In this WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 10/4/86 review, Hulk Hogan defends the WWF title against Paul Orndorff, The British Bulldogs square off with The Dream Team for the Tag Team titles, and much more.
- Show: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event
- Date: October 4, 1986
- Location: Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, OH
VIDEO: Jake Roberts is in the shower with his snake. That sounds more erotic than it actually is. Johnny Valiant and The Dream Team are coming for the tag titles, The Wizard pushes Kamala as a beast, and Paul Orndorff and Bobby Heenan are ready to take the WWF title from Hulk Hogan. And Hogan offers his rebuttal and calls him a sellout.
RINGSIDE: Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura hype the big matches.
BACKSTAGE: Mean Gene Okerlund is with Roddy Piper and his crutches. We see the replay of Piper being attacked by Adrian Adonis, Bob Orton Jr., and Magnificent Muraco (REVIEW), so he’s selling the injury. Piper loses it and says he’s not listening to the doctor and he’s gonna wrestle The Iron Sheik.
BACKSTAGE: Hogan can’t believe Orndorff screwed him over. I mean, most people saw it coming, Hulkster! He’s gonna kick Orndorff’s ass. Then we transition to Gene with Orndorff and Heenan. They call Hogan a liar, and Orndorff proclaims he’s gonna rip Hogan’s tongue out and put it on the title belt. That would be a sight.
Paul Orndorff (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. (c) Hulk Hogan – WWF Title
Orndorff comes out to Hogan’s music and poses like him yet again. Just tremendous. Hogan throws Gene out of the way and heads to the ring as the music continues to play. It is his theme, after all. The crowd is all in on this one from the get-go, and it’s Hogan unleashing his frustration on Mr. Wonderful.
Heenan hops on the apron and goes for something in his pocket, and despite getting clocked, it’s enough to allow Orndorff to take control. Jesse calls Hogan a dummy for falling for it. Jesse’s hatred for Hogan is always funny. He also pushes Orndorff as “the perfect idol for the kids,” which is worth a good laugh.
They go back and forth before Heenan grabs Hogan’s leg, so the police pick up Heenan and literally throw him out of the building. Orndorff and Jesse are livid. Great visual of Heenan beating on the door trying to get back in. Orndorff wears down Hogan and goes for the piledriver, but Hogan reverses and he hulks up and goes for his own piledriver. But Adrian Adonis comes in from the crowd and goes after Hogan to cause the DQ.
HERE COMES HOT ROD. Piper limps down and hammers Adonis with the crutch, then swings at both Orndorff and Hogan. Piper and Hogan go to square off but Piper retreats. A screwy finish but everyone played well off of each other. (**1/2)
BACKSTAGE: Gene is in the shower with Jake and his snake. Again, not as erotic as it sounds. Ricky Steamboat also has a bag and it looks like a small gator but is referred to as a dragon.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Vince calls this a Snake Pit Match, though I have no clue if there’s any actual stipulation. This is a continuation of their month-long feud that escalated at the previous Saturday Night’s Main Event in May. The crowd is into this one, and they groan as Jake gets the knees up on a Steamboat high-flying attempt.
Jake’s charisma is awesome, and he is excellent here as a heel. However, just when Jake thinks he has all the momentum, Steamboat catches him off guard and rolls him up for the win. After the match, Jake snaps and starts going after Steamboat. Both men take out their respective reptilians and Jake retreats. Another solid match with a hot crowd. (**1/2)
BACKSTAGE: Gene with Hogan. He uses a lot of judge terminology and tells Piper to stay out of his courtroom. JUDGE HOGAN. Seriously, the match gets in more judicial terms than I’ve ever heard in a wrestling promo.
VIDEO: We see Slick and Sheik arrive in a limo earlier in the day, and Jesse appreciates the classiness. They taunt Piper and SHEIKY BABY GONNA HUMBLE HIM.
RINGSIDE: Pedro Morales comes in as the substitute for Piper, but Piper limps down again and tells Morales to hit the road.
The Iron Sheik vs. Roddy Piper
Piper gets a crutch shot in before the bell, then Sheik starts ripping his shirt. And as quickly as it started, Piper manages to get a roll-up for the victory. Sheik isn’t happy but the crowd pops huge for Piper. (NR)
BACKSTAGE: Gene with The Dream Team and Johnny V, who pushes a conspiracy at WrestleMania 2 (REVIEW) when the British Bulldogs defeated his team for the tag titles.
BACKSTAGE: Back from break and Gene is with Piper. He says he does what he wants and takes aim at Adonis. Then we get a pretaped interview with the Bulldogs, which consists of about eight words from Dynamite Kid.
The Dream Team (w/Johnny V) vs. (c) The British Bulldogs – Tag Team Titles
Vince informs us this is now a 2 out of 3 Falls Match. Jesse doesn’t like it. The tag team division is a lot of fun in this era, and as we know, it’ll only get better. Back and forth start and eventually, Valentine locks on the Figure Four on Dynamite to score the first fall.
We get the replay of Piper nailing Adonis’ arm, with Gene reporting it could be a shoulder separation. The match continues and Jesse thinks European rules are trash and that the Dream Team should be the champs. Jesse’s work is one of a kind.
It’s all Valentine and Beefcake until Valentine misses an elbow drop off the top, which leads to a hot tag to British Bulldog. Hell of a double team from the champs as Dynamite jumps off of Beefcake who’s on Bulldog’s shoulders (it sounds confusing but looked great) and Dynamite is able to cover Valentine to even things at one apiece.
Jesse reports Adonis has a shattered elbow, and that will feud with Piper on the road to WrestleMania 3. Frustration sets in for Beefcake as he can’t put Bulldog away. More offense from the heels until all four men in are in the ring. Beefcake misses a high knee, then Bulldog hits a suplex pin for the win to retain the titles. Again, the tag team division was doing great work at this point, and this was no different. These two teams have excellent chemistry and put on an entertaining match. (***1/2, Recommended)
BACKSTAGE: Gene with The Wizard and Kamala, who is gonna destroy some fools.
Leapin’ Lanny Poffo vs. Kamala (w/The Wizard and Kim Chee)
I bet you can’t guess how this match will unfold. Poffo leaps his way around the ring and gets in a few punches, but Kamala uses his power to send him to the mat before hitting the squash for the…..squash win. (SQUASH)
BLAKE’S TAKE ON SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT 10/4/86
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
Thoughts: Just a fun hour of 80s professional wrestling. The Cleveland crowd brought it and added so much to the atmosphere. Every match had a purpose, with the tag title match being the best of the bunch. Hogan vs. Orndorff was classic babyface vs. heel, and though it had a non-finish, the story would tie into another angle on the show. The characters and stories were front and center in this era, and this was the type of episode that proved that it was a formula for success.
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