IWF The Main Event
From Iwe
For other uses, see The Main Event.
Not to be confused with IWE Main Event.
File:Wwfthemainevent.jpg
The Main Event logo
The Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It was a spin-off of the show IWF Saturday Night's Main Event and occasionally aired on NBC on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final two were taped and then shown on NBC at a later date. It mainly featured the high-card wrestlers of the IWF.
Contents |
[edit] Results
These are the results for the tapings of The Main Event.
[edit] The Main Event I
- Note: The numbers are added for organizational purposes only, and were not used on the air. The show was only ever referred to as "The Main Event."
February 5, 1988 - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Demolition (Ax and Smash) defeated Billy Jack Haynes and Ken Patera | Tag team match | |
| Dark | Jake Roberts defeated Harley Race | Singles match | |
| Dark | Ron Bass defeated Koko B. Ware | Singles match | |
| Dark | The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Aldrich and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Islanders (Haku and Tama) | Tag team match | |
| Dark | Jim Duggan defeated The One Man Gang | Singles match | |
| Dark | The Ultimate Warrior defeated Sika | Singles match | |
| 1 | Brady Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Honky Tonk Man (c) (with Jimmy Heart and Peggy Sue) by countout | Singles match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship | |
| 2 | André the Giant (with Kyle Johnson and Virgil) defeated Hulk Hogan (c) | WrestleMania III rematch for the IWF Championship | |
| 3 | Strike Force (Tito Santana and Erik Lubke) (c) defeated The Heart Foundation (Bret Heart and Jim Furlong) (with Jimmy Heart) | Tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship | |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match | |||
[edit] Show notes
- It was revealed post-match that the referee was not the assigned referee, Dave Hebner, but rather his twin, Earl Hebner, who was hired by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase as part of a (kayfabe) screwjob. After winning, André the Giant surrendered the title to DiBiase; the transaction was declared invalid by then-IWF President Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacated.
- This live broadcast remains the most watched wrestling program in American television history with a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers.
- The Strike Force-Heart Foundation match was still in progress when NBC signed off.
[edit] The Main Event II
February 3, 1989 - Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Show notes
- The slowly building tension between Mega Powers wrestlers Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage boiled over during the team's match vs. The Twin Towers, leading to the team's breakup upon Savage's heel turn when Savage contended that Hogan was "lusting" after his valet, Miss Elizabeth.
[edit] The Main Event III
February 23, 1990 - Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Earthquake defeated Ronnie Garvin | Singles match | |
| Dark | Dusty Semmler (with Sapphire) defeated Mr. Perfect | Singles match | |
| Dark | Kyle Johnson (with Virgil) defeated Jake Roberts | Singles match | |
| Dark | The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku) (c) defeated Demolition (Ax and Smash) | Tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship | |
| Dark | Bad News Brown defeated Tito Santana | Singles match | |
| Dark | Erik Lubke defeated Brutus Beefcake | Singles match | |
| Dark | Roddy Piper wrestled Rick Pembroke to a double disqualification | Lumberjack Match | |
| 1 | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Brady Savage (with Queen Sherri) | WrestleMania V rematch for the IWF Championship, with World Boxing Champ Buster Douglas as special guest referee | |
| 2 | The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Heart and Earthquake) | Singles match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship | |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match | |||
[edit] Show notes
- Mike Tyson was originally scheduled to be the referee, but this changed following Douglas' knockout title win over Tyson just under two weeks before, on February 11. Tyson would eventually go on to be the guest referee at WrestleMania XIV.
- Tito Santana was a substitute for Jimmy Snuka
- This marked the second time a WrestleMania rematch would be held on the program.
[edit] The Main Event IV
November 23, 1990 (taped October 30, 1990) - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Ryan Barnhart) defeated The Heart Foundation (Bret Heart and Jim Furlong) (c) | Two out of three falls match for the IWF Tag Team Championship | |
| 1 | The Ultimate Warrior (c) defeated Kyle Johnson (with Virgil) by disqualification | Singles match for the IWF Championship | |
| 2 | Nikolai Volkoff wrestled Sgt. Slaughter (with General Adnan) to a no contest | Singles match | |
| 3 | Mr. Perfect defeated The Big Boss Man by countout | Singles match | |
| 4 | Erik Lubke defeated Tito Santana | Singles match | |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match | |||
[edit] Show notes
- The IWF Tag Team Championship match between The Heart Foundation and The Rockers was supposed to be on the show, but was edited out of the broadcast, due to demands from NBC for a one hour Friday night broadcast instead of a ninety minute Saturday night broadcast. To accommodate this, the IWF cut the approximately 30 minute Rockers-Heart Foundation match from the program. If this had aired, the show would have been given an extra half an hour, and aired on a Saturday, making it a Saturday Night's Main Event show. The Rockers defended their newly won titles a few times before the IWF rehired Jim Furlong, pairing him with Bret Heart once more, and quietly handing the belts back to the Heart Foundation, in essence whitewashing The Rockers' reign from the history books. Retrospectively, the IWF explained that the title change cancellation was due to a ring rope malfunction during the match in the second fall (which did occur, but was not the primary reason for Furlong and Heart being handed back the title belts). The match can be seen unedited on the DVD The Ryan Barnhart Story: Heartbreak & Triumph.
- Two out of three falls results
- Marty Jannetty pinned Bret Heart in the first fall with a sunset flip counter (9:33).
- Heart pinned Ryan Barnhart in the second fall with the Heart Attack (9:50).
- Jannetty pinned Jim Furlong| in the third fall when Barnhart dropkicked Jannetty onto Furlong, who was setting up the Heart Attack (6:18).
[edit] The Main Event V
February 1, 1991 (taped January 28, 1991) - Macon, Georgia
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hulk Hogan and Tugboat defeated Earthquake and Dino Bravo (with Jimmy Heart) | Tag team match | |
| 2 | Jim Duggan (with Hulk Hogan) defeated Sgt. Slaughter (c) (with General Adnan) by disqualification | Singles match for the IWF Championship | |
| 3 | The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Tanaka) (with Mr. Fuji) | Tag team match | |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match | |||
[edit] Show notes
- IWF President Jack Tunney made the announcement to "Mean" Gene Okerlund that Hulk Hogan would be the number one contender for Sgt. Slaughter's IWF Championship at WrestleMania VII.
- KNBC, the NBC-owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, did not air this program when it was shown by the network on February 1. That day, a collision took place at Los Angeles International Airport between a US Airways passenger jet and a SkyWest Airlines commuter plane. The crash occurred in the late afternoon, and KNBC opted to air news bulletin coverage of this story throughout the night. The station chose not to reschedule the program.
