WWF The Main Event I Review

WWF The Main Event I Review
February 3, 2014 (Edited October 1, 2025)
By Ryan Porzl

Event: The Main Event I
Tagline: None
Date: February 5,1988
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Live or Tape: Live
Arena: Market Square Arena
Attendance: Unknown
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Interviewers: “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Other: None
Broadcast: NBC

In case you don't know, The Main Event was a spinoff of Saturday Night's Main Event that aired once or twice a year on Friday Night in prime time.

We start with the opening promos. “Macho Man” Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth and says he's sending Honky Tonk Man on a one way ticket back to disgraceland.

Honky Tonk Man with Jimmy Hart says Savage couldn't keep this belt or his woman happy and wasn't a good tune up for his guitar. Hart says Savage is lucky Honky plays the guitar and not the piano.

Ted Dibiase with Andre the Giant says Andre's the true World Champion. Hulk Hogan may have the belt but it will fit around Andre's waist like Andre's hands fit around Hogan's neck. Andre says it felt good and he can't wait to do it again.

Hogan says he and Hulkamaniacs were fighting for their lives when Andre choked him and hulkamaniacs couldn't breathe either. He says when he steps in the ring, the thoughts and prayers of the hulkamaniacs that stood with him for the good and bad and they will step in the ring with him. Hogan says with that Hulkamania will never die as we go to intro.

Vince and Ventura open the show.

We get a video of Hulk Hogan training for his match. Oddly enough, the video has Jake “The Snake” Roberts “Snake Bit” theme as the music. Video is pretty good and I like training videos before a big match. While the Snake Bit song was an odd choice, it's a great tune.

“Mean” Gene Okerlund interviews The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart. Honky says he has the title, the belt, and he'll have the woman. Hart asks Honky where he'll take her. He'll take her down to lonely street at Heartbreak Hotel but he won't be cruel. Entertaining promo as Honky and Hart bounced off very well.

Okerlund interviews “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Okerlund asks Elizabeth if she's worried about regarding Honky. Savage says when they enter the ring, it will be the danger zone. Elizabeth has nothing to worry about while Honky has everything to worry about. Okerlund asks about his comments but Savage says it's fuel to the fire and guarantees the Madness will prevail and vengeance will be his. Very good promo.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Honky Tonk Man (c) (w/Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue) vs. Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth)- This was the blow off to the Honky/Savage feud which began when Honky won the title in June and then began proclaiming himself as “The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time” much to Savage's chagrin which slowly led to Savage turning face. Then on the SNME XII in October, Savage challenged Honky only for the Harts to cost him the title which lead to a 3-on-1 beating until Elizabeth brought out Hogan for help which solidified Savage's face turn and the formation of the Mega Powers. Peggy Sue is Sensational Sherri with a blonde wig and 50s look. Savage gets distracted by Jimmy Hart which allows Honky to hit on Elizabeth.

Savage eventually chases Honky out to start. Savage follows and catches Honky with a bionic elbow. They go into the ring with Savage hitting Honky with a hair pull hangmen on the ropes. Back in, Savage hits another bionic elbow, whips Honky to the corner, and catches Honky coming out with an elbow. Honky bails out to regroup but Savage grabs Honky and Hart and hits them with a noggin knocker to a pop. Savage tosses Honky back in but Hart grabs Savage's leg as he's coming in which allows Honky to hit some forearms. Honky works over Savage. Savages reverses irish whip to the ropes and Honky goes for a sunset flip but Savage punches him off. We get a few irish whip reversals until Savage whips Honky to the corner. Savage misses the charge and Honky comes back with a snapmare but misses an elbow drop to a pop. Hart jumps on the apron to distract Savage. Savage chases Hart at ringside and back into the ring.

During this, Hart drops his megaphone and distracts Savage and the ref long enough for Honky to nail Savage with the megaphone. Honky takes forever to go for the pin and Savage kicks out at 2. Honky's annoyed but that's what you get for wasting time? Honky follows with a snapmare and chinlock. Savage eventually fights out with elbows to the stomach and comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock. Savage comes off the ropes again but Honky catches him with a knee to the stomach and Savage rolls out to the floor. Honky follows with a diving double ax handle off the apron. Honky tosses Savage back and works him over. Honky once again taunts Elizabeth which distracts the ref long enough for Hart to choke Savage. Honky stomps Savage, taunts Elizabeth, and distracts the ref for Hart to interfere. Honky punches Savage to the corner as the fans chant “Randy”. Savage starts to come back with bionic elbows and jabs but Honky knees Savage in the stomach and hits a clothesline.

Honky drops a few elbows and goes after Elizabeth like an idiot. Honky and Hart corner Elizabeth until Savage recovers and jumps Honky with a double ax handle to a pop. Honky gets tossed back in and begs but Savage kicks him and tosses him out. Savage climbs to the top and hits a diving double ax handle with Honky selling it well. Crowd loves it. Back in, Savage continues to work over Honky. Savage gets a bodyslam and climbs to the top to hit a diving double ax handle for 2. Hart jumps on the apron and Savage pulls him in the ring. Honky charges but Savage dodges and Honky knocks Hart out of the ring. Savage applies a sleeperhold to and the crowd is going nuts but Peggy Sue goes after Elizabeth which forces Savage to release the hold and go after Peggy. Honky comes off the apron but gets caught coming down with a punch. Savage whips Honky to the post and makes it back in for the count out win at 8:20. After the match, Honky corners Savage in the ring with the guitar. Hart hits Savage with the megaphone but Elizabeth shields Savage long enough for Savage to block the guitar shot and chase Honky out. Savage and Elizabeth celebrate afterwards.

Thoughts: *** Good match but not as good as their SNME XII match though not bad. Match had a few slow points with Honky taunting Elizabeth a lot but it picked up towards the end and it did make sense allow Hart and Peggy Sue to cheat. One nice touch was Honky using the megaphone on Savage's stomach and would attack the stomach to prevent Savage's comebacks which was a nice detail. The crowd was also in it. The count out result sucked given this was the blow off and a flat way but that's the best way to have Savage win without winning the title. As the urban legend goes, Savage was supposed to win the title here but Honky threatened to walk out and go to the NWA. But it doesn't matter, cause better things were ahead for Macho Man (with Dibiase being the ultimate victim).

Vince and Ventura preview the WWF Title match.

We get clips to preview the Hulk Hogan/Andre The Giant match.

Okerlund interviews “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, Andre the Giant, and Virgil. Dibiase says Andre is the champion and he beat Hogan at Wrestlemania III but the referee was a hulkamoron. He says Virgil will be out there to make sure Hogan doesn't squirm away. Dibiase says Andre is ready with the best training because money makes the man and it takes big money to match this (Andre). He says Hogan's account is overdrawn and Andre is going to close it. Andre says when he gets his hands on Hogan, he'll never let go. Great promo from Dibiase. Andre was short but sweet.
Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan and says Andre has millions of reasons to be WWF Champion. Hogan says he watched the film and Andre had him down for 2 while he slammed him 1,2,3 in the middle. He says he invested in his assets with a profit sharing plan with his Hulkamaniacs. He says his hulkamaniacs will watch Dibiase and Virgil while he'll beat Andre and prove Hulkamania will live forever. Notice Hogan is wearing the “1986 Hogan” model of the WWF Championship in it's last appearance. Good promo from Hogan as he was usually good in creative promos especially regarding his opponent.

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Andre the Giant (w/Ted Dibiase & Virgil)- This is the LONG awaited rematch from Wrestlemania III. The storyline here is Hogan defeated Andre at Wrestlemania, however, Andre and his allies spent the next year whining about how Andre really won the match after pinning Hogan on a failed bodyslam attempt despite only getting 2. At the same time, Ted Dibiase returned to the WWF as the Million Dollar Man and set his sights on the WWF Championship. After failing to win it and then failing to buy it, Dibiase would purchase Andre's contract from Bobby “The Brain” Heenan with the hope that Andre would win the title and hand it to him. Similar to the recent SNME, we get some bad editing as Hogan wore a bandana and the classic “Hogan 1986” WWF Championship in his interview. Yet when he comes out, he has a headband and the classic Winged Eagle Belt. This would actually be the debut of the Winged Eagle belt which would be the WWF Championship for the next 10 years and is pretty much the most popular & iconic belt to ever represent the WWWF/WWF/WWE Championship.

Stalling to start with Andre taking his time. Eventually Hogan has enough as Andre consults with Dibiase on the apron. Andre gets punched and Hogan hits a noggin knocker on Dibiase and Virgil. Both gets propelled into the ring. Virgil gets whipped to the ropes and takes a big boot which sends him over and out. Same for Dibiase. The crowd LOVES it. Hogan punches Andre and Andre misses a punch. Hogan comes off the ropes with a punch. The crowd is LOUD. Hogan punches and chops with Andre staggered. Hogan rams Andre to the turnbuckle two times. Hogan comes off the ropes with a running forearm. Hogan misses Dibiase on the apron but knocks Virgil off. Hogan comes off the ropes with a running clothesline but Andre still won't go down. Hogan stomps on Dibiase's hand which sends his money in the air. Hogan punches Andre into the corner and rakes the eyes. Hogan charges and connects with a running clothesline.

Hogan hits a winded up punch and goes back to the eye rake. Hogan climbs the top rope but gets caught by Andre and thrown off. Andre misses a headbutt. Hogan goes for the pin but Andre starts choking. Andre continues choking for a bit until he hits Hogan with a punch. Loud “Hogan” chant as Hogan is whipped to the corner and collapses to the canvas due to the impact. Andre stomps Hogan's hands and hits a bodyslam. Andre hits a headbutt. Hogan grabs Andre's leg but Andre just drives his knee into Hogan's head. Andre works Hogan in the corner with chops and starts choking him in the middle as the “Hogan” chant resumes. Andre whips Hogan to the ropes and hits a big boot which knocks Andre down and Hogan out of the ring. Virgil tosses Hogan back in and argues with referee “Dave Hebner” which allows Andre to go back to the choke. Andre chokes Hogan with his singlet strap until he's warned by the ref.

More choking until Hogan breaks it and fights back to a HUGE pop. Hogan comes off the second rope with a clothesline that knocks Andre down. Hogan goes for the leg drop but Virgil grabs his foot as he tries to come off the ropes. “Dave Hebner” starts arguing with Virgil while Hogan comes off the ropes with the leg drop but Hebner's still distracted to count. Hogan argues with Hebner which allows Andre to sneak up and hit two headbutts and his shitty Butterfly Suplex. Andre goes for the pin, Hogan gets his shoulder up at 1 but Hebner counts 3 anyway to give Andre the win, the title, and end Hogan's 4 year reign at 9:05. After the match, Hogan argues but it's no good as the ref gives Andre the title. Only seconds later, Okerlund interviews Andre who immediately hands the championship to Ted Dibiase thus making Andre the shortest WWF Champion in history. Hogan chases the heels out and in the chaos, another Hebner comes in the ring. It turns out that the Hebner refereeing the match was actually Earl Hebner, Dave's twin brother who was paid off by Dibiase. Hogan tries to figure out which one is the imposter until Earl reveals himself by punching Dave and kicking him out of the ring. Hogan grabs him and tosses him out of the ring and into the heels.

Thoughts: **1/2 Not as good as Wrestlemania III but still entertaining and the crowd was hot. Don't ever let it be said that Hogan couldn't carry anyone. Bullshit. Hogan did an awesome job here bumping, selling, and delivering good offense. I liked Hogan trying second and top turnbuckle moves as it's usually cool when a wrestler has to adjust for a certain opponent. Unfortunately, not much can be said for Andre as this was the point where he was really falling apart and him falling while trying a big boot was a bit sad though I'm glad he got the WWF Championship even if it was brief. Also, as much as I love Hogan, it was definitely time for a change. Four years was enough and really, Hogan's reign couldn't go higher than Wrestlemania III. The ending with Earl posing as twin brother Dave was brilliant and one of the more creative ideas in wrestling history. Dibiase's “title reign” lasted about a week and even made a title defense against Bam Bam Bigelow before WWF President Jack Tunney vacated the title until Wrestlemania IV. Dibiase's reign is not recognized.

After the commercial, Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan in an infamous interview. Hogan is in tears and asks how much did they spend on the plastic surgery? He says he had the bases covered with Dibiase and Virgil but never in his dreams did he think he get ripped off by a penny pinching referee. Yeah, this didn't translate well. I get where Hogan was going but it came off laughable.

After the commercial, we then get one of the most awkward endings to any wrestling show as were joined in progress with Strike Force defending the tag titles against the Hart Foundation only to sign off 10 seconds later while the match is still in progress. The Peacock version shows the ending with Martel pinning Bret after reversing a sunset flip a la Bret/Bulldog at Summerslam 92. Just strange.

Final Thoughts and Verdict
I know I sound like a broken record but once again, The Main Event I is recommended on historical reasons. You get the blow off to Honky/Savage, the big rematch between Hogan and Andre, the end of Hogan's four year reign as WWF Champion, the end of the “Hogan 86” WWF Championship, the debut of the Winged Eagle Championship, some major seeds being planted for Wrestlemania IV, and Andre's brief reign as champion. Not bad for an hour special. The only real weakness of the show was both matches were done better before this. These matches aren't bad by any means but the previous ones were better. Still, for so much history and two solid to good matches with an hour long time, it's an obvious recommendation.

Recommended

The Main Event I Facts:
The Main Event was the first prime time wrestling event held on a major network in 33 years.

The Main Event drew a 15.2 rating and was watched by 33 million viewers making it the highest rated show in the history of American wrestling.

Andre the Giant's title win is the shortest in WWF History.

With Hulk Hogan's title reign over, his first run as champion was the third longest recognized title reign in the history of the WWF Championship (behind Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund's first reigns as champion).

The music used in Hulk Hogan's training video would eventually be named “Snake Bit” and become 

Jake “The Snake” Roberts theme song.

Final event the 1985-1988 WWF Championship belt (a.k.a. The classic Hogan 1986 WWF Championship) was used.

Debut of the famous Winged Eagle WWF Championship belt.