Background
The main feud heading into SummerSlam was between The Mega-Maniacs (WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake) and Randy Savage and Zeus. At WrestleMania V in April 1989, Hogan defeated Savage to win his second WWF Championship. WWF financed a professional wrestling movie "No Holds Barred". Hogan starred as the hero Rip, a popular professional wrestler, while Tom Lister played the villain Zeus. In the movie, Hogan defeated Zeus. The rivalry spanned in WWF, because Zeus wanted to take revenge from Hogan in real-life. In WWF, he was also billed as Zeus. He made his first appearance on WWF television on May 27, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event before Hogan's WWF title defense against Big Boss Man in a steel cage match. He was introduced by Boss Man's manager Slick. During Hogan's entrance, Zeus badly attacked him. On the July 29 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Zeus attacked Brutus Beefcake during Beefcake's match with Hogan's rival Randy Savage. Zeus did this because Beefcake was Hogan's best friend. Hogan came to the rescue but was unable to drop Zeus because Savage gave him two chair shots in the back. This led to the Hogan & Beefcake vs. Savage & Zeus encounter at SummerSlam.
The main match on the card was between Rick Rude versus The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. They had a posedown at Royal Rumble in January 1989 which was won by Warrior. Rude angrily attacked Warrior after the posedown. This led to their title match at WrestleMania V, where Warrior lost the Intercontinental Championship to Rude. They were signed to a rematch for the title at SummerSlam, with Rude defending the title against Warrior.
Read more about this topic: Summer Slam (1989)
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“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
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—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)