WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XI Review

WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XI Review
October 23, 2024
By Ryan Porzl

Event: Saturday Night's Main Event XI
Tagline: None
Date: May 2, 1987
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
Live or Tape: Tape (Taped April 28, 1987)
Arena: Edmund P. Joyce Center
Attendance: 9,345
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Interviewers: “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Other: None
Broadcast: NBC

Like SNME IX, this was another Saturday Night's Main Event I wasn't able to review a decade ago as I didn't have access to it. Now, I'm going to finally review it.

We start with the usual opening promos. Sadly, we don't the usual intense music. Anyway, we got “Macho Man” Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth bringing up George “The Animal” Steele kidnapping Elizabeth at SNME IX and then preventing Savage from using the bell at Wrestlemania III. He says tonight is the final confrontation in a lumberjack match with fifteen of the toughest wrestlers surrounding the ring. He says no escape and one man will survive and that's the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat says man like the Macho Man never learn which is why he holds the championship belt. He says for the first time, he will defend it against Hercules. Steamboat says watch the Dragon melt his chains.

Jimmy Hart, The Hart Foundation, and Danny Davis are next with Hart saying they're the Hart Foundation and they're sick and tired of the crybaby British Bulldogs complaining about the Harts cheating them of their titles. Bret says tonight, they get the shot they've been dreaming about before Neidhart says all they'll get is a nightmare.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan says he's proud to be an American who will have a ringside seat and if that commie Nikolai Volkoff tries to sing the Russian National Anthem then he'll show him what cracked the liberty bell.

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Andre The Giant are next with Heenan saying Andre is still undefeated and the heavyweight champion of the world and will show footage proving Andre won at Wrestlemania III. Andre says he is the champion.

Hulk Hogan says the Hulkamaniacs know who won at Wrestlemania III as does Andre, Heenan, and the rest of the world. He says he met the giant enemy and he was his. Hogan says tonight he'll show footage of how he faced the biggest challenge of his career as we go to the intro.

Vince and Ventura open the show. We get footage from earlier in the day on Superstars of Wrestling when Heenan had a debate with Ken Patera which resulted in Heenan whipping Patera with his belt only for Patera to put the belt around Heenan's neck, Irish whips him, and yanks on the belt injuring Heenan's neck. This explains why Heenan has a neck brace on. Give Heenan all the credit for taking the bumps he did during his WWE run given he had a legit neck injury at the time.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews Kamala, “Kim Chee”, and Mr. Fuji with Okerlund bringing up Fuji being Kamala's new manager. It was during this time when Fuji replaced The Wizard as Kamala and Sika's manager. I'm not 100% sure but I believe it was cause The Wizard struggled going on the road due to legit knee issues so he left. Anyway, Okerlund asks why Fuji would put Kamala with Jake “The Snake” Roberts knowing Kamala is scared of snakes. Fuji says he understands the snake and he can help Kamala before ending with a snake sound and motioning his arm like a snake. Short but Fuji is entertaining.

We get clips from the Snake Pit segment where Honky blasted Roberts with the guitar from February.
Okerlund interviews Jake “The Snake” Roberts and brings up Roberts having a rough time. He thinks Honky scrambled Roberts' brain because he asks why would Roberts sign to face Kamala? Roberts says maybe because Damien wants to. Okerlund, who is shaking, asks why would Damien want that? Roberts puts Damien near Okerlund and tells him to ask him himself but Okerlund says they're out of time. Short and not much to it.

Kamala (w/Mr. Fuji and “Kim Chee”) vs. Jake Roberts- Prior to the match, Roberts unleashes Damien and Kamala hauls ass out of the ring scared. Roberts then put Damien back in the sack.
Kamala jumps Roberts with chops as Roberts finishes putting Damien back to boos. Kamala whips Roberts to the ropes and catches him with a savate kick to the stomach. Roberts heads to the corner and comes back with a kick to the stomach and punches to a good pop. Roberts comes off the ropes but Kamala catches him with a double throat thrust. Kamala works over Roberts and applies a bearhug. Fans rally behind Roberts who eventually starts to fight out with punches and then stomps Kamala's foot repeatedly to escape. Roberts gets an arm wringer while stomping the foot but Kamala hits a karate chop which drops Roberts. Kamala chokes Roberts then chokes him on the second rope and repeatedly with his foot. Roberts starts to come back with punches and kicks but Kamala stops it with a headbutt. Kamala hits another karate chop. Roberts swings at air and Kamala hits another headbutt. Roberts baits Kamala to chases him outside and to the ring where he catches him coming back in with a kneelift. Roberts comes off the second turnbuckle with kneelift. Roberts signals for the DDT and the crowd is going nuts. However, as he sets it up, Fuji jumps on the apron to distract referee Joey Marella which allow “Kim Chee” to come in and cheap shot Roberts. Kamala comes off the ropes with air africa for the win at 4:18. After the match, “Kim Chee” removes his hat, jacket, and mask to reveal The Honky Tonk Man. Honky drops an elbow and then hits shake, rattle, and roll on Roberts before thanking the audience to big boos.

Thoughts: * Ok match with good psychology from Roberts and the crowd was into it when Roberts was on offense. Finish and Honky's reveal was creative. Only issues are Kamala isn't the most exciting to watch and the result probably doesn't age the best since the Roberts/Honky match petered out over the next few months.

We get some clips of Hogan/Andre from Wrestlemania III.

We get a look at the lumberjacks for the upcoming match. Notably, The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis mock The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana.

Oh great. Okerlund interviews George “The Animal” Steele. Okerlund asks Steele if he knows what a lumberjack match is but Steele just says “uh!”. Okerlund tries to explain and then brings up this could be his last chance at Elizabeth. Steele yells Elizabeth's name and rubs his head on Okerlund. Steamboat comes in and accuses Okerlund of confusing Steele. Okerlund denies it. Steamboat says he'll bring Steele out since Steele was there for Steamboat at Wrestlemania III. Stupid promo.

Okerlund interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Okerlund brings up Savage as the former Intercontinental Champion which pisses Savage off and has him saying he's forever the champion and makes Elizabeth agree. Okerlund asks why Savage would agree to the match with Savage saying Steele kidnapped his manager and then cost him the IC Title at Wrestlemania III. He says vengeance will be his. Okerlund asks Savage about Steamboat but Savage says Steamboat will not be a factor and he will think of Steamboat everyday until he loses the Intercontinental Title back to him. Solid promo

Prior to Savage coming out, we see Steamboat and Hercules nearly go at it as they are scheduled for later.

Lumberjack Match: Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) vs. George Steele- Yup. We're getting this match again. It's like Groundhog Day from Hell. Seriously, what the hell? This is the third straight SNME we're getting this match and fifth overall major encounter counting SNME IV in January 1986 and Wrestlemania 2. Mother of fucking god, why was Vince obsessed with this match? The previous ones were awful, they were a waste of Savage, and a year and a half is long enough. Not to mention, in retrospect, who am I supposed to be supporting? Sure, Savage is a heel and an asshole to Elizabeth and everyone else but Steele is abducting Elizabeth and basically forcing himself on her while she's clearly uncomfortable. Honestly, neither look good. This is billed as the final encounter which should make me want to say “thank god” but it's dragged so long I want to say “finally”. Anyway, the story here was Steele developed a crush on Elizabeth back in January 1986 and became obsessed with her much to Savage's chagrin. The feud would then be mostly used for the house show circuit following WM2 but reignited in early 1987 when Steele hooked up with Steamboat during his feud with Savage resulting in Steele kidnapping Elizabeth in January and then costing Savage the IC Title at WMIII when he prevented Savage from using the ring bell on Steamboat.

Prior to the match, Savage and Steamboat trash talk which allows Steele to rub his head on Elizabeth. Again, I don't care what Steele's character is, this is just awkward and doesn't make me want to cheer him or sympathize with him. Anyway, Savage see Steele and jumps him to start but Steele makes the comeback and biels him out of the corner to a pop. Savage bails and the heel wrestlers leave him alone but the Bulldogs and Santana then throw him back in. Steele drops Savage with a punch. Steele works over Savage and rams him into a top turnbuckle to a pop. Savage tries to escape but the Bulldogs and Santana won't let him. Steele then bites Savage and forearms the back. Savage comes back with a kick to the stomach from the corner and works over Steele on the ropes. Steele grabs Savage's nose and drops him with another punch. Savage tries to bail again but once again, Santana and the Bulldogs throw him back in.

Steele tries to ram Savage into the top turnbuckle but Savage sends Steele instead. Savage works over Steele until he falls out. Steele is thrown back in where Savage sends him to the corner and hits corner shoulder blocks. Steele comes back with punches until Savage comes back with a kick to the stomach. Savage climbs the top turnbuckle and comes off with a diving double ax handle. Savage throws Steele outside where the heel lumberjack stomp away until chaos happens where the faces come to his aid and Duggan clears things with his 2x4 before scaring Volkoff and Sheik out of the ring. Several referees convince Duggan to the back as we go to the commercial. We're back as Savage sends Steele out again where the heels get more in until Steele nails Davis. Back in, Steele hits a bodyslam and a throat toss. Steele goes for the turnbuckle padding and rakes and throws it at Savage. Savage comes back with kicks to the stomach and a suplex.

Savage hits a double kneedrop and throws Steele out who is thrown back in. Steele tosses Savage out and Steamboat throws Savage back in. Fans rally behind Steele as both nearly go over the top rope. Steele punches Savage and throws him out. Steamboat grabs Savage but Savage nails him. Steamboat fights back until Hercules gets involved with the two fighting. Meanwhile, the rest of the lumberjacks start fighting on the outside. As this happens, Davis grabs the ring bell, sneaks in the ring, and nails Steele from behind. Savage climbs the top turnbuckle and comes off with the diving elbow drop for the win at 6:44. After the match, Steamboat attacks Savage until Hercules comes in and all the lumberjacks come in for a brawl. Roberts then runs out with Damien, scaring everyone out, and putting Damien on Kim Chee.

Thoughts: -* Another day and another awful match between these two. What can I say at this point that I haven't already said? These two have not only had one bad match after another but largely the same match over and over. Other than the lumberjack stip, it felt like the same stuff they've done that sucked a year and a half before and sucks now from the biting to the turnbuckle stuffing to the same moves to the same result of Savage winning due to some bullshit. Speaking of the lumberjacks, the stip felt more like to hype up matches set for later in the show than blow off this rivalry. Finally, the finish was atrocious and a reason I'm giving it negative stars. First of all, referee Dave Hebner clearly saw Steamboat attack Savage so that could be a DQ. Second, why the hell isn't Savage winning cleanly? Seriously, Savage is moving on to bigger things and he can't cleanly beat a washed up 50 year old? Not to mention, who wants a Steele/Davis feud? Anyway, like they say “All good things must come to an end”, so too does all bad things. I guess Scott Hall was right when he said bad times don't last because thankfully, and I mean, THANKFULLY, this wretched feud is finally over. Free of this garbage, Savage would finally move upward and engage in feuds and programs more worthy of his time and talents. Steele would sadly still be around as he would begin a feud with Davis but thankfully his TV time starting waning.

Okerlund conducts a sitdown interview with Heenan and Andre regarding WMIII and ask about the devastating loss. Heenan denies a loss and says Andre won fair and square. Okerlund asks Andre if that's the case then why isn't he the heavyweight champion of the world to which Andre says he was cheated. He says for the Bobby Heenan Family, he is the real champion. Heenan complains the referees are all biased towards Hogan as well as Jack Tunney. We then get footage from Wrestlemania III when Hogan failed to bodyslam Andre, Andre fell on top, and referee Joey Marella counted 2 but Heenan claims it was 3 and demands an investigation. Okerlund ask Andre if he really thinks there was shenanigans and Andre says he's the champion. Heenan insists on either Hogan being stripped and the title awarded to Andre or a rematch. Fine segment that furthers things especially with Andre going on a hiatus.

Okerlund interviews The Hart Foundation, Jimmy Hart, and Danny Davis. Okerlund says they stole the belts and they are a disgrace to professional wrestling. Hart thanks Okerlund. Okerlund says they stole them but Hart says The British Bulldogs are crybabies who will get their shot tonight. Okerlund says they won't have a fair shot with Davis around. Davis then lunges at Okerlund but is held by by Bret and Neidhart before they leave. Nothing special

WWF Tag Team Championship/2 out of 3 Falls: The Hart Foundation (c) (w/Jimmy Hart and Danny Davis) vs, The British Bulldogs (w/Tito Santana)- This is the blow off to the Hart Foundation/British Bulldog feud which began on the February 7, 1987 episode of Superstars of Wrestling when the Bulldogs defended the tag titles against the Harts only for Jimmy Hart to take out the injured Dynamite with his megaphone and Davis, who was the referee, showed favoritism towards the Harts and allowed them to basically do a handicap match against Smith which they eventually won. From there, the Harts teamed with Davis to defeat the Bulldogs and Santana at Wrestlemania III. Prior to the match, the Bulldogs sic Matilda on Hart who runs away and complains of the bite mark on his pants.

First Fall: Bret and Smith start with a tie up but Smith pushes Bret off. They tease a lock up but Bret gets an arm wringer. Smith somersaults, rolls back, and kips up into his own arm wringer. Smith locks one hand, picks Bret up, and slams him to the canvas. Smith kicks his legs up repeatedly and drives his knees on Bret's arm. Bret gets back up with a kip up and counters with a side headlock. Smith gets up, whips Bret to the ropes, leapfrogs, Bret comes off the ropes, Smith drops down, and catches Bret with a reverse monkey flip. Smith gets an arm wringer and applies an armbar. Bret whips Smith to the ropes but Smith comes off with a crucifix for 2. Smith comes off with a shoulder block. Smith comes off, jumps over Bret, comes off, and Bret catches him with a knee to the stomach which looked nice. Tag to Neidhart who picks up Smith by the hair and slams him back first to the canvas. Neidhart works over Smith and sends him to the Hart's corner where Neidhart distracts referee Joey Marella as Bret chokes Smith.

Neidhart works over Smith. Tag to Bret who hits a pendulum backbreaker for 2. Bret hits a leg drop and rams Smith into the top turnbuckle. Bret whips Smith to another corner but charges into a boot. Hot tag to Dynamite who works over Bret and whips him to the corner with Bret doing his chest first bump. Dynamite picks Bret up by the hair and slams him back first to the canvas. Dynamite hits a clothesline for 2. Snap suplex gets 2. Dynamite drops a headbutt and covers but Neidhart comes in to break it up. Smith comes in but Neidhart takes care of him and throws him out. The Harts double team Smith while Davis gets shots in on Smith until Santana starts chasing Davis around. The Harts refuse to listen and are disqualified for the double teaming at 4:34 to a big pop as we go to commercial.

Second Fall: We're back with the second fall as Bret rams Dynamite into Neidhart's boot. Tag to Neidhart who hits a punch and chokes Dynamite on the ropes. Neidhart prevents the tag and gets a front facelock while grabbing the tights to send Dynamite to the Hart corner. Tag to Bret with the Harts hitting demolition decapitation for 2. Dynamite tries to fight back to a pop but Bret grabs the ankle. Tag to Neidhart who cuts Dynamite off and applies a front facelock. Dynamite tries to reach for his corner but Bret comes in to cheapshot Smith who comes in and chases Bret out. Smith chases Bret around ringside of getting back in and Joey Marella sending him back. Meanwhile, Neidhart had been choking Dynamite the whole time. Neidhart bites Dynamite who has a bloody nose and argues with the ref which allows Bret to get a cheapshot in from the apron. Tag to Bret who punches the stomach as Neidhart holds Dynamite.

Bret ties Dynamite to the ropes and comes off the other side with a dive but Dynamite gets out of the way and Bret crotches himself on the ropes. Hot tag to Smith to a big pop as Neidhart comes in (apparently tagged in off camera) but Smith hits a running dropkick. Smith whips Neidhart to the ropes and catches him with a back elbow. Smith follows with a standing dropkick. Smith whips Neidhart to the ropes and catches him with a clothesline for 2. Smith hits a stalling suplex for 2. Smith whips Neidhart to the ropes but Neidhart comes off with a kick. Bret holds Smith on the apron while Neidhart gets shots in. Dynamite comes in but is sent back and argues with the referee. Meanwhile, Neidhart charges with a forearm but Smith moves and Neidhart accidentally knocks Bret off the apron. Smith hits a punch as Davis climbs the apron but Santana comes in to knock him off to a big pop. Tag to Dynamite with Smith pressing Dynamite in the air and throwing him on top of Neidhart for the win at 9:48 to a huge pop. Looks like we got new champions. HOWEVER, we get sort of a Dusty finish as Ventura announces due to the first fall being a disqualification, the Harts retain the titles and sure enough, the Hart walk out with the belts.

Thoughts: *1/2 This was ok but I wasn't feeling it for some reason. The fans were into it at points and some stuff was good but it felt just there. I know Dynamite's back was screwed up but you expect more. Along with that, there was too much going on with Santana and Davis both out there and everyone running around like a cartoon. The 2/3 fall stip was useless outside of doing the Dusty Finish. I don't get it. They probably would've been better having the Harts win to settle things instead of doing a 2/3 falls where they bait and switch the fans. Anyway, this was the blow off to this feud as the Harts moved on to other teams while the Bulldogs would settle in the midcard to upper midcard getting the occasional title shot. Ironically, Santana wouldn't be done with the Harts as we see later in the year.

Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan and brings up Hogan's win at Wrestlemania III. He tells Hogan this win must've been sweeter than most. Hogan says whenever Hulkamania is victorious, victory is always sweet but in front of 93,000 fans, the largest indoor event, it was even sweeter. Okerlund brings up Heenan and Andre's accusations. He then ask what it was like to lock up with Andre? Hogan says when he saw Andre the Giant, he knew he was ready to face Heenan, the family, and especially the nasty giant. We go back to the beginning of the WMIII match. Hogan says he said he doesn't fear him and he wants to see who the real champion was. He admitted he thought Hulkamania was over off the failed slam but when he saw Marella motion two, he knew he had to take 93,000 people to the mountain top with him. Hogan says with the psyche he had on and all those Hulkamaniacs, we know what happened at the Silverdome. Okerlund then asks about Andre and Heenan's comments. Hogan says if they want an investigation than show the footage and if they want a rematch, he and the Hulkamaniacs fear no man but as far as stripping him, Andre has to beat him and he says Hulkamania will live forever. Alright promo.

Okerlund interviews Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and asks if he's ready to defend the title. Steamboat says he's ready to breath fire and tells Hercules he's ready to burn. Okerlund asks if Steamboat is ready for Heenan's antic. Steamboat says he's come too far for any man to stop him including Bobby “The Weasel” Heenan. Nothing special but Steamboat was never a great talker.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Ricky Steamboat (c) vs. Hercules (w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan)- A rematch from Wrestlemania 2. Man, it's weird seeing Steamboat as IC Champion. Then again, better get a good look cause it won't last. Savage is watching in the back as he wants Steamboat to win so he can beat Steamboat for it.

They tie up to start before exchanging offense until Herc knees the stomach. Herc works over Steamboat and rams him to the top turnbuckle. Herc punches the stomach. Herc whips Steamboat to the ropes, Steamboat slides between the legs, and hits two dropkicks. Steamboat chops Herc out of the ring. Steamboat follows with more chops and an atomic drop. Back in, Steamboat with a chop and elbow before Herc grabs his tights and propels him into the top turnbuckle. Herc works over Steamboat as we get a PiP of Savage rooting Steamboat on. Herc whips Steamboat to the ropes and catches him with a clothesline. Herc poses and hits an elbow drop for 2. Herc whips Steamboat to the ropes but drops his head too early and Steamboat comes off the ropes with a kick. Steamboat comes off the ropes with a chop. Steamboat hits a snapmare and drops another chop. Herc comes back with upper cuts. Steamboat heads to the corner where Herc follows and Steamboat gets his legs on Herc's shoulders and hits some ax kicks.

Steamboat rams Herc to a top turnbuckle and then follows with a swinging neckbreaker. Steamboat hits another chop but Herc rakes the eyes and applies the full nelson. We get another PiP of Savage freaking out and storms out. Savage runs to ringside and grabs Herc's leg as Steamboat is fading which results in Herc releasing the hold. Savage and Heenan argue as does Herc who goes out. The referee tries to maintain control as we go to commercial. We're back with Herc climbing the top turnbuckle and comes off with a splash but Steamboat gets his knees up to a pop. Didn't learn from Wrestlemania 2, Herc. Herc hits a bodyslam and comes off with an elbow but misses to a pop. Savage is amped as Heenan is panicking. Steamboat heads to the corner but Herc misses the charge. Steamboat comes back with chops to the stomach and other chop variations. Steamboat whips Herc to the corner and catches him coming out with a chop to a pop. Steamboat works over Herc in the corner and tries mounted chops in the corner but Herc gets out with an inverted atomic drop. Heenan throws Herc's chain in the ring and Herc uses it to choke Steamboat which gets him disqualified at 6:42. After the match, Herc swings Steamboat to the canvas with the chain and pulls back. Eventually, Herc and Heenan have enough and leave. Savage then goes in and turns Steamboat on his back like he's trying to help him only to climb the top turnbuckle and come off with the diving elbow drop as an added fuck you.

Thoughts: ** Decent TV match. Not as good as their Wrestlemania 2 encounter but solid action. The finish was lame as I don't get why Herc and Heenan look for the DQ loss when they had the advantage. The Savage stuff was definitely interesting and well done especially the aftermath but sadly, it doesn't age well. As is well documented, Steamboat would drop the title a month later to the Honky Tonk Man so he could be with his wife as she gave birth to their son. Sadly, this was not acceptable back in the day and it killed Steamboat's WWF career. With Honky winning the title, Savage would start to have a change of heart.

Okerlund interviews “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan who is in the crowd and brings up he's a new name to the SNME crowd but a familiar face to Volkoff and Sheik. He asks Duggan why is he sitting at ringside? Duggan says it's as simple as red, white, and blue as he loves this country, it's the greatest place on Earth, he loves the USA, and hates anyone who doesn't. Okerlund brings up Duggan is banned from ringside and ask what's he doing here? Duggan says he bought a ticket with his hard earned as he'll be here in case Volkoff tries to sing the Russian National Anthem. As Sean Connery once said “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious according to Oscar Wilde”. Seriously, I love America but blind patriotism is annoying.

We get a promo from Slick, Nikolai Volkoff, and The Iron Sheik. Slick says America can't deny Volkoff and Sheik their rights to freedom of speech and as one of America's greatest patriots, he will stand by them and the rights of the party: the Communist Party. Short but fine.

The Can-Am Connection vs. The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (w/Slick)- Before the match, Volkoff tries to sing the Russian National Anthem but Duggan chases Volkoff and Sheik out with the 2x4 before telling the commies this is the land of the free and home of the brave before encouraging a “USA” Chant.

Martel and Volkoff start with Volkoff working over Martel in the corner. Volkoff whips Martel to another corner but Martel does an up and over a charging Volkoff, somersaults backwards, and hits a dropkick followed by another. Tags to Zenk and Sheik with Zenk leapfrogging over Sheik, Sheik comes off, and the Can-Ams catch him with a double team hip toss. Zenk whips Sheik to the ropes but drops his head too soon and Sheik comes off with a kick. Sheik rams Zenk to the top turnbuckle and then into Volkoff's boot. Sheik hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Sheik hits a suplex for 2 as Duggan rallies the crowd behind the Can-Ams. Tag to Volkoff who hits the back as Sheik holds on. Volkoff whips Zenk to the ropes and catches him with a kick. Volkoff comes off with a stomp and then hits another stomp. Tag to Sheik who kicks the stomach as Volkoff holds Zenk. Sheik hits a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. Sheik applies an abdominal stretch as Duggan gets a “USA” chant going. Eventually, Zenk hip tosses out. Sheik recovers first, whips Zenk to the ropes, and catches him with a knee to the stomach. Sheik throws Zenk out and Volkoff goes out to attack Zenk while Martel comes in but Sheik takes care of him by throwing him over and out. Sheik and Volkoff then double team Zenk and argue with Duggan. Eventually, Duggan grabs the 2x4 and argues with Sheik while the Can-Ams and Volkoff are back in the ring. Duggan chases Sheik into the ring where Martel tags in and gets the distracted Sheik with an O'Connor roll for the win at 4:45 to a big pop. After the match, Sheik, Volkoff, and Slick triple team Duggan until he falls out of the ring. The Can-Ams and Duggan than clear the ring.

Thoughts: *1/2 Alright tag match for the time it had. The Can-Ams and Sheik were entertaining on the offense while Volkoff didn't offer much. A problem was having the Can-Ams taking a backseat to Duggan's stuff with Sheik and Volkoff giving WWF had big plans for them not that any of this mattered. Interestingly enough, this would be it for both teams. The Can-Ams would implode by July when Zenk abruptly left the WWF right as they set to win the WWF Tag Team Championship later in the year. Zenk and Martel had conflicting stories but apparently it was over a pay dispute. Zenk never appeared for the WWF ever again while Martel would find a new partner in Tito Santana and thus the spin off team of Strike Force would come together. As for Volkoff and Sheik, things would get interesting when Sheik and Duggan were arrested in June after being pulled off by police and were found to have drugs. While the arrest was bad, it was considered worse that Sheik and Duggan were together when they were supposed to be rivals thus breaking kayfabe. Both Sheik and Duggan would be fired though Duggan was brought back quickly. Sheik would briefly return for a couple of months in 1988 but was mostly relegated to house show appearances. With Sheik gone, the WWF would bring Boris Zhukov in from the AWA and would form a team with Volkoff called the Bolsheviks.

Vince and Ventura recap the show before going to commercial

Vince and Ventura then sign off

Final Thought and Verdict
Saturday Night's Main Event XI is a very weak entry as most of the matches range from alright to decent while we got another awful Savage/Steele match. The worst thing is almost nothing meant anything in the long run. The Honky/Roberts feud would fizzle, Savage/Steamboat fizzled, Steamboat's IC Title reign fizzled, and the Can-Ams and Sheik/Volkoff imploded. Within two months, this show was outdated. With no great matches and nothing meaning anything in the long run, I definitely skip this one.

Recommended to avoid

Saturday Night's Main Event XI Facts
First Saturday Night's Main Event not to feature Hulk Hogan in a match

The only SNME to have a lumberjack match