Feature2 August 2007
Feel The Heat!
Looking at the the past, present and future of SummerSlam, the WWE's summer spectacular!
Believe it or not, once upon a time the WWE functioned with only one pay-per-view to its name - WrestleMania. And as impossible as it may seem in these main event-a-month times, the company may not have been in such a hurry to add any more shows to its calendar, had rival promotion the NWA (and what would later become WCW) not attempted to stage a WrestleMania of its own.
So it was, then, that on Thanksgiving Day 1987, Jim Crockett - then-owner of the NWA - decided to enter the pay-per-view ball game with a supercard called Starrcade. Seeing an opportunity to one-up his arch rival, Vince McMahon unveiled the first annual Survivor Series on the same day, offering the event to cable companies on the condition that they not carry the Crockett extravaganza. Inevitably, considering the skyrocketing popularity of the WWF - which was led by Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage - the inaugural Survivor Series made millions, costing the NWA dearly. In an even dirtier tactic, McMahon proceeded to air the original Royal Rumble, in 1988, on free television opposite the ill-fated Crockett PPV Bunkhouse Stampede - all of which puts things into better perspective whenever Vince talks about the dirty tactics employed by Eric Bischoff in the Nineties.
By all accounts, however, the Rumble and the Survivor Series were novelty events - a battle royal and a five-man elimination competition respectively. Clearly, these kinds of events weren't on the same level as the multi-match, feud ending, celebrity endorsed glamour of WrestleMania, and this is really where SummerSlam comes into the equation.
SUMMER IN THE GARDEN
Held at New York's Madison Square Garden, the first SummerSlam was staged on 29 August 1988 at a time when the WWF had only three championships (World, Intercontinental and Tag Team) and title matches - let alone title changes - were a rare thing indeed. Although Randy Savage had just grabbed the world title at WrestleMania IV (after Hulk Hogan's colossal four-year stint with the belt), gimmick wrestler The Honky Tonk Man had held onto the Intercontinental championship for 18 long months and Demolition, the tag team champs, were in the midst of a 14-month title run. Another chance to see the gold on the line was much appreciated by the WWF faithful.
Moreover, fans looking to see anything other than squash matches, which the Federation's cable television shows were comprised of, would usually have to wait until WrestleMania or a one-off Saturday Night's Main Event, so it made sense to offer the viewers a supercard that would act as a bridge between each year's Showcase of The Immortals. While in today's climate of 15 annual PPVs SummerSlam has lost some of its allure, 1988's debut event featured some genuinely captivating moments such as The Ultimate Warrior destroying The Honky Tonk Man in 32 seconds to win the Intercontinental title, and an exciting battle between The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. True, the main event was predictably one-dimensional (Hogan and Savage defeated Ted DiBiase and a knackered Andre The Giant in an abysmal contest) but fans of the era were given marquee matches, a title change (and the dawn of The Warrior legacy) and a few new storylines to digest. SummerSlam, therefore, was off to a flying start
For the rest of this feature, check out issue five of FIGHTING SPIRIT - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (US readers check local retailers for availability or click here to subscribe.)
Believe it or not, once upon a time the WWE functioned with only one pay-per-view to its name - WrestleMania. And as impossible as it may seem in these main event-a-month times, the company may not have been in such a hurry to add any more shows to its calendar, had rival promotion the NWA (and what would later become WCW) not attempted to stage a WrestleMania of its own.
So it was, then, that on Thanksgiving Day 1987, Jim Crockett - then-owner of the NWA - decided to enter the pay-per-view ball game with a supercard called Starrcade. Seeing an opportunity to one-up his arch rival, Vince McMahon unveiled the first annual Survivor Series on the same day, offering the event to cable companies on the condition that they not carry the Crockett extravaganza. Inevitably, considering the skyrocketing popularity of the WWF - which was led by Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage - the inaugural Survivor Series made millions, costing the NWA dearly. In an even dirtier tactic, McMahon proceeded to air the original Royal Rumble, in 1988, on free television opposite the ill-fated Crockett PPV Bunkhouse Stampede - all of which puts things into better perspective whenever Vince talks about the dirty tactics employed by Eric Bischoff in the Nineties.
By all accounts, however, the Rumble and the Survivor Series were novelty events - a battle royal and a five-man elimination competition respectively. Clearly, these kinds of events weren't on the same level as the multi-match, feud ending, celebrity endorsed glamour of WrestleMania, and this is really where SummerSlam comes into the equation.
SUMMER IN THE GARDEN
Held at New York's Madison Square Garden, the first SummerSlam was staged on 29 August 1988 at a time when the WWF had only three championships (World, Intercontinental and Tag Team) and title matches - let alone title changes - were a rare thing indeed. Although Randy Savage had just grabbed the world title at WrestleMania IV (after Hulk Hogan's colossal four-year stint with the belt), gimmick wrestler The Honky Tonk Man had held onto the Intercontinental championship for 18 long months and Demolition, the tag team champs, were in the midst of a 14-month title run. Another chance to see the gold on the line was much appreciated by the WWF faithful.
Moreover, fans looking to see anything other than squash matches, which the Federation's cable television shows were comprised of, would usually have to wait until WrestleMania or a one-off Saturday Night's Main Event, so it made sense to offer the viewers a supercard that would act as a bridge between each year's Showcase of The Immortals. While in today's climate of 15 annual PPVs SummerSlam has lost some of its allure, 1988's debut event featured some genuinely captivating moments such as The Ultimate Warrior destroying The Honky Tonk Man in 32 seconds to win the Intercontinental title, and an exciting battle between The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. True, the main event was predictably one-dimensional (Hogan and Savage defeated Ted DiBiase and a knackered Andre The Giant in an abysmal contest) but fans of the era were given marquee matches, a title change (and the dawn of The Warrior legacy) and a few new storylines to digest. SummerSlam, therefore, was off to a flying start
For the rest of this feature, check out issue five of FIGHTING SPIRIT - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (US readers check local retailers for availability or click here to subscribe.)
From the Fighting Spirit Magazine archive. Byline: Calum Waddell.