WWF Saturday Night's Main Event - April 28th, 1990


- My random tape selection bad luck continues, as it was a toss-up between this or Bloopers, Bleeps, and Bodyslams (1st ever Coliseum Video), Best of the WWF Vol. 5, Best of the WWF Vol. 13, Piledriver Music Videos, or High Flyers. I was thinking about doing the last one since it's only an hour, but I'm sure this one will get more hits. We're four weeks removed from WrestleMania VI, featuring Warrior/Hogan and a hell of a lot of nothing else worth noting here.


- The show opens with quick promos from the new WWF Champion, The Ultimate Warrior, his opponent Haku and manager Bobby Heenan, Mr. Perfect and the Genius, and of course, the Immortal... HUUUUUUUUUUULK Hogan. Hogan with a really lame promo about sending the Genius to the dunce corner and Perfect to the Principals office when Professor Hogan is done with them. Then onto the awesome opening... I liked the Obsession theme better myself, but this one isn't too bad. As usual with almost every Saturday Night's Main Event, the commentary team consists of Vince McMahon and Jesse "the Body" Ventura, who are dressed up like cowboys for no apparent reason. Was it a Salute to John Wayne Night or something?


- Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect (w/ The Genius):
These two had a program going on through the late Fall of 1989 and early Winter of 1990 which began with Perfect smashing up Hogan's title belt on the November '89 Saturday Night's Main Event (and creating the Hardcore Title in the process), but that went nowhere in favor of the much more suitable money match in the form of Hogan vs. Warrior. I guess you could call this the blowoff to the feud, despite it not going anywhere since the previous Saturday Night's Main Event (January version, not the Main Event Special) which was used to push Hogan/Warrior instead of Hogan/Perfect. Before the match, Sean Mooney interviews Mr. Perfect and the Genius, who toy around with Mooney a bit. Gene Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan next, and it's your typical Hogan promo. In a continuity error, Hogan has a bandana and no shirt on during the interview, but comes out with a simple headband and t-shirt. There must be a canned heat machine going on, because the crowd was going nuts while in the action of sitting down. Perfect spends the first few minutes doing a "hide outside the ring" game, but Professor Hogan won't allow slacking off. Hogan controls with his usual offensive tactics, and Perfect makes sure to bump his ass off. The Genius gets in the way of things, allowing Perfect to bash Hogan with the Scroll™. Perfect controls for the next few minutes, but the Perfect-Plex only gets a two count. Hulk Up Time! Punch-punch-punch-big boot-leg drop and Hogan picks up the victory at 7:58. After the match, Hogan makes the Genius (wearing a poofy wig) his bitch and slams him over the top rope, a spot no doubt stolen from his brother. Decent TV match, but it really didn't go anywhere. It was all "Hogan does stuff, then Perfect does stuff until Hogan makes his big comeback." In short, a very lack-luster match. (*)


- The Mountain Dew Slam of the Night presented by Sean Mooney: The Macho King Randy Savage with his signature double axehandle to the outside of the ring and the flying elbow drop to finish his opponent off. So... where's the SLAM? After that we get Rick Martel pimping his new "Arrogance" cologne. A few more of these would air throughout the show, so I'm ignoring them.


- Hillbilly Jim vs. Earthquake (w/ Jimmy Hart):
Where the hell did Hillbilly Jim come from? I could've sworn the bastard "retired" again in the summer of 1989 after doing more jobs where non-hosses pulled on his pants to score a victory. Backstage we go with Jesse Ventura to interview Earthquake, who no doubt promises to make HBJ squeal like a piggy. Then we go to Gene Okerlund to interview Hillbilly Jim, who cuts a pretty fucking bad promo about playing with his pigs growing up. Earthquake tries a sneak attack, but HBJ side-steps him and hammers away with clubbering blows. Earthquake comes back with some of his own and squashes HBJ in the corner. HBJ tries forcing Earthquake to toss his salad in the corner, then pulls off the Bee-Ear-Smack. Jimmy Hart climbs on the apron to play with the Lucky Horse-Shoe™, allowing Earthquake to squash HBJ from behind. Earthquake with an elbow drop and the Vertical Splash sends HBJ to the Hillbilly Ward of the Hospital at 1:58. That was fucking quick. After the match, Earthquake drops ass on the Hillbilly a few more times just for fun. I'm not sure, but this might've been the last time we saw old Hillbilly Jim in the ring until the Gimmick Battle Royale at WrestleMania X-Seven. (DUD)


- The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation:
(Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)
Before we go to the ring, Jesse Ventura heads backstage once more to interview the Hart Foundation, who if you will recall, challenged the Tag Team Champions for a title match back around WrestleMania time. The Foundation heel it up in the interview, forcing Ventura to back them up. I still say the Hart Foundation were a much better heel team than face, but that's just my opinion. We follow that with a cookie-cutter Rockers promo, and I'll just skip ahead to the match. Although on paper these two teams should've been having great matches, the ones that I have seen from Arena Shows or Coliseum Video have usually been very disappointing and filled with non-stop resting, but we'll see how this one turns out. Hot opening sequence between Jannetty and Bret, with quick counters and take downs. Bret gets a taste of his own medicine with a double russian leg sweep, but Neidhart cleans house with a double clothesline to both Rockers. Despite the involvement of Neidhart, the action continues going pretty quick with minimal resting. The heat machine is definitely on for this match, too. The Foundation work over Michaels for a few minutes and make quick tags to avoid rest periods. Out comes Demolition to watch the match... I smell a cheap finish! Stuff goes a bit crazy as Bret gets knocked to the outside and gets in the face of Demolition for no reason. Jannetty manages to make a hot tag and works over the Hitman. SUPERKICK! That only gets a two count. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Jannetty comes back with a sunset flip for a two count. Irish whip, and Hart catches Jannetty off guard with a swinging neck breaker. The Foundation miss the "Slingshot Anvil Onto Opponent" spot, and now Michaels gets a hot tag, although a much lesser one. Michaels works in a super-oversell for Anvil's diving shoulder tackle. Michaels gets sent out of the ring, and now the Rockers are having problems with Demolition. IT'S A BRAWL!!! The Rockers, Hart Foundation, and Demolition beat the shit out of each other and we get a Double Disqualification called at 9:16. Weird that three babyface teams were fighting over the titles here, until you noticed the only heel team left were the lowly Bolsheviks. Pretty good match with plenty of fast-action, but the finish was a bit of a spoiler. Much better than other matches between these two teams, too. (***1/2)


- Another interview with Earthquake and Jimmy Hart, who talk trash to Hulk Hogan. We get a clip of Earthquake dropping ass on Hogan a few weeks before WrestleMania VI on an episode of Superstars of Wrestling. Gene Okerlund interviews Hogan again, and once more he has on the bandana and no shirt. I wouldn't be surprised if they taped these Hogan promos together, and removed the cowboy hat in the background from the first interview to try and make it look different. Random note: Hogan throws out the phrase "Texas Tornado"... oh, and he said "Typhoon" too! I guess WWF came up with gimmicks by listening to Hogan promos.


- WWF World Championship Match:
The Ultimate Warrior © vs. Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan):
This is the Warrior's first big title defense since winning the belt at WrestleMania VI. Speaking of WM VI, we get clips of Hogan/Warrior when Hogan presented Warrior with the belt. Ventura interviews Heenan and Haku backstage, and Haku actually talks. Gene Okerlund interviews the Warrior next. As if Warrior should be threatened by fucking Haku. Haku tries a pre-match attack, but Warrior no-sells and clears the ring of his challenger. I didn't notice it before, but the lighting in the arena is a lot darker than it was for the previous matches. Maybe everyone was clearing out of the arena during the match? Back to the match... it's not very good. Haku is a decent brawler, but you won't get anywhere with the Warrior unless it's planned out in great detail months in advance or your name is Randy Savage. After some token offense from Haku, Warrior mounts his Super-Moron Comeback™. A few clotheslines, shoulder tackle, and big splash later, and the Warrior retains the championship at 4:49. Again, did anyone find Haku to be a threat back then? The guy was booked primarily in Tag Team matches for most of his WWF run with a notable exception of his "King Haku" days (where he barely won). (1/2*)


- Big Bossman vs. Akeem (w/ Slick):
I guess since their match at WrestleMania VI was rushed to hell due to the show running low of time, this is the Very Special ReMatch to try and make up for it. It's Round 2 of the Twin Towers Doing-Something-I-Don't-Want-To-Mention. Before the match, we get clips of Ted Dibiase beating down the Bossman before his match at WrestleMania VI. We get more interviews, this time from Akeem and Slick, then a rebutal from the Big Bossman. Lots of punching from the Bossman until he misses a charge. Akeem squashes him in the corner and sits on his face a few times. I guess you can call them the early versions of the Stink-Face. Akeem clubs on Bossman a bit, and the canned heat is still going on. The Air Africa Splash only gets a two count, and now it's time for Bossman to make Akeem serve hard time. Akeem with his signature "bops head into buckle" spot, and Bossman nails the Sidewalk Slam... then stalls for an hour until Dibiase and Virgil run-in (no doubt late) and draw the Disqualification at 2:58. Not much longer than their WrestleMania VI match, and not much better either. The heels beat on Bossman and cuff him to the ropes, but Bossman manages to unlock himself with a hidden key and clears the ring of Dibiase and Virgil. It's a foot-race! (1/4*)


- The show concludes with the 4th Rick Martel "Arrogance" perfume commercial (get it... he's arrogant! OH THE HILARITY!), and interviews with Bobby Heenan and the Ultimate Warrior (with face-paint freshly done, again proving my point that they were no doubt taped moments apart). Back to Jesse Ventura and Vince McMahon to official end the broadcast.


Final Thoughts: A decent episode all-around. You have a great (for T.V.) match in the form of the Rockers/Hart Foundation, and pretty much everything else despite being crappy in ring-work were used to advance or close out angles, like the went-nowhere Dibiase/Bossman feud and the Tag Title Babyface 3-Way that later took the Rockers out and turned Demolition heels. I won't give a Recommendation, but I can think of worse things to waste 70 minutes on.