SNME 10/3/97
Holy crap, it’s back! Yes folks the SNME review has returned to the Oratory. First off, I apologize for taking so very long since the last review. Things have been really hectic this past year, and I had to take a break from doing a lot of writing. But I recently just got in the entire run of SNME on DVD, so it will make it much easier to do these reviews. To get everyone back in to the classic mode, I’m re-running my last SNME recap. Turns out that I rated it too low anyway.
Welcome folks to Saturday Night’s Main Event, where we’re coming to you from the Hershey Park Arena in Hershey Park, PA. We’re now 5 months removed from our last episode, and several things have happened. When we were last here, Randy Savage was still fuming over his IC title loss to Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, while The Honkytonk Man and Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts were at the height of their own feud. Well tonight, Steamboat is not the IC Champ and is nowhere to be found. Savage is a baby face, and feuding with the Honkytonk Man. WHAT HAPPENED’
I’m glad you asked. Steamboat was intended to be a long term champ, but shortly after winning the title, his wife became pregnant with their first child. Steamboat requested a leave of absence to be with his wife, which didn’t exactly fit into Vince’s plans. Anyway, Vince granted Steamboat’s request but needed to take the title off of him first. ‘The Natural’ Butch Reed was slated to win the belt, but apparently no-showed the TV tapings where the title switch was to take place. (Seems that nobody told Butch that he’d be winning the belt, and he never made the show.) Honkytonk Man (who DID show up) stepped in, and told Vince that he could fit the bill, and the deed was done. HTM won the title, and quickly became the champion that you loved to hate. The arrogant, cheating Honkytonk Man was well known for talking trash and then running from his opponents when the action got too tough, often losing his matches by count out, while retaining his title. And in the 16 years since HTM finally lost the title to the Ultimate Warrior (in 19 seconds) at the inaugural Summerslam, Honkytonk Man’s 14 month title reign is still the longest IC Title reign in WWF/E history.
Getting back to the current storyline, with Steamboat out of the picture, Randy Savage was left high and dry and basically was spinning his wheels for several months. But in July, a strange thing began happening during TV tapings. Savage, still a heel began getting babyface pops from the crowd! Savage had long been one of the best workers that the WWF had ever seen at this point. It was no surprise to anyone that Savage and Steamboat’s match at Wrestlemania 3 brought the house down. Hogan and Andre may have headlined the show, but Savage and Steamboat STOLE IT! With his workrate, and his charisma, the crowd began to get behind the Macho Man. Apparently Vince saw this, and on the 9/20/87 WWF Challenge episode, we saw a confrontation between Savage and Honkytonk’s manager Jimmy Hart where Savage accosted the hated Hart over Honkytonk’s comments about being the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Well, that was all the fans needed to see, as Savage was cheered even more. With that said, the match was booked and here we are.
Our commentating team for the evening is Vince McMahon and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, who is making his second SNME appearance in the commentators booth. Heenan was always a fantastic color man, but was at his best when paired with the late Gorilla Monsoon. Monsoon and Heenan were best friends, and had a chemistry that was easily as good as any of the best tag teams that wrestled in the ring. With McMahon, Heenan was still great to listen to though, and a welcome change from McMahon’s regular partner, Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura.
Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage v. Honkytonk Man
The buildup to this one was pretty straight forward. After a brief vacation after Wrestlemania 3 where he lost the Intercontinental Title to Ricky Steamboat in one of the greatest matches of all time, Savage found himself strangely enough a lot more popular with the crowd than he had been, despite still being a heel. Well, Vince McMahon had a sure fix to this one. If the crowd was going to cheer him, they might as well turn him face. Enter the Honkytonk Man in September of 1987 bragging about how he's the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. This didn't sit too well with the "Macho Man" and he let HTM's manager, Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart know it quite forcefully. With that, it inevitable that the two men would meet in the ring, and here we are.
Prior to the match, Honkytonk Man tells everyone in his pre-match interviews that he’ll not only defeat Savage, but he’ll steal Elizabeth from Savage. Savage gives one of his classic crazy promos, but in a more babyface manner, as he’s not as mean to Elizabeth as he was when he was a heel. One of the great things about Savage as a babyface, was that he didn’t change his wrestling style. He was never above breaking the rules as a heel, and as a babyface, he still wasn’t afraid to cheat. And the crowd absolutely loved it.
With the match underway, both men lock up and drag each other around the ring looking for the advantage. HTM sucker punches Savage on the break and begins kicking and punching the Macho Man. Irish Whip by HTM who bends down for a back drop, but Savage kicks him instead. A now focused Savage picks HTM and runs him to the ropes while still holding HTM’s hair, and jumps over the top rope to the floor, snapping HTM’s neck down across the top rope in the process. The move causes Honky to go flying back into the center of the ring. Savage quickly gets back in the ring and begins choking HTM relentlessly. Savage rams HTM into the turnbuckle, followed by a snap mare and a jumping kneedrop to the face. Honky backs into the corner while trying to beg Savage off to buy some time, but Savage is having none of it and delivers several punches to HTM in the corner. Savage whips Honky to the opposite corner and nails him with an elbow as HTM rebounds to the center of the ring.
Meanwhile, HTM’s manager, Jimmy Hart confronts Elizabeth and begins yelling at her. Savage sees this and leaves the ring to attack Hart. Savage however, leaves himself wide open for an attack by the Honkytonk Man, who throws Savage back in the ring and takes advantage of the match. But not for long though, as HTM misses a clotheline after an irish whip, and gets dropped by an elbow to the forehead. Savage then peppers HTM with several punches before using another snap mare. Another attempted kneedrop misses the mark though, and HTM takes over again. Honky is punching Savage relentlessly. A smapmare by HTM is followed by a fist drop from the second rope. With Savage down for the count, HTM inexplicably leaves the ring and tries to approach Elizabeth. Liz backs away, while HTM taunts her, and much like Savage when he went after Jimmy Hart, Honkytonk falls victim to an attack from behind by a revived Randy Savage. Savage elbows HTM, and quickly gets back in the ring, climbs to the top rope and drops a double axe handle to HTM on the ring floor. Throwing HTM back in the ring, a furious Savage begins ramming HTM into ever turnbuckle in the ring, and attempts a schoolboy rollup which is broken up by Jimmy Hart. Savage hits a back suplex, but the pinfall is again broken up by Hart. Savage with an elbow to HTM, and as he goes to the top rope, Hart grabs his leg to stop him. Savage kicks him off though and clobbers HTM with a double axe handle. Another pin attempt is again broken up by Jimmy Hart. Savage has had enough and goes after Hart, dragging him in the ring. Savage drills Hart with a solid right hand knocking Hart out cold!
The Honkytonk Man has no one to help him now, as Savage goes back on the attack. HTM is whipped to the ropes and attempts a sunset flip on Savage, but Savage escapes it. HTM leaves the ring and attempts to revive his manager. The Hart Foundation (Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart and future World Champion Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart) also come down to ringside. The Hart Foundation are the current WWF Tag Team Champions (having defeated the British Bulldogs several months ago) and are also managed by Jimmy Hart. All 3 men try to help Hart, but Savage manages to drag Honkytonk Man back in the ring. Savage chokes HTM on the ropes and proceeds to kick and choke him relentlessly. HTM tries to battle back, but it’s no use. Several additional punches by Savage and HTM leaves the ring and joins the Hart Foundation as they take the still unconscious Jimmy Hart to the back. HTM tells Savage not to leave as we go to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Honkytonk Man returns to the ring. Jimmy Hart is nowhere to be found, but HTM still has the Hart Foundation at his side. Savage of course invites everyone in, as he is showing no fear whatsoever. HTM gets in the ring, and the fight is back on with Savage punching away at HTM. Savage with a snapmare and an elbow drop. HTM fights back with several kicks, but Savage backs him in the corner and fires him into the far corner but misses the charge and rams himself on the turnbuckle. Honky quickly takes control with a stiff kick to the gut. An irish whip by HTM leads to a back body drop. HTM takes the time to taunt Elizabeth again, and Savage takes him with a double leg takedown for a 2 count. HTM still has the advantage though backing Savage in the corner and then mounting the turnbuckle to deliver several blows to Savage’s head. HTM with a snap mare followed by a second rope fist drop. But because he took so much damn time posing on the second rope, Savage had enough time to move out of the way. HTM hits his fist on the mat, and it’s Savage who takes the match over again. Irish whip into a backdrop by Savage. Savage is delivering several punches and elbows on HTM. Savage then chokes HTM relentlessly on the ropes, only barely breaking before the 5 count. Another irish whip by Savage and Honky goes down from another elbow with Savage getting another 2 count. Savage follows it up with a vertical suplex for another 2 count. Savage picks HTM up, but HTM manages to throw Savage out of the ring. Right into the hands of the Hart Foundation. With Honkytonk Man distracting the referee, the WWF Tag Team Champions proceed to beat the living hell out of Savage at ringside before throwing him back inside. HTM covers the incredibly beaten down Savage for the count, but he still kicks out. HTM gets Savage to his feet and puts him in a front face lock, signaling for his finisher, the ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ neckbreaker. Well, he gets the Shake and the Rattle, but Savage manages to break the move with a back drop. Savage bodyslams HTM and it’s time for The Macho Man’s finisher, as he climbs to the top rope and blasts HTM with the patented flying elbow. The sure fire 3 count is broken up, as Bret Hart runs in and attacks Savage for the immediate disqualification.
Neidhart runs in the ring and throws the referee out before helping his partner destroy Savage. Honkytonk Man is back to his feet and enjoying the beatdown, as he slaps Savage with the Harts holding him up. HTM has something more in mind, as he goes outside the ring to get his guitar. With the Harts holding Savage up, HTM measures him for the guitar shot from hell, but just before he can deliver the blow, Elizabeth jumps in between them! Liz is pleading for HTM not to hit Savage, and Honky is telling Liz to get out of the way. Honky finally has enough, and shoves Elizabeth to the floor to the horror of the audience.
Ok, a little history lesson is in order here. In today’s wrestling, women getting beaten up by men is no big thing. It happens all the time. Hell, inter-gender tag matches, or in some cases, even singles matches happen damn near every week. And we’ve seen more than enough women not only get pushed around by the male wrestlers, but actually take their finishers. Women being beaten up by men happens so often on TV and in wrestling now, that nobody even blinks twice. Because of this, I know that my younger readers won’t see anything out of the ordinary about Honkytonk Man pushing Elizabeth here. But you have to put it in perspective. It wasn’t until the late 90s when that sort of thing became commonplace. Even in the early and mid-90s, women rarely were attacked by the men, and outside of a bodyslam or an atomic drop, it really didn’t happen. So you can understand that in 1987, this sort of thing was unheard of and it was considered the absolute worst thing that a heel could do.
Back to the match, HTM having thrown Liz down, watches her as she leaves the ring and runs off. HTM gets his guitar back up and after measuring him up a bit more, blasts Savage right over the head with the guitar, dropping him to the mat. HTM and the Harts proceed to continue to beat the hell out of Savage some more. But instead of the continued boos that we were expecting to here, we’re suddenly hearing lots of cheering. That’s because Elizabeth is coming down the aisle WITH WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN!
Liz didn’t leave the ring freightened. She left the ring to go get help! Hogan reaches the ring, sees what’s taking place and goes right to work. The Champ gets right in there and immediately fights off all 3 men. Savage joins in and together, both men run the Hart Foundation and Honkytonk Man out of the ring, before bumping into each other and nearly fighting amongst themselves. Both men stand poised with their fists in the air. Savage and Hogan had been nothing but enemies in the past, with Savage having given Hogan some of his toughest title matches to date. But it’s Savage who backs down and offers his hand to the champ. Hogan looks unsure here, but shakes Savage’s hand anyway, and THE MEGAPOWERS ARE BORN!. As Savage’s music plays in the background, Hulk Hogan raises both Savage’s and Elizabeth’s hands in the air, firmly cementing Savage’s place as the WWF’s newest babyface. The crowd is going wild as a new alliance is formed between Hulk Hogan and Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage. And let me tell you, since 1984, this was the biggest angle that the WWF had kicked off besides the Andre v. Hogan angle that led to Wrestlemania 3. The creation of the Megapowers led to virtually every Main Event angle that took place between October of 1987 and The summer of 1989! It led to Hogan losing the Title in Febrary of 1988, Savage winning the World Title at Wrestlemania 4, The main event of Summerslam 88, the Main Event of Survivor Series, (which was the beginning of the breakup of the Megapowers), Wrestlemania 5, and several other SNMEs and other big shows throughout 1988 and 1989.
Even without the union of Hogan and Savage, this was a great match. Honkytonk Man isn’t known for his technical ability in the ring, but he was great at getting you to hate his guts (a talent that he still seems to posess). HTM and Savage made for a great pairing, as it seemed that all of their matches together worked really well. I’m more inclined though to attribute more of this to Savage, who was by far the best worker in the company at this point. Steamboat had just left, and Ted DiBiase was just entering, so Savage gets the nod there. But even still, Honkytonk Man did a great job.
People, I can’t stress this enough. If the show started and ended with this match alone, it would still be the best episode of SNME that ever aired. They honestly could have rolled the closing credits after this match, and I wouldn’t have complained. Anything else that happens after this, is just gravy.
Hulk Hogan v. Sika
From 1980 through 1984, The Wild Samoans were one of the most formidable tag teams in the wrestling world. Afa and Sika were multiple time tag champs, whose prime pretty much ended just as Hulkamania began running wild in the WWF. Afa soon left the WWF and Sika stayed around, but was mainly relegated to mid-card status. He gets one more shot at the big time here, as he steps into the ring with the Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan.
Hogan in his pre-match interview, gives much props to his new friend Macho Man Randy Savage, as he tells the fans about how Hulkamania meeting Macho Madness may be the new strongest force in the universe. Sika who is seconded by both Mr. Fuji and Kim Chee (who normally manages Kamala) starts right in on Hogan at the opening bell. Both men lock up and jocky for position. Sika gets the advantage, punching and kicking Hogan repeatedly with Mr. Fuji getting in a few good shots when the ref isn’t looking. Between the two of them, Hogan is taking some serious punishment. But Sika misses a falling headbutt and Hogan gets his first wind and goes on the attack. 3 rights and a clothesline sends the wild Samoan out of the ring. Sika gets back in and charges Hogan. Hogan drops down, and Sika hits the far ropes, runs back and gets dropped by big boot by the champ. Hogan drops 2 elbows on the fallen Sika. He picks Sika up and delivers several strong right hands that sends Sika nearly out of the ring. Kim Chee jumps on the ring apron, and gets a right hand of his own. This however gives Sika time to attack, as he sends Hogan out of the ring with a strong chop.
Outside the ring, it’s all Sika as he pounds on Hogan’s back. Sika gets a side headlock, but Hogan fires him off into the ringside post. Fuji tries another sneak attack, but Hogan sees it coming and snatches the cane that Fuji was holding and prepares to hit him with it, but the referee grabs the cane and stops him. Hogan and the ref are in a tug of war with the cane with Hogan finally relenting, and getting back in the ring, still with the cane in hand. Hogan is now arguing with 2 referees, as another one had run out to calm down the situation. Dave Hebner finally gets Hogan to release the cane just as Sika charges Hogan from behind. The Hulkster sees it coming though, and sends Sika right into the corner with the impact landing the Samoan right on his back. Hogan runs off the rope and uncharacteristically goes for a big splash. Sika gets his knees up in time though and Hogan is now the babyface in peril. Sika hits a falling headbutt, and then proceeds to blatantly choke the champ. The Samoan then proceeds to press the advantage with numerous punches, chops, chokes and of course Mr. Fuji getting in a cheap shot where possible. A double chop to the throat gets Sika the first 2 count of the match. Sika then applies a nerve hold on Hogan’s chest. The Hulk is trying to struggle to his feet, but can’t seem to get enough energy up to do it. Hogan is weakening now, as the ref is watching closely to see if he’s lost consciousness. He lifts Hogan’s hand twice, with it falling limp both times. On the third and final lift though, Hogan finds his second wind, and fights his way to his feet. 2 punches, and the nerve hold is broken. Hogan runs the ropes and both men collide, with Hogan getting the worst of it. Sika hits 3 falling headbutts and goes for the cover, and it’s all over as the champ ‘Hulks up’ at the 2 count. A stunned Sika tries to hit Hogan several times, but the champ doesn’t feel it. When Hogan puts his finger in Sika’s face after the third punch, you know that there’s nothing left to do, as Hogan drills Sika with 3 rights, a bodyslam and a legdrop for the 1-2-3. Afterward, Hogan dishes out a little punishment to both Fuji and Kim Chee before giving the ecstatic audience the traditional victory pose down.
What can I say here. This match was everything that you’d expect, provided that you weren’t expecting much at all. Lots of punching and kicking by both men, interference by the heel manager, and a legdrop finish.
Next up is an interview with ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff who will be wrestling King Kong Bundy. Now why would Orndorff be fighting Bundy you asked’ Well, that’s because Orndorff, while still a heel and a member of the Bobby Heenan ‘Family’ was none to happy when Heenan added the newly signed Ravishing Rick Rude to the lineup. Heenan than proceeded to dote all over Rude and how great his physique was. It was when Heenan told Ordorff to admit that Rude had a better body than his own, that Orndorff finally had it and fired ‘The Brain’ for the second time in his career. This of course immediately made Orndorff a babyface again, and made him public enemy #1 with all of Bobby Heenan’s men (Bundy being one of them.)
‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff v. King Kong Bundy
Orndorff is in the ring taunting Heenan in the announcer’s booth. The crowd is still happy that Orndorff fired the Brain on national TV, humiliating him, and Orndorff twists the knife by yelling ‘YOU’RE FIRED’ at Heenan to the crowd’s delight. Orndorff is seconded by his manager Sir Oliver Humperdink.
At the bell, Orndorff takes it right to Bundy with several rights, ramming Bundy’s head into the turnbuckle, and an irish whip. Unfortunately, that whip came up short, as Bundy hit the far ropes and held on while Orndorff attempted a dropkick and got nothing but air. Bundy capitalizes by pounding relentlessly on Orndorff with punches, kicks, chokes and other assorted heel tactics. Irish whip by Bundy, but Orndorff gets a sunset flip for a 2 count. Bundy goes back to work on Orndorff t hough. Another whip by Bundy and Orndorff takes an elbow to the chest. Bundy with more right hands. Orndorff tries to fight back, but Bundy is having none of it. Body slam by Bundy, but he misses an elbow drop. Orndorff gets his second wind and fires away with several rights and rakes Bundy’s face across the top rope for good measure. Orndorff goes to the second rope and drops Bundy with an elbow. Orndorff with a fist drop and he gets a 2 count. At this point, while Orndorff is pounding away on Bundy, Heenan leaves the announcer’s booth and heads to the back. Orndorff meanwhile dropkicks Bundy and gets another 2 count. We then see Andre the Giant coming down to ringside, no doubt the person that Heenan went to the back to get. Orndorff is still punishing Bundy and wearing him down as Heenan returns to the broadcast position bragging about having gotten Andre to go out there and even the score. Another irish whip by Orndorff and Bundy takes a dropkick that sends him out of the ring. Andre proceeds to take charge of Bundy and confers with him while Orndorff and Humperdink take the time to talk strategy themselves.
With both men back in the ring, and the pace slowed down (which is just what Andre and Bundy wanted), the match resumes. Collar and elbow tie up with Bundy backing Orndorff into the corner. Bundy tries to hit Mr. Wonderful, but he’s not quick enough, as Orndorff gets out of the way and fires several punches at Bundy. Bundy battles back and stops Orndorff’s momentum. Bundy rams Orndorff’s head into the turnbuckle before snapmaring him into the ring and dropping a knee on him for a 2 count. Bundy picks Orndorff up and whips him to the ropes. Bundy telegraphs a back drop and gets kicked in the face for his trouble. Orndorff goes back to the stiff right hands and drops Bundy. Mr. Wonderful follows it up with 2 elbow drops. A third attempt yields nothing as Bundy moves out of the way. Bundy with a hip toss and a knee drop for another 2 count. Bundy then slows things down with a rear chinlock. Orndorff is really worn down here, but manages to avoid the match stoppage as he keeps his arm up as the ref checks him to see if he’s unconscious. Bundy releases the hold after Ornforff battles back and whips Orndorff into the corner and charges in for the vertical Avalanche splash. No dice for Bundy though, as Orndorff moves out of the way. A stunned Bundy falls victim to another series of rights by Orndorff. Orndorff attempts an irish whip to the corner, but Bundy reverses it and fires Orndorff instead. Ornforff tries to dodge another Avalanche by Bundy, but Andre the Giant grabs Orndorff’s tights in the corner so that Orndorff can’t move out of the way. Bundy nails Mr. Wonderful and the match is over, as Bundy gets the 1-2-3, much to the delight of Bobby Heenan at the announcer’s table.
Like the previous match, this one was nothing special. It did serve to keep Orndorff in the spotlight as he was clearly the underdog in his feud against the entire Heenan family. Unfortunately, Orndorff would only be with the WWF for another few months, leaving in early 1988.
Hart Foundation v. The Young Stallions
The Young Stallions are Jim Powers and Paul Roma. A decent enough looking team, but they were barely mid-card material at this time, as the WWF was filled with great tag teams that made these guys little more than very talented jobbers. That's not taking anything away from the Stallions. It's just that as good as they might have been, the other teams in the WWF at the time were that much better.
‘Hitman’ Bret Hart and Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, the current WWF Tag Team Champions approach the ring to the boos of the crowd, having already made an appearance earlier in the evening with the Randy Savage attack. With the match under way, it’s Jim Neidhart and Paul Roma in the ring together. Both men lock up in a test of strength. Roma is a very powerfully built man, but the 290lb Neidhart shows little trouble in throwing Roma off. Roma tries again but is again thrown into the corner. Neidhart runs in but Roma decides to go to his own strengths being speed and agility by moving out of the way of Neidhart’s charge and then arm dragging the Anvil to the mat and applying an armbar. Jim Power tags in and attempts to work the same arm, but Neidhart easily bodyslams Powers and tags in Bret Hart. Bret runs in, but gets backdropped by Powers right away. Powers rams Brets head into the boot of Roma before attempting an irish whip. Hart reverses it, but it’s Powers who gets the advantage with a sunset flip for a 2 count. Powers puts Bret in an armbar. Bret fires powers to the ropes to break the hold. Bret misses a clotheline attempt, and Powers rebounds with a good cross bodyblock for 2. Powers runs the ropes again and nails Bret with a shoulder block. Powers runs the ropes again as Bret drops down with Powers running to the far ropes. Bret gets to his feet and drills Powers with a knee to the gut. Bret with a side back breaker, and he tags in Neidhart.
The Anvil punches away at Powers and then argues with the ref, giving Bret the opportunity to run in and drop an elbow on Powers, and get back out again. Neidhart rams Powers’ head into Bret’s boot and tags him in. Neidhart whips Powers to the ropes and tries for a clothesline. Powers ducks but gets a boot to the back, courtesy of the Hitman, who enters the ring. Bret with an elbow from the second rope, followed by a headbutt and a blatant choke. Neidhart tags back in and drops Powers neck first on the top rope. Powers tries to go for the tag, but Neidhart cuts him off and proceeds to bite him before tagging Bret back in. Hart drops Powers with a right hand and whips him to the ropes. Bret ducks down for a back drop, but Powers leapfrogs over him and finally makes the tag. The hot Roma fires away at both Hart and Neidhart with Powers getting back in to even the score. Powers has Bret in one corner and Roma has Neidhart in the opposite corner and both babyfaces whip their opponents to the center of the ring for the collision. Bret goes down, while Neidhart is on his feet but stunned. A double dropkick by the Stallions sends Neidhart out of the ring. Powers with an Irish whip on Bret. Powers drops down as Bret runs past and Roma is right there to immediately powerslam Bret for what would be a sure fire 3 count, but Neidhart runs in to make the save. Jim Powers argues with the referee, which is all the Hart Foundation needs, as Neidhart picks Roma up in a bear hug, holding him while Bret runs off the ropes and clotheslines the hell out of him for the patented ‘Hart Attack’ finisher for the 3 count and the successful title defense.
Damned if this wasn’t a good match. And there’s no reason to be surprised by it, as even though the Young Stallions weren’t main event material, they were still a very talented team that simply had the misfortune of being in the WWF at the same time as the Harts, British Bulldogs, Rockers, Demolition, Brainbusters, and the Rougeau Brothers. All of those teams out shadowed Powers and Roma, and they got left in the dust. Had the Stallions been around in 1986 or stayed together through 1990, they’d have no doubt been one of the best teams in the company. And what can you say about the Hart Foundation that hasn’t been said already. They were just about the epitome of what a heel tag team should be. Only the Midnight Express and Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson could do it better. The chemistry that Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart displayed in the ring was jaw dropping. And it made for great matches with whomever was across the ring from them.
Next up, is Mean Gene Okerlund interviewing Hulk Hogan and Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage, who earlier united the ‘Madness and the ‘Mania’ to the delight of the live crowd and the viewing audience. I remember watching this one when it happened folks. This was probably one of the biggest things to happen that year. Hogan and Savage shake hands again and pump each other up as Hogan proclaims how he knew that Hulkamania was the strongest force in the universe, but never knew that there was a whole new universe out there to see. Randy Savage tells Okerlund that with Hogan, he has a new direction and that the combination of the Madness and the Mania theirs was a union of the MEGA-POWERS. And with that, the biggest tag team combination in recent memory was formed, as Hogan and Savage for the next year and a half would be known as the Megapowers.
Vince McMahon definitely struck gold here, as wrestling fans had long been wondering what would happen if Savage and Hogan ever teamed up. Well, Vince gave it to them, and it was the biggest thing that had happened since putting Hogan and Andre in the same ring. And for my money, the formation Megapowers had a bigger payoff because it spawned more main event matches, and spinoff angles as a result. That’s how big the pairing of Hogan and Savage was.
Folks, you need to understand just how important this thing was. Hogan and Savage in the mid 80s were basically the equivalent of Stone Cold and The Rock in the late 90s. Hogan and Savage usually brought out the best in each other, and their matches against each other were always blockbusters. As of 1987, Hogan was still riding high as the most popular wrestler in the world at this point, and Randy Savage had fallen victim to his own popularity, in that he was so good at being bad, that he became good. The WWF had made the right choice in capitalizing on the face pops that the Macho Man had been getting and turned him babyface. Now, the WWF had taken its 2 most popular wrestlers and put them together as a team. This was a fantastic move by the WWF, and one that as I mentioned earlier, would yield some of their best angles over the next 2 years.
Music Video ‘ PILEDRIVER
I’m not sure how to describe this one. We see many of the more muscle-bound WWF superstars such as Don Muraco, Bam Bam Bigelow, Billy Jack Haynes, Hulk Hogan and Superstar Billy Graham (Vince McMahon is also in there) playing the role of construction workers while Koko B. Ware sings a song that really doesn’t make much sense now that I’m listening to it again. It was so silly that it was actually good. Piledriver was the flagship song on the WWF’s first wrestling album by the same name. Over the course of the next several weeks, we’d see various other music videos on WWF TV to the theme songs of many of the WWF’s wrestlers and personalities such as ‘Demolition’ (Demolition), ‘Girls in Cars’ (Strike Force, which was made up of Tito Santana and Rick Martel), and My favorite video, ‘Jive Soul Bro’ (The Doctor of Style, Slick).
For the Megapowers angle alone, this was the single best episode of SNME that’s ever aired. This show gets a solid 10! Wrestlemanias 4 & 5, Summerslams 88 & 89, Survivor Series 88, Royal Rumble 89 and Lord knows how many TV episodes were all sold by the events that came out of the handshake of Hogan and Savage on tonight’s show. This was without a doubt, my favorite SNME episode in it's entire run, for this reason. And having a Hart Foundation tag team match on the same show can't hurt either.
This my fellow wrestling fans, was what SNME was supposed to be like. A PPV caliber event that you get for free. Yeah, you can get that each week on RAW and Smackdown if they write the show properly, but this is 1987. The only WWF you got each week were the Saturday and Sunday morning shows that featured little more than job matches. There was Primetime Wrestling, but that show ran down house show matches. It was a great show for not only this reason, but for the fact that you got to see Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon work together. The point though, is that SNME was different in that you were guaranteed some marquis level matches. And many feuds started and ended on SNME, which you didn’t have to shell out any PPV money to see. Tonight, the crowd got to see the beginning of something HUGE, and they knew it. This was what SNME was supposed to be about, and this was the feeling that they were supposed to bring to the crowd. Well done Vince.
That’s it for me folks. I enjoyed watching this one again. I’m also going to enjoy watching the next episode, as it features Randy Savage in a singles match against Bret Hart. And let me tell you. It’s every bit as good as you’d expect it to be. Till then, thanks for reading. Feel free to drop me an email at gnagus@comcast.net or post a comment or two in the feedback forum on the message boards.
-Corey
