WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XII (Version II)

Original Airdate: October 3, 1987

From Hershey, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan

Backstage, Honky Tonk Man details his courtship rituals, which include impressing a lady with the way he walks. A quick check shows that Honky has been married for over thirty years, so I guess there's no arguing with success. Meanwhile, Randy Savage would like to put Jimmy Hart's head in his mouth. Wouldn’t we all?

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man v Randy Savage: Honky strikes during the initial lockup, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets his throat snapped across the top rope. Savage with a snapmare to setup a kneedrop, and a cross corner whip sets up a backelbow. Sensing trouble, Jimmy Hart starts messing with Elizabeth on the outside to draw Savage's attention, and Honky is able to sneak attack. Unfortunately for him, he runs into a clothesline as they re-enter, and Savage snapmares him again - only to miss the kneedrop this time. Honky turns the tide with a fistdrop, then executes a snapmare of his own to setup a 2^nd rope fistdrop. He makes the mistake of trying to walk for Elizabeth, however, and Savage attacks with a flying axehandle on the outside, as the shitty Network starts driving me mad with buffering issues. Inside, Randy schoolboys him for two, and hits a side suplex for two - Jimmy breaking up the count. Savage stays focused with another flying axehandle for two, but Jimmy makes the mistake of breaking up the count again, and Randy is forced to deal with him. Honky tries to capitalize with a sunset flip, but Macho decks him to block, as the Hart Foundation run down to check on their manager. Dear lord, was Bret Hart pale! Inside, Macho continues to blitz the champ, but misses a cross corner charge, and Honky backdrops him. Spinebuster gets two, and he unloads a ten-punch count. Snapmare sets up another 2^nd rope fistdrop, but Randy dodges this one, and unloads overhead elbowsmashes. Backdrop leaves Honky begging off, but Savage shows no mercy with a vertical suplex for two, so Honky rakes the eyes, and tosses him over the top for the Harts to abuse. They drop the challenger throat-first across the rail before rolling him back in for Honky to elbowdrop for two. Shake, Rattle, and Roll, but Savage backdrops him to block, and hits a bodyslam. That sets up the Flying Elbowdrop, but the Harts break up the fall - getting the champ disqualified, but saving his title at 13:00. Afterwards, the Harts and Honky proceed to destroy Savage with an epic beat down. Honky decides to punctuate it by smashing his guitar over Randy's head, so Liz rushes in to beg for mercy - only for Honky to shove her to the mat, then do it anyway. Elizabeth runs to the back in tears, but returns moments later with backup - in the form of Hulk Hogan! The Hulkster rushes in to clean house, and the future Mega Powers do a dramatic handshake to cap things off. And THAT is how you do a massive face turn, and create a new star. Soap opera writers take note. The match was fine, but the angle is what it's all about here - one of the best in Saturday Night's Main Event history, and kicking off one of the most important storylines of the 1980s. ** ½ (Original rating: * ¼)

Backstage, Sika has apparently never heard of KFC. Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan makes vaguely racist remarks. Well, at least they were vague back then

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Sika: Sika attacks, and hammers Hogan down - Mr. Fuji choking him with his cane on the apron for good measure. Fuji jabs Hulk with his cane to setup a falling headbutt, but Hogan rolls out of the way, and tosses Sika to the floor. Back in, Sika runs right into a big boot, and Hogan punctuates it with a pair of elbowdrops before running into a distraction by Kim Chee, and knocked over the top. Hulk manages to reverse a shot into the post out there, so Fuji goes after him with the cane again, and the distraction allows Sika to lift the knees on a splash attempt. The fuck is Hogan trying a splash for, anyway? Sika with a falling headbutt, and he chokes the champ down. Well, he got a lot of practice with that chicken earlier. Sika works a nervehold that resembles a titty-twister, then hits another three falling headbutts, but that just triggers a HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Bodyslam! Legdrop! 7:59! On the long side for a Hogan match from this period, and Sika just didn't bring anything to the table here. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

Backstage, Paul Orndorff is tired of lying to himself. King Kong Bundy, meanwhile, will not give anyone a break. Well, that’s just rude!

Paul Orndorff v King Kong Bundy: Orndorff goes right at him, but the blitz fails when Bundy dodges a dropkick attempt. How the fuck to you miss someone as big as BUNDY, for gosh sakes? He chokes Paul down, but Orndorff manages a sunset flip for two, before Bundy smacks him back down with a backelbow. Bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Orndorff rolls out of the way, and delivers a 2^nd rope overhead elbowsmash, followed by a fistdrop for two. Seeing this, Heenan abandons his post at the broadcast table to go fetch Andre the Giant down to ringside, as Orndorff plants a dropkick on Bundy for two. Andre looks so perfectly menacing in a shirt and jacket, like some big gangster thug. He advises Bundy out on the floor, and he takes over on the way back in. Snapmare sets up a kneedrop for two, but Orndorff blocks a backdrop, and hits a pair of pointed elbowdrops. Third one misses, however, and Bundy kneedrops him again for two. On to a chinlock, but Orndorff dodges the Avalanche, so Andre holds Paul in place for a second try, and that finishes him at 8:00. Not a great match in the technical sense, but entertaining, and energetic. * ¼ (Original rating: ¼*)

Backstage, the Hart Foundation have got new shades to go along with their beautiful new tag title belts - the SNME debut of the dual-plated version most often associated with Demolition

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Hart Foundation v The Young Stallions: Jim Neidhart starts with Paul Roma, and shoves him around, but misses a charge, and gets armdragged into an armbar. Tag to Jim Powers for a 2^nd rope axehandle, but Neidhart escapes an armbar with a bodyslam, and tags. Bret Hart charges in, but gets backdropped by Powers, and Jim sunset flips him for two. Wristlock applied, but Hart whips him into the ropes, so Powers throws a bodypress for two. Criss cross goes Bret's way with a knee, and he adds a backbreaker before tagging out. Anvil hammers Powers as the Harts begin cutting the ring in half, but Powers manages to leapfrog Hart to make the tag. Roma is a house of fire to ignite a brawl, and the Stallions clean house. Roma powerslams Bret for two, but runs into a double-team, and the Hart Attack finishes him at 4:35. They packed quite a lot into four-and-a-half minutes here. ** (Original rating: ¼*)

Backstage, Hogan and Savage continue to perfect that handshake of theirs, and coin the term 'Mega Powers.' I have a feeling that one could be big

And now, the piece de resistance, as they play the Piledriver music video. I still don't know how they got away with marketing this to kids, but I'm glad they did, because my youth would not have been complete without it

BUExperience: Pretty major episode here, with the formation of the Mega Powers alone making it historically significant, and worth checking out. Couple that with the Piledriver music video, and you’ve got a big, big winner