Well, It was filmed a week and a half before airing.
Therefore, I got to see it pretend to be live.
But that's wrestling for ya.
Saturday Night's Main Event was an occasional WWF replacement for Saturday Night Live, and was the closest to "major events" of the WWF I was going to see.
There can't be a discussion of wrestling in those times without bringing up Hulk Hogan.
He may get criticisms on several levels, but the huge growth in popularity of wrestling in general and the transition from one local territory to a global media empire of the WWF really rested on his massive shoulders and "twenty four inch pythons!"
Hogan was at the height of his "Say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong" good guy fame.
Aside- Looking back at the matches of the time, his appeal is outstandingly impressive considering, in opposition to his good guy rhetoric, he wrestled like a heel. He used eye pokes, foreign objects and frequently monstrously overpowering his opponents.
The oxymoron "heroic bully" comes to mind.
The Macho Man Randy Savage was a heel who treated his Manager (I refuse to call her a "valet") Miss Elizabeth like crap, and often took the cheater's and coward's way out of many matches. However, he did have outstanding physical skills.
As time passed, Savage's loopy but enduring brand of charisma, coupled with his fantastic athleticism and planning in the ring began to appeal to fans.
The crowds were starting to cheer the bad guy.
What was the WWF to do?
Simply, they picked a target they knew the fans would unquestionably boo.
Enter Wayne Ferris, better known as the Honky Tonk Man, one of the most brilliant story telling gimmicks in my wrestling experience.
An arrogant, cowardly Elvis impersonator that sang poorly, with questionable (in story) ring performance abilities and loud mouthed "Colonel" Jimmy Hart as manager.
He never displayed the skills to take victory, but between well placed "hidden" guitar or megaphone hits, disqualifications and straight out running away (titles do not change hands on count outs), Honky held the Intercontinental Title longer than anyone in history, and was booed and jeered for his entire reign as seats filled up in hopes he'd get a thrashing.
Randy Savage's behavior looked wonderful by comparison.
Then all hell broke loose.
As it often does in professional wrestling. (Woo hoo!)
The Hart Foundation (also managed by "The Mouth of the South" but no relation to Jimmy Hart) ran in and the four of them attacked the victorious Savage.
The HORROR!
Miss Elizabeth beat a hasty retreat... or did she?
What she did, (to use the vernacular of the business) was set up another "run in."
She appealed to the heroic Hulk Hogan.
The Hulkster, always the champion of the downtrodden, came barreling into the arena and cleaned house.
None of this is why this was a memorable moment for me.
Run ins, heel/face turns, ring filling brawls...
These are common occurrences.
What happened next was Macho Man Randy Savage extended his hand to his rescuer and former rival Hulk Hogan.
THE HANDSHAKE.
Followed by the three of them parading around the ring in triumph.
During that handshake and EVERY SINGLE TIME THE TWO OF THEM WERE INTERVIEWED TOGETHER as the Mega Powers (for that was their name)
when they repeated the handshake- both men used:
ALL of their acting skills and
ALL of their practiced in ring abilities
ALL of their muscle flexing
and
ALL of their loud guttural yells
to make that handshake look like the
MOST POWERFUL BOND IN THE UNIVERSE.
BROTHERRRRRRRRRRR
OOOOOOOOOH YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!
And every time they did it, they went for it with full, ridiculous gusto.
It was a thing of beauty.
To lock in Savage as a face, Hogan would "teach" him how to pose and play to the crowd's cheers after they'd win a match.
The fact that fans believed ANYONE would be needed to teach The Macho Man how to interact with crowds is a true demonstration of the power of wrestling storytelling.
Wrestling egos and jealousy being what they are...
(Insane...they are insane.)
The pairing lasted less than two years before erupting into a rivalry,
with hints of cracks long before then...
and that's counting when Hogan was on hiatus for a bit.
But while it lasted, it was magic.
Footnote-
They had a moment that probably would have been one of these memories, if I had seen it closer to when it happened, but I only caught it on a more recent DVD purchase:
Summerslam 1988 (August 29, Madison Square Garden)
(The Million Dollar Man- Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant.)
Things looked bad for the Mega Powers, until they used their secret weapon...
Miss Elizabeth stood up on the ring apron and tore off her skirt, revealing her Mega Powers colored underwear to Dibiase, Andre and guest (heel) referee Jesse "The Body" Ventura in the middle of counting out the Mega Powers...
(And, y'know, twenty-thousand screaming fans)
The three villains stared at her agape, probably like most of the twelve year olds in the audience, long enough for Hogan and Savage to shake hands (of course), climb back in, and get the pin.
Say what you want about Professional Wrestling, they know their audience.
There will be more of Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth in future memories.
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