Written By: Matt Peddycord
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #13
November 28, 1987
Seattle, WA
Seattle Coliseum
(Taped on 11/11/1987)
The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Hulk Hogan (1/23/1984)
Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man (6/2/1987)
World Tag Team Champions: Strike Force (10/27/1987)
Women’s Champion: Sensational Sherri (7/24/1987)
Man, this episode on my tape doesn’t include the fun little interviews that they have to hype the show. Oh well, let’s just get on with it.
Our hosts are VKM & JV!
Danny Davis vs. George “The Animal” Steele
Davis had nailed Steele in the back with the ring bell to cause him to lose his lumberjack match with Savage back on the SNME in April, and he just NOW wants revenge. Vince degrades Davis for what he did, but Jesse defends him by saying that you can’t just pull out three seconds of footage and say that George didn’t have it coming to him. I agree! This would be George Steele’s last SNME match. It starts off like a typical George match, with Davis being choke-lifted and chased out of the ring. Davis tries to sneak-attack Steele a couple times, but it fails. George wants to bring a chair into the ring, but the ref stops him and that allows Davis to choke Steele with a foreign object from his tights. He does that for a good minute or so until Steele counters and applies a hammerlock-lift on Davis. Davis kicks the ref away to draw the DQ. This is Steele’s only SNME win out of six appearances. (3:52) There was nothing to it. CRAP
Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) vs. Bret Hart (w/Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart)
Oh yeah, this should be GREAT. Bret cost Savage the IC title at the last SNME, so now he wants revenge! Neidhart and Jimmy Hart start to surround Elizabeth before the match even begins, causing Savage to come down and protect her lady. Savage pulls Bret out to the floor and rams him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Back in, Savage controls, but then misses a short charge in the corner. Bret chokes Savage down in the corner and then snapmares him out and drops an elbow across the throat. Bret whips Savage into the ropes, but then he ducks low and gets kicked in the face. Bret rolls to the apron and Savage tries to elbow him in the throat, but the ref pulls Savage back. Savage runs at Bret and shoves him off the apron as he lands chest-first on the guardrail. Jimmy Hart and Anvil hop up on the apron to buy Bret some time, and take a DOUBLE-NOGGIN KNOCKER! Savage goes up top and leaps down on Bret, but he’s “waiting in the weeds” and nails Savage in the gut with Jimmy’s megaphone once gravity comes into play! Back in, Bret works over Savage’s ribs. He puts Savage up in the tree of woe and kicks him REAL good in the ribs. Once Savage gets loose, Bret gives Savage a Piledriver for 1, 2, NO! Bret whips Savage into the corner and charges, but Savage moves out of the way. Savage takes Bret and rams him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Savage heads up top again and delivers a double-ax handle for 1, 2, NO! Bret jabs Savage in the ribs and gives him a backbreaker. He goes to the middle-rope and comes off with an elbow drop, but Savage avoids. Savage delivers the running hotshot for 1, 2, NO! Savage puts Bret up against the ropes and the ref pulls him off of Bret. Once Savage breaks free of the ref, he runs at Bret and takes a backdrop clean over the top rope and out to the floor. He ends up injuring his left leg and Elizabeth helps him out by pulling off his boot so he can still finish the match. Savage gets back in the ring on one foot and can barely walk. Like the awesome guy he is, Bret goes RIGHT after the hurt leg. He even posts it! He applies a spinning toe hold, but Savage kicks him off into the ringpost. Savage does neck-snaps Bret back off the top rope and covers for 1, 2, NO! Bret goes back to the leg and hooks on a half-crab, but Savage reaches the ropes. Savage rolls to the apron and gets yanked back in the ring. He does it a second time and Bret tries to slam him back in, but Savage counters in mid-move and cradles Bret up for the 1-2-3! (11:57) The Hart Foundation try to ambush Savage after the match, but it fails miserably and Savage has Jimmy Hart’s megaphone! Great match, but it still left something to be desired. ***½
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy (w/Bobby Heenan)
In a pre-match interview, Heenan says he has a BIG surprise. He just did this on the last SNME and it was Andre the Giant, and it is here again. I don’t know why anybody would be surprised there. Hogan can’t put Bundy down with a shoulderblock, but he does with a high knee for two. He tries to slam Bundy, but he falls on top for two. Bundy works on Hogan’s back and causes him to take a walk. Back in, Bundy attempts a splash, but that misses. Hogan hits a clothesline and three elbow drops for 1, 2, NO! Hogan ducks low and allows Bundy to hammer him down for a knee drop that gets two. Bundy goes to a chinlock for a good ninety seconds as Hogan’s arm drops once, twice, but not three times. He elbows out and hits the Big Boot. He goes for the LEG DROP, but Andre trips him up coming off the ropes for the DQ. (5:20) Referee Joey Marella will restart the match if Andre will leave the ringside area. Otherwise, Hogan wins the match. Andre wants to get in the ring and tear Hogan apart, but Heenan begs him to go back to the locker room. He decides to leave, but he’s knocking cameramen down on his way to the back. Match continues and Bundy gains control over the Hulkster until Hogan reverses a corner whip and follows Bundy in with a clothesline. He rams Bundy’s head into the buckle a couple times and then hits a high knee. He tries for an elbow drop off the ropes, but Bundy moves. Bundy goes back to working on Hogan’s back and applies a bearhug. Hogan elbows out after about a minute of that, but then runs into a back elbow. Bundy delivers the AVALANCE and then follows up with a splash to Hogan’s back! Oh, its curtains for Hogan now. Bundy turns him over and covers for 1, 2, NO! Hogan starts to HULK UP. He fires back and slams Bundy. Bundy rolls out to the floor and Hogan follows him out. Hogan wins a slugfest and throws Bundy back in, but then Heenan grabs hold of Hogan’s leg to cause him to get counted out while Bundy is pulling on the referee. Geez, Marella is struggling to signal for the bell too! (10:15) Post-match, Hogan beats Bundy down and choke-lifts Heenan so much, that he injures his neck and causes him to wear a neckbrace for the next couple weeks. What a sportsman, that Hogan. ½*
Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. Hercules
Heenan still represents Hercules at this point, but thanks to Hogan, he’s too hurt to be out here for this match. Herc tries to put Bam Bam down with shoulderblocks, but that doesn’t work. He buries his knee into Bam Bam’s gut, but then misses a corner charge. They go to the floor and brawl for the double-countout. (3:07) Bam Bam gets back in the ring and challenges Hercules to finish the match, and the ref lets it happen. What? You can’t do that just because you lose! They do a little football stance and charge, but neither man falls down. Hercules charges again, but Bam Bam cartwheels over him and follows up with a shoulderblock. He whiffs on a dropkick to set up some Hercules elbow drops. Hercules heads up top, but he gets caught in mid-air. Bam Bam press slams him and delivers the slingshot splash for the 1-2-3. (5:47) ½*
Final Thoughts: There’s really only one thing to see here, and that’s Hart/Savage. Everything else is passable, and even that match isn’t as good as it could’ve been. Besides only one match being any good, they didn’t do anything to make the show feel all that special. It was as if they were just doing the show for the sake of tradition. Thumbs down for SNME #13.