AUDIO: The Summer of '89

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Oh, what a year! The Summer of 1989 is one of my favorites as a wrestling fan. There's a lot to talk about on this week's My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. What was your favorite memory of that year?

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Foreign Object Friday: Sherri Martel's purse

Sherri's purse knocked out King Duggan
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Earlier this month, we marked the 10 year anniversary of the death of "Sensational" Sherri Martel. The WWE Hall of Famer will be remembered as one of the most talented performers to step in the ring. She was an amazing wrestler and manager, leading the likes of Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase, Ric Flair and Harlem Heat into battle. 

Sherri tumbles in with the purse
Courtesy: WWE

The memorable thing about Sherri in this role was she was never afraid to mix it up with the Superstars. She got physical during matches with the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Dusty Rhodes. As JR would say, Sherri was tougher than a two dollar steak. 

Hogan uses the purse
Courtesy: WWE

But sometimes Sherri relied on more than her talent and abilities in the ring or outside to help her man. A loaded purse would come into play. Who knows what was in it? Maybe a brick or some rocks... She attempted to help her team of Savage and Zeus in the main event of SummerSlam 89. But Hogan got a hold of the handbag and used it to blast Zeus and get the win. Sherri also got a taste of her own medicine and Elizabeth knocked out the Sensational One. Liz and Beefcake then cut Martel's hair.

Another time when the purse worked out for Savage was when he whacked King Hacksaw Duggan in the head with it and pinned him to win the crown. Sherri had been tussling with Duggan and Savage took advantage of the distracted Duggan. Sherri and Savage would go on to be the King and Queen of the WWF until Savage retired after WrestleMania VII, some 18 months after being royalty. 

Hall of Fame induction
Courtesy: WWE

Yes, the purse was dangerous, but Sherri's ability to manipulate and distract wrestlers was just as dangerous. A decade later, her presence is missed. I never got to see her wrestle in person, but was on hand in Chicago when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the year before her death. Rest in peace Sherri.

SummerSlam A to Z: Zeus

Zeus and Macho Man
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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And we've reached the end of the alphabet.  I couldn't think of a better way to wrap things up than with Zeus.  He was a very small, but memorable part of SummerSlam.  Zeus and "The Macho King" Randy Savage teamed up in the main event of SummerSlam 89 against Hulk Hogan and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake.

Ready to rumble
Courtesy: WWE

"Tiny" Lister played Zeus, who was the villain opposite  Hogan in the WWF produced film No Holds Barred earlier in the summer.  Like the monster he played in the movie, Zeus was a dominate force leading up to the SummerSlam match.  Of course there was tension still between Hogan and Savage following Wrestlemania V and Hogan's title victory.  Beefcake was thrown into the mix as well.  Plus Elizabeth and Sherri were outside the ring to add to the drama.

Courtesy: WWE

Zeus barely knew the difference between a wrist lock and a wrist watch.   I'm not judging as my in ring skills are limited to a few chops, a bodyslam and a clothesline.  The good guys won the battle, but the war was far from over.  Hogan and Zeus went head to head on opposite Survivor Series teams that year.  And 1989 wrapped up with a pay per view special called No Holds Barred: The Match, The Movie.  This time Hogan and Beefcake beat the bad guys inside a steel cage.  

Zeus pretty much disappeared after that.  He resurfaced in WCW years later as Z-Gangsta and once again battled Hogan.  This stint was even shorter than his first go around in the business. He'd never win wrestler of the year, but Zeus was a fun part of my childhood wrestling days as I can still picture him ranting and raving more than 25 years later.

SummerSlam A to Z: Queen Sherri & Sharmell

Queen Sherri at SummerSlam 89
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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We've seen plenty of kings involved in the world of wrestling, from Jerry Lawler to Harley Race to current monarch Wade Barrett.  There haven't been nearly as many queens, but two lovely royal divas made their presence known at several SummerSlam events.

Haircut time
Courtesy: WWE

Sensational Queen Sherri first appeared by the side of Zeus and "Macho King" Randy Savage at SummerSlam 89.  The duo took on and lost to Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake.  The Queen scuffled with Hogan, Beefcake and Elizabeth.  Sherri was fearless and didn't mind mixing it up with the guys or the ladies.  She even ended up with a haircut (ponytail cut) at the end of the night.   

Meow!
Courtesy: WWE

A year later the former women's champion was set to battle Dusty Rhodes' valet Sapphire, but the match never happened.  It seemed Sapphire had  a price for the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and forfeited the match.  No doubt though Sherri's wardrobe and makeup that night were more memorable than the match would have been.  Six months later Sherri and Savage split and she dropped the queen gimmick, but was involved in matches at SummerSlams that followed.

Queen Sharmell helping King Booker
Courtesy: WWE

Queen Sharmell never actually wrestled at a SummerSlam, but she was in the corner of her man, King Booker in 2006 and 07.  The royal couple's first SummerSlam saw Booker defending the World heavyweight title against Batista.  The Queen inserted herself in the match, kicking Batista and getting The King disqualified.  A year later it was "The King of Kings" Triple H beating Booker.  

Sherri and Sharmell were the only queens of wrestling to play the role at SummerSlam.  With the exception of Moolah taking on the role at Wrestlemania III with Race, they're the only two queen gimmicks in WWE (at least that I can remember).  They each had memorable moments during their tenures.  Long live the queens!

SummerSlam A to Z: Hulk Hogan

Mega Powers win
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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While I don't agree with all the words in his vocabulary, I do think that "erasing" Hulk Hogan from the history of the WWE is foolish.  In fact, he's the only WWE Superstar to have a record of 6 and 0 at the annual event.  He's also in a four-way tie for the most SummerSlam final match appearances (4).  John Cena, Triple H and the Undertaker share that distinction.

Face to face with Zeus
Courtesy: WWE

The early days of SummerSlam saw Hogan in tag team matches.  He and Randy Savage beat Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase at the first event.  It was Hogan who scored the pinfall.  A year later, Savage was on the other side of the ring as he and Zeus (more on him coming up in the Z blog) took on Hogan and Brutus Beefcake.  Hogan, who was the champ at the time as well, scored the winning pin again.

Ready for a match made in Hell
Courtesy: WWE

In 1990 the Hulkster "shared" the main event with WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior (he defended the title in the final match of the night against Rick Rude).  Hogan wrestled a grudge match against Earthquake, beating the monster via count out.  A year later, Hulk and Warrior forged together in a handicap match against Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa and Gen. Adnan.  Hogan pinned Slaughter and then posed with special guest referee Sid Justice after the match.

Legend killing The Legend Killer
Courtesy: WWE

Then the Hulkster joined WCW and didn't appear at another SummerSlam until 2005 when he wrestled Shawn Michaels.  Watching the match Michaels oversells just about everything and seems like he doesn't want the match to end the way it does with Hogan of course getting the pin.  A year later, Hulkamania ran wild over "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton.  While I'm no big fan of Orton, I don't understand why Hogan won.  Other legends like Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels had all put Orton over. Beating Hogan would have been a huge feather in his cap and helped pass the torch, but I digress...

In all likelihood Hogan's SummerSlam matches and appearances are all but over.  However, I still think it's important to acknowledge the role he played in helping to shape this event.

Boo: He's No Greek God

Hulk Hogan vs. Zeus
Photo by WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Let's face it, wrestling has had its fair share of goofy characters who were meant to be mean monsters and intimidate the fans and the baby faces.  Zeus was meant to be one of those guys, but I always found the gimmick a bit laughable.

Tiny Lister played the role of Zeus in the Hulk Hogan film "No Holds Barred."  Lister had been in a few movies and TV shows prior to the No Holds Barred experience.  If you haven't seen the movie, I would highly recommend it.  It's a guilty pleasure, but I myself haven't watched it in years.

Of course as a way to promote the film, it only made sense to bring Zeus in for a battle with Hogan that went beyond the movie script.  I'm racking my brain, but I'm pretty sure the two never met one on one.  Zeus attacked Hogan in his debut during  a match Hogan had with the Big Bossman.  Then there was the SummerSlam 89 tag team match with Hogan and Beefcake facing Zeus and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.  Of course the faces won.  Then Zeus joined the Million Dollar Team at Survivor Series 89. He ended up being the first man eliminated after shoving the referee and getting disqualified.  I'm pretty sure Zeus' final WWF match came at the end of the year as he and Savage teamed again in a cage match against Hogan and Beefcake.

Shortly after that, he left the WWF and faced Abdullah the Butcher in a match in Puerto Rico. Zeus earned the distinction of number 500 in the first ever Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500.  He reemerged in wrestling years later in WCW as Z-Gangsta in an effort to end Hulkamania.  He failed again.

As big, mean, and intimidating as Zeus was, the character never took off.  I don't know that Lister ever wanted to be a full time wrestler and was likely full filling his obligations to Vince McMahon as a part of the film.  Sadly, probably the scariest thing about Zeus was his abilities in the ring.