[1989-08-28-WWF-Summerslam '89] Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs Hart Foundation

[JaymeFuture]

Am curious to see what people's thoughts on this match are in general, as it's held in generally high esteem and I like it a lot, though it feels a tiny bit clunky at the end. Apparently Dave Meltzer only gave this two stars at the time, which I'm floored by.

[Ricky Jackson]

This is one I haven't seen in years, probably 20+. I don't remember it being anything special. I've seen it mentioned in various places as one of the best WWF tag matches ever and that has always baffled me. It's been in the back of my mind to rewatch for ages to see if it is better than I remember. I think now with having the Network I'm going to sit down and watch the whole card, it was one of my favorites when I was a kid

[Matt D]

It's not nearly as good as either Demolition vs Hart Foundation from 88 or the Demolition vs Brainbusters series.

Sometimes things are weird like that. You'd expect, on paper, running with conventional wisdom that Money Inc vs LOD would be the best tag match of Summerslam 92, but Natural Disasters vs Beverly Brothers blows it away.

[JerryvonKramer]

I remember loving it back in the day and on CHV rewatches in the early 00s.

 

You've got to remember that back then ANY good matches on a CHV at all were something to get excited about "for a WWF fan". I wasn't eating sushi with Meltzer in the 90s, y'know.

 

In the vast backlog of wrestling history, it probably isn't much, but in the context of my own fandom it stood out a mile from everything around it. You've got to remember though, that typically, I wouldn't have gotten to see MSG or Philly matches unless they made a CHV. And didn't really have NWA / WCW as a comparison point. So in that context, I think it's a great match.

[Jimmy Redman]

From memory, I thought it was fun enough, but I was kind of overwhelmed with the amount of heel in peril in this match, even by 80s WWF standards. Not a bad match by any means, quite fun in terms of watching the faces beat people up, but there are plenty of better 80s WWF tags out there.

[DMJ]

Just watched it for the first time this morning.

 

I agree that it doesn't stand as one of the best tag matches ever, but it certainly is better than average in every way. Hot crowd. Really good commentary out of Ventura and Schiavone. Oodles and oodles of "little things" that add up to tell a really deep story. For example, right from the start, you have Tully pulling Bret's leg when he makes a tag to Arn, allowing Double A to come in, grab an ankle, and then go up for a headlock, which Bret quickly reverses. The faces dominate, but it makes some sense because (a) Joey Marella is uber-suspicious of any of their tags (their reputation biting them in the ass) and, throughout the contest, the Hart Foundation bust out blatant heel spots - which, again, makes sense not only because, while they were faces, they'd still rely on successful tactics from their past, but also because they're essentially trying to outsmart the smartest, dirtiest team in wrestling.

 

I do have a few criticisms. I wish Heenan was more involved, which would temper some of the Harts' trickery and make it more apparent that they're only doing it to keep things "fair." I also wish Anderson came off the top with some sort of weapon (even just a boot or something) for the finish because the Harts had so much momentum that an axehandle from the top isn't quite enough to make me think Bret would be out for a full count.

 

Is it an all-time classic? I wouldn't put it up that high...but when I compare it to what else I've seen from this era, I can see why it's well-regarded. Unlike so many matches I've seen from this timespan, it's not slow, it's not just clubbing blows and stomps, and it's not just a shine-heat-comeback pattern. I can see people rating it somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but not any higher.

[Beast]

I'd put it at close to 4 stars.

 

The storytelling is perfect. Tully & Arn come from the NWA to WWF as the dirtiest tag team in the game, whose bread and butter are double team spots. Bret & Neidhart were the WWF equivalent 3 years earlier. So when the two teams meet, the Hart Foundation show that despite now being babyfaces, they can pull that stuff as well as anyone.

 

Even the finish makes sense in context. Looking back and seeing The Hart Foundation loses a non-title match on PPV with no followup seems silly, but that's really only because of the no followup. If this was the start of a fall program about Heenan trying to keep the Harts from getting an actual title shot but hook and crook, the finish wouldn't be so self-defeating. The Harts look stronger than the Busters here and the finish is tainted by double teaming behind the ref's back.

 

Definitely not a burial of The Hart Foundation and the match was neck and neck with Rude/Warrior as being best on the card. I also love the Rockers 6-Man, but less for the actual match and more for the Rougeaus and Martel's heel schtick throughout.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Tag Team Champs The Brain Busters vs Hart Foundation - Summerslam '89 Non-title

Non-title due to this match being signed before Busters' title victory. The Busters just loved to bump and sell for WWF beabyfaces. This is a very much a bump 'n' run and stoogefest from the Busters. Maybe, it was not Eadie's fault at all, (reference: I hated Demolition vs Brainbusters with a burning passion), it may just be how the Busters wanted to work. Like I am not a person to claim heels need to be a faces level because they really should not. The babyfaces should be better except the heels utilize nefarious tactics, but at the same time heels should not be out and out jabronis. I didn't mind this match as much because we do get a heat segment (on Anvil, weird, they probably wanted to shine up Bret Hart), but still the Hart Foundation gobbled them up. At first, I felt a bit hypocritical for enjoying this match a lot more than the Demolition matches especially after raising such a big stink. At the end of the day, I rather watch Bret Hart's offense than Demolition's offense (which is a totally fair point 2013 Martin, you dont need to defend yourself). I am going to disagree with 2013 Martin and say this is actually one of the better tag team matches from this era.. I would actually put it around the Summerslam '89 six-man tag in terms of quality (I did really enjoy Marte/Rougeaus vs Santana/Rockers, I should probably rewatch that). A lot of people call this heel in peril, but I still thought this was a shine through and through because it was fun. A heat/control segment plods more and is more of a breakdown to get ready for a run. This is an uptempo shine that the crowd popped for and the Busters really stooged for. I really liked how badly Arn wanted the tag out and really fought for it. Building to a tag before the hot tag is an underutilized device in tag team wrestling. When Bret Hart did the Rock N Roll/Rockers did the spot of skinning the cat out of the double top wristlock and decking both Busters, the crowd went fucking nuts. I mean I think it is one of those things because I have not watched this style in a while that really brought a smile to my face even though I have a million times, a million ways. Also, Tony Schiavone added a ton on commentary. He is so fucking good and he is right at home calling an Arn & Tully match.  

 

The Hart Foundation establishes the arm-based attack on both Busters each time they come in. The best spot of this segment really encapsulates Bret and something I never really thought about. Arn executes a drop toehold into a hammerlock, but rides high and Bret counters to a headlock. Bret just has this look on his face that was just like one big eye-roll and I immediately thought of Tenryu. Bret is amazing at displaying contempt for his opponents. He is one of the few wrestlers that is not only condescending on the mic, but is actually condescending in the ring also. Bret does an excellent top wristlock bridge transitions into the Busters double top wristlock spot that always gets a huge pop. Arn blindsides Bret, but this was not the transition as Bret is back on offense. However, Arn pulls Tully out of the way (way too telegraphed Arn was holding Tully's wrist forever) and Anvil eats the turnbuckles. We get the Anvil FIP, which is weird and no spinebuster. It is decent stuff, but you know it can be better. They do Arn's head collision spot and Bobby's facial expression that makes it. Then the Hart Foundation sliding knee on the apron is the transition. After watching basically every major Hart Foundation match, I marked out that Bret did that to Arn Anderson (I marked out all over again in 2018 because I forgot about it). I have watched this match twice before and I never even batted an eye. This time I was like "Of course that was the transition. That's genius!" Bret kicks some serious Tully ass and then runs through Tully. It is breaking loose in Tulsa and Anvil is slingshotted in (love that spot) and then slams Bret onto Tully. Heenan distracts the ref and Arn second-rope elbow costs Hart Foundation the match as AA gets the pin. The nice little touch is he uses Bret's arm to cover his head so that ref won't notice.

This is a really fun match. I enjoy babyfaces blowing out the heels early so I was entertained.  I know one of the things that people go after the Rockers for not having that money feud, but Hart Foundation did not have one from 1988-1991 that's pretty incredible. It was just how WWF tag scene was booked with Demolition going from POP, Towers, Busters, Colossal Connection, but they pretty much leave all the other tag teams to float in the wind. Long shine, a very blase heat segment, but a strong finish make this an easy thumbs up. ****