WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event – October 14th, 1989

October 14, 1989

From the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, OH

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

Matches tonight include: Roddy Piper vs. Haku, Macho King Randy Savage vs. Jimmy Snuka, The Bushwhackers vs. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, and Hulk Hogan defending the WWF World Heavyweight Title against Ted DiBiase, who has Zeus in his corner.

We are first shown Macho King Randy Savage & Queen Sherri’s coronation ceremony that took place on the 10/1/89 edition of “Superstars of Wrestling.”

Macho King Randy Savage w/ Queen Sherri vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka

Savage immediately attacks Snuka and fires away. Snuka comes back and chops Savage down. Sherri tries to distract Snuka but that fails and he hits Savage with a flying headbutt before sending him outside with an atomic drop. Snuka heads out and starts chopping Savage before heading back inside. Sherri grabs on to Snuka’s leg to allow Savage time to attack him. Savage hits a slam then drops a knee as Sherri is loudly cheering at ringside. Snuka gets tossed outside as Savage flies out with a double axe handle. Sherri kicks Snuka in the ribs then Savage heads out to inflict more punishment. Sherri chokes Snuka as Savage distracts the referee. Back inside, Savage nearly puts Snuka away then starts targeting the back but Snuka is firing up. Snuka chops Savage down then hits a clothesline. He hits a headbutt then hangs Savage in the tree of woe. Snuka picks the referee up to attack Savage then the ref once again intervenes but in the process, Sherri hands Savage the loaded purse. Sherri provides a distraction to allow Savage to hit Snuka in the side with the purse then he rolls him up and grabs the tights for the win (5:39) **1/2. After the match, Savage goes for the flying elbow smash but Snuka rolls away at the last second then stares down Sherri before slamming Savage. Snuka climbs up top for the Superfly Splash but Sherri lays on her man and begs Snuka not to jump. She moves closer as Snuka jumps off and then hits Savage with a headbutt as both the king & queen bail as Jesse screams about Snuka being a lunatic as he has a crazed look on his face.

Thoughts: Fun while it lasted and all action. Much better than their house show match from Toronto one week prior. They also seemed keen on giving Snuka his heat back I guess for his house show feud against Mr. Perfect, who was still undefeated at this point. Sherri was terrific with Savage too. They were such a great act and this was Sherri at her best as a manager.

WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Ted DiBiase w/ Zeus vs. Hulk Hogan (c)

They showed us Zeus attacking Hogan at the last SNME show. Hogan cut a lengthy promo with Gene Okerlund to hype the match. Zeus grabs Hogan’s ankle but Hogan is able to fight back and hammer away on DiBiase. Zeus trips up Hogan and they choke each other but DiBiase attacks Hogan from behind. Hogan ducks a clothesline and nails DiBiase. He takes him down with a back elbow smash then hits mounted punches on the mat. Hogan is pissed as the ref stopped him for using a closed fist as that allows DiBiase to attack from behind. Zeus chokes out Hogan as DiBiase distracts the referee then we see Jake Roberts run out to distract him. Hogan sneaks in a rollup for two but DiBiase gets up and stomps away. He misses a pair of elbow drops as Hogan fights back. Virgil runs down and steal Damien as Jake chases after him. Hogan is distracted and that allows DiBiase to attack from behind as we head to break. The action returns with DiBiase beating down Hogan. Suplex gets two then DiBiase applies a chinlock as the camera shows Zeus screaming. Hogan gets to his feet and fights out then they clothesline each other in an awkward spot as both men are down. Hogan is up first but Zeus trips him up. DiBiase hits a few fist drops then heads up top for a knee drop that gets two but Hogan starts hulking up. Hogan tells DiBiase he cannot buy him and hits the big boot but Zeus comes in and grabs Hogan. DiBiase accidentally clotheslines Zeus and Hogan takes DiBiase down with a small package for the win (9:28) **1/4. After the match, Zeus and Hogan stare each other down until DiBiase attacks Hogan from behind. DiBiase then tosses the referee outside and puts Hogan in the Million Dollar Dream until Jake returns and clears the ring with Damien.

Thoughts: The match itself was not the greatest but it was serviceable and did a good job at hyping up the Survivor Series match anyway as the Hulkster got put out with the Million Dollar Dream to build up DiBiase & Zeus as threats.

Highlights of Rick Rude’s attack of Roddy Piper on the “Brother Love Show” are shown.

Haku w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Roddy Piper

The story here is that Heenan is using Haku for revenge after Piper cost Rick Rude the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam. Haku attacks Piper before the bell but Piper fights back and clotheslines Haku over the top rope. He jumps out and attacks Haku then goes back into the ring and decides to go after Heenan. He grabs Heenan’s legs on the outside but Haku makes the save with a clothesline. Back inside, Haku beats on Piper. He gets two with a shoulderbreaker then hits a leg drop but misses a splash off of the top. Piper gets up and slams Haku’s head off of the mat. He then pancakes Haku and finishes him off with a belly-to-belly suplex (3:03) *1/2. After the match, Piper tells Heenan “that’s number one of the Heenan Family” as Heenan is upset.

Thoughts: Good, effective segment here to continue Piper’s feud against the Heenan Family.

Okerlund is backstage with DiBiase & Zeus. DiBiase tells Jake Roberts he is sick of him and blames Jake for costing him the title and he will pay the price again. Zeus then screams about Hogan and how at Thanksgiving, he will have nothing to be thankful for as he pounds his chest. No idea why DiBiase was blaming Jake for losing the title since he ran backstage halfway through the match and did not return until after the match ended but the point was to get more heat for his feud against Jake.

Rick Martel w/ Slick & Twin Towers & Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart vs. Tito Santana w/ Red Rooster & Brutus Beefcake & Dusty Rhodes

Martel comes out with a sweater tied around his neck. Tito brings out his Survivor Series team after Martel came out with his first. Martel attacks Tito before the bell but Tito fights back and clotheslines Martel to the floor. Tito beats on Martel outside of the ring but Martel lures him in the corner back into the ring. Tito comes back with a sunset flip then hits an armdrag before beating on Martel in the corner. He gets two with a crossbody but Martel yanks Tito into the turnbuckle by his tights then hammers away. Martel places Tito in the tree-of-woe then after that ducks his head for a backdrop and gets kicked in the face. Tito wins a slugfest then hits a backdrop before hitting the flying forearm. Slick jumps up on the apron to distract the ref as Tito grabs a hold then both Survivor Series teams square off on the apron as a second referee comes out before the break. The match returns with Tito making a comeback until he spills outside trying a clothesline. Martel yanks Tito back inside by the hair then drops a few elbows. The crowd gets behind Tito as Martel applies a chinlock. Tito escapes then gets two with a backslide after a struggle. Martel slams Tito’s head off of the mat and chokes him out. Martel puts Tito in the Boston Crab but Tito grabs the ropes and pulls himself up to get a pin attempt for two. Martel hits Tito with a backbreaker and takes his time heading up top as Tito cuts him off by shaking the ropes. Tito fires away as Martel falls off then signals for the figure four but Slick runs up on the apron. Tito knocks him off then Bossman attacks Tito as the teams run in and brawl as this match is ruled a double disqualification (10:12) ***1/2.

Thoughts: Really good match but designed to hype up Survivor Series instead of blowing off their feud, which was being downplayed as Martel was now feuding with Beefcake.

Okerlund is now backstage with Piper, who promises to take out the entire Heenan Family one by one.

Fabulous Rougeau Brothers w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Bushwhackers

The Bushwhackers attack The Rougeaus, who extend their hands for a handshake. They now chase Hart around and use an Irish Whip as The Rougeaus try to pull him out and they have a tug of war that ends with Hart’s pants getting yanked off, exposing Quebec Flag boxers. Hart flees up the aisle as The Rougeaus are now beating on Butch. The fans rally behind Butch then Jacques accidentally hits Raymond as Luke makes the tag. Luke fires away on Jacques then Raymond accidentally elbow drops his brothers as The Bushwhackers use a double noggin knocker and hit Jacques with the battering ram and then finish him off with a double gutbuster (3:19) 1/4*.

Thoughts: Not much of a match here. It seemed designed to get the Bushwhackers over more than promote the fact they were on opposite sides of the Survivor Series. We also got some comedy here with Hart’s pants getting ripped off.

Okerlund is now backstage with Hogan, who is selling pain in his neck as he warns DiBiase, Zeus, and the rest of his team they will be wiped out at the Survivor Series. They can use this to build more intrigue for their Survivor Series match.

Jesse & Vince recap the show as Jesse takes great pleasure in Hogan’s neck being hurt and how that will effect him at the Survivor Series as Vince lets us know the next SNME will take place Thanksgiving weekend.

Final Thoughts: Overall, a good show. The action was better than usual and it was effective in hyping up the Survivor Series. It was entertaining and worth checking out if you have the time.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/15/89

Wednesday: wXw 2017 16 Carat Gold, Night Two

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Lance Storm, Volume 1

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/21/89

Sunday: Mid-South Wrestling 8/5/82

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/22/89

Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/28/89