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What the HECK?/Intro- Saturday Night's Main Event, Sept and Nov 1987
Fans, welcome back! This tape features two episodes of Saturday Night's Main Event, that
I recently picked up through a tape trade. These two shows are fairly abundant around
Internet recap sites, but golly gee, you haven't read MY version of them!
Saturday Night's Main Event September 1987
Promos from "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Sika (yes, Sika) and Hulk Hogan open the show.
Animotion's "Obsession" is still being used as the show's theme. Vince McMahon
and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan are the hosts and run down the card, which will
include THREE title matches.
Match 1: WWF Intercontinental Championship:
HonkyTonk Man (c)(w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage (w/Elizabeth)
Pre-match promo from Macho has him saying "Danger Zone" roughly 20 times. Umm,
Kenny Loggins ain't cool, son. This match was set-up by Honky's claims of
being the "greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time". Honky also
made unsubstantiated remarks about Liz wanting to Honk his Tonky. But, most of this feud
was a patchwork job, after Ricky Steamboat demanded to take some time off. The feud didn't
begin to jell until after this match...
Honky demands to enter first, so Liz can check him out. Lock-up to start with Honky elbowing
Savage in the head. Savage comes off the ropes, kicks and bulldogs Honky over the top rope.
He whips Honky to the tunbuckles and drops a few elbows, but wait..what's this? Jimmy Hart
wanders to within 20 feet of Liz! Honky attacks from behind. He misses a clothesline,
and Savage misses a kneedrop. Honky pounds away and gives a Double Hitchhike in Liz's
direction. Snapmare and Honky lands a fistdrop from the second rope. Honky decides to go out
to ringside after Liz. Savage comes off the top turnbuckle with the big double
axehandle and tosses him back in. Savage rolls him up f
rom the corner and gets 2. A belly-to-back suplex
gets 1, and Jimmy Hart begins interferring. This time, Savage is over to blast Jimmy and send
him to the floor. Another flying axehandle gets 2, and again
Hart is there to disrupt. A few irish-whips and Honky tries a sunset flip. Macho blocks, just
as the Hart Foundation arrives at rigside to check on their manager. Canned "booo's" are piped in
and it's time for our commerical break!
Back from commercial, and the Harts and Honky have escorted Jimmy to the back. The match
resumes with
basic brawling. Honky gets a backdrop and Savage gets up off the canvas to tackle him in
the legs. Honky fights back and misses a fistdrop off the second rope. Savage elbows, gets his
own backdrop and a suplex for 2. Honky rakes the EYES and thorws him out. The Hart Foundation
attacks Savage at rinsgide while Honky distracts the ref. Savage is tossed back in for the Shake,
Rattle and whooooaaaaa, Savage with a backdrop! Savage with a slam and up top for the Big Elbow!1 count and Bret Hart suddenly flies in to break the count. Bell sounds for the DQ as all three heels
pound away on Savage. Honky takes a loonnnnnng time setting up for a guitar shot and Liz
eventually makes her way into the ring.
Honky SHOVES her aside, then brains Savage with the guitar. Egads, the strap on
Liz's gown broke. Liz rolls out and runs to the back...she returns
a few minutes later with a reluctant Hulk Hogan. Hogan enters and the Harts begin attacking.
Hogan eventually fights them off, while Savage recovers and the two clear the ring. They back into
each other, then turn around, fists raised. The Handshake of Epic Proportions happens, while
Vince McMahon completely spoils any spontaneity by mouthing "there it is, this is a moment!
The meeting of the Madness and the Mania".
..and to think, if Steamboat hadn't left, they wouldn't have needed a new challenger for
Honky. Thus, Macho would never have turned face,
the Megapowers would have never formed, and Macho might not have won the title at WM4. Savage
would not have become Hogan's Second Banana, headlined 3 WrestleManias & 2 SummerSlams, gone to WCW,
split from Liz, joined the nWo, or released a rap album. Could you argue that the pro
wrestling landscape would
have been different if Ricky Steamboat hadn't taken a sabbatical? Food for Thought
(or Indigestion)...
Match 2: WWF Championship:
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Sika (w/Mr. Fuji & Kim Chee)
Before the match, Fuji provides narration on how Sika eats a chicken.
Common rumor is that this was originally slated to be Kamala's shot, but
switched to Sika when the former left the company. Makes sense, since
the Kamala-Hogan program needed a national TV blow-off. As it is, Sika's announced
as the "#1 contender". Brawl starts things off, while Fuji manages to sneak in a few
cane shots. Sika misses a flying headbutt, so Hogan responds with 3 shots and a clothesline
to send him through the ropes. Sika charges in, but Hogan hits the deck and delives a backdrop
on the rebound. Hogan wanders over to smack Kim Chee, and Sika attacks from behind
to send him to the floor. Slight brawl and Sika gets tossed into the ring post.
Hogan steals Fuji's cane for awhile, but the refs talk him out of it. Back into the
ring, where Hogan comes off the ropes for a... splash?! Sika gets the knees up and takes over.
Sika delivers a few more chops and headbutts, then settles in for double-hand titty twister!
Oh, I guess it's a pectoral hold. Sika drops another headbutt and in a shocker turn
of events, Hogan kicks out! 3 shots, a powerslam and the big legdrop cinch the victory
for the Hulkster. Fuji gets a smack afterwards, while Kim Chee gets an atomic drop. Musta'
been a doozy, cuz' I think Kim Chee disappeared after this.
Match 3: "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. King Kong Bundy
Orndorff walks around the ring, repeating his "you're fired" movements. See, Orndroff
had fired Bobby Heenan a few months ago..and he's here to remind us of it. Gee, even Sean
Mooney could have gotten the point! Bundy is solo, since Heenan's in the booth. Ordnorff attacks
as the bell sounds, then misses a dropkick. Bundy throws him to the corner and pounds away.
Orndroff hits a sunset slip and actually gets a 2 count! Surprising, 'cuz it's one of the
rare instances a Fat Guy didn't drop down and squash the guy delivering the flip!
Bundy delivers a slam, then misses an elbowdrop. Orndorff comes off the second rope with a fist
for another 2. Heenan throws a tantrum and leaves the broadcast booth. Instead of going to ringside,
he runs to the back and sends Andre the Giant down. Meanwhile, Orndorff delivers a dropkick that
knocks Bundy through the ropes. Andre is there to offer Insighftul Comments as Bundy returns.
Another lock-up and Bundy delivers an elbowdrop, snapmare and a knee for 2. Orndorff misses
his own elbowdrop, and Bundy hits a half-assed hiptoss. Bundy works...the chinlock!
Bundy misses an avalanche in the corner, and
Orndorff pounds his head into the turnbuckle. Another irish-whip and this time Orndroff ends
up in the corner. He staggers out a little bit..then wanders back to the corner so Andre can hit his
spot: Andre reaches in, grabs Orndorff's britches and holds him in the corner. Bundy delivers
an avalanche and scores the 3 count. Not too bad, but I like Bundy.
Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship:
Hart Foundation (c) vs. Young Stallions
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart & Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Paul Roma & Jim Powers
Jimmy Hart's still leering from Savage and remains behind. his is sort of the blow-off for
the mini Stallions-Harts feud that began when the Stallions upset the champs in a non-title match.
The Stallions also STOLE the HARTS' MUSIC-- the tune "Crank it Up" from the Pildriver album.
However THAT worked out... apparently in WWF-land there was only ONE copy of the tune, or else
the Harts never thought to get their own copy and play it as their entrance music, anyways.
Match begins with the Stallions working armbars. Roma gets a sunset flip
and a flying crossbody on Hart, for two separate 2 counts. Hart kicks him low and delivers
a backbreaker. Anvil comes in to slam-drop Roma onto the top rope. EVIL bite! "Ha ha ha, yeah
baby!" Champs work on Roma for a bit until he leapfrogs and makes the hot tag to Powers.
All 4 guys are in the ring, with the Stallions gaining the upper hand. Powers whips
Hart to the ropes, then drops down so Roma can nail the big power slam (think
that was their finisher). But the ref is trying to get Powers
out of the ring (the legal man, but never mind that). Behind the ref's back, the Harts
lift up Roma for the Hart Attack. Hitman covers for 3 and the champs retain.
Mean Gene is in the back with the Mania and the Madness. Hogan says he knew
Hulkamania was the strongest power in the universe, but now he's found out that there's
a whole other universe- one with Macho Madness (I guess that'd be "Earth-M" for
all us DC comics geeks). They do their over-the-top handshake.
World Premiere of the Piledriver Music Video
Shown from the special "World Premiere Theater". Ha! Video has four parts: first, Jimmy Hart,
Honkytonk Man and some unknown blonde try driving their pink Cadillac into a construction area.
But Don Muraco and Hogan say "noooo". Okay. Second part has Muraco, "Superstar" Billy Graham
and Hogan dump concrete onto their foreman's pants. Ummmm. Then it's time for all the other guys
to sit around and oogle at skanky women in cut-off jeans. Bam Bam Bigelow, Billy Jack Haynes,
Oliver Humperdink and even Vince McMahon take part. Final portion has clips of KoKo B. Ware
in ring "action". Oh yeah, throughout the whole thing, KoKo is seen dancing on top of
a structure crooning the lyrics. Video ends as the foreman
enters a port-a-pot. Then the thing gets forklifted. Yuk Yuk.
I guess that sometimes love sounds just like... a PILEDRIVER! It's fun fluff and not as
emabrassingly bad as other CRAPPY sites that cover WRESTLING would have you believe.
Saturday Night's Main Event November 1987 - Seattle, WA
Originally broadcast Thanksgiving weekend and significant to me. I had tuned into
NBC to try watching "Saturday Night Live" on my little 6" black n' white TV set.
Instead, I got wrestling. I hadn't ever really followed or cared about wrestling ...
whenever I tried
to watch it, I always saw boring jobber matches. Not only was it fake and boring,
but there was absolutely no suspense.
But HEY, here's a promo saying Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy are
gonna' fight tonight?! Cool...I'll stick around for that. So the show opens with
a Twilght Zone-style promo from Macho Man, then Bundy and Hogan. Vince McMahon
and Jesse "The Body" Ventura are the hosts.
Match 1: George "The Animal" Steele vs. "Dangerous" Danny Davis
But first, let's take you back...to South Bend, Indiana, in the Spring of 1987 when Davis smacked
Steele in the head with a ringbell! Shit..these guys had an actual feud?! Promo from
Steele where he's more concerned about his Elizabeth action figure, until Mean Gene
mentions the word "bell". Old gimmick, but similar to Daffy Duck's first cartoon
(look it up!). George rumbles to the ring, attacks Davis and lifts him into an elevated choke.
Davis keeps bailing and tries to sneak up behind George. On the second attempt,
George hears him coming...and drops down to deliver a drop-toe hold! I shit you not!
George goes out and tries to bring in a chair. Davis lets him enter, then works him over with
a foreign object. Goes on for awhile until George grabs his arm and lifts him
into the flying hammerlock. Davis squirms and accidentally kicks the ref, drawing a DQ,
giving George the victory. Afterwards, George chomps on a turnbuckle and chases Davis to
the locker room.
Match 2: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart (w/Jimmy Hart & Jim Neidhart)
But first, let's take you back...to the last SNME (see: about five paragraphs up), when
Bret Hart cost Macho Man the Intercontinental Championship. As a newcomer, I was confused..
the last time I had watched the WWF, Macho Man was the IC champ... so was Bret Hart the new champ?!
Guess I was about four years ahead of my time. This is a fairly important match for
all you Bret Hart fans- it was probably his big first big-time nationally televised
singles match. But before the match starts... let's make sure to show Seattle Seahawk
Brian Bosworth (and future movie "star" and current REALTOR®) in the front row!
Jesse accurately disses him! Ha!
As Savage enters the ring area, he prevents Liz from opening the ropes for him. He LEARNED
something! Both guys brawl outside the ring, with Bret getting tossed into the post.
They make it inside for more brawling and snapmares. Bret is out on the apron, and Savage charges to
send him flying into the steel barrier! Savage runs over to deliver a double noggin-knocker
to Jimmy Hart and Neidhart, then hops up on the top turnbuckle to fly at Bret. Bret managed
to steal Jimmy's megaphone, and blasts Savage in the tummy. Neidhart tosses him back in. Bret
pounds away, hits a legdrop and slams Savage upside-down in the corner ("tree of woe").
Bret must really LOVE Savage, cuz' he hits him with a PILEDRIVER!!! YEAHHH-HHHH!
Irish whip into the corner. Savage bails and Bret's shoulder nails the post. Savage goes up top
for a flying double axehandle and gets 2. Bret comes right with the backbreaker for 2. Savage is
backdropped to the floor and "hurts" his ankle. Savage hobbles around, and Liz wanders over to
remove his boot. Savage REALLY sells the ankle as Bret stomps away and applies a spinning toehold.
Savage gets a desperation kick to the corner, then snaps Bret with the ropes to get 2.
Bret works a half-crab on Savage, who manages to make the ropes. Savage crawls out to the
apron and Bret suplexes him back in. Savage counters with a rolling cradle to score the
3 count out of nowhere! All 3 heels try to attack Savage, but he clears the ring with
the megaphone. Savage definitely played the "gutsy sympathetic face", while outnumbered
and hobbling around on one leg.
Mean Gene is standing by with words from Hulk Hogan. Hogan is wearing a headband with
little dealie-bobbers over the eyes, and talks about the blue tinge in his veins, his
"secondary survival system". Or, if ya' wanna Jose Canseco-ize it... STEROIDS!
Match 3: WWF Championship:
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy (w/Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant)
I believe this was the first Hogan match I ever saw. Probably saw a few clips
of him while watching the AWA in 1983, but this is the first
full match I can remember watching.
Jesse mentions that Joey Marella, the same ref who officiated the WrestleMania 3
Hogan-Andre bout is in the ring. Jesse hatches a conspiracy plot about
Marella being Hogan's personal ref.
Hogan pounds away to begin, but tries to slam Bundy and hurts his back. Bundy works the lower
back and tosses Hogan around. Hogan makes a comeback, hitting a charging knee. He bounces to the ropes,
but Andre grabs Hogan's leg, in full view of the ref. Instead of an immediate DQ, the ref
gets Howard Finkel to announce that Andre must leave ringside, or else Bundy will be disqualified.
Andre is ticked, takes off his suit jacket and is DRENCHED with sweat! Heenan and Bundy
convince him to leave. Andre waddles back to the lockerroom, knocking over a cameraman in the process.
After a commercial break, the match resumes. Basic brawling with Bundy getting the advantage.
Bundy goes to the heavy artillery with the BEARHUG and chinlock!
Hogan fights out, and irishwhips Bundy. Bundy reverses and hits the charging avalanche into the corner, then follows up with a big splash.
Then, in a surprising turn of events, Hogan kicks out of the finisher at 2!! Three big
punches, big boot and a slam! Bundy rolls out to ringside and Hogan follows. They brawl
for a bit, until Hogan rolls Bundy back in the ring. Bundy trips up
Joey Marella, and the ref can't see Heenan run over and grab Hogan's leg. Hogan
can't beat the count and is counted out! Bundy wins! Bundy wins! Screw the five count,
Bundy is the Master of the 10 Count! Jesse announces that this is the first time Bundy
has ever beaten Hogan (true?). Hogan grabs Heenan and chokes him out. See, Heenan
hurt his pride...he hadta' be a man, he can't let it slide. That's enough to play
"Real American".
Match 4: Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. Hercules
Herc tries shoulderblocking Bigelow to no avail. They trade forearm shots and clotheslines, until
Herc knocks Bigelow out of the ring. Herc works him over on the apron. To counter, Bigelow
snapmares him over the ropes and to the floor. Both men brawl to a countout and the verdict is announced
as a draw (no "double countout"?). Bigelow gets on the house mic and declares that he came
to Seattle to win or lose, not draw..so the match re-starts.
Both guys bet down in football stances and take turns charging at each other.
Well... Herc gets a 3-point stance, but Bigelow can't put his arm down for fear of
splitting his drawers.
Herc clubs away and tries a backdrop, which
Bigelow cartwheels away from. Herc clubs some more, then tries going up top. Bigelow
catches him off the top turnbuckle, military press-slams him, then hops out on the
apron to deliver his slingshot splash. Bigelow gets a 3 count to win. I couldn't tell, but it
sounded like Bigelow had NO theme music.
Jesse runs down Bosworth some more, while Mean Gene is in the back with Bundy and Andre.
Bundy thanks all his "Bundaholics"
and challenges Hogan to a rematch, this time with Andre officially in his corner.
Jesse comes in to shake Bundy's hand.
After a commercial break, Gene has the response from Hogan, who accepts the challenge.
One more commercial break, then the broadcast crew signs off.
Special Bonus Match 1: WWF Championship:
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) vs. Ric Flair (w/Mr. Perfect)
From either Prime Time Wrestling or Superstars in September 1992, with
Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan on the call.
JIP with Flair working on Savage in the corner and hitting a belly-to-back suplex for 2.
Flair hooks a half-crab and works Macho's left leg. Sayyyyy.. the same leg Bret Hart
hurt almost five years earlier?! That's continuity! Flaris slams him and drops a knee.
Macho hooks a small package out of nowhere for a quick 2 count. Flair throws him out to ringside,
where Macho fights off Mr. Perfect. He hits Flair with two clotheslines, a backdrop and a smash
to the steel barrier. Throws Flair back and lands the top-turnbuckle double axehandle.
Macho's leg gives out and he can't make the cover. Razor Ramon decides to walk down,
or as Vince annouces it "he's STALKERING down to ringside!". Flair dropkicks Macho to the floor
so Razor can get a few shots on the bad leg. Refs force him away form ringside, but back in the ring
Flair's slapped on the figure four. Since it's a legitimately painful hold, Flair doesn't
have it hooked all the way. This allows Macho to tumble around on the mat for
a good 3 or 4 minutes. Macho eventually passes out from the pain, and the ref counts his
shoulders on the canvas. Ric Flair wins the WWF Championship with the figure four!
After the match, the refs try to assist the injured Macho to the back. Ultimate Warrior runs
down in street clothes and no facepaint to shove the refs off. He gives Macho a big
MAN HUG and carries him back to the locker room.
Special Mean Gene Podium Interview: "Macho Man" Randy Savage
From the following week, as Macho limps out, but with a Very Special Kneepad.
Macho is wearing the kneepad of his "greatest friend and toughest opponent",
the Warrior. He challenges Razor Ramon and Ric Flair, but then the fun
REALLY begins. Warrior comes out to give another passionate MAN HUG. Macho
sez:"Ohhhh yeahh" and Warrior sez "Dig it!". "Macho Man, you stand before me a loser
or nothing. For you gave me the greatest battle I have ever had, shall ever witness and have"
Oh yeah, Warrior's in top form, here. Macho gives Warrior a special pair of Macho Madness
shades. Warrior puts them on and sells it like an ephiphany. More MAN HUGGING!
The Ullllltimate
Maniacs have formed (shouldn't Jesse Ventura get some royalties from that name?)
Why'd You Tape This??
Best performer on here? Bundy! He beat Orndorff and Hogan on the same tape. The Macho Man
stuff isn't terribly entertaining since I can only see so many top-turnbuckle axehandles.
Having Hogan lose was a big shift. If Hogan had won, I probably would not have been
intrigued and may not have watched wrestling again. With Hogan losing, I thought, "wow,
they're shaking things up. Fans, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?!" Sure, I knew wrestling was
fake, but I would have never guessed Hogan would lose to his old nemesis, Bundy. A complete
reversal of the crappy jobber matches I had always seen. It was like a mini-PPV..for free.
Decent tape and worth tracking down if you dig the WWF from 1986 to 1988.
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