WWF The Main Event

For other uses, see The Main Event.

The Main Event logo

The Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It was a spin-off of the show WWF Saturday Night's Main Event and occasionally aired on NBC on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final two were taped and then shown on NBC at a later date. It mainly featured the high-card wrestlers of the WWF.

Results

These are the results for the tapings of The Main Event.

The Main Event I

Note: The numbers are added for organizational purposes only, and were not used on the air. The show was only ever referred to as "The Main Event."

February 5, 1988 - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
00 !Dark	Demolition (Ax and Smash) defeated Billy Jack Haynes and Ken Patera	Tag team match	n/a
00 !Dark	Jake Roberts defeated Harley Race	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Ron Bass defeated Koko B. Ware	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Islanders (Haku and Tama)	Tag team match	n/a
00 !Dark	Jim Duggan defeated The One Man Gang	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	The Ultimate Warrior defeated Sika	Singles match	n/a
1	Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Honky Tonk Man (c) (with Jimmy Hart and Peggy Sue) by countout	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	08:20
2	André the Giant (with Ted DiBiase and Virgil) defeated Hulk Hogan (c)	WrestleMania III rematch for the WWF Championship	09:05
3	Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) (c) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) (with Jimmy Hart)	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	n/a

Show notes

• It was revealed post-match that the referee was not the assigned referee, Dave Hebner, but rather his twin, Earl Hebner, who was hired by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase as part of a (kayfabe) screwjob. After winning, André the Giant surrendered the title to DiBiase; the transaction was declared invalid by then-WWF President Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacated.
• This live broadcast remains the most watched wrestling program in American television history with a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers.
• The Strike Force-Hart Foundation match was still in progress when NBC signed off.

The Main Event II

February 3, 1989 - Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
00 !Dark	André the Giant (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Jake Roberts	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart)	Tag team match with Brother Love as special guest referee	n/a
00 !Dark	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Greg Valentine (with Jimmy Hart)	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	n/a
00 !Dark	Demolition (Ax and Smash) (c) defeated The Powers of Pain (The Warlord and The Barbarian) {with Mr. Fuji) by disqualification	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	n/a
00 !Dark	The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) defeated The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty)	Tag team match	n/a
00 !Dark	Brutus Beefcake wrestled Mr. Perfect to a double disqualification	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin)	Flag Match	n/a
1	The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) (with Slick).	Tag team match	22:00
2	Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) defeated Hercules.	Singles match	07:12

Show notes

• The slowly building tension between Mega Powers wrestlers Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage boiled over during the team's match vs. The Twin Towers, leading to the team's breakup upon Savage's heel turn when Savage contended that Hogan was "lusting" after his valet, Miss Elizabeth.

The Main Event III

February 23, 1990 - Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
00 !Dark	Earthquake defeated Ronnie Garvin	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Dusty Rhodes (with Sapphire) defeated Mr. Perfect	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) defeated Jake Roberts	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku) (c) defeated Demolition (Ax and Smash)	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	n/a
00 !Dark	Bad News Brown defeated Tito Santana	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Rick Martel defeated Brutus Beefcake	Singles match	n/a
00 !Dark	Roddy Piper wrestled Rick Rude to a double disqualification	Lumberjack Match	n/a
1	Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Randy Savage (with Queen Sherri)	WrestleMania V rematch for the WWF Championship, with World Boxing Champ Buster Douglas as special guest referee	11:14
2	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart and Earthquake)	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	04:11

Show notes

• Mike Tyson was originally scheduled to be the referee, but this changed following Douglas' knockout title win over Tyson just under two weeks before, on February 11. Tyson would eventually go on to be the guest referee at WrestleMania XIV.
• Tito Santana was a substitute for Jimmy Snuka
• This marked the second time a WrestleMania rematch would be held on the program.

The Main Event IV

November 23, 1990 (taped October 30, 1990) - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
00 !Dark	The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) (c)	Two out of three falls match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	25:01
1	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) by disqualification	Singles match for the WWF Championship	n/a
2	Nikolai Volkoff wrestled Sgt. Slaughter (with General Adnan) to a no contest	Singles match	00:00
3	Mr. Perfect defeated The Big Boss Man by countout	Singles match	08:15
4	Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana	Singles match	n/a

Show notes

• The WWF Tag Team Championship match between The Hart Foundation and The Rockers was supposed to be on the show, but was edited out of the broadcast, due to demands from NBC for a one hour Friday night broadcast instead of a ninety minute Saturday night broadcast. To accommodate this, the WWF cut the approximately 30 minute Rockers-Hart Foundation match from the program. If this had aired, the show would have been given an extra half an hour, and aired on a Saturday, making it a Saturday Night's Main Event show. The Rockers defended their newly won titles a few times before the WWF rehired Jim Neidhart, pairing him with Bret Hart once more, and quietly handing the belts back to the Hart Foundation, in essence whitewashing The Rockers' reign from the history books. Retrospectively, the WWF explained that the title change cancellation was due to a ring rope malfunction during the match in the second fall (which did occur, but was not the primary reason for Neidhart and Hart being handed back the title belts). The match can be seen unedited on the DVD The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph.

The Main Event V

February 1, 1991 (taped January 28, 1991) - Macon, Georgia

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
1	Hulk Hogan and Tugboat defeated Earthquake and Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart)	Tag team match	08:56
2	Jim Duggan (with Hulk Hogan) defeated Sgt. Slaughter (c) (with General Adnan) by disqualification	Singles match for the WWF Championship	06:50
3	The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) (with Mr. Fuji)	Tag team match	05:11

Show notes

• WWF President Jack Tunney made the announcement to "Mean" Gene Okerlund that Hulk Hogan would be the number one contender for Sgt. Slaughter's WWF Championship at WrestleMania VII.
• KNBC, the NBC-owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, did not air this program when it was shown by the network on February 1. That day, a collision took place at Los Angeles International Airport between a US Airways passenger jet and a SkyWest Airlines commuter plane. The crash occurred in the late afternoon, and KNBC opted to air news bulletin coverage of this story throughout the night. The station chose not to reschedule the program.

External links

• WWF The Main Event at the Internet Movie Database