This page explains in detail the interactions between the Slam Masters series and the Street Fighter series.
Saturday Night Slam Masters[]
July 13, 1993
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Saturday Night Slam Masters features cameo appearances of two Street Fighter characters in its background: Chun-Li and E. Honda. Chun-Li can be spotted at the left side of the stage, while Honda is seen among the crowd at the center of the stage. They appear in all stages as they all share the same background only with different palettes. One detail that makes these cameos the actual characters is that they are not mirrored on the other side of the crowd, for example a generic woman posing the same way stands in Chun-Li's place on the right side of the stage.
While there's also a man resembling Ryu in the background, the fact he appears mirrored more than once seem to indicate he's not actually Ryu. These cameos also appear in the updated release Muscle Bomber Duo, as it has the same stage backgrounds.
Other references[]
One of the game's characters, Titanic Tim, is also a friend and rival of the character Birdie from Street Fighter Alpha as stated in his backstory, having fought together in the ring as a tag team called the "500 Trillon Power". One piece of concept art shows the two characters together. This detail is later referenced in Street Fighter V.
The character of King Rasta Mon appears to have been partly inspired by Blanka for his gameplay, as he possess similar moves such as the Rolling Assault and Head Bite grab, and the two share a similar background of being wild men raised alone by animals. The character Gunloc also seems to draw loosely from Guile, displaying a similar but more subdued hairstyle and face in his sprite, as well as a move named Sonic Fist that loosely resembles Guile's animation for his own projectile, the Sonic Boom.
English localization additions[]
The English localization for the game added two more nods to Street Fighter not featured in the Japanese original:
- Gunloc's in-game bio states that he is rumored to be related to a "famous Street Fighter". It's not clarified which Street Fighter this text refers to, but later games would expand on this and reveal Guile to be the Street Fighter in question, a character Gunloc already had some loose elements in common as explained above. This bio was expanded in UDON's 2010 Street Fighter World Warrior Encyclopedia, where it reads: "GUNLOC is rumored to be related to a famous American street fighter who is quite particular about his haircut."
- Biff Slamkovich's defeat quote name-drops Zangief, implying they are acquaintance.
- "Comrade Zangief was right! You all fight cheap!"
Muscle Sports[]
September 1993
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Muscle Sports (筋肉スポーツ) ia a three-page mock sports newspaper published in Capcom's Japanese-exclusive club fanzine Club Capcom, as a promotional brochure for Saturday Night Slam Masters. The pseudo-newspaper includes blurbs and write-ups about several characters, both playable like Slamkovich or Haggar and NPCs like referee Harry Hicks and Rasta Mon's pet monkey Freak.
It includes a few apperances of Street Fighter characters as well:
- Page 1
- An ad about Zangief's autobiography, "Perestroika of Fighting", written by Zangief and detailing his path to becoming the world's strongest. It also includes a recommendation by "Former President Gorbachov", referencing his appearance in Zangief's ending and his role in his backstory as his sponsor.
- Next to Zangief's ad, an ad for a book about survival on the jungle by Blanka.
- To the right side, a long blue corner with two small titles: "SFII: The Four Kings Split Up" and "Ryu is furious!!! Ken to join the J. League!?". These are stated to be in Page 4, which doesn't exist as the newspaper was designed to be 3-pages long.
- Page 2
- An ad for Dhalsim's Yoga instruction book, "Get Enlightment and a Flexible Body", describing basic and advanced techniques promising to "allow your body to stretch" and "float in the air", techniques Dhalsim uses in battle.
- Page 3
- A promotion for an upcoming event starring M. Bison (the boxer known as Balrog outside Japan). The event is a "Barbed Wire and Electric Explosion" boxing match, where the ropes on the boxing ring will be electrified wired barb with small explosives that detonate upon contact. Due to the insanity of this event, both the (real life) WBA (World Boxing Association) and WBC (World Boxing Council) refuse to sanction this fight, and insurance companies are reluctant to sign contracts covering the event. Bison's rival has yet to be announced at the time of "publication", with the event scheduled for "tomorrow" (the day after the newspaper's release).
- On the corner of the Bison article, a small ad for the real-life soundtrack release of Street Fighter II, the Street Fighter II Complete File.
- At the bottom of the page, a small blurb for an exclusive interview with both Zangief and Dhalsim.
All ads come accompanied by an artwork piece of the Street Fighter in question.
Besides these, the very end of the 3rd page includes a small text asking the readers if "Antler Inoki should participate". This is a reference to a real life popular wrestler at the time, Antonio Inoki, and wasn't meant to be anything more. This small nod, however, would eventually be expanded into a proper character in Street Fighter. The last page also includes two small titles referencing Mega Man and Ghosts 'n Goblins, reading "Following the Trail of the Mysterious Wily Funds" and "What do you think? Arthur and the Princess".
Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II[]
September 02, 1994
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Three Street Fighter characters make cameo appearances as part of the crowds in stages from Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II.
The stage set in Tokyo, Japan features E. Honda in a somewhat obscured location. He's visible to the right of the large signboard in the background, laughing as he watches the fight. The stage set in Moscow, Russia features Zangief observing the match from the top right side of the audience. He's quite big and easy to spot among the generic crowd. The stage set in Las Vegas, U.S.A. features the boxer Balrog at the right side of the screen, watching the battle with a big grin. He's very easy to spot as he's big and his blue shirt makes him clearly stand out.
Perhaps to reinforce the connection between Gunloc and Guile even more, Gunloc is given a new move named Crescent Slash, which produces a blade of energy from a somersault kick in a way very reminiscent of Guile's Flash Kick.
Street Fighter: The Movie (Arcade video game)[]
June 1995
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
The Arcade fighting game adaptation of the live-action Street Fighter movie further expands on the connection between Guile and Gunloc by not only revealing one of its original characters, the cyborg Blade, to be him but also Guile's brother.
Blade is one of four selectable "Bison Troopers" in the game, characters based on the movie's Bison soldiers but with cyborg enhancements. Blade's ending, however, reveals that Blade is not loyal to Bison but an undercover agent working for his brother Guile to bring him down. The ending then states that, now that Bison is destroyed, Blade can finally resume his wrestling career as Gunloc.
Gunloc is also name-dropped in the unused ending for Blanka accessed through hacking, where he tries to help Guile rescue his friend Blanka to no success.
Street Fighter Alpha 2[]
February 27, 1996
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Ken's stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2, titled "San Francisco Bay", is set within a cruiser of his ownership where he's holding a birthday party for his girlfriend (and future wife) Eliza. This stage features several character cameos from an assortment of Capcom's franchises, appearing as guests of the party and visible in the background tending to themselves as the battle unfolds.
Slam Masters characters Biff Slamkovich and Victor Ortega can be seen to the left of Eliza on the background table. The two are dressed in formal white suits, with Biff displaying his red band tied on his arm and Ortega having his championship belt on display in his waist. Biff is facing the table, his face turned away from the fight, while Ortega is sipping a drink.
For a full list of characters in this stage as well as an explanation about this link's nature, visit this page.
Street Fighter episode New Kind of Evil[]
October 05, 1996
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
The Season 2 3rd episode of the american Street Fighter TV series is titled "New Kind of Evil", and it features a number of characters based on Slam Masters characters. Near the beginning of the episode Blanka is seen fighting on a wrestling ring against a wrestler that is designed after Mike Haggar's appearance in the Slam Masters series, albeit with an entirely different color palette. The character is never actually addressed by name in the episode, so it is unknown if the character is meant to be Haggar or just resembles him.
The three thugs that'd later become the mutants featured in this episode are supposedly Slam Masters characters as well: the blonde thug with a white wifebeater and green pants is roughly similar to Gunloc in face and hairstyle, the black-haired thug with a spiky beard, red jacket and white pants seems to resemble Titanic Tim in face structure and hairstyle, and the red-headed thug with a blue shirt seems to superficially resemble The Great Oni facially. None of the three characters wear anything close to the Slam Masters' wrestling attires at any point, they are never addressed by name during the episode and the resemblance is superficial at best, however.
As a result, much like with the wrestler at the beginning of this episode, it is uncertain if these characters are the actual Slam Masters characters or just original characters vaguely resembling them, with no known official source confirming their identities. As an addendum, some fansites lists Jumbo Flapjack in place of Titanic Tim as one of the thug's identities, but none of the three thugs comes close to resemble the obese, puffy-bearded Canadian wrestler.
Secret File #10: Toukon Sports[]
February 1997
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Secret Files are special Japanese-exclusive booklets by Capcom bundled with Arcade games from 1996 to 2000. The 10th Secret File, titled "Toukon Sports", was released with the Arcade version of Street Fighter III: The Next Generation and includes a little reference to Slam Masters character Jumbo Flapjack.
One of the booklet's pages is styled like a newspaper section covering a tournament known as the "Vale Tudo Eternal Fighting", where the boxer M. Bison (Balrog in the West) defeated all his opponents before succumbing against Street Fighter III newcomer Alex in the finals. One of these previous opponents mentioned in the article is the "giant Kimala", referencing the Slam Master's obese fighter Kimala the Bouncer, otherwise known as Jumbo Flapjack in English.
Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack[]
October 30, 1997
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
Four Slam Masters characters are mentioned during Hugo's ending in 2nd Impact. Hugo's Arcade path ends in one of four possible bosses (Ryu, Necro, Gill or Elena), and in his ending he recruits the character to fight together as a tag team in a match for the CWA (the Capcom Wrestling Association, the wrestling association from Slam Masters). Getting Ryu, Gill or Necro will have the tag team match be against Biff Slamkovich and Gunloc under their in-series tag name "Hyper Cannon". Getting Elena will instead match them against Haggar and Black Widow under the tag name of "Slam Masters".
Street Fighter V[]
February 16, 2016
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
A minor reference featured in Laura's movelist from Street Fighter V. As confirmed by the game's director, Laura's move Sunset Wheel is inspired by Gunloc's Sunset Splash. Besides the similar name, the two moves are takedown throws where the user performs aerial somersaults before slamming their opponents into the ground. Laura's move, however, is a bit more fleshed out as it starts with an elbow strike and ends in Laura locking her opponent into a shoulder lock.
It was also revealed at a later date that the ability of certain driving-into-the-ground moves to leave the opponent stuck inside the ground if they are used as round enders was inspired by Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II. where the mattres gets destroyed by similar moves.
Street Fighter V: A Visionary Book[]
February 16, 2016
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
A character relationship chart included in the artbook Street Fighter V: A Visionary Book (released as part of the Street Fighter V Special Edition) includes both Zalazoff (Biff Slamkovich) and Colt (Gunloc) as being part of the CWA (Capcom Wrestling Association).
Shadaloo Combat Research Institute[]
May 01, 2016
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
The "Shadaloo Combat Research Institute" (Shadaloo C.R.I. for short) is a section within the Capcom Fighters Network website which is dedicated to providing official profiles for a large variety of characters in the Street Fighter universe. Although no Slam Masters character was given a profile in the website despite their close canonical ties, a few characters were still referenced in other character's profiles as part of their backstory.
- The profile for R.Mika's trainer Yoko Harmagedon establishes that her wrestling career ended after suffering a waist and neck injury during a match against Black Widow, the only female wrestler from Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II. The bio was published on May 01, 2016.
- Blade from the Street Fighter The Movie Arcade game was given a profile on June 03, 2016. While there's no direct mention of Gunloc or his relationship with Guile, Blade's height and weight are the exact same ones given to Gunloc in the original Slam Masters manual, and the two have popcorn listed in their "Likes". This appears to be a nod to Blade's ending in which he's revealed to be Gunloc, but whether this means that specific detail remains canon is uncertain.
- The profile for El Fuerte's teacher, Meteorito Jr., establishes that he's also the teacher of El Stingray from Slam Masters, a high-speed flying wrestler who shares a strong visual resemblance to El Fuerte. The bio was released on July 03, 2017.
- The website provided a profile for Antler Inoki, the character mentioned back in the Muscle Sports promotional material. He was given artwork resembling the real-life Antonio Inoki and a few references to him in the text. The profile was released on July 04, 2017.
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Patch ver.04.021[]
February 26, 2019
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
This patch for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition introduced a new costume for Zangief called "The Gief", representing a Heel persona the Russian wrestler adopts on the ring. The costume also comes with brand new win quotes for all characters, with four of these win quotes making references to characters in Slam Masters.
- His win quote against F.A.N.G. has The Gief state that he should be spitting the poison instead of using it on his hands, and his win quote against Dhalsim says that the fire breath is a heel's move. These two quotes are nods to heel wrestler Jumbo Flapjack and his Poison Breath and Fire Breath moves respectively.
- "Hey! Is that poison on your hands? You should be spitting it instead!"
- "Spitting fire isn't a yoga move. It's a move reserved for heels!"
- His win quote against Birdie references his time as Titanic Tim's tag team partner. The translator didn't notice the reference, however, and Gief uses Titanic Tim's Japanese name (Titan the Great) instead.
- "That technique! That style... You're Titan's tag partner!"
- His win quote against Gill directly mentions the third game's final boss, Victor Ortega.
- "Whoa, You're strong! About as strong as that Ortega fellow. Either way the Gief is victorious!"
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Patch ver.07.001[]
March 29, 2022
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
The final balance update for Street Fighter V: Champion Edition introduced a brand new stage called "Ring of Arcade", set in what appears to be an amusement theme park with several elements and characters from old Capcom Arcade games visible in the background. The stage features an unique easter egg inspired by the third game in the series, Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II.
Unique to this stage, performing certain moves as round finishers with the wrestler-type grapplers Alex, Birdie and Zangief makes a large onomatopoeia come out after the enemy hits the ground. These onomatopoeia are copied from Slam Masters II, in which ground-striking moves always produced them.
- Performing Alex's Critical Art "Heavy Hammer" causes a large red "DOOM" effect to appear. In Slam Masters II, this effect is used by a number of wrestlers including Biff Slamkovich, whose design and Japanese name (Aleksey Zalazof) are reminiscent of Alex, and series' fans believe Alex may have been inspired by him.
- Performing Birdie's Critical Art "Skip To My Chain" produces a large yellow "KA-BOOM!" to show up. As before, this effect is used by many wrestlers in Slam Masters II, including Birdie's former tag team partner Titanic Tim.
- Performing a number of Zangief moves that end with the opponent stuck on the ground, including his Spinning Pile Driver and Critial Art "Bolshoi Russian Suplex" makes a large yellow "SLAM!" to appear on-screen. Another effect shared by wrestlers in its source game, it was given to Zangief likely because it's also used by Haggar, Capcom's other well-known wrestler Zangief has a minor off-screen rivalry with.
Street Fighter 6[]
June 02, 2023
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
There's a minor reference found in the Beat Square area of World Tour, where there's a list of games displayed on the ground in the style of the Walk of Fame, mostly chronicling Capcom's fighting game history. As such both Saturday Night Slam Masters and Ring of Destruction Slam Masters II are included in this list.
World Tour mode also features Antler Inoki as an non-playable character the player can talk to and fight, making that minor joke/nod to Antonio Inoki mentioned in a promoptional ad of Slam Master a fully fleshed out character that exists in the world of Street Fighter. As to avoid any copyright infringements, however, the character's name was shortened to just "Antler" and his appearance was altered to obfuscate its resemblance to Antonio Inoki.
Street Fighter 6 Summer Samba Slam Fighting Pass[]
August 01, 2024
Slam Masters
Street Fighter
The 15th Fighting Pass, "Summer Samba Slam", is not focused on Slam Masters per se, but still came with a few Premium Rewards based on the series, including Stickers, Titles, Music and a Classic Game.
 Lessgooooooo! |
Sticker | The art of Victor Ortega ripping up his shirt as seen in the intro of Saturday Night Slam Masters. |
 Ones Up! |
Sticker | The sprite of a man rising his hand with a large hand glove pointing up. This is one of the spectators visible in the crowds of the stages in Saturday Night Slam Masters. |
 Clap Your Hands! |
Sticker | An sprite of Freak, King Rasta Mon's pet monkey, as well as manager and ring-side coach. |
 You Give Up? |
Sticker | A sprite of Harry Hicks, the referee overseeing all matches in Saturday Night Slam Masters. The "Give Up?" prompt occurs when one player is caught in a chokehold by the other and is low on health, allowing for a chance to surrender and end the match there. |
 Saturday Night Slam Masters! |
Title | The image shows Haggar fighting against El Stingray, Haggar performing a taunt (damage boost) while El Stingray is stunned. |
 The Best of the CWA! |
Title | The image is a close-up of Victor Ortega from the game's intro, and the text refers to his backstory of being the undisputed champion of the CWA (Capcom Wrestling Association, the game's wrestling organization) before retiring after finding no worthy opponent. |
 Saturday night Slam Masters |
Classic Game | Unlocks Saturday Night Slam Masters in the Gallery's Game Center section for play. Unlike all other Classic Game unlocks, this game doesn't unlock its flyer or main art on the gallery, instead presenting a black image with the game's logo on the upper part. This is possibly due to the game's art being done by Manga-ka Tetsuo Hara, author of Fist of the North Star, and his art requiring certain permissions that prevented Capcom from simply using it here. |
The Fighting Pass also provides 3 character music themes from Saturday Night Slam Masters as Premium Rewards: The Great Oni's Theme, Mike Haggar's Theme and Biff Slamkovich's Theme.
License[]
Copyrights for both series are held by Capcom.