WWF The Main Event IV (Version II)

Original Airdate: November 23, 1990

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

WWF Title Match: Ultimate Warrior v Ted DiBiase: Warrior's switched back to the black leather version of the belt again here. Warrior overpowers him to start, and a clothesline sends Ted over the top. Warrior knocks his head together with Virgil's on the way back in for a flying axehandle, and poor Warrior is already blown up, a mere two minutes into this. Cross corner charge misses, and DiBiase gives him a 2^nd rope flying axehandle for two, then a piledriver for two. Another piledriver, but Warrior backdrops out of it, and he starts throwing shoulderblocks, but Virgil trips him up as he runs the ropes, and DiBiase capitalizes. Hey, Warrior attacked Virgil without provocation earlier on. Ted with a fistdrop for two, and he takes the champion down in a mat-based side-headlock. Warrior powers up, but Ted ducks a clothesline, and puts Warrior down with one of his own to keep control, but telegraphs a backdrop, and Warrior hooks a backslide for two. Ted muscles through a vertical suplex for two to keep control again, but a second one is countered into a sunset flip for two! Go Warrior! DiBiase dumps him to the outside for a shot into the steps as he becomes increasingly desperate, then back in for another vertical suplex, but this time Warrior reverses. Ted manages to get to his feet first to throw a 2^nd rope flying axehandle, but this time Warrior gutpunches him to block, and starts BLOWING UP!! Running Clotheslines! Jumping Shoulderblock! - but in comes Virgil for the DQ at 9:47. Afterwards, DiBiase and Virgil fail to properly beat Warrior down, so Randy Savage runs in to show them how it's done! Nothing like an unhinged Macho Man to get something over! And, it totally works, as Warrior actually SELLS the beating in a big way, and it connects with the crowd in a way he usually fails to. A surprisingly good match, despite the cop out finish. *** (Original rating: *)

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

Mr. Perfect v Big Boss Man: Perfect gets destroyed to start, and does his usual overselling exhibition as Boss Man knocks him from pillar to post. Boss Man with a forward-backbreaker to setup a flying splash, but Perfect rolls out of the way, and hits an inverted version of his usual somersault necksnap for two. That looked sick! Inside cradle gets two, but a smash into an exposed turnbuckle is reversed (sold by Perfect with zeal), and Boss Man delivers an earringer. Cross corner whip into the exposed buckle, but now it's Perfect's turn to reverse. PerfectPlex, but Boss Man counters with an inside cradle for two. Another try succeeds, but Boss Man kicks out at two! I love how Bret thinks he was the first guy to kick out of the PerfectPlex at SummerSlam '91, when literally the last two shows in a row that I've reviewed feature guys kicking out of it in high profile matches. Bobby Heenan tries to lend his charge a hand by pulling down the top rope, but Perfect ends up taking the bump (in impressive fashion, of course), but Boss Man makes the mistake of going after Bobby out there anyway, and gets counted out at 8:15. Perfect's selling was in a class of its own, as usual, but the match was kind of dull otherwise, and had a bad finish, to boot. * ¾ (Original rating: *)

Buddy Rose is ready to blow you away! Sue me, I've always thought that gag was funny

Tito Santana v Rick Martel: This was originally meant to take place at SummerSlam, but got postponed following an injury to Martel. Martel attacks before the bell, and dumps him to the outside for the countout, but when it becomes quickly apparent that Tito is going to beat it, Rick follows - and misses a charge into the post! Santana works on the arm on the way back in, and an inside cradle gets two. Armbar, but Rick pops him in the face to escape, and snapmares him over for a chinlock. Santana counters to a hammerlock, but Martel has the ropes to escape, and drops a fired up Tito into the turnbuckles. The referee for this looks like Buck Zumhofe. Poor referee. Martel with a pair of backbreakers to setup something off the top, but we never get to find out what, as Santana knocks him down before he can execute it. Tito with a cross corner whip to setup a dropkick, and his own backbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope flying clothesline for two. Figure four, but Rick counters with an inside cradle for two, and quickly slaps on the Boston Crab at 6:46. This is probably the exact match we would have gotten at SummerSlam, given the runtime of most of the matches that night. And it would have been welcome there, as it was here. * ¾ (Original rating: ½*)

Review of the Jake Roberts/Rick Martel feud

BUExperience: Unlike the previous three Main Event specials, this repurposed episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event came off as completely nonessential and forgettable. The Warrior/DiBiase match is surprisingly good, but the overall episode would come off as one of the weaker SNME efforts, let alone strong enough for a standalone Main Event special