About the Main Event showing the main event in the middle of the show...I've been watching every Main Event on the Network, and I think the main event has been in the middle of the show for almost every show. Interestingly enough, there's one match between Hogan and Harley Race in one of them. Race breaks a ring side table while trying to squash Hogan on it. Hogan wins shortly after. In the next match, the table was back to it's pre-broken form, showing some continuity issues with this show.

By the way, the table was so obviously out of place, that anyone in the world knew they would use it, so it was easy to tell when it was magically back together for the next match.

Main events were always midway through because they knew that’s when viewership peaked. Same reason SNL has Weekend Update positioned where it is.

I would have figured SNL to be a different type of example. Like, I'm sure it's true that viewership naturally peaks for SNL at a different point, but their show airs late at night. Was SNME airing that late?

Yes. It aired in place of SNL. 1130-100AM EST

Ah, gotcha. That does make sense then.

Alright, let's do this. I'm two beers deep and will continue as I write up.

Disclaimer: I hold my booze like a champion, so there will be no discernible difference in my writing.

Our candidates:
WWF SNME #20 (1989)
2/16/98 Raw
2/16/98 Nitro
2/16/04 Raw
2/16/09 Raw
2/16/15 Raw

Off to random.org I go. Please join me in a word of prayer that 2015 doesn't hit.

But first!

Check this **** out. I was on point tonight:

Alright I wasn't actually rooting for a second straight SNME, but here we are.



After I get another beer from the fridge, we dive into SNME #20 from February 1989. We have to be into the "jealous eyes" build here, but perhaps this is pre-breakup? The breakup happened on The Main Event, not SNME.

Checked out the results for that edition of RAW:

I'm glad these days are over-uhhhh.

Dead 4 months later

This also had the beginning of the real build-up to Sting vs. HHH.

I also looked up 2009 because 09 was a horrific year:

Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase & William Regal (w/ Layla) defeated CM Punk & Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad Gaspard) (8:10)
Kane defeated Jamie Noble (0:15)
Rey Mysterio defeated Mike Knox (9:44)
Melina (c) defeated Beth Phoenix (w/ Santino Marella & Rosa Mendes) to retain the WWE Women's Championship (2:52)
Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon in an unsanctioned match ended in a no contest (7:30)

How does an unsanctioned match end in a no contest? *looks how* Orton did the RKO on Steph and HHH stared at Orton to end the show. A+ booking.

The opening segment was Cena/Edge/Vickie and the build to WM 25 as this was the night after EC.

Well, they once called off a Last Man Standing match because John Cena couldn't continue.

WWF SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT #30

The Era
The sitting President is George H.W. Bush.



The reigning Super Bowl Champions are the San Francisco 49ers. That SB, the blowout win over Denver, was actually one of the first football games I ever watched. It would be years before I would realize that the 49ers were pure evil.



The #1 song on Billboard was "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul. From a category akin to "Jeff Jarrett's greatest matches," I've got this as Paula's best song.



The #1 movie in America was The Fly II. I, uhh, didn't know that existed.



The Wrestling Background for This Show

It appears that this is the SNME after the Mega Powers breakup. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage are on a collision course for the WrestleMania V main event, and Miss Elizabeth has to make a choice on this show as to whose corner she will be in. The card on the show does not appear to have a lot of build to it; this is mostly a filler SNME in between Rumble and Mania.

Personal Memory of This Show

I remember the Elizabeth segment well, though it feels like I only ever saw it on Superstars after the fact. I couldn't swear that I've seen this whole show, though a couple of the matchups are familiar.

We get a video package of the Mega Powers breakup to open the show. I love that it includes Savage yelling "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" at Brutus Beefcake, which I'm pretty sure was his genuine fury at Beefcake botching by entering the scene way too early. Savage picks Liz up from Hogan's aid and shoves her to the ground violently in a jarring scene.



I did not realize that violence against Elizabeth would be such a prominent theme of this thread.

Anyway, the big story tonight is whose corner she will be in at Mania.



...gotta say, I don't believe the graphics people at Titan had quite hit their stride yet.

Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are our announcers. Jesse is rocking a Yale sweatshirt. Among the matches they mention here tonight are Ted DiBiase vs. The Blue Blazer and The Rockers vs. The Brainbusters, so there's some promise on this card.

Mean Gene is backstage with Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan. Rude is setting up to take on Brutus Beefcake. Heenan says that they're going to get Beefcake out of the WWF in order to save the image of wrestling. Rude says that if Brutus goes for the sleeper, he'll get a Rude Awakening.



The announcing audio on this recording is HORRENDOUS. All kinds of static.

Mean Gene is now with Brutus Beefcake, who says that Rude's hair "has no body." Okay.

Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake

Before Beefcake heads to the ring, Mean Gene calls Brutus "the official barber of the WWF." Is there an unofficial barber? Is there a low-key Barber of the Ring tournament on the house show circuit?

The two men lock up in a collar-and-elbow. They trade advantages as each tries to get an advantage against the ropes. Beefcake begins to unload a series of rights, hits a terrible backdrop (not to be confused with the Badd Day), corner mount and a few punches before he voluntarily drops back down to the mat. He slaps on the sleeper, but ends up releasing it and shoving Rude violently into the corner. Jesse is dumbfounded that Beefcake is 100% dominating the match.

Beefcake tries to do another corner mount with a series of punches, but this time Rude counters with an inverted atomic drop. Rude drives a knee into the gut, smashes Beefcake into a turnbuckle, then connects on some measured right hands. Kick to the gut and a snap-suplex. Rude only gets two on the lackadaisical cover. Into a reverse chinlock. Beefcake works his way to a vertical base, tries to elbow his way free, but Rude clings tenaciously to the hold and takes Beefcake back down to the mat.

The camera pans up the aisle, and we see Andre the Giant marching deliberately toward ringside. Beefcake is able to hit an inverted atomic drop and has regained the advantage momentarily, but he runs into Rude's raised knees on a corner charge. Rude dumps Beefcake to the floor so that Andre can get into the action.



Enter Jake the Snake, who shows up threatening to unleash Damien, and Andre runs away at a slow crawl. Rude grabs Jake and tosses him into the ring, triggering referee Earl Hebner to ring the ****ing bell.

Result: Brutus Beefcake via DQ

Heenan's men double-team Jake until Brutus finally gets his wits back. Brutus re-enters and clears Rude out, but doesn't have as much success with Andre. Andre chokes Jake against the ropes, but now here comes Big John Studd. He and Andre stare down, but before that can actually culminate in a fight, Jake flings his snake into the ring and causes Andre to scurry away.



Way to kill the moment, Jake. The babyfaces hold the ring as Brutus's music plays.

My Rating: *1/2
Meltzer Rating: N/A

Jesse Ventura is backstage to interview Bad News Brown. Ah yes, this is when Bad News was openly accusing Miss Elizabeth of doing sexual favors for Jack Tunney in order to get special treatment for her men. Bad News says that he'll go through Hulk Hogan in order to get his shot at the WWF Title. Yes, we'll probably be doing Randy Savage vs. Bad News Brown in a heel vs. heel main event at WrestleMania. Jesse thanks Bad News for exposing the seedy underbelly of Jack Tunney's administration.



Hulk Hogan is with Mean Gene, and he cuts an angry promo on Bad News for the dirty lies about Elizabeth. Then he spends most of the rest of the time cutting a promo on Savage.

#BrownPush from TLF: Survivor Series 1988

Hulk Hogan (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Bad News Brown

Bad News blindsides Hogan before the bell. He hammers downward with a series of rights, then puts his boot on Hogan's throat to choke him down. Amidst a flurry of offense, BNB misses on an elbow, prompting Hogan to sort of halfway hulk up with a series of punches. He knocks Brown to the floor, follows him out and lands a punch, then waits for him inside.

As Brown climbs up to the apron, Hogan slingshots him into the ring. Back on the inside, Hogan connects with a shoulderblock, a clothesline, and he drops a couple of elbows. Big boot by the Hulkster, but rather than going for a legdrop he picks Brown up and smashes him into the turnbuckle. BNB no-sells, apparently playing as though his head can't be hurt. I thought that was just a Samoan thing? Oh Vince. You decided that Brown was Samoan, didn't you?

Brown fights back with a couple of hard rights, but after a corner whip he runs into Hogan's big boot. Atomic drop by Hulk sends Brown sprawling to the floor. Hogan again follows Brown out, but ends up on the worse end of the floor brawling. Brown posts him, but then hurts his hand badly by trying to punch Hulk and punching the ringpost instead. A furious Bad News grabs a folding chair to attack Hogan, Hogan holds it up and sort of gently blesses BNB with it, causing no reaction from referee Danny Davis at all.



Bad News picks up and lightly headbutts the chair a few more times, apparently playing up the invincible head bit (and also validating Danny Davis's apathy). Brown yells to Hogan, "Wait there!" He walks all the way up the aisle and through the curtains. Hogan breaks up the referee's 10-count. Brown re-emerges with a shovel as the show goes to break.

Back from break, Hogan is out on the floor now, as he separates Brown from his shovel before returning things inside. Brown regains the advantage, landing repeated right hands. Drops the leg. At two, Hogan kicks out of a pinfall attempt with authority, launching Brown across the ring. Brown knocks Hulk to the floor, then goes out and stalks Liz around the ring until Hogan of course catches up and starts taking the fight back at him. Bad News reverses Hogan's ensuing post attempt and posts Hogan, then sends him back inside.

Brown with a Russian legsweep. Pinfall attempt gets two, and Hogan only escapes on a foot under the bottom rope. Bad News with punches and chops. As he holds the advantage, Bad News asks for a mic from ringside. He taunts Hogan verbally, calling out that he was going to hit the Ghetto Blaster, and of course he then misses. Standard hulk-up sequence follows, except that Hogan hits a high knee in place of a big boot. Either way, the legdrop finishes things off.



Result: Hulk Hogan via pinfall

I do remember this match. The sequence of BNB getting a mic to telegraph his finisher was one of the lamest hulk-up triggers ever. This is an awful match.

My Rating: 1/4*
Meltzer Rating: N/A

Nice to see Hogan going for the hard camera pin even in 1989. **** my life. So natural.

I never even notice that stuff, though you're clearly right about how much it sucks. Hopefully I manage to keep not noticing consistently for a while longer.

After break, Randy Savage is briefly shown stalking around outside of Miss Elizabeth's dressing room like a maniac.

Cut over to Mean Gene, who is with Ted DiBiase and Virgil. The focus here is on the Million Dollar Belt, which is apparently making its debut in a DiBiase match tonight. (I remember that vignettes showed it previously.)



Gene grabs a word with the Blazer. "Gene, that heavy belt is going to keep the Million Dollar Man firmly on the ground. Me, I intend to go airborne, from the top rope, from the ringpost...from the rafters if I have to." ****ing awkward.

Ted DiBiase (w/ Virgil) vs. The Blue Blazer

The Blazer enters the ring with his signature backflip off the top. DiBiase has done his homework, and takes the opportunity to take Blazer's head off with a clothesline directly after the flip. I like it.



DiBiase continues to capitalize, smashing the Blazer into the turnbuckle, landing a series of rights, and putting the masked man down with a back elbow. Scoop slam and a few elbow drops. Irish whip by Ted, Blazer stops short of a backdrop attempt for a surprising small package that gets a near-fall. Backslide by the Blazer for another near-fall. DiBiase back on offense with a hard clothesline. MDM hits a second-rope axhandle. Suplex gets a two-count.

Blazer falls on his feet out of an attempted backdrop, then dropkicks Ted out of the ring. Great plancha from the ring to the floor by the Blazer, who then lays in some fists.



DiBiase swings wildly, Blazer ducks and hits an atomic drop, sending DiBiase into the stairs. Blazer returns him inside, climbs to the top, cross-body from there gets two. Blazer with a backdrop and a couple of dropkicks. Couple of European uppercuts, and another two-count for the Blazer. Rather abruptly, DiBiase is able to escape with the kayfabe fluky win, as he catches a cross-body into a powerslam and hangs on tightly to register a three-count.



Result: Ted DiBiase via pinfall

Fun little match here. The Blazer was pretty brilliant on offense.

My Rating: ***
Meltzer Rating: N/A

That's ****ing awesome and i won't quote other stuff cuz I'm pretty drunk myself

Welp; fell asleep in my recliner. Let's polish the rest of this show off.