Sage Cortez
15th episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event and I have genuinely no idea what’s on it nor who will win. I don’t know what to say other than that the feuds aren’t too strong, so there aren’t big programs heading into this. It is what it is and I think all things considered, this show isn’t a major priority for anyone involved. This also seems to have been taped on very short notice.
– Taped to air March 12th, 1988, from Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee
Sounds like Ted DiBiase is headed into the DANGER ZONE! DiBiase says that he’s brought class to the WWF, unlike the Macho Man. BRUTUS THE BARBER AGAINST THE HAMMER! THE ONE MAN GANG AGAINST KEN PATERA! HARLEY RACE IS GOING TO FORCE HOGAN TO BOW TO HIM! THE HULKSTER BOWS TO NOBODY! Weird intro.
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are our hosts for this edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, in Nashville. Apparently the crowd was papered, but who cares? The building looks completely full. There’s a funny bit leading Jesse to call Vince a redneck. Of course, they run the clip of Hogan losing his title.
Greg Valentine (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Brutus Beefcake
Pre-Match Thoughts: I am extremely surprised that they would run with this as the opener. I doubt it will be very good, but on the other hand, I shouldn’t be surprised by this match. Beefcake is challenging for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. He has to be on this show in a prominent position. Jimmy Hart’s promo on Valentine’s behalf was very good. Beefcake’s promo sucks. I’m so glad they didn’t put a title on this clown. His tights are ridiculous, too.
Match Review: They lock up, and Valentine gets shoved down. Sometimes it’s weird when two former tag partners face each other, but I wouldn’t call this weird at all. Beefcake hits Valentine with a high knee, and follows that with a bodyslam. After a big boot, Beefcake struts around the ring. Awful. He gives Valentine an atomic drop, and then a second one. After an elbow, Beefcake covers for 2. Beefcake continues the punishment with punches in the corner, but Valentine takes over when the referee has to break them up. The Hammer heads up top, and down with an elbow to the head. After a hard forearm, Valentine covers for 2. He goes for the FIGURE-FOUR, but they’re in the ropes. Honky Tonk Man heads down to ringside, and grabs the microphone to taunt Beefcake. HAHA, there’s a feud! A bunch of referees head down to get rid of HTM, which is exactly what they do.
After a commercial, Valentine throws Beefcake back into the ring, and drops another forearm. I believe nothing has been clipped out of this match. Valentine bodyslams his foe, and goes way down low with a headbutt to the groin area. He tries for the figure-four again, but Beefcake pulls tights to force a stop. Then he kicks Valentine into the corner, and lands an elbow to knock him down. After another running elbow, Beefcake signals for the sleeper. For some reason, the crowd loves the idea. The sleeper is on, but Valentine makes the ropes and both guys tumble down to the floor. Beefcake tries to get back in the ring, but Hart grabs him. So, he chases Hart around the ring, only for Valentine to attack Beefcake when he dives into the ring. Valentine sets Beefcake up for a back suplex, and does a terrible bridge off of it. The referee counts, and Beefcake gets his shoulder up. So…Beefcake is awarded the pinfall victory after 9:00!
Beefcake snags his scissors, and takes a little bit of Valentine’s hair! Valentine gets in the ring, and then notices that the Barber has his huge shears. He grabs a hold of Jimmy Hart, but can only take the jacket. Will Beefcake cut up the jacket? No.
My Thoughts: That match was far better than expected, but had a finish that was worse than expected. That ending only works for me under certain circumstances and this was not one of them. Still though, I thought the bit with Honky Tonk Man was solid. I also liked Valentine’s use of certain holds, like the figure-four. The time he actually put it on, he did so knowing that it was cheating. That was a neat touch. **1/4. Honestly, I can’t think of many Beefcake singles matches that are better than this. I think his entire career was based on being Hogan’s friend. It wasn’t because he was good, that’s for sure.
King Harley Race (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Hulk Hogan
Pre-Match Thoughts: Straight from one match to the next, as Heenan and Race are interviewed. Heenan is quick to point out that Hogan fans certainly cried after his title loss. In Hogan’s promo, he says that Hulkamania will never die, and that he’ll get back to the world title. The match I watched between these two guys from 1987 was pretty good, so hopefully it’s the same here.
Match Review: Hogan chases Heenan around the ring and to the back, first thing. Wonder if Heenan will be back. Race hits Hogan with a few elbow drops upon Hogan’s entry to the ring, and follows that with some huge headbutts. All of this is going on with Hogan’s music playing. He comes back with some big shots on Race, and tears his shirt off while standing over him. Haha. Heenan’s back, but Hogan just gave Race a few clotheslines. On the last one, he takes a bump where he goes over the top and his legs land on a table! Hogan picks Race up and rams him into the post, then focuses his attention on Heenan for a second time. Heenan runs, and that allows Race to attack Hogan from behind. Race tries a piledriver, but Hogan reverses it into a backdrop. Then he gives Race an atomic drop, knocking him down again on the floor. Is this a falls count anywhere match or some shit? They’ve been out there for two minutes. Hogan slams Race again, and finally the match heads back into the ring. Hogan uses his wrist tape to choke Race with, and gives Race a TAPE CLOTHESLINE. Hogan drags Heenan up to the apron, and starts choking him, but that allows Race to attack from behind again. He lands some headbutts, and drops a knee as well. After a belly to belly suplex, Race drops a knee again. He PILEDRIVES Hogan, and dumps him to the outside. Race follows, and positions the table to his liking. Uh…up to the apron he goes, and he tries a diving headbutt, but Hogan moves out of the way and Race slams THROUGH THE TABLE. Back into the ring we go, and Race is no selling his table bump. Up top he goes, and DOWN with a diving headbutt. Over for the cover, and Hogan kicks out at 2. HULK UP TIME IT IS. CLOTHESLINE IN THE CORNER, RUNNING CLOTHESLINE, AND LEG DROP. 1-2-3, it’s over at 6:37.
Heenan tries to attack Hogan from behind, but he gets out of the ring before Hogan catches up to him. After the usual pose show, we move on.
My Thoughts: This table spot was a large contributing factor to Race’s in-ring career ending. I believe they turned it into an angle as well. I also believe that his wrestling career wasn’t far off from ending, either. He was only 44 at the time of this match, but he had been wrestling since he was 18 years old. That’s a long time to be wrestling hard matches every night with his style. This match was very good. He and Hogan went full out for the entire duration, and that’s what I want to see. ***. That was a good way to reestablish Hogan after his loss to Andre.
Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil and…someone else?) vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)
Pre-Match Thoughts: DiBiase’s promos are always great. He says that he destroyed Hulkamania. Savage says he does not care what kind of plan DiBiase has for his corner tonight. HIS CHECK IS GONNA BOUNCE. Now, it should be pointed out that this is the WWF’s first chance to establish DiBiase to the national audience as a credible wrestler. In everything else he’s done on NBC and at the Rumble, he is just a big talker. That means he should win this match. It appears that Andre the Giant is also going to be in DiBiase’s corner. That was a great delayed entrance.
Match Review: Savage rushes over to Virgil and slaps him when he notices Virgil leering over Elizabeth. DiBiase comes up from behind and tosses Savage back into the ring, then chokes the Macho Man. DiBiase hits Savage with an elbow, and lays in some chops in the corner. DiBiase nails Savage with an elbow from the second rope, and goes to a choke. Andre pushes Savage to keep him from falling out of the ring, then Savage gets up and elbows DiBiase. He blocks a DiBiase backdrop attempt, and hits him with a knee to knock him over the top and down to the floor. Savage follows, puts DiBiase back in, and lands a double axehandle from the top rope. Savage blocks a kick, hits a clothesline, and covers for 2. DiBiase takes some huge bumps in there. After an elbow, DiBiase bails to the floor for a break. Back inside, DiBiase gets some control, and lands a few fist drops. He has his charge blocked, and Savage nails an elbow drop for 2. After a bodyslam, Savage tries a knee drop, but DiBiase dodges it. DiBiase tries a spinning toe-hold, but Savage kicks him off to send him flying over the top rope. DiBiase pulls Savage to the outside, and Savage gets nailed from behind by Virgil. No idea why that wasn’t a disqualification. Virgil gets kicked out of the match, but the damage appears to be done.
After a commercial, the match is still going, and DiBiase lands a double axehandle of his own. After a nice elbow drop, he covers for 2. DiBiase puts a chinlock on Macho, giving them a well earned rest. It also makes sense within the context of the match. It’s not like one of those matches reliant on leg work with it all culminating in a chinlock. Savage gets out of it, and hits DiBiase with a big running clothesline. He gives DiBiase a backdrop, and DiBiase runs the ropes again, only for Dave Hebner to get in the way. What an idiot. Savage tosses the Million Dollar Man over the top, and follows him down the floor with a BIG double axehandle from the top. Andre circles over to Savage, and headbutts him. Convenient that there’s no referee. Savage also gets thrown into the post, but there’s nothing anyone can do. Elizabeth runs to the back, and I think I know what’s going to happen now! Andre is giving Savage the beating of a lifetime, and even though the referee is finally okay, DiBiase blocked him from seeing anything. Hebner now counts, and reaches 10, giving DiBiase the victory at 11:39.
Andre continues to beat Savage up after the count, and here comes Virgil once again. He holds DiBiase in place, and Hebner gets dispatched down to the floor. But here comes HULK HOGAN! WITH A CHAIR! He chases Virgil and DiBiase out of the ring, and helps Savage to the back. That’s it for a FANTASTIC segment.
My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this. They tore the house down and put on the best TV match I’ve seen from the WWF as of yet. There’s no comparison in the crowd reactions from the Hogan match to this one. This one had the crowd completely into it. The finish hurt the quality of the match a bit, but I believe it was genius. It tied all four of their big upper card wrestlers together before the huge show. They needed to find a way to do that, and they did. Savage and DiBiase running around like mad men was something that could bring more eyes to their PPV offering. They gave a complete effort in and out of that ring. I’m not a fan of their usual ‘pin the next champion’ booking, so I’m fine with DiBiase not having won the match that way. **** and recommended. It is better than the Savage vs. Bret Hart match, I do believe. It’s also better than their WrestleMania IV match by some distance. Great match.
The Islanders (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. The Killer Bees
Pre-Match Thoughts: Man, I fucking hate the Killer Bees. Heenan’s interviewed before the match, and he’s wearing some protective headgear in anticipation of this match. He also has a leash. HA! This was actually a 2 out of 3 falls match, but only the first fall was shown on television. Guess they were pressed for time.
Match Review: Brunzell attacks Tama to start the match, and slams him. After a leg drop, he covers for 2. Blair tags in, and rolls up Tama for 1. Brunzell switches in again, and the fake crowd noise is way too obvious now. Brunzell misses a dropkick, and Tama dishes out a suplex for 2. Haku tags in, and Ventura got excited by that. Haku dropkicks Brunzell for 2, and switches back out. Brunzell tries to fight his way out, with one move being an inverted atomic drop. Unfortunately, Tama falls back into Haku, and the tag is made. Haku and Brunzell then nail each other with a clothesline, and both guys make big tags. Blair gives Tama an atomic drop, and a bodyslam too. Haku is then given a bodyslam, and Tama rakes his eyes. Blair blocks a slam and tries a cradle, but the referee gets distracted. Haku rushes in, hits Blair with a clothesline, and pins him at 3:38. DIRTY. HAKU WASN’T THE LEGAL MAN!
My Thoughts: This was nothing special, but I’m always glad to see the Islanders win. They deserved a bigger push, but they never got it. I also find that Haku is a much better tag wrestler than singles wrestler. The Killer Bees…I’ll be glad when they’re gone. * for the match, they worked it really fast, and it was what it was.
One Man Gang (w/Slick) vs. Ken Patera
Pre-Match Thoughts: For whatever reason, Gang has always been a guilty pleasure for me. He’s not a special worker, but he had the right look and used the right moves for his size. Slick calls the US Winter Olympic team a bunch of losers. I forgot that this was right after the Calgary Games. Ventura had a problem with Slick talking trash about George Steinbrenner. That’s funny. Patera doesn’t even get a promo. This is going to stink, but the rest of the show has been so good I don’t even care.
Match Review: Patera’s in the middle of taking off his track suit, so Gang just attacks him. He rips Patera’s pants off, and chokes him with them. That’s great. The fake noise is really bothering me now that I can see everyone in the arena sitting down. Patera puts a bear hug on Gang, but Gang punches his way out. Patera puts a FULL NELSON on Gang, but Gang reaches the ropes. He squashes Patera in the corner, and patera returns the favor. Gang is giving him way too much. Patera throws Gang into the buckle, and follows with a high knee. He goes up for some punches, lands about 10 of them, and shoots Gang into the ropes. Gang nails Patera with a huge clothesline, and falls on him for the pinfall win at 3:00.
Gang attacks from behind, but Patera fights him off and knocks him down. He threatenes to slam Gang, picks him up, and Slick has to run in to hit Patera with his cane. Patera chases the heels from the ring after that.
My Thoughts: How lazy was that? These two JUST DID that finish at Survivor Series. Not only that, but Gang gave Patera way too much. I don’t know what the intention was here. To have a guy who is going to go deep in the title tournament look like this against a guy who’s going to be in a battle royal is kind of silly. It’s not like he’s Harley Race. It’s Ken Patera. 1/2*.
Now, to close out the show, it looks like Hogan is going to be able to speak for a second time. He went absolutely crazy. Lastly, Jesse and Vince do their closing bit…and that’s it!
That was a great show and I’m very pleased with how that turned out. I didn’t expect to see the matches that were on here when it seemed like this card wasn’t going to be a big deal. It did turn into a very big deal though. I really enjoyed the way everything was brought together. The last two matches were throwaway, but I don’t think that is or should be a big factor in what I thought of the card. If this is how these shows are going to be presented when Savage become the champion, I’m really looking forward to it.
Wrestling Time: 33:54. Taped show allows more wrestling than a live show. Figured.
Best: Million Dollar Man vs. Macho Man. Very manly, very good.
Worst: One Man Gang vs. Ken Patera. The booking, the work. So annoying.
Card Rating: 9/10. I do believe this is the best episode of this show so far. The best match on the series alone would take it near that point. The Hogan match pushed it over the top.
