-Today, we look at the first Saturday Night’s Main Event.
-Saturday Night's Main Event was a Wrestling Program produced by the World Wrestling Federation. Premiering in 1985, the program originally aired on NBC as an occasional replacement for Saturday Night Live At the time of the original airing it was a rare example of professional wrestling being broadcast on an over-the-air commercial television network after the 1950s. It coincided with and contributed to the apogee of the "second golden age" of professional wrestling in the United States. In a time when weekly programming consisted primarily of established stars dominating enhancement talent, Saturday Night's Main Event was made up almost entirely of star vs. star bouts, including title matches and specialty matches such as steel cage matches, handicap matches, etc.
All episodes of Saturday Night's Main Event are available for streaming on the WWE Network. However, the episodes on the WWE Network are not 100% original. May 1985—January 1988 episodes do not have the original opening and closing theme songs. Sponsored segments that aired as part of the original broadcasts such as the "Mountain Dew Slam of the Night" have been removed as well.
Saturday Night's Main Event, which was broadcast live, debuted on May 11, 1985 in the late-night time slot normally assigned to reruns of the NBC sketch comedy Saturday Night Live. Then-SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol had made a deal with WWF owner Vince McMahon to produce the show, after Ebersol had seen the high ratings that two WWF specials drew on MTV in 1984— 85. Although the show aired infrequently, it did, starting in 1986, settle into a predictable pattern of airdates: New Year's weekend, an episode in late February/early March, an episode in late April/early May, an episode in late September/early October, and Thanksgiving weekend. 1989 and 1990 both offered episodes in July promoted as "Summertime Bonus Editions."
-Hat Tip to Wikipedia and Kayfabe Memories website for help in my research in putting this show together.
-SNME 1 was broadcast on NBC on May 11, 1985. It was taped May 10, 1985 from the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It did an 8.3 rating on NBC and there were 8,300 in attendance.
-Cyndi Lauper gives Wendy Richter advice on beating the Fabulous Moolah.
-Hulk Hogan is with Mr. T. He says T is going to be in his corner against Bob Orton.
-Opening Credits.
-Vince McMahon welcomes us to SNME then introduces Jesse Ventura. Jesse is not in full Jesse mode yet as a commentator.
-The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and George Steele with Fred Blassie VS. Barry Windham, Mike Rotundo, and Ricky Steamboat with Lou Albano
-Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Rotundo, Windham, Steamboat, and Albano. Windham says they have the best team ever. Too bad it isn’t a championship match and Albano says he will take care of Fred Blassie.
-Nikolai does the Soviet National Anthem gimmick. Sheik does his Russia #1, Iran #1 gimmick. Music Dub City as the faces come down. Sheik and Windham start. Windham is so good and is in tremendous shape here. Steamboat in and he hits a top rope chop. Rotundo in and he gets a 2 count on Sheik. Steamboat back in and he hits some martial arts moves. Hip tosses on all the heels and now everyone in before the heels bail out to the floor. USA chant starts. Back in, Steamboat hits a dropkick from the top rope on Iron Sheik and then hits a crossbody for a two count before Volkoff breaks it up. Windham and Steamboat hit a double dropkick on Volkoff. Rotundo in and hits a leg drop before Steele breaks it up. Rotundo stringing moves together for 2 counts. Steele tagged in and trades punches with Windham. He goes to tag out, but Blassie pulls his men down to avoid the tag and Steele gets pinned. Steele is upset and tears a turnbuckle pad. Volkoff and Sheik attack him. He runs them off and Albano comes in to calm him down.
-Mean Gene interviews Blassie, Sheik, and Volkoff. They say Steele is crazy and Steele comes and attacks them.
-Piper’s Pit in the ring. Roddy Piper is there with Bob Orton and they await Paul Orndorff as they flashback to WrestleMania and what happened there. Orndorff comes and Piper has him sit down so they can talk about WrestleMania. Orndorff tells Orton to go get in the corner. Piper tries to regain control. He calls Orndorff a loser and Orndorff explodes on Piper and Orton and Piper again tries to regain control. Piper says he was fighting everyone and Orndorff lost his guts. He calls Orndorff a piece of garbage. Orndorff says he wants to fight and Piper says no he’s leaving before taking a cheap shot at Orndorff who hits both Piper and Orton. He sets Piper up for a piledriver, but Orton hits Orndorff with his cast. Mr. T comes down to save Orndorff.
-Mean Gene interviews Hulk Hogan. He says things are getting crazy, but since it’s almost Mother’s day he’s dedicating his match against Bob Orton to his mother. Mean Gene asks him about Paul Orndorff. He says all the Hulkamaniacs have gotten behind Orndorff and he’s changed his way.
-WWF Heavyweight Championship Match: Hulk Hogan VS. Bob Orton with Roddy Piper: Music Dub city to start as Hogan comes down to Real American which wasn’t his theme yet. The crowd loves him though. Mr. T comes down as he is going to be in Hogan’s corner. They slug it out to begin. Orton selling hard for Hogan. Orton bails out and regroups with Piper. Orton with some offense, but misses a charge. Hogan works on the arm with the cast. Orton comes back and hits a knee. Orton hits an atomic drip for a two count. Then a knee drop and punches to the head by Orton to Hogan. Hogan chant goes out. Hogan Hulks up. Clothesline and an elbow drop for a two count. Orton hits a reverse atomic drop and goes for a superplex. Hogan pushes him off and hits a leg drop but Roddy Piper hits Hogan for the DQ. Mr. T comes in and they jump him and then corner Hogan. Paul Orndorff then comes to Hogan’s aid. The heels then bail.
-Mean Gene interviews The Fabulous Moolah. She say she’s tired of Cyndi Lauper’s interference and has had Cyndi Lauper banned from ringside.
-WWF Women’s Championship Match: Wendy Richter VS. The Fabulous Moolah: Cyndi Lauper says there’s no way that she is going to be banned. She says that they have proof that Moolah interferes. Music Dub City as Richter and Lauper come to ringside. Moolah gives the proclamation to the referee. Howard Finkel announces that Lauper does need to leave the ringside area. They go to commercial and when they come back, Lauper is shown towards the back of the arena looking at a monitor. Moolah takes control with hair pulling and choking. She throws Richter out and keeps her from getting in. Moolah gets distracted and Richter gives her a dropkick. Back and Forth. Richter wins with a small package. Lauper comes back to ringside to celebrate with Richter.
-Mean Gene interviews The Junk Yard Dog. JYD has his mother with him to celebrate Mother’s Day because she has never been to New York before. Mother Bertha says she’s real proud of him.
-Junk Yard Dog VS. Pete Doherty: JYD comes out with his mother. Doherty comes over to JYD’s mom, and JYD doesn’t like it so he gives Doherty a clothesline. Doherty goes outside and JYD tries to pull him in by his hair before going outside and throwing Doherty in. Doherty tries punching JYD who punches him and gives him a couple of head butts. Doherty tries going off the top rope but gets caught and slammed. Three head butts and an atomic drop and a big slam gets a three count. JYD and his mom then dance in the ring.
-We come back to Cyndi Lauper’s Mother’s Day party. Fred Blassie has a young woman who he says is his mother Laura. Hulk Hogan brought his mom too. Cyndi Lauper brought her mom and everyone seems to be having fun. The Fabulous Moolah comes in and is mad she wasn’t invited. She says she raised a better daughter unlike Cyndi’s mom. She goes to put down Cyndi’s mom some more so they go to put Moolah in the cake that they have nearby but Mean Gene is in the middle of it and seems to get the worst part of it.
-Vince and Jesse then go over the highlights of the night before signing off from Nassau.