Gene Okerlund says that he will be substituting for Gorilla Monsoon on tonight’s telecast and Bobby Heenan is AWOL for unknown reasons.
Opening Contest: Jake Roberts (20-1) pins Buddy Rose after the DDT at 2:39:
Rose loses to Roberts for the second time this year, but he manages a healthy amount of offense, scoring a near-fall from a clothesline. He also does an impressive kip up for a man his size.
Heenan comes into the studio late, saying that another limousine stole his parking spot.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps SummerSlam.
Okerlund says he is empathetic to Sapphire because from her humble roots it would be tough to reject Ted DiBiase’s gifts. Heenan is more shocked that Sapphire accepted the gifts instead of stealing them.
Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) (15-3-1) pins Sonny Blaze after the Rude Awakening at 1:13:
In the split screen, the Big Bossman warns Heenan that he is digging a big hole by making comments about his mother and he should stop while he is ahead. Rude wins easily, but it is a massive downgrade to go from feuding with the WWF Champion to fighting a guy over “Your momma” jokes. After the match, Rude kisses a female fan to revive his cartoonish post-match routine.
A replay of the Genius’ poem directed at schoolchildren is shown.
Tito Santana (13-7-1) defeats Bob Bradley after the flying forearm at 3:28:
Earlier in the year it took Santana more than fourteen minutes to finish Bradley off. He manages to do it in less time today, but the match drags as Bradley takes a long powder on the floor and can only mount strikes when he goes on the offensive.
Demolition defeat Jim Powers, Jim McPherson & Tim McCreary when Crush pins McPherson after Demolition Decapitation at 5:06 shown:
This match was filmed on August 7 when Demolition still held the tag team titles, so it is joined in progress so fans do not see Demolition with the titles. Demolition deliberately work over their jobber opponents in a bout that is meant to showcase their six-man abilities so as to hype house show bouts against the Legion of Doom and the Ultimate Warrior.
Promo time with Sean Mooney! Koko B. Ware tells the locker room that he is not a hard person to find if they want a fight. The Barbarian and Bobby Heenan say that they are hungry for all of the tough guys in the WWF to test them.
A replay of Tugboat calling out Earthquake and Dino Bravo on the docks is shown.
The Brooklyn Brawler (1-11) beats Barry O after rolling through an O’Connor roll and using the tights at 9:48 shown:
According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this jobberific clash took place in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on July 27 and was supposed to feature the Brawler against Brady Boone. It is a clinic in how to kill time as the Brawler stalls a lot, Barry responds by working a long armbar, and the Brawler counters that after a commercial break with a chinlock. After eight minutes, the action finally picks up as Barry gets near-falls from a clothesline and snap suplex. However, the Brawler rolls through an O’Connor roll and uses the tights to retain his enhanced jobber status. Rating: DUD
Okerlund’s interview with Sergeant Slaughter on Wrestling Challenge, along with Nikolai Volkoff’s interruption, airs
The Bushwhackers (18-0) beat Black Bart & Dick Woody when Butch pins Woody after a double stomachbreaker at 2:51:
This is the only WWF televised appearance of the great Dick Woody, whose name is more apt for the adult film industry than the squared circle. The WWF may have recognized this as throughout the match Lord Alfred Hayes and Sean Mooney call Woody “Dick Warning,” but I do not think that fixes the problem. The Bushwhackers wake the crowd up with some double clotheslines and finish Woody with the Battering Ram and double stomachbreaker. Despite being undefeated, though, they are not in the tag team title picture.
More promos with Mooney! WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation remind the locker room that they will defend their titles against anyone. The Warlord and Slick claim that it is only a matter of time before they hold the WWF Championship.
Bad News Brown (21-1-1) pins Mike Pocari after the Ghetto Blaster at 2:47:
This slow squash marks Brown’s last televised appearance in the WWF, as he left after SummerSlam following a pay and booking dispute. His presence will be missed on the heel side of the roster, which is struggling to find credible opponents for the Ultimate Warrior.
A replay of Brother Love’s interview with Rick Martel on Superstars airs.
The Legion of Doom (5-0) defeat Duane Gill & Barry Hardy when Hawk pins Gill after the Doomsday Device at 1:34:
As the Legion toss Gill and Hardy to the floor, Demolition scream in the split screen about how the Legion owe them a debt for costing them the tag team titles at SummerSlam and the Legion will not like how it will be collected. Gill takes a rough beating and just avoids coming down on his head after the Doomsday Device.
Heenan says that if he managed the Legion, he would get them a haircut. He says that Okerlund could be a member of the group because of his awful hair.
Haku (4-4-1) beats Jim Brunzell (1-5) after a backbreaker at 14:48:
Tonight’s feature match also comes from Hamilton, Ontario and was supposed to be Buddy Rose against Brunzell. Brunzell controls most of the match, keeping Haku grounded by working the arm and leg. It is basic stuff, but Lord Alfred Hayes and Sean Mooney sell it as Brunzell’s best way to win because he cannot beat Haku in a brawl. Brunzell lands his patented dropkick after Haku misses an elbow drop, but Haku kicks out. Haku is run shoulder-first into the ring post and rolled up for another near-fall, but he catches Brunzell with a backbreaker to win. It would have been nice for Haku to work the long limb work at the beginning because ignoring it nullified the first three quarters of the match. The back-and-forth over the last five minutes was good, though. Rating: *½
Heenan promises that he has a master plan and by the end of 1990 everyone in the WWF will be answering to him.
The Last Word: Gene Okerlund gave this telecast his best shot but he lacked the same magical chemistry that Gorilla Monsoon had with Bobby Heenan. This is a lesson WCW should have learned when they tried to recreate the atmosphere of Prime Time Wrestling several years later with WCW Main Event. Most of this show was boring, filled with slow and unexciting squashes, and it did not help that a lot of big stars were missing from it.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 8!