WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XIII Review

WWF Saturday Night's Main Event XIII Review

December 16, 2013 (edited May 7, 2025)
By Ryan Porzl

Event: Saturday Night's Main Event XIII
Tagline: None
Date: November 28, 1987
Location: Seattle, Washington
Live or Tape: Tape (Taped November 11, 1987)
Arena: Seattle Center Coliseum
Attendance: 16,000
Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Interviewers: “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Other: None
Broadcast: NBC

We start with a “Macho Man” Randy Savage promo with the Twilight Zone music. He says we have entered the Danger Zone which is east of Saturn, west of Jupiter, south of Mars, and north of Hell. He brings up the last SNME where Honky and the Harts wanted to maim Miss Elizabeth. He makes a vow that vengeance will be his and Bret Hart will burn tonight.

We now go to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and King Kong Bundy with the usual music. Heenan tells everyone to wake up cause history will be made and he has a big surprise. Bundymania lives and Hulkamania is dead. Bundy says “Long Live Bundymania”!

Hulk Hogan says Bundymania is a lot of cheap talk and it takes more than that to defeat Hulkamania. He says to Bundy that he's big, strong, and brave but to beat him, you have to beat the prayers, vitamins, and the training as well as the Hulkamaniacs. Hogan then says Bundy has to beat a 24 inch gun salute.

We go to intro

Vince McMahon and Jesse “the Body” Ventura welcome us and preview the show.

We get a clip of “Dangerous” Danny Davis hitting George Steele with the ring bell from SNME XI back in May.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews George “The Animal” Steele. Okerlund tries to interview him but Steele says nothing but Elizabeth while holding a Miss Elizabeth doll. I think I'm losing brain cells listening to Steele's interviews. Why the hell was this guy still around in November 1987? What can I say I haven't already?

We get a pretape interview with Ventura interviewing Danny Davis who says Steele should've been banned a long time ago. Davis agrees with Ventura and that if WWF President Jack Tunney could ban him, a man of integrity, than he should've banned Steele a long time ago. He says he rung Steele's bell before and he'll do it again. Nothing special.

George Steele vs. Danny Davis- Story here is Davis cost Steele his match against Savage back on SNME XI in May after nailing him with the ring bell. From there, the two wrestled on and off on the house show circuit. For some reason, Jimmy Hart isn't out with Davis.

Steele starts by charging at Davis and proceeds to bite him in the corner to a big pop. Steele rams Davis in the corner and throat tosses him. Davis bails out and Steele chases the ref out. Back in, Davis sneak attacks Steele and hammers away but he doesn't sell it. Steele starts punching Davis and knocks him out of the ring to a pop. We get some stalling. Davis comes back in the ring and tries to sneak attack but Steele stops him and Davis bails again. Back in, Davis tries to sneak attack but Steele drop toe holds him which impresses Ventura. Davis rolls out yet again but Steele rams him to the apron. Steele starts chasing Davis around ringside until Davis runs back in the ring. Steele tries to bring a chair in but the ref won't allow it. We get hilarious comments with Ventura acting outraged but Vince says he just wants to sit down and watch Davis run around the ring. The distraction allows Davis to hit Steele with an object though I can't tell what it is. Davis continues to work over Steele with the object and making sure the ref doesn't see it. Finally, Steele grabs Davis and lifts him up with a hammerlock until Davis starts kicking and hits the ref which disqualifies Davis at 3:49. After the match, Davis argues with referee Joey Marella but Steele wins by DQ. Steele chases Davis out and rips open a turnbuckle only for Davis to try to jump him but it doesn't work and Steele chases Davis away.

Thoughts: DUD Shitty match with too much stalling and not much else though to be fair the crowd was into it. Can't say I'm surprised though cause Steele could have a bad match with anybody. If Savage couldn't carry him to anything good then Davis sure as hell isn't.

We get clips of the last SNME with the Hart Foundation costing Randy Savage a chance to regain the Intercontinental Title.

Okerlund interviews The Hart Foundation and Jimmy Hart. Okerlund says he's sicken by the treachery and villainy practiced by them. Bret says practice makes perfect. Okerlund says Savage may have the last laugh but Hart says they'll finish what they started. Okerlund brings up them putting their hands on Elizabeth but Hart says she's the daughter of the devil and his men did what they had to do. Okerlund brings up Honky hitting Savage with the guitar but Hart says Savage is lucky Honky doesn't carry a piano. Solid promo, I like Bret's part.

We get clips of Honky shoving Elizabeth.

Okerlund interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Okerlund asks Elizabeth how she's doing and she says there's some pain but she's fine. Savage says he's not fine and he's never been hungrier. He vows he won't rest till he gets those cowards and gives them what they deserve. Vengeance is Savage's. Okerlund warns he needs to chill out before he faces Bret. Savage says he's in the dangerzone and he's never been more ready. Good intense promo from Savage.

Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) vs. Bret Hart (w/Jimmy Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart)- Prior to the match, Neidhart and Hart gang up on Elizabeth until Savage jumps out of the ring to scare them off as we go to commercial.

We get pre-recorded words from Honky who says he told Bret not to destroy Savage but to save some for him. He says he's not done playing with Savage and Elizabeth.

Savage starts by chasing the Harts around ringside until eventually grabbing Bret and hitting him with a bionic elbow. Savage rams Bret to the post and heads into the ring to taunt. Crowd is loud. Savage grabs Bret coming into the ring and works him over in the corner. We get a series of irish whip reversals until Savage whips Bret into the corner. Savage charges in but misses. Bret starts working over Savage in the corner and chokes him to boos. Bret hits a snapmare and follows with an elbow drop. Bret whips Savage to the ropes but lowers his head to early and Savage kicks it to cheers. Savage comes back with a running bionic elbow. Bret rolls to the apron but Savage grabs him and rakes the eyes until the ref pulls him off. Savage pushes Bret off the apron and to the guardrail. Jimmy Hart and Neidhart check on Bret. They then hop on the apron to argue with Savage only for Savage to hit them with a noggin knocker to a good pop.

Savage climbs to the top turnbuckle and comes off with a diving double ax handle but Bret nails him coming down with the megaphone. Bret gets back in the ring to distract the ref which allows Neidhart to attack Savage and throw him back in the ring. Bret punches Savage, whips him to the ropes, and catches him with a kick. Bret yells at Elizabeth and leg drops Savage. Bret puts Savage in the tree of woe position in the corner and works him over. Bret hits a piledriver for 2 to a good pop. Bret hits a bionic elbow and whips Savage to the corner but misses the shoulder block. Savage throws Bret shoulder first into the post. Savage hits a snapmare and climbs to the top turnbuckle. Bret gets up and Savage nails a diving double ax handle for 2. Bret comes back with a punch to the stomach and a pendulum backbreaker. Bret climbs to the second turnbuckle but misses elbow drop to a pop. Savage kicks Bret and hits a hair-pulling hangman with Bret taking a nice bump.

Savage pins for 2. Savage works over Bret on the ropes until the ref tries to separate the two. Savage stops to argue with the ref and then charges at Bret but gets back body dropped out of the ring with Savage taking a nice bump. Savage starts selling his leg. Elizabeth helps Savage untie his boot as we go to commercial. We're back with Savage having his boot is off. Savage slowly crawls back in but can't stand up. Savage eventually gets up with the ropes and encourages Bret to come and fight. Bret, to no surprise, zeroes in on the leg with punches and stomps. Bret rolls out of the ring and rams the leg on the post. Back in, Bret gets a spinning toe hold but Savage kicks him off with Bret going shoulder first into the post. Savage puts Bret on the rope and pulls the rope back to knock Bret down and pins Bret for 2. Bret take control and works over the leg. Bret applies a half crab but Savage gets the rope break. Savage goes to the apron but Bret snapmares him back in. Bret tries to go for the leg but Savage rakes the eyes. Savage goes back to the apron. Bret grabs Savage and tries to bodyslam him back in but Savage holds the leg and reverses into a small package for the win at 12:03. After the match, Neidhart grabs Savage's legs but Savage kicks him out of the ring. Bret grabs Savage for Jimmy Hart but Savage moves and Hart ends up hitting Bret with the megaphone and the heels scurry.

Thoughts: **** Damn great match but you would expect that from these two. Big kudos to Savage for selling that leg. The psychology was great and the win was believable with Savage out wrestling Bret instead of making some super comeback. It sucks we never saw these two wrestle each other between 1992-1994 outside of their May 94 match during WWF's Japanese Tour which I think only exist in bootleg form.

Okerlund interviews King Kong Bundy and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Heenan takes the mic and hypes up Bundy until eventually saying Hulkamania dies and Bundymania is born. Heenan gets an awesome bit by saying the humanoids have as much brains as Okerlund has hair. Okerlund says Hogan will have the support of millions. Heenan doesn't care about the Hulkamorons and says he has a big surprise. A huge surprise. Entertaining promo but what do you expect from Heenan?

Before the match, Heenan announces his surprise as Andre the Giant, who will be in Bundy's corner.
Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan. Okerlund says it looks to be 3 against 1 but Hogan disagrees about it being 3 against 1 as it's 3 against the 24 inch gun salute. Hogan also says he has a secondary survival pack in him in case full of training and vitamins that will kick in and it will wipe all three of them out. Ok Hogan type promo.

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy (w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Andre The Giant)- They start by going face to face and shoving each other. Hogan gets a side headlock. Bundy whips Hogan to the ropes and Hogan comes off with a shoulder block but Bundy doesn't move. Hogan runs the ropes and attempts another shoulder block but Bundy braces himself and Hogan ricochets off. Hogan comes off the ropes with a jumping knee to a pop for 2. First bodyslam attempt doesn't work as usual with Bundy falling on top for 2. Bundy stomps on Hogan and drives his knee into the back as fans chant “Hogan”. Bundy works over Hogan until Hogan bails to regroup. Back in and more of the same from Bundy. Bundy gets the bodyslam but misses the splash to a good pop. Hogan starts punching Bundy. Hogan whips Bundy to the ropes and comes off the other side with the ax bomber. Hogan drops 3 elbows for 2. Hogan hits Bundy with more punches. Hogan whips Bundy to the ropes but lowers his head too early which allows Bundy to come off with a forearm.

Bundy hits a clothesline and drops a knee for 2. Bundy applies a chinlock and works on it for a while until Hogan eventually fights out. Hogan runs the ropes, Bundy throws a clothesline but Hogan ducks and hits some punches. Hogan whips Bundy to the ropes and catches him with a big boot. Crowd is cheering as Hogan tries to come off the rope for the leg drop but Andre trips him. Hogan gets distracted by Andre with Bundy trying to jump him but Hogan catches him and punches him out of the ring. We get some confusion as the bell rings and Fink jumps on the apron. A second ref comes out and tries to get Andre to go to the back but he won't. Eventually Bundy and Heenan convince him to go to the back or Bundy will be disqualified. Andre eventually goes to the back with him and Hogan continuing the whole “pointing at and threaten each other” bit. In a cool moment, Andre pushes a camera man down because he's now an asshole heel just as we go to commercial.

We're back with Bundy regaining control and ramming Hogan to the turnbuckle. Bundy works him over and rams him into another turnbuckle and chops him. Hogan reverses an irish whip into the corner and follows with a running clothesline. Bundy gets rammed on all four corners and Hogan follows with chops. Hogan whips Bundy to the ropes and catches him with a jumping knee. Hogan misses the elbow drop and Bundy comes back with a stomp and drops an ax handle for 2. Bundy whips Hogan to the corner so hard Hogan falls to the canvas. Bundy hooks in a bearhug for a bit as fans chant “Hogan”. Hogan fights out with bionic elbows and comes off the ropes but Bundy hits an elbow. Bundy whips Hogan to the ropes and hits the avalanche and follows with a splash for 2. Hogan hulks up as Bundy starts punching him and Hogan no sells. Hogan hits the three punches and successfully bodyslams Bundy to a big pop. Bundy wisely rolls out of the ring and pulls Hogan out as Hogan tries to grab him. They fight on the outside with Hogan no-selling Bundy's offense. Hogan throws Bundy back in but Heenan grabs Hogan's foot to prevent him from coming in. Hogan kicks him off but it's too late as the referee counts Hogan out at 13:45. Man, not a good weekend for Hogan as he gets counted out again. Afterwards Heenan celebrates as Howard Finkel makes the announcement which makes no sense since Bundy didn't win the title. After the match, Hogan punches Bundy out of the ring and brings Heenan in. Hogan throat tosses Heenan around the ring a few times to a big pop until Bundy pulls him out.

Thoughts: *1/2 Very paint by numbers “Hogan vs. Big Man” match. Both tried but nothing special and it's clear this was to set up a rematch. Their Wrestlemania 2 match was far better. The booking was very well done as it allows WWF to do a rematch and have Andre at ringside throughout the match which stacks the deck against Hogan.

Okerlund interviews Hercules. Okerlund brings up Herc will have to go it alone with Heenan injured and that he has a big battle ahead of him. Hercules says it's the same story and that is if he or Heenan or Race or Andre do something then they are called henchmen, thugs, and assassins but when Hogan does something than he's an angel. Okerlund brings up Bigelow and Hercules says once he gets the full nelson on Bigelow, his head will turn red and his eyes will bug out just like his manager. Fine promo.

Okerlund interviews Bam Bam Bigelow and Sir Oliver Humperdink. Bigelow says Humperdink said he would take him to the big time and this is it. Bigelow says when he's done, Hercules will have one link in his chain. Okerlund brings to Humperdink that Heenan is still bitter Bigelow didn't sign with him and Humperdink says if Heenan was half the manager he thinks he is than Bigelow would be with Heenan. Nothing special from either guy. Short and to the point.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. Hercules- Because of the asskicking he got from Hogan, Bobby Heenan is absent from ringside. Bigelow is replacing “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Not sure why.

Stare down to start with Bigelow pushing Herc after Hercules starts to pose. They circle each other and tie up but nothing comes from it. Bigelow gets Hercules in the corner but gives a clean break. Herc comes off the ropes and hits a shoulder block but nothing. Herc comes off with another shoulder block but is stagged after Bigelow braces himself. They tease another tie up but Herc knees Bigelow in the stomach and starts working him over with forearms and knees. Hercules whips Bigelow to the ropes. Herc charges but Bigelow gets out of the way. Bigelow works over Hercules with forearms. Hercules reverses an irish whip to the ropes, misses a clothesline but connects with an elbow. Hercules hits a clothesline and Bigelow leans on the ropes. Herc comes off the ropes and clotheslines Bigelow over and out of the ring. Bigelow tries to get back in but Hercules leans him on the ropes and forearms him in the chest.

Bigelow comes back by snapmaring Hercules out of the ring. The two start fighting on the outside until Bigelow bodyslams Hercules on the floor. The ref counts both of them out and declares a draw but Bigelow gets the microphone and wants the match to continue as we go to a commercial. We're back as the match restarts. They go into a football position and charge but neither budge. Hercules charges and drops down only for Bigelow to cartwheel over him, come off the ropes, and catches him with a shoulder block to a pop. Bigelow whips Hercules to the ropes and attempts a dropkick but Herc holds on the to the ropes to stop himself as Bigelow crashes to the canvas. Hercules drops an elbow, then another, and then hits a knee drop as the fans rally behind Bigelow. Herc climbs the top turnbuckle as Bigelow starts to get up. Herc jumps off the top but Bigelow catches him and gorilla press slams him. Bigelow goes to the apron and slingshot splashes back in for the win at 7:00 to a pop.

Thoughts: ** Decent big man match fans were into and we got some nice bumping and agility from both.

Okerlund interviews King Kong Bundy and Andre the Giant. Okerlund brings up Heenan's absence due to an injury. Bundy says it's the greatest night of his life and that Bobby Heenan will be back. Bundy demands a rematch and this time wants Andre in his corner. He then promises the Bundyholics that he'll be the next champion with Andre on his side. Ventura comes in to congratulate Bundy and says he's the heavyweight champion of the world to him and with Andre in his corner, Bundy will be the next champion as we go to a commercial. A solid promo from Bundy to set up next SNME.

We're back with Okerlund interviewing Hulk Hogan. Hogan doesn't deny Bundy got his hand raised in victory but says it was a shallow victory as Bundy needs to pin him for 3 or submit. Hogan wants the rematch more since he has something to prove. Hogan wants Andre in Bundy's corner to give him what he gave Heenan while he'll have the Hulkamanics in his corner. Another solid promo as Hogan made a good point about wanting to prove a point and it again sets up the next edition.

We finish with Vince, Ventura, and Okerlund in the locker room. Vince asks Okerlund if they have updates on Bobby Heenan's neck injury. Okerlund says no and asks who cares? Ventura cares and pushes Okerlund. Vince signs off and tells us they'll be back on New Year's weekend.

Final Thoughts and Verdict
SNME XIII was pretty good outing with a great Savage/Bret match while Hogan/Bundy and Bigelow/Herc were ok to decent. The Savage/Bret match is worth seeing especially if you wanted to see it and the Hogan/Bundy match does a good job to set up the next SNME.

Recommended

SNME XIII Facts-
Bam Bam Bigelow replaced “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan against Hercules.