Wrestling: Pay-Per-View Players #29 - August 1990

#1 Randy Savage [--] (13-8-0) (WWF)

The heat returns live on pay-per-view! Summerslam sees a shifting in the sands as Wrestlemania Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Warrior welcomes his first challenge on the big stage!

Rick Rude steps up to the main event, but fails to emerge with the World Heavyweight gold. Meanwhile; the old guard get back in the winners list, with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage both getting one over on their rivals - Earthquake and Dusty Rhodes respectively!

The Ultimate Warrior is the only change to the Top 10 ranks. The real action is in the mid-card and the rearranging tag team division. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart knock Demolition down a peg in a changing of the guard. They took the Tag Team Championships in a Best of 3 Falls Tag Team match! The Rockers weren't as successful in the finish, but are fast becoming one of the hottest teams on the circuit -- a sure sign of things to come!

A motley crew of familiar names round out the Summerslam 1990 card. Once again, there's little movement in the top stakes after the WWF card, leaving the ball square in the court of the NWA/WCW alliance! October's WCW Halloween Havoc will give the opposing forces another chance to take control of the top ranks.

 

Top Ten Singles PPV Players

#1 [--] Randy Savage (13-8-0) (WWF)
#2 [--] Hulk Hogan (12-3-1) (WWF) [Royal Rumble 1990]
#3 [--] Road Warrior Hawk (11-3-0) (NWA)
#4 [--] Road Warrior Animal (10-4-0) (NWA)
#5 [--] Ric Flair (10-5-2) (NWA)
#6 [--] Sting (8-1-2) (NWA) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#7 [--] Brutus Beefcake (8-2-3) (WWF)
#8 [--] Smash (8-5-0) (WWF) [Tag Team Champion]
#9 [RE] Ultimate Warrior (7-2-0) (WWF) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#10 [--] Rick Steiner (7-5-1) (NWA)
 

Top Ten Tag Team PPV Players

#1 [--] Road Warrior Hawk & Animal (10-3-0) (NWA)
#2 [+1] Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (6-2-0) (NWA) [US Tag Team Champions]
#3 [-1] Ax & Smash (6-3-0) (WWF)
#4 [+1] Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart (6-3-0) (WWF) [Tag Team Champions]
#5 [-1] Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson (5-1-0) (NWA)
#6 [--] Rick & Scott Steiner (5-3-0)
#7 [--] The Samoan Savage & Fatu (4-1-0) (NWA)
#8 [--] Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (3-1-1) (WWF)
#9 [--] Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid (3-2-1) (WWF)
#10 [--] Ron Simmons & Butch Reed (3-3-0) (NWA) [World Tag Team Champions]

Top Womens PPV Players
#1 [--] The Fabulous Moolah (2-0-0) (WWF)
#2 [--] Rockin' Robin (2-0-0) (WWF) [Women's Champion]
#3 [--] Wendi Richter (1-0-0) (WWF)
#4 [--] Itsuki Yamazaki (1-0-0) (WWF)
#5 [--] Noriyo Tateno (1-0-0) (WWF)

 

Recent Pay-Per-View Event Results
- WWF Summerslam (August 27, 1990)
- NWA The Great American Bash (July 7, 1990)
- NWA Capital Combat (May 19, 1990)
- WWF Wrestlemania VI (April 1, 1990)
- NWA WrestleWar 1990 (February 25, 1990)
- WWF Royal Rumble (January 21, 1990)

 

The Pay-Per-View Players rankings intend to take into account pay-per-view events promoted by NWA, WWF, WCW, ECW, WWE & TNA wrestling organizations. Only broadcast results contribute to the cumulative tally of win/loss record of wrestlers. Pre-show matches will not be included.

Wrestling: Pay-Per-View Players #20 - August 1989

#1 Randy Savage [--] (11-5-0) (WWF)

The collapse of The Mega Powers continues to work in the favour of Hulk Hogan -- the WWF Heavyweight Champion victorious in a Summerslam tag team main event against Randy Savage and the No Holds Barred film-inspired nemesis: Zeus! Hogan teamed with Brutus Beefcake, who once again reached the Top 10!

Promotion lines continue to be crossed as Dusty Rhodes makes his first pay-per-view appearance for WWF! The former NWA World Heavyweight Champion defeated The Honky Tonk Man to secure a Top 10 spot for the Federation. In another mid-card bout, Demolition picked up a win in a six-man match, spurring them into the Top 3 tags. Individually, Smash is a step closer to the authentic ticket - Road Warrior Hawk. While the Road Warriors remain unchallenged as the #1 tag team - Animal teeters on the edge of the Top 10.

A big name lurking just outside the top ranks is The Ultimate Warrior! He regained his Intercontinental Championship from the man who defeated him - himself a recent Top 10 name: Rick Rude. The Warrior makes for the perfect WWF rival to rising NWA star Sting! The painted star will have a shot to surpass his rivals when NWA/WCW return in October with Halloween Havoc!

 

Top Ten Singles PPV Players

#1 [--] Randy Savage (11-5-0) (WWF)
#2 [--] Hulk Hogan (8-2-1) (WWF) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#3 [--] Ric Flair (7-3-1) (NWA) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#4 [--] Ricky Steamboat (7-5-0) (NWA)
#5 [--] Road Warrior Hawk (6-2-0) (NWA)
#6 [+1] Smash (6-3-0) (WWF)
#7 [RE] Brutus Beefcake (5-2-2) (WWF)
#8 [-2] Dynamite Kid (5-3-1) (WWF)
#9 [RE] Dusty Rhodes (5-3-0) (WWF)
#10 [-2] Road Warrior Animal (5-3-0) (NWA)
 

Top Ten Tag Team PPV Players

#1 [--] Road Warrior Hawk & Animal (5-2-0) (NWA)
#2 [--] Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (4-0-0) (NWA)
#3 [+3] Ax & Smash (4-2-0) (WWF)
#4 [-1] Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart (4-3-0) (WWF)
#5 [-1] Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson (3-0-0) (NWA)
#6 [RE] Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (3-1-1) (WWF)
#7 [-2] Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid (3-2-1) (WWF)
#8 [-1] Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik (2-0-0) (WWF)
#9 [-1] Paul Roma & Jim Powers (2-0-0) (WWF)
#10 [-1] Andre the Giant & Rick Rude (2-0-0) (WWF)

Top Womens PPV Players
#1 [--] The Fabulous Moolah (2-0-0) (WWF)
#2 [--] Rockin' Robin (2-0-0) (WWF) [Women's Champion]
#3 [--] Wendi Richter (1-0-0) (WWF)
#4 [--] Itsuki Yamazaki (1-0-0) (WWF)
#5 [--] Noriyo Tateno (1-0-0) (WWF)

 

Recent Pay-Per-View Event Results
- WWF Summerslam (August 28, 1989)
- NWA The Great American Bash '89 (July 23, 1989)
- NWA WrestleWar (May 7, 1989)
- WWF Wrestlemania V (April 2, 1989)
- NWA Chi-Town Rumble (February 20, 1989)
- WWF Royal Rumble (January 15, 1989)

 

The Pay-Per-View Players rankings intend to take into account pay-per-view events promoted by NWA, WWF, WCW, ECW, WWE & TNA wrestling organizations. Only broadcast results contribute to the cumulative tally of win/loss record of wrestlers. Pre-show matches will not be included.

Wrestling: Pay-Per-View Players #12 - August 1988

#1 Randy Savage [--] (10-2-0) (WWF)
(World Heavyweight Champion)

The Mega-Powers have arrived! While Randy Savage enjoys his stay at the top as WWF Heavyweight Champion -- Hulk Hogan finds a way  to share the spotlight as the super-powered partner in this ultimate tag team union! Who better to oppose these Mega-Powers than the dastardly combo of their individual rivals? The Mega-Bucks Ted Dibiase & Andre the Giant may share the main event, but the Pay-Per-View Players lurk somewhere closer to the gold at the first annual SummerSlam!

WWF answer NWA's summer Bash and tag team injection with their own invention known as Demolition! The Road Warrior alternates reign as WWF Tag Team Champions, launching into the #3 tag team spot with their 3rd PPV match. His NWA record as Krusher Khruschev in tact: Smash also smashes into the Top 5 singles ranks, leapfrogging NWA World Champion Ric Flair!

Unsuccessful in their Tag Team Championship bid is none other than The Hart Foundation of Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart! Like Davey Boy Smith; Bret Hart will be an interesting name to watch in the coming years as his star rises from middling tag team competitor to main event draw!

 

Top Ten Singles PPV Players

#1 [--] Randy Savage (10-2-0) (WWF) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#2 [--] Ricky Steamboat (6-3-0) (WWF)
#3 [--] Hulk Hogan (5-1-1) (WWF)
#4 [new] Smash (4-1-0) (WWF) [Tag Team Champion]
#5 [-1] Ric Flair (4-2-1) (NWA) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#6 [-1] Dynamite Kid (4-3-1) (WWF)
#7 [-1] Junkyard Dog (4-4-0) (WWF)
#8 [-1] Ricky Morton (3-0-0) (NWA)
#9 [-1] Robert Gibson (3-0-0) (NWA)
#10 [--] Brutus Beefcake (3-1-1) (WWF)
 

Top Ten Tag Team PPV Players

#1 [--] Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson (3-0-0) (NWA)
#2 [--] Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik (2-0-0) (WWF)
#3 [new] Ax & Smash (2-1-0) (WWF) [Tag Team Champions]
#4 [-1] Road Warrior Hawk & Animal (2-1-0) (NWA)
#5 [-1] Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid (2-2-1) (WWF)
#6 [-1] Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (1-0-1) (NWA) [World Tag Team Champions]
#7 [-1] Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood (1-0-0) (NWA)
#8 [-1] Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (1-0-0) (NWA) [US Tag Team Champions]
#9 [-1] Bob Orton Jr & Dick Slater (1-0-0) (NWA)
#10 [-1] Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin (1-0-0) (NWA)

Top Womens PPV Players
#1 [--] The Fabulous Moolah (2-0-0) (WWF)
#2 [--] Wendi Richter (1-0-0) (WWF)
#3 [--] Rockin' Robin (1-0-0) (WWF)
#4 [--] Itsuki Yamazaki (1-0-0) (WWF)
#5 [--] Noriyo Tateno (1-0-0) (WWF)

 

Recent Pay-Per-View Event Results
- WWF Summerslam (August 29, 1988)
- NWA The Great American Bash (July 10, 1988)
- WWF Wrestlemania IV (March 27, 1988)
- NWA Bunkhouse Stampede (January24, 1988)
- WWF Survivor Series (November 26, 1987)
- NWA Starrcade '87 (November 26, 1987)

 

The Pay-Per-View Players rankings intend to take into account pay-per-view events promoted by NWA, WWF, WCW, ECW, WWE & TNA wrestling organizations. Only broadcast results contribute to the cumulative tally of win/loss record of wrestlers. Pre-show matches will not be included.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 08/18

#1 Randy Orton [--] (45-18-4)
[WWE Champion]
Although the WWE brand split was officially ended some time ago, remnants of it remain, particularly for the Smackdown side. The blue brand, for various reasons, is the less watched show. As a stalwart of Smackdown through the final year of the split, Randy Orton has been allowed to be obscured by these discrepancies in ratings, at least to a certain degree. His program has rarely been as featured as any RAW talents, which may or may not have helped make a surprise of his Money in the Bank WWE Championship cash-in.

Bryan Danielson can count himself among the prestigious college of WWE Championship holders -- but he also joins those who've had the smallest of reigns. The curse of minute-long reigns installed by the Hardcore 24/7 styled philosophy of MITB continues. At least Alberto Del Rio finally registered the necessary wins to surpass an out of action Sheamus at the top of a growing Kayfabe Countdown disparity.

#2 [+1] Alberto Del Rio (38-13-5) [World Champion]
#3 [-1] Sheamus (36-14-2)
#4 [--] Bryan Danielson (36-24-1)
#5 [--] Kane (27-21-0)
#6 [--] Ryback (22-14-1)
#7 [--] Roman Reigns (21-6-2) [Tag Team Champion]
#8 [--] Seth Rollins (21-10-1) [Tag Team Champion]
#9 [--] Mark Henry (21-10-0)
#10 [RE] The Miz (20-9-1)

#1 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (20-6-1) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [+2] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (16-9-1)
#3 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (15-5-0)
#4 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (15-5-0)
#5 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (14-9-0)
#6 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (11-3-0)
#7 [--] Brodus Clay & Sweet Tea Tensai (9-9-1)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (5-11-1)
#9 [--] Randy Orton & Bryan Danielson (4-2-0)
#10 [--] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (4-3-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
Summerslam (2013)
I've never been the biggest believer in Summerslam, as an event. It purports to be one of the original "big four" [fondly regarded as the big five, while I lament the loss of King of the Ring], but it lacks the almost infallible appeal of the Royal Rumble, the hit and miss intrigue of Survivor Series, or the sheer spectacle of Wrestlemania. The inclusion of a star like Brock Lesnar alludes to a desire to elevate this summer feature to Wrestlemania-type stature, but the end result undermines it beyond repair.

It's fair to say no WWE Pay Per View is particularly up to par. The presentation is more slick than ever before, but the wrestling showcases all that's missing in today's product. The storylines are meandering, the pay-offs confused and inconsequential, the ring style dependent heavily on the individual and their willingness to create a narrative, or feature the sport. The latter is rare. The former is just not taught enough.

It's disappointing that everything built to Bryan Danielson being screwed.
There's truth to the theory that the thrill is in the chase, but Bryan Danielson's entire career has been the chase. He lacks almost all the qualities associated with a traditional WWE star. He's small, a little on the unusual looking side, and prone to doing more than three or four moves. In keeping with the mood of the summer blockbuster, I think this should have been a celebration. The fulfilment of the underdog and the realization of a wrestling talent as WWE Champion. We don't really need to see Bryan Danielson get screwed. It's what we expect. The thrill is in his success, and for that, it appears we'll have to wait.

The return of the Inferno Match -- or at least something resembling it -- was a thrill in concept, but turned out to be a bit of a dud. Bray Wyatt's debut came with the obligatory win over Kane in a fire-type match, but the bulk of the story was the bumbling attempts of his lackeys. The controlled fire bars are always a little too small to fully live up to the visual concept, but it's never worse than when the purpose is to keep someone in or out of the ring. Kane's off to film a movie, so he follows John Cena onto the omissions list. Here's hoping they make the most of it. Guys like Ryback, Mark Henry, and other absentees from the Summerslam card will hopefully get a chance to shine. We'll see.

Recent returns Christian and Rob Van Dam further appear to be here as jobbers to the stars. It's a big ask to expect them to come back to the fore while other names are developing (Danielson, Del Rio), but it's frustrating to see them be bit players in one unconvincing contest after another. RVD in particular had all the hype in the world behind his return. Watching him bounce around the way he has is depressing. CM Punk can't catch much more of a break, but it'll be worse then Lesnar's limited dates mean there's no follow-up. Here's hoping the last couple of Lesnar wins mean there's a chance he'll face Undertaker at the coming year's Wrestlemania. I'd still like to see that.

All in all, Summerslam felt like another dud. Which is a shame, because at the behest of friends and acquaintances, I have managed to find enjoyment from more Summerslams  than I realised. I'm willing to believe the slam of the Summer can be a big four blockbuster. They just need to back it up. Until then, I'll be pining over the Summerslam '96/'97 DVD pack and wishing I had more disposable cash.

The Kayfabe Countdown is based on the cumulative tally of wrestler win/loss records. Tallied results only include matches broadcast during WWE 2013 programming. At present, this includes RAW (Mondays), Main Event (Wednesdays), Smackdown (Friday), and monthly Pay-Per-View events.