WWF The Main Event (November 1990)

Original Airdate: November 23, 1990 – the night after Survivor Series, though taped about a month before.

This is a somewhat infamous edition of the show, as it was originally taped to air in the WWF’s normal post-Thanksgiving Saturday timeslot as an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event (you can even see SNME banners hanging in the arena – not their alternate ‘The Main Event’ ones), but NBC decided to reshuffle their schedule to bring the WWF onto primetime on Friday night instead – with only one hour as opposed to SNME’s standard hour and a half. With the show already in the can, they had to cut a half hour off – editing out The Rockers’ tag title win over The Hart Foundation. This has become quite notorious over the years due to the top-rope breaking during their 2/3 Falls bout – turning it into a train wreck – and the WWF decided never to air or acknowledge the change at all (it was finally released on DVD, nearly twenty years later), simply handing the titles back to the Harts.

From Fort Wayne, Indiana; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper.


Opening WWF Title Match: The Ultimate Warrior v Ted DiBiase: Warrior predictably overpowers DiBiase to start, clotheslining him to the floor, and taking Virgil out. Warrior with a flying axehandle inside, but DiBiase outsmarts him (no!) and hits a 2^nd rope axehandle for two. Piledriver gets two, and DiBiase dumps him. The referee steps in before Virgil can get in any cheap shots, however, and DiBiase drags him in for a fistdrop. Side-headlock, but Warrior powers out, so DiBiase clotheslines him. Backdrop attempts gets him countered into a backslide, so DiBiase throws a suplex to ground Warrior. He dumps him to the floor for good measure (allowing him to use the steps to his advantage), but, unfortunately for him, Warrior's BLOWING UP!! Suplex! Shoulderblock! Series of Clotheslines! Diving Shoulderblock! - but Virgil runs in for the disqualification at 9:47. Afterwards, Randy Savage (who had called Warrior out for a title shot, and been turned down) runs in, and does a beat down until WWF Officials pull him off. Match was actually fun, with DiBiase doing a good job of selling Warrior's stuff, and Warrior putting on his working boots – keeping a good pace. *

Sgt. Slaughter v Nikolai Volkoff: Slaughter jumps him before the bell, and beats him down with his Military Crop. He hooks a camel clutch, until Jim Duggan runs in to make the save. For America. Unfortunately, Volkoff is too badly injured from the beat down to compete, and we have a no contest. Obviously no rating, but a decent segment to push Slaughter, and the camel clutch - as shockingly no one was buying his previous noogie finisher.

The Big Bossman v Mr. Perfect: Bossman had a feud with The Heenan Family going - originally targeting Rick Rude - but when he left the promotion over disgust with his SummerSlam payday, they shifted gears to Perfect. Perfect makes the mistake of slapping him in the face a couple of times, and gets slammed around - doing his usual virtuoso sell job. Bossman with a backbreaker, but a flying splash misses (what's a man his size doing trying a flying splash? Just buy a t-shirt with 'Mid-life Crisis' on it), getting him caught with a vicious inverted version of the Hennig-necksnap. Perfect hammers the back, and discreetly pulls the turnbuckle cover off when the referee is checking on Bossman - only to get sent into it himself (and allow him to do a flying somersault to sell it). Bossman unloads (again, just get a t-shirt that says 'I Had Indian' on it - don't subject us to this), but gets reversed into the exposed buckle. Perfect-plex, but Bossman counters with an inside cradle for two. Slugfest goes Perfect's way, and he hits the Perfect-plex – but it only gets two. Perfect manager Bobby Heenan gets involved - suckering Bossman into a chase - and Perfect gets the countout win at 8:15. Well paced, psychologically sound match – elevated by Perfect’s peerless selling. *

Tito Santana v Rick Martel: Martel jumps him before the bell, quickly dumping him to the floor. He follows, but misses a clothesline to the post, and Santana hammers the arm. 2^nd rope axehandle grounds Martel, and Tito grabs an armbar. Martel makes the ropes, and rams Tito into the corner to takeover. Side-headlock, but Tito gets uppity, and eye raked. Pair of backbreakers by Martel, and he goes to the top, only to get crotched. Tito brings him down (though, really, that spot looked like it brought a lot up), and hits his own backbreaker. 2^nd rope clothesline gets two, and he tries the figure four, but Martel cradles for two, before hooking his Boston Crab for the clean victory at 6:46. Not nearly as good as their match on SNME in October '89, but solid. ½*

BUExperience: What, the night after Survivor Series and not even a mention of that Gobbledy Gooker fellow? Outrage!

A very middle-of-the-road show, with some decent wrestling, but nothing particularly good, or any ‘can’t miss this!’ angles to carry it. It was very obviously a standard SNME shoehorned into primetime – and it showed, as it lacked excitement. Hell, it’s most memorable for what wasn’t on it than anything that was. What more can you say? Actually, probably lots of stuff – but I’m going to leave it there.