WWF THE MAIN EVENT
The Main Event is a spin-off of the original show, WWF Saturday Night's Main Event and was a program which aired on NBC every once in a while on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final two were taped and then shown on NBC at a later date. It mainly featured the high-card wrestlers of the WWF.
The Main Event I-February 5, 1988 - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue) via countout after Honky hit the steel ringpost.
The WWF Intercontinental Championship did not change hands.
After the match, Savage fought off an attack from Honky and Jimmy Hart and destroyed Honky's guitar.
André the Giant (w/Ted DiBiase & Virgil) defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Championship.
André pinned Hogan with the butterfly suplex, and even though Hogan's shoulder came up before the three count, the referee ignored it and continued counting.
Hogan lost because of an imposter referee (Earl Hebner, the identical twin brother of Dave Hebner).
After the match, André, as promised, surrendered the title to DiBiase; but this was later disallowed and so the title was later declared vacant, establishing the championship tournament at WrestleMania IV.
Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) (w/Jimmy Hart) to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship.
Only the beginning of the match was televised due to time constraints.
This broadcast remains, as of 2007, the highest rated TV show in pro wrestling history, with a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers.
The Main Event II- February 3, 1989 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage) (w/Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Twin Towers (Akeem & The Big Boss Man) (w/Slick).
Hogan pinned Akeem with the leg drop.
Moments earlier, Savage left ringside after slapping his partner for leaving the match to take an injured Elizabeth backstage.
After the match, Hogan fought off Boss Man and Slick and handcuffed them to each other.
During a segment later in the telecast, Savage completed his heel turn (which had been slowly and subtly building over the past several months) by attacking Hogan in a backstage medical area, alleging that Hogan had "lusted" after Elizabeth and out of jealousy that he felt he was "number three" in the Mega Powers pecking order despite being World Champion. Brutus Beefcake made the save for Hogan.
Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil) defeated Hercules.
DiBiase pinned Hercules with a roll up after Virgil distracted Hercules as he had DiBiase in the backbreaker submission hold.
After the match, Virgil pulled DiBiase from ringside before Hercules could attack him with his steel chain.
The Main Event III- February 23, 1990 - Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Hulk Hogan defeated Macho King Randy Savage (w/Queen Sherri) to retain the WWF Championship.
Hogan pinned Savage with the leg drop.
World Boxing Champ James "Buster" Douglas was the special guest referee.
Douglas sent Sherri, who was in Savage's corner, backstage.
After the match, Douglas knocked Savage out with an uppercut after Savage challenged him.
Mike Tyson was originally scheduled to be the referee, but this changed following Douglas' knockout title win over Tyson just under two weeks before, on February 11. Tyson would eventually go on to be the guest referee at WrestleMania XIV.
The Ultimate Warrior defeated Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
Warrior pinned Bravo with the gorilla press slam & splash combo.
After the match, Hulk Hogan made the save for the Warrior and helped him fight off Bravo and Earthquake.
The Main Event IV- November 23, 1990 (taped October 30, 1990) - Fort Wayne, Indiana
The Ultimate Warrior defeated Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil) via disqualification to retain the WWF Championship when Virgil prevented the pinfall after Warrior hit a shoulderblock.
After the match, Macho King Randy Savage blindsided the Warrior in the ring and attacked him with his sceptor before dropping the flying elbowsmash.
Nikolai Volkoff wrestled Sgt. Slaughter (w/General Adnan) to a no-contest when Slaughter attacked Volkoff before the bell rang; moments thereafter, Jim Duggan made the save for Volkoff by chasing Slaughter from ringside with his 2x4.
Mr. Perfect defeated The Big Boss Man via countout when the Boss Man chased Bobby Heenan, who came ringside moments earlier, backstage.
After the match, Boss Man chased Perfect out of the ring with the nightstick.
Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana via submission.
Martel forced Santana to submit to the Boston crab.
The Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels) defeated The Hart Foundation (Jim Neidhart & Bret Hart) in a best-of-two-out-of-three falls match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship
In the first fall, Jannetty pinned Hart by countering a sunset flip.
In the second fall, Hart pinned Michaels after a Hart Attack.
In the third and deciding fall, Jannetty pinned Neidhart by countering a Hart Attack attempt with a seated senton.
Note: The WWF Tag Team title match between The Hart Foundation and The Rockers was supposed to be on the show, but was edited out of the broadcast, due to demands from NBC for a one hour Friday night broadcast instead of a ninety minute Saturday night broadcast. To accommodate this, the WWF cut the approximately 30 minute Rockers-Hart Foundation match from the program. If this had aired, the show would have been given an extra half an hour, and aired on a Saturday, making it a Saturday Night's Main Event show. The Rockers defended their newly won tag team titles a few times before the WWF rehired Jim Neidhart, pairing him with Bret Hart once more, and quietly handing the belts back to the Hart Foundation, in essence whitewashing The Rockers' reign from the history books. Retrospectively, the WWF explained that the title change cancellation was due to a ring rope malfunction during the match in the second fall (which did occur, but was not the primary reason for Neidhart and Hart being handed back the title belts).
The match can be seen unedited in Shawn Michaels: Heartbreak & Triumph DVD
The Main Event V-
February 1, 1991 (taped January 28, 1991) - Macon, Georgia
Hulk Hogan & Tugboat defeated Earthquake & Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart).
Hogan pinned Bravo with the leg drop.
Jim Duggan (w/Hulk Hogan) defeated Sgt. Slaughter (w/General Adnan) via disqualification when Slaughter used a steel chair on the floor.
The WWF Championship did not change hands.
After the match, Hogan attempted to make the save but was also beaten down with the chair.
The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) defeated The Orient Express (Kato & Tanaka) (w/Mr. Fuji).
Hawk pinned Kato after a Doomsday Device.
Also: WWF President Jack Tunney made the announcement to "Mean" Gene Okerlund that Hulk Hogan would be the number one contender for Sgt. Slaughter's WWF Championship at WrestleMania VII.
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