A nostalgic staple of WWE’s network programming returns as Saturday Night’s Main Event airs on NBC. The December 14th special, featuring a WWE Championship match with Cody Rhodes defending the gold against former friend turned dastardly challenger Kevin Owens has fans buzzing with excitement.
Whether it’s the formation of the Mega Powers, Mr. Perfect destroying the WWF Championship belt with a hammer, or an all-time classic between Rockers facing the Brain Busters, Saturday Night’s Main Event was a show where big things popped off that kept people talking all day Sunday and well into Monday.
I vividly remember my first Saturday Night’s Main Event. I hadn’t been a wrestling fan for that long. However, if you heard me talk about anything related to the squared circle, you’d think I was a long-time superfan. I was playing outside with my friend Billy Andrews when he said he couldn’t wait to see the Ultimate Warrior face the Super Ninja.
Hearing the words “Ultimate Warrior” and “Super Ninja” in the same sentence made my mind explode with excitement.
I wondered how I had missed that match. I watched all of WWE’s weekend shows: Superstars, Wrestling Spotlight, Wrestling Challenge, and All-American Wrestling. Yep, I watched them all, and there was no mention of the Super Ninja.
Billy introduced me to wrestling, so he knew it all while I was playing up. His parents taped and watched the show to ensure there were no swear words before they let us watch it. The way Billy spoke about the show with such enthusiasm made me feel like a bad wrestling fan. So, I did what any eight-year-old best friend would do: I lied.
Of course, I’ve heard of Saturday Night’s Main Event. I mean, who hasn’t, right? Billy’s mom, Donna, yelled from their third-story porch, telling us it was time to come in and watch the show.
The show opened with thirty-second promos of wrestlers hyping their matches to quietly intense music. Think of the pre-entrance music as Hell in a Cell descends from the ceiling. Here are some of the fun lines that make me miss the promos of yesteryear.
Ultimate Warrior: “Thanksgiving may be a time of peace. BUT NOT WHEN MY CHAMPIONSHIP BELT IS ON THE LINE!”
Bobby Heenan: “Fee-fi-fo-BAM. I smell defeat for the Macho Man.”
Million Dollar Man: Tonight, Virgil is going to collect on an overdue bill. (Maniacal laugh) HA-HA-HA-HA-HA”
Hulk Hogan: “Oh yeah, Brother Love, I’m gonna speak to you tonight, dude. But I’m gonna let the 24-inch pythons do the talking.”
- WWF Intercontinental Championship: Ultimate Warrior vs. Super Ninja w/ Mr. Fuiji
If you grew up in the 80s, you likely believed that no one could defeat a ninja. I found it hard to imagine how the Ultimate Warrior would be able to beat a Super Ninja. According to his manager, Mr. Fuji, the Super Ninja trained in secret for seven years across seven continents and mastered the seven [martial] arts.
The seven arts!?!? How could the Warrior possibly win?
Do the words Flawless Victory come to mind? Super Ninja, pfft? More like Fake Super Ninja. Warrior beat Super Ninja like he owed him money. The match taught me a valuable lesson. Ninjas can fight, but they sure couldn’t wrestle.
We transitioned from fantasy warfare to social studies. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase ordered his bodyguard Virgil to hunt and capture his white slave, Hercules. I found this confusing as I was learning about Abraham Lincoln and slavery. Jesse Ventura, interviewing DiBiase, said Hercules was being anti-American for accepting his role of servitude.
- Hercules vs. Virgil w/ Ted DiBiase
Ultimately, it didn’t matter because Hercules made short work of Virgil. I was surprised at how easily Virgil lost, considering he was in great shape. Remember when ignorance was bliss, and we thought anyone with big bulging muscles was automatically a tough guy?
A video recap of Damien inducing Andre’s heart attack led into the pre-match interviews. Heenan quickly stopped Andre from destroying Gene Okerlund after he mentioned his full-fledged phobia of snakes.
In his interview, Savage said that to be a great champion, he has to beat the Giant. He said Hulk Hogan was a great champion, and he beat Andre. He knows he can beat him, too, and he called Heenan a two-legged snake.
Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake is featured in The Mountain Dew Slam of the Night.
- WWF Championship: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth vs. Andre the Giant w/ Bobby Heenan
Savage fought desperately to escape the Giant’s grasp. He managed to land a few punches, but Andre cut him off before he could gain any momentum. However, Savage found a burst of energy and started making consistent progress.
Jake Roberts arrived at ringside, which caused Heenan to jump on the apron in protest and temporarily halt the action. Savage urged Roberts to leave, and he obliged, but not before leaving Damien under the ring.
Meanwhile, Andre focused more on Heenan finding Damien than on Savage. When Heenan eventually found Damian, but Roberts prevented him from running off. Roberts then chased Heenan into the ring, resulting in a DQ.
Heenan was thrown into Andre during the chaos, causing the big man to get tangled up in the ropes. Roberts tossed Damien into the ring just as Andre managed to free himself. Andre fainted in the aisle during his escape.
- Flag Match: ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan vs. Boris Zhukov
Okerlund Interview: Duggan called the fleur-de-lis flag a rag with frogs and thought the Soviet flag was a sign for a hardware store.
“Hail to the Chief” interrupted Zhukov’s rendition of the Soviet anthem for Duggan’s entrance. I remember watching this match and wishing it was Nikolai Volkov instead of Zhukov. It was a 50/50 affair that didn’t last long. Volkov wrestled while Duggan brawled. In the corner, Duggan used Volkov’s moment against him and hit his running clothesline for the win.
Brother Love Show w/ Guest Hul…Not so fast. “The Doctor of Style” Slick was brought out as his guest. Brother Love introduced Hulk Hogan as a man who knows nothing about love. Slick and Brother Love kept dogging Hogan while threatening to call the Big Boss Man if he lost control. Hogan eventually threw Slick out of the ring.
Brother Love hit Hogan from behind, but it had no effect. Eight-year-old me was salivating when Hogan drilled Brother Love with a big body slam. Hogan handcuffed Brother Love to the top rope and clotheslined him out of the ring. Ventura said how Hogan treated a man of the cloth was disgusting. McMahon called it a great moment on television.
Jesse Ventura interviewed The Fabulous Rougeaus with/ Jimmy Hart, who proudly announced their U.S. Citizenship and made their home in Memphis, TN. I had no idea what this meant then and cared even less.
- The Fabulous Rougeaus w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Young Stallions
There was little here. The Rogeaus dominated until Jim Powers dodged a crossbody attempt and tagged in Paul Roma. Roma executed a powerslam, followed by an elbow drop and a missile drop kick. However, he got caught up in the chaos and lost after being hit with the Rougeau Bomb.
Backstage interviews with Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan closed out the show. Andre was furious and challenged Jake Roberts to fight him without Damien. He even snatched up Ventura for mentioning his fear of snakes. As a kid, Andre scared me. I didn’t think anyone could beat him. I thought he would beat Savage for the title until the shenanigans ensued.
Final Thoughts: Diehard fans in 1988 probably hated this show. There wasn’t much to enjoy in terms of bell-to-bell action. Saturday Night’s Main Event focused more on memorable moments than great matches.
Kids on the school bus weren’t talking about how good of a match Tito Santana had with Mr. Perfect. Instead, they were excitedly debating whether Ultimate Warrior dropping Hulk Hogan with a clothesline was an accident.
Today’s pro wrestling puts a premium on in-ring action more than ever. With WWE firing on all cylinders, the new era of Saturday Night’s Main Event promises to blend the past and the present as today’s stars make their mark on a classic.
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