''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

that is produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in the United States as 29 occasional replacements for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' until 1991, then twice on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in 1992. It was revived in 2006 for five NBC episodes before ending in 2008. In Canada, it also aired on

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

and

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

in order to meet

simultaneous substitution Simultaneous substitution (also known as simsubbing or signal substitution) is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requiring broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) in Canada to dist ...

rights. At the time of the original airing, it was a rare example of professional wrestling being broadcast on an over-the-air commercial

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

after the 1950s. It coincided with and contributed to the apogee of the " second golden age" of professional wrestling in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In a time when weekly programming consisted primarily of established stars dominating

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was made up almost entirely of star vs. star bouts, including title matches and specialty matches such as steel cage matches, handicap matches, etc. All episodes of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' are available for streaming on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

in the United States and the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...

elsewhere, with some episodes slightly altered from their original broadcasts. On these platforms, the May 1985 to January 1988 episodes do not have the original opening and closing theme songs. Additionally, sponsored segments that aired as part of the original broadcasts, such as the "

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...

Slam of the Night", have been removed. In April 2022, WWE revived the ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' title for

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s held on Saturday nights.

History

Original run (1985–1992)

''Saturday Night's Main Event'' debuted on May 11, 1985, in the late-night time slot normally assigned to reruns of the NBC sketch comedy ''

''. Then-SNL executive producer

Dick Ebersol Duncan "Dick" Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the O ...

had made a deal with WWF owner

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

to produce the show, after Ebersol had seen the high ratings that two WWF specials drew on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in 1984–85:

The Brawl to End It All The Brawl to End It All was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 23, 1984. The show was a major event in the ...

and

The War to Settle the Score The War to Settle the Score was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on February 18, 1985. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WW ...

. Although the show aired infrequently, it did, starting in 1986, settle into a predictable pattern of airdates: New Year's weekend, an episode in late February/early March, an episode in late April/early May, an episode in late September/early October, and Thanksgiving weekend. 1989 and 1990 both offered episodes in July promoted as "Summertime Bonus Editions." ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was a tremendous rating success for NBC during its heyday, most notably on the March 14, 1987, show, which drew an 11.6 rating, which to this day remains the highest rating any show has ever done in that time slot. That show was headlined by a

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

involving

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

and

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...

, who were slated to face each other at

WrestleMania III WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The ...

. As Hogan rarely wrestled on the WWF syndicated and cable television shows, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was the program on free television where most viewers were able to see him in action. The success of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' led to several Friday night

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

specials, known as '' The Main Event''. The first of these, on February 5, 1988, included a WrestleMania III rematch between Hogan and André and drew 33 million viewers and a 15.2 rating, which is still the highest-rated television show in American professional wrestling history. While ratings remained strong through 1990, they began to fall shortly thereafter. NBC, who had just acquired the rights to broadcast NBA games nationwide, now started to lose interest in wrestling, and ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was dropped. Its final NBC airing occurred on April 27, 1991. Fox picked up the show in 1992, but it was only shown twice on that network; on February 8, 1992, and the final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' of the original run was broadcast on November 14, 1992. For much of its history, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was hosted by McMahon and

Jesse "The Body" Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

with the occasional use of

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...

in 1986 and 1987. In 1990,

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

replaced Ventura as McMahon's broadcast partner when Ventura left the WWF. On the two episodes that aired on Fox, Heenan served as McMahon's partner. From 1985 to 1988, the opening theme song for the NBC version was " Obsession" by

Animotion Animotion is an American synth-pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for the songs " Obsession", "Let Him Go", "I Engineer", and " Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, th ...

with the closing theme being " Take Me Home" by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

, and also the beginning of "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

" by

a-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

was used for show bumpers.

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

's "

Higher Love "Higher Love" is a 1986 song by English singer Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, ''Back in the High Life'' (1986). It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood. The ...

" was also used as a closing theme. In February 1988, the songs were replaced with an original WWF-created instrumental theme. The new instrumental theme was originally used as the theme of the 1987 WWF Slammy Awards. A different opening theme song was used for the February 1992 episode. Selected episodes were also shown in the UK on ITV in its weekly Saturday lunchtime World Of Sports slot, mainly thanks to the popularity of the British Bulldogs.

Revived run (2006–2008)

When WWE's flagship show, ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', returned to the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

in 2005, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was revived in 2006 as a "special series" to air on occasion on NBC as part of a deal between WWE and

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...

. The

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

, and

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

rosters appeared on the show. ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' returned to NBC on March 18, 2006, in a prime-time slot. The first episode aired on a 1-hour time delay, the second episode aired live, with the three remaining episodes airing at a later date. Since 2009, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was replaced instead with ''

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

: The World Television Premiere''.

Events

Results

World Wrestling Federation

Saturday Night's Main Event I

Saturday Night's Main Event I took place May 10, 1985, from

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, in

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

, and aired May 11, 1985. The event aired on

and drew an 8.8 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event II

Saturday Night's Main Event II took place on October 3, 1985, from

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, at the

Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

, and aired on October 5, 1985. The event aired on

and drew an 8.3 rating. During the broadcast,

Uncle Elmer Stanley C. Fraizer (August 16, 1937 – July 1, 1992), also known as Plowboy Frazier, was an American professional wrestler. He was primarily a regional gimmick wrestler, employed for his massive size and unique personality. He is best known as U ...

was legitimately married to Joyce Stazko.

Saturday Night's Main Event III

Saturday Night's Main Event III took place on October 31, 1985, from

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

, at the

Hersheypark Arena Hersheypark Arena (originally Hershey Sports Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, managed by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. The arena has a seating capacity, for hockey, of 7,286 people and in excess ...

, and aired on November 2, 1985. The event aired on

and drew a 6.3 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event IV

Saturday Night's Main Event IV took place on December 19, 1985, from

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, at the

USF Sun Dome Yuengling Center (formerly the USF Sun Dome) is an indoor arena on the main campus of the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. Construction began in November 1977, and it opened on November 29, 1980. It is located in USF's Athl ...

, and aired on January 4, 1986. The event aired on

and drew a 10.4 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event V

Saturday Night's Main Event V took place on February 15, 1986, from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, at the

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1968 to 1992, as well as indoor ...

, and aired on March 1, 1986. The event aired on

and drew a 10.0 rating. Events during three of the matches – The Dream Team vs.

The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams in h ...

for the

WWF Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

;

vs. The Magnificent Muraco for the

WWF World Heavyweight Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...

; and

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his dis ...

vs. "Battling" Bob Orton in a boxing match – helped set up three of the four major matches at

WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 7, 1986 (a Monday), making ...

. The premiere airing of the video for "Real American," Hulk Hogan's entrance theme, took place.

Saturday Night's Main Event VI

Saturday Night's Main Event VI took place on May 1, 1986, from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, at the

Providence Civic Center The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...

, and aired on May 3, 1986. The show aired on

and drew a 9.3 rating.

Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...

sneak-attacked

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

and took him out with his finisher, the DDT, on the arena's concrete floor prior to the match starting, helping set up a feud that continued through the summer and early fall of 1986.

Saturday Night's Main Event VII

Saturday Night's Main Event VII took place on September 13, 1986, from

Richfield, Ohio Richfield is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,648 at the 2010 census. The village and the adjacent Richfield Township are approximately equidistant between the downtown areas of Akron and Cleveland. It is p ...

, at the

Coliseum at Richfield Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 f ...

, and aired on October 4, 1986. The event aired on

and drew a 9.4 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event VIII

Saturday Night's Main Event VIII took place on November 15, 1986, from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, at the

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park (Los Angeles), Exposition Park, in the University Park, Los Angeles, University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial ...

, and aired on November 29, 1986. The event aired on

and drew a 9.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event IX

Saturday Night's Main Event IX took place on December 14, 1986, from

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, at the

Hartford Civic Center Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and aired on January 3, 1987. The event aired on

and drew a 10.6 rating. The steel cage match between

and

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Cham ...

was initially declared a draw when both wrestlers escaped the cage at approximately the same time and two referees – Joey Marella and Danny Davis, the latter playing up his crooked referee gimmick – disputing the finish. When footage from the escape spot was deemed "inconclusive," the match was re-started and continued to Hogan gaining a decisive win over Orndorff.

Saturday Night's Main Event X

Saturday Night's Main Event X took place on February 21, 1987, from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, at the

Joe Louis Arena Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to TCF Center, Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Lou ...

, and aired on March 14, 1987. The event aired on

and drew an 11.6 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XI

Saturday Night's Main Event XI took place on April 28, 1987, from

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Coll ...

, at the

Edmund P. Joyce Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...

, and aired May 2, 1987. The event aired on

and drew a 9.5 rating. While a match featuring

was not included in the show, a pre-taped interview with comments regarding

and a possible future rematch was included. A separate interview with Andre the Giant and

, also reflecting on WrestleMania III, also aired.

Saturday Night's Main Event XII

Saturday Night's Main Event XII took place on September 23, 1987, from

, at the

, and aired October 3, 1987. The event aired on

and drew a 9.7 rating. As the result of events during the

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

vs.

The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

match – a beatdown of Savage by Honky and

The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...

, and

running in to save Savage –

The Mega Powers The Mega Powers was a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1987 to 1989, consisting of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, and managed by Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. Lust and jealousy surrounding her led to the team's demise and subse ...

alliance of Hogan, Savage and

Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling TV announcer. S ...

was formed. The music video for "Piledriver" (as performed by

Koko B. Ware James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...

), the title track of the WWF's second album of entrance music and performances by the wrestlers, debuted.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XIII took place on November 11, 1987, from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, at the

Seattle Center Coliseum Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was or ...

, and aired November 28, 1987 on

. Andre the Giant accompanied

King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...

and

to the ring for Bundy's match vs. Hulk Hogan. Midway through the match, Andre was ejected from ringside for attempting to interfere in the match; as he returned to the locker room, he shoved a WWF cameraman to the floor.

Brian Bosworth Brian Keith Bosworth (born March 9, 1965), nicknamed "The Boz," is an American former football linebacker and actor who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. A two-time Dick Butkus Award win ...

, linebacker for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, was shown in the audience.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XIV took place on December 7, 1987, from

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

, at the

Capital Centre Capitol Center or Capitol Centre or Capital Center or Capital Centre may refer to: Singapore *Capitol Centre, Singapore United Arab Emirates *Capital Centre (Abu Dhabi) United Kingdom *Capitol Centre, Cardiff, a shopping mall United States * Ca ...

, and aired on January 2, 1988 on

. During the Hulk Hogan-King Kong Bundy match, referee Jack Krueger was accidentally caught and knocked out by Bundy in an attempt to avalanche Hogan; the match was briefly interrupted as a new referee, Dave Hebner, took Krueger's place. Following the match, Andre the Giant sneak-attacked Hogan and choked him to the brink of unconsciousness, fighting off several wrestlers who came to aid Hogan; this served as one of the build-ups to the Hogan-Andre match on '' The Main Event'', which aired February 5, 1988.

Saturday Night's Main Event XV

Saturday Night's Main Event XV took place on March 7, 1988, from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, at the

Nashville Municipal Auditorium The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fame ...

, and aired on March 12, 1988. Although there were 10,000 in attendance, it was reportedly a heavily papered event. The event aired on

and drew a 10.0 rating. During the tapings,

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler and podcaster. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Cha ...

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-So ...

was taped but aired on ''

Prime Time Wrestling ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...

'' on April 11, 1988. The match between

and

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

saw Race lay Hogan across a table outside the ring and attempted to hit a

diving headbutt Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

from the ring apron, but Hogan moved out of the way and Race crashed through the table, suffering a legitimate injury that would eventually force him into retirement in 1991. After the

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

and

match, Hogan appeared at ringside to clear the ring of DiBiase and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

after they began a post-match beatdown of

Randy "Macho Man" Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

. The match between The Islanders ( Haku and Tama) and The Killer Bees (

Jim Brunzell James Brunzell (born August 13, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. Best known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21-year career. Early life The son of a navy pilot, Br ...

and

B. Brian Blair Brian Leslie Blair (born January 12, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler and politician. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name B. Brian Blair as one half of the tag te ...

) was a

two-out-of-three-falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, however only the first fall was televised.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XVI took place on April 22, 1988, from

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, at the

Springfield Civic Center The MassMutual Center (formerly Springfield Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, in the city's Metro Center. The arena opened in 1972 and the convention center opened ...

, and aired April 30, 1988 on

. This was the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to not feature

in any of the televised matches or interviews, as he had taken a leave of absence around this time to begin filming ''

No Holds Barred No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...

''.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVII

Saturday Night's Main Event XVII took place on October 25, 1988, from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, at the

Baltimore Arena CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...

, and aired October 29, 1988. The event aired on

and drew an 8.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII took place on November 16, 1988, from

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, at the ARCO Arena, and aired November 26, 1988. The event aired on

and drew a 9.4 rating. During the show, Brother Love conducted a special interview

and Slick.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIX

Saturday Night's Main Event XIX took place on December 7, 1988, from

, at the

, and aired January 7, 1989 on

. Events during and after the

Akeem Akeem is a name of Arabic origin, being a variation of ''Hakeem'', and commonly used in Africa and among the African diaspora. Persons with the name Akeem include: * Akeem Adams (1991–2013), Trinidadian footballer * Akeem Anifowoshe (1968–1994) ...

match –

declining to make the save and run off Akeem and

Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances wit ...

while they were beating down Hogan, but Savage immediately running to ringside when the heels were threatening to beat up

, and then Savage questioning Elizabeth as she tended to a beaten Hogan – helped foreshadow the later heel turn by Savage at ''The Main Event II'' in February. George Steinbrenner was shown in the front row during this event, and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan at one point remarked about the guy he managed in the ring at the time to Steinbrenner "I've got a ring full of Winfields".

Saturday Night's Main Event XX

Saturday Night's Main Event XX took place on February 16, 1989, from

, at the

, and aired March 11, 1989. The event aired on

and drew a 10.0 rating. During the event,

Mean Gene Okerlund Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019), better known by his ring name "Mean Gene" Okerlund, was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wres ...

conducted a special interview with

to publicly announce whose corner she will be in at

WrestleMania V WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on April 2, 1989, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.The ven ...

Saturday Night's Main Event XXI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXI took place on April 25, 1989, from

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and aired May 27, 1989 on

. During the steel cage match between

and

, Hogan superplexed Boss Man from over the top of the cage to the mat, briefly knocking both wrestlers out. Prior to the match,

Tommy Lister Jr. Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in the 1995 film ''Friday ...

, in-character as his ''

'' movie role of Zeus (the movie's villain), came to ringside and stood in front of the cage entrance, beating down Hogan after daring him to "move me!"

Saturday Night's Main Event XXII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXII took place on July 18, 1989, from

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, at the

Worcester Centrum The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester, formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum) is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. The facility hosts a variety of events, ...

, and aired July 29, 1989 on

. During the Randy Savage-Brutus Beefcake match,

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

appeared at ringside and interfered on Savage's behalf. Hulk Hogan came to aid Beefcake but was unable to hurt Zeus. The events of this match was one of the pieces to help set up the main event of

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII took place September 21, 1989, from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, at the

Riverfront Coliseum Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fac ...

, and aired October 14, 1989. The show was attended by 14,000 people, of which 12,000 were paid. The event aired on

and drew a 9.5 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV took place October 31, 1989, from

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, at the

Sunflower State Expocentre The Stormont Vail Events Center, formerly known as Kansas Expocentre, is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1987 in Topeka, Kansas. Previously, the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association, Kansas Koyotes indoor footbal ...

, and aired November 25, 1989. The event aired on

and drew an 8.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXV took place January 3, 1990, from

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, at the

UTC Arena McKenzie Arena (also called "The Roundhouse") is the primary basketball arena for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) in Chattanooga in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It replaced Maclellan Gymnasium, a 4,177-seat gymnasium now used f ...

, and aired January 27, 1990. The event aired on

and drew an 11.1 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI took place on April 23, 1990, from

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, at the Frank Erwin Center, and aired April 28, 1990 on

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII took place July 16, 1990, from Omaha, Nebraska, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, and aired July 28, 1990. The event aired on

and drew a 7.2 rating. This event saw the debut in WWF of Kerry Von Erich, The Texas Tornado.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII took place September 18, 1990, from Toledo, Ohio, at the Toledo Sports Arena, and aired October 13, 1990 on

. During the match between

and Dusty Rhodes (wrestler), Dusty Rhodes,

attacked Dusty's son Dustin Rhodes.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX took place April 15, 1991, from Omaha, Nebraska, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, and aired April 27, 1991. The event drew 9,400 people of which 7,000 were paid. The event aired on

and drew a 7.7 rating. Following this event, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' aired two episodes on Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX in 1992, the series then ended until returning to NBC for 5 additional specials beginning in 2006 with Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXX

Saturday Night's Main Event XXX took place on January 27, 1992, from Lubbock, Texas, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, and aired February 8, 1992. The event was the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to air on

and drew an 8.2 rating and 14.3 million viewers. Prematch stipulation of the

and Jacques Rougeau, The Mountie match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, stated Bret Hart would face the winner at WrestleMania VIII. The Road Warriors, The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal) were originally scheduled to take on The Beverly Brothers (Blake Beverly and Beau Beverly), however The Legion of Doom were replaced by Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan. Following the match between

and

, the telecast ended with

coming to the ring and celebrating with Savage. A week later during ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Superstars'', it was revealed that Roberts prepared to hit

with a steel chair as soon as she stepped backstage, only for The Undertaker to prevent the attack and allow Savage to hit Roberts with a chair of his own.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI took place October 27, 1992, from Terre Haute, Indiana, at the Hulman Center, and aired November 14, 1992. The event aired on

and drew a 6.1 rating and 10.6 million viewers. This event was the second and final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to air on FOX, and the final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' for almost 14 years, until the series returned in 2006 with Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII took place on March 18, 2006, from

, at the Cobo Arena. The event aired on a 1-hour tape delay on

in the United States and

in Canada with the former network drawing a 3.1 rating. This marked the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' since 1992 when Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX, and the first on NBC since Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX in 1991. Mickie James and Trish Stratus fought over the WWE Women's Championship (1956–2010), WWE Women's Championship at New Year's Revolution (2006), New Year's Revolution, with Stratus retaining. In the months that followed, James' obsession with Stratus grew to the point that she confessed to Stratus that she was in love with her. James made an attempt to kiss Stratus at ''Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII'', after the duo defeated Candice Michelle and Lisa Marie Varon, Victoria. After she was rebuffed, James attacked Stratus and later vowed to destroy her. Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and Taz (wrestler), Tazz are the commentators.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII took place July 15, 2006, from Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Center. The event drew 17,343 people, of which 14,500 were paid. The event aired live on

, and drew a 2.6 rating. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the commentators for

, Michael Cole (wrestling), Michael Cole and John Layfield are the commentators for

, and Joey Styles and Taz (wrestler), Tazz are the commentators for

. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIV took place on May 28, 2007, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre, and aired June 2, 2007. The event drew 16,176 of which 14,000 were paid. The event aired on

and drew a 2.2 rating. Michael Cole (wrestling), Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are the commentators. Ashley Massaro, Kristal Marshall, Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Michelle McCool are the various guest ring announcers.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV took place on August 13, 2007, from New York City at Madison Square Garden, and aired August 18, 2007. The event drew 16,827 of which 13,500 were paid. The event aired on

and drew a 2.5 rating. Michael Cole (wrestling), Michael Cole and Jim Ross are the commentators. The guest commentators are John Layfield and Taz (wrestler), Tazz.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI took place on July 28, 2008, from Washington, D.C., at the Capital One Arena, Verizon Center, and aired August 2, 2008. The event aired on

as a 1-hour special, and drew a 1.4 rating. The event drew 14,722 of which 12,000 were paid. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the commentators. CM Punk was the guest commentator for the first televised match.

Home video

VHS release

During the original run, WWE Home Video, Coliseum Video released two cassettes of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'': Saturday Night's Main Event's Greatest Hits which contained six matches from 1985 to 1987 and More Saturday Night's Main Event containing nine matches from 1988 to 1989. In 1992, the WWF released through Columbia House, ''Best of Saturday Night's Main Event (Collector's Edition)'' comprising five matches from 1988 to 1990.

DVD release

On February 10, 2009, the WWE released a three-disc DVD set on the history of ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. The set includes more than 30 full matches and several non-wrestling segments. Among these are highlights of

's wedding,

's "Real American" music video, and Curt Hennig, Mr. Perfect smashing Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship belt. The first match in the program's history, a six-man tag team match pitting the U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda, Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) teaming with

defeating the team of World Tag Team Championship (WWE), WWF Tag Team Champions Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik and their partner George Steele, George "The Animal" Steele, is included as an extra. Also, two other notable matches are included, both from the program's spinoff The Main Event. The first is a February 1988 rematch from

pitting Hogan against

, the second a Mega Powers' (Hogan and

) bout against the Twin Towers (Big Boss Man (wrestler), The Big Boss Man and

) from February 1989. Both had direct implications on each year's WrestleMania: the Hogan-Andre match led to the WWF title being vacated until WrestleMania IV while the Mega Powers-Twin Towers match led to the breakup of the Mega Powers and Hogan eventually defeating Randy Savage to win the WWF title at

. In the WrestleMania 22 DVD, the Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, XXXII edition was included in the 2nd disc in its entirety.

References

External links

* * (1985 version) * (2006 version) {{Former WWE programs Television series by WWE NBC original programming Fox Broadcasting Company original programming 1985 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 2006 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings Saturday mass media NBC late-night programming Fox late-night programming American television series revived after cancellation