WWF Superstars of Wrestling – July 21st, 1990
By Brian Bayless on 9th October 2017
July 21, 1990
From the Hara Arena in Dayton, OH
Your hosts are Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Vince McMahon
In action this week are the Legion of Doom, Ted DiBiase, The Rockers, Dino Bravo, and Nikolai Volkoff. Plus, the SummerSlam Report and Rick Rude as the guest on the “Brother Love Show.”
Jim Powers vs. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase w/ Virgil
Powers got an entrance here. DiBiase taunts the crowd after an arm drag and continues to stay in control. We hear from the Big Bossman in an insert promo as he promises a long sentence for defamation of character then Powers fights back. He hits a dropkick and a slam as DiBiase rolls outside for a breather. DiBiase returns and chops Powers in the corner then hits a powerslam before using the Million Dollar Dream for the win (2:30). After the match, DiBiase sticks a $100 bill in Powers’ mouth.
Thoughts: The DiBiase/Bossman feud continues with Bossman even more pissed due to the fact DiBiase has been ragging on his hometown and spreading lies by paying off people to talk bad about him.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. He first tells us that “Supertape 2” from Coliseum Home Video will be available this Wednesday before telling us that Brutus Beefcake will be out of action due to a parasailing injury. However, Mr. Perfect will still have to defend the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam. Okerlund then tells us that the Demolition vs. Hart Foundation for the Tag Team Titles will take place at SummerSlam in a best 2/3 falls match as we hear from both teams. The stipulation is that Demolition can only have two men at ringside as they call the Hart Foundation “crybabies.” First, we learn that Mr. Perfect will be defending the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam as they search for a challenger. Also, the Tag Titles will be defended as we have the second match confirmed for the PPV.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Pez Whatley
Volkoff is using “Stars and Stripes” as his entrance music. Vince lets us know Volkoff is still using the flag given to him by Jim Duggan as Jesse notes thanks to the Supreme Court you can still burn them. Vince chastises Jesse for bringing up politics then Whatley jumps Volkoff from behind. Volkoff fights back as we see inserts of fans talking about Volkoff going to become a good American and busts out a carthwheel and spin kick before the Russian Sickle gets the win (1:06).
Thoughts: The Volkoff babyface push continues as they are doing all they can to get the fans to cheer.
Sgt. Slaughter is shown firing a machine gun then tells us he is a drill sergeant. He then tells us he used to be proud of America but not anymore since they opened their arms to the “pinko commie” Volkoff and is sick of the crap that Gorbachev has been feeding the American people. Slaughter tells us that America is soft both physically and in the head while saying to him, the Cold War never ended. Slaughter is back and with a new character who is angry with America. This promo was a lot edgier than anything else going on in the company, particularly with acts like Tugboat and The Bushwhackers around. I thought it was effective.
SummerSlam Report with Gene Okerlund. He runs down the matches that have already been announced then tells us that the Ultimate Warrior will defend the WWF World Heavyweight Title against Rick Rude in a steel cage match as part of a “double main event.” We then hear from Earthquake, Jimmy Hart, and Dino Bravo along with Hulk Hogan & Tugboat as they hype up their match. We also hear from the Ultimate Warrior as he is seen behind a cage as he promises to leave SummerSlam as the champion. Okerlund tells us that more matches will be announced next week. I’ll tell you what, after watching all of the programming, Warrior vs. Rude does not feel like a main-event title feud at all. Hell, the Hart Foundation vs. Demolition feud is getting more focus.
Legion of Doom vs. Black Bart & Tom Stone
The LoD immediately beat down their opponents. Bart gets dumped outside and Stone gets destroyed until the LoD hit the Doomsday Device for the win (1:29).
Thoughts: Vince really went out to push the Legion of Doom in there “Superstars of Wrestling” debut. The LoD came to the WWF as they said Vince told them they would make more money than ever but found out that was not the case.
Sapphire shows off a bracelet and talks about how pretty it is and does not care who is giving them to her because they look nice. Now, we wait to find out who is the person giving her these gifts.
Brother Love Show with guests Rick Rude & Bobby Heenan. Rude tells us before SummerSlam rolls around he will “lock horns” with the Ultimate Warrior and he will go down. He then talks about SummerSlam and how the whole world will see Warrior climb the cage not to retain his title but rather to escape the punishment he will receive as Rude takes off his robe. Rude says he beat Warrior before and will do it again as Heenan warns the “Little Warriors” that a storm is coming and their will be a new champion. The promos were fine but this feud really does not have much heat at all. Even with the new look the fans do not seem to buy Rude as a legitimate threat to Warrior’s title.
Paul Roma vs. Dino Bravo w/ Jimmy Hart
Roma gets an entrance and also still uses the “Crank it Up” theme like Powers. Bravo takes control to start and hammers away in the corner. Roma comes back with a dropkick then heads up top with a sunset flip for a nearfall. Roma fires away but soon gets caught with a side slam as Bravo picks up the win (1:58). After the match, Hart tosses his megaphone to Bravo, who whacks Roma in the back of the head.
Thoughts: Roma got in some shine but came up short then cheap-shotted after the match.
Ronnie Garvin shows us how much he loves the WWF Ice Cream Bars.
The Rockers head out to the ring for their match as we see Roma being helped up by officials. The Rockers then assist and bring Roma to the corner but Roma is pissed and shoves Marty. Roma then shoves The Rockers down as the announcers seem to think its due to him being knocked out with the megaphone but Hercules now comes in the ring and sides with Roma. They are also wearing the same attire. Hercules sucker punches Marty then they brawl with The Rockers getting the upper hand. The officials stop Hercules & Roma from returning to the ring. We’ve seen Hercules & Roma team up together on “Prime Time Wrestling” and they did a WWF Ice Cream Bars segment on syndicated TV but now they are pushing them together in a storyline. How the whole confrontation played out and finished was solid and the turn was unexpected, especially since it appeared they might have been feuding with the
Orient Express after Roma Saved Hercules from an attack.
The Rockers vs. Al Burke & Bob Bradley
This match took place after a break. They clear the ring then beat on Burke as the announcers argue over the prior segment. Bradley tags in and beats on Marty until he ducks his head and caught with a dropkick. Shawn makes a blind tag and catches Bradley with a jumping back elbow smash from the top rope then we see Hercules & Roma as Vince asks if they are jealous of The Rockers. Hercules & Roma are sick of people cheering for The Rockers and say they are the superior athletes and will now become a team as The Rockers get the win with a double flying fist drop (3:18).
Thoughts: The Rockers looked good and we had Hercules & Roma say they are now a team with their jealousy of The Rockers is fueling them.
Vince puts over the Legion of Doom as Jesse wants to wait a month or two down the road before making a decision on whether or not they are great. In action next week are Jim Duggan, Earthquake, Dusty Rhodes, and the Big Bossman.
Final Thoughts: An action-packed show for sure. We saw the return of Slaughter, how Power & Glory formed, learned of two other title matches at SummerSlam, and the continuation of the angle where Sapphire is receiving luxurious gifts. This set of tapings, which began with last week’s show, is when the company began to pick up after a lackluster period that followed WrestleMania VI.