STW

On this episode: Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson talk about Summerslam 1988!
Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of former WWE executive Bruce Prichard co-hosted by Conrad Thompson.
The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes typically range from 2 hours to 4 hours in length, and include discussions about previous WWE pay-per-views and former WWE wrestlers.
The mega powers meet the mega bucks when Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan team up to take on Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant. Rick Rude and more.
WATCH INSTRUCTIONS
Audio:5:22
Video: network.wwe.com/video/v31350173
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[@s.scottmendenhall6452]

This is why I loved stables with managers!! It didn’t happen on this show, but for the following Summerslam and other shows in this era, you had the ability to further multiple storylines, the heel team makes sense as to why they would be paired up, and you have the opportunity to have multiple fresh matchups with various combinations of the six participants in singles matches during the build to the six-man AND after as you build to the climax of the singles and tag stories you are trying to tell. Awesome show!

[@kieranwalsh5779]

Starts at 5:20

[@broussard41]

Kieran Walsh Only at 5:20?! Was Conrad in such a hurry to get to Starrcast he went easy on the usual parade of endless shilling?

[@RC.41]

Some heroes don’t wear capes

[@Davidjon1946]

Kieran Walsh you are one of the good ones heaven holds a special place for you

[@brentfu1119]

Plus 1 to you sir.

[@ciaranmurren]

Thanks brudda

[@johnnymccollum5935]

That picture has me Rollin😂😂😂

[@5th_horsemen]

INDEED

[@whidoineedthis]

Bruce lookin like master roshi

[@jeff136]

KEEP ROLLIN ROLLIN ROLLIN YEAH

[@WilliamBlarBlar]

Seth Rollin?

[@basiliofrusciante8314]

I've been anticipating this one for a while now:i was there at Madison Square Garden that night,so this show will always stand out for me.:)

[@hanmeyer1301]

Ultimate Kafabe. When the Rockers arrived, a crowd of girls and geeks went that way. My friend and I laughed as we heard a loud tire screech. Badnews Brown stared in a rage as he drove around the parking lot. We were honestly scared to approach him as he was unloading his gear from the trunk. We walked with him to the arena. He did such a great job at ignoring us, even though we were giving him complements. When i gave him a pat on the shoulder, ... thank god he was holding a briefcase in that hand. The rattle of the handle as he pushed me back, with the crazy Badnews stare ! as a kid i remember thinking, "holy, he really is psycho". Years later, hearing Badnew Allen being so friendly... cheers to him!

[@rustykuntz94]

When Kayfabe was still in full effect guys Had to always protect the gimmick/character. Bad News was the shit, he even hated the other Heels like when he had to tag in a Survivor Series team match. He would always just walk off and get himself DQ’d 😂

[@johnathanashleyOCSO]

One of my all time favorite PPV's . Just the nostalgia of it and the fact of how stacked this card is for the time.

[@alecspade1]

This was the first PPV I ever watched (actually had my parents buy the tape). I must have watched it 100 times as I got into wrestling seeing the debut of Macho Man on TV. I have much love for this show. :D

[@MAbair-yr9op]

Wtf? The debut of macho on tv?this was 88 bro.... Try to go back a few um....er....decades? Lol no tho this was not his tv debut

[@LostSoulOfMars]

Love STW. I am catching up on all the archives! I always have to stop to hear the newest one right when it's posted! Great work! *IT STILL CUTS OFF EVERY TIME I TURN OFF MY SCREEN EVEN THOUGH I HAVE YT-RED!* ..& I still blame Dave Meltzer...

[@benjaminwheeler390]

Truly, a podcast worthy of conservation in the national archives. Put a best-of compilation betwixt Louis Armstrong and Aretha Franklin, and set that bitch on the moon.

[@aashr1924]

1988 was a great year.

[@markmullins132]

2:08:11 Well they officially changed every WWF PPV to Sunday in 1995, I used to love when they had different days of the week for each of the big four PPV, it made things stand out more, Wrestlemania: Sunday Afternoons usually, Royal Rumble: Sunday or Saturday, SummerSlam: Monday, and Survivor Series was known as The Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday) or Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) Tradition

[@travismcdonald6576]

Not the best SummerSlam, but the nostalgia for it is through the roof.

[@josephboza7448]

That is the truth but it did its job for being the first summerslam.

[@onionhead9414]

inject the nostalgia into my veins bro

[@travismcdonald6576]

Onion Head I’ll call Dr. Zahorian. Lol

[@makaveli4205]

WWE changed so much past twenty years. It's almost unwatchable now. Girls took over modern wrestling.

[@matsong5134]

The last time watched this was the first time I watched it 30 years ago. Just thinking about that makes me grateful to the almighty God for giving me this long on earth. 👍

[@sabercrosby8128]

Loved the watch-along. Really good fun thank you. Please do more :-)

[@nicknil2367]

Conrad, you definitely are not the Babyface!.... we are here for BRUCE!

[@makaveli4205]

I used to play that wwf arcade game all the time. The graphics were really good.

[@neilsmith2009]

What an event it was il never forget when the warrior came out garden went nuts

[@NorthJerseyJabroni]

FYI, they blur out "...Of Wrestling" on Superstars flashback clips because the WWF lost a lawsuit from another promoter who claimed prior use to the name "Superstars of Wrestling". That's why the arena banners are blurred from 80's Superstars tapings whenever they show up on Prime Time or other Network shows. Has nothing to do with Vince wanting to eliminate the word "wrestling", it's basically the same legal issue they had with the World Wildlife Fund.

[@brianpowers3742]

Okay .. that makes sense.. I wish they never had to change from WWF. ..I still can’t get used to saying WWE

[@RealHectorCanales]

THE GREATEST SUMMERSLAM EVER! Had everything, & everything was good. From the wrestling, action, drama, ENTERTAINMENT! My childhood was great thanks to the Mega Powers

[@RealHectorCanales]

Ace Cadet that’s a very close second; HBk’s return, Rock vs BROCK LESNAR. Then you’ve got the undercard! So many future Hall of famers.

[@Stevehug83]

I'd say 2002 and 1991 are the best. 1988 is awesome though. The tag matches were brilliant

[@NorthJerseyJabroni]

This was the first show I ever saw live, so I've been looking forward to them doing this episode.

[@dylankerry2282]

Bruce, you got me back into wrestling. Thanks.

[@phillytnoize]

That EPMD on the intro....nice!

[@WarriorSmurf]

Tony Garea used the abdominal stretch as a finisher. Also, there were monthly shows at MSG, The Boston Garden, Philadelphia Spectrum, etc. that aired on television and featured non-squash matches. People that would job/get squashed easily on regular television actually had long, decent matches. Those shows are available for viewing here on KZbin.

[@rustykuntz94]

Yep because unlike television where w commercials it was only 42 minutes of actual wrestling content house shows ran 2-2 1/2 hours straight or sometimes 3 hours w a half hour intermission. MSG would run the Garden shows on their MSG Network. Boston Garden has NESN TV and the Philly (Spectrum) shows had the PRISM network. Also sometimes MSG network TV would show the Meadowlands (New Jersey) house shows. You would have the first 2 or even 3 of those matches early on be jobbers against each other like SD Jones against Mike Sharpe or Tiger Chung Lee vs Lanny Poffo. Even those matches would be 10-15 minutes.

[@bostonsportsfan9128]

Finally I've been waiting for this one since they announced it about a month ago

[@jeffreyriley8742]

Bossman was super talented.

[@whidoineedthis]

The Big Bossman

[@rackballjones6585]

Proof?

[@gettingnauti8975]

@@rackballjones6585 He made Hogan look good. How much more proof do you need?

[@LessThan-wr1nr]

He was surprisingly good during this run only. Everything else? Very underwhelming

[@LessThan-wr1nr]

Could've had a title challenge run with stone cold except he missed his cue

[@djh2367]

Bruce hating and hating on Warrior is getting old. I understand it's his show and his feelings but the man is easily top 10 biggest stars in wrestling history. Give the man some fucking credit for once.

[@davidian2.024]

Macho was the best wrestler. He was spectacular in every way a wrestler could be, bigger than life.

[@johnnyfuture3524]

I have a question for Bruce: "The yellow skirt of Elizabeth was thrown into the crowd. Any chance of knowing whatever became of this skirt, and where it is today?"

[@IrishCarney]

What an outstanding question.

[@KizzMyAbs]

It’s currently my pillow case 👃

[@Bang-bangBart]

The Uuuuuultimate Warrrrrrior

[@markmullins132]

Godamn Pal

[@jdarden2002]

Imagine if Flair had debuted on this show!!! On Brother Love no doubt!! Would have been the best SummerSlam ever.

[@ronlenz5357]

SummerSlam was on Monday nights in the early years because Prime Time Wrestling on USA Network was preempted for the US Open tennis tournament the last week in August. I'm surprised Bruce didn't remember that.

[@rosemaryfarell5264]

First Wrestling Video I ever bought in May 1991.

[@supafly1587]

Does anyone else think Ken Patara looks like Richard Simmons ???

[@johnnyfive222]

Great event the crowd was fucking over for Jake here. Shame that demons got in the way or he would have been a great champion. Enjoyed watching this again with you. Especially good for a rainy Friday and you have no classes.

[@yeahhhh000022]

I know I am the only one that popped when Bruce did the Nikolia Volkoff anthem. 55:06

[@johnnyfive222]

Nikolia was the best man.

[@justinjockisch4105]

His impression sounds like Homer Simpson.

[@broussard41]

Justin Jockisch dude I thought the exact same thing!

[@ceepeepee82]

Finally something pre 1997

[@shane-irish]

King of podcasts is here

[@1sportsfan]

"I don't know whose idea it was but Vince took the credit"

[@andrewberube8973]

Ooooh yeah brother I see the lust in Hulk Hogan's eyes digggggg ittttttttt!!! First name Macho last name Man!!

[@IrishCarney]

There was plenty in my eyes. I was a teenager at the time. She was just gorgeous. And always in pantyhose, which is incredibly hot

[@vacuumboots69]

God Damn it Pal

[@jeffreyriley8742]

The Bulldog's finish is one of my favorites in wrestling history.

[@rackballjones6585]

Never heard of it

[@candoentertainment9118]

Davey Boy Powerslam and Dynamite flying headbutt I think..🤔

[@smashwrestlermachinexzibtt6707]

i miss this summerslam 1988 i was lil kid but i watch all summer slam on ppv i miss this summer slam 1988

[@jeffreyriley8742]

Big Bubba won the UWF title (owned by Crockett) and had a pay-per-view cage match with Ole Anderson so he did do shit in the NWA. Conrad once again not doing proper research. Dusty and Cornette also saw a lot in Bubba.

[@joycethe5-951]

Lovin the Market Square Arena name drop.

[@MissterX]

The Ultimate Warriors post Summerslam victory promo was no way as unintelligible as Bruce remembers, I remember every word and it was clear and understandable.

[@jasonarmstrong3044]

Fun drinking game. Take a shot every time Conrad says, "Chat me up". You'll be blitzed in 15-20 minutes.

[@IrishCarney]

Or rumor & innuendo

[@davidfrederick6003]

The Powers of Pain abruptly left because they were expected to do a series of "Scaffold Matches". An actually dangerous match and with their each individual sizes would have probably/seriously gotten hurt in their falls no matter how planned.

[@phettywappharmaceuticalsll8842]

I’m just here for the macho impressions

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

I was curious about the kid they mentioned at ringside who did the Macho Man cosplay. If you look closely you can also see him at least one other event wearing a different Macho Man robe. Obviously he would have spent a lot of money on that because the robes were exactly like Savage's. I guess he was just a fan and had no connection to the WWF.

[@loganlombard8176]

Thanks for frontloading the ads

[@davidfrederick6003]

SS Billy Graham's commentary was fantastic. Especially in HTM-Warrior match, wow!

[@IrishCarney]

"Million music"?

[@MissterX]

Superstar: the big uh, big uh, body slam right there uh splash! Gorilla for the save "WHAT A SPLASH!"

[@romans52345-cy3tq]

He said "That's Familiar music Brotha!!"

[@borednow5838]

I don't rate this Slam much. But the top matches stand out and it has that classic big event feel. Loved this episode.

[@jeffreyriley8742]

MSG was glorious when it was dark.

[@kevied88]

starts 5:20

[@beakahd590]

Alternative history. After wrestlemania 4 the giant disappears from WWF. Dibiase says andre didn’t do what he payed him to do. heenan says he has no idea where andre is and starts looking for a new member to go along with the brain busters and rick rude. Mega powers have a title shot against the brain busters at summerslam and on the brother love show Heenan announces new member of the family. Ric flair. During the main event he and rude interfere in the mega powers match with the brain busters causing a disqualification. All 4 beating hogan and savage until the giant returns! The crowd go nuts thinking he is still in the Heenan family. But he attacks the brain busters and chases the Heenan family away before offering his hand to hogan. And goes on to beat the brain busters for the tag belts in a handicap match before retiring.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Brain Busters were still with Crockett as two Horsemen at this point as NWA tag champions (they lost the belts to the Midnight Express a few weeks later). Demolition were still on a roll as heel champions (apart from the brief hiccup when the Powers of Pain came in and were bigger and stronger and no-sold for Ax and Smash) dealing with the Bulldogs and the Harts and with a feud with the Rockers still to go before Survivor Series and the big double turn.

[@cheri3000]

33:40 "Im not a Ken Patera guy...does that make me a bad person?" "YES that makes you a bad person" HAHAH

[@WarriorSmurf]

Tony Garea used the abdominal stretch as a finisher also.

[@ozzyperez9788]

LETSSS GOOOOOOOO

[@davidjames5690]

Soooo, wait. Bruce says this was supposed to be a one off but the banners and ring skirts say SummerSlam 88. Surprised Conrad didn't call that out, unless I missed it.

[@borednow5838]

Keep forgetting that it was supposed to be Flair in that Brother Love segment that would have been amazing! BTW I agree with Meltzer on that segment was boring. I don't even think you can blame Bruce or Hacksaw. It was just a poorly written segment which dragged on for too long. You can tell it was thrown together once they couldn't get Flair. The segment would've been great I think. On the other Meltzer's a fool for giving a negative rating to the IC match! First of all you can't really rate a squash job which lasts less than a minute. Second the match served its purpose and got Warrior over mega! Its one of the best squash jobs in history. So "Fuck Dave Meltzer!"

[@whidoineedthis]

How about that vascularity

[@jerransperarman9411]

Good podcast

[@devinyoung4007]

hey y'all whoever reading my comments Jesse the body Ventura started the feud but nobody talk about it when hulk Hogan hug Liz n check when Randy savage on the ropes celebrate Jesse the body tap Randy n said look Hogan hugging Liz I swear

[@darrentodd1234]

Let's go Brandon

[@davidbonilla7770]

Crazy to think people have commented awful heinous crimes and not spent as much time as Ken Patera in prison

[@hanmeyer1301]

That's funny, as a kid i was surprised how nice The Barbarian was when he pulled up in a car with Mr. Fuji. "Heh heh heh, yeessss" he wasn't scary at all. I pat Mr. Fuji on the shoulder. Vancouver. The Barbarian crushed Koko B. Ware that evening.

[@MissterX]

Donnie LeLonde or "Donnie Lundunn" as Superstar Billy Graham calls him.

[@concerta56]

The Gentrys (with Jimmy Hart) in It's a Bikini World- WIDESCREEN clip Before he became famous as a wrestling manager and personality, the Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart was a member of the 60s-early 70s rock pop group The Gentrys. Here is Hart and the Gentrys in a rare film appearance, performing their song "Spread It On Tight" in the 1967 beach party ripoff It's a Bikini World. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXy8pZeCgr96b8k

[@mcgregorsghost721]

The picture Why did he give hogan Kevin nashes face when he imitated arn Anderson

[@goldteethpoohproductions2707]

The ultimate Warrior joke by Pritchard 😂😂😂😂😂😂 hilarious

[@rustykuntz94]

It was indeed a HAPPENING

[@bidsole2808]

Lust in his eyes!

[@uc95nu51]

Word

[@adam-thesportsguy6147]

When people ask what is missing from wrestling today I always mention time limits. I also think the art of being a true heel has died because they’ve taken out all of the rules. The ref never enforced the 5 second break count, no more illegal closed fist shots, DQ via over the top rope. When you take away the rules there is no easy way for the heel to break the rules and get heat. It use to be that if you threw a guy over the top rope it was a DQ. If they would enforce the rules and give the ref a purpose it would be so much easier for guys to get over as heels. If you have a health stable of heels then you can create a healthy stable of baby faces to go against them.

[@johnnyfuture3524]

Check out Brother Love's 24-inch "pythons of LOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-VE!!!"

[@TheTruth-pl3mk]

Liz was such a babe. RIP

[@dw1985]

Does Bruce ever mention why this event was on a Monday?

[@stevepmg9202]

The first four SummerSlams were all held on a Monday. Survivor Series used to always fall on Thanksgiving, a Thursday. Rumble 1991 was on a Saturday. PPV days were all over the place back in the day, it was only 1995 when they started holding them exclusively on Sundays. The first WWF PPV, The Wrestling Classic, was on a Thursday and WrestleMania 2 was on a Monday.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

1:59:56 The Powers were brought in by Strike Force as avenging mercenary angels of death to make Demolition pay for the injury to Martel and the title loss. They looked good together and had the bodies to be the two-man Hulk Hogan, but were lumbering and uncharismatic whereas Demolition were personable and interesting, so they had the double turn and Demolition went on to be the babyfaces and win the feud.

[@MikeD974]

1st summerslam was on my birthday

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

5th Summerslam was on your birthday too (at least the live show on the Saturday night in the UK)

[@TheHerbinLegend]

Well, you know

[@FatLadyKiller]

THIS NEVER WORKS there are 8 fucking advertisements in the middle of this.

[@MRDOZEDOFF420]

I'm like 420. Blaze it.

[@nonamerequired123]

Time for the patreon deleted scene: Conrad: So do you really bet with My Bookie? Bruce: Do you see me walking with crutches? Conrad: No Bruce: there's your answer pal Conrad: You mean they.... Bruce What bookie isn't?

[@davesampson158]

I agree, Sunny was the most beautiful valet.

[@stevepmg9202]

I'm on a par with Conrad in terms of age and I think hormones were a big factor with Sunny. We were only children when Liz was on TV. Sunny was my biggest crush in wrestling too.

[@officespace7777]

Conrad and Brucie seem disinterested during certain parts of this show. Also regarding wrestlefest 88...why was the Savage vs dibiase match omitted from the tape? According to pro wrestling Illustrated August 2003 that match was one of the most important title defenses of Savage's title run.

[@benjaminwheeler390]

Perhaps all the success is going to their respective heads? Maybe they're a little off-kilter on account of all the hookers/blow which we can safely assume each are respectively railing thru.. Couple of premadonas, I tell u wat ..

[@officespace7777]

@@benjaminwheeler390 yeah. It's starting to look like they just want to make a cash grab. It's too bad but I guess they have to strike while the iron is hot.

[@freemind6954]

If it was a cage match I think I remember a kid climbing the cage from the outside to help Savage on a different tape. They probably decided not to use that footage later on.

[@officespace7777]

@@freemind6954 This is the match. www.dailymotion.com/video/x192hp8

[@young17ish]

I don’t think Bruce wanted to talk about the Bruiser Brody death and Conrad just kept bringing the shit up for some reason??

[@Dizzy1980]

No kidding. Brody is another subject for another day, regardless of his death's close proximity to Summerslam 1988.

[@davidfrederick6003]

I do not agree that SS Billy Graham was horrible on commentary, I thought he was GREAT!

[@redauerbach2753]

I freaked out so bad for the bass/beefcake angle my mom threatened to not allow me to watch wrestling anymore 😂😂😂😂

[@A-small-amount-of-peas]

Wayaaaam Baaaaaayaaammmmm Summmmmer Slayyyyyyaaaammmm

[@jmarsh5791]

45:40. Willie Mack reminds me a lot of the JYD.

[@hattorihanzo2275]

"Chat me up" does not need to be said 100 times.

[@Davidjon1946]

If you're not 99 you're last!!! Greetings from the best city in the world Buffalo ny

[@Davidjon1946]

Mike The Scott I'm nationwide baby!!! Greetings from my bed in the West side of buffalo ny

[@Davidjon1946]

Mike The Scott no sir been free from the demons since 5.15.15 only things we got going on here in the buff is wings and wwf wwe house shows and the occasional ppv just remember this my friend slow and steady wins the race

[@warriorofgod8054]

Conrad (I was poor) Thompson

[@whidoineedthis]

1988 stand up

[@chrislewis6488]

Conrad and Bruce ready to run a train on Liz

[@deepblue8143]

What did Vince see in Warrior?? Seriously Conrad?!

[@IrishCarney]

The body. And the merch sales. And the house show revenue

[@blindterrytucci2752]

“I can’t believe they sold out the Garden. How could I let this happen? Wait a minute....Steph, Paul can you come to my office, please?”/(door opens)/“How the fuck could you two let this happen?!”

[@davpreec]

Hahaha the warrior grabbing dick and balls so aggressive i think my childhood is dead lol . Awesome video as usual guys :D

[@TheeCoachg]

Hogan would have never done the job for Flair or been seen as an equally viable competitor as him in 88,hell even in 92. I believe Hulk is an underlying reason why Flair coming over didnt happen sooner yet he,Hulk(pronounce pal),would turn and use Flair that same way when coming to wcw. Hogan was only fighting giants,Macho with a bunch of convoluted storyline or Warrior due to Vince’s pressure...no way he was headlining the skydome with Flair. Even today,Hulk used Ric for the rub but never gives it back.

[@melekelewis2945]

you're wrong, Hogan had nothing to do with flair not coming, flair wanted to stay in NWA because he didn't know Vince and wasn't comfortable being there with a guy who he didn't know and he was still doing good as being mean champ

[@smashwrestlermachinexzibtt6707]

hulk hogan vs ric flair at wrestlemaina 6 in 1990 really too bad never happen

[@johnnyfive222]

Kyle Kammins To be fair we probably got a better match out of it though so all is good. There matches didn't work well in 1994 in wcw.

[@smashwrestlermachinexzibtt6707]

i November hulk hogan made he debut in wcw wrestler ric flair at wcw bash at the beach 1994 was a good match

[@johnnyfive222]

Kyle Kammins yes it was but the other two are forgettable

[@smashwrestlermachinexzibtt6707]

Explorer i ask you questions who’s is better ric flair or hulk hogan

[@johnnyfive222]

Kyle Kammins Ric Flair with out a doubt.

[@PhilMiCoochie]

4:55 to skip bullshit