“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes vs. “Macho King” Randy Savage (w/ “Sensational Queen” Sherri)
As we head into the fall of 1990 and continue the trek to Survivor Series, it was finally time for one of the year’s longest feuds to come to an end. Savage and Rhodes have pretty much been married to each other since the year started with the peak coming at Wrestlemania when Rhodes and Sapphire defeated Savage and Sherri in the mixed tag match. Following that, the two men continued to feud which culminated at Summerslam when Savage got the quick win over Rhodes. However, by that point it was obvious that the main angle was Ted Dibiase purchasing Sapphire from Rhodes and he would go onto feud with him while Savage made it clear he wanted a WWF Title shot against the Ultimate Warrior. But before that, it was decided that the two men would face off one more time here at Saturday Night’s Main Event though another interesting wrinkle was going to be added to the match.
Following their match at Summerslam, Rhodes would turn his focus to Dibiase as he vowed revenge for losing Sapphire while Savage set his sights on the Ultimate Warrior and the WWF Title. Rhodes would begin working the house shows with Dibiase while Savage ended up taking the house shows off for some reason, and it was announced that Rhodes and Savage would face off here in a Summerslam rematch. I wonder if Savage was nursing an injury which is why he didn’t work the house shows or if he was just given time off to recharge, but with a big show like this you knew he was going to be there and give his all.
Rhodes gets a big pop from the crowd as he goes to ringside and embraces his son Dustin who is sitting in the front row, and Savage was red hot as a heel as he takes an Ultimate Warrior poster from a fan and rips it up. Savage yells at the fans from the apron and Rhodes gets an elbow in to start the match as he brings him into the ring and whips him into the corner, and he whips Savage back into the other corner and hooks a bearhug only for Savage to rake the eyes. He pounds on Rhodes and both men reverse a whip as Rhodes blocks a hiptoss and hooks a backslide for a two count, and he hits a back elbow on Savage as Sherri gets on the apron and distracts Rhodes which allows Savage to hit a high knee to the back. He chokes Rhodes on the mat and then he distracts the ref as Sherri chokes Rhodes from the floor, and Savage pounds on Rhodes and drops a knee on him for a two count before continuing to pound on him. He rakes the eyes and hooks a submission on Rhodes as we see Ted Dibiase and Virgil come down through the crowd, and they give out money to various audience members in the front row who leave and they try to pay off Dustin who rips the money up and throws it at Virgil. He sits back down as Dibiase and Virgil take a seat next to him and Rhodes fights to his feet as he breaks the hold, and he knocks Savage down and pounds on him as Dibiase pulls Dustin down into his seat and Rhodes goes outside. He tries to get at Dibiase as the ref holds him back and we go to commercial, and back from the break Savage drapes Rhodes across the apron and tears at his face before driving the elbow into his throat. He returns to the ring and drops an elbow on Rhodes before pounding on him and he rakes the eyes, and he chokes Rhodes on the top rope and distracts the ref as Sherri chokes Rhodes with her glove and Rhodes collapses to the mat. Savage gets a two count and then he hotshots Rhodes on the top rope before going up top and hitting an axehandle for a two count, and Savage chokes Rhodes on the mat and stomps on him before pounding on him and he rakes the eyes. Rhodes tries to battle back as Savage tears at his face and Rhodes blocks a ram into the buckle before ramming Savage into the buckle, and Savage gets a kick in only for Rhodes to knock him down and Savage gets a shot in. He chokes Rhodes on the ropes only to miss a dive as he gets tangled up in the ropes though he recovers first and gets a kick in, and Rhodes hits a headbutt on Savage and then he falls on top of a slam attempt for a two count as they trade blows. Savage goes up top only for Rhodes to nail him coming in as Dibiase pulls Dustin back down into his seat, and Dustin nails Dibiase and stalks Virgil only for Dibiase to clothesline him over the guardrail to ringside. Dibiase and Virgil pound on Dustin as Rhodes pounds on Savage in the corner and knocks him down, and Dibiase rams Dustin into the guardrail as Rhodes ties Savage up in the ropes and Dibiase grabs a chair before nailing Dustin in the head with it which busts him open. Rhodes rolls outside and forces Dibiase and Virgil back as Sherri frees Savage from the ropes, and he goes up top and hits an axehandle on Rhodes before rolling back in the ring as Rhodes is counted out and Savage wins the match. After the match, Virgil and Dibiase continue to pound on Dustin and knock him down as Rhodes comes over and tries to shield Dustin, and Virgil and Dibiase stomp on Rhodes and pound on him as officials come out and force them to the back.
The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a pretty basic matchup. You could tell that Rhodes was probably starting to wind things down a bit as the years looked like they were starting to catch up him with by this point, and Savage was still looking as sharp as ever though even he seemed a bit slower tonight which goes back to the point about possibly being hurt. Even though this feud had been so hot for most of the year, this match just felt tacked on to get Savage on the show and the main focus was on Dibiase and Virgil messing with Dustin before assaulting him. You can tell that Dustin has his dad’s ability to sell a beating as he took a pounding from Dibiase and Virgil and sold it great, and Rhodes was also great as he does what he could to protect his son even taking the loss by countout though I don’t think Rhodes would’ve been hurt too bad by getting pinned. The crowd was hot for the match and Rhodes, but are not happy when Savage gets the win and they give Dibiase and Virgil great heat as well. Savage gets the win over Rhodes by countout and both men move on as Rhodes looks to get revenge on Dibiase and Virgil and Savage has gold on his mind.
Final Grade: **
