wrestling / TV Reports
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event XXVIII
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-I have vivid memories of watching this one as a kid and the Oktoberfest skits are what I remember more than anything. I can actually remember where I was when I watched. My sister and I were staying at my grandma’s as my mom and step-dad were out together. I watched the show with my aunt in her room. Again, it’s weird the memories that stay etched in your brain. After this we get to Halloween Havoc as we get closer to finishing out 1990. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Vince McMahon and Rowdy Roddy Piper
-Toledo Sports Arena, Toledo, OH
-Oct 13, 1990 (Taped: Sept 18, 1990)
-We start right with The Oktoberfest skits as various wrestlers are dancing outside and dressed for the occasion.
-Vince McMahon welcomes us to the show and he is totally not standing in front of a green screen. The end of an era as Jesse Ventura is gone and Piper, wearing the suspenders, but not shirt, is taking Jesse’s spot.
-Pre-taped Demolition promo and they reference Oktoberfest and use German slang.
-The LOD and Ultimate Warrior respond with more Oktoberfest puns. Hawk: “whimper over your wieners.” Warrior yells Blitzkrieg a bunch. He had a BANGER of a match at WCW Spring Stampede many years after this show.
Demolition vs. The Legion of Doom and The Ultimate Warrior
-A lot of paint in this match! Triple clotheslines from our heroes to start the match and t hen Warrior poses on the top rope. We see Dustin Rhodes in the front row. I am sure that won’t come up later in this show. Smash starts with Animal and chokes him on the middle rope. Animal back with a powerslam for two. Smash goes to the eyes and brings in Ax. Here comes Warrior and he stomps away in the corner. He blocks an Ax charge with a boot to the face and starts firing off shoulder blocks and then a clothesline. Smash in and he gets slammed. Crush in and a slam for him as well. Slam to Ax, but Warrior misses the splash. Tag back to Smash and he smashes away and then pitches Warrior to the floor. Crush rams Warrior into the apron and fires him back in the ring. Ax gets the tag and he pounds away with right hands. Crush off the top with a double ax as Piper and Vince continue to make Oktoberfest jokes. I miss Jesse! Demolition triple team Warrior in the corner and that brings Hawk in to break up the Demolition Decapitation. Warrior makes the hot tag to Hawk and here’s a back elbow for Smash followed by a jumping shoulder tackle. Hawk drops the first and comes off the top with a clothesline. Hawk knocks both other members of Demolition of the apron. Warrior in and he clotheslines everyone. Everyone starts brawling as Warrior finishes Smash with the splash at 5:38.
Winners: The Ultimate Warrior and The Legion of Doom
-It’s crazy how fast Demolition went from big babyface moment at Mania in April to pretty much done meaning anything six months later. Ax’s injury coupled with The LOD entering the WWF was the end for the team. It was cool seeing all six of these men in the same ring, but the match wasn’t any good. *
-Gene is still celebrating Oktoberfest and I love hanging out in Germany at Epcot. Always get sauerkraut and sausage with brown mustard there.
-Lord Alfred Hayes is checking out whatever is happening with the beer.
“Macho King” Randy Savage vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes
-These two have been feuding for most of the year and it’s so past it’s expiration date that Vince and Piper are already talking about Savage using Sherri to throw a challenge out to The Ultimate Warrior. Dream is sporting red polka-dots and hugs Dustin in the front row. Savage tears up a Warrior sign. Savage turns his back on Dusty and gets caught with an elbow. Dusty sends Savage into the corner and does some dancing. Dusty goes to a bear-hug, but Savage quickly breaks by going to the eyes. Dusty gets a backslide for two and that brings Sherri up to the apron. She distracts Dusty long enough for Savage to bury a knee in his back. Sherri chokes behind he ref’s back as Dustin complains on the floor. Wild that this was the first we saw of Dustin and here we are 34 years later and the man is still wrestling. Macho hooks a sleeper as the camera keeps cutting back to Sherri’s ass. Ted Dibiase and Virgil head down through the crowd and they pay off “fans” in the front row to leave. Dustin refuses as he throws the money in Virgil’s face. Virgil and Ted take the seats next to Dustin, which is awful behavior as there are a lot of free seats. I would hate to see how they would do with the urinal test. Ted pulls Dustin down as he tries to cheer and that brings Dusty out to the floor. We take a break at 4:21.
-90 seconds of Peacock commercials!
-Back at 5:54 with Savage choking Dusty on the apron. He drops an elbow and then chokes on the top rope. Sherri uses one of her gloves to choke as Dibiase laughs in the crowd. Foreshadowing for when Sherri jumped to Dibiase? Savage comes off the top with a double axe and gets a two count. Dusty blocks a shot into the buckle and then drops Savage with a right hand. Savage gets in a shot to the throat and chokes on the middle rope again. Dusty moves as Savage tries to leap on him. Dusty throws a head-butt which knocks both men down. Savage tries a slam, Rhodes falls back for a two count. Savage to the eyes and then up top. Dusty catches him on the way down. Dibiase pulls Dustin down again, and this time Dusting punches Ted. The ass whipping is on as Dusty is too focused on Savage. Dibiase splits Dustin open with a wooden chair. Dusty is out to save, but Savage crashes down on him with the double axe. That gets Savage the count-out at 9:56.
Winner: Macho King Randy Savage via count-out at 9:56
-The match was just to finally close things between these two and move them on to something else. Savage winning was the right call as he was coming for Warrior. The count-out protects Dusty and the angle with Dustin put some heat on the Dibiase feud. Another Savage match without the flying elbow makes me sad. **
-Dibiase and Virgil are all over Dusty and Dustin. In one of those images burned in my head as a kid, Dusty covers his bloody son to take the blows and then screams and cries over his bloodied body. Heavy!
-Sean Mooney is backstage with Hulk Hogan and Tugboat. More German puns and Hogan is going to Bavarian Cream someone. I didn’t watch THAT tape, so no clue.
-Gene is with The Bushwhackers and they are cutting the cheese. It smells too apparently! HEAD CHEESE! No not Al Snow and yes, they were cutting actual cheese.
Rhythm and Blues (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Tugboat and Hulk Hogan
-Hogan starts with HTM and Honky lands some blows and tags in Hammer. Hogan ducks a double clothesline and gets a boot. He starts dropping elbows and runs R&B into each other as Vince continues to make German puns. Hammer gets pinballed back and forth between Hogan and Boat. Speaking of Boat, he is in as Piper notes he is the size of Earthquake. FORESHADOWING! Hogan goes LUCHA as he comes off the middle ropes with a double ax to the arm. Back to Tug as they continue to work on Hammer’s arm. This is just like the Minnesota Wrecking Crew! Honky gets the tag and runs into a bear-hug. Hammer comes in illegally and breaks the hold. Tugger is our watercraft in peril. Hogan as the hot tag guy always works, so this match is playing to the strength it has. Hammer with black hair is so weird! Go back to Starrcade 83 and tell Piper and Hammer after their dog collar match that one would be at the announce table make bad puns and the other would have dyed hair pretending to be a rockstar teamed with an Elvis impersonator. Tugger makes the HOT TAG to Hogan to pop the crowd. Hogan has no issue dominating both men and he decks Hart as well. Jimmy runs to the back as Hogan pounds away with right hands on Hammer. Back elbow sends Hammer flying as he knows who he is bumping for here. Big Boot! Tugger grabs Hogan and shows him that Earthquake is on his way down. We take a break at 6:30
-60 seconds of Peacock commercials!
-Back at 7:36 with Hogan and Tugger hitting Valentine with a double clothesline. Tugger with a splash in the corner and he decks Honky as well. He goes after Jimmy and Honky smashes him with a guitar for the DQ at 8:20.
Winners: Hulk Hogan and Tugboat via DQ @ 8:20
-Not sure why Valentine or HTM couldn’t take the pin from Hogan. Just a tag match with good heat because Hogan as the hot tag guy will always work. *1/2
-Bravo and Quake hit the ring and everyone swarms Hogan. Quake gets a powerslam and then a splash. Tugboat uses the guitar to stop the Earthquake Splash and saves Hogan.
-Gene is backstage as we are having a sausage stuffing contest. It’s Duggan and The Hart Foundation vs. Fuji and The Orient Express. The Genius is here as he is apparently a master sausage stuffer and honorary member of the Sausage Stuffer Hall of Fame. All of this went over my head when I watched this as a kid. Fuji throws a fully prepared sausage on the table for the apparent win. Cheat to Win!
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Haku (w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) vs. The Texas Tornado
-Kerry had won the IC Title at SummerSlam from Perfect and has to fight a member of The Heenan Family. Heenan tells Kerry to give him the Title and they will call it even. Tornado gets an arm-drag and then a slam. He goes for the claw hold, but Haku blocks and bails to the floor. Back in the ring Haku gets a sleeper. Tornado elbows out, but runs right back into the sleeper again. Tornado escapes and lands some right hands but Haku lands one shot to regain the advantage. Haku gets a splash in the corner and then a head-butt. Tornado gets the Claw and then the discus punch gets the pin at 4:10.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: The Texas Tornado by pin at 4:10
-Well, that was a match and a title defense for Tornado. 1/2*
-Mooney is backstage with Hogan and Tugboat. We drop the German puns as Hogan goes through naval puns. Because he is standing next to Tugboat you see! I mean it’s a pretty impressive promo as he references The Bismarck, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Davy Jones Locker.
Koko B. Ware (w/ Frankie) vs. Sgt. Slaughter (w/ General Adnan)
-Vince goes on a rant about Slaughter and Adnan abusing their 1st amendment right by waving the Iraqi Flag. Lot of stalling to start as Vince and Piper continue to rant about Slaughter, Adnan, and Hussein. Crowd is into it with “USA” chants. They finally lockup 90 seconds after the bell. Koko gets a hip-toss and then another. Slaughter complains to the ref about a hair pull. Koko lands a kick, but runs into a shoulder and Slaughter doesn’t budge. Koko gets a dropkick but misses a charge in the corner. Backdrop from Slaughter. He drops a knee to the arm for a two count. Koko gets a swinging neckbreaker to counter a backdrop attempt. Koko with a dropkick and another as the crowd comes to life. Koko gets caught with a stun-gun and the atomic noogie gets the submission at 5:18.
Winner: Sgt. Slaughter via submission at 5:18
-Koko actually looked better than Slaughter here. Just another match and should have been more of a SQUASH since they had big plans for Slaughter. 3/4*
-The Oktoberfest celebration breaks down into a food fight. Nothing surprising there as wrestling loves having food fights.
-Mooney is backstage with The Ultimate Warrior, who grunts a lot. He is a commander of a legion of Warriors and threatens Sherri and Savage. I think he accepted Savage’s challenge here, but then he goes back on his word when asked again at The Rumble. Well, he deserved the scepter shot then.
-Piper is backstage with Savage and Sherri for their response. Sherri notes that Savage is going to take the belt for Warrior. Piper slaps Sherri on the ass as she takes her leave.
-Back to Oktoberfest as Gene is covered in food and Hayes runs him down. Gene gets pissed and throws a pie at Hayes.
-Vince notes the next SNME will be after Survivor Series and that never happened.
-Thanks for reading!
