Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are today’s commentators, continuing the taping cycle in Des Moines, Iowa.
Opening Contest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan (21-1-1) pins Black Bart with the three-point stance clothesline at 1:46:
Duggan goes through the usual formula to defeat Bart for a second time this year, trailing only Mr. Perfect in the number of singles wins for 1990.
Earthquake’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) (13-2-1) defeats Randy Fox after the Rude Awakening at 1:39:
Fox hilariously tries to make a comeback by punching Rude in his abs, which Rude does not sell. Rude does a few snap suplexes in quick succession and earns an easy win to build him for SummerSlam.
The Rockers (13-3-1) defeat Spike Jones & Mike Sharpe when Shawn Michaels pins Jones after a double flying fist drop at 3:32:
Power & Glory and Slick do an insert promo about how the Rockers will regret the day they put a hand on Paul Roma several weeks ago. That causes Monsoon to go off about how Power & Glory are delusional. The Rockers use nice double teams to keep the jobbers off kilter, although Marty Jannetty is in his own world for some of the bout, doing a dropkick on his own instead of waiting for Michaels to double it and slipping when doing a spinning elbow off the ropes. Jannetty’s Rocker Dropper gets a good reaction, though, and is a good setup for the double flying fist drop finisher.
Gene Okerlund interviews Bad News Brown, who has his container of Harlem sewer rats with him. Brown says his rats are “mutant rats” that have been bred to eat reptiles. Okerlund gets scared when Brown gives him a peek at the rats. Brown puts a t-bone steak into the container and whatever is in there bits a big chunk out of it.
The Texas Tornado (3-0) pins Pez Whatley with the discus punch at 2:28:
Heenan chats with Perfect in the split screen and Perfect declines the Tonrado’s challenge from Superstars because the Tornado has not proven himself. The Tornado shows more diversity in his offense than prior matches, but it remains very basic until he twirls off the ropes to land the discus punch.
Sapphire shows off a sixteen-karat diamond ring that her admirer recently sent her. She says she will never take it off.
Tune in next week to see the Bushwhackers, Power & Glory, Nikolai Volkoff, Demolition, and Jake Roberts in action!
The Last Word: The only new storyline development was Mr. Perfect rejecting the Texas Tornado’s challenge, which adds a nice wrinkle to the expected story of “Wrestler A shows up and demands a match and Wrestler B accepts.” The sewer rat hype for SummerSlam keeps getting nuttier as they are now “mutants” that are specially bred to go after Damien, but Brown continues to salvage it.
Here is a glimpse at the WWF’s house show circuit for this week in its history, with results courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Miami, Florida – Miami Arena – August 9, 1990 (5,100): Marty Jannetty pinned Sato as a replacement match that was scheduled to feature the Rockers vs. the Orient Express…Jim Brunzell beat Bob Bradley with a dropkick…Haku pinned Barry O with a headbutt and thrust kick…Nikolai Volkoff defeated Boris Zhukov with a clothesline to the back of the head…The Ultimate Warrior & the Texas Tornado beat Rick Rude & Mr. Perfect when the Warrior pinned Perfect…Black Bart defeated Pez Whatley with a backbreaker…Jake Roberts beat Bad News Brown via disqualification.
Tampa, Florida – The SunDome – August 10, 1990 (2,700): Haku pinned Barry O…Black Bart beat Bez Whatley…Jim Brunzell defeated Bob Bradley…Hercules beat Ronnie Garvin…Jake Roberts defeated Bad News Brown…WWF Tag Team Champions Ax & Crush beat the Hart Foundation…Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Tugboat defeated Dino Bravo & Earthquake.
San Antonio, Texas – Freeman Coliseum – August 11, 1990 (6,800): Buddy Rose pinned Jim Powers…Nikolai Volkoff beat Boris Zhukov…Omar Atlas defeated the Brooklyn Brawler…The Ultimate Warrior & the Texas Tornado beat Rick Rude & Mr. Perfect…Paul Roma defeated Dustin Rhodes…Marty Jannetty & Shane Douglas (substituting for Shawn Michaels) defeated the Orient Express…The Big Bossman beat Ted DiBiase.
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada – Memorial Auditorium – August 11, 1990: Koko B. Ware pinned the Genius with a bulldog…Akeem beat Brady Boone with a splash…Tony Atlas defeated the Barbarian via disqualification when the Barbarian shoved the referee…The Bushwhackers defeated Rhythm & Blues when Luke pinned Greg Valentine after hitting him with a guitar…The Warlord pinned Tito Santana with a flying clothesline…Randy Savage defeated Jimmy Snuka.
Backstage News*: There will be a few last second changes to the SummerSlam card as Tugboat will be replaced in Hulk Hogan’s corner by the Big Bossman. It is not clear why this change will be made other than a possible disciplinary reason. Also, Rick Martel is injured and will not make the show, resulting in a change where Tito Santana will face the Warlord instead. The commentary team will see an overhaul too as Gorilla Monsoon had to have a toe amputated because of poor circulation. As a result, Monsoon will miss the show and be replaced by Vince McMahon, who will call the action with Roddy Piper.
*Shane Douglas replaced Shawn Michaels on house shows this week because Michaels is dealing with a knee injury. It is still expected that Michaels will make SummerSlam so that will not scrap the planned match between the Rockers and Power & Glory.
*The WWF pitched an idea of doing cheap, $8 pay-per-views to distributors next year, but they were rejected. The plan called for these shows to be headlined by midcard matches and contain exclusive interviews.
*Randy Savage will be taking a month off after SummerSlam.
*In talent relations news, Tony Atlas has started working house shows but was not featured on the recent round of television tapings in Providence, Rhode Island because the WWF is still working on his gimmick. It is said to be such an overhaul that people will not realize it is Atlas. Sapphire is wrapping up her dates and will be gone after SummerSlam. The WWF remains in negotiations with Davey Boy Smith.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for August 20.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for August 13!