#2 Honky Tonk Man Vs. The Ultimate Warrior – Summerslam 1988
Throughout the years, there are those Superstars that most fans would have probably heard of, but might not be too aware of just how valuable an asset they were. The Honky Tonk Man is certainly one such example. Dressed as an Elvis impersonator, carrying an acoustic guitar to the ring and shaking his hips all over the place, Honky was your typical WWF Golden Era mid-card talent. He came from a time when wrestling didn’t take itself too seriously, and pretty much anything went in terms of gimmicks.
One thing you might not know about him is that he still holds the record for the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of all time. When you consider the greats who have held this belt over the years, that is some achievement. It’s hard to imagine that such a record will be broken in today’s WWE unless somebody breaks it by accident because the company have forgotten to think of a good enough set of feuds and matches for them.
As impressive as the reign was, the real impact was felt at its conclusion during the very first Summerslam back in 1988. Honky Tonk Man came to the ring and decided to issue an open challenge. Seeing as he had beaten everyone already, he was feeling pretty confident about himself and decided to flaunt his arrogance in front of the audience in attendance.
His face instantly dropped, however, as he witnessed the sight of The Ultimate Warrior sprinting down to ringside accompanied by that high energy guitar intro of his. Warrior was by no means the star he later became by this point, but fans knew that this was a mega-talent in the making.
The bout itself was a bonafide squash match that propelled Warrior to new and exciting heights. To come out and end such a long title reign in a matter of seconds fitted the Warrior’s persona perfectly. It was also a good way to hide his limited wrestling skills while still making him look like a future legend. If wrestling is all about getting the best reactions from your audience, this 30-second match is definitely up there with the greats.
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