10 Worst SummerSlam Main Events Ever - According To Dave Meltzer
4. SummerSlam 1990 - The Ultimate Warrior Vs Ravishing Rick Rude (**1/2)
The weakest of their typically excellent matches by far, Ultimate Warrior's title defence against perennial foe Ravishing Rick Rude at SummerSlam 1990 couldn't even match up to the ultra-heated Hulk Hogan/Earthquake match it had followed on the card that night, let alone their blistering Intercontinental Title contest the previous year.
Though visually spectacular thanks to the blue bar cage aesthetic, the muscular pairing didn't overtly commit to the violence and decisive destruction the contest was intended to provide.
Mirroring their WrestleMania 5 Intercontinental Title match rather than furthering their chemistry or acting as any kind of updated sequel, the more serious 'Ravishing One' wasn't able to portray his new harder-edged role against the limited Champion, and instead bumped around like a fool in between bouts of deeply uninteresting offence that completely lost the crowd and commentator Roddy Piper, who subtly heeled on Warrior for virtually the entire contest. The tepid response to the titleholder's supposedly heroic defence summed the moribund effort up.
Hindsight rendered the match an even sadder state of affairs, with Warrior's title reign now looking like a post-WrestleMania lame duck, and Rude's forgettable effort turning out to be an unfitting final ever pay-per-view match for the company.