WWF The Main Event IV

WWF The Main Event IV – 11/23/90
Ft. Wayne, IN
Allen County Coliseum
(taped on October 30, 1990)

Here’s a really interesting piece of WWF history. This card was originally taped as a 90 minute SNME that was scheduled to air on Saturday, Nov. 24. Instead, NBC cancelled SNME, almost outright, and instead gave the WWF a 60 minute Friday night slot. As a result of this move, only 4 of the 5 planned matches ended up airing. The match that was cut was the infamous Hart Foundation-Rockers 2 out of 3 falls title match where the Rockers won the titles. During the match the top rope broke, but the wrestlers continued, doing the best they could. The match never ended up airing, and as such, the WWF never acknowledging the title change, pretending it never happened. It lived in lore for many years, until the match finally surfaced on a Shawn Michaels DVD released a few years back. The title switch has still never been recognized, which is too bad, because the Rockers really deserved a run with the belts.

There’s been much speculation over the years as to why the match was never aired or acknowledged. Many say that it’s because of the broken top rope, while others argue that the match would have been shown regardless had the SNME slot not been cancelled. Others say that Vince changed his mind because of issues backstage that sprung up in the weeks following the taping, or that Vince just changed his mind in general about the title switch, and the cancelled SNME was a convenient way to not bother showing the match. No matter what the real answer is, this is a really intriguing piece of the WWF’s history.

Vince McMahon and Rowdy Roddy Piper are on commentary for this Main Event special, which has a big Thanksgiving theme. Survivor Series 1990 was the night before, but you wouldn’t know it, as they barely mention the event, and don’t mention any of the major happenings, like the debut of the Undertaker, the hatching of the egg, the Grand Survival match, etc. You would think they would have at least acknowledged some of this stuff! But it’s pretty much like the Survivor Series didn’t exist.

I have no memories of watching this event live on TV. I’m pretty certain I missed it, and I wonder if it was even advertised properly? I think I’ve only ever seen this Main Event once, when I bought that set of SNME tapes way back in university.

1) WWF World Champion the Ultimate Warrior defeated Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) via disqualification when Virgil prevented the pinfall after Warrior hit a shoulderblock; after the bout, Randy Savage blindsided the champion in the ring and attacked him with his sceptre before dropping the flying elbowsmash

They did a great job of hyping both the Warrior and Dibiase before the start of the match. Because this was a condensed SNME, all the promos and highlights feel really rushed. Dibiase didn’t have much of a 1990, as discussed in my other reports, but he was still one of the more credible heels to battle the Warrior. The match ended up being pretty damn awesome, as Dibiase found was to counter the Warrior’s onslaught and really wore him down. Of course the invincible Warrior couldn’t be held down for long and started his big comeback. But before he could put Dibiase away, Virgil jumps in for the cheap DQ. As the Warrior starts to clean house, suddenly the Macho King raced down to the ring and demolished the Warrior with the sceptre. Savage really laid into the Warrior and fully ignited this brewing feud. It was an awesome beatdown, and the best Savage had looked all year. It sure seemed like they were setting this up for the Royal Rumble and then changed their minds in the coming weeks.

2) Nikolai Volkoff fought Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Gen. Adnan) to a no contest when Slaughter attacked his opponent before the bell rang; moments thereafter, Jim Duggan made the save by chasing Slaughter from ringside with his 2×4

This match never happened as Slaughter beat the shit out of Volkoff before the bell, and continued to beat him down until Hacksaw Jim Duggan marched down for the big save. This was the end of Volkoff and his last televised appearance until his one-off guest appearance in the 92 Rumble. I was a big fan of good guy Volkoff and they probably could have done a little more with him yet. Man, seeing this really makes me believe that there were no plans to put the belt on Slaughter originally. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning a flag match for Mania 7 between him and Duggan. I’ve read a Slaughter shoot interview where he states that Vince was planning a Hogan-Slaughter match for the LA Coliseum a year in advance. I highly doubt it. Sounds like pure fantasy to me.

3) Mr. Perfect defeated the Big Bossman via count-out at 8:15 when Bossman chased Bobby Heenan – who came ringside moments earlier – backstage

This was part of the Big Bossman-Bobby Heenan feud, which was really heating up around this time. The Bossman promised to mow through the entire Heenan Family in order to get his hands on The Brain. Great action in this match, and some truly insane bumps by Mr. Perfect! The Bossman was always so fired up for his matches, and brings so much energy to the ring. Loved the back and forth action, and all the Bobby Heenan stuff around ringside. Perfect gets the sneaky countout win while the Bossman tries to get his hands on Heenan. Heenan races to the back and is literally on his hands and knees begging Mean Gene to keep the Big Bossman away from him! Ha! Hilarious.

We get a Playboy Buddy Rose Blow Away Diet commercial. I never got this gimmick or these skits as a kid, or even now. What’s the point? Vince and Roddy find this hilarious. I don’t. Was Rose ever considered more than just a jobber? He did get an SNME match against the Texas Tornado, but that was it for marquee moments.

4) Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana via submission with the Boston Crab

We FINALLY have the conclusion to this feud that’s well over a year and a half old by this point. They should have just had this at Wrestlemania VI. Martel returned after being away for a few months, bringing his new scent Arrogance with him. This lead to him blinding Jake the Snake and becoming one of the more hated villains in the company. Great chemistry and back and forth wrestling as you would expect, but the Model is clearly the one poised as a star. Tito, despite giving it his all in the IC tournament and against Mr. Perfect, was pretty much on the level of Koko B Ware. He was there to put guys over and that was it. Martel makes him submit quick to the Boston Crab and moves on to further antagonize Jake the Snake.

And that’s the end of the Main Event IV. The show concludes with a great and intense Ultimate Warrior promo, vowing to destroy the Macho King. All the usual Warrior nonsense, delivered with great intensity.

Bonus) Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match to win the titles at 25:01; fall #1 – Jannetty pinned Bret by blocking a sunset flip at 9:33; fall #2 – Hart pinned Michaels with the Hart Attack at 19:23; the move was heavily hampered by the fact the top rope had fallen down; the rope was reattached after the fall; fall #3 – Jannetty pinned Neidhart after Michaels prevented the Hart Attack and Jannetty fell on Neidhart for the win; after the bout, the Harts shook hands with the new champions and raised their hands

After writing up this review, I dug up the missing match, which was included on the Shawn Michaels Heartbreak & Triumph DVD. I’ve heard a lot about it, but have never actually seen it until tonight. It’s without any commentary, but the action is so good you don’t really notice. The first 10 minutes up to the first fall are excellent. The Harts are working a more grinding heel style, but the fans are still going nuts for both teams. Without the commentary, I really noticed and appreciated the spectacular work of four ring vets, who made everything look so crisp and fluid. During the second fall the rope snaps, and the match kind of falls apart. You can tell the guys are all visibly pissed and unsure of how to continue. The Harts really continue to wear down the Rockers, and Michaels in particular gets the shit kicked out of him. Bret pins Michaels after the Hart Attack, which just didn’t look right without the top rope. The ring crew fixes the rope before the third fall, which ends up being a total mess. The guys are all off their game at this point and we get some clunky back and forth action, and a really lame finish where Jannetty just falls on the Anvil to win the titles. It was so cheap looking, but the fans go nuts and the Rockers are supposedly the new tag team champions. I think they could have easily edited out the second fall and cleaned this one up for broadcast. I don’t know if I buy the broken top rope theory anymore, as this match could have been saved in post production. It was super cool seeing this true gem from deep within the WWF’s archives. Very, very cool to get to see this super rare battle.

This was the beginning of the end of the Rockers. Though they have some great matches in early 91 with the likes of the new Orient Express and Haku and the Barbarian, they run out of steam by the spring and are not even featured at SummerSlam 91, before starting the dissension angle in the fall. I wonder how different history would have been had the Rockers won the tag titles? I’m sure they would have dropped them to the Nasty Boys on or before Wrestlemania VII, so maybe not that much different after all.