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Saturday Night's Main Event was an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United States in place of Saturday Night Live for weeks when that show did not have new episodes until 1991.
- United States
- Professional wrestling
- Overview
- Original run (1985-1992)
- Revived run (2006 - 2008)
is a professional wrestling television program that aired occasionally from 1985 to 1991, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8:00 p.m. EST time slot. It was also on ESPN Radio with a start time of 7:35 EST.
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 " 1980s wrestling golden age " of professional wrestling in the United States. After leaving NBC in 1991 it aired twice on Fox Broadcasting Company in 1992 before disappearing for over a decade.
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 March, an episode in late April/early May, an episode in late September/early October, and Thanksgiving weekend. 1989 & 1990 both offered episodes in July promoted as "Summertime Bonus Editions."
was a tremendous ratings success for NBC during its heyday, most notably on the March 14, 1987 show, which drew an 11.6 rating, which to this day remains the highest rating any show has ever done in that time slot. That show was headlined by a battle royal featuring Hulk Hogan and André the Giant, who were slated to face each other two weeks later at WrestleMania III. As Hogan rarely wrestled on the WWF syndicated and cable television shows, Saturday Night's Main Event was the program on free television where most viewers were able to see him in action.
The success of Saturday Night's Main Event led to several Friday night prime time specials, known as The Main Event. The first of these, on February 5, 1988 featured a WrestleMania III rematch between Hogan and André and drew 33 million viewers and a 15.2 rating, which is still the highest-rated television show in professional wrestling history.
While ratings remained strong through 1990, they began to fall shortly thereafter; one factor was that Los Angeles NBC O&O KNBC opted to air a news bulletin over the February 1, 1991 episode of The Main Event as well. With Ebersol having been promoted to head of NBC Sports and NBC losing interest in wrestling, Saturday Night's Main Event was dropped, its final NBC airing being on April 27, 1991.
FOX picked up the show, but it was only shown twice on that network, and the final Saturday Night's Main Event of the original run was broadcast on October 27, 1992.
returned to NBC on March 18, 2006, in a prime-time slot. The opening theme song for the revived run was Boom by P.O.D.. The announce team for the first show of the 2006 return consisted of Jim Ross on play-by-play, with Jerry "the King" Lawler, and Tazz as color commentators. Although the show took place in Detroit, it did not air on the local NBC ...
October 5, 1985. Episode 2 - 64 mins. Hulk Hogan defends the WWE Championship against Nikolai Volkoff in a Flag Match. November 2, 1985. Episode 3 - 61 mins. Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant face King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd; Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage. Frequently Asked Questions. How can I watch Saturday Night's Main Event?
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Jan 22, 2023 · WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Results: 15-time Champion warns Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch teams up with two SmackDown stars (Erie, Pa, 1/21) By Vivek Sharma. Modified Jan 22, 2023 12:30...
Story by Vivek Sharma. • 5mo • 2 min read. WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Results: Former champion wins first match in 85 days, Solo Sikoa suffers rare loss (Edinburg, 10/21) ©...
Oct 21, 2023 · October 21, 2023. 0. 1,256 views. WWE will present a Saturday Night’s Main Event show later tonight at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. You can check out the advertised lineup below: * Street Fight: LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa. * WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka.
