Saturday Night's Main Event XII Review

Saturday Night's Main Event XII Review
July 13, 2013 (edited November 21, 2024)
By Ryan Porzl

Event: Saturday Night's Main Event XII
Tagline: None
Date: October 3, 1987
Location: Hershey Park, Pennsylvania
Live or Tape: Tape (Taped on September 23, 1987)
Arena: Hershey Park Arena
Attendance: 9,000
Announcers: Vince McMahon & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Interviewers: “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Broadcast: NBC

We start with the SNME promos. Honky Tonk Man with Jimmy Hart says number 1 he'll shake, rattle, and roll Randy Savage all over the ring till he's curled like a pretzel. Number 2 he'll steal his woman because she likes the way Honky walks and talks and likes being with a winner.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth says that Elvis Impersonator has uttered his last insult ever. He says Macho Madness is ready tonight more than any time before, that Honky has a big mouth, and he's going to shut it for him.

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan with King Kong Bundy says Paul Orndorff was nothing before he managed him and groomed him. Bundy says Heenan even gave him his name of “Mr. Wonderful”. Heenan says “Mr. Blunderful” got his name from him and he's going to get a lot more from one of the biggest members of the Bobby Heenan Family in King Kong Bundy.

Mr. Fuji with Sika says Sika is a savage who will eat anything. Tonight he'll devour Hulk Hogan. Fuji ends by encouraging Sika to eat a chicken.

Hulk Hogan says Sika can eat all the chicken necks he wants but he won't be able to take a bite out of these 24 inch pythons as we go to the intro and tonight, the hunter becomes the hunted when he enter's Hogan's jungle as we go to the opening.

Vince and Heenan open the show by hyping the upcoming matches. Vince does a funny bit by asking Heenan what do the three champions have in common? Of course, it's the fact that Heenan doesn't manage any of them. Heenan promises a surprise tonight.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews the Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart and asks why Honky wants to go out first despite being champion? Honky says because his fans want to see a real champion and not some cheap imitation. He says he's going to go out so he can thank them and their support for greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion of all time. Okerlund says to Hart he's got to be concerned as this is one of the most eagerly awaited title matches ever. Hart asks why he should be concerned and asks if Okerlund knows any other man managing world champions today except yours truly? Okerlunds says Honky is cocky but Honky says he's cool, cocky, and bad and that he will steal Savage's woman. Fine promo from both.

Okerlund then interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth with Okerlund saying Savage has been living in conflicts in recent weeks. Savage says Okerlund must be psychic getting into the Macho Man's head. He says he's been in the dangerzone, east of the Pacific Ocean, west of London, England, south of Mars, and north of Hell. During the promo, he even bites a Jimmy Hart action figure. We get a funny bit where Savage says Honky doesn't know the difference between a guitar string and a g-string with Okerlund saying that's funny but Savage says it's not because everybody is super serious in the dangerzone. He says one must always focus on the glory of victory. Funny and entertaining promo.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Honky Tonk Man (c) (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth)- The story here is that Savage lost the IC Title to Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania III. 2 ½ months later, Honky beat Steamboat in a big upset to win the title and from there began claiming he was the “Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time” which didn't sit well with Savage. This was around the time Savage began to turn face but he wasn't there yet.

Tie up to start with both men going all over the ring jocking for position. As the ref tries to separate them, Honky gets a cheap shot. Honky follows with an elbow to the back of the head. Honky whips Savage to the ropes but Honky lowers his head too soon and Savage kicks him. Savage connects with a hair pull hangmen to a pop. Honky starts to beg at Savage but instead gets choked. Savage rams Honky to the top turnbuckle. Savage follows with a snapmare and drops the knees. Savage kicks Honky and works him over in the corner. Savage whips Honky into the corner and catches Honky coming out of the corner with a back elbow. On the outside, Hart starts walking towards Elizabeth and yelling at her with the megaphone. Savage heads outside and confronts Hart which allows Honky to sneak up and nail a double ax handle to boos. Honky throws Savage back in the ring and works over Savage. Honky whips Savage to the ropes, misses a clothesline, and Savage comes off with a bionic elbow.

Savage jabs Honky and snapmares him to the canvas. Knee drop misses. Honky hits a few punches and taunts Elizabeth. Snapmare and a second turnbuckle fist drop. Honky leaves the ring and begins hitting on Elizabeth. Savage recovers and hits Honky from behind with an elbow to a good pop. Another elbow and Savage heads back to the ring. Savage climbs to the top and comes off with a diving double ax handle. Back in the ring, Savage rams Honky to the turnbuckles and rolls him up for 2 as Hart pulls Honky's foot on the rope. Savage hits a belly to back suplex and cover but Hart breaks the pin up by pulling Savage's hair. Savage climbs to the top but Hart tries to grab his leg. Diving double ax handle gets 2 as Hart pulls Honky away. Savage grabs Hart and knocks him out with a punch. Savage whips Honky to the ropes but lowers his head which allows Honky to attempt a sunset flip. Savage blocks it by punching Honky.

Honky heads to the outside to check on Hart. The Hart Foundation come to ringside to check on Hart. Honky gets on the apron as Savage snapmares him back in the ring. Savage chokes him a few times before Honky rolls out to check on Hart. Honky and the Harts carry Jimmy Hart to the back as we go to commercial. We're back from commercial with Honky returning with the Hart Foundation. Savage blocks a punch and gets one of his own. Honky gets rammed on the turnbuckle. Savage hits a snapmare and an elbow drop. Another punch from Savage. Honky starts to fight back but it not for long as Savage works over Honky with bionic elbows. Savage whips Honky to the corner but misses a charge. Honky takes control as he whips Savage to the ropes and gets a back body drop. Honky then starts to taunt Elizabeth. Savage takes Honky down for 1. Honky slams Savage face first in the canvas. Honky sends Savage to the corner and hits mounted punches in the corner.

Another snapmare but Honky misses the second turnbuckle fist drop for 2. Savage takes control with bionic elbow. Savage whips Honky to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Honky begs but Savage won't have it and works over Honky. Savage chokes Honky in the corner with his knee. Savage whips Honky to the ropes and hits an elbow for 2. Suplex gets 2. Honky rakes the eyes and throws Savage out of the ring. On cue, the Harts start attacking Savage like wolves all the while Honky is distracting the referee. The Harts drop Savage on the guardrail. The Harts throw Savage back in as Honky drops an elbow but only gets 2. Honky attempts Shake, Rattle, and Roll but Savage back drops out of it. Savage hits a bodyslam and goes to the top. Diving elbow drop and Savage covers but of course, the Harts run in and attack Savage to give him the disqualification win at 13:00 and saving Honky's title.

After the match, the big moment occurs as Savage gets triple teamed. Honky eventually grabs his guitar as the Harts hold Savage. Honky prepares to nail Savage until Elizabeth comes in to try and stop. Being the jerk he is, Honky pushes Elizabeth and taunts her to boos. Elizabeth leaves as Honky finally blasts Savage with the guitar. The shot looked nasty as this was before they pre-cut the guitars and I'm surprised Savage neck didn't break. More triple teaming until Elizabeth brings Hulk Hogan out. Hogan gets triple teamed coming in the ring but eventually starts fighting back. Savage gets up and the two fight off Honky and the Harts to a big pop. Afterwards, the two stare until finally Savage offers his hand in friendship. Hogan accepts and with that, the Megapowers are born.

Thoughts: **** Great match with great action and a great story told. The match played the Honky formula for the time but that was effective especially the finish as it continues things as Honky lives to fight another day. Everybody did a great job playing their roles especially Elizabeth and Hart while the match never dragged and the crowd was hot. The aftermath is obviously legendary.

Okerlund interviews Mr. Fuji and Sika. Fuji likes it as Hogan is now tired. Okerlund asks Fuji if Sika is ready to which Fuji says yes. He mentions he trains Sika in his torture chamber and that Sika loves chickens. He goes into nice detail of Sika biting on a chicken's head with the brain dripping out slowly and the eyes falling out. Gotta love Fuji. Good and entertaining promo. Fuji wasn't everyone's taste as a manager but I love his style.

Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan. He says everyone knows that Hulkamania is the strongest force in the universe but when the Madness and the Mania came together it was unbelievable. Now that he's going into the jungle, he has to stay hungry and that's what it's all about. Okerlund asks if he's ready for Sika with Hogan saying he knows about the wild samoan, how he lives, and how he survives. He says in the jungle, it's survival of the fittest. Hogan says he's hungrier than Sika and will take him apart. Okerlund brings up Mr. Fuji. Hogan says the hulkamaniacs are surviving this jungle. Good promo.

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Sika (w/Mr. Fuji and Kim Chee)- Sika is replacing Kamala who left the WWF at this point. Sika is, of course, best known for his success in the Wild Samoans with brother Afa and later as the father of Roman Reigns and former WWE World Tag Team Champion Rosey. This was an unusual period in his career as he came back the previous year where he teamed with Kamala and wrestled solo but neither time was successful.

Tie up to start with Sika hitting Hogan as the ref tries to separate them. Sika starts stomping at Hogan and then distracts the ref which allows Fuji to choke Hogan with his cane. Sika starts stomping and chopping at Hogan again. Sika distracts the ref again as Fuji jabs Hogan in the throat with the cane. Jumping headbutt misses to a good pop. Hogan nails some punches and clotheslines Sika out. Frustrated, Sika hits the apron with his hands and head. Back in the ring, Sika charges but Hogan drops to the canvas and catches Sika coming off the ropes with a big boot. Hogan drops two elbows. He picks Sika up and starts punching. Sika nearly gets punched out of the ring but holds on to the ropes. Kim Chee gets on the apron but Hogan kicks his ass. The distraction pays off as Sika chops Hogan over and out of the ring. Sika follows and works over Hogan. Sika tries to ram Hogan into the post but Hogan stops and pushes Sika into it to a pop.

Fuji tries to sneak up on Hogan but gets caught. Hogan beats him up and takes his cane. A second ref stops Hogan from using it on Fuji. Hogan heads back in with the cane with the two refs trying to regain control as we go to a commercial. We're back as the refs take the cane and Sika gets back in the ring. Sika charges but Hogan sidesteps and Sika run into the corner and gets knocked down. Hogan comes off the ropes with a splash but Sika gets his knees up. Sika drops a headbutt and starts choking again. Sika continues the punishment as the fans starting rallying for Hogan. Punch to the throat and more choking. Sika distracts the ref so Fuji can once again choke Hogan with the cane. Throat thrust gets 2. Sika starts applying pressure to the pectoral area. Hogan fades as the ref checks his arm. Hogan keeps his arm up at the third attempt and starts coming back. Hogan fights out and runs the ropes but both collide and go down.

Sika recovers first and drops three headbutts for 2. Hogan hulks up and nails three punches. Bodyslam and leg drop finish at 7:59 to a big pop. After the match, Hogan punches Fuji on the apron, slingshots Kim Chee in the ring, and nails him with atomic drop which sends him out of the ring.

Thoughts: ** Decent match with a good crowd. Not bad but the usual Hogan vs. monster TV match.

Okerlund interviews “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and Sir Oliver Humperdink. Orndorff claims that he's declared war on the Heenan Family after Bobby Heenan wanted him to take a second seat to someone else but Mr. Wonderful takes a second seat to nobody. Humperdink says Orndorff was tired of lying for Heenan and tired of lying to the fans. Orndorff says he's tired of lying to himself. He says everyone knows the way Bobby Heenan manipulates people and the type of man who would sell his own mother's soul. Okerlund reminds Orndorff it's Bundy tonight but Orndorff says he's going to make the fat lady sing the blues. Solid promo from Orndorff while Humperdink was short but solid as well.

Okerlund interviews King Kong Bundy and says Heenan's foolish for staying at the broadcast booth. Bundy says it shows the confidence Bobby Heenan has in his abilities. Okerlund says the Heenan Family isn't infallible. Bundy mentions how the Heenan Family sticks together and they're a “big” family. Solid promo and I like Bundy bringing up a “big” family which is important later.

King Kong Bundy vs. Paul Orndorff (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink)- This was nearly the end of the road for Orndorff and Bundy as both feel irrelevant by this point after being big deals for years. As mentioned in previous reviews, during his feud with Hogan, Orndorff suffered a real injury to his right bicep while weightlifting. Because he was in the top feud, Orndorff put off recovery until the conclusion of the feud. During this time, Bobby Heenan replaced Orndorff with the debuting “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Upon his return, Orndorff would be apart of the Heenan Family until he had enough and fired Heenan on the August 22^nd Superstars of Wrestling for trying to have Orndorff take a backseat to Rude thus becoming a face again. Humperdink was a pretty well-known manager in Canada and several NWA territories like Championship Wrestling from Florida and Jim Crockett Promotions. Despite spending most of his career as a heel, Humperdink was a babyface in the WWF which he didn't care for. I'm guessing the logic behind it was the WWF thought they had enough heel managers (which they did).

Anyway, Orndorff jumps Bundy and hammers away. Orndorff whips Bundy to the ropes but misses a dropkick as Bundy holds on to the ropes and Orndorff crashes to the canvas. Bundy stomps on Orndorff and rams him into the turnbuckle. Bundy hits Orndorff with a forearm and starts choking him. Orndorff tries to fight back but Bundy hammers away with forearms. Bundy then drives his knee to the back of Orndorff's neck and them chokes him with his boot. Bundy whips Orndorff to the ropes but lowers his head too early and Orndorff sunset flips for 2. Bundy gets up first and hits an elbow on the back of Orndorff's neck. Bundy whips Orndorff to the ropes and catches him with a back elbow. Bundy taunts the fans to a chorus of boos. Orndorff tries to fight back but can't. Bundy gets a bodyslam and comes off but misses an elbow drop. Orndorff rakes Bundy's eyes and lands a few punches. Bundy gets raked on the ropes.

Orndorff climbs the second turnbuckle and hits a second turnbuckle bionic elbow. Fist drop gets 2 as Heenan gets up and leaves the broadcast booth. Orndorff stomps Bundy. Orndorff whips Bundy to the ropes and connects with a dropkick. Andre the Giant comes out as Heenan returns to the table revealing his surprise. Orndorff hits a knee lift. Orndorff whips Bundy to the ropes and connects with another dropkick that sends Bundy to the outside. Andre starts talking with Bundy while Orndorff consults with Humperdink as we go to a commercial. We're back with both in the ring. The two tie up with Bundy muscling Orndorff in the corner. Bundy misses a forearm as Orndorff gets out of the corner and starts hammering away. Bundy fights out of the corner and rams Orndorff into the turnbuckle. Snapmare and Bundy drops a knee for 2. Bundy whips Orndorff to the ropes but Bundy lowers his head too early and Orndorff comes off with a kick to a pop.

Orndorff starts punching Bundy and eventually knocks him down. Orndorff gets two elbow drops but panders the crowd too long and misses a third. Bundy hip tosses Orndorff and drops a knee for 2. Chinlock from Bundy with Orndorff trying to fight it but starts fading. The referee checks his arms but Orndorff keeps it up at the third try. Orndorff gets up and starts fighting out but Bundy lets go of the hold and nails him with a forearm. Bundy whips Orndorff to the corner but misses an avalanche. Orndorff comes back with more punching and rams Bundy into the turnbuckle. Bundy reverses an irish whip to the corner. Orndorff moves out of the corner and nearly botches the spot as Andre can't grab Orndorff's trunks. Quickly, Orndorff moves closer allowing Andre to grab the trunks and pull him back into the corner which allows Bundy to finish with the avalanche at 8:00.

Thoughts: ** Decent match and a little better than I remember. The action was solid, the crowd was into it, and the finish was good. My only thing is other than maybe because Orndorff would be on the opposing team at Survivor Series against Andre and Bundy, not sure why Andre came out when Orndorff was feuding with Rude at the time.

Okerlund interviews The Hart Foundation and is disgusted by their actions from earlier. Neidhart is angry since Jimmy Hart is their meal ticket and now they have to go out there without him. Neidhart describes the Young Stallions as so young and handsome with Bret saying they're the type that you slap and punch. This angers Okerlund as drops the mic and walks off. Entertaining promo.

WWF World Tag Team Championship: The Hart Foundation (c) vs. The Young Stallions- There actually was a rivalry here as the story was the Stallions began using Jimmy Hart's song “Crank It Up” which Hart claimed was supposed to be for the Hart Foundation. The Stallions also defeated the Foundation by disqualification on the August 8^th edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling.

Neidhart and Roma start with Neidhart getting the best of the tie ups. Neidhart misses a double ax handle in the corner and Roma takes him down with an arm drag. Roma gets Neidhart up and applies an arm wringer. Tag to Powers who comes off the second turnbuckle with a double ax handle the arm. Powers gets an arm wringer. Neidhart recovers and bodyslams Powers. Tag to Bret who walks into a back body drop. Powers rams Bret into Roma's boot. Bret reverses an irish whip but lowers his head too early and Powers sunset flips him for 2. Powers works over the arm until Bret whips him to the ropes. Bret misses a clothesline and Powers comes off the ropes with a crossbody for 2. Powers runs the ropes and shoulder blocks Bret. Powers comes off the ropes while Bret drops down to the canvas, Powers jumps over, comes off the ropes, and Bret catches Powers with a knee to the stomach. Bret hits a pendulum backbreaker.

Tag to Neidhart who hammers away then distracts the ref which allows Bret to come in illegally and drop an elbow. Neidhart rams Powers into Bret's boot. Tag to Bret as Neidhart whips Powers to the ropes. Neidhart misses a clothesline but Bret kick Powers as he tries to come off the ropes. Second turnbuckle double ax handle follows. Bret headbutts Powers and starts choking. Tag to Neidhart who punches Powers and hits a hot shot. Neidhart starts biting. Tag to Bret who punches Powers, whips him to the ropes but Powers leapfrogs, and makes the hot tag to Roma. Roma cleans house on the Harts. All four are in the ring. The Hart gets whipped into each other. Double dropkick sends Neidhart out of the ring. Powers whips Bret to the ropes, drops down to the canvas, Bret jumps over, and Roma catches him with a powerslam for 2 as Neidhart breaks the pin. As the ref tries to get Powers back on the apron, the Harts illegally double team Roma and hit the Hart Attack to retain at 4:35.

Thoughts: * Blah match that didn't last long and didn't come off as a championship match. It didn't help I didn't buy the Stallions and they were bland. The Hart would lose the titles a month later to Strike Force.

Okerlund interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan with Okerlund coining the Megapowers name. Okerlund asks Hogan what's happening but Hogan says they don't know what they're dealing with and he's afraid to shake Savage's hand as it might blow the whole planet up. He says everyone knows Hulkamania is the strongest force in the universe but when he hit that ring and he saw what the Madness was all about, he realized there was another universe out there, another frontier. Hogan says the Madness and the Mania blew his 24 in guns out. Okerlund asks Savage if there is another solar system to which Savage says he's in a state of shock. He said he used to be reckless abandonment but Elizabeth opened his eyes and the big man (Hogan) endorsed Macho Madness. Savage says it's the direction of the Megapowers and he feels the power. Okerlund says Savage was hit on the head but Savage says he feels better than ever. Hogan says they could take the WWF. Good and funny promo. Man, what stuff were they on before they cut this promo?

We get the world premier of the Piledriver music video. It's an alright song and video but nothing special though Koko singing it is one of the highlights of his WWF career.

Vince and Heenan sign off as we go to credits.

Final Thoughts and Verdict
SNME XII starts great with the IC Title match and Megapowers forming and while the show peaked early, the WWF Championship and Bundy/Orndorff were decent matches especially for TV. The Tag Team Championship match was the only lackluster match but one great match, a historical alliance forming, and two decent TV matches make this worth a look.

Recommended

Saturday Night's Main Event XII Facts-
SNME XII was the event that the Megapowers formed.

Sika replaced Kamala as Hulk Hogan's opponent

Last SNME not to be announced by Jesse Ventura until Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII in October 1990

Last SNME to be announced by Bobby Heenan until Saturday Night's Main Event XXX in February 1992