In 1988, at the height of The Golden Era, the WWE launched what would become “The Hottest Party Of The Summer,” SummerSlam. The first two events emanated from the WWE’s home base of The Tri-State Area (New York and New Jersey, respectively). That meant that all hands were on deck for the biggest and best shows possible.
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In the first few years of the show, the big matches and the undercard matches needed to all work in order to help make the event what it would eventually become. But not every competitor from any era could be remembered by fair-weather fans.
10 The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Vs. The British Bulldogs 1988)
The opening match of the first-ever SummerSlam was a huge tag team match between backstage rivals The British Bulldogs and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. Thankfully, in front of the camera, all four men did business with each other, and no stiff shots with quarters were tossed.
But for all the talk of that infamous story, it’s always Jacques and Dynamite’s names that get mentioned. Meanwhile, Raymond Rougeau doesn’t get nearly enough credit - buts that’s generally due to how big of a personality his brother was.
9 Baron Von Raschke (Managed Powers Of Pain, 1988)
As a Territory star, Baron Von Raschke played on the fears of World War II-era villains and devastated his opponents with The Iron Claw. By the time he got to the WWE, Raschke’s in-ring career was mostly over, and he was brought in to manage The Powers Of Pain, simply known as The Baron.
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He didn’t stay long as they were quickly paired with Mr. Fuji. But The Baron was behind The Warlord And The Barbarian as they decimated The Bolsheviks.
8 Don Muraco (Vs. Dino Bravo, 1988)
There is a litany of Territory Era stars that were fairly big deals in their own regions. Once Vince McMahon started expanding and making offers, those names kept coming to WWE, giving regional stars like The Canadian Strongman Dino Bravo and The Rock Don Muraco the opportunity to show their talents on the grand national stage.
The two forces collided at the inaugural SummerSlam. The Rock was in firm control until Bravo’s manager, Frenchy Martin distracted Muraco long enough for Bravo to score the victory.
7 Ken Patera (Vs. Bad News Brown 1988)
Thanks to his now infamous Tales Of Territory story that saw Ken Patera do hard time, some fans have begun to remember the Olympian. But more for this instance and his time in the AWA than his time spent in the WWE.
While he was there, he was part of the debut SummerSlam running afoul of Bad News Brown. The Judo Master beat the weightlifter with a well-placed Ghettoblaster Kick to the back of the head.
6 Superstar Billy Graham (Commentary 1988)
As one of the original, if not THE original template for what Vince McMahon’s idea of a Superstar should look like, Superstar Billy Graham played a huge hand in the very early pre-Hulkamania days. Several years later, he was more or less retired. But WWE still tried to use him.
In fact, with Jesse Ventura refereeing the main event for the first SummerSlam, it was deemed he couldn’t also do commentary. So for the very first event, it was Superstar Billy Graham filling in along with Gorilla Monsoon.
5 Jimmy Snuka (Vs. Ted DiBiase 1989)
To a lot of new fans, Jimmy Snuka is “meh,” as far as legends go. But despite his tarnished legacy, there are older fans and older wrestlers who thought that the savage was one of the greatest highflyers of all time.
His late eighties-early nineties run isn’t exactly indicative of that sentiment, however. He was pretty much used as an enhancement talent for the likes of guys like The Million Dollar Man, who defeated him at the second SummerSlam.
4 The Red Rooster (Vs. Mr. Perfect 1989)
While die-hard fans of Something To Wrestle might know all about the “cock-a-doodle-doo man,” Terry Taylor’s stint in WWE is often forgettable.
He has spent years since being The Red Rooster explaining that he was also tapped to have The Mr. Perfect gimmick, but Curt Hennig swept in for it instead. The two collided at the 1989 event with perfection preserving over fowl - which shouldn’t be a surprise.
3 The Mighty Hercules (Vs. Greg Valentine 1989)
As one of the original strongmen of Vince McMahon’s WWE, Hercules Hernandez had an impressive look to him. Tremendous arms and barrel-chested, much like the strong men of old. By all accounts, Herc’ just couldn’t translate his real personality to the front of the camera. That typically makes most of his matches forgettable.
Especially when paired with fellow great workers but less than charismatic workers like Greg The Hammer Valentine. The second-generation grappler made short work of the strongman thanks to cheating during the pinfall.
2 The Brain Busters (Vs. The Hart Foundation 1989)
It’s not that fans could ever forget Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. But it might be hard to remember their stint in WWE from 1988 to 1989 as The Brain Busters. The once and future Horsemen had a few major matches during their brief time in WWE.
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At the 1989 SummerSlam, the silky smooth Tully and the technical brawler Arn wrestled against the silky smooth Bret Hart and technical brawler Jim Neidhart in a huge tag team match that easily stole the show.
1 Zeus (W/Macho Man Vs. Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake 1989)
Tiny Lister seemingly couldn’t handle Hulk Hogan beating him in a movie and decided that he would come after him for real.
Armed with “The Eye Of The Madness,” Zeus would team up with The Macho Man to take on Hulk Hogan and his little buddy, Brutus The Barber Beefcake. Just like No Holds Barred, Hulk was able to topple the big man.
