From 1985-92, Saturday Night’s Main Event was a premier wrestling event put on by the then-WWF during primetime television on NBC.
Engineered by Vince McMahon, the goal was to bring wrestling to the masses. Expanding the audience enabled the sport to grow tremendously, and ever since it’s been a fixture within the fabric of pop culture and the crossover between sports and entertainment.
Wanting to add more eyeballs ahead of an eventual move to Netflix, WWE decided to bring back the program this past Saturday evening at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. The site had been where the inaugural event took place back on May 10, 1985.
Wanting to pay homage to the past, the newer edition of the show had several touches that made it seem like 1985. Instead of having the more modern stage where wrestlers walk to the ring, this one was far smaller — and it had the wrestlers essentially walk out from the crowd to the ring. The ropes were red, white, and blue — and the referees were dressed like they did back in the ’80s.
Perhaps the coolest addition was that of Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura as a heel color commentator. The longtime actor/activist/politician/wrestler had once been a star in the company before leaving under circumstances allegedly related to him wanting to help unionize the roster.
Never expecting to be involved with the company again, it was quite refreshing to see him come out with five colorful boas and the same snakeskin jacket he wore to the Predator premier decades prior.
The matches themselves were great. Drew McIntyre disposed of Sami Zayn. Gunter retained the World Heavyweight Championship in a triple-threat match between himself, Finn Balor, and Damian Priest. Liv Morgan narrowly defeated Iyo Sky to retain her Women’s World Championship.
Chelsea Green finally got the flowers she deserved by besting Michin. In the process, she became the inaugural winner of the Women’s United States Championship. A very proud Piper Niven carried Chelsea on her shoulders as she celebrated the win.
Lastly, Cody Rhodes took out an angry Kevin Owens in the main event to preserve his standing as the Undisputed WWE Champion. After the match once the program went off-air, Owens attacked Rhodes and crushed him with an outlawed piledriver. Rhodes was immobilized with a neck brace as Owens was greeted by Triple H at the mouth of the stage entrance. The two shoved one another and had to be separated as Owens held Rhodes’ belt.
This heel turn by Owens is brilliant. Not only that, but the choice to have fans in attendance film the in-ring skirmish was very smart. Clips of the various altercations were available online before WWE even announced it. It helps to build buzz and add to the kayfabe element put in place.
The next iteration of Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place Jan. 25 in San Antonio.
