WWE Recap: Saturday Night Main Event (May 1987)

This one is coming to us from South Bend, Indiana. Vince McMahon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura welcome us aboard. We get footage of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan attacking Ken Patera with a belt. Patera took the belt from him and choked him with it. Now, Heenan is wearing a neck brace. On to the matches.


Kamala w/ Mr Fuji and Kim Chee vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts

As Roberts hits the ring, he tosses Damien toward Kamala, who runs from the ring. Roberts is told to put the snake back in its bag, but as he does so, Kamala hits him in the back. A bear hug follows that up. Roberts breaks free by stomping on Kamala's bare toes. Jake works on the big man's arm, and continues to stomp his toes, but Kamala bashes him on the head with a fist to get loose. Then he chokes The Snake with his foot. He also delivers a couple of headbutts. Roberts rolls out of the ring, and gets Kamala to chase him. Roberts gets back in the ring first, then knees Kamala in the face when he comes in. He climbs to the middle rope and hits Kamala with another knee lift from there, taking him to the mat. Mr Fuji climbs onto the apron, and while the ref is distracted, Kim Chee hits Roberts from behind. Kamala hits the splash and gets the cover. Winner: Kamala

I'm going to stop dignifying these endings with a remark. The match itself was mostly boring. After the match, Kim Chee removes his mask and it's the Honky Tonk Man. He hits Shake, Rattle, and Roll on Roberts before leaving.




Lumberjack Match: Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth vs George "The Animal" Steele

Before the bell, Steele approaches Elizabeth, and is attacked from behind by Savage. The bell rings, and Savage hasn't even taken off his robe. The Animal strikes back, and Savage flees from the ring. However, the lumberjacks toss him back in. He takes a ride into the turnbuckle and tries to escape the ring again, but the lumberjacks are there to keep him in. Steele bites Savage on the face, then tries to slam him into the turnbuckle, but Macho Man reverses it and Steele hits the corner instead. Savage rams his shoulder into The Animal, then throws him out of the ring, into a group of heel lumberjacks, who begin to stomp on Steele. Hacksaw Jim Duggan makes the save, and runs the heel group off with the 2x4. After commercial, Steele is still outside the ring, but he does land a shot on Danny Davis before getting back in on his own. The Animal rips open a turnbuckle and foam is everywhere. Macho kicks Steele in the mid-section, and then hits a suplex. They go back and forth a bit, then Steele tosses Savage back outside. Now the lumberjacks begin to brawl among themselves on the floor. Danny Davis sneaks into the ring and hits Steele with the bell. Macho Man hits the elbow from the top and it's over. Winner: Randy "Macho Man" Savage

This would have been a decent enough match if it weren't for the fact that the whole Danny Davis angle is monumentally stupid, and that he literally hit Steele with the bell about 2 feet from the referee, who somehow didn't notice because he was watching the lumberjacks for some reason. I'm getting a headache from these finishes. After the match, all of the lumberjacks came into the ring and brawled some more. Jake "The Snake" comes down with Damien and clears the ring. That part was pretty entertaining.




The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart (Tag Team Championship)

Tito Santana comes to the ring with the Bulldogs. Matilda attacks Jimmy Hart in the ring, and bites a hole in his pants, which the crowd loved. Davey Boy Smith and Bret Hart start us off. Smith starts working on Hart's arm, including him slamming the Hitman after picking him up by that arm. Davey Boy gets a two count on a pin, but then takes a hard knee to the mid-section. Now the heels begin to work him over, including double-teams in the corner. Bret throws him to the corner, but Davey boy gets his feet up when The Hitman runs at him. He gets a tag, and Dynamite Kid comes in. He hits Bret with a clothesline and a snap suplex, but can't get a three count. Suddenly, The Anvil runs in and they gang up on Dynamite Kid, resulting in a disqualification. Apparently, it's a two-out-of-three falls match, though, which hasn't been mentioned to this point. After a commercial, the second round has started, and Dynamite Kid is being worked on by the heels. Bret gets a near-fall, then complains to the referee. The Kid fights back, but can't make the tag. Bret ties him up in the ropes, then runs at him, but Dynamite frees himself and moves, leaving Hart to land on the ropes, hurting himself. Smith takes the hot tag and comes in on fire. He dropkicks The Anvil, then hits him with a clothesline. A suplex is next, but he only gets a two count. Bret grabs Davey Boy, but moves when The Anvil runs at him. Hart is knocked to the floor. Danny Davis comes onto the apron, but Tito Santana nails him. Davey Boy tags in Dynamite, then presses him over his head and tosses him at Neidhart. He covers. One. Two. Three. Winners: The British Bulldogs

The crowd exploded at the finish. However, because the first fall was a DQ, the Bulldogs don't win the belts. This is the dumbest rule ever, and they should have just stopped the match at that point. It became a meaningless affair. These 80s nonsensical rules are idiotic beyond words, and again, they hurt the quality of the shows.




Hercules w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (Intercontinental Championship)

Hercules has the power advantage and it shows early. He pounds Steamboat with fists in the corner. The Dragon responds with a couple of quick dropkicks and a chop that takes Hercules out of the ring. Hercules regains the advantage by using Steamboat's tights to pull him into the turnbuckle. A clothesline is next. That gets a two count. He hits Steamboat with a big uppercut, then poses for the crowd. In the corner, Steamboat gets in a kick to Hercules' head, then he hits a swinging neckbreaker. Hercules pokes him in the eye, though, and then locks on the Full Nelson. Randy Savage runs down the aisle and grabs Hercules by the ankle, getting him to release the hold. Savage has been rooting for Steamboat so he can beat him for the title himself. Hercules climbs to the top and leaps, but Steamboat gets his knees up. Hercules bodyslams The Dragon, but misses an elbow drop. Steamboat his a series of chops, then Heenan throws the chain in the ring. The referee immediately calls for the bell. Winner: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat via disqualification

Hercules chokes Steamboat with the chain. This is another poorly booked ending. Why in the world would Heenan intentionally get disqualified in a championship match?




Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik w/ Slick vs The Can-Am Connection

Volkoff attempts to sing the Soviet national anthem, but Jim Duggan, who was sitting in the crowd, jumps in and clears the ring. A "USA" chant breaks out. Rick Martel and Tom Zenk start hot, but Zenk catches a Volkoff boot to the face. Sheik hits a gutwrench suplex, but only gets a two count. Another suplex gets another two count. Volkoff comes in and stomps on Zenk, then tags back out again. Sheik locks in an abdominal stretch. Zenk breaks loose with a hip toss. The Sheik recovers first and tosses Zenk outside the ring, where Volkoff goes to work on him. The heels double-team Zenk on the floor. Duggan hops back over the railing and chases Volkoff and Sheik into the ring. He follows and while Sheik is distracted, Zenk rolls him up for the win. Winner: The Can-Am Connection

This was a pretty basic match. Martel and Zenk got in almost no offense, and Jesse Ventura is right. Duggan coming in should have been an immediate disqualification.




Overall Impressions

The booking was terrible overall. There were five matches, and not a single clean ending. The ruling in the tag team championship match made no sense. They played up the Hogan/Andre match, with Heenan saying Andre really won via an early pin, but the footage shown is extremely clear that it wasn't even really close. It was a pretty bad show altogether.

Winners: 
Honky Tonk Man: He gets one over on Jake Roberts, and begins a huge push.

Losers: 
Everybody Who Thought the Stupid Savage/Steele Feud Was Over: Wrong.
Common Sense: The Bulldogs win two of three falls, but because one was a DQ, they don't get the belts? Dumb. 




Things I Would Have Changed

All of it?