There’s never been anything quite like Saturday Night’s Main Event for great Saturday night entertainment. I became aware of it after it had already begun its run, and didn’t even get to get my first live glimpse of one.
My first was on Saturday night May 1, 1986. I didn’t have a TV in my room, so I slept in my dad’s spot in his bed since he was out of town. He had a little black and white TV on the nightstand beside the bed. I tried hard to stay awake to watch it, but I didn’t make it. I had fallen asleep before it started. It was probably the news that did me in.
But I woke up just in time to see what was supposed to be the start of a Ricky Steamboat vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts match. Ricky Steamboat was my favorite wrestler at the time, and I was always excited whenever I got a chance to see him on TV. Unfortunately for 8-year-old me, the match didn’t really happen, because Jake attacked before the match and nailed Steamboat with the DDT on the concrete floor. I was super pissed! While I hated that I didn’t get to see an actual match, the angle did lead to some good ones down the line.
The next big event I can really recall from SNME was the Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff cage match from January 1987. I wrote about it in depth over at TRN last year, so I’m not going to go into much detail here. But I did want to share that I knew that match was happening that night, but my excitement level got turned up to 11 while watching The Golden Girls, as one of the commercials was a short promo from Hogan with the cage in the foreground. That was awesome.
And then in March 1987, the episode that featured a battle royal as a way to hype the upcoming Wrestlemania 3. Hogan and Andre went at it in that battle royal, and the whole thing was awesome.
There were numerous other memorable moments to be enjoyed through the years on Saturday Night’s Main Event, and every now and then on Saturday nights, I get really nostalgic for it. TOnight is one of those nights.
It’s been a while since the first Action Figure Appreciation post, so let’s shine a light on a few more fine specimens from the vast world of figures.
Jitsu, from Masters of the Universe (1984)
Oh, how I wish I still had all of my original MOTU figures. One of the great crimes I’ve committed in my life is letting all the toys from my childhood go by the wayside in various ways. But I’m slowly working to rectify that situation, and am tracking them all down again. This Jitsu figure is an example of this, as this is not my original figure, but one I got from eBay.
I had more than my fair share of MOTU figures back in the day, and I’d put Jitsu in my top ten at least. He may actually be high on the list, but I’d have to sit and think about what order they would actually go in. That may have to be a post sometime in the future. But anyway, what I liked about this figure was the big golden judo chop hand he had. That thing was just so cool, and in my world, that hand could destroy just about anything with two exceptions. It could hurt He-Man, but not put him out, and it couldn’t destroy the iron fist that Fisto had. As a matter of fact, when Jitsu’s hand met Fistos fist, it was like what happened in The Avengers when Thor’s hammer struck Captain America’s shield. Yeah, they waged some hellacious battles in my bedroom through the years.
In my playtime, Jitsu was right up there in the ranks of Skeletor’s favored minions alongside Beast Man, Trap-Jaw, and Tri-Klops. He was there to take out any weapons that the Masters had on the field. Just get him close enough, and that golden judo chop could take out anything. Probably every time Skeletor was able to breach Castle Grayskull in my world, it was because Jitsu chopped the door down with ease, and not even the magic of Grayskull was strong enough to stop him.
Race Car Driver from The Construction Company (1985)
The Construction Company line of toys may not be one you’re entirely familiar with, but it was around in the mid-late ’80s and was a building block system that hoped to rival LEGO and Construx. While I was willing to give it a chance, it just didn’t overtake them as far as I was concerned. It had a cool gimmick though as when you put the building blocks together, they had these little locking mechanisms built into them that you had to use a plastic screwdriver to lock the pieces together. This meant that your creations wouldn’t just fly apart if you dropped them or rammed them into something. That cool feature was also a bug in my eyes when it came time to undo your creation so you could start another one. You had to unlock all those same pieces.
One of the sets I had was a race car, and this figure was the driver of said car. As you can see in the picture, the figure wasn’t well articulated, as his arms could move up and down, and his legs could move forwards and backward. That didn’t leave much for you to do with the figure other than putting him behind the wheel of the car or having him standing next to it. But after all the work it took to put the car together, it wouldn’t have felt complete without a driver, so I’m glad he was included anyway.
Rick Steiner WCW Wrestling figure from Galoob (1990)
By 1990, my wrestling fandom was really deep. And growing up in the south, NWA/WCW was my wrestling. I always preferred it over the WWF/WWE. And in 1990, The Steiner Brothers were the most bad-ass tag team on the planet. When Galoob released their first wave of WCW Wrestling figures, I was excited. But when I got my hands on them, I was deflated much the same way I was when playing with the WWF LJN Superstars of Wrestling figures. The total lack of articulation really took the joy out of trying to play with them the way you would think was intended. Without articulation, you couldn’t do many moves or holds when playing.
But as show pieces, these figures were pretty damn cool. You can put these up on a shelf and have pretty nice collector’s pieces. But back in 1990, I didn’t care about putting them on a shelf, I wanted to play with the damn things. As far as wrestling action figure lines go, this was one of my least favorites. I had several, and all they ended up being good for was to have standing around. These days, that’s just fine with me, as I have several figures from the line on display. But if you want fun wrestling action from old figures, stick with G.I. Joe. They’re way better for putting on actual matches.
That’s all for this edition. Maybe next time I’ll include some figures with more articulation or something.
As this post goes live, Ric Flair is just a couple of hours away from wrestling his last match as part of a special event called, appropriately enough, Ric Flair’s Last Match.
I don’t plan on watching it live due to a couple of reasons. One is the hefty price tag for the online PPV event, and as early as I have to get up every day, I wouldn’t be able to stay up late enough to enjoy it. Those are the practical reasons. Another reason is, that I’ve already seen his last match back at Wrestlemania 24.
Now I know that Flair went on to wrestle in TNA after his retirement match against Shawn Michaels at that event fourteen years ago. But I’ve never watched any of the matches he had there, nor do I intend to. His send-off at Wrestlemania and the retirement ceremony the following night on Monday Night Raw was a perfect endpoint in my mind. I briefly wrote about it once upon a time while looking back at some of my favorite Wrestlemania memories. Here is what I had to say:
For me, it was the end of an era. An era of fully enjoying watching wrestling. I watched Raw the following night and the awesome send off the WWE gave the greatest wrestler of all-time. That was the last time I watched a full episode of a wrestling show.
I had seen my favorite at his peak, and at his lowest, and then I got to see him on one last high over those two days. As Flair closed the book on his active wrestling career, I closed the book on my fandom. No one would ever capture my imagination like the “Nature Boy” did again.
I still feel that way. Tonight’s event has even more nostalgia associated with it since it is the last card that will be presented by Jim Crockett Promotions…my all-time favorite promotion that brought me so much entertainment through the years. Not only that, but being held at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville is significant as it’s the site of two of Flair’s world title wins. The first being over Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar ’89, and the second was over Randy Savage at Starrcade ’95. Both of those events I witnessed live on PPV. One other little bit of nostalgia associated with the event is that its start time is 6:05 pm…a little nod to the history of wrestling on TBS with its traditional 6:05 start time every Saturday night for YEARS.
Even though I won’t be watching, I wish the “Nature Boy” all the best. Not only in health as he’s attempting to do this match with a pacemaker, but in spirit as well. I hope Ric finds the happiness that he’s searching for by going out there to do what he loves one last time.
Who knows, maybe one day when I’m older, I’ll attempt to do something I’ve loved one last time and will know what he’s going through, and someone will be cheering me on and wishing me well from afar.
Being a big fan of old-school wrestling, I sometimes go back in time and old wrestling shows via the WWE Network on Peacock. Over the holiday weekend, nostalgia got the better of me and I decided to go back and re-watch what I remember being a great summer-themed show, WWE’s SummerSlam ’98.
In 1998, the then WWF was in the middle of its Attitude Era, and the storylines and action leaned more towards the controversial than it had in previous years. As an example, it was just two short months prior to this event that The Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell cage in a scene that is still held up as a symbol of the Attitude Era.
I have to admit, I was guilty of enjoying trashy, crash-style television at the time including Jerry Springer, the WWF, and other offerings. I watched Monday Night Raw religiously every week and caught every PPV event the WWF offered, so I was pumped heading into this event. SummerSlam is one of the traditional big four events of the year, so extra emphasis was put on this show.
Most of the hype for SummerSlam ’98 was centered on the rivalry between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Undertaker, and with the World Heavyweight Championship being on the line in the main event, the hype was off the charts. They even produced a pretty swank video package set to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell to hype it even more:
Just because they put a lot of effort into hyping the main event didn’t mean they ignored the rest of the card. Vince McMahon, Vince Russo, and the rest of the gang put together a solid card from top-to-bottom with plenty of intrigue throughout:
WWF World Title: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: The Rock vs. Triple H
WWF Tag-Team Title Falls Count Anywhere Match: Mankind & Kane vs. The New Age Outlaws
Lion’s Den Match: Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart
Mixed Tag Team Match: Sable & Edge vs. Marc Mero & Jackie
Hair vs. Hair Match: X-Pac vs. “Double J” Jeff Jarrett
4-on-3Tag Match: Kaientai vs. The Oddities
WWF European Title Match: D-Lo Brown vs. Val Venis
I don’t intend to run down every match detail by detail, nor do I intend to give you the winner in every match either. If I did all of that, it wouldn’t leave you much incentive to go check it out for yourself. Instead, what I intend to do is kind of review it through a few lists I came up with while watching. So without further ado, here we go.
The Five Best Matches From SummerSlam ’98
In my own personal opinion of course.
The Rock vs. Triple H Intercontinental Title Ladder Match – it featured plenty of drama, high-risk moves with the ladder, and a satisfying ending to not only the match itself, but the storyline that had been running for months involving Degeneration X feuding with the Nation of Domination.
D-Lo Brown vs. Val Venis European Title Match – Even though this was the show opening match and it wasn’t designed to take the spotlight from other, higher profile matches on the card, it did. The chemistry was incredible and the two performers put on a clinic in how to get a crowd pumped up for the rest of the action they will be seeing.
Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker WWF World Title Match – This was the main event, and it certainly had a big-fight feel to it, but the action felt a little underwhelming in comparison to the first two matches I mentioned.
X-Pac vs. Double J Hair vs. Hair Match – Both of these men have been excellent performers since they first got in the business, and with several years to perfect their craft under their belts, they came out and gave an electrifying performance filled with great back and forth action.
Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart Lion’s Den Match – In what was a brutal mix of pro wrestling and UFC, the Lion’s Den match was pretty great seeing Owen and Shamrock going hold for hold and shot for shot.
My Five Favorite Performances From SummerSlam ’98
Owen Hart – getting to see a true master of his craft lead a less experienced opponent through a cool match concept was a treat.
Mankind – From his interview at the beginning of the show bemoaning his destroyed hearse, to his promo with Vince McMahon later on, the the performance he gave taking a beating from the New Age Outlaws, Mankind turned in a fine night.
Val Venis – Val was still a relative newcomer, but he had his gimmick down to a science, and he and D-Lo pulled out a heck of a match to open the show.
X-Pac – Like I said earlier, X-Pac had been perfecting his craft for years up to this point, and he put his many talents on display in his match on this show. Even watching it twenty-fours years after it happened, it still felt fresher than anything I’ve seen in modern wrestling in a long time.
Mark Henry – in the early stages of his “sexual chocolate” gimmick, watching him try to put the moves on Chyna was just flat out entertaining.
My Five Favorite Spots of the Night
The Undertaker driving Austin through a table on the floor by deliverying a leg drop frm the top rope of the ring.
The Rock giving an early People’s Elbow to Triple H while Triple H was on a ladder.
Triple H attempting a move from the top of the ladder only to be caught with a Rock Bottom.
Edge’s dive over the top rope onto Marc Mero on the floor.
Jeff Jarret using an atomic drop to crotch X-Pac on the post on the floor.
The Ten Most 1998 Things About SummerSlam ’98
The Rock’s sideburns.
The Insane Clown Posse being involved.
Val Venis and his aggressive porn star gimmick.
X-Pac using the terms “biotch” and “suck it” during his pre-match promo.
The mass of Austin 3:16 and DX shirts in the crowd.
The quote, “My name’s not Elmo, but you can tickle me any time”.
Both of the New Age Outlaws wearing Southpark shirts in their match.
Jim Ross having to apologize for saying “son of a bitch” on the air.
The announcers talking about the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. FYI, McGwire led on this date 55-54.
Jim Dotson and his hat.
Other Thoughts I Had While Watching SummerSlam ’98
D-Lo claiming to be from a different home town in Europe every week while European Champion was a great touch.
The referee in the opening bout was one tough son of a gun for taking Val Venis’ moneyshot finisher.
I could have done without seeing Kurrgan dancing.
The Godwins going from hillbillys to Dixie Mafia-esque tough guys called Southern Justice was one of the better make overs of the year.
The fiery gates of hell entrance way was a great setup.
The New York City buses being wrapped with ads for this SummerSlam in the week leading up to the show was great.
The hair clippers for the hair vs. hair match didn’t work. I don’t believe the clippers have ever worked in any hair vs. hair match ever.
Howard Finkle doing the crotch chop was not needed.
Seeing Edge make his pay-per-view debut and realizing he is main eventing shows today is surreal.
The “Marvelous” Marc Mero gimmick wouldn’t get over in today’s world.
Jackie was so far ahead of her time as a female wrestler.
The Lion’s Den match concept needs to be brought back. Maybe bill it as “Pit Fighting”.
The greatness of Owen Hart was not fully appreciated by the masses until it was too late. We lost him just nine months after this show.
Ken Shamrock being billed as a former “UFC Superfight” champion feels so out of place in today’s world.
I wonder how they Kane in that dumpster?
The ladder match made both The Rock and Triple H bonafied wrestling superstars for good from that point on.
Steve Austin and The Undertaker didn’t have great chemistry in their first high-profile match together. That would change.
So that’s it. I re-watched SummerSlam ’98 and thoroughly enjoyed it. You should go check it out on Peacock if you’re a fan of old school wrestling. Now I just have to decide what my next old school wrestling rewatch should be.
With wrestling being a big part of my childhood, I watched all of it I could. Most weeks, all we had available to consume were the weekly programs offered by the WWF, the NWA, and various other territories depending on where you were located. But in the late ’80s, wrestling on pay-per-view became a thing, so all of a sudden, there were special events at different times of the year to add to the mix of the regular weekly shows.
Pay-per-view made the already heated real-life rivalry between the WWF and the NWA even hotter, as both companies were scheduling events to run on pay-per-view, and their competitor was counter-programming with special events on free television. The WWF started this trend by offering up a new concept called The Royal Rumble that aired free on the USA Network, opposite the NWA’s Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view event. Little did we know as fans that this new concept would catch on in such a big way, and turn into a yearly special event that continues to this day.
Through the years, many memorable things have taken place during the annual Royal Rumble match, and here are five of the more memorable ones from my memories.
The First Royal Rumble in 1988
Back in late 1987 when the first Royal Rumble was announced as being broadcast on the USA Network, I was pumped. I had gotten to go to a friend’s house to watch Starrcade ’87 but had yet to be allowed to order a wrestling pay-per-view. So when I found out this event was going to be free and I would get to watch it, I was bouncing off the walls.
The first Royal Rumble didn’t disappoint either. One of my favorites at the time, Ricky Steamboat, had a match with Rick Rude, and there was the contract signing between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant for their rematch at the upcoming Wrestlemania IV. But the big draw was their new concept in battle royals, the Royal Rumble itself. Just the concept was enough to get me to watch the show without all the other matches.
This first one was probably the hardest to peg who was going to win. Once they added the stipulation that the winner would get a title shot made it pretty easy to guess who was going to win each year. But this one lacked all the real big stars and was made up of mid-card guys, making it really hard to figure out. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan came out on top, and I had a hell of a time watching my first “big event” live.
Ric Flair wins the WWF Title in 1992
Growing up a staunch NWA and WCW fan, Ric Flair was my champion. Not only that, he was my hero. While a lot of other kids worshiped Hulk Hogan, I sat at the foot of the mountain while Flair and the Four Horsemen preached on the mountain top. So when he made the jump to the WWF in 1991, I was rooting hard for the day when he and Hogan would square off for the WWF World title.
Since that didn’t happen on a big stage, the 1992 Royal Rumble was the next best thing. The title had been held up after Flair had interfered in a title match between The Undertaker and Hogan, and the winner of the Rumble would be declared the new champion. I knew going into this one that Flair had a legitimate shot at coming out on top. When he came out as the #3 entrant, for some reason, it cemented it in my mind.
Flair was always known as “the 60-minute” man, and here he had a chance to prove it. It was so much fun watching him run into a lot of his past rivals and friends in the course of the match. Guys like Roddy Piper, Kerry Von Erich, The Barbarian, and others just made the whole thing that much sweeter. In the end, Flair outlasted everyone else in the match to capture his first WWF Title and validated my faith in the man. When it was over, he cut a heck of a promo too.
Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior’s Teaser in 1990
Back in this era, it was super rare to see two babyfaces or two heels lock up in a wrestling ring. Throw on top of that the fact that Hogan and the Warrior were the two biggest babyface stars in the company, and I really didn’t see this one coming.
Late in the match, each man was busy throwing out the competition until there was no one left. When they finally came to this realization, the staredown commenced. After a few seconds of immense crowd reaction, the two went to battle. It ended up a stalemate as they collided with clotheslines at the same time and the battle was over. But it whetted the appetite of everyone watching for their eventual main event showdown at Wrestlemania VI.
Diesel’s Run in 1994
Up until 1994, we had seen some impressive performances in the Rumble, but most of them were related to how long someone could stay in the match. In 1994, Diesel came along and set a new record for eliminations, and in the process, set a new standard for dominance.
Diesel entered the Rumble and not only cleared the ring of everyone in it but also immediately eliminated the next several competitors shortly after they entered the ring. The performance propelled him to superstardom and left a mark on the history of the Rumble. From that point on, fans no longer only talked about who won the match and who lasted the longest, they also talked about who had the best run of eliminations.
Bret Hart and Lex Luger declared Co-Winners in 1994
In a move that has been panned by wrestling fans for over 25 years now, the 1994 Royal Rumble had co-winners for the first time. The match came down to the Bret Hart and Lex Luger at the end…two babyfaces, and during a tussle on the ropes, both men went over the top and hit the floor at the same time, setting off a dispute. Several referees, hand raisings, and presidential decisions later, the decision stood, and both men wound up earning a shot at the WWF title at Wrestlemania X.
I thought it was a novice approach and a fun idea to have co-winners. I’ve been in the minority on that opinion for a long time now, but I don’t care. It helped add to the unpredictable nature of the Royal Rumble that continues to this day.
