WWF The Main Event V

WWF The Main Event V – 2/1/91
Macon, GA
Coliseum
(taped on January 28, 1991)

The final instalment of the Main Event, which had been a February tradition on NBC for the last four years, with the exception of the impromptu November edition two months earlier. This proved to be the weakest instalment, as it offered no marquee matches or must-see moments; no Hogan-Andre title match, no Mega Powers exploding, no James Buster Douglas, nothing big or memorable. This was just a basic show, and even if it was an SNME it still wouldn’t have been very good.

Vince McMahon and Rowdy Roddy Piper are our commentators once again, and this entire show centers around Sgt Slaughter, Hulk Hogan, and the war in the Middle East. Piper is doing his damnedest to get this over and really sells Slaughter as a no-good piece of shit who shouldn’t even be champ.

1) Hulk Hogan & Tugboat defeated Earthquake & Dino Bravo (w/ Jimmy Hart) at 8:56 when Hogan pinned Bravo; later in the broadcast, Hogan was named the #1 contender to the WWF Championship and would receive a title shot at WrestleMania VII

This was pretty much the televised end of the Hogan-Earthquake feud. I believe they continued to wrestle on some house shows in 1991, but Earthquake drops way down the ranks after this is done, entering mid-card feuds with Greg Valentine and Jake the Snake, before forming the Natural Disasters. Tugboat’s career is a real mystery, as they keep him aligned with Hogan, yet don’t even feature him at Wrestlemania after this. Two rumors circulate, one that Tugboat was supposed to turn on the Hulkster, align with Slaughter and challenge Hogan for the title after Wrestlemania, and the second, that Tugboat was scheduled to wrestle the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Neither of those things happened, though Tugboat does turn heel and ends up in a more consistent role in the months ahead. The pace of this match was quick, and there weren’t really any down points, lots of back and forth action, punches, slams, etc. They tried to pretend that there was some mystery as to who was getting the shot against Slaughter at Wrestlemania, but everyone and their grandmother knew it was going to be the Hulkster. As for this match, it ends pretty much out of nowhere with Hogan pinning Dino Bravo with a roll up. In fact the ending felt downright rushed. And that does it for this feud that dominated much of 1990.

2) Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated WWF World Champion Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Gen. Adnan) via disqualification at 6:50 when the champion used a steel chair on the floor; after the match, Hulk Hogan – who accompanied Duggan to the ring before the match – attempted to make the save but was also beaten down with the chair

I’m finding it a real struggle to sit through this Sgt. Slaughter garbage. It’s so grating and his awful voice nearly makes my ears bleed. This is the one match I remember best about this show. I forgot to mention earlier that I do remember watching this Main Event special on NBC, but have no big memories associated with it. I just remember hating Slaughter then as much as I do now. I chuckled as McMahon and Piper claimed that Duggan could be the one potentially facing Slaughter in the main event of Wrestlemania – yeah sure, like that will sell out the Los Angeles Coliseum. The guy didn’t even wrestle on the damn show in the end! Duggan at least took the fight to Slaughter and the fans were solidly behind him, but like every single fucking Sgt Slaughter match, it ends in DQ when Slaughter uses a chair to lightly tap Duggan on the floor. Man that looked terrible. Sure enough Hogan gets involved at the end of the match, and gets his ass beaten by Slaughter and Adnan. I kind of liked how they always booked Slaughter to get the upper hand on the Hulkster in these brawls.

There was lots of Hogan and Slaughter crap between matches, like Hogan visiting the troops and military hospitals. I don’t think I realized just how over-the-top this all was when I was a kid. But wow, talk about shoving Hogan and America down everyone’s throats!

3) The Legion of Doom defeated the Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji) at 5:11 when Road Warrior Hawk pinned Kato following the Doomsday Device

And so concludes The Main Event, with this tag team match right off of Superstars or Challenge. I’ll give the Orient Express credit, they get in some offense and put up a competitive match against the LOD, who are monster over with the crowd. I really liked the addition of Kato to the team, and he matches up better against bigger opponents than Tanaka or Sato. No surprise here as LOD wins with the Doomsday Device and continues mowing through teams en route to future tag title shots.

Jack Tunney comes out to make the official announcement that Hulk Hogan is the number one contender to face Slaughter at Wrestlemania. Well no f’n kidding. Hogan comes down to rumble about the Persian Gulf and Saddam Hussein and Sgt Slaughter, then leads the fans in the pledge of allegiance. Holy crow this patriotism is out of hand! This is even more nuts than in the 80s!