Written By: Matt Peddycord
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #19
January 7, 1989
Tampa, FL
The Sundome
(Taped on 12/7/1988)
The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Randy Savage (3/27/1988)
Intercontinental Champion: Ultimate Warrior (8/29/1988)
World Tag Team Champions: Demolition (3/27/1988)
Women’s Champion: Rockin’ Robin (10/7/1988)
TONIGHT! True fact: If you make the Ultimate Warrior say “ultimate” four times, then he subconsciously beats on his chest! Plus, we find out the heartbreaking reality that the Honky Tonk Man can barely play an actual guitar chord! Also, Brutus Beefcake BEGS Ron Bass to bring his S&M gear for their match tonight! Hope you’ve put kids to bed, because I can already hear the snap of a whip. Akeem is ALL about ridding the world of evil, over-tanned, steroid-filled egomaniacs! Hulk Hogan lets us know quite clearly that he doesn’t know where Africa is! Seriously, he says, “Akeem, I don’t know where you came from.” I guess knowing basic geography isn’t a requirement to being a Hulkamaniac after all! It’s time for Saturday Night’s Main Event!
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura!
“Cowboy” Ron Bass vs. Brutus Beefcake – Hair vs. Hair Match
You’ve got to wonder about a man who has his own set of spurs late into the 20th century, let alone who actually has names for them. Yes, Ron Bass names his spurs the Maverick brothers- Bret and Bart, which sounds like a great ’80s heel tag team name gone to waste if you ask me. He names his whip Miss Betsy as well. This whole feud started in the summer of ’88, and it’s just now being blown off here on SNME. Beefcake saved some helpless jobber from getting his head all cut up from the Maverick brothers, but then it wasn’t too long after that when Beefcake had his back turned and was ambushed by Ron Bass. Beefcake received the Maverick Bros. treatment and therefore had to forfeit his IC title rematch against the Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam due to the injury. He’s still PISSED off about that, too. Beefcake chases Bass out of the ring early on once he breaks free from Miss Betsy. Once the ref gets the whip away from Beefcake, he knocks Bass back out to the floor with a high knee. Well, there’s one of his four moves. Tons of strutting follows. Back in, we see a bunch of punching on Bass. Finally, Bass gets in an inverted atomic drop out of the corner. Bass delivers a gutbuster and then PUNTS Beefcake out to ringside. Back in again, Bass kicks at the mid-section of Beefcake. All of that sets up a piledriver (huh?) on Beefcake. Bass covers and gets two, but then he decides he’s not done yet. I think we all know where this is going. Bass connects with a hotshot, but he lets Beefcake up again. Big clothesline follows, as he goes for the win for real this time, but Beefcake rolls the shoulder at two. Beefcake ducks another clothesline and then catches Bass for the SLEEPER to finish. (7:40) Bass is left with the Boris Zhukov look after his hair trimming. ½*
During an interview, Okerlund tells Hogan he looks to be outmanned tonight. Just as he says that, Randy Savage pops in to tell Hulk that he’s here to “keep an eye on things”.
Hulk Hogan (w/Elizabeth) vs. Akeem (w/Big Bossman & Slick)
When Savage said he was going to keep an eye on things, he just meant that he and Okerlund would watch the match on a monitor in the locker room. Akeem misses a corner charge to start. Slick is up on the apron and he gets tossed into Akeem, as Hogan covers them both for two! Right. Hogan fires away on Akeem and then goes out after Bossman for no good reason! Then Slick comes over and gets thrown into the Bossman as well. Back in, he attempts a slam on Akeem, but that’s not going to happen just yet. Akeem pounds Hogan down, but then misses another charge in the corner. Hulk takes him from corner to corner smashing his head into the turnbuckle. Bossman hops up on the apron and he gets nailed, as does Akeem. Hogan randomly goes for an arm wrench and then gets his hair pulled to bring him down to the mat. Akeem works a rather painless looking wristlock until Hogan punches out. Bossman is on the apron again, only to be knocked off. Hogan finally punches Akeem down to the mat as Bossman is BACK UP AGAIN to momentarily distract the ref. Meanwhile, Hogan whips Akeem into the corner. Hogan charges, but Akeem pulls the ref in the way of the impact. Immediately, Bossman hops in the ring and starts beating Hogan with the nightstick. They cut to Savage and Okerlund, but Savage says Hogan will be okay! The Twin Towers both give Hogan two splashes a piece as Elizabeth runs to the back to get some help. The ref wakes up just as Akeem goes for the 747 SPLASH, but Hogan moves out of the way. In the back, Elizabeth finds Savage and tells him to come and help, but he insists that Hulk will be alright. Meanwhile, Hogan HULKS UP and fires back on Akeem, nails Slick and Bossman, and goes for the BIG BOOT to set up the slam. Here comes the LEG DROP! Oh wait, no, Bossman hits him with the nightstick as he comes off the ropes for the DQ. (6:30) The Twin Towers continue the destruction of Hulkamania after the match and Savage is still nowhere to be seen. That is, until they go after Elizabeth, which brings out Savage with a steel chair for the save. It wasn’t until Elizabeth got involved where Savage began to care, you see. Elizabeth goes over to help Hogan again, which makes Savage UBER-jealous. Hey, Hogan’s trying to move in on your main squeeze with the whole “Ohhhh, my ribs hurt because Big Bossman and Akeem jumped on me! Help me, pretty lady!” and that’s not cool. Savage pulls Elizabeth aside and confronts her about the issue, but she’d rather help Hogan to the back than talk about it. YOU SCORPION WOMAN! ½*
WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart)
This is the rematch from SummerSlam where Warrior surprised Honky Tonk and beat him in thirty seconds for the belt. Honky tries to avoid Warrior to start by LEAVING, but Warrior presses him up over his head and carries him back into the ring. Warrior connects with a big boot as Jimmy Hart gets up on the apron for the sole purpose of a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! OUCH! It looked like Honky’s elbow went directly into Jimmy’s face! Talk about an unsafe working environment! Warrior keeps up the offense and delivers a choke lift before going to the corner for a ten-count corner punch. Warrior connects with a shoulder charge in the corner, but misses a second one. The ref gets distracted by Jimmy Hart so that Honky can beat Warrior with the megaphone a few times. Warrior gets stomped a whole lot, and then shakes the ropes for a comeback. He knocks Honky Tonk down with a clothesline and goes for the GUERILLA SPLASH, but Honky gets the knees up for 1-2-NO! Weird spot as Warrior doesn’t sell a double-KO spot (I assume that’s what it was), as Honky just falls to the mat. Honky goes for another clothesline, but Warrior ducks and hits a Running Shoulder Tackle for 1-2-3. (5:06) Despite his own personal claim as being the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time, this was actually the last Intercontinental title shot Honky Tonk would ever receive even to this day. Not too bad of a back-and-forth type match considering. *½
In the back, the Twin Towers stir the pot of deceit and lies of how the Mega Powers are crumbling before our very eyes.
Meanwhile, Jesse Ventura congratulates Bobby Heenan on taking someone as ordinary and lame as Terry Taylor and turning him into average and sub par. He’s got an undefeated record, you know! Taylor is all, “Heyyyyy, wait a minute you guys! That’s not nice!” He doesn’t let that bother him though because he’s got a match coming up! Ironically enough, Taylor is a great wrestler stuck in a bad gimmick, not a bad wrestler lucky to be in the WWF, which makes the whole Red Rooster period seem like one big career-threatening joke on Taylor.
Tito Santana vs. Red Rooster (w/Bobby Heenan)
Bobby Heenan is being miked for this match, so you should know that something is up. Poor Tito, he still has his STRIKE FORCE tights on as though that tag team isn’t dead and buried. Martel would return after his injury from the previous summer by the Royal Rumble a week after this show airs. Onto the match, Rooster backs Santana into the corner and then turns away from him only to get punched in the mouth for it. Heenan does more bad than good by reprimanding him at every chance he gets, which is a total detriment for Rooster. They run the ropes for a bit until Tito catches Taylor with a dropkick for 1-2-NO! Hahaha, GEORGE F’N STEINBRENNER is in the front row! Heenan stops by to ask him what he does with incompetence, and he replies, “FIRE ‘EM!” Meanwhile in the ring, Taylor brings his knees up to block a splash by Tito. Rooster hits a jawbreaker and starts choking away. Tito gets in some shots and blocks a sunset flip. Tito goes for the FIGURE-FOUR, but Rooster blocks it. Heenan then yanks Taylor out to the floor for more reprimanding. Heenan goes too far and shoves him back and tells Rooster that “You’re not good enough for me!” Taylor shoves him back, but Heenan stands his ground! Taylor shoves him again and walks away from him. OH MAN. Back on the apron, Taylor tries to suplex Santana out to the floor, but Tito blocks and Taylor ends up back in the ring off a suplex for 1-2-NO! Santana ducks low off a whip and takes a rolling knee drop as a result for 1-2-NO! Backbreaker from Rooster gets two, but then Santana counters a suplex into a small package for 1-2-NO! Tito gets a backslide for two, but then runs straight into a boot out of the corner. Rooster hits a BEAUTIFUL piledriver for 1-2-NO! He catches Tito with a hotshot and goes for the COCK OF THE WALK (sharpshooter), but Santana punches him away and clotheslines him out to the floor. Haha, Heenan picks him up and throws him back in the ring! Rooster asks him what the heck he is doing, and gets rolled up from behind for 1-2-3! (7:26) That is IT! Heenan gets in the ring and tells Rooster that nobody is going to make a fool out of him and starts slapping Taylor around! Heenan gets cornered and then proceeds to get BEAT by Taylor to turn him face and set up a match for WrestleMania. By the way, the match was a lot of fun and easily the match of the night. **½
Mr. Perfect vs. Koko B. Ware (w/Frankie the PARROT~!)
It’s that late night squash match that Koko always seems to get booked in, poor guy. Perfect pounds away to start, but then Koko comes back with some dropkicks and a couple armdrags. Koko then misses a corner charge to set up the PERFECTPLEX for the finish. (3:04) Good, fast-paced squash. *
Apparently, everything is still hunky-doory over in MegaPowersWorld! The air is clear for now, but for HOW LONG?! Find out in the second installment of The Main Event!
Final Thoughts: It’s great seeing Savage with all his underlining frustration with Hogan, which makes this show an easy recommendation. The Taylor/Santana match is worth a look too.