- Sgt. Slaughter vignette from Vince McMahon's backyard. He cuts a promo on the Boy Scouts of America and Nikolai Volkoff. Everyone's a puke to him, and that's a fact, if you've ever listened to any other Slaughter promo. He's going to be Brother Love's guest at SummerSlam.

- "The Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich vs. Iron Mike Sharpe:
Speaking of freshly debuted, Von Erich made his in-ring debut at the previously mentioned episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, taking care of Playboy Buddy Rose with limited trouble. Sharpe plays keep away for a moment, before a lockup goes into the corner. Von Erich gives a clean break, of course. Lockup into the corner, and Sharpe with some clubberin' rights. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Von Erich nails him with a clothesline. Roundhouse rights by the Tornado, followed by the Discuss Punch, and that's enough for a three count at 1:26. Well, that was quick.

- Mr. Perfect (IC Champion) (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Randy Fox:
Interestingly, Perfect is without an opponent at SummerSlam, thanks in part to his (never formally announced) opponent, Brutus Beefcake, suffering a near-career ending injury a month earlier. In fact, I don't remember if Perfect even had a real feud going on since the Hogan thing fizzled right before Wrestlemania VI. Lockup to start, and Perfect shoves him to the corner. Inset promo from Perfect and Heenan, who still have no scheduled opponent for SummerSlam. Perfect with chops in the corner, followed by a snapmare and a float-over neck snap. Perfect with a unique knee lift, followed by a standing dropkick. Fox with a few meager blows, but Perfect nails him with a stiff clothesline, and the Perfect-Plex ends it at 2:05. Perfect's squashes were always fun to watch, at least when he was a heel. Post-match, out comes the recently victorious Kerry Von Erich. He gets on the microphone and challenges Perfect to a match for the Intercontinental Title, then simply walks away. Ventura questions how Von Erich can be considered for a title match after having one match.

- Event Center time, with Sean Mooney. He's hyping a Boston Garden card for August 18th. Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire, with Elizabeth, take on Randy Savage and Sensational Queen Sherri, with Brother Love in their corner. Also, in a Flag match, Nikolai Volkoff takes on Boris Zhukov. In Six-Man action, the Hart Foundation and Jim Duggan take on the three members of Demolition. Jimmy Snuka goes against the Model Rick Martel, and Hercules will face Hillbilly Jim. We get promos from Nikolai Volkoff, followed by the recently turned Hercules and his new/old manager, Slick.

- "Million $ Man" Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) vs. "Jumping" Jim Brunzell:
Much like Mr. Perfect, Ted Dibiase is also without anything scheduled for SummerSlam, despite spending the summer feuding with the Big Boss Man, who ended up being wasted for the PPV as well. I just never understood why these high profile feuds were never used for a PPV blowoff. Lockup to start, and they trade off wristlocks. Irish whip, and Dibiase puts Brunzell down with a shoulder block, followed by a hip toss and arm drag. Dibiase with a headlock. Irish whip, and Brunzell takes him down with a monkey flip, followed by a series of arm drags. Brunzell sling-shots Dibiase back into the ring, but a hip toss is blocked, and Dibiase floors him with a clothesline. Dibiase stomps away, then sends Brunzell to the buckle. Irish whip, and Dibiase takes him over with a powerslam. Dibiase applies the Million $ Dream, and that's all she wrote at 2:06. After the match, Dibiase shoves $100 into the mouth of the defeated Brunzell. Energetic squash.

- It's time, once again, for The Brother Love Show, and he's got a very special guest this week. It's none other than the World Wrestling Federation Champion, the Ultimate Warrior. Warrior manhandles Brother Love, just because he can. Warrior points out all of his fans, and they're all wearing his stupid face-paint "masks" that the WWF Merchandise Catalog was shilling at the time. I smell free hand-outs... Warrior just kind of mumbles nonsense and makes mild threats towards his SummerSlam opponent, Rick Rude, and that's it. Pretty boring. Well, that was a waste of time. One certain website incorrectly identifies this show as the one where Warrior brought a little girl on the stage with him, simply named "Amanda Ultimate Warrior", but that was on a Brother Love from a few months earlier.

- SummerSlam (1990) Report, brought to you by Mean Gene Okerlund. SummerSlam is coming to you live, August 27th, from the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA, available only on PPV. The card, announced so far, is as followed...

- The Orient Express (Sato & Tanaka) (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Koko B. Ware & Ricky Rice:
Poor Koko... You know you've hit the rock bottom of usefulness when you're subjected to tag teaming with a random scrub. Like Whatley, I recognize Rice from various other promotions, notably the AWA, but here he's on the same level as your average Joe jobber. Tanaka grabs a headlock on Koko, but gets taken over with a hip toss. Koko with a headbutt, followed by a scoop slam. Tanaka rakes the eyes, then whips Koko to the corner, but misses a charge. Koko with a wristlock, and Rice tags in, coming off the ropes with an axehandle. Tanaka with some rights, and Sato tags in, with a knee to the midsection. Tanaka tags in and connects with a reverse crescent kick. Irish whip, and Tanaka with his sweet twisting forearm. Sato tags in and snapmares Rice over, then crushes him across the neck with his full body. Sato with a spinning heel kick, followed by a sit-out powerbomb for the three count at 1:49.

- Sweet Sapphire cuts a horrible promo about how her mysterious gift-giver just gave her a 16K diamond ring, on top of already recieving a new car and a luxury cruise. Who could possibly afford all of these expensive gifts? And why?

- Sean Mooney is back with more of the Event Center promos to hype up the August 18th Boston Garden show. Demolition with a promo on their match against the combination of the Hart Foundation and Jim Duggan. Next, we've got a promo from the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. Sapphire is absent from the promo, and Rhodes even makes note of that. Interesting...

- Big Boss Man vs. Paul Diamond:
Here we go with another former AWA guy being relegated to squash duties, and he was AWA Tag Team Champion not too recently at this point, too. Inset promo from Bad News Brown, concerning Boss Man being the special referee at SummerSlam. Boss Man whips Diamond to the corner, then boots him in the mouth. Boss Man with a splash across the back of Diamond. Irish whip, and the Sidewalk Slam ends it just like that at the 58-second mark. Didn't take too much for the Boss Man, did it? After the match, he handcuffs Diamond to the ropes, but decides not to beat the shit out of Diamond with the night-stick. Heel Boss Man would've done it without any second thoughts, and damn it, it would've been awesome!

- Once more, it's time for the Event Center. Jimmy Snuka cuts one of his typically lame promos, this time concerning the Model, Rick Martel. Afterwards, it's time for words from the Royal Couple of the WWF, the Macho King and Sensational Queen, as well as their special cornerman for the match, Brother Love. Remember, all of this action, and more, is coming to you from the Boston Garden, saturday night, August 18th. Not the most impressive card, but hey, who wouldn't want to see Hillbilly Jim vs. Hercules or Jimmy Snuka vs. Rick Martel?

- Next week, it's Bad News Brown, The Hart Foundation, Tugboat, and the Macho King Randy Savage in action, as well as more updates with the SummerSlam Report.

Final Thoughts: Not the greatest examples of developing angles leading up the the second biggest PPV of the year. Yes, they set the seeds for the Tornado/Perfect match, Nikolai Volkoff's babyface and wanting to be an American citizen, and keep pushing the stuff with Sapphire. But where's the main event stuff? Where was Hogan and Earthquake? Where was Rick Rude? Why are Ted Dibiase and Boss Man not even on the card? The squash matches were a bit disappointing as well, despite featuring mostly "name" jobbers. Oh well, it's still a fun trip down memory lane.

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