WWF The Main Event II (Version II)

Original Airdate: February 3, 1989

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura

Review of the Mega Powers/Twin Towers feud

Backstage, Slick clarifies that Akeem is the 'law of the jungle,' while Big Boss Man is the 'law of the land.' Because the jungle is a body of water in Slick's mind? Meanwhile, the Mega Powers are totally on the same page. The best of friends. Pals for life

The Mega Powers v The Twin Towers: You know, another thing about the Mega Powers breakup that I don't think ever gets mentioned... like, we talk about Hogan being a selfish dick a'plenty, but no one ever mentions the tights. Yes, the tights! If you notice, Savage has 'Mega Powers' printed on his, Hulk doesn't. Savage has to change his colors to Hulk's tradition red-and-yellow - Hulk doesn't change a thing. And then, ON TOP OF THAT, he's a huge glory hogging ego maniac. But, as I noted in the Rumble '89 review, the crowd encouraged that kind of behavior from him. It wasn't until the 90s that everyone finally came out of that 80s coke haze and started realizing that a prick this guy could be. Anyway, the Powers dominate the Towers in the early going, but a double-team puts Hulk Hogan down, and Big Boss Man piledrives him to take control. The Towers cut the ring in half on the Hulkster, but a miscommunication during a double-team allows the tag to Randy Savage. Macho blitzes Akeem, and hits a flying bodypress for two - only to get tripped up by the Slickster while running the ropes. Sucks to be you, Macho Man! Boss Man tags in and goes to work, as the Towers cut the ring in half on the WWF Champion. They work him over, but when they toss him out of the ring, he ends up taking out (and I mean just CLOBBERING - it's a wild bump) Elizabeth on the floor. Hulk immediately hops off the apron to attend to her, and Savage isn't pleased, but the Towers drag him back in for a some double-team beatings before he boils over. Meanwhile, the EMTs are fucking asleep at the wheel, and don't show up for Liz, so Hogan takes matters into his own hands, and carries her in his arms back to the medical station for attention - thereby abandoning Savage two-on-one with the Towers. The camera stays with Hogan and Elizabeth as the doctors rush to her aid (complete with a tearful Hulkster on his knees crying at her side), and how Liz managed not to breakup laughing at Hogan's scenery chewing is beyond me. Meanwhile, back in the ring, Savage is getting killed, but Hulk is too busy holding Elizabeth's hand to notice. She wakes up and tells him he can go, and he sprints back out to the ring, where the Towers continue to work Macho over. Akeem ends up taking a nasty spill out of the ring when both Towers try simultaneously bouncing off the ropes, and Savage is able to capitalize with a flying axehandle to send Boss Man to the floor as well. But then, instead of tagging Hulk in by traditional means, Savage instead delivers a pointed slap to the face, and walks out on him! Well, lets see how he likes it. The Towers take full advantage, and start working Hogan over with double-teams, but he pretty easily shrugs them off so that he can go back to crying to an irate Savage. With his back turned, the Towers attack again, and Akeem hits an avalanche to setup Air Africa - triggering the HULK UP!! Legdrop finishes Akeem at 22:00. I've always hated that Hogan had to go over here. I mean, I get that he was in line to get the WWF Title back, and that he's the big babyface hero, and that this is a big network TV special with a lot of eyes. I get and appreciate all of that. But, because he was outnumbered, doing a job here wouldn't have hurt anything, and if anything, would have added even more fuel to the fire ahead of his big Cage Match blow off with Boss Man. But whatever. There's no use bringing logic or reasoning into the equation when it comes to Hulk Hogan. ** (Original rating: ***)

With the match over, Hogan heads right backstage to the medical station, where Savage has already arrived - and he's berating Elizabeth and ranting and raving about Hogan. Hogan showing up only serves to further infuriate the Macho Man, however, and he cuts one of the most epic promos of all time on the guy! The sheer rage flowing through him was incredible, and the way the camera framed Elizabeth between them was nothing short of brilliant. Finally, he decides ranting isn't enough, and fucking lays the creep out with a brutal title belt shot. Elizabeth gets off her sick bed to rush over to Hulk's aid, and BOY does that not sit well with the Macho Man - he fucking FLINGS her across the room. Wow, Elizabeth is taking bigger bumps than anyone else on the roster tonight! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do a heel turn! WOW

Ted DiBiase v Hercules: Yeah, good luck following that segment, guys. Hercules attacks before DiBiase even has a chance to take off his shiny green suit - beating up Virgil as well for good measure! Hercules with an atomic drop and a press-slam, and another atomic sends Ted over the top to the floor. DiBiase manages to snapmare him over the top when Hercules tries to pull him back in, and Ted puts him down with a clothesline on the way back in. Pair of fistdrops get two, and a 2^nd rope elbowsmash gets two. Forward-backbreaker gets two, but Hercules reverses a turnbuckle smash, and adds a powerslam. Charge in the corner doesn't go well, however, and DiBiase unloads chops as Virgil works to load up a turnbuckle with Hercules' steel chain. A smash into that is reversed, but Ted kicks out at two! Hercules sends him into it a second time, and slaps in a torture rack, but Virgil takes a cheap shot behind the referee's back, and DiBiase schoolboys him (with a handful of tights, of course) for the pin at 7:12. Totally watchable. * (Original rating: ½*)

Backstage, Brutus Beefcake has rushed to Hulk Hogan's side at the medical station, and the Hulkster is in TEARS brother! And not tears of joy! Tears of betrayal! Those are the saltiest kind, guys! Pretty funny bit follows, as Hulk goes storming around the hallways looking for Randy, and while he's acting like a total fucking asshat and breaking furniture, some random business man just walks past him in the hallway, as if he's just passing another office worker on the way to the shitter. Like, 'Good day, Terry. How are the wife and kids?' Hulk continues storming around, and even stops to take out both the Hart Foundation and Rockers - which, again, is a complete dick move. Stop attacking innocent people and destroying property, you jerk!

BUExperience: Completely awesome show, with the classic Mega Powers breakup angle (still one of the most well done and memorable of all time), as well as the blow off to the DiBiase/Hercules feud. Very focused TV, as the WWF took full advantage of their yearly prime time network television slot