WWE Recap: Saturday Night Main Event (November 1987)

This episode came after Survivor Series, but was actually taped before, so keep that in mind. Seattle is playing host, and Vince McMahon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura welcome us aboard. They set up the show and preview the matches.


George "The Animal" Steele vs Dangerous Danny Davis w/ Jimmy Hart

Steele isn't waiting for any bells, and immediately grabs Davis and bites him in the corner. Davis flees the ring. Davis tries to sneak back in and hit The Animal from behind, but his punches have no effect. Steele punches back and Davis is sent through the ropes, to the floor. Once again, he tries a sneak attack, and once again, Steele catches him. They both go to the floor and Steele tries to bring a chair in the ring. The ref stops him, and when The Animal comes in sans chair, Davis uses something from out of his tights to hit Steele. Then he repeatedly uses the object to choke Steele, though it was small and wouldn't be a very effective choker. Now he's using it in a more effective manner, jabbing it into Steele's neck. The referee is staring right at him, but supposedly can't see him, which makes no sense. Eventually, Davis gets caught by Steele, and he lifts him in the air. Davis accidentally kicks the referee, who calls for the bell. Winner: George "The Animal" Steel via disqualification

Steele is good for a few laughs, but this match was dumb from start to finish. The ending was really clunky. He was using a foreign object for three straight minutes, but gets disqualified for an accidental kick? Why book it that way?


Bret Hart w/ Jimmy Hart vs Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth

Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart start to move to bracket Elizabeth before the match even starts, but Savage jumps to her defense. We go to commercial, and when we come back, the heels are again advancing on Elizabeth, but Macho is on their tails. He catches Bret, and throws him into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Savage throws Hart to the turnbuckle, but the followup misses. Now Bret is in control, and hammers Macho Man in the back. He loses momentum back to Savage, though, when he sens Macho to the ropes and gets kicked in the chest. Savage then sends Bret flying into the steel barrier in front of the crowd. Savage climbs to the top rope and jumps down at Hart, but gets nailed with the megaphone. Now Hart gets Macho back in the ring, and pounds on him. He piledrives Savage, but only gets a two count. Then he whips Savage into the corner, but now it's his turn to miss on the follow. Savage climbs back to the top rope, and comes down on Bret's head, but gets just a two count as well. Back and forth they go. Bret goes to the middle turnbuckle, but misses a leg drop from there. Savage gets another near fall, but then he gets sent flying through the air to the outside. Wow, that a huge bump. Savage holds his ankle, as if hurt. The referee doesn't seem to be counting at all. Elizabeth takes of the boot completely, and Savage gets back into the ring. Bret goes for the ankle right away, stomping on it, then ramming it into the ringpost. Savage is really selling the injured ankle. Bret tries a few submissions, but Macho Man doesn't quit. Then Hart goes for a bodyslam, but Savage grabs on, and reverses it into an inside cradle and somehow gets the pin. Winner: Randy "Macho Man" Savage

Afterwards, Bret holds Savage for Jimmy Hart, so he can use the megaphone on him, but Macho moves and Bret gets nailed. The Hart Foundation clears out quickly. That was a pretty terrific showing from two of the best of their era. There was no idiotic referee distractions, and it told a great story.


King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan vs Hulk Hogan (World Heavyweight Championship)

Heenan brings Andre the Giant to the ring to be in Bundy's corner. The two combatants shove each other, then Hogan gets Bundy in a headlock. The Hulkster then tries to shoulder block Bundy, but gets knocked down instead. He does hit a high knee that knocks Bundy to the mat, but then he tries a bodyslam and Bundy falls on him for a two count. A few minutes later, Hogan is back on his feet and hits Bundy with a clothesline that takes him off his feet. He drops the elbow three times, but can't get a three count. He tosses the big man to the ropes, and sets up for a back drop (no, really) and gets kicked in the chest. Bundy takes control, and starts to wear down the champ. He's almost out, but hears the crowd and starts to fight his way back up. Bundy goes to the ropes and catches a boot to the face. Hogan bounces off the ropes to hit the leg drop, but Andre grabs his ankle. The referee says Andre must leave the ringside area or Bundy loses. Once Andre finally vacates the area, Bundy gets back in, and the match resumes with Bundy in control. He lands a couple of harsh chops and blows to Hogan's back. He tries to throw the champ to the corner, but Hogan reverses it, then clotheslines Bundy. He lands some chops of his own, then hits a high knee that takes Bundy to the mat. Hogan misses an elbow drop, though, and Bundy tries to get a quick pin, but is unsuccessful. He gets up and stands with all of his weight in the middle of Hogan's back. Then he locks in a bearhug. Hulk fights out of that, but takes a shoulder block and goes down again. Bundy tosses Hogan to the corner and hits him with the avalanche. Then he hits the splash and goes for the pin. Hogan kicks out at two, and it's that time again. He no-sells four punches, then starts in with his own. Now he scoops Bundy up and bodyslams him. Bundy rolls out of the ring, but Hogan gives chase. He nails Bundy outside and tosses him back inside. As Hogan tries to follow, Bobby Heenan grabs his ankle, keeping Hulk from getting in before the ten-count. Winner: King Kong Bundy via count-out

Heenan is excited, but the belt doesn't change hands in a count-out, so I'm not sure why. Hogan drags Heenan into the ring and slams him multiple times, then celebrates in the ring. As usual, the match itself was basic and boring.


Hercules vs Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Oliver Humperdink

Bam Bam gets a nice pop as he comes to the ring. The two men collide in the middle of the ring, and Hercules goes backwards a bit. He uses a cheap shot to get ahead, and starts to pound on him, then he clotheslines Bigelow out of the ring. Hercules starts to beat on Bam Bam's chest, but is pulled over the top and now it's his turn to hit the floor. They fight outside the ring, and the referee counts both wrestlers out. Bam Bam grabs the mic and challenges Hercules to finish the match. The match restarts with another collision in the middle of the ring. Neither man budges. They try it again, but Hercules tries to go low. Bam Bam cartwheels over him and hits him with a shoulder block. He goes for a dropkick, but misses, and Hercules drops an elbow. He hits a knee drop, but doesn't go for a cover. Instead, he climbs the ropes and leaps at Bam Bam, who catches him in mid-air and slams him down. Bigelow then hits his slingshot splash for the win. Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow

There wasn't much to this, but Bam Bam looked strong. It was mostly a lot of staring and grunting at each other. Hercules looked like an idiot for not trying to pin his opponent when he could. Bam Bam also had to stand there looking at him for an awkward amount of time, as it took Hercules too long to climb the ropes.


Overall Impressions

These short shows don't allow for much to go on, but Savage and Bret Hart proved quality could be had. Wasting time on Danny Davis sucked.

Winners: 
Bam Bam Bigelow: Getting a win over Hercules and showing off his strength was nice for him.
King Kong Bundy: Yeah, it was a tainted win, but Hogan rarely lost at this time, so it's kinda big.

Losers:
Anybody who thought Danny Davis should be a wrestler: He's awful.
Andre the Giant's shirt: He didn't do much, but was sweating buckets. His shirt was drenched and probably never recovered.


Things I Would Have Changed

Fired whoever came up with the idea to put Danny Davis in the ring.