Saturday Night's Main Event - May 85

Saturday Night's Main Event 1

Promotion: WWF
Date: 11/05/1985
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Jesse "The Body" Ventura 
Announcer: Howard Finkel

Way before the likes of Raw, Smackdown, Nitro, Thunder, Hardcore TV etc, as far as I'm aware there wasn't a weekly wrestling show for WWF. Instead, they had shows like this, Saturday Night's Main Event, which I believe acts the same as Raw etc by having matches, build to PPV's, promo's etc. They're all on the WWE Network, so I'll be adding these to my reviews from now on. I'm going to back a bit first before carrying on with PPV reviews, as I didn't realise these were on the network.


This show is a couple of months after Wrestlemania I and the feuds there seem to be carrying on. Cindi Lauper and Wendi Richter talk about Moolah, Hulk Hogan and Mr T talk about their upcomong match with Bob Orton, then we watch the opening titles. Vince & Jesse then talk about the night ahead before the head into the first match

Match 1 - Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & George "The Animal" Steele w/Freddie Blassie vs Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo w/Lou Albano
6 man tag team match

Mean Gene interviews the face team of Steamboat, Windham and Rotundo. Steamboat easily beat Matt Bourne at Wrestlemania, while the US Express lost the tag titlesto Sheik and Volkoff. Windham brings up Mania but feels they can get the win tonight.

Volkoff does his usual schtick of singing the Soviet national anthem and Sheik says Russia and Iran are number 1. The faces come down to the ring all in matching black trunks.

Windham and Sheik start off and Windham gets the upper hand with an early hip toss and body slam. Windham wrenches the arm and tags in Rotundo to attack rom the top rope. Rotundo does the same and tags in Steamboat. The Dragon works on the arm and Rotundo is tagged in. The give Sheik a double elbow, before Rotundo body slams and elbow drops Skeik for a 2 count.

Steamboat is tagged back in but Sheik is able to wrap himself around and lock in an abdominal stretch. Steamboat powers out and hiptosses an oncoming Steele and Volkoff. The faces clear the ring and the crowd love it. Steamboat powerslams Sheik and follows it with a dropkick from the top rope.  He goes up again lands his cross body, but Volkoff makes the save. 

Sheik tags out to Volkoff but Steamboat keeps his momentum going, whipping the big Russian into the Express corner where he takes a boot from Rotundo. Windham is tagged in and they work a double dropkick on Volkoff for another 2 count. Rotundo is tagged in for a double elbow attack and after a couple of leg drops goes for the pin but Steele this time makes the save. 

Rotundo turns his back allowing Volkoff some rare attack time. Volkoff tries a body slam but it's reversed, and Rotundo tries a rolling pin off the ropes but Volkoff kicks out at 2. Volkoff kicks out of a backslide pin at 2 again, and Rotundo tries a sunset flip but they land in the corner. Windham is tagged in and tries a sunset flip of his own, but again they land in the ropes. When this is broken up Volkoff tags in Steele.

Steele starts to lose a fist fight and wanders back to his corner, but the tag champs drop off the arpon leaving Steele all alone. Steele looking confused has his back turned, allowing Windham to use the ropes to roll him up to get the 3 count.

Winners - US Express & Ricky Steamboat (Windham rollup on Steele)

Good entertaining tag match this. Steamboat and the Express kept up a fast pace throughout and rarely gave the tag champs & Steele a chance to make any meaningful attacks. Enjoyable stuff this and  the crowd were definitely into it. Solid 3/5 

The faces celebrate in the ring, while Steele does his thing of eating the turnbuckle. Volkoff & Sheik start attcking Steele, but he overcomes them and clears the ring. Albano helps calm down Steele, Vince saying he's Steele's former manager. 

The tag champs make their way to the back and speak with Gene Mean. Steele breaks up the interview before it gets going.

We now have a Piper's pit segment. Piper & Cowboy Bob Orton talk with Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff, who they betrayed at the Wrestlemania main event. Orndorff tells Orton to stay in the corner while he and Piper talk. Piper calls Orndorff a loser as his shoulders were pinned at Mania. 

Piper starts telling Orndorff why he's a loser, and the best Orndorff can come back with is that Piper has been drinking too much of his own bath water. Piper's face is priceless, realising this is what he's working with. TheyOrton's arm  eventually start brawling, and he has Piper set up for a piledriver, but orton attacks from behind with his cast. Mr T runs to the ring to help Orndorff to the back.    

Mean Gene is with Hogan, and Hogan says this type of thing needs to be kicked out of WWF, and because it's mothers day soon he can't wait to get in the ring with Bob Orton. 

Match 2 - "Cowboy" Bob Orton w/Roddy Piper vs Hulk Hogan w/Mr T
Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

I'm a little surprised this match is going on second. It starts with a brawl with Hogan coming out on top. Hogan back body dops and hits a trio of body slams on Ace, but Orton rolls out the ring to break the momentum. 

Hogan is whipped to the corner but moves out the way when Orton tries a running shoulder tackle, and instead of getting Hogan he gets nothing but ring post. Hogan goes to work on the arm Orton has in a cast and bites Orton too. Orton manages to fight back and gets a jumping knee to the chest to turn the tables on Hogan. 

Hogan takes an atomic drop and kicks out at 2. Jesse tells Orton to punish Hogan some more before going for a cover. Orton lands a knee drop andslams Hogan's face into the mat. He hits slow and methodical but Hogan starts to Hulk Up, gets a 2 count after a clothesline and elbow drop combo. 

Hogan has Orton in the corner going for a 10 count of punches but Orton reverses this into an inverted atomic drop. Orton gets Hogan into position for his superplex but Hogan counters this and hits a jumping elbow. This send Orton to the ground and into position for the leg drop. Hogan hits it and covers Orton, but their next  to the ropes so Piper punches Hogan in the face, ending this by disqualification.

Winner - Hulk Hogan by DQ (Piper attacked Hogan)  

Another entertaining match which was timed just right in terms of attack. Hogan started off on fire but Orton's slower style also helped in parts. Decent match that the crowd were also into 3/5

Piper and Mr T brawl in the ring but Orton's cast send T down. Hogan faces up to both Orton and Piper, but Orndorff runs into the ring to back up Hogan and T. Piper and Orton quickly leave the ring.

Mean Gene is with Fabulous Moolah, who says that she has managed to change the rules for the match with Wendi Richter by having Cindi Lauper barred from ringside.

Match 3 - Fabulous Moolah vs Wendi Richter (C)
Singles match for the WWF Womens Championship
   
Cindi Lauper is with Mean Gene and screeches like a cat saying she is Richter's manager and Moolah always interferes with other matches so she isn't going anywhere. 

Before the match starts Howard Finkel reads out a note (on a scroll) saying that Cindi Lauper is banned from ringside for this match, so she heads to the back and watches on a screen.

Moolah uses her strength to headlock toss Richter around the ring. Richter is thrown through the ropes, and Moolah goes to the other side of the ring to taunt the crowd. Richter dropkicks Moolah out the ring and attacks her on the outside. They get back in the ring and Moolah lands a back body drop. She goes for a pin but Richter kicks out at 1. 

Richter fights back and Moolah grabs the ropes to break up and holds. Richter sees this and picks up Moolah by the feet and drops her to the mat twice. Moolah kicks out at 1. Moolah is on the attack again with slaps and kicks. Moolah goes for a bodyslam but Richter counters into a small package for the win

Winner - Wendi Richter by pinflall (small package reversal)

I wasn't really into this match, but it wasn't terrible. Largely forgettable, and not something I'd ever want to watch again, but passable 2/5 

Lauper runs down to the ring to celebrate with Richter...and that's it for a short while. Back to Mean Gene, who's with Junk Yard Dog with his mum. 

Match 4 - Pete Doherty vs Junk Yard Dog
Singles match, 20 minute time limit

Can't say that I've ever heard of Pete Doherty the wrestler, only the musician of Libertines fame. I loved their debut album Up The Bracket when I was a teenager, now, not so much. JYD is the face in this, the crowd and kids especially love him.    

JYD sits his mum down on a chair outside the ring. Doherty comes to the apron and almosts looks to attack her, but JYD sees this coming and headbutt's Doherty into the ring. He lands a big clothesline, and picks Doherty up by the hair outside the ring. Doherty is acting like a crazy man, making whooping noises at every opportunity and looking at JYD's mum. Dog sends him back into the ring and no sells Doherty's unches. A snapmare and JYD's on all 4's headbutts send Doherty to the outside. 

Doherty climbs back up to the top rope but Dog tosses his into the centre of the ring. JYD grabs Doherty's hair and headbutts him 3 times. He hits an atomic drop and lands a powerslam for the win.

Winner - Junk Yard Dog by pinfall (Powerslam)
    
Squashiest of squash matches designed only to get people to cheer for JYD. He dance's with his mum in the ring after the win. I want to like Junk Yard Dog's matches but I'm not a fan of what I've seen so far 1/5

The show ends with Cindi Lauper's mothers day party. Mean Gene interviews a bunch of guys at the party. Moolah storms in and isn't happy she wasn't invited to the party. She starts insulting Cindi Lauper's mum calling her a scarecrow. Thes a scuffle and Moolah and Mean Gene fall into a huge cake.

Overall this was a decent show. 4 matches, 2 entertaining ones, Piper's Pit was ok, but the last 2 matches wern't much to write home about. I'm looking forward to reviewing the next one, which takes place around a month before the Wrestling Classic