Saturday Night’s Main Event

The SmarK Rant for The Main Event #1 – 02.05.88

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The SmarK Rant for The Main Event #1 – 02.05.88

(Originally written 12.12.20)

I know we’ve talked about this show a million times already, but hey, there’s always someone reading for the first time.  It of course cannot be understated how giant this show was, pardon the pun, on so many levels.  You could easily call it one of the peaks in the entire history of wrestling without fear of contradiction, as Vince McMahon had the biggest rematch in wrestling history loaded up and ready, and chose to put it on prime time television on NBC.  But of course it was the undercard match that changed the course of wrestling history.

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Saturday Night’s Main Event #33 – July 15, 2006

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Saturday Night’s Main Event #33
Date: July 15, 2006
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 17,343
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time for another special, which is really code for a commercial for the Great American Bash and ultimately Summerslam. These shows don’t mean much in the days of Raw and Smackdown, but there is something about that name that makes it feel special. It helps that the card is fairly stacked so hopefully it works out. Let’s get to it.

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #13 – 11.28.87

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #13– 11.28.87

It’s another gooder!

Taped 11.07.87 from Seattle, WA, drawing 16,000 and an unknown rating.  For those keeping track, this was taped before Survivor Series but aired two days afterwards, and that show is never mentioned here, even a little bit.

So last time, Honky Tonk Man shoved down Elizabeth and now Randy Savage is PISSED.  Also, BUND-A-MANIA is running wild!

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #12 – 10.03.87

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #12 – 10.03.87

(Originally written 11.23.20)

You may have also heard about this show before. The previous version I had was from 2007, which means…ugh…new format and it’s GOTTA GO. I will not rest until they’re all purged from my archives.

For some reason the Network version has removed the background bassline music from the pre-show promos and replaced it with generic crowd noise. I don’t even understand them.

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event – 05.02.87

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The SmarK Rant for WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event – 05.02.87

(Originally written around the same time as the last one:  March 2019.  Since I’m gonna be reviewing Survivor Series this weekend, I might as well just repost this one now and that way I can be ready and armed to redo the September 87 show, which has some stuff you may have heard about before.)  

Carrying on with another one that could use a redo.  Don’t have to twist my arm to get me reviewing 1987 shows again.

Taped from South Bend, IN, home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish!  That team name has always confused me, since the school name is French.  Plus it’s kind of stereotyping the Irish.  Connor aside.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #10 – 03.14.87

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #10 – 03.14.87

(Originally written March 2019)

What can I say? I was feeling nostalgic for this era after watching Prime Time Wrestling the other day, and my original rant on this show is pretty crappy. So it’s time to back and start redoing these classic shows, starting with what was basically the go-home show for the biggest show in WWF history up until that point.  Which NBC did not allow them to mention at al.

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #9 – 01.03.87

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #9 – 01.03.87

(Written 11.08.20)

So unfortunately these SNME reviews have been dying hard and fast as we move on through the series and I’m gonna stop here for a while, with one of the all-time most famous episodes of the show.

Taped from Hartford, CT, on 12.14.86 and drawing 10,000 and a huge 10.6 rating. Although Vince makes sure to call it “20,000” people during the show, because that’s close enough. Kind of blows my mind that they were taping this stuff a month in advance and there was no internet to provide spoilers.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #3 – 11.02.85

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event – 11.02.85

We’re immediately getting more into the formula that we know and love, as we get quick backstage promos from Hogan and Andre, Roddy Piper, and Terry Funk with “Tubular Bells” in the background instead of the more familiar bassline.  It’s Halloween, you see.

Taped from Hershey, PA, drawing 8000 and a 6.8 rating.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event #1 – 05.11.85

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The SmarK Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event – 05.11.85

Screw it, I’ve been wanting to redo these from the start forever now and we might as well just jump into it so I can purge the awful “new format” versions for good.  I didn’t start watching these until 1986, with 12 year old me anxiously waiting for the quarterly episodes at 11:30PM because I guess West Coast feeds weren’t a thing back then.

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