The WORST Moment From EVERY WWE SummerSlam

38. Missing A Hot, Natural Feud! (1988)

This just didn't make a lick of sense.

SummerSlam was the WWF's brand new supercard in 1988. Workhorses Rick Rude and Jake Roberts had a heated feud going into the event, but...they weren't programmed together on the show. Nope. Instead, Rude worked opposite Junkyard Dog, and Roberts wrestled Hercules in a nothing match later on.

Admittedly, Roberts did run in on Rude vs. JYD when the 'Ravishing One' revealed that he had an airbrushed pic of Jake's wife on his tights, but that was about it. Quite why Vince McMahon thought it was necessary to go into a new concept like SummerSlam without leaning on a hot rivalry like this one is anyone's guess.

It was nonsensical. Sure, Rude and Roberts had bored everyone to sleep with a 15 minute draw during the WWF Title tournament at WrestleMania IV, but that was circumstantial. They had to do the distance in March so both would be eliminated from the running to become champ, and that meant plenty of rest holds and stalling.

Surely both deserved the chance to improve on things come August, no? Apparently not. In lieu of that, McMahon booked a nothing burger of a 6-minute scrap between Rude and Dog, then another 10-minute mediocre clash between Jake and the big chain-swinging muscle man later on.

There wasn't too much wrong with the first SummerSlam overall, but leaving a match like this off the booking sheets was a real head-scratcher from the boss and his lieutenants. It wasn't like JYD or Hercules were top workers by mid-1988 either.