WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XIX (January 1989)

Original Airdate: January 7, 1989

From Tampa, Florida; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura.


Opening Hair v Hair Match: Brutus Beefcake v Ron Bass: This was set up back in the Summer of '88, when Bass jumped Beefcake, attacking him with his cowboy spurs - which was most notable not for the attack itself, but the giant red censor the WWF put over it to make it look more insane than it was. That seems silly, but as a kid watching it on VHS, I remember thinking it must have been really brutal if the WWF censored it that way. Bass jumps him with his bullwhip on the way in – choking away - but Beefcake disarms him, and cleans house with the whip. Proper start sees Beefcake nail Bass with a high knee, so Bass bails to regroup. Back in, Brutus with a series of clotheslines, and he unloads mounted punches. Ten-punch count follows, but Bass doesn't like math, and interrupts it with an inverted atomic drop. Gutbuster, and he follows with a backelbow to the stomach. Faceslam (that... that one would have been a lot more effective a couple of years later...), and he continues to send shots to the midsection. Piledriver, but Bass lets off the pinfall attempt at two - which is the kind of shit only mega heels should try, not JTTS. Clothesline gets two, so Bass gets frustrated (at his own stupidity?) and Beefcake catches him with the Sleeper at 7:40. Afterwards, Bass gets his head shaved. Certainly dull, but not actively horrible. ¼*

Hulk Hogan v Akeem: Hogan dodges a sneak attack to start, and throws Akeem manager Slick at him like a dart for good measure. Hogan gets caught up with Big Bossman (Akeem's tag partner - feuding with the Hulkster) on the floor, and Akeem hammers him. Blind charge misses, however, and a series of clotheslines take the big guy off of his feet. Armbar, but Akeem uses the hair to reverse. Frankly, if the referee caught him, he should praise him for actually being able to grab a handful of Hogan hair rather than threaten disqualification. Hogan powers out anyway, and returns the favor by pulling Akeem's beard, which is like psychology for the retarded. Cross corner clothesline – but Akeem pulls the referee in the way to block, and gets disqualified at 8:06. That allows The Twin Towers to double team Hogan, until Randy Savage makes the save, and set up the WWF's Main Event special the next month. Good bit of subtle Mega Power angle development here, too, as Savage (shown throughout the match to be watching on a monitor) was reluctant to make the save, encouraging Hogan to make his own comeback - and only finally running in when Bossman threatened to harm Miss Elizabeth. He then showed visible anger when Liz tried to soothe Hogan after the attack. DUD – though both of the angles were fantastic, so it certainly wasn’t a wasted segment.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: The Ultimate Warrior v The Honky Tonk Man: Honky tries to avoid locking up by literally running away, but Warrior stalks him into the aisle, and impressively carries him all the way to the ring in a gorilla press, before slamming him back in. Warrior unloads a backelbow, and a ten-punch count, but misses a Stinger Splash. Honky nails him with manager Jimmy Hart's megaphone to take control, but Warrior's FREAKING UP!! Bodyslam! Clothesline! Splash! - but he hits Honky's knees. That doesn't derail the FREAK UP!! though, as he hits a quick diving shoulderblock to retain at 5:07. Well paced, but all punch-kick. ¼*

The Red Rooster v Tito Santana: Rooster is Terry Taylor being a cock. And spoofing Ric Flair, a bit. Rooster tries a bunch of takedowns, but Santana counters everything, and throws a dropkick for two. Splash, but Taylor lifts the knees to counter, and hits a double stomp. Chincrusher, and he tries a sunset flip - but gets decked, frustrating manager Bobby Heenan. Santana with an earringer, and a backdrop, leading to the figure four – but Rooster blocks, and bails to the outside. Heenan berates him for not putting Santana away, but Rooster is frustrated enough, and shoves Heenan back. The distraction allows Santana to suplex him back in, but he gets caught with a backbreaker for two. Rooster with a suplex of his own, but Santana cradles him for two. Backslide gets two, but a blind charge misses, and Rooster hits a well executed piledriver for two. Stungun, and he tries a Sharpshooter, but gets decked. That causes another Bobby Heenan flip out, and the distraction allows Tito to schoolboy him for the pin at 7:27. Afterwards, Heenan loses his shit on Rooster, but he finally has enough, and beats Bobby down – turning Taylor face. Match was fun back-and-forth action, around the angle. **

Mr. Perfect v Koko B. Ware: Perfect dominates the initial lockup, but gets hiptossed, and dropkicked to the floor. He regroups, coming back in with a series of forearms, but gets caught in a well executed armdrag. Koko tries to keep control, but eats a standing dropkick to put him on the floor. He tries to regroup, but apparently taking the advice of a parrot doesn't make a main eventer, as the Perfect-Plex finishes at 3:10. Just the standard end-of-show squash - but it had a couple of nice spots to keep it engaging. ¼*

BUExperience: Fun edition, with the Beefcake/Bass blowoff, the Red Rooster face turn, and the Mega Powers/Twin Towers stuff – though, indicative of the popularity of their main event babyfaces: once Hogan, Savage, and Warrior were done for the night, you could see bunches of empty seats through the arena, and people clearing out by the dozens.