The Main Event II review includes one of the most memorable moments in pro wrestling history.
The seeds were planted months ago in the breakup of the Mega Powers, but now it’s time for shit to get real.
Grab the popcorn and prepare for an iconic moment in Blake’s The Main Event II review.
Date: February 3, 1989
Location: Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI
VIDEO: We open up with all the events that have led up to our mega main event of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. Big Boss Man and Akeem.
BACKSTAGE: Gene Okerlund with Slick and the Twin Towers. These two dudes looked strong at the Royal Rumble and they’re ready for this huge affair.
Big Boss Man and Akeem (w/Slick) vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)
While all the focus is on Hogan/Savage, let’s not forget just how damn awesome Boss Man and Akeem were at this time. Them throwing out Hogan at the Rumble was a massive deal, as no one thought that would ever happen. And both were solid workers overall. They weren’t gonna put on technical masterpieces, but they were a great brawling team. This period shows you how good both were.
Anyways, onto the match. Hogan and Boss Man start things off and Hogan rails on everyone, including Slick. Hogan and Savage start hugging in the ring and THE CROWD LOVES THESE TWO BEST FRIENDS. Then Hogan destroys Boss Man’s head on the turnbuckle much to the crowd’s delight. Akeem into the match and Hogan and Savage exchange closed fists on him.
We get Savage in and he throws the double axe handle off the top. The power of the Towers takes over and Boss Man starts beating Hogan’s ass, and even delivers a vicious piledriver. Hogan finds momentum and backdrops Boss Man over the top rope and then runs him into the post on the outside. Slick tries to interfere but Savage kicks him out of the way.
Spinebuster from Boss Man almost ends the match, but Hogan kicks out at two and a half. Hogan gets worked over but hot tag to Savage and the champ is in complete control. Cross body off the top but Boss Man saves Akeem from the three count. More Slick shenanigans allows the Towers to regain the advantage. Savage gets tossed to the outside and Elizabeth checks on him. THEN COMES THE BIG SPOT. Akeem throws Savage outside right onto Elizabeth. She really took a hell of a bump there.
Now we’ve got Hogan nearly in tears while tending to Elizabeth. Savage seems concerned by this, but then Akeem brings him back in for the Towers to double team him. Hogan is nowhere to be found as he’s still tending to Elizabeth. Savage finally regains control but sees Hogan carrying Elizabeth to the back. That allows Boss Man and Akeem to take over once again.
We get the backstage shots of Hogan crying while pushing Elizabeth on the gurney. Hogan’s acting gets worse every time I see this. HE WANTS TO KNOW IF ELIZABETH IS BREATHING. But damn were people eating this whole thing up. We go back to the ring to see Savage getting obliterated and Elizabeth wakes up backstage. She tells Hogan to get his crying ass back to the ring to help Savage. Well, she didn’t say it in that tone, but she should have.
Back in the ring and Savage finally gets ahead of the big dudes by dropping Akeem to the outside. Both Boss Man and Akeem are on the outside and then Savage goes over to tag in Hogan. BUT SAVAGE SLAPS HIM SILLY INSTEAD. Then Savage hits the aisle to head to the back while Hogan of course fights off both men. Savage acts as though he’s coming back to get in the match, but GRABS HIS TITLE BELT AND HITS THE ROAD. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Akeem splashes Hogan, but fuck that, it’s hulk up time. Big Boot to Akeem for the win at 22:00. Because of course Hogan was gonna beat them both by himself. Afterwards, Boss Man uses the nightstick and goes to handcuff Hogan. Fuck that. Hogan with the double noggin knocker on Boss Man and Slick, and he handcuffs them together.
Hogan heads to the back to find Elizabeth and Savage is yelling about how he’s gotta be No. 1. He yells at Elizabeth about what Hogan did, and here comes the red and yellow. THE MEGA POWERS ARE EXPLODING. They go face to face and Elizabeth tries to stop them. Savage tells Hogan he can’t beat him and he’s jealous that he’s the WWF champion. HE’S RIGHT! Then he says Hogan has lust for Elizabeth. HE’S RIGHT! Savage appears to leave while Hogan pleads with Elizabeth. BOOM. Savage destroys Hogan with the title belt and beats the holy hell out of him. Savage then slings Elizabeth across the room and goes to nail Hogan again. Then that dummy Brutus Beefcake comes in and gets his ass kicked.
Not exactly sure how you rate this match overall, but the angle itself is one of the best angles in wrestling history.
• Rating: *** for the match, ***** for the angle
Hercules vs. Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil)
Good luck following that last one. This continued the storyline of Herc not wanting to be DiBiase’s slave. Herc is pissed early and he throws DiBiase and Virgil all over the place. Herc continues the beating until DiBiase disposes of him and throws him outside.
Brawling on the outside leads to DiBiase with all the momentum in the ring. Then we get a solid back and forth between the two until Virgil wraps Herc’s chain around the turnbuckle. DiBiase throws Herc into it, but it gets reversed and DiBiase gets thrown into it. But he kicks out at two and then Herc goes for the backbreaker. Virgil distracts the ref, which allows DiBiase to use the tights and get the rollup at 7:12.
• Rating: *1/2
BACKSTAGE: Okerlund tries to speak to Hogan but the latter incoherently mumbles and shakes uncontrollably. It was a very Zeus-like moment. FORESHADOWING. Hogan then goes barreling through the hallway throwing shit everywhere. He slings around Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart along the way. Glad Shawn and Bret were able to recover.
SHOW SUMMARY
This is a must-see spectacle for the angle that would define WrestleMania V. Savage was simply awesome, and while the Towers were an afterthought thanks to the angle, they were still very enjoyable. Short and most definitely sweet show, even if the payoff wasn’t quite what it should have been.
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