SummerSlam 1988 SummerSlam 1988 was the first annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay - per - view event . It was produced by the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) and took place on August 29 , 1988 in Madison Square Garden , located in New York City , New York . The pay - per - view was created to help the company compete against rival promotion World Championship Wrestling ( formerly Jim Crockett Promotions ) . It was one of the first four annual pay - per - view events produced by the WWF , along with WrestleMania , the Royal Rumble , and Survivor Series . Reviews for the event were mixed . Background . The main feud heading into Survivor Series pitted The Mega Powers ( Hulk Hogan and WWF Champion Randy Savage ) , Hercules , Koko B . Ware , and Hillbilly Jim against The Twin Towers ( Akeem and Big Bossman ) , Ted DiBiase , Haku , and The Red Rooster . Hogan and Savage formed this alliance at WrestleMania IV in March 1988 after Hogan helped Savage in defeating DiBiase in the tournament final for the vacant WWF Championship . DiBiase and André the Giant faced Hogan and Savage at the inaugural SummerSlam in August where the Mega Powers won . DiBiase had bought the contract of André from Heenan at the inaugural Royal Rumble in January . In late 1988 , DiBiase bought another contract from Heenan of Hercules , who was a powerful force in the WWF . Hercules refused to become DiBiase ' s slave and turned babyface and started feuding with DiBiase . DiBiase and other heel wrestlers joined Twin Towers against Mega Powers and other babyface wrestlers . Another major feud pitted Jake " the Snake " Roberts against André the Giant . The storyline began when Roberts exposed André ' s extreme fear of snakes on a recent edition of Saturday Night ' s Main Event . Roberts had thrown his snake , Damien , on the frightened André , who suffered a mild ( kayfabe ) heart attack . André vowed revenge , but Roberts constantly used Damien — either in their matches or by coming to the ring with a sack containing the snake during André ' s matches against other wrestlers — to gain a psychological edge . The major tag team feud pitted WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition against the Powers of Pain , two teams known for their use of face paint and power brawling style of wrestling . The other main feud pitted WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior vs . The Honky Tonk Man , the former champion who was determined to regain his title . Event . The event began with a match between The British Bulldogs ( Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid ) and The Fabulous Rougeaus ( Jacques and Raymond ) . As soon as the bell rang to signify that the match had begun , Smith attacked Jacques . The two teams traded blows until The Rougeaus flipped the Dynamite Kid over their heads so that he fell on his back to the mat . Dynamite Kid escaped another offensive maneuver before tagging in his partner , Smith , and The British Bulldogs performed a double - team maneuver on Jacques . Despite having the upper hand , The Bulldogs failed to pin Jacques in time , and the match ended in a twenty - minute time draw . The next match was between Bad News Brown ( Allen Coage ) and Ken Patera . Before the bell rang , however , Brown attacked Patera , who retaliated by performing a clothesline from the corner . Brown then slipped both of his arms underneath Patera ' s armpits and locked his hands behind his neck , using a submission move known as a full nelson . At the end of the match , Brown defeated Patera by striking him in the back of the head with his finishing move , the Ghetto Blaster . After the second match ended , Rick Rude and The Junkyard Dog made their way to the ring . Their match began as Rude attacked Junkyard Dog from behind , who retaliated by headbutting Rude several times . Subsequently , Rude climbed to the wrestling ring ' s top rope and pulled down his tights to reveal another pair of tights with a picture of Cheryl Roberts on them . As a result , Jake Roberts , Cheryl Roberts ' husband , ran to the ring and attacked Rude , forcing the referee to disqualify Junkyard Dog . The next match was a tag team match between the Powers of Pain ( The Barbarian and The Warlord ) , who were accompanied by The Baron ( James Raschke ) , and The Bolsheviks ( Boris Zhukov and Nikolai Volkoff ) , who were accompanied by Slick . Immediately , The Powers of Pain chased The Bolsheviks from the ring . Slick , however , distracted The Powers of Pain long enough to give The Bolsheviks an advantage . Zhukov was then slammed to the mat back - first and headbutted from the top rope , which allowed The Barbarian to pin him . The fifth match of the event was an Intercontinental Championship match between The Ultimate Warrior and the reigning champion The Honky Tonk Man , who was accompanied by Jimmy Hart . The Ultimate Warrior had the advantage from the beginning , attacking The Honky Tonk Man , who was still in his entrance attire . After press - slamming him to the mat , The Ultimate Warrior bounded to the ropes and landed stomach - first on The Honky Tonk Man using his signature move , the Warrior Splash . The Ultimate Warrior then pinned The Honky Tonk Man after only thirty seconds to win the title . The following contest was a re - match from WrestleMania IV between Dino Bravo and Don Muraco . Muraco , the crowd favorite , was in control for most of the match . Frenchy Martin ( Jean Gagné ) , who accompanied Bravo to the ring , distracted Muraco , allowing Bravo to slam him to the mat from an elevated position and pin him for the win . The seventh match of the night was for the WWF Tag Team Championship . Reigning champions Demolition ( Ax and Smash ) , accompanied by both Mr . Fuji and Jimmy Hart , were challenged by The Hart Foundation ( Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart ) . As soon as the bell sounded , The Hart Foundation attacked both members of Demolition . Their control was brief , as Demolition then gained the advantage over Neidhart . As Bret Hart was tagged into the match , Neidhart chased Jimmy Hart from ringside and returned to tag back into the match . When all four men began fighting inside the ring , Neidhart attacked Mr . Fuji , who was on the ring apron . At the end of the match , Bret Hart attempted a piledriver , a move where the offensive wrestler turns his opponent upside down and drives his head into the mat , but Ax hit him with Jimmy Hart ' s trademark megaphone . Smash then pinned Bret Hart for the win . The next match - up was between The Big Boss Man ( Ray Traylor ) , accompanied by Slick , and Koko B . Ware ( James Ware ) . With Slick as a distraction , The Big Boss Man took the early advantage in the match . After crushing Ware in between himself and the turnbuckle , Boss Man refused to pin him and finish the match . Instead , he attempted to climb to the top rope and land on Ware stomach - first , but missed . Ware then retaliated by performing several dropkick s and attempted a pin . Boss Man got his shoulder up to save himself from being pinned , and he slammed his opponent into the mat , allowing him to pin Ware for the win . The second to last match of the night was between Jake Roberts and Hercules ( Ray Fernandez ) . When Roberts attempted to slam his opponent ' s head on to the mat with a DDT , Hercules was able to escape the maneuver and take control of the match . As Hercules attempted to slam Roberts to the mat , Roberts reversed the move into a DDT , enabling him to pin Hercules for the win . The last match of the night was the main event between The Mega Powers ( Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage ) , accompanied by Miss Elizabeth , and The Mega Bucks ( Ted DiBiase and André the Giant ) , accompanied by Bobby Heenan and Virgil ( Mike Jones ) . Jesse Ventura was the special guest referee . The Mega Powers took the early advantage over DiBiase . After Hogan attacked André the Giant , who was on the ring apron , The Mega Bucks were able to regain control . After a while , all four men began brawling , and André knocked The Mega Powers out of the ring . Subsequently , as part of the scripted ending to the match , Miss Elizabeth began arguing with Ventura , the referee , and ripped off her skirt to reveal her underwear . While Ventura was distracted , Savage climbed to the top rope and jumped at DiBiase , hitting him with his elbow . Hogan followed the maneuver by jumping next to DiBiase and landing with his leg across DiBiase ' s body . As Hogan pinned DiBiase , Ventura , a villainous character aligned with The Mega Bucks , began an obviously slow three - count . As a result , Savage slammed Ventura ' s arm down for the third time , indicating that Hogan and Savage had won the match .