Favorite SNME moments

[Moneyinc]

I've been kind of blown away recently by the amount of great matches that Saturday Night's Main Event produced.

I would have to say Macho Man vs Jake the Snake Roberts rivalry is one of my favorites.

I've been re-watching this story line between these two from 1992. Jake the Snake Roberts actually slapped Elizabeth. The match from SNME is a classic promo/match from Savage. Not only beats Jake the Snake 1, 2, 3, but then proceeds to hit him with an elbow drop from every corner while all the officials try to get him to stop. I've been watching a lot of WWF lately and this had me fired up more so than the other stuff I've been watching from the same era.

Another one that had me feeling like a kid was the Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice, vs Ric Flair and The Undertaker. Sid Justice really put his acting skills to use here. Even in the promo, you could sense Sid trying to show jealousy when Mooney didn't even let Sid talk on the mic. Then the match was just outstanding. Flair and Undertaker were actually working really well together as a tag team which was funny to watch. Hogan and Sid put on a tag team clinic for the first half of the match. It was awesome watching Sid. He was really putting on a show as far as the acting was concerned. Then of course, Sid eventually walks out on Hogan which I'm sure somehow lead to their match at Wrestlemania.

It is kind of interesting though because on the same episode of SNME, there is a press conference to announce who is the number 1 contender. It is hilarious because Macho Man, Sid, Hogan, Undertaker are all in the room, in costume, sitting at a press conference. Then Hogan gets announced, but of course Macho Man somehow ended up facing Flair at Wrestlemania, and Hogan faced Sid. Does anyone know the specifics to this?

What are some of your favorite SNME moments?

 

[HBsam31]

Hogan coming to the ring to face the Big Boss Man and finiding Zues standing there blocking the door. As a young Hulkamanic I was almost scared for my hero. Here was a guy that looked like he could rip Hogan a part piece by piece. The other moment involes Hogan to, and that of course is the twin Hebner refs screwing Hogan out of the WWF title. THe Million Dollar man paid him off to count Hogan's shoulders down when Andre pinned him, and all that lead to the title being bought by The Million Dollar man, and the big tournament at Mania 4. It was unthinkable for Hogan to lose at that time, and even with the controversy I could not believe it. SNME had so many great moments. It is one of those shows that I miss from when I was a kid and was never quite the same when they tried to bring it back. Great thread.

 

[legendkiller1979]

SNME was just incredible at the time. This was back at a time when pay per views were in the single digits and we didn't get a wrestlemania main event match every week. This was like getting a free pay per view.

There are so many moments that could be mentioned but I'm going to mention two. The first that comes to mind was Rowdy Roddy Piper's halloween special. If you have never seen this, it's on youtube. I laughed out loud when Roddy uttered the phrase as he was wrapping bricks to give to the kids. "if the bother me once, they don't bother me twice."
This is a great example of how times have changed. in 1985, people wanted to kill Piper.
Today he would be the most popular man in the sport.

The other moment was the the first televised steel cage match in many years when Hulk Hogan defended the WWF title against Paul Orndorff. The tie was just brilliant. I'm sure it wasn't even close to a tie but the WWF did a great job of camera work and people were genuinely concerned that that Hulk had lost the belt. What made this even better was heel referee Danny Davis awarding the match to Orndorff as Joey Marrella awarded the match to Hogan. Classic drama.

There were so many classic moments from this series and I look forward to seeing others' memories. I don't know why the E doesn't release a box set of the whole series. I know they had a best of but that's just not the same. Vince could make a lot of money with this one.

 

[xavyer]

I agree with the fact that this is a great thread, Saturday Night's Main Event has so many memories that is hard to choose, and one that i like is when Ricky the Dragon Steamboat was defending the IC title against Hercules just days after he defeated the Macho Man at Wrestlemania, Hercules had Steamboat in a full Nelson, he wasn't letting go and somehow the Macho Man got Steamboat disqualified so he wouldn't have to face Hercules, other moments that i like have to do with the British Bulldogs, when they were champions, there was one time that for me it was the first time that i witness a 2 out of 3 falls in the WWF, it was the Bulldogs against The Iron Sheik and Nicholai Volkoff, that was amazing, and another time when the Bulldogs lost the titles against the Hart Foundation, they had a rematch at SNME, and that was also a 2 out of 3 falls, the Bulldogs won 2 straight, but they didn't got the titles because the first fall they won by disqualification, and another memorable one was between Hulk Hogan vs Mr. Wonderfull inside a steelcage match, when they both left the cage and simultaniously landed on the floor, one referee raised hogan's arm and the other one raised Mr. Wonderfull's, and i remember the conrroversy after that, and there were many others also, i can go on for a long time, but i don't want to bore everyone, but once again, great thread......

 

[salopstick]

Hogan and warrior v hennig and genius

Great match and set up the WM6 ultimate challenge very nicely

 

[fdogg83097]

my favorite moment has to be Jake Roberts vs Ricky Steamboat. The dragon got on the ring apron only to be short armed clotheslined to the floor then Jake hit a DDT on the floor. Was just a awesome heat moment because the match didn't even get started. That will always stand out in my mind.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Where do I begin?

Off the top of my head, the first one that came to mind was when Curt Hennig smashed the WWF title belt with a hammer. I was very surprised that that didn't get him a televised title match at a PPV or the next SNME. Instead, it was relegated to the house shows where he regularly got beat by Hogan, but WWF never acknowledged it.

The meeting of the minds between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage was also great. Savage had just become a face and was going against the Honky Tonk for the I-C title. Early on, Savage punched out Jimmy Hart, prompting the Hart Foundation to come down to ringside. They interfered and helped HTM gang up on Savage, holding him while HTM prepared to smash a guitar over his head. Elizabeth got it the middle and begged them to leave Savage alone - and HTM shoved her out of the way. While they went back to beating on Savage, Elizabeth went to the back and dragged Hulk Hogan out to help him. Once they had done away with Jimmy Hart's boys, Savage offered his hand to Hogan, planting the initial seed that would set up WWF main event scene for the next two years.

Speaking of HTM, another favorite with him came when Jake Roberts was facing Kamala in a match. Near the end of the match, Kim Chee interfered, incapacitating Jake just long enough for Kamala to splash him and get the win. After the match, Kim Chee took off his pith helmet, his jacket and his mask, revealing himself to be the Honky Tonk Man. He droppeda few elbows on Jake, then gave him a Shake, Rattle and Roll. When he took his jacket off, showing his sequined jumpsuit underneath, I remember Jesse Ventura saying, "What a snappy dresser Kim Chee is."

Saturday Night's Main Event was a great show for its time. Back when wrestling wasn't on prime time TV every week with PPV's every month, it was something special. They shouldn't have brought it back in 2006 - they didn't need it.

 

[sdelfin]

SNME was great. The shows really felt like major events. One of my favorite moments was the very first meeting between the Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage and a still heel Jake Roberts. In 1986, heel vs. heel was extremely uncommon so this was new and refreshing. The show opened with great promos from both men, with Savage being humorously domineering asking for Elizabeth's opinion, only to tell her to shut up and to keep polishing his belt. They put on a great match for TV in 1986 that I still enjoy. It's a match that feels important thanks to the work by both men. That's something lacking these days. I wonder if this was a test run for turning Savage face. The crowd ended up overwhelmingly supporting Jake and chanted for the DDT as I recall.

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Wow, some great memories. I used to remember as a kid getting TV Guide as a kid and checking to see if SNL was pre-empted by SNME. I never figured out a rhyme or reason as a kid. Then when they added the prime time Main Event as the launching pad for Mania, it was cool. The most recent, last 5 editions have not had the same feel. Of course, the reason is that every week we get the 'big time' matches that were lacking back in the day. SNME was made special because we'd always get jobber matches on Superstars and didn't get Prime Time or Wrestling Challenge in Canada. we'd get a few weeks in a row where we'd get bigger matches on Superstars, but SNME was really special. It was always cool how SNME seemed seperate from the rest of the product in the 80's. There was a certain continuity from one to the next.

I loved the Jake vs Kamala match and remember very well Honky Kim Chee and Jesse's line.

One of my favorite all time matches was Savage vs Bret Hart. This took place the SNME after the infamous Elizabeth shove, guitar smash, Mega Powers union.

I loved the two match series between Hogan and Bundy where Bundy one the first by count out, and then Hogan got his heat back next time. The best scene was Bundy standing showing the ref how to count to five while Ventura was losing it on commentary that Bundy's foot was touching Hogan's and the ref should have been counting.

Who can forget Hogan and Andre in the battle royal? Or the sit downs with Bobby and Andre after Mania 3 where Bobby 'showed' how Andre got the 3 count?

For whoever was talking about Steamboat vs Hercules, the incident you're talking about wasn't on SNME, it was likely Wrestling Challenge. Steamboat beat Hercules clean on SNME.

 

[Fansince1992]

Then Hogan gets announced, but of course Macho Man somehow ended up facing Flair at Wrestlemania, and Hogan faced Sid. Does anyone know the specifics to this?

I remember this press conference. Hogan was selected to face Flair for the WWF title at WM8. Sid was furious at the decision because he felt Hogan had robbed him of the WWF Title at the 1992 Royal Rumble. (Hogan had pulled Sid out of the ring at the Rumble after being eliminated by Sid) This started a fued between Sid and Hogan which was settled at WM8 as part of a Double Main-Event.

I think WWF made the decision to strip Hogan of the number 1 contendership because Sid was going on a rampage in WWF. I recall him destroying Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop. He even threatened to smash Brutus's rebuilt face. (Brutus had to retire from Wrestling as his face was rebuilt after a boating accident of some sort) Hogan and Brutus were best friends so i guess Beefcake was sort of added to build up the fued for WM. (you can read about Brutus's - real name Tom Lister on his Wiki if interested)

Hogan also announced that this match with Sid at WM would be his last (was billed his Farewell match) I guess WWF didn't want Hogan going for the title again if he was planning on leaving after WM8. Obviously Hogan did return as early as WM9 where he faced Yokozuna if i remember.

I'm not sure but i think Randy Savage was selected as the number 1 contender for Flair's title, as he was the last to be eliminated (other than Sid and Hogan) from the 1992 Royal Rumble. Last 4 in that Rumble were Flair, Sid, Hogan and Savage.

Hope this answered your Question

 

[thebarber]

SNME was awesome, at the time it was the only place we got to see headliners vs headliners, barring Wrestlemania or ppvs. The GREATEST moment in SNME history in my eyes in the formation of the Mega Powers. Savage having the IC Title match vs Honktonk Man wrapped up and the Hart Foundation hit the ring and smash Savage. They pound him, Liz jumps in and protects her man before HTM shoces her over. Waiting for Honky to smash Savage over the head with the guitar was brilliant pyschology at bits best, the timing was epic. Then to see Liz dragging Hulk down the aisle to aid his previous former enemy, seeing Hogan and Savage clean house was brilliant television. Folowed later on the card by their first interview together, with the over-done handshakes. Classic WWE television and a sign of how bad things have become now.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Waiting for Honky to smash Savage over the head with the guitar was brilliant pyschology at bits best, the timing was epic. Then to see Liz dragging Hulk down the aisle to aid his previous former enemy, seeing Hogan and Savage clean house was brilliant television. Folowed later on the card by their first interview together, with the over-done handshakes.

That was my favorite SNME moment, to be sure, although I wished they could have been a little more realistic about Hogan coming down the aisle with Liz. After all the animosity between Hogan and Savage, I would think Hulk would have had a moment of hesitation before rushing to the ring, as if saying to Liz: "Why in the world should I help Randy Savage?"

Of course, as the All-American hero who reacts immediately to the sight of injustice, Hogan never wasted a moment entering the fray. It was consistent with his persona, I guess, but it might have been more believable if he wasn't so quick to help his mortal enemy. Still, it was great theater.

 

[Moneyinc]

SNME was awesome, at the time it was the only place we got to see headliners vs headliners, barring Wrestlemania or ppvs. The GREATEST moment in SNME history in my eyes in the formation of the Mega Powers. Savage having the IC Title match vs Honktonk Man wrapped up and the Hart Foundation hit the ring and smash Savage. They pound him, Liz jumps in and protects her man before HTM shoces her over. Waiting for Honky to smash Savage over the head with the guitar was brilliant pyschology at bits best, the timing was epic. Then to see Liz dragging Hulk down the aisle to aid his previous former enemy, seeing Hogan and Savage clean house was brilliant television. Folowed later on the card by their first interview together, with the over-done handshakes. Classic WWE television and a sign of how bad things have become now.

Haha man those over-done handshakes were CLASSIC. The MEGAPOWERS. As if once their hands met the whole world would fucking explode. I've been youtubing all kinds of promos and stuff recently and the promos from 1987-1992 or so are unbelievable. Especially Macho Man. So darn funny and fucking hardcore at the same time.

 

[xavyer]

For whoever was talking about Steamboat vs Hercules, the incident you're talking about wasn't on SNME, it was likely Wrestling Challenge. Steamboat beat Hercules clean on SNME.[/QUOTE]

No, that incident was in deed SNME, because during the match, they kept poping The Macho Man on the screen cheering for Steamboat, and when Hercules had him on the full nelson they showed Savage getting up and going to the ring, and when he got there he was holdin Hercules' leg and the referee didn't see it,i got the ending wrong, it was Hercules the one who got disqualified for using the chain to choke Steamboat, and after he and Bobby Hennan left the ring, The Macho Man went inside the ring, and everyone thought that he was actually helping Steamboat, but it turned out that he was seting him up for the flying elbow, that was cool by the way, and another one that i remember is when Pipper was schechuled to wrestle the Iron Sheik, but he had an injury, and Pedro Morales was supose to replace Pipper for the match, but out of nowere Pipper showed up, he told Morales to leave despite being in crotches and with a banged up knee, the Iron Sheik thought he was going to have an easy match, but when the bell rang Pipper aplied the small package and beat Sheik, that was not only surprising, but i remember everyone being in shock whe Pipper went to the ring to wrestle, and even more shocke that he won, that was vintage Pipper.......

 

[MrMojoRisin]

The other moment was the the first televised steel cage match in many years when Hulk Hogan defended the WWF title against Paul Orndorff. The tie was just brilliant. I'm sure it wasn't even close to a tie but the WWF did a great job of camera work and people were genuinely concerned that that Hulk had lost the belt. What made this even better was heel referee Danny Davis awarding the match to Orndorff as Joey Marrella awarded the match to Hogan. Classic drama.

I loved that match, and especially the tie where they both hit the floor at the exact same time.

I was one of those kids that couldn't stand Hogan, so I was firmly in Orndorff's corner for that match. I still swear to this day that Mr. Wonderful hit the floor first He was robbed

 

[HBKperfect23]

I started watching in late 91 so I only got to watch two as they happened. Big fan of those two events. Went out of my way to get them on vhs when tape trading was popular.

Winter 1992: Couldnt have been more into wrestling at the time. I still consider Jake/Savage to be one of the best feuds ever. Great to see them in the ring on free tv. Takers face turn was very unexpected too. Flair/Hogan in the same ring at the same time and the match flips WM upside down switching the matches up.

Fall 1992: Bret Hart/Papa Shango was an awesome match. Michaels got his first singles title in a great match with Bulldog. You could feel the WWF shifting gears during this show.

Wasnt the same looking back, but I liked the mega powers stuff with Hogan/Savage breaking up and Perfect/Hogan.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Andre "winning" the title from Hogan and then Million Dollar Man trying to buy it from Andre stands out the most to me of all my memories of SNME. The Double Refs and all that was just crazy as story telling for that time and I was loving it.

I might be wrong but I seem to remember The British Bulldogs having a best 2 out of 3 falls against the Hart Foundation for the WWF tag team titles, I think that was on SNME and it was one of my favorite matches from that time. Pretty sure the Bulldogs won but because one of the falls was won by DQ they didn't win the titles. I loved the match but was pissed they didn't get the titles.

As for what the OP asked about the Hogan vs Flair became Hogan vs Sid and Savage vs Flair, I've always heard that Vince was scared by the reactions that Flair was getting and was worried about Flair getting cheered more than Hogan if they faced off at Wrestlemania. That could just be bullshit but I have heard thats the reason they scrapped the big money match of Hogan vs Flair. Vince didn't want the King of the South, Flair, to come up north and get over on his hand made golden boy, Hogan.

 

[Wald]

Some amazing moments on the show, the one that stands out a lot was probably HBK winning the title off Bulldog though.

I was a big Michaels fan coming out of the Rockers and this was a huge shock, considering Bulldog hadn't long before won the belt off Bret at Summerslam in front of the biggest PPV audience at that time. Good match and Michaels was the right choice to hold the strap at that point.

As for what the OP asked about the Hogan vs Flair became Hogan vs Sid and Savage vs Flair, I've always heard that Vince was scared by the reactions that Flair was getting and was worried about Flair getting cheered more than Hogan if they faced off at Wrestlemania. That could just be bullshit but I have heard thats the reason they scrapped the big money match of Hogan vs Flair. Vince didn't want the King of the South, Flair, to come up north and get over on his hand made golden boy, Hogan.

Honestly most I've heard about Hogan vs Flair getting scrapped is because they drew poor gates at house shows around the time of the Royal Rumble. Vince pretty much took it as a sign that the interest in Hogan vs Flair in 1992 wasn't what it would have been in 1989 (think he's on record as saying that is when that match would have bee the biggest) and went in a different direction.

Whether he was right or wrong is debatable, but I'd put this down to a simple change of creative direction. Flair has also said that he was happy working with Savage and Hogan has never come out and said he wished that match had happened, so I guess neither men were really going to bat to make it happen either.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Honestly most I've heard about Hogan vs Flair getting scrapped is because they drew poor gates at house shows around the time of the Royal Rumble. Vince pretty much took it as a sign that the interest in Hogan vs Flair in 1992 wasn't what it would have been in 1989 (think he's on record as saying that is when that match would have bee the biggest) and went in a different direction.

Whether he was right or wrong is debatable, but I'd put this down to a simple change of creative direction. Flair has also said that he was happy working with Savage and Hogan has never come out and said he wished that match had happened, so I guess neither men were really going to bat to make it happen either.

My guess (and I have never heard this, this is just my opinion) was the plan for WM8 was Ric Flair (the WCW/real worlds champion) vs Hulk Hogan (the WWF champion) in a title unification match. Obviously Hogan would go over. This would give us the dream match some think should have happened and would give Vince the ultimate oppurtunity to shit on WCW.

A few factors had to go into canceling the match. One would be the steriod trial, another would be the lawsuit of WCW over the title being on WWF tv. Flair has gone on record and said the plan was always for Hogan/Flair to be seprate (not sure why it was annouced if this is the case).

Like you said, I have also heard the rumor of Hogan/Flair not drawing and McMahon was scared it wouldnt draw WM buys. I simply cant accept it. While it may be true, I cant believe Hogan/Flair wasnt still a dream match in 1992. I am glad we got the great Savage/Flair angle/match and even enjoyed the Sid/Hogan, I cant help but to wonder what it would have been like to see Hogan/Flair at WM.

Anyway, I still hold the SNME where WM8 was flipped upside down to be one of the best shows WWF ever put on. I wish there was still SNME.