Welcome everyone to my review of the 13th edition of WWF’s SNME. This is the final show I’m going to review in 1987, and in 1988 I plan on adding something new. I will award points to the wrestlers, which I’ll get into detail when I get there, and in the end those points will the determine the winner of the 1988 ‘SmarkDown WWF Wrestler Of The Year’ award. Enjoy the review!
Before starting, here is the list of champions at the time:
- WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan
- Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man
- Tag Team Champions: Strike Force (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)
- Women’s Champion: Sensational Sherri
The hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
Match #1: George ‘The Animal’ Steele vs. ‘Dangerous’ Danny Davis
George bites Davis to start, Davis runs away. Steele drop toeholds Davis, who runs away again, and back in uses some object behind the ref’s back multiple times to choke George. George finally catches him in a hammerlock, and Davis immediately kicks the ref for the DQ. George proceeds to eat the turbuckle as usual, as Davis attacks again and then runs away with George chasing. This was absolutely nothing. DUD
In the back, Jimmy Hart mocks Randy Savage and Elizabeth while Jim Neidhart laughs his ass off and makes me laugh too!
Meanwhile, Elizabeth says she’s fine from Honky Tonk Man’s last week, but Randy Savage is NOT! He’s about to enter the danger zone. “Elizabeth, down that aisle yeaaaah”!
Match #2: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart(w/ Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart)
So basically this is gonna rule, right? Savage immediately hits the ring to get revenge on the heels for the attack on Elizabeth, who run away. Neidhart and Jimmy corner Liz on the floor, which forces Savage to go after them and we take a break before the match officially starts.
Bret takes advantage of Savage being pissed, as he misses a charge and Bret pounds away in the corner. Savage comes back with an elbow that sends Bret into the apron, though, and follows with a slingshot that sends Bret flying into the railing for a crazy bump that makes the crowd go nuts. Savage gets distracted with Jimmy and Anvil, though, and when he goes for the flying double axehandle to the floor, Bret hits him with the megaphone.
Back in, Bret drops the leg for two. Piledriver gets two. He misses a charge, though, and Savage comes back with a flying axehandle for two. Bret gets two with a backbreaker, but then misses his middle rope elbow, and Savage necksnaps him for two. He charges, only for Bret to backdrop him over the top rope to the floor, with Savage hurting his knee on the way down. Liz checks on Savage, and we take a break.
We return with Savage in his sock and on one leg, as Bret takes him to school. Bret viciously stomps the leg, wrapping it around the post and dropping a knee as the crowd is getting worried. What a great story! Savage necksnaps him again, but he’s too hurt and unable to follow up with anything, which allows Bret to go after the leg again. He puts him in a half crab, but Savage makes the ropes. Savage crawls to the apron, Bret slams him back in, only for Savage to roll through mid-move for the surprising victory.
This match absolutely stole this show. Remember Bret Hart was nothing more but a tag guy at this point, while Savage was the second biggest star in the whole company, and they still managed to make people believe Bret could catch Savage. This was fantastic, and could’ve been an all-time classic had it gone a bit longer. ****1/4
Match #3: Hulk Hogan(c) vs. King Kong Bundy(w/ Bobby Heenan & Andre the Giant) – WWF Championship
They shove each other to start, and Bundy is in control. Hogan goes for a slam, but Bundy lands on top for two and Hogan’s back is hurt. Bundy misses a splash, though, and Hogan takes the big challenger down with a clothesline followed by a couple of elbowdrops for two. Bundy eventually catches him and hits the chinlock. Hogan fights out, hits the big boot.. but Andre trips him up and the ref calls for the bell. However, the ref then forces Andre to leave instead, and the match continues after the break.
We return with Hogan running wild, as he whips Bundy into all the turnbuckles. High knee but he misses an elbow, and Bundy pounds away. Bundy steps on Hulk’s back and puts him in the bearhug. Hogan escapes, only for Bundy to put him down again with an elbow. Bundy hits the Avalanche, followed by a splash, but Hogan of course sells none of that shit and Hulks Up at two. Bundy walks away, though, and Hogan follows for a slugfest on the floor. Hogan puts him back in, but Heenan grabs Hogan’s leg and Bundy wins by count-out.
This was watchable, but it didn’t make much sense to me personally. First of all, that Dusty finish wasn’t needed at all. Second of all, I don’t understand why Heenan would want that count-out win or why the heels would celebrate it, since Hogan retained the belt. Not even close to their decent cage match at WrestleMania 2. *1/4
Main-event: Bam Bam Bigelow(w/ Oliver Humperdink) vs. Hercules Hernandez
This was of course after Bam Bam was one of the highlights in the main-event match at Survivor Series. Hercules throws a knee and clotheslines Bam Bam twice, with the third one finally knocking the big babyface over the top rope. Hercules follows for a slugfest on the floor, and it’s a lame double count-out draw after only three minutes.
Bam Bam cuts a typical babyface “if you’ve got the guts” promo, and Hercules accepts. Two lame Dusty finishes in the same night is a bit too much, but okay. Bam Bam gets the better of Hercules, but misses a dropkick and Herc pounds away. He takes too long, though, and Bam Bam slams him and slingshot splashes him for the win.
This didn’t need to be overbooked all the way to hell, and Bam Bam needed a stronger, more decisive win in my opinion. It didn’t protect Hercules that much, either, as he was technically pinned in five minutes after only taking two or three moves. *
We close the show with Bundy challenging Hulk Hogan for a rematch at the next edition of SNME, in early January 1988. Hogan immediately accepts, saying he needs the rematch even more than Bundy does.
Overall, I’d say this show was fine, but mostly due to Randy Savage vs. Bret Hart. Make sure you check that out, the rest is skippable – Hogan vs. Bundy was literally done to set up another rematch later, Bam Bam vs. Hercules was needlessly overbooked and George Steele vs. Danny Davis was just nothing. This gets a five out of ten from me.