Hogan’s first televised WWF Title defense after WrestleMania V was against his old foe The Big Bossman, in a steel cage no less.
Zeus attacked Hogan prior to this match to add a little suspense, but it was obvious Bossman wasn’t winning the belt here. However the match itself turned out to be a very entertaining cage brawl, the highlight of which was Hogan suplexing Bossman off the top of the steel structure. In 1989 that spot was one of the most death-defying things I had ever seen, and it made this a very memorable bout.
9. Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana – 7/28/90
On a stacked SNME episode that featured three Title matches, what seemed like a throwaway Intercontinental defense turned out to be a very well-worked, show-stealing match. This aired a month before Summerslam, and oddly they gave away the scheduled Warrior-Rude PPV main event on this show for free (I know the SS match was in a cage, but still).
So there wasn’t much suspense there, and even less in the Tag Team Title match, as Demolition (scheduled to face the Hart Foundation at the PPV) defended against The Rockers here. But Mr. Perfect, whose Summerslam opponent was up in the air following Brutus Beefcake’s infamous parasailing accident, would face the man he defeated to win the vacant I-C Title that April, Tito Santana.
At the time I feared Perfect would drop the Title here, setting up a rematch at the PPV, but with some help from Bobby Heenan (“He’s gotta beat you! You don’t hafta beat him!”) on the outside, Perfect delivered a successful and enjoyable Title defense.
