Saturday Night's Main Event IX

Legacy Review

Saturday Night's Main Event IX

January 3, 1987 (taped December 14, 1986) from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, CT

Commentary: Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura

 

It's the new year and we're on the on ramp getting on the road to Wrestlemania 3. With no Royal Rumble or other PPVs it was still up to regular TV to carry the whole load.

Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) def "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (w/Bobby Heenan) in 10:42- This is the final blowoff of the longrunning Hogan/Orndorff feud before Hogan turned his attention to Andre the Giant and WM 3 build. Orndorff is still coming out to Real American. Vince is shocked and appalled that increasingly crooked referee Danny Davis has joined assigned ref Joey Marella at ringside. It's traditional WWF cage match escape only rules. Hogan takes the long way in, and as soon as his feet hit the mat Orndorff jumps him. He whips Hogan with the belt and throws it away like Naito abusing the old IWGP IC belt. He goes for the door but Hogan stops him. More Orndorff beat down. He tries to climb the cage, manages to get over and starts descending before Hogan can stop him. Hogan drags him back up, dangles him upside down (a suplex back into the ring from this position would be a hell of a spot) and rams Orndorff into the cage. Hogan chokes him with his headband. Hogan tries to climb and gets stopped. He goes for the door, but Davis "forgets" to unlock it. By the time Marella gets it open, Orndorff is there. Double cage shot and both guys are down. When they recover they start climbing opposite sides of the cage. Both go over and go down......and both hit the floor at seemingly the same time! Marella calls Hogan the winner, Davis calls Orndorff the winner. Davis shoves Marella down! Hogan threatens Davis, and while he does that Orndorff ambushes him from behind. While that's happening Marella gets to Finkel and says the match is a draw, but since a cage match has to have a winner, this match MUST CONTINUE! Commerical.

Back on, Orndorff is beating on Hogan outside the ring. As they get back in the cage Orndorff hits an elbow off the top rope. Davis is carried out after Hogan's frank discussion about rule technicalities with him. Orndorff hits a short clothesline. Hogan randomly Hulks Up. Punches and chops. Cage shots. Backbreaker, followed by the legdrop. Hogan starts to climb. Heenan gets in the cage and stops him. Heenan takes his bumps, Hogan beats Orndorff a bit more, and climbs out to win. The false ending was pretty decent, but the action was bare bones basic, partially due to Orndorff working through an injury. *1/2

 

The replay shows Hogan and Orndorff's feet hitting at the same time on the first finish. Ventura vehemently argues Orndorff won because "his legs are straight and Hogan's are bent".

Recap of Steele hitting on Elizabeth the past few months. He promises a surprise for Savage tonight.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: "Macho Man" Randy Savage  (c) (w/Elizabeth) def George "The Animal" Steele in 8:30- Steele brings out an action figure of himself and gives it to Elizabeth. He's giving himself to Elizabeth, see? Pretty deep for a man that's supposed to have the mental capacity of a coconut. Savage is less than impressed. As he's turned around Steele ambushes him. Battering ram into the top turnbuckle. After some slams Steele calls someone down to the ring. Savage jumps him from behind. As Savage goes to the top rope Ricky Steamboat runs to the ring! Steamboat hadn't been seen since the famous attack where Savage injured his larynx with the ring bell on weekly TV in November. While he's distracted Steele slams Savage off the top rope and throws him over the top and out. Steele jumps out, scoops up Elizabeth and runs to the back with her. There's an editing gaffe here: while Steele is walking down the ramp you can see Savage in the ring behind him watching, but when the shot cuts its to Savage still recovering on the floor. Savage and Steamboat play cat and mouse for a bit while the refs hold Steamboat back. Hey, there's a female ref here! I'm sure she's local and not WWF but still, female ref on a WWF show in the mid-'80s. Groundbreaking. Steele runs back out and jumps Savage from behind again. How did he not get counted out? Also, where's Elizabeth? Locked in a cage? Steamboat returns to the back. Savage and Steele resume the match, going through a long and horribly uninteresting coda to a match that really already should have ended by CO or sportz entertainment finish, ending with Savage whacking Steele with the ring bell behind the ref's back and getting the pin. Good build for Savage/Steamboat at WM though. 1/4*

Footage of Race's coronation as King of the Ring. WWF had no plans to put any titles on him at his age, but recognizing his legendary NWA career they decided to have him win the second ever King of the Ring tournament and run with it like a title.

The Junkyard Dog def "King" Harley Race (w/Bobby Heenan) by DQ in 6:00- Danny Davis is reffing, setting Vince off again. Heenan wants JYD to bow. JYD turns his back instead. Davis distracts JYD with instructions and Race punches him. High knee. Race's shoulder gets posted but he recovers to hit a belly to belly suplex. Fall down headbutt. Well that was strategically unsound. JYD shrugs it off and hits the crawling headbutts. Race flips over the corner and out. JYD doesn't follow, but gets the King gear and tries it on. Heenan is furious. He runs in and takes another beating. Vince wonders why Davis hasn't counted Race out. While JYD is still working Heenan over Race hits him from behind with an elbow off the top rope. He and Heenan pound away on him. Davis has no choice but to call for the bell, but does little else to stop it. In fact, he stops JYD from retaliating and gets a headbutt for it. These guys would meet again at WM. 1/2*

In the locker room, Orndorff is furious. Heenan calms him down and promises to protest straight to Jack Tunney with the replay footage that he says shows Orndorff clearly won.

Adrian Adonis (w/Jimmy Hart) def "Rowdy" Roddy Piper by countout in 3:35- Adonis is returning from the injury suffered from the crutch shot at the last SNME. Piper throws his kilt over Adonis' face and jumps him. A kneelift sends Adonis over the top and tied in the ropes. Piper works the injured arm over. He starts jawing with Hart, giving Adonis an opening. Piper comes back with some huge punches. Adonis reverses a whip and locks in the Good Night Irene. Piper tumbles them both out to the floor. Hart takes a shot. Adonis squirts his perfume in Piper's face. A blinded Piper can't find his way back to the ring and gets counted out. Vince is so pissed off at the injustice he says "crap". Another WM match set. Fortunately not a Blindfold Match. 3/4*

Hogan is completely unconcerned about Heenan's appeal with the replay, and is ready to move on to bigger challenges. That he is.

Blackjack Mulligan def Jimmy Jack Funk in 2:31- Mulligan had been floating around WWF for a few years winding down his career but hadn't wrestled on TV much apart from doing a stint as one of the masked Machines working with Andre. This is billed as the "Battle for Texas". The female ref is working this match! History made. Mulligan has spurs on and is forced to take them off before the bell. Yes, he's the face here. Funk jumps him while he does. Mulligan reverses a corner whip and Funk takes a Bret bump. Clothesline over and out. Funk gets backdropped on the floor. We go picture in picture with a Mulligan promo. Yup, this is definitely a jobber match. Mulligan sounds like he's deliberately trying to do a Dusty Rhodes impression. In the ring there's a press slam. A flying back elbow ends it. 1/2*