WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event – July 29th, 1989

July 29, 1989

From the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, MA

Your hosts are Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Vince McMahon

In action tonight are Randy Savage vs. Brutus Beefcake, Demolition vs. Brainbusters for the WWF Tag Team Titles, and Honky Tonk Man vs. Hulk Hogan.

Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Hulk Hogan

Before the match we were treated to a montage of Honky’s “greatest hits.” Hogan pulls Honky outside and hammers away. Hart jumps on Hogan’s back but Hogan walks into the ring. Honky follows in with the guitar but swings and misses in the corner as Hogan fires away. He hits an atomic drop and follows with a running elbow smash before finally ripping off his shirt. Hart tries to pull out Honky but Hogan ends up dragging him in too and uses a double noggin-knocker. Hart sneaks from behind and ends up whacking Hogan as he was confronting Honky outside. They head back into the ring as Honky targets the back then applies a reverse chinlock. Hogan powers out though but gets run into the post. Honky clotheslines Hogan then hits the Shake, Rattle, and Roll but starts taunting before making the cover and Hogan kicks out at two. Hogan hulks up then fires away as he sends Honky to the floor with a big boot. Hogan heads out and takes the guitar from Hart and knocks Honky back inside before getting the win with a leg drop (6:17) *1/2.

Thoughts: Not much of a match and really Hogan dominated most of this as Honky looked fairly weak here as its clear he is no longer groomed for any position of relevance just 11 months after losing the Intercontinental Title. The outside theatrics made this a bit entertaining and more so than a straight match between the two.

After the break, Hogan continues to celebrate as referee Ronnie Garvin heads in for the next match and shakes Hogan’s hand.

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka

Hart is selling being hurt from the last match. Valentine jumps Snuka from behind and stays in control. Snuka ducks a clothesline then hits a chop after his trademark Irish whip sequence. Valentine gets his knees up on a diving headbutt attempt then drops a few elbows. Snuka gets dumped then after Valentine refused to back up from the ropes Garvin shoves him. They go face-to-face as Garvin decks Valentine and Snuka hits a top rope crossbody for the win (3:14) 3/4*. After the match, Garvin tosses Valentine over the top rope.

Thoughts: This was done to further along the Garvin/Valentine feud, which wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire despite the fact I found there matches entertaining. Its a lower midcard feud featuring aging veterans. However, with all the talk from WWF President Jack Tunney about Garvin needing to keep his hands off the wrestlers in his new role, I expect to hear from him very soon.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Sensational Sherri vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake

We got a video package of their feud before the match. Savage had also promised a surprise for Beefcake in his pre-match promo. Beefcake takes Savage outside just before the bell then he chases after Sherri. Savage saves Sherri by attacking Beefcake from behind but Beefcake starts firing away in the ring then chokes out Savage with his jacket. Beefcake hits a Polish Hammer for two. Crossbody gets two. Sherri is on the apron and screams at Beefcake, who turns around in time to stop Savage’s sneak attack. Beefcake gets a nearfall with a high knee but Savage fights back. Savage misses a jumping attack and gets caught in the ropes then Beefcake takes Savage off of the apron with a high knee. Beefcake heads outside where Savage uses Sherri as a shield. Beefcake ends up tossing Savage inside but Sherri grabs his leg as Savage attacks from behind. He dumps Beefcake outside and follows out with a double axe handle then Sherri kicks Beefcake a few times before ramming her heel into Beefcake’s head. The action heads back inside where Beefcake manages a small package but Sherri distracted the referee. Savage kicks out and almost puts Beefcake away then uses a mat slam after kicking out of a backslide. Savage roughs up Beefcake now as Sherri chokes out Beefcake with her pantyhose. Beefcake catches Savage with a punch then fires away. Sherri holds up Beefcake but Savage accidentally takes her off the apron with a high knee. Savage charges and gets backdropped to the floor then orders Sherri to go backstage as we head to break. The action returns as Savage misses a knee drop but manages to drop Beefcake on the top rope as that gets two. Sherri comes back with Zeus. Beefcake manages to put Savage in the sleeper but Zeus runs in and breaks it up for the DQ (11:30) ***1/2. Zeus puts Beefcake in a bearhug until Hogan runs out for the save. Hogan hits Zeus a few times but it has no effect then Zeus puts Hogan in the bearhug. Savage comes off the top with a double axe handle to Hogan then Sherri slips Savage Beefcake’s scissors but Beefcake runs in for the save. Hogan gets a chair and smashes Zeus in the back as he had Beefcake in a bearhug but Zeus starts smiling as Jesse gloats over Hogan showing fear. Beefcake comes back with a chair too as Savage & Sherri hold Zeus back.

Thoughts: A damn good match and the best singles match Beefcake has had, IMO. The post match angle with Zeus was awesome and made him look like a killer as Hogan himself appeared a little scared when Zeus did not sell any pain. Definitely seek this out as it did a great job hyping up the main event at SummerSlam.

After the break, Jesse is with Savage, Sherri, and Zeus as he talks about Zeus manhandling Hogan like no one he’s seen before. Savage tells Hogan & Beefcake they “beat up women” and “cry when they lose” as Zeus grunts before screaming about destroying them. Savage ends by declaring that Hulkamania is dead. God, these interviews were all insane but I loved them.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match, 2/3 Falls: The Brainbusters w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Demolition (c)

Demolition beats on Tully to start things off. The match breaks down as the action spills outside with Demolition still in control. The Brainbusters escape for a breather as the crowd starts up a weasel chant. Arn enters and hammers away on Smash, who catches a stomp attempt and flips Arn down. Demolition beat on Arn in the corner but Tully makes a blind tag and hits a dropkick as Smash had Arn up for a slam. Arn catches Smash with a spinebuster as that gets two. The Brainbusters set up for a double clothesline but Ax grabs Tully from the apron then Smash hits Arn with a hotshot to take the first fall (5:00). The second fall starts off with Ax beating on Arn, who breaks a chinlock with a punch to the gut. Tully guillotines Ax as the Brainbusters stay in control as they cut off the ring. Smash chases Heenan away as the Brainbusters choke out Ax. Tully ducks his head as Ax attacks him then tags out as Smash runs wild. The match breaks down as Smash runs Heenan into the post as he jumped up on the apron. Andre the Giant heads out to the ring as the referee orders Ax to get on the apron but he doesnt as Demolition hits the Decapitation but the ref waves off the count and DQ’s Demolition as we are tied 1-1 (9:29). The third fall starts with Smash tossing Tully to the floor. Arn is in as he slugs it out with Ax. Both men are down then tag out as Smash runs wild on Tully. The match breaks down again as Heenan distracts the ref while Andre slides in a chair to Tully, who hits Smash, then Arn covers for the win as the Brainbusters are the new Tag Team Champions (12:33) ***.

Thoughts: Good match but it wasnt a classic or anything. Demolition was really protected well in defeat as they were never pinned cleanly once during the match. The Brainbusters sold well as Heenan finally got one of his teams to win the Tag Team Titles, which was a storyline lightly pushed on TV for months through commentary by Gorilla Monsoon for the most part.

Jesse is backstage with Rick Rude and Haku as they await Heenan, Andre, and the new Tag Team Champions for a celebration. Tully was screaming like a complete lunatic here.

After the break, Gene Okerlund is with Hogan & Beefcake. They put over Zeus’s bearhug then Hogan talks about the future of Hulkamania and says that it will live forever and despite not knowing what will happen at SummerSlam, they will not live with themselves if someone lays a hand on Elizabeth. I liked how Hogan actually showed some doubt here to give the match at SummerSlam some intrigue.

Final Thoughts: Another really good SNME installment. We had a title change and a great segment with the Beefcake vs. Savage match as they hyped up the SummerSlam main event to a great degree. They also continued the secondary feud between Garvin and Valentine. Overall, a good show worth checking out.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/30/89

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/5/89

Wednesday: EVOLVE 76 1/27/17

Thursday: Kayfabe Commentaries Timeline Series: 2007 Blue as told by Swoggle

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/6/89

Sunday: Mid-South Wrestling 6/10/82

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/12/89