WWF The Main Event

The Main Event is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). There were five shows between 1988 and 1991. 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 included mainly high-card wrestlers of the WWF including Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.

The Main Event
Genre	Professional wrestling
Created by	Vince McMahon
Starring	World Wrestling Federation roster
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	5
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Once a Month Productions Titan Sports Inc.
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original release	February 5, 1988 – February 1, 1991
Chronology
Related shows	Saturday Night's Main Event

It was a spin-off of Saturday Night's Main Event and aired on NBC on Friday nights during prime time. All episodes of The Main Event are available on the WWE Network, included with Saturday Night's Main Event.

Dates and venues

Event	Date	City	Venue	Main event	Ref
The Main Event	February 5, 1988	Indianapolis, Indiana	Market Square Arena	Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) (c) vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) (with Jimmy Hart) in a tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	[1]
The Main Event II	February 3, 1989	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Bradley Center	Ted DiBiase vs. Hercules in a singles match	[2]
The Main Event III	February 23, 1990	Detroit, Michigan	Joe Louis Arena	The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Dino Bravo in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	[3]
The Main Event IV	October 30, 1990 Aired November 23, 1990	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana in a singles match	[4]
The Main Event V	January 28, 1991 Aired February 1, 1991	Macon, Georgia	Macon Coliseum	The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) vs. The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) in a tag team match	[5]

Results

The Main Event

The Main Event (1988)
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	February 5, 1988
City	Indianapolis, Indiana
Venue	Market Square Arena
The Main Event chronology
← Previous First Next → II

The Main Event (1988) took place and aired live on Friday February 5, 1988 at 8pm ET from the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.[6][7] The live broadcast drew a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers, both records for American televised wrestling.[8]

The match between André the Giant and Hulk Hogan saw André receive the pinfall victory despite Hogan's shoulders not being down. It was revealed post-match that the referee was not the assigned referee, Dave Hebner, but rather his twin brother, Earl Hebner, who was hired by Ted DiBiase as part of a storyline screwjob. After the match, André attempted to surrender the title to DiBiase. Then-WWF President Jack Tunney said the title could only change hands by pin or submission, and said that by attempting to surrender the title, André had actually vacated it.[9] Following the vacancy, a single elimination tournament was held at WrestleMania IV to crown the new champion.[10]

The Strike Force vs. The Hart Foundation match was still in progress when NBC signed off. In 2014, when the WWE Network uploaded this episode to its on-demand section, the ending of the match was added in.

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1^D	Ax defeated Ken Patera	Singles match	9:06
2^D	Jake Roberts defeated Harley Race	Singles match	11:21
3^D	Ron Bass defeated Koko B. Ware	Singles match	6:33
4^D	The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) defeated The Islanders (Haku and Tama)	Tag team match	13:42
5^D	Jim Duggan defeated One Man Gang	Singles match	5:55
6^D	The Ultimate Warrior defeated Sika	Singles match	4:01
7	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	8:20
8	André the Giant (with Ted DiBiase and Virgil) defeated Hulk Hogan (c)	Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship	9:05
9	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	10:03
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

The Main Event II

The Main Event II
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	February 3, 1989
City	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Venue	Bradley Center
The Main Event chronology
← Previous 1988 Next → III

The Main Event II took place and aired live on Friday February 3, 1989 at 8pm ET from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[11][12]

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

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1^D	André the Giant (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Jake Roberts	Singles match	7:11
2^D	The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart)	Tag team match with Brother Love as special guest referee	19:35
3^D	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Greg Valentine (with Jimmy Hart)	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	05:19
4^D	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	8:16
5^D	The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) defeated The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty)	Tag team match	14:16
6^D	Brutus Beefcake wrestled Mr. Perfect to a double disqualification	Singles match	12:34
7^D	Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin)	Flag match	6:08
8	The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Twin Towers (Akeem and Big Boss Man) (with Slick)	Tag team match	22:00
9	Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) defeated Hercules	Singles match	7:12
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

The Main Event III

The Main Event III
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	February 23, 1990
City	Detroit, Michigan
Venue	Joe Louis Arena
The Main Event chronology
← Previous II Next → IV

The Main Event III took place and aired live on February 23, 1990 at 10pm ET from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.[13][14]

Mike Tyson was originally scheduled to be the special guest referee, but this changed following Buster Douglas' knockout title win over Tyson just under two weeks before, on February 11. Tyson would eventually be the guest referee at WrestleMania XIV.

Tito Santana was a substitute for Jimmy Snuka.

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1^D	Earthquake defeated Ron Garvin	Singles match	5:12
2^D	Dusty Rhodes (with Sapphire) defeated Mr. Perfect	Singles match	11:26
3^D	Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) defeated Jake Roberts	Singles match	10:28
4^D	The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku) (c) defeated Demolition (Ax and Smash)	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	10:04
5^D	Bad News Brown defeated Tito Santana	Singles match	5:31
6^D	Rick Martel defeated Brutus Beefcake	Singles match	12:15
7^D	Roddy Piper wrestled Rick Rude to a double disqualification	Lumberjack match	13:00
8	Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Randy Savage (with Queen Sherri)	Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship with Buster Douglas as special guest referee	11:14
9	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart and Earthquake)	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	4:11
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

The Main Event IV

The Main Event IV
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	October 30, 1990 (aired November 23, 1990)
City	Fort Wayne, Indiana
Venue	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
The Main Event chronology
← Previous III Next → V

The Main Event IV took place on October 30, 1990 from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and aired on Friday November 23, 1990 at 10pm ET.[15][16]

The WWF Tag Team Championship match between The Hart Foundation and The Rockers was supposed to be on the 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, erasing The Rockers' reign from the history books. Retrospectively, the WWF explained that the title change had been revoked due to a ring rope malfunction during the second fall of the two-out-of-three falls match. The match can be seen unedited on the DVD The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph. Marty Jannetty pinned Bret Hart in the first fall with a sunset flip counter at 9:33. Hart pinned Shawn Michaels in the second fall with the Hart Attack at 19:23. Jannetty pinned Jim Neidhart in the third fall when Michaels dropkicked Jannetty onto Neidhart, who was setting up the Hart Attack at 25:41.

Nikolai Volkoff was scheduled to face Sgt. Slaughter on the show, but Slaughter attacked Nikolai before the opening bell rang and the match never took place.

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1^D	The Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) (c) 2-1	Two-out-of-three falls match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	25:41
2	The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) by disqualification	Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship	9:47
3	Mr. Perfect defeated Big Boss Man by countout	Singles match	8:15
4	Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana	Singles match	6:46
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

The Main Event V

The Main Event V
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	January 28, 1991 (aired February 1, 1991)
City	Macon, Georgia
Venue	Macon Coliseum
The Main Event chronology
← Previous IV Next → Final

The Main Event V took place on January 28, 1991 from the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia, and aired on Friday February 1, 1991 at 8pm ET.[17][18]

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 did replay the program unadvertised on a later date.

This show drew a 6.7 rating, which was at the time the worst rating any WWF program had received on NBC despite the presence of Hulk Hogan. This has been blamed on the controversial Sgt. Slaughter Iraq storyline that was on going at the time.[19]

WWF President Jack Tunney declared Hulk Hogan the number one contender for Sgt. Slaughter's WWF Championship at WrestleMania VII.

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1	Hulk Hogan and Tugboat defeated Earthquake and Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Hart)	Tag team match	8:56
2	Jim Duggan defeated Sgt. Slaughter (c) (with General Adnan) by disqualification	Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship	6:50
3	The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) (with Mr. Fuji)	Tag team match	5:11
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

References

1. "WWF The Main Event « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
2. "WWF The Main Event II « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
3. "WWF The Main Event III « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
4. "WWF The Main Event IV « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
5. "WWF The Main Event V « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
6. "Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. 1988-02-05. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
7. "The Main Event: February 5, 1988". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
8. Powell, John. "Steamboat — Savage rule WrestleMania 3". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved October 14, 2007.
9. "Andre the Giant's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
10. Puckering, Dean. "WrestleMania IV". TWM Wrestling News. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
11. "Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. 1989-02-03. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
12. "The Main Event: February 3, 1989". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
13. "Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. 1990-02-23. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
14. "The Main Event: February 23, 1990". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
15. "The Main Event IV". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
16. "The Main Event: November 23, 1990". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
17. "Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
18. "The Main Event: February 1, 1991". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
19. Observer Staff (February 18, 1991). "February 18, 1991 Observer Newsletter: More on Wrestlemania relocating". F4WOnline.com. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 4, 2019. (subscription required)

External links

• WWF The Main Event at IMDb