Greatest Summerslam Matches: (#18) Honky Tonk Man vs Ultimate Warrior- IC Title- SS88

by isaacduke on Aug 6, 2009 7:34 PM EDT

On August 29th, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, history was made. An Elvis impersonator was squashed by a jacked-up guy that was gassed by the time he ran to the ring.

Prior to Summerslam, the Honky Tonk Man held the record for longest reigning Intercontintental Champion in the history of the title. He had beaten Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the title on June 2nd, 1987 during a television taping, where he replaced an injured Butch Reed. By Summerslam 88, he was deeply involved in a feud with Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, but with Beefcake out with a worked injury suffered at the hands of "Outlaw" Ron Bass, HTM didn't have a challenger. Feeling cocky, HTM takes the mic and issues an open challenge to anyone in the back. Suddenly, the music of a newcomer to the WWF called The Ultimate Warrior started playing, and what followed was the most memorable 32 second match in the history of wrestling.

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I loved how Honky paniced and took a wild swing at Warrior. Why do heels issue open challenges, has it ever ended well for them? Shane Douglas did it three times in under two years.

by vrr81 on Aug 6, 2009 10:09 PM EDT reply actions

This match is so so so great. Nuclear crowd, they used to know exactly when to pull the trigger on things like this.

by sundownmotel on Aug 6, 2009 10:43 PM EDT reply actions

Two big clues Honky was losing.

1. He had the “Im losing my belt look on his face.”

2. The annoncers are putting over what a great title run he had.

Going over Honky’s IC title defenses, they had Warrior beat Honky real fast at a tv taping to win the belt before Summerslam. Then did the Dusty finish at the end of the night. Looks like they ready for any shenanigans Honky might pull.

by vrr81 on Aug 7, 2009 12:16 AM EDT reply actions