Ted Blanchard's SNME Podcast #2- The Main Event!

Since this week I reviewed The Main Event from February 5, 1988, I decided it was well worthy of a podcast, too! Give it a listen, and hey, I also just released the Championship Edition of Clash of the Champions: The Story of Sting at Amazon! Just click the link to the right, and have a happy holiday season.

The Main Event- February 5, 1988

Before we hit it I'd like to announce that my new Championship Edition of Clash of the Champions: The Story of Sting is now available on Amazon, in e-book and paperback formats. Have at it, hosses.

Randy "Macho Man" Savage says the Honky Tonk Man will have a "one-way ticket back to Disgraceland" tonight. Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart says Savage is lucky that Honky doesn't play the piano. Andre the Giant can't wait to choke Hulk Hogan again. Note- Hulk has the old title belt on in his intro promo.

Live from Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana

I shouldn't have to tell you what a big deal this show was. This was the first time the WWF had run live on NBC, in primetime no less. And this was the singles rematch between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant from Wrestlemania III. I clearly remember watching this the night of my dad's birthday party and hurrying through dinner so I wouldn't miss a thing.

Jesse "The Body" Ventura predicts the champion is going down. He also predicts the Hart Foundation and The Honky Tonk Man will be victorious in their matchups tonight.

We see a Hogan workout montage set to what was later Jake "The Snake" Roberts' theme. I presume he didn't have it yet. Hulk poses and laughs like a maniac at the end.

"Mean"Gene Okerlund interviews Honky. He and Jimmy Hart say tonight he's taking Miss Elizabeth down to the end of lonely street at Heartbreak Hotel. Also, Randy's going to be "in the ghetto." 

WWF intercontiental championship match, The Honky Tonk Man (c) vs. Randy Savage- It's funny that Peggy Sue is introduced as Honky's girlfriend, when he was just talking about getting Liz tonight. Gene interviews Macho and Liz as Honky dances in the ring. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Macho Man!" Macho chases Honky out before the bell. Honky gyrates as Liz as Savage is distracted by the ref. The chase is on to begin. Savage catches Honky, and elbows his head. Savage snaps Honky's neck on the top rope, whips him to the corner and hits a back elbow. Honky goes out to confer with Jimmy, but Savage knocks their noggins. Savage tosses Honky in but menaces Jimmy. Hart grabs his leg on the apron and Honky attacks. Savage punches out of a sunset flip attempt, but eventually misses a corner charge. Honky misses an elbow drop but Savage goes after Hart, who runs into the ring. Hart dropped the megaphone, so Honky grabs it and waffles Savage with it. Honky gets two off of that. Honky twists Macho's neck but Savage shoulderblocks him. HTM hits him in the gut with a knee, ,knocking him out. HTM then pounces on him outside. Back in, he gyrates at Liz instead of attacking Savage. Hart chokes Savage while Honky jaws at Liz. Macho sort of Hulks up, but Honky knees him in the gut and clotheslines him. Honky drops elbows to the sternum area, sayeth Vince McMahon. HTM goes out to talk to Liz, and Jimmy has her corned. Savage then runs out and attacks. He tosses Honky back in, then throws him over the top. Flying axehandle, then back in Savage slams Honky and goes up. He hits another axehandle for two. Savage throws Hart in, and Honky accidentally hits Hart with a flying knee. Savage puts Honky in the sleeper, but catches Peggy Sue (his future manager, btw) going after Liz. Savage mediates, and catches Honky trying to attack him. He whips Honky to the post, and Savage wins by countout. You don't hear people talking about how he choked because he one by countout. That's probably because he had a bigger win a couple of months later. *3/4. There was a lot of story hear, plus Honky wasn't a great worker. Hart hits Savage with the megaphone, and HTM threatens to hit Savage with the guitar. Liz then covers him and HTM stops mid-swing, and Savage has time to recover and punch HTM, then he smashes the guitar. There were always rumors that HTM threatened to leave with the title unless the finish was changed to this, but I don't know if those actually have validity. Savage holds the ropes open for Liz, possibly for the first time. He also put her up on his shoulder. 

We take a look at Wrestlemania III, which Ventura calls "very disputed." Then we see Andre attacking Hogan after he had beaten King Kong Bundy. The contract signing was then done at the very first Royal Rumble event. I'm disappointed we didnt' get to hear the promo where Andre told Dibiase he would give him the Word World Wrestling Federation championship.

Gene talks to the heels. "Your account is overdrawn, Hogan, and Andre's gonna close it."

WWF championship match, Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- In Hogan's prematch promo he still has the old belt. Seconds later, he's walking out with the eagle one (I refuse to say "winged" eagle, since all eagles have wings). Hulk tries to hit Andre with his new belt. He eventually attacks, and even pulls Virgil and Dibiase in for big boots. Punches to Andre, then an axe bomber. He can't get Andre off of his feet, though. A flying clothesline doesn' do it. He knocks Virgil and Dibiase off of the apron, and then knocks the money out of Ted' hand. He clotheslines Andre in the corner, punches and takes the eyes, and Andre slams Hulk off of the top. A headbut to the mat misses, but Andre chokes Hulk when he goes for a pin. He whips Hulk back-first to the buckles, then stands on his hand. Andre slams Hulk, and headbbutts him. Andre chops him too. He whips Hulk, boots him in the chest, then falls down himself. Hogan goes outside, and Virgil tosses him back in. Andre chokes with his strap, then more choking. Hogan Hulks Up, and knees him in the gut. Hulk goes to the middle rope, and a clothesline takes Andre down. Hulk hits the ropes (probably for a leg drop), but Virgil grabs his ankle. Hulk hits the other rope and leg tops Andre, but Hebner is arguing with Virgil. Andre headbutts Hulk, duplexes Hogan, and Dave Hebner counts the pin even though Hulk got his shoulder up. *

So Andre is presented the belt and announced as champion, and then tells Gene it's no surprise he won the "world tag team championship," and that he surrenders it to Ted Dibiase. Then we get the awesome visual of the two Dave Hebners arguing in the ring. I feel like I already knew there were two of them through the Apter mags, but I can't say for certain. Dave Hebner kicks his brother's ass, Hogan grabs him, then tosses him out of the ring onto Dibiase and Virgil.   

WWF tag team championship, The Hart Foundation vs. Strike Force (c)- We now see footage from what appears to be the arena's hard camera, as the Harts are in the ring and "Girls in Cars" plays out Strike Force. Then we go to Hulk with Mean Gene. We get the famous "how much money did they spend on the plastic surgery?" promo. Hulk claims he had all of the bases covered. Gene shows him footage of Hulk getting his shoulder up, and Hogan rants and raves while we see Blackjack Lanza giving a "cut" signal.

We return to the ring and see Jim Neidhart grab Rick Martel by the trunks. The Anvil holds Martel for a cheap shot, which brings in Tito Santana. Bret Hart piledrives Martel for two, he then tries a sunset flip but Martel plops down on him for the three-count. I think the pin was added footage for the Network; I don't remember seeing an ending back in the day. I can't rate the match based on the little that I saw.

This show is of course recommended, but the I-C and tag matches are on multiple DVD releases if you wanna go that way.

Saturday Night's Main Event #14- Rematchitude!

From Landover, Maryland.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts plans on changing Sika and Mr. Fuji's futures tonight. Tito Santana and Rick Martel yell "Strike Hard, Strike First, Bolsheviks beware!" Bobby "The Brain" Heenan says Andre the Giant will officially be in King Kong Bundy's corner for his rematch with Hulk Hogan tonight. Hulk says Bundymania is dead, and Hulkamania will live forever. 

Jesse "The Body" Ventura chides Vince McMahon for speaking for him and wishing the crowd Happy New Year. Then Jesse says "Happy New Year."

Slick says they aren't im-pressed, they are de-pressed by Strike Force. The peace-loving Bolsheviks bring a message of sportsmanship and good citizenship. Zhukov was fresh off of the boat from the AWA at this point. 

Best two out of three falls, WWF tag team championship, The Bolsheviks vs. Strike Force (c)- Nikolai sings the Soviet National Anthem. We see footage of Strike Force's win over the Hart Foundation the previous fall. Vince said it was the first time we'd seen the Boston Crab. Boris gets a shoulderblock but Tito slams him and gets an armdrag. Martel tags, and they both punch Zhukov in the belly welly. Quick tags as the work the arm. NIkolai in, and Martel rolls him up for two. He then gets a small package for two. Boris in, but gets rammed into the buckles. Tito ducks under a clothesline and hits a flying bodypress, but Volkoff breaks up the pin. Lariat from Volkoff gets two. Nikolai knees him in the face, then chokes him with the bottom rope. Zhukov then chokes with his boot. Legally in, he hits a back suplex for two. Slam by Zhukov, but he misses an elbow. Santana crawls to make the tag, and Martel hiptosses Zhukov and nails Volkoff. Baaaack bodydrop leads to a Boston Crab, and Tito hits Volkoff with the flying forearm. 

Santana dropkicks Volkoff over the top to begin, and they hit a double dropkick on Zhukov. Martel slams him, then locks on the Boston Crab until Volkoff breaks it up. He drops Martel on teh top rope, and gutwrench suplexes him. Volkoff presses him into a gutbuster for two. Martel gets rammed into Zhukov's boot, and the Russians doubleteam with quick tags. Martel kicks Volkoff out of the corner, but can't make the tag. The Russians hit him with a back elbow, and a Volkoff kneedrop gets two. Martel gets a sunset flip for two, and hits a dropkick. Martel makes the tag, and Tito dropkicks both Russians twice each. He hits the forearm on Zhukov but Nikolai breaks it up. Nikolai grabs the cane but hits Zhukov by mistake, as Strike Force win in consecutive falls. ** It's funny to see the Russians positioned as a legitimate threat, after seeing them as glorified jobbers the rest of their run.

Mr. Fuji and Sika have a giant sub and mustard, and Fuji says Damian is dinner. Free advice: never take food cooked by Mr. Fuji. 

Sika vs. Jake Roberts- Jake armdrags Sike twice, and works the arm. Sike misses punches, and grabs the top rope on an Irish whip, and gestures for Sika to kiss his bottom. Great job, you outsmarted a jungle savage.  Jake shoulders him in the lower abdomen in the corner, but Jake stops and punches him. Sika then gets a baaaack bodydrop to turn the tide. Fuji gets cheap shots as Sika distracts the ref. Sika gets a nerve hold on Jake. Sika then ducks for a backdrop but Jake knees him. Fuji grabs Jake's leg but then Sika misses a charge and gets pinned. * Jake gets the bag, backdrops a carging Sika out, then DDTs Fuj the Stooge. He dumps Damian on Fuj just 'cause. Jesse wisely notices Fuj survived with his hat still in place.

Heenan tells Okerlund he won't be in Bundy's corner, but Andre will (doctor's orders, of course). 

WWF championship, King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- We see footage of Hulk picking Heenan up by the neck at the last SNME, after Heenan caused Hogan to get counted out against Bundy. Heel Andre kind of made Bundy and Big John Studd obsolete, in my opinion. Hulk is wearing the alternate full yellow bandana instead of headband, as his fashion choices on these SNMEs continue to vex me. He's preparing a 24-gun salute, he says. Hulk gestures at Andre to come in the ring, as Ventura says he's not concentrating on Bundy. They lock up and Hogan shoves Bundy away. He pushes a charging Bundy into the buckles, and rams his head to the top buckles around the ring. Hulk big-boots Bundy, which knocks him to the floor. Andre gave him advice, but it probably didn't include "get punched and clotheslined." Bundy takes a breather again, and back inside Hogan drops him with punches and wrings his arm. Bundy reverses, and yanks Hogan's hair to get him down. Hogan punches and hits shoulderblocks, before taking a back elbow. Bundy works his arm on the top rope, and rams him into the buckles. Hogan punches his way out, and slams Bundy. He misses an elbow drop with his bad arm, however. Bundy slams him but also misses elbowdrops. Hogan whips him to the buckles and clotheslines him. Bundy reverses a second time, and whips Hogan into the corner. The ref then gets avalanched in the corner. Hogan punches Bundy through the ropes as Dave Hebner comes in to take over.  The ref who bellows a lot does a stretcher job, and Bundy comes back in the ring. Bundy rakes his eyes. I was hoping the match was going to end there. Clothesline by Bundy, and he drops a knee for two. Bundy chops Hogan out of the ring, as Andre chides Hebner about counting slow. I do like that Dave Hebner is now involved here and is arguing with Andre. Bundy stands on Hogan as he tries to regain the ring. Bundy shoulderblocks Hogan down, and gets a two count. He chinlocks Hogan as Andre says Hogan quit. Bundy hits an avalanche, but celebrates before making a cover. Bundy then hits another at Andre's instance, and a splash gets two. Hulk whips Bundy sternum-first into the buckles, and when he falls on his back Hogan legdrops him for the win. *1/2. Andre gets on the apron and Hogan challenges him. Andre waves him off and goes outside, but climbs back in and famously grabs Hogan by the hair for a headbutt, then a choke. The British Bulldogs try to pry Hulk off. They hit him with axehandles, but Hogan rams their heads together and tosses them out. Andre grabs the choke again, as the Junkyard Dog, Jake Roberts and Strike Force now try to pry Andre off. Hacksaw Duggan then cracks Andre with his 2x4 to get him off, which finally works. More foreshadowing there. Andre holds up the belt in the ring, then lays it at Hulk's feet.  

Jesse talks to Jimmy Hart and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. From the sounds of it Hammer just took Jimmy on as his manager. Maybe Luscious Johnny V was fired, because Dino Bravo (who is just the worst) had Frenchy Martin as his manager at the first Royal Rumble later in the month.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Koko B. Ware- When I saw how long this match was going to be, I procrastinated for as long as I could. Unfortunately, kids, I'm not totally enjoying these shows. The huge angles I grew up on are fun to watch for the millionth time (and I am psyched for doing The Main Event next week), but these undercard matches are intolerable. Anyway, Koko knocks Hammer down with a shoulderblock, but takes a Hot Shot. Valentine drops the hammer for two. Chops and elbows to the head commence. Hammer drops an elbow from the top, then kind of does Paul Orndorff's Boogie Woogie elbow for two. Koko goes out, and Hammer works him over on the apron. Valentine hits a clothesline, which makes me realize why his LJN figure had its arm outstretched. Brutus Beefcake wanders out, and Koko gets a small package near-fall. A Koko backslide also gets two, and Valentine bails out. Referee Joey Marella hops out and tells Beefcake to hit the bricks. After a break Valentine whips Koko to the corner twice, and gets a backdrop. An elbow gets two. Hammer slams Koko, and goes to the top (!). Koko slams Hammer off, and they slug away.  Koko headbutts Hammer, and he does the "fall like a tree" spot. Koko does a fist drop off the buckles for two. Hammer gets the figure four and the win. *1/2. It could have been worse. Hammer gets the figure four again, and holds it until Beefcake returns. He chases Hammer to the back, and Koko grabs Jimmy Hart by the ankle.Beefcake then returns and menaces Hart with the hedge clippers. He actually tried to cut Hart's hair with them, which I don't remember him ever doing.

Gene talks to Andre and Heenan. Andre said it felt so good to choke Hogan, so he did it again and again. Bobby says he's got big plans, and is "this" close to cinching the biggest deal ever. Boy was he ever. Andre chokes Gene like he did to Bob Uecker at Wrestlemania IV (and how Big Show refused to do to me for a photo). 

Gene and Jesse yack outside of Hogan's lockerroom. He might need a trach, may have a crushed windpipe, maybe a crushed larynx. Way to cover all of the bases, Gene. 

Saturday Night's Main Event Number...

Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Miss Elizabeth do a promo, seemingly from the Twilight Zone. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan promises a "huge" surprise for Hulk Hogan tonight, and proclaims "Bundymania" will live forever. Gee, what could Heenan's surprise be?

From Seattle, Wash. I wonder if this was the post-Thanksgiving weekend. That would put this airing two days after the first Survivor Series, though this show would've been taped earlier.

We take a look at Danny Davis hitting George "The Animal" Steele with a ring bell. "Mean" Gene Okerlund talks to Steele, who is playing with an Elizabeth figure. Please tell me we're done with the Liz-Savage-Steele stuff.

"Dangerous" Danny Davis vs. George Steele- Steele bites to begin, and rams Davis to the buckle. He picks up Davis by the throat, and Danny bails.  Davis attacks but Steele no-sells and knocks the former referee to the floor. Then reread the last sentence twice. Finally Steele rolls out after Davis, and Steele grabs a chair. When he drops it Davis hits him with a foreign object, and chokes Steele with it. After that spot is repeated a few times, Steele lifts him with a hammerlock, and the ref calls for the bell. -* Somehow it was actually a DQ against Davis. Other than Steele not being on the Survivor Series, why were they wasting network TV time on this?

We see footage from the last SNME, of Bret keeping Savage from pinning the Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontiental championship. I think there was bigger news coming out of that segment than how the match ended.

Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Randy Savage- Ok, now we see Honky Tonk shoving down Liz before hitting Savage with the guitar. Apparently his earlier promo was from the Danger Zone. Savage tells Okerlund "vengeance is mine." We see Brian Bosworth after a commercial break. Macho chases the Hart Foundation, and hammers Bret. He sends Bret into the post outside. Hart sells his shoulder. Macho pounds away but misses a charge. Hart chokes Mach in the corner, then drops elbows. Macho kicks Bret coming off the ropes, and the ref makes him break after a hair pull. Bret bumps from the apron to the guardrail, as he is wont to do. Savage then knocks Jimmy Hart and Jim Neidhart’s noggins. He then goes for an axe handle on Bret, who hits Savage with the megaphone when he lands. Neidhart then tosses savage back in. Bret kicks savage in the gut as he comes off of the ropes. Beer drops a leg, and slams savage into the buckles (like a safer Buckle Bomb). Bret pile drives Savage for two. Bret sort of misses a corner charge, then Savage whips him into the opposite corner. Savage neck snaps him, then hits an axe handle for two. Bret hits a back breaker, then misses the elbow off the middle buckle. Savage leaps over the top while snapping Hart’s throat on it, for two. The ref pulls Savage away as he smothers Bret against the ropes, and Savage gets backdropped over the top on a failed charge. Savage holds his ankle outside, and I think that might be legit. Liz unties his boot, and the Hart’s swarm like sharks. The ref let Savage regain his composure, as he lays bootlegs on the mat. Bret attacks the ankle, then rams it into the post. Bret drops a knee to the ankle, then applies an Indian Deathlock. Savage pushes Hart into the post again, and gets two. Hart works on the ankle, and grabs a half-crab. Bret slams Savage, but Macho rolls through for the win. ***3/4. Savage tries to hit Jimmy with the megaphone, while still selling the ankle. This just makes me angry all over again about Savage wasting a year facing Steele when he could have more matches like this one.

Heenan tells us humanoids we must have as much brains as this runt (Okerlund) has hairs on his head.

WWF championship, King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- The surprise is Andre, justl like last month. Hogan talks about a blue tint to his muscles, or something. His secondary survival system will wipe out the heels. Hulk jaws at Andre, who says that’s my belt. The two butt heads, and exchange shoves. Hulk grabs a headlock, and he can’t knock Bundy down with shoulderblocks. A knee lift drops Bundy, though, and gets two. Hogan goes for a slam but Bundy falls on top for two. Bundy then attacks Hogan’s back. Bundy slams Hogan but misses a kneedrop. Hulk then gets his special, and even sort of hits the Axebomber. He drops elbows for two. Hogan punches away, but gets forearmed off of the ropes and clotheslined. A kneedrop gets two, and Bundy grabs a chinlock. Hulk eventually Hulks Up. Bundy misses a clothesline and Hulk punches him. Big Boot, but when he goes for the legdrop Andre trips Hogan. Bundy tries to attack, but Hogan punches him which knocks him to the floor. Andre takes off his jacket, but Howard Finkel  announces if Andre doesn't leave right now Hogan will win the match. I think the trip should've been enough reason to end the match. Heenan and Bundy plead with the giant to leave, and cooler heads prevail. Andre knocks down a camera man as he leaves.

The match resumes and Bundy headbutts Hogan. He rams Hogan to the top buckles, but Hogan reverses and gets a clothesline. Now Hogan rams him to each buckle, and gets chopped. Hogan hits a flying knee but misses and elbowdrop. Bundy works over Hogan's back for two. Bundy stands on Hogan's back and gets a bearhug. Hogan elbows Bundy's head, but gets droppedd by the big man. Bundy hits an avalanche, then splashes Hogan on his back for two. Hulk Up sequence begins, and Hulk slams Bundy. KKB rolls outside, and pulls Hulk out with him. Hulk pushes Bundy in, and Heenan grabs his ankle. Bundy wins by countout. *1/2. Hulk then knocks Bundy out of the ring, and pulls Heenan up by the throat. He drops the brain, and does it again. And again.

Gene talks to Hercules, who will now be without his manager. The fake pillars behind them is a nice touch.

Hercules vs. Bam Bam Bigelow- Gene talks to Bigelow and his manager Oliver Humperdink. Jesse isn't sure who is uglier, Bigelow or Humperdink. That's a tough call. I really liked Bigelow in this era, and wish things would have worked out for him in the WWF. They shoulderblock each other, and no one budges. Herc knees him to the midsection and pounds away, and whips Bigelow to the buckles. Jercules misses a charge but gets a back elbow, then clotheslines Bigelow over the top. Hercules forearms him while he's on the apron. Bigelow then snap mares him over the top. They brawl outside, to the delight of Boz. Bigelow slams him as the bell rings. Was not expecting a draw this early in Bigelow's run. Bigelow gets on the mic and says he didn't come there for a draw, and if Herc has guts let's finish it. They continue and got into the three-point stance. Neither man falls from that. They run it back, and when Herc goes low Bigelow cartwheels over him. Bammer then knocks him down with a shoulderblock, and punches him on the mat. Bigelow misses a dropkick, and Herc measures him with elbows. He drops a knee but stops to taunt. Herc goes up to the top, but Bam Bam catches him. He military presses Herc, slams him, then hits his apron slingshot finisher for the win. *3/4. Herc also got busted open.

Boz and friends yell to Jesse when they return from break. Gene talks to Bundy and Andre. It's odd that Bundy was gone soon after this, since they put him over Hogan. Bundy called this the greatest night of his life. Ventura strolls in to congratulate Bundy.

Gene then talks to the Hulkster. Hogan calls it a shallow victory. He hopes Andre is in Bundy's corner if they have a rematch. Hulk will have the Hulkamaniacs in his corner. I guess I was forgetting they had two SNME matches.

Vince asks Gene if he has an update on Heenan's neck. Gene said no, but who cares, and then Jesse shoved him.

Bret-Savage was great, and the Hogan-Bundy match served a Giant purpose. It may not seem like it, but the shows are slightly improving, George Steele notwithstanding.