In this WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 7/28/90 review, The Ultimate Warrior defends the WWF title against Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and Tito Santana square off for the Intercontinental title, and much more.
Let’s jump in!
- Show: Saturday Night’s Main Event
- Date: July 28, 1990
- Location: Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska
IN THE JUNGLE: Lord Alfred Hayes is in the jungle. Actually, it’s an office with a huge lion’s head staring at him. We head to the arena where Vince McMahon dubs this WWF Wild Kingdom, and we’ve got an 80s graphic to prove it. Vince calls the WWF the wildest kingdom of all, with Jesse Ventura joining him for the rumble in the jungle. Wild, indeed. The Ultimate Warrior -aka the King of the Jungle – will defend the WWF title against Rick Rude, while Demolition defend the Tag Team titles against The Rockers, and Mr. Perfect defends the Intercontinental title against Tito Santana. What a tremendous lineup there. Vince also pushes the return of Hulk Hogan.
BACKSTAGE: Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan play up the jungle theme, with Heenan calling it survival of the fittest. Rude is gonna devour Warrior. Rude calls himself the deadliest predator of all. WILD KINGDOM. Warrior also makes jungle puns and says he’s the ultimate animal.
Blake’s Take: That’s it, I’m officially all in on this themed edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Jokes aside, themed episodes of television have always been a great idea in professional wrestling. I hate themed PPVs (for example, WWE Hell in a Cell, where matches that should’n’t be in a cell are….in a cell), but coming up with stuff like this to make a recurring television show feel different is a smart move. Also, bring back the wrestler green screen graphics!
Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. (c) The Ultimate Warrior – WWF Title
Rude attacks Warrior (or is it Animal?) from behind before the bell rings. That doesn’t last as Warrior repeatedly rams his head into the turnbuckle. Warrior takes it to Rude and hits an atomic drop and clothesline to send him to the outside. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER to Rude and Heenan. It’s all Warrior as he hits a clothesline in the ring. Warrior goes up top and wallops Rude in the face. Rude changes the tide by moving out of the way of the Warrior splash, with Warrior rolling to the outside.
Meanwhile, Rude grabs the belt, and Heenan distracts referee Joey Marella. Rude clocks Warrior in the face with the title, then goes back out to break the count. Rude back up top, but Warrior hits him in the midsection on the way down. Atomic drop from Warrior, but Rude reverses again with a knee to the face and clothesline. Rude goes to work on Warrior’s back before trying to go for the bodyslam. However, Warrior blocks it and hits a slam of his own. But Rude reverses a second slam attempt into a sleeper. Just when you think Warrior is done for, he keeps his leg up on the third drop and fights back.
Rude quickly gets back in control and goes for the Rude Awakening, but Warrior gets out. Rude hits his signature move and Warrior kicks out. Vince loses his mind at this development. Triple clothesline from Warrior, who is running wild on Rude. Warrior hits the splash, but Heenan grabs him by the head to break up the count. Vince and Jesse argue about whether Marella saw it as Warrior goes after Heenan in the aisle. Warrior tries to press Rude back in the ring, but Heenan hits him from behind. Warrior corners Heenan in the ring, and Marella counts out Rude. Or it may have been a DQ on Heenan. Either way, Warrior celebrates since he’s still the champ.
Blake’s Take: It was obvious there wouldn’t be a clean finish in this match since the two are set to clash at Summerslam for the title, which begs the question: Why did they do this match? Perhaps it was to give them more ring time together, though I’d argue that Rude was Warrior’s greatest opponent in terms of chemistry. Still, this was solid enough to further the storyline ahead of their showdown at Summerslam.
IN THE JUNGLE: Hayes is back in the jungle lodge, and Gene Okerlund is with him. They’re dressed for a safari as Gene makes a Pete Rose joke.
VIDEO: A video package looking at Earthquake SQUASHING Hogan on the Brother Love Show. Yes, this had the dark “Real American” theme and all to push the potential demise of Hulkamania. The camera panning to a crying kid in the crowd holding a Hogan doll was top-notch presentation work. There’s also the locker door shutting with Hogan’s gear in it! He’s done, brother.
IN THE RING: Vince welcomes Hogan, and Vince playing with his ear to signify the loudness of the crowd is always hilarious. Hogan thanks the Hulkamaniacs for writing letters to him, and he says he’s gonna personally answer each one of those letters. DID HE? DID HE REALLY? Hogan talks about being “Pearl Harbored” by Earthquake, but thanks to the prayers and vitamins, he’s back. Vince asks about Dino Bravo being in Earthquake’s corner, but Hogan reveals he’ll have Tugboat in his corner. There are some audible boos at this point, though they’d pick up the following year. Here comes Earthquake and Bravo with Jimmy Hart telling into the megaphone. TUGBOAT MAKES THE SAVE. Jesse is great on commentary here with his hatred of Hogan.
VIDEO: Alfred and Gene are actually in the jungle this time around, with Gene being scolded for taking a piss. Koko B. Ware flies in out of nowhere, then leaves. Gene trips and he’s face to face with a snake. Luckily, Jake Roberts is shirtless and wearing his trunks in the middle of said jungle, so he wrangles the snake. Then it’s onto Alfred and Gene crossing the train tracks, and here come the Bushwhackers bushwhacking their way down the track. A stellar performance by all parties involved.
The Rockers vs. (c) Demolition – Tag Team Titles
Demolition is using Freebird rules at this point, so it’s gonna be Smash and Crush doing the work in this one. Vince and Jesse argue about whether Ax should be ringside. Smash goes at Marty Jannetty right off the bat, but a flurry of offense from Jannetty sends Demolition retreating. A pair of head scissors and dropkicks from Jannetty and Shawn Michaels sends Demolition reeling again. The good guys continue to showcase their athletic offense, but Crush puts a stop to that. But the Rockers do their thing again to get back on offense.
Jannetty flips over Crush for a near fall, and now Ax gets involved with a huge clothesline on Jannetty on the outside with the referee’s back turned. Demolition takes control on Jannetty, with Crush coming off the top with a shot to Jannetty’s back. Then it’s a backbreaker to Jannetty. More double team offense from Smash and Crush, and Smash locks on the bearhug. Jannetty tries to fight out of it, but Smash tags in Crush to continue the beatdown.
Jannetty finally makes the hot tag to Michaels, and he’s dropkicking everyone in sight. The crowd is losing it as the Rockers both go up top to try to finish off Smash, but Crush breaks up the count. Michaels has Smash rolled up, but Ax wallops him with the referee occupied with Jannetty and Crush. Ax proceeds to cover Michaels with his head tucked, and Demolition scores the victory via shenanigans to retain the titles.
IN THE RING: Here come The Hart Foundation and The Legion of Doom. They’re protesting the finish, but Marella still awards the match to Demolition.
Blake’s Take: While I wouldn’t put this in the SNME classic territory of the Rockers and Brain Busters from 1989, it’s still a good showcase for two of the top tag teams of the era. The Rockers really did stand out with their unique offense, and Demolition was Demolition. (Recommended)
IN THE JUNGLE: Mean Gene is getting bitten by mosquitos, including a bite right to the ass cheek. Gene starts acting like he’s contracted a disease, so Alfred uses his knowledge to save him. Tremendous.
BACKSTAGE: Sean Mooney with Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan. They take aim at Tito Santana, with Mr. Perfect calling himself the perfect animal.
Tito Santana vs. (c) Mr. Perfect (w/Bobby Heenan) – Intercontinental Title
Jesse calling Tito matches is always a treat. Tito comes out with a series of offense to get the crowd on their feet, but Perfect reverses the momentum. Heenan yells that he doesn’t have to beat Tito, but Tito has to beat him. It’s a solid point. Perfect with some cheap tactics with Heenan distracting the referee, but Tito reverses the tide. Somehow the referee gets in the middle of the action and goes down with a broken ankle or something.
Tito locks in the Figure Four and he thinks he has it won. He tries to get the referee on his feet, then hits the flying forearm to go for the pin. The referee hobbles over, but Perfect kicks out at two and three quarters. That was close. Tito off the top with another flying forearm, and Perfect kicks out again in dramatic fashion after a slight delay from the referee. The crowd is EATING THIS UP. Tito calls for another referee and we head to commercial with Vince hyping that this thing will continue.
Perfect recovers and hits a cheap shot, but Tito hits a cross body for yet another near fall. Perfect back on the attack and they trade punches until Perfect hits a thrust kick to Tito’s face. Chops and punches from Perfect, then Tito does the same with Perfect doing the trademark flip over the top in the corner. Tito throws Perfect across the ring, and he racks himself on the post trying to get out of the ring. A great spot there. Tito with a big clothesline and the crowd thinks it’s over, but Perfect kicks out again. Small package from Tito, but Perfect reverses it at two into his own pin to retain the title.
Blake’s Take: What an excellent match. These two worked this thing to perfection (pun intended) with Tito putting on a babyface masterclass and Perfect playing off of him with the right heel moves. I’d have to think this is one of the best matches in Saturday Night’s Main Event history (maybe THE best match), and it’s easily one of the matches of the year in the WWF. (Must-See)
BACKSTAGE: Jesse with Earthquake, Bravo, and Jimmy Hart. Earthquake is gonna send Hogan to the hospital, and Bravo is gonna keep Tugboat in line.
IN THE JUNGLE: Now it’s Jimmy Snuka running through the jungle. Alfred and Gene search for food before running into Akeem and Slick. My goodness would I have loved to be there for the outtakes for these segments. Gene falls into the piranha-infested waters and apparently is being eaten. But Alfred saves him yet again.
Kerry Von Erich vs. Buddy Rose
This is the WWF debut for The Texas Tornado. He slams Rose a few times in the early going and gives him a ride into the corner. Dropkick from Von Erich for a two count, then Rose finds himself locked in the ropes. Rose falls to the outside, but gets back inside and goes up top. That wasn’t a good idea, as Von Erich throws him off the top and hits his finisher for the victory.
Blake’s Take: A simple squash match to highlight Von Erich’s skills.
BACKSTAGE: Jesse with Rude and Heenan. They reveal the cage match challenge for Summerslam, with Rude saying he’ll be the new WWF Champion.
BACKSTAGE: Mooney with Warrior. He says he’ll leave Summerslam as the champion and the ultimate animal.
IN THE JUNGLE: Alfred and Gene are back in the lodge with a monkey. Because of course they are.
BLAKE’S TAKE ON WWF SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT
Recommended Matches: Demolition vs. The Rockers, Tito Santana vs. Mr. Perfect
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
Thoughts: These Saturday Night Main Event shows usually hit the right nostalgia notes, and this edition was no different. However, what was different about this episode was the silly Wild Kingdom theme and a match of the year candidate in Tito vs. Perfect. Combine those two with a solid tag match, a perfectly acceptable WWF title match, and the Hogan/Earthquake stuff, and it’s an easy watch for 80s wrestling fans.
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